You nailed it. I lived in a Honda Civic this summer as I was getting a startup off the ground (
http://www.austenallred.com/founders-never-say-die/), and I had a half dozen people offer to let me stay at their place or crash on their couch rent-free.
I was certainly grateful for their hospitality, however self-sufficiency, even if it comes to the extent of living in a car and scalping soccer tickets for a living, feels completely different than being a welfare case. As a result, I wasn't living in a car for lack of other options, but rather out of belief that I could create something by sheer will-power, and that I was going to do that come hell or high water. My homelessness was a matter of seeking something greater than myself, not being lost to poverty.
Sure, it wasn't convenient to live in a car, and it made some parts of life a little more complex. But you can read some Thoreau, realize how free you really are, and work on what you love and believe in every minute of every day. That's powerful, whether it's a startup or getting back on your feet.
I was certainly grateful for their hospitality, however self-sufficiency, even if it comes to the extent of living in a car and scalping soccer tickets for a living, feels completely different than being a welfare case. As a result, I wasn't living in a car for lack of other options, but rather out of belief that I could create something by sheer will-power, and that I was going to do that come hell or high water. My homelessness was a matter of seeking something greater than myself, not being lost to poverty.
Sure, it wasn't convenient to live in a car, and it made some parts of life a little more complex. But you can read some Thoreau, realize how free you really are, and work on what you love and believe in every minute of every day. That's powerful, whether it's a startup or getting back on your feet.