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8 Empty Promises in this Year’s Super Bowl Ads

It is not surprising to us that marketers use whatever means necessary to separate us from our money. They would even admit as much. But it is surprising, at times, to see what depths they will sink in order to accomplish their goal.

The Super Bowl has long been marked as an American tradition, both for the game it represents and the marketing it provides. Ranked annually as the most-viewed television program of the year, there is no wonder Madison Avenue invests as much time into the game as the football teams themselves.

As somebody who has developed a great frustration over our consumer-driven culture, I often watch the commercials, not for entertainment’s sake, but to determine the underlying promises being offered behind the products. I am rarely pleased with what I find.

Often times, we discover marketers making promises they can’t possibly keep. Here were eight I noticed during this year’s Super Bowl.

8 Empty Promises in this Year’s Super Bowl Ads

1. An Automobile Can Make You a Better Parent. Hyundai.

Parenting is hard work. It requires intentionality, observation, wise counsel, strategy, and follow-through. And I get a little worried when a car manufacturer makes the claim that their vehicle can help me do it better.

Certainly, there is always room for new tools to parent better. But spending tens of thousands of dollars at a local car lot to buy a car I can track on my phone will never replace the parental impact of hard work, significant conversation, appropriate boundaries, and quality time.

2. A Television Can Prevent You from Missing Out. CBS.

I don’t know if there is any product in the world better at promoting its own self-interests than television. When we watch anything, we are bombarded with advertisements promoting other programs.

The networks, of course, are quite calculated in how they do this. Most often they feed on our fear of missing out by highlighting “This Year’s Most Watched Program,” “This Year’s Best New Series,” or “This Week’s Can’t Miss Game of the Year.” Each time, they subtly implant into our minds the false reality that everyone is watching. And with it, they include a promise they will never fulfill: the best way to never miss out on life is to spend it in front of a television.

3. A Candy Bar Can Give You Unparalleled Confidence. Butterfinger.

Over the years, I have noticed countless manufacturers promise their product will grant more self-confidence—cologne, cars, and clothing, just to name a few.

But this year, a candy bar made the same claim— that, somehow, chocolate covering a flaky, crisp, peanut butter-flavored center can make a person bolder than bold. This is a promise I may never understand—other than the fact that marketers routinely try to promise self-confidence packaged in their unique product.

4. A Body Spray Will Help You Discover Your Most Powerful Uniqueness. Axe.

Axe Body Spray is no stranger to attention and critique. Since 2003, they have made a name for themselves portraying various ways their products supposedly help men attract women. Teenage boys have worn their scent ever since.

This year, their promise was nuanced. While they did make a point to remind consumers that their product makes men irresistible to women, they also indicated their product will help wearers discover their most powerful uniqueness. How wearing the same scent as everyone else helps a young man discover his uniqueness, I’ll never know.

5. An App Can Get You a Mortgage (and all the stuff you’ve always wanted). Quicken Loans.

In one of the oddest commercials of the night, Quicken Loans promised its users quick, easy home ownership—mortgages seemingly available to anyone with a smart phone. And because home ownership inevitably results in more purchasing (lamps and blenders and couches), home ownership makes mortgages even more accessible to others as the cycle of demand increases.

I understand convenience is helpful and to a point, their premise is correct. Convenience and accessibility is a major driver in our compulsion to acquire. But the idea that making mortgages accessible to everyone is a smart move for our country fails to recognize the lessons we learned the hard way over the previous decade. I was glad to see The Washington Post renounce it so quickly.

6. A Watch Can Make You Stronger. Fitbit.

Our society loves shortcuts. And marketers love to manipulate this tendency whenever possible—especially when it comes to matters of health. The Fitbit watch advertisement is a good example. In this ad, consumers who wear the medal and plastic device around their wrist often display superior strength and health compared to those around them.

Fitbit had a strong Christmas mostly because of their subtle claims that wearing their product will get you into shape. Indeed, the watch may provide some helpful tools. But when it comes to matters of health, few things have changed within the human body. It still requires discipline and intentional effort—there are no shortcuts.

7. Watching Football Can Improve Intimacy With Your Spouse. Super Bowl Babies.

Certainly the NFL deserves credit for originality. Their internal data suggests Championship-winning cities see an increase in babies born nine months after the Super Bowl. Never mind the fact that “data suggests” is the strongest wording they felt comfortable using, they needed the studies to reinforce their promise: Football brings families together and may, if your team wins, result in more than your team getting lucky.

I won’t argue with their presumption because I haven’t seen the studies. And while the commonality of football may offer some bonding opportunities for families, I have a hard time believing football is an aphrodisiac in most interpersonal relationships.

8. A Fast Food Cheeseburger is Historically Delicious (and Healthy). Jack in the Box.

Fast food restaurants are not unique in making promises they can never fulfill. Chips, soda, and countless other processed foods do the same. Jack in the Box, perhaps with tongue-in-cheek, made the claim that their new Double Cheeseburger is “historically delicious.”

But this year, not only do they make empty promises concerning their burger’s flavor, they also make the claim that their new double cheeseburger is also healthy. Oh, they wouldn’t make the claim with actual words, that would be too obvious. Instead, they rely on image association. In their commercial, the new burger is offered to a healthy, fit, young jogger who gladly accepts the burger and proceeds to take a large bite out of it. The juxtaposition is clearly orchestrated and meant to instill a specific message and promise—this fried double-burger served with processed cheese and mayo is not bad for you. In fact, it is consistent with a healthy lifestyle.

As with most of the empty promises contained in this year’s Super Bowl ads, we ought to know better.

Inspiring Simplicity. Weekend Reads.

Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of everything that distracts us from it. It requires a conscious decision because it is a countercultural lifestyle that stands against the culture of overconsumption that surrounds us.

The world we live in is not friendly to the pursuit of minimalism. Its tendencies and relentless advertising campaigns call us to acquire more, better, faster, and newer. The journey of finding simplicity requires consistent inspiration.

For that reason, I hope you will make an effort this weekend to find a quiet moment with a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy some of these hand-picked articles to encourage more simplicity in your life.

How to Become a Luckier Person Overnight | Raptitude by David Cain. Make a habit of radical gratitude.

7 Ways Clutter is Ruining Your Life | Fast Company by Stephanie Vozza. Clutter overloads your senses, just like multitasking overloads your brain.

8 Secrets of People Who Don’t Have Clutter | Pure Wow. There are some helpful tips in here.

Choice, Choice Everywhere. How Do I Opt Out? | The Guardian by Phil Daoust. “I’m with Mark Zuckerberg and Barack Obama on this – the more options I’m given in life, the less I want them.”

Ooh, and check out what just arrived >> The More of Less.

To Declutter Any Room, Ask These Two Questions

“If organizing your stuff worked, wouldn’t you be done by now?” —Courtney Carver

Organizing our things is important. It is helpful to know where things are stored and how to easily access them. But let’s be honest with ourselves, organizing is always only a temporary solution. We organize our things and find new storage solutions today… but are left again tomorrow, doing the exact same thing.

Finding better ways to organize our stuff holds some benefit, but that benefit is fleeting at best.

However, when we take the step of fully removing from our possession the items we do not need, we find permanent, longer-lasting benefits.

Minimizing possessions is an act of permanence because they are removed from our care entirely. It lays the groundwork for overcoming consumerism altogether. This step of intentionally living with less forces questions of values and purpose.  And it provides the opportunity to live life pursuing our greatest passions.

Minimizing is always better than organizing. (tweet that)

How then do we accomplish this in our unique living space in a way that aligns with our lifestyle? We accomplish this room-by-room physically handling each and every item in our possession. And we learn to ask better questions.

In fact, almost all of decluttering comes down to asking ourselves only two questions:

1. Do I need this?

Discerning the difference between needs and wants has become almost a full-time job in our society. Advertisers routinely market items of comfort and luxury as items of need. I never knew I needed so much until somebody told me I did.

Almost all decluttering has to start somewhere. And every professional organizer will ask you to answer this question over and over again: Is this something I need to keep? 

This is an important place to start because it provides a beginning framework within which to make better decisions. If we can identify the things we no longer need, we can begin to recognize the things that can be removed.

Of course, our human needs are actually quite slim: water, food, shelter, and clothing. It’s important to note we’re talking about more than mere survival here—nobody wants to just survive life, we want to make the most of it! What we’re talking about is realizing our fullest potential.

The deeper question then that we should be asking is, What items do I need to keep to realize my life’s full potential and purpose? 

This question will get us further and provide an even more robust framework to make decisions about what to keep and what to remove. But even this falls a bit short.

Just because your answer is, “No, I don’t need this,” doesn’t mean you are going to remove it—or at least, not easily remove it. We all have things in our home that we know we don’t need. And yet, we choose to keep.

This, then, is where the second question becomes so helpful. And why it is even more important.

2. Why do I have this?

This question moves our thought process beyond functionality and into intentionality.

Ask yourself that question with everything you touch: Why do I own this? When you do, you will be surprised at the answers.

Case in point: Your closet. One of the first areas of my home that I chose to minimize was my wardrobe closet. When I did, I noticed all sorts of different styles and colors and fits—many of which I no longer wore.

And I am not alone in this—many of our closets are filled with items we no longer wear. Clearly, our over-filled closets have nothing to do with functionality. Instead, they have everything to do with intentionality.

Why do we own all these different articles of clothing and so much more than we need? Is it because we love them all or need that many shirts or shoes? No. We buy them because we are trying to keep up with changing fashions—the same changing styles that the fashion industry told us we needed to remain in style.

Additionally, when we look in our living rooms, we notice all kinds of decorations and knick-knacks cluttering our shelves. Why do we have them? Because we love them and they tell the story of our lives? Doubtful. Instead, we bought them because they were on sale, they matched the couch, or those built-in shelves needed something on them.

In each case, we buy things and keep them, not because they benefit our lives, but for some other intention. This realization makes the process of decluttering easier and it holds benefit for almost every item we own: Why do I own these CDs, that piece of furniture, these toys, these old electronics? Once we determine the why, we are better equipped to answer the What now?

Those two questions: “Do I need it?” and “Why do I have it?” form the basis for your best decluttering efforts going forward. They will prove to be enlightening and will open up new ideas about what items to keep and what items to remove.

And ultimately, isn’t that goal? To remove things entirely from our homes that we no longer need… so we can begin living the life that we want.

How Refund Policies Encourage Spending (and Reduce Returning )

“Forget sale price. Everything is 100% off when you don’t buy it.” — Joshua Fields Millburn

I have a friend. Let’s call him Jim. Jim has an interesting shopping habit—from time to time, he will buy something at the store and bring it home with a thought in the back of his mind, “If this doesn’t work, I’ll just return it to the store.”

The thinking is simple and, on the surface, appears to make perfect sense: Because the store has a return policy, this purchase has no risk. If it doesn’t fit or match or work for any reason, I can return it to the store. It’s an easy choice… and a perfect win-win situation for me.

Jim’s thinking is not unique. In fact, we all have friends who act like Jim. And, if we are honest with ourselves, most of us are guilty of similar thinking. My fictional friend, Jim, represents all of us—or, at least, Jim represents the 91% of us who say a store’s refund policy is factored in their purchasing decision.

There is, of course, fallacy to this thinking. It is not entirely a win-win situation for the consumer. Jim is not considering the time, energy, and gas needed to return the item if so decided. And he is not considering that returning this item will require him to re-enter the very store that persuaded him to buy something he didn’t need in the first place.

In fact, when you do a little research on the matter, you will discover that refund policies are not a win-win situation for the consumer… just the opposite, they are win-win situations for the seller.

It shouldn’t surprise us that a store or brand would implement specific strategies to get us to part with our money—that is their job after all.

On a macro-level, society pulls us towards consumeristic pursuits. And on a micro-level, sellers utilize strategies to convince us to consume in the specific ways that benefit them most. In my new book, The More of Less, I outline many of the specific tactics that retail stores use to convince us to buy more than we need.

Return policies are certainly one of them. I think it is important for us to be reminded that these policies are established to help, primarily, the store make money.

The prevailing question retailers ask when establishing their refund policy is “What policy results in the greatest profit for our business?” Source: Entrepreneur, The Wall Street Journal, TIME, The New York Times, and the list continues.

But this was never more evident than in an article published this week in the Washington Post titled, “The Surprising Psychology of Shoppers and Return Policies.” The piece outlines a study conducted by the University of Texas-Dallas that seeks to get a “better handle on how return policies affect shopper behavior.”

The results are interesting and important for us (as consumers) to consider. Here is a summary:

When it comes to purchasing, a lenient return policy results in an increase in initial purchases. The length of time allowed to return an item, the reimbursement percentage, the requirements for the return (necessary receipts, for example), the scope, and the specific exchange (store credit vs. money) were all factors considered important by a consumer. We consciously and subconsciously consider each of them when deciding whether to make a purchase or not. As would be expected, the more lenient the policy, the more likely a customer will walk out of the store with an item in hand.

But what is most fascinating about the study is not that it confirms what we know to be true, but that it shines a light on unexpected tendencies when it comes to returning items.

The researchers discovered something unexpected about consumers’ return habits: “More leniency on time limits is associated with a reduction—not an increase—in returns.” 

In other words, the longer a time frame allowed to return an item for full refund, the less likely consumers were to return the item in question. The very characteristic that makes the return policy appear to be a major-win for the consumer is actually a major-win for the seller.

How could this be? Wouldn’t the opposite be true? Apparently not.

The more time a shopper is allowed to keep an item before returning it, the more likely they are to just keep the item.

The researchers attempt to explain their finding in a number of ways: the longer a customer has a product in their hands, the more attached they feel to it, the long time frame creates less urgency to take back the item, and the longer consumers hold on to an item, the more likely they are to find a use for it.

What appears to be a win for the consumer is actually a win for the store.

Can refund policies by useful to the consumer? Absolutely, we’ve all found benefit in them at one point or another.

However, are these return policies implemented entirely for the sake of the customer? Absolutely not. They are designed to result in higher sales and lower returns for the stores that implement them.

The very perk that Jim believes is designed to benefit him is actually designed to benefit the store that now has his money.

Inspiring Simplicity. Weekend Reads.

Never underestimate the importance of removing stuff you don’t need.

Encouragement is important in all areas of life, but especially when trying to live a life different than those around us.

Encouragement provides us with motivation to persevere. It invites us to dream dreams of significance for our lives. And it begs us to work diligently with optimism and promise.

Overcoming the pull of consumerism is a difficult challenge regardless of our stage in life. Simplicity requires encouragement. To that end, I hope you will find motivation in these articles below.

Each post was intentionality chosen to inspire simplicity in your life. For maximum effect, find a quiet moment this weekend and enjoy them with a fresh cup of coffee or tea.

Rules for Getting Organized & Decluttered | Zen Habits by Leo Babauta. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, I’m here to testify that it’s not impossible, and it just takes some small steps that add up over time.

The Woman in the Empty Room: We Are Not What We Own | Huffington Post by Colleen Berge. We can be made anonymous by too many possessions. Rather than being defined by them, we become overwhelmed by them.

Valuing Your Time More Than Money is Linked to Happiness | SPSP. Having more free time is more important for happiness than having more money.

The Benefit of Simple Living That No One Talks About | No Sidebar by Erica Layne. A simple life allows the gift of being present.

The Cost of Convenience

The story is often told that Tom Monaghan, the Founder of Domino’s Pizza, once quipped, “We don’t sell pizza. We sell delivery. We offer time to families who are looking for it.”

To be fair, I can find only anecdotal evidence supporting that assertion. However, given the fact that Domino’s Pizza famously worked to shave seconds off its delivery times, the spirit of the quote probably rings true.

Domino’s Pizza, founded in 1960, became perfectly poised to sell a product to the American consumer they were willing to buy: convenience. With the sudden increase of dual-income families, people became more and more willing to pay for the easy dinner solution of a 30-minute pizza delivery. Indeed, within the first 15 years of franchising, the Domino’s Pizza chain had opened over 200 stores nationwide.

Of course, as the speed of our lives has continued to increase, so has the appeal of convenience.

Today, we can purchase household goods from any room in our home with the press of a button, receive shopping deliveries within 30 minutes, and pay for goods with just a tap on our watch.

From food and coffee to auto-care and healthcare, convenience is becoming increasingly, well, convenient. Convenience is no longer merely appreciated among the average consumer, it is demanded in almost every corner of our economy.

But at what expense have we pursued convenience? Consider some of these hidden costs:

Money. At the grocery store, the drive-thru, or the coffee counter, we pay a premium for convenience. In some cases, it costs just a little, but in other cases, convenience can be quite expensive. But convenience costs us in more places than the pocketbook.

Health. Not always, but often times, the purchase of convenience negatively impacts our health. Prepackaged foods are among the fastest-growing segments in grocery sales, with sales growing more than 60 percent in the past year. Unfortunately, many of these meals contain preservatives and contain as much as 57 percent of the recommended daily allowance for salt.

Quality. There are times, of course, when purchases made out of convenience result in a higher quality good or service. But this is not always the case. Starbuck’s coffee may be as good an example as any. Even among those who frequent Starbuck’s regularly, very few would argue they could not make better coffee at home. But what Starbuck’s does offer is convenience (and social status, but that’s for another conversation).

The Environment. From home electronics and kitchen appliances to pre-packaged foods and single-serve coffee pods, our quest for convenience has resulted in increased energy use in packaging and transportation and preparation. It has also resulted in increased waste at an almost alarming rate.

Intentionality. Many times, our mindless pursuit and consumption of all-things convenient robs us of opportunities for mindfulness and intentionality. For example, when I used to load the dishwasher merely out of convenience sake, I missed the opportunity for mindfulness in doing the dishes.

Perseverance. Often times, the greatest lessons we learn in life are born from inconvenience (or pain and suffering). In fact, numerous scientific studies have proven the same thing. But among a society where convenience and comfort are pursued above everything else, the opportunity to develop perseverance becomes less and less frequent.

Overconsumption. One of the reasons for the high levels of consumption in our society today is that goods have become increasingly cheaper to produce and purchase. But another reason for the high level of consumerism in our world is the ease of availability for these same items. When shopping becomes convenient, so does consumption. And with strip malls, convenience stores, and fast food restaurants on the corner of every major thoroughfare (not to mention, the availability of online shopping), we are constantly presented with convenient opportunities to buy more than we need.

I should be very clear on this: There are times when convenience is absolutely worth the price. One might even argue our entire system based on the division of labor was born out of convenience—it is easier for me to pay somebody to grow the food and sew the clothing and build the shelter than for me to do it all by myself.

However, if your lifestyle is being compromised in any of the areas above (i.e. finances, health, intentionality, or overconsumption), you might want to reevaluate what purchases you are making purely for the sake of convenience. Because maybe the cost has become too great.

Unlock Freedom By Simplifying These 4 Key Areas

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Steve Kamb of Nerd Fitness.

Freedom.

Minimalism.

These are abstract, often subjective words. Up until 6 years ago I didn’t fully grasp how closely they were related.

You see, for a while I was happily collecting stuff: 100+ DVDs (including multiple versions of the same movies!) to make sure my collection was complete, plenty of bookshelves to fit all of the books I acquired (even if I didn’t have time to read them all), and tons of video games and new clothes just in case I needed them.

Many people, like myself for a while, equate freedom with more success, money, and stuff. When we do that, we often add complexity, stress, and obligations in our lives – racing to what we think will give us freedom. We spend more money on more stuff and then need to find more space to fit all that stuff, and the cycle can get out of control.

Eight years ago, things started to shift for me. I dumped my unfulfilling career, sold the majority of my possessions, lowered my overhead, hit “restart,” and simplified my approach to health and time management. And the result has been a whirlwind journey of leveling up my life one day at a time. I’ve been able to do things I never really dreamed possible by simplifying 4 key areas of my life.

If you’ve decided this is the year you’re going to improve your life, here are the areas that had the biggest impact on my journey. Pick one or two to focus on and really start to dig in.

Remember: by removing the unimportant, you will free yourself up for important.

1) Simplify Your Health: Over the past few years, I’ve become healthier and happier than ever by simplifying my workouts and nutrition. I follow the same routine week after week, and just focus on getting stronger with a few key exercises: squats, deadlifts, presses, pull-ups and push ups.

By getting rid of the extraneous exercises that provide minimal value, and focusing on getting really strong with these select exercises, your body gets the stress it needs to adapt and build a strong body (without spending hours and hours in the gym). Less time invested for far greater results.

The same is true with your diet.

Stop obsessively counting calories, weighing food, and loading up your brain with mental clutter. Don’t worry about cleanses and diets and supplements. Instead, stick to a few key rules:

Eat mostly vegetables and some protein with each meal
Minimize sugar (it’s in everything these days).
Don’t consume liquid calories.
Minimize processed food and carbohydrates.

When you build a healthy body, it gives you freedom to stay off medication, spend less on health care, and fewer hours at the doctor or in hospitals, giving you more time to grow with new activities like swing dancing or rock climbing.

2) Free Yourself from Distraction: Like many people, I make my living at my computer. If I can become more productive with my time, I can do better at my job. It’s tough to be free when you struggle to focus thanks to the wonderfully intoxicating pull of useless internet sites. So remove the need to use willpower to save yourself from distraction:

Install Facebook News Feed Eradicator, and remove Facebook from your phone. Twitter and instagram too. Life still goes on.
Install freedom.to on your computer, and block time wasting websites during work hours.
Turn off notifications or uninstall all apps on your phone that cause you to waste time.
Set a timer for 25 minutes and work, followed by 5 minutes of break. Repeat until done.

When you remove clutter, it gives you a chance to do less AND BETTER work.

Pick three big tasks to complete each day that will make the most impact in your business or job. Start the first task, and work on it until it’s complete. Then, do tasks 2, followed by task 3. In other words, stop multitasking.

The unimportant but seemingly urgent tasks will continue to get in the way unless you give yourself permission to cut them from your most productive time at work to focus on the important.

3) Stop Clogging Your Life with Stuff: In 2011 I got rid of most of my possessions and set off a multi-year trip around the world where I lived in 20 different countries. About a month after I began my trip, I threw away half of the things I had packed and brought with me.

I had thought I had already dumped so much of my crap before I left! But I realized even going through that process I packed over double what I truly needed. Shedding possessions like this often work in layers. And much of the time, each new layer we peel grants us flexibility and freedom.

By traveling light and wearing versatile, high quality clothing, I could change plans on a whim and move quickly. On top of that, when you spend less money on things, it frees up your money for experiences.

The same is true now even though I’m settled. Six months ago I decided to relocate to New York City, and two weeks later I had my few possessions loaded into my small car and made it to the Big Apple. Because I had lived below my means for many years, having rented an apartment with a few things rather than owning a big house I didn’t need, I had the freedom to choose my next step.

You may not want to travel the world and live in various countries. You may not want to make a big move anytime soon. But I challenge you to peel back a layer of stuff in your own life, whatever that looks like, and unlock the benefits of removing the excess.

4) Become Free to Grow: We all say we wish we had more time to do a fun or enriching activity, be it learning a musical instrument, learning a language, reading more, painting, taking a class, or exercising. If you’re a parent, your activity might be something that enriches your child’s life as well.

Why don’t many of us follow through on these new, fun and challenging hobbies that help us grow? Because we don’t “have time.” Because we are “busy.” Because we don’t “have the energy” to pursue them after a long day.

We are trapped under the burden of our commitments and the false importance we put on things that don’t matter to us. We’ve bought into the cult of busy – and place more value on that than we do growth.

Start small. Cancel your cable and choose to watch fewer TV shows (or get rid of your TV). Choose to stop reading and watching depressing news articles and stories and know that the world will go on regardless.

Instead, choose deliberately how you spend your time. When you viciously cut things from your life that don’t make you happy or provide value, it gives you the freedom to pursue a hobby that interests you and makes life worth living.

Over the past year, I started taking violin lessons simply because I thought it looked challenging and I love how it sounds. I only started improving when I cleared my free time of more news and clutter and noise and make practice a focal point.

Freedom is out there… answer the call.

Adventure, growth, and happiness are available to us. But most of us bury it by complicating our health, giving into distractions, filling our life with stuff we don’t value, failing to ruthlessly prioritize where we spend our time.

But there’s another way!

When you can deliberately choose to stop spending your resources – time, attention, and money – on the unimportant, it frees up your resources to be spent aggressively on the things that matter.

Again, my challenge to you is to pick 1 or 2 of these areas to start, and make tweaks today to simplify that aspect of your life.

Here’s to an amazing (and more simple) 2016!

***

Steve Kamb is the author of Level Up Your Life, a step-by-step blueprint for life that teaches you to eliminate the unimportant and start prioritizing growth, adventure, and happiness.

Inspiring Simplicity. Weekend Reads.

Fill your life with stories to tell, not stuff to show.

The simplicity/minimalism movement is a beautiful community. It is friendly, encouraging, and helpful. There is a genuine understanding that any promotion of simplicity is good for society—and there is little concern over who gets the credit.

It is a pleasure to be part of such a wonderful group of people. And I enjoy every opportunity to promote writing that encourages people to live more by owning less.

So fix yourself a nice warm cup of coffee or tea. Find a quiet moment this weekend. And enjoy some encouraging words to inspire more simplicity in your life today.

Why “Minimalism” Should Be Your 2016 Resolution | The Lala by Paige Pope. Minimalism is about finding your own sense of self and focusing on the things your love. It is about creating a lifestyle that is streamlined and focused around only those people and things that enrich you.

I Lived Nowhere and With Nothing For the Past Year – This Is What Happened… | James Altucher by James Altucher. I’ve learned some good things and some bad things.

Shoppers Are Choosing Experiences Over Stuff, And That’s Bad News for Retailers | The Washington Post by Sarah Halzack. Hey look, we’re starting to make a difference.

How Can You Gradually Declutter Your Life? | The Minimalists Podcast (57:37) by Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus. The Minimalists have launched a podcast. And it’s really good.

Uncluttered. If you’re looking for help trying to keep your resolution to declutter, this 12-week course will help you own less, live more, and discover the life you want. Registrations ends on Sunday, January 10.

Uncluttered: Own Less. Live Better.

Today, I am launching a 12-week online course intentionally designed to help you own less, live more, and discover the life you’ve always wanted. It is simply called: Uncluttered.

The course includes videos, interviews, live webinars, practical articles, weekly challenges, accountability, and an engaged community. It is strategically packaged for one purpose: to help you declutter your home and start living a better life. 

If you are drawn to the notion of owning less, but need some extra help getting there, this course is perfect for you. I am confident Uncluttered will provide just the extra motivation you need.

Every Monday, you will receive a video from me, an exclusive interview with one of the brightest minds in the simplicity movement, or written content uniquely prepared for the course. You will receive a weekly challenge to complete. And you will be offered significant opportunities to engage with the community in a private Facebook group and with me during live webinars each month.

The course is divided into four unique parts: 1) Find Your Motivation; 2) Declutter Your Home; 3) Develop New Habits; and 4) Begin Experimenting with Less.

You can find detailed information about the Uncluttered Course content right here: my.becomingminimalist.com

You will find the information on the registration page very helpful. But, before you go, here are some important pricing details:

—The program begins on Monday, January 11. Registration is open for the next 10 days ending on Sunday, January 10.

—The cost for the course is $89.

However… in May, I will offer the course for free to anyone who buys my new book, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own.

This, I presume, prompts a number of questions. I’ll answer a few of them right here:

1. Wait… you said you’re giving away the course for free in May? Yes, well kinda, you will need to pre-order the book when it becomes available in April. The hardcover edition costs $17.99 and the digital version costs $11.99. But other than that, yes, the course will be free.

2. Why would I want to take the course now if it is free in May? That’s a good question, and ultimately, the decision is up to you. But here are a few reasons you might want to take it now:

January is a time of year when people are focused on decluttering and simplifying. If you don’t want to wait until early-May to make these changes in your life, you can get started right away.
The size of the Uncluttered community will be far more intimate this time than when we offer it for free in May.
You’ll be the first to experience the course and your testimonials will be used in future promotions.
I have asked several professional organizers to go through the course and offer insights for future versions. They will be available and active in the community—which I think will be quite valuable to the other participants.
Anybody who takes the course this January will have access to all future webinars—if you didn’t catch something the first time, we’re here to make sure you don’t miss it the second time.

3. Why isn’t the course always free? There are actually a number of reasons why this is the case. First of all, the creation of the course required a significant investment, both financially and personally. I do have significant expenses to recover and continued expenses still to be incurred (customer service, for example).

But more than that, one of the central elements of the course is accountability and community. The Uncluttered Course is designed for people who want to declutter their home, but need some extra help: more accountability, more community, and more opportunity to ask questions. For this to happen, I need a group of participants who are fully committed to the process. The $89 cost is not extravagant, but we believe it is enough to help limit participation to those who want to be fully engaged.

4. What happens to the course after May? After May, the cost of the course will return to $89 and we will offer it every 4 months as long as people desire to be involved with it.

5. Is the course different than your book? The More of Less, available this Spring, provides everything somebody needs to declutter their home and begin pursuing a minimalist life. It is the most comprehensive book on the subject I have ever written. It offers both motivation and practical guidance—I’m really quite proud of it. However, when it comes to removing unneeded possessions, there are a great number of people who desire more than a book can provide. A book, on its own, cannot provide community, accountability, or an opportunity to ask specific questions. That is what makes the course different from the book.

Again, Uncluttered is a 12-week online course with videos, interviews, webinars, articles, weekly challenges, accountability, and community.

It is strategically packaged for one purpose: To help you unclutter your home, own less stuff, and find space to live the life you want.

If you are interested in joining us for the next 3 months, visit My Becoming Minimalist for more information about the course and an opportunity to register. Make this the year you finally discover the home and life you’ve wanted.

Becoming Minimalist Top Posts of 2015

A special thanks to each of you for making 2015 an incredible year at Becoming Minimalist. This website continues to grow each month beyond my wildest expectations—in fact, this year represents the 7th consecutive year of consistent growth. As before, this growth has occurred entirely from the support of readers like you—there is no advertising involved.

Thank you for sharing this website. But even more, thank you for sharing the life-giving message of owning less.

Here are some numeric representations of our growth:

Monthly visitors to Becoming Minimalist have increased to over 1,000,000 visitors/month.
The Facebook group grew from 200,000 to 320,000 followers.
Twitter followers increased from 25,700 to 35,200.
60,000 people currently receive Becoming Minimalist posts via email. You can sign-up here to do the same.
In November, our book  Simplify  was once again #1 in Self-Help on Amazon.

But the most significant successes this past year are not found in numbers:

On November 1, we launched The Hope Effect, non-profit organization designed to improve how the world cares for orphans.
I completed a new book, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own , to introduce the world to minimalism. It will be released on May 03.
And, on January 1, we will be launching a 12-week course called Uncluttered  to help you own less, live more, and find the life you’ve always wanted. To receive updates concerning cost and registration, visit this page.

It has indeed been an incredibly exciting year. The metrics above prove the point. But going beyond the numbers, 2015 marked my second full year of writing and speaking full-time on the topic of minimalism. This message is important and the opportunity is great. I am grateful to be a small part of it.

In case you missed any, here are some of the top posts on Becoming Minimalist from 2015.

Most Popular Posts from 2015 (as determined by readers):

21 Surprising Statistics That Reveal How Much Stuff We Actually Own. Increasing data is being collected about our homes, our shopping habits, and our spending. The research is confirming our observation: we own too much stuff. And it is robbing us of life.

8 Reasons Successful People Are Choosing to Wear the Same Thing Every Day. Those who adopt minimalist principles in their wardrobe choices are discovering more productivity, less stress, less distraction, less expense, and more peace. Maybe it is time you gave it a try.

7 Things That Shouldn’t Impress Us Anymore. Let’s stop trying to impress others with the things that we own. And start trying to inspire them by the lives that we live.

How to Slow Down Your Family’s Schedule. Wise parents take their role seriously. They seek to develop talents, skills, and self-sufficiency in their children. However, they realize this does not occur best within the confines of a cluttered schedule. Busy is not the same as productive.

9 Important Strategies for Raising Children in a World of Technology. The decisions we make for our kids concerning technology are important—but entirely without context.

My Personal Favorite Posts from the past year:

We Are Wealthy. And Why It Matters. We are already wealthy. And this should change entirely the way we live our lives.

Your Predisposition is Not Your Future. Your predisposition is not your future. Your future is what you choose to become.

Owning Less is Great. Wanting Less is Better. Because I don’t want to own more than I already have, I am freed from the constant comparing of my stuff to others. I am no longer bound to the incessant pursuit of more money and more stuff. I have found contentment in the things that I own. I have discovered more room for generosity. And I have begun to bend my pursuits towards things that matter.

A New, Minimalist Economy. Can minimalism and a thriving economy co-exist? I believe they can.

Most Popular Guest Posts in 2014:

Let Go of These 10 Items to Jumpstart Decluttering by Courtney Carver. Letting go of these items will lighten things up and encourage more decluttering, simplicity, and freedom. Once they are gone, celebrate your progress and dig back in.

Fewer Things. More Peace by Sarah Mae. The less we have, the less overwhelmed we feel. And the less overwhelmed we feel, the happier we are.

6 Lies that Keep Our Homes and Lives Cluttered by Rachel Jones. If you need to buy more stuff to organize all your stuff, maybe you own too much stuff.

Most Popular Outgoing Links from the past year:

Why I Got Rid of My Wardrobe | Dallas Moms Blog by Denaye Barahona. What did I have to lose?

The Real Cost of Your Shopping Habits | Forbes by Emma Johnson. The road to bankruptcy is paved with good deals.

The Purpose of Living Simple | No Sidebar by Melissa Camara Wilkins. Making a difference in your life and your world sometimes means that you have to make a different choice than the people around you. But making your own best choices now means you benefit in the days to come.

8 Things That Make You Happier: Backed by Research | TIME by Erik Barker. Wouldn’t you love a real list of things that make you happier? Here’s what scientific research says will work.

Whether you have been reading Becoming Minimalist for one week, one month, one year or longer, thank you so much. This blog owes its success to the support of its readers. Thank you for reading. And thank you for sharing these posts with others.

We look forward to an exciting 2016. Last year represented one of my most ambitious year ever—and now, I look forward to seeing each of those dreams become reality.

Uncluttered will be launched January 1 and The More of Less will be released in May. Both, I believe, hold significant opportunity to help you (and others) own less stuff and live more life.

No doubt, in the coming year, Becoming Minimalist will continue to evolve and be redefined. But it will always stay true to its core message that there is more joy to be found in owning less than can be found in pursuing more.

We will continue to invite as many as possible to discover this truth in their lives. And I hope you will join us.