Joshua Becker's Blog, page 131

Weekend Reads

There are many wonderful people online pursuing and promoting simplicity. When you find some time this weekend with a nice cup of coffee or tea, may you find inspiration in their words as they encourage others to find more life by owning fewer possessions:

Is Busy-ness a Drug? | Storyline by Shauna Niequist. The busy-ness is a drug to keep me numb and a defense to keep me safe. And it works. But numb and safe aren’t key words for the life I want to live.

7 Reasons You Struggle with Happiness | Marc and Angel Hack Life by Angel. Before your level of contentment can improve, your choices and actions must improve.

The Future of Advertising | Mnmlist by Leo Babauta. One of the biggest reasons people buy so much, and are so discontent with their lives, is advertising.

Minimalism–The Process is the Destination | The Other Side of Complexity by Mike Burns. Minimalism, as a concept, doesn’t really focus on the “where?” question. It focuses on the “how?”. You decide what’s most important in your life.

Image: Angelo González

Simple Living Ebook Bundle Sale

In July 2010, we released an ebook titled Inside-Out Simplicity: Life Changing Keys to Your Most Important Relationships. The book was written in response to the emotion and challenge that was taking place in my heart during our journey towards minimalism. As a result, it is book that goes beyond external fixes to our complicated lives… it begs us to journey inward. It is based on the truth that a simplified life begins in a person’s soul and will help the reader find an inside-out simplicity by focusing on life-changing principles in their most important relationships.

At the time, the book sold only in .pdf format. Eventually, it was converted to the Kindle and Nook. Currently, the title sells for $2.99 in both marketplaces.

But for this week only, I am pleased to include it in an Ebook Bundle of the Week Sale. I will be teaming up with some of my favorite bloggers to offer the .pdf version of Inside-Out Simplicity as part of their simple living focus. The sale consists of 5 wonderful resources from 5 different authors packaged together and sold for only $7.40.

I’m really quite pleased to be part of it and offer the sale to the Becoming Minimalist community. I think many of you will benefit from it. Additionally, the sale provides a valuable opportunity for me to introduce Inside-Out Simplicity to a much broader audience.

Where Can I Find the Sale?

You can find out more here: New Year’s Ebook Bundle Sale.

What Books are Included?

Here are the 5 books contained in the sale:

Inside-Out Simplicity | Joshua Becker, Becoming Minimalist. Living simply starts on the inside, and in Inside-Out Simplicity, Joshua shares how healthy relationships—starting with ourselves—are essential to a simplified life. You’ll discover how to live intentionally by embracing contentment, gratitude, and humility and making generosity, kindness, service, and forgiveness a hallmark of all of your relationships.

ClutterFree | Courtney Carver and Leo Babauta. With the tools in ClutterFree, you’ll learn how to eliminate the clutter and create more time and space in your home and life. Leo and Courtney walk you through understanding why we have clutter, learning how to get rid of it and enjoying a clutter-free life.

25 Intentional Days | AndHeDrew, AndHeDrew. Laid out in an easy-to-follow format, 25 Intentional Days will take you step by step through setting effective long-term and short-term goals, finding time you didn’t know you had, tracking your progress and creating the life you’ve always dreamed of.

Simple Ways to Be More with Less | Courtney Carver, Be More with Less. In Simple Ways to Be More with Less, Courtney shows you how to simplify your life and live each day more purposefully. This book will challenge you, brighten your day, and if you let it, change your world.

Flying by the Seat of My Soul | Tess Marshall, The Bold Life. Through personal stories, profound lessons, uplifting quotes and stories of others, Tess inspires you to live more passionately and pursue your heart’s desire with more conviction. Flying By The Seat Of My Soul will empower you to move toward inner change, let go of the past, follow your dreams and fly!

If you have interest in reading any of the preceding books, you can purchase them individually by clicking through above. Or, through the weekend, you can purchase them all for $7.40. Not a bad deal if you ask me.

Maybe The Only Thing We Really Need is More Gratitude

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.” – Cicero

It is discontent that opens up our heart to many of the unhealthy habits in our lives.

Materialism is, after all, the natural behavior born out of discontent with the possessions that we own. We live in a society that breeds discontent by defining the American Dream as owning bigger homes, nicer cars, and fuller closets. Advertisers foster this sense of dissatisfaction by promising greater happiness with their products. And too often, we foolishly fall into their trap without realizing it.

But there are other unhealthy habits in our lives born out of discontent. For example, dishonesty is born out of discontent with the truth. Greed is born out of discontent with our current supply. Substance abuse is born out of displeasure with the current state of our lives. Even many of the feuds in our families are born out of discontent with our closest relationships.

If discontent is the cause of many of our unhealthy habits, contentment is the cure.

And if contentment is the cure, gratitude is the pathway to it.

Gratitude provides proper understanding of our place in the world. Gratitude is the feeling and expression of thankfulness for the actions of others that are costly to them and beneficial to us. By definition, gratitude requires humility. It requires us to admit we have been the recipient of something we did not deserve. And it calls us to admit there are no entirely self-made men or women.

Gratitude assigns worth to those who rightly deserve it. Whether I am thanking a parent, a spouse, a veteran, a teacher, a policeman, or a mentor who has invested into my life, my response of gratitude to their action gives the praise and worth to those who rightly deserve it.

Gratitude directs attention to what we already have. Gratitude always requires our attention to be focused on the good things we already possess. It calls us to notice our blessings and take greater appreciation of them. As a result, our eyes are turned away from the things that are fostering the discontent in our hearts.

Gratitude improves our overall well-being. Scientific studies over and over again confirm what we already know to be true: Grateful people are happier people. Grateful people routinely report increased well-being, better health, healthier lifestyles, increased optimism, and a more positive outlook on life (source). Additionally, those who display a high level of gratitude are much more likely to have below-average levels of materialism (source).

Gratitude is not a result of our circumstances. I have lived my entire life inside the United States, but have led numerous groups of people to third-world countries. I can attest first-hand that gratitude is not a result of circumstances. I have met grateful people in some of the poorest neighborhoods in our world and I have met grateful people in some of the richest neighborhoods in our country. I have also met ungrateful people in both. Gratitude is a decision and a discipline–not a response.

Gratitude opens the door to contentment. Gratitude helps us better understand our place in the world. It pushes our praise to those who rightly deserve it. It causes us to focus on the good things we already have regardless of our present circumstances. It improves our well-being in almost every regard. As a result, it is the surest pathway to contentment.

And that being the case, maybe more gratitude is the only thing we really need.

A 7-Step Path to Enjoying Work

“We often miss opportunity because it’s dressed in overalls and looks like work.” ― Thomas A. Edison

The average person will spend 20% of their lives at work. This statistic factors in 21 years of preparing for work and 13 years afterwards (retirement). During our actual years of working (ages 21-67), this percentage goes up to 25-30% based on a typical 40-45 hour/week. Subtracting sleep, on average, we spend 33% of our waking hours working. You can find more details on these statistics here. But don’t worry too much about the method of statistical computation. They tell us what we already know:

We spend a significant amount of our life working. It is a large piece of our life. And it is important to think thoughtfully and intentionally about it.

I have known countless people who are happy with their work. They find meaning, significance, and joy in it. Additionally, I have met many people who are unhappy with their work and choose to spend an additional percentage of their life complaining about it. Interestingly enough, these differences in attitudes have little to do with the actual work being done—in fact, two people in the same field can have completely different responses to the same job.

This is helpful because it means enjoying work has less to do with your actual job and more to do with your attitude towards it. And changing our attitude towards work is often far easier than changing jobs. It also means that, with only a few exceptions, you can be happy in your work today. You can find joy and fulfillment in it. And sometimes, this can come with a simple change in thinking.

A 7-Step Path to Enjoying Work
1. Realize you were designed to work.

Whether by creation or evolution, humans are designed to work. This is an important part of our nature. It explains our drive to grow as individuals and as a society. It explains the internal satisfaction we experience when completing a task. It makes sense of the positive emotions we experience when resting after a hard day of work. And it may help us understand why some studies indicate early retirement has an adverse impact on physical and mental health.

The realization that we are designed to work is an important first step in finding fulfillment in it–even though “work” looks different for each of us. If we are designed to accomplish work, it is not something to be avoided. Instead, it is something to be sought, welcomed, and enjoyed.

2. Understand work takes place in an imperfect world.

Our world is imperfect because we exist in a universe full of people who often fall short. Though we each have an ingrained desire to accomplish good for the sake of others, in reality, we often function with selfish desires and intentions. These imperfections always lead to less-than-ideal working conditions. As a result, work includes overbearing bosses, deadlines, stress, under-resourced projects, tasks we do not enjoy, and often, anxiety.

The realization that these imperfections are always going to be present in our workplace allows us to accept them and move forward. Now just to be clear, this present reality does not mean we don’t fight for equality and justice when appropriate. But it does mean we can stop looking for joy in the perfect work environment because it doesn’t exist. And it opens the door to finding joy in our existing one.

3. Use work to make money to supply provisions for myself and my family.

In its simplest definition, work is a bartering tool. We work our jobs in exchange for money. This money is then given to another in exchange for growing food, producing clothing, building shelter, or discovering new medicine to keep us healthy. Because of work, we are freed to spend our days doing what we love and are good at. In exchange, we receive goods (money) to trade with someone else who used their giftedness to create something different than us.

This is the goal of work. This is also the prescribed means of providing for those who are dependent upon us. Looking for shortcuts (lottery, dishonest gain, unnecessary dependence on others) to supply provisions is often a foolish direction for life.

4. Notice how your work contributes to the common good.

If the goal of our work is to contribute good to society in exchange for provision, then our work ought to benefit society. We should spend 40-45+ hours/week producing a benefit for others. We should grow healthy food, produce quality clothing, intentionally parent children, create beautiful art, build strong shelter, develop new life-enhancing technology, research medicine to prolong life, educate others, govern society honestly, or any other countless opportunities to contribute to the common good of our neighbor and our society.

This step results in 1 of 2 possible outcomes: First, it forces us to view work differently. It allows us to wake up on Monday morning with a positive attitude and opens up the door to finding new joy in our role. We are not solely working for the Net Income box on our paycheck…  we are working to benefit society. Or second, this truth forces us to find new work. If, for whatever reason, we do not believe our job is contributing good to society, we must find a new one. No dollar amount can ever equal the satisfaction and joy experienced in contributing good to the world around us—for this is the purpose of work.

5. Work ethically.

Work done ethically and honestly with proper balance will always result in more enjoyment than the alternative. These same principles of life hold true to every aspect—including the 20% we spent working.

6. Humbly and proudly accept honest compensation.

We each have skills and talents this world needs. There are other people willing to compensate us in exchange for them. Therefore, we ought to work hard at proudly developing our craft and humbly learning as much as we can from others who have gone before. It is also wise to discipline ourselves around the improvement of these skills and talents. The greater we develop them, the greater worth we are to others. And the greater worth we are to others, the more honest compensation we should receive for providing them.

7. Remove the pursuit of riches.

While honest compensation should always be sought with both humility and pride, the pursuit of riches and wealth as an end goal is always a losing battle. Riches will never fully satisfy… we will always be left searching for more. People who view their work as only a means to get rich often fall into temptation, harmful behavior, and foolish desires.

The intentional understanding of steps 6 and 7 provide great freedom for us to enjoy work on a whole new level. When we replace the desire to get rich with a more life-fulfilling desire to receive honest compensation, we open our hearts to find peace in our paychecks and greater value in our work.

Indeed, may each of us find greater value and fulfillment in our work. And in so doing, may we increase joy in this important (and essential) aspect of our lives.

Image: Vince Alongi

Weekend Reads

Thank you so much for being part of the Becoming Minimalist community. I trust you are enjoying April. Hopefully, for those of you looking forward to warmer temperatures, the long winter is finally coming to an end.

If you find opportunity this weekend, grab a warm cup of coffee or tea and a few minutes by yourself. I think you will find the following articles to be both inspiring and thought-provoking. Ultimately, may the words call us to simplicity and encourage us to find more life by owning fewer possessions.

Stop Instagramming Your Perfect Life | Relevant Magazine by Shauna Niequist. Everyone’s life looks better on the internet than it does in real life. The Internet is partial truths—we get to decide what people see.

Comparison – It’s a Losing Game | Slow Your Home by Brooke McAlary. Comparisons are a dangerous way to view yourself in the world, because inevitably, you will lose.

Introducing Reduce Month | 100 Thing Challenge by Dave Bruno. Join with others the world over and do some intentional reducing this month. Then, spread the word.

Minimalism For Me. And Minimalism For You. | New Nostalgia by Joshua Becker. An article I wrote defining minimalism in our context… and yours.

Is Giving the Secret to Getting Ahead? | New York Times by Susan Dominus. Helping is not the enemy of productivity, a time-sapping diversion from the actual work at hand; it is the mother lode, the motivator that spurs increased productivity and creativity.

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If you live in the Phoenix, AZ area, I have two wonderful speaking opportunities this month and invite you to join me.

_ Sunday, April 14 _ Journey Church _ Life Grows Out of Gratitude. As part of Journey Church’s Sunday morning worship services, I will be speaking on the topic of gratitude. Gratitude is a discipline I have come to appreciate more and more over the past number of years in my life. It is a topic I write about often and should be considered a recurring theme on this site. It will be a pleasure to present it to a brand-new audience. The 30-35 minute presentation is open to the public. Information available here.

_ Friday, April 26 _ Ignite Phoenix _ The Life-Giving Pursuit of Minimalism. I am excited to be on the Ignite Phoenix presentation list for their next event on April 26 at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. 18 presenters will be speaking for 5 minutes each on subjects close to their heart. The evening will include passionate communicators covering topics ranging from aliens and Nascar to divorce and minimalism. Tickets are $15 and go on sale Saturday, April 06 at 10:00MST. They will sell out quickly so get yours right away. I’d love to see your smiling face in the audience.

Image: DaveFayram

15 Ways Technology Can Clear Clutter

Technology, whether you like it or not, is here to stay. Unfortunately, technology can be tough. It takes time and effort to understand. It can get expensive. We can spend as much time investing into technology as we actually save from using it. And without intentionality, the endless pursuit of the latest and greatest gadgets can be a fruitless endeavor.

On the other hand, technology offers countless benefits: the ability to stay connected, the ability to communicate to a far broader audience, the ability to solve complex problems, the ability to save time, and the ability to clear some physical clutter from our lives.

For those of us who hate physical clutter, consider these 15 ways that technology can help clear clutter from our homes:

1. Photos.

While many of us enjoy our physical photographs arranged in photo albums and scrapbooks, few people have good systems for storing physical photos. Luckily, a simple software program such as Iphoto or Adobe Photoshop Elements not only store your photos digitally where they can never lose quality, but offer a wide range of options for sorting them. Without the right equipment, the process of converting physical photos to digital files can be time-consuming. But, for a fee, services such as ScanDigital will do it for you.

2. CDs.

Even the smallest of MP3 players (8GB) store approximately 1,500 songs in their memory, somewhere around 150 CDs – that’s a lot of shelf space that can be replaced by one device that fits easily in your pocket. And MP3 players can easily be played on any audio system that allows for an auxiliary input.

3. DVDs.

Less and less homes these days are showcasing DVDs. For starters, Blu-Ray players have replaced DVD players in both quality and functionality. But more importantly, companies such as Netflix stream such a large assortment of movies and television shows on demand that keeping all those DVDs on the shelf is no longer necessary. And what about all those movies that you’ve already purchased on DVD? DVD-Burning software (such as Handbrake) quickly eliminates any reason to keep the physical DVDs cluttering up your living room.

4. Contacts / Address Books.

The contact information of business associates, extended family, and old friends used to fill address books, rolodexes, and the margins of phone books. But this is no longer the case. Every computer today provides opportunity to digitally store the information of even your most-obscure acquaintance.

5. Yellow Pages / White Pages.

Depending on the community you live in, those Yellow Pages may be taking up far more space than you prefer. But yellowpages.com contains all the same information… providing an invaluable opportunity to clear up some space in your junk drawer.

6. Maps.

Maps come in a variety of forms: atlas, fold-up, handwritten directions. Today, GPS devices come standard on almost all smart-phones (Iphone, Blackberry, etc.) and even some vehicles. For those of you who don’t use a Smartphone, a simple GPS device can still replace all those maps taking up space in your glove compartment.

7. Cookbooks.

Cookbooks may be among the hardest hit by the recent explosion of free websites and ebooks. The number of photographs in physical cookbooks is severely limited by price, size, and opportunity. But online, recipes are not limited by the same restrictions. As a result, not only can countless photographs be used to guide the rookie chef through the cooking process, but limitless videos can also be used to answer any questions. An entire shelf of cookbooks in your kitchen can quickly be replaced by a few keystrokes on your computer.

8. Books.

Ebook readers (Kindle/Nook) have exploded in popularity and digital books now outsell physical books on Amazon. While reading books on a screen may never replace the actual experience of flipping pages in your world, it certainly provides a golden opportunity to lower your monthly book budget and conserve space on your bookshelf for only the books you desperately need to keep.

9. Newspapers/Magazines.

EBook readers offer newspaper and magazine subscriptions (Kindle subscriptions/iPad subscriptions) to some of the most popular industry journals. This means, of course, fewer periodicals cluttering up your home or office… and more trees standing in the forest.

10. Sticky-Notes.

Ever wish someone would create a product that could replace all those sticky-notes and scratch pieces of paper laying around your home and office? So did the creators of Evernote. And while it may take a bit of effort to figure out how to use, it’s certainly not more effort that sorting through a stack of yellow-sticky notes every time you need to find a note.

11. Cameras (Still/Video).

With the ever-increasing quality of cell-phone cameras, the need to carry a simple point-and-shoot camera is far less important today than it was even 1-2 years ago. Skilled photographers will still use their advanced equipment to capture photos far better than cell phone photographers. But for those of us who just want to be able to capture life’s unpredictable moments in the blink-of-an-eye, the camera lens on most cell phones does the trick.

12. Cable TV.

There are new products entering the marketplace nearly every month that make cutting the cable in your home that much easier. Products such as Netflix, Apple TV, and Google TV are offering more and more television programs than ever before. And while dropping Cable TV from your home may not clear much physical clutter, the savings of $50-60+/month will certainly clear up some space in your checkbook.

13. Landline Phone.

With more and more people choosing to rely exclusively on cell phones, only 49% of American households use a landline phone (that is down from 97% in 2001). People all over the world are making the switch from landline to cell-phone coverage only. After all, why send money to two different phone companies when you can only talk on one at a time?

14. Computer Data Storage.

Computer workstations and office drawers used to be home to floppy disks… 3.5in disks… CDs… and external hard drives – all for the purpose of storing more and more data. But now, office drawers are beginning to empty again as more and more people choose to store their data in the cloud using free services such as Dropbox. Not only does Dropbox keep data safe from fire and flood, it stores it in a place accessible from anywhere.

15. Calendars.

Oh sure, nothing may ever fully replace the family calendar posted on the inside of your pantry closet door, but the Calendar functions and the syncing abilities across platforms (desktop computers, cell phones, and online) of computer devices sure helps the digital storage of your appointments give that old calendar a good run for its money.

Now I know full-well that the use of technology is a personal decision. Some people will never replace their physical books, magazine subscriptions, or favorite cookbooks. People lived their lives free from clutter for thousands of years without the technology available to us today.

But with the recent advancements in both the functionality and intuitiveness of technology there are very real opportunities available to us to clear physical clutter by using it. And if that’s the case, I’m in!

Minimalism, Business, and the Butterfly Effect

Editor’s Note: The following is a guest post by Johnathan Schultz. Along with his wife Dana, he blogs at Minimalist Baker.

Have you ever heard of Butterfly Effect theory? The general idea is that one small change in the present state can result in a massive difference in a later state – that the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil could set off a tornado in Texas. Or that for me, choosing minimalism would eventually lead to starting my own business.

My Journey

For most of my life, I have hated the idea of having too much stuff. I don’t like clutter and I find something perpetually appetizing about simplicity. Yet, that never seemed to stop me from spending many seasons of life acquiring too much. Inevitably, I would end up purging the majority of it months later.

It was like I was fighting a current but I did not even know how I fell in the river. Slowly, I began to realize I needed to start making some intentional changes in my life to avoid the misery of existing in a path I had unintentionally chosen.

So, I began purposefully removing possessions from my life. I started with items such as clothing, “junk drawer” items, and books. Eventually, I sold or gave away even my most sentimental possessions.

Similar to the idea behind the Butterfly Effect, the fog started to clear. I found the vigor to start swinging again. My purpose continued to refine itself. And I started to realize that providing for myself was much more possible if I didn’t have to worry about all the unnecessary junk in my life.

Slowly, I started to pursue other endeavors, one being Minimalist Baker with my wife, Dana. She creates amazing food photography, and I just kind of help. However, it is a business we started together and it is becoming something great.

The Butterfly Effect

Looking back, I can see how minimalism served as an unparalleled springboard for starting a business. Through my journey into minimalism, I have grasped onto six key principles that have empowered me to start a business.

1. Contentedness. Once I was OK with just being who I am and not being defined by material possessions, I found incredible security and boldness in moving forward. It seems counter-intuitive, but just working hard would have probably led to a different and personally unsatisfying definition of “success.” I realized that my most basic existence is really comprised of 2 things: food and shelter. If I start a business, I really only need to make enough for those two things. I will admit, however, that I certainly have more luxuries than I deserve. But I know I don’t need a lot. Rather, my goal in being content is to just be thankful for my daily bread.

2. Clarity. As I started to remove the material possessions from my life and cut back on outside commitments, everything else became incrementally clearer. Sometimes this meant I would recognize clutter I hadn’t seen before. Other times this meant it was a bit easier to see what the heck it was I wanted to do with my life. Once I decide to do more of what is meaningful to me, I stop wasting time on things that are unimportant. This vision intensifies and grows as my willingness to chase it increases.

3. Risk. Risk is embedded in starting a business. Minimalism has made me more confident in myself and willing to see risk as a natural part of life. When starting a business, you have to be willing to put yourself out there, be told you are ridiculous, and keep pushing forward. The boldness found in contentedness and clarity make risk much more manageable.

4. Time. Minimalism gave me the freedom to start hustling for what matters. Hustle, as Jon Acuff describes in his book Quitter, is doing “more of the things you love and less of the things you like.” I still hang out with friends and want to invest in my community, but I don’t do things that don’t add value to my life or to others.

5. Money. While I could talk about this all day, I’ll instead list four ways minimalism gave me more money to pursue what I am doing. 1) I sold unnecessary possessions to invest in my business. 2) I spend less money maintaining possessions. 3) I live on very little and ease the burden off our business to provide an income. 4) I have more freedom to take risk and fail at a project.

6. Creativity. I think a combination of all the prior points resulted in a new ambition to explore. Something special happens when I don’t have distractions, somewhere to be, or any set schedule. It is the blank canvas of life. Once I had the clarity and freedom to dream, I started to do just that.

Starting a Business

Most recently, my wife and I designed a food photography e-course. I’m certain the idea for such a project wouldn’t have even been contemplated had we not been so intentional about pursuing our dreams or if we had to worry about getting another job just to make ends meet. Continually finding ways to invest in our business instead of unnecessary possessions led to a new opportunity and a dream realized.

The simple act of actively purging my life of the unnecessary led to the next step in my path. As I cleaned out my closet, I would find I had a bit more time in the morning because I wasn’t wasting time deciding what to wear. After selling some unnecessary furniture, I realized I could set up a little home photography area for my wife. The lessened social commitments led to more walks with my wife where we developed the idea for an e-course. One step at a time, thanks to an intentional decision to get rid of things that didn’t matter, my decisions led to an incredible business investment.

I will not suggest that this is the best route for every entrepreneur, but it has been an incredibly powerful one for me. I have also witnessed similar successes of other online entrepreneurs after they downsized and focused on starting something incredible. (See Joshua Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus, Leo Babauta, Tammy Strobel, Colin Wright, and Tyler Tervooren). Slowly, I am adding myself to the list and I couldn’t be more thrilled.

***

Jonathan Schultz blogs at Minimalist Baker. They have recently released a new Food Photography E-course. If you are interested in food and/or photography, you’ll enjoy checking it out. You can also follow him on Twitter.

Finding Beauty in New Art

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” ― Pablo Picasso

Earlier this month, I was downtown Austin, Texas after spending a weekend at SXSW. Our panel presented on Monday, but my flight was scheduled for Tuesday. The timing provided plenty of opportunity to explore new experiences. I decided to go see the SXSW Film Festival premiere of The Retrieval by Director/Screenwriter, Chris Eska.

The film was set on the outskirts of the Civil War. And the story centers on a young boy who is sent north by a bounty hunter gang to retrieve a wanted man. The story was captivating, fascinating, and timeless. I enjoyed being thoroughly drawn into it.

As a writer, I found even more delight in the Q&A session with the writer/director following the film. Hearing how the story came together in his mind brought such wonder to me. He discussed the moment when the idea was conceived, his decision to set the story during the Civil War, the debate about which ending to use, and what he referred to as “the most beautiful portrayal of true love he could imagine.” Hearing the artist recount the creation of the story and the production of it on a limited budget brought with it greater appreciation for both the story and the art of film.

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Last week, I sat next to John Bucher in a hotel meeting room in St. Louis. The afternoon before, John had shared with me a copy of his group’s new graphic novel, The High Cost of Happily Ever After written by Jim Krueger containing the artwork of Zach Brunner.

I had read a few comic books when I was a kid, but never did get into the hobby. In fact, I hadn’t picked up a comic book in over 20 years. I was even a bit hesitant to have one handed to me. But I’m a big fan of John and committed to reading it. Again, upon entering the story, I was drawn into its representation of commitment, love, and sacrifice. I found it to be a fairy tale for people who no longer believe in them (and for those who do).

The following day, I asked John to further explain to me the art form of graphic novels and comic books. He helped me understand the choice of poetry, dialogue, and specific words that were employed. He explained the use of 6-panel pages and 1-panel pages and the different emotions they hoped to stir through them. We talked risk, reward, and art. And I began to appreciate for the first time the beauty and intentionality of telling stories through this incredibly impressive form of art.

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Last December, the New York Times published an interview with Jerry Seinfeld on the art of writing jokes. The specific joke he recounts writing is a story about discovering pop-tarts as a breakfast food… and as he admits, two years is a long time to spend writing a joke about breakfast food.

But I found his process of writing and fine-tuning the joke to be nothing short of true artistic genius. In the interview, Jerry discusses writing out the joke longhand with a pen and legal-sized paper. He discusses the strategy of set-up, timing, and laugh lines. At one point, he even recounts limiting the number of syllables in a transition so he can get to a punch-line quicker. It was fascinating to watch the creative process take place. Throughout the interview, I began to appreciate even more the art of stand-up comedy and the joy it can bring to our world. People, do indeed, love to laugh.

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Looking back, I am thankful to have enjoyed three specific, unrelated conversations that have introduced me in greater detail to new forms of art. Through each of them, I have been reminded there is great beauty and appreciation still to be discovered in our world. And sometimes, the quickest way to find it, is to open our mind, heart, and soul to new expressions of art.

Image: Greencolander

Weekend Reads

The simple living/minimalist community is among the most encouraging, friendly, and gracious online. We believe strongly in our message that there is more life to be found in owning less than can be found in owning more. As a result, we find great joy in promoting others who are finding their voice in the niche. Thank you so much for being a part of it.

If you find opportunity this weekend, grab a cup of coffee and enjoy a few of these encouraging links below. The articles are short. And I hope you enjoy their thoughts as much as I did.

Pick One | First Today, Then Tomorrow by Randy Murray. You alone are responsible for limiting your options.

7 Reasons to Power Down Technology | The Unitive by Joshua Becker. A post I contributed on the intersection of technology, mindfulness, and faith.

Sometimes, More is Not What You Want | Seth’s Blog by Seth Godin. A helpful reminder that more is not always better in business or in life.

Minimizing My Life | The Undeniable Ruth by Ruth Carter. I know that I think more clearly and I feel more focused when my space is less cluttered. I get more work done in less time when I have fewer distractions.

Image: Extrudedaluminiu

On Perseverance

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” ― Thomas A. Edison

On a personal note, I’m playing crummy tennis these days. And by crummy tennis, I mean really crummy tennis. In fact, I am 0-5 in our neighborhood Men’s Singles Tennis League—the exact same league I won last fall! In fact, not long ago, I was actually losing so badly to a fellow competitor I was tempted to quit. But then, I remembered that my 6-year old daughter is struggling to learn how to tell time in school… and I decided that I had to persevere.

You see, my kids are important to me. As a result, I work hard and intentionally to help them develop important like skills. By important life skills, I don’t just mean reading, writing, and arithmetic, I also mean kindness, humility, responsibility, discipline, and perseverance. And perseverance is one we’ve been working on for quite some time.

My daughter has a tendency to get frustrated when she doesn’t get something right the first time. This is, of course, not unusual. But when the frustration too quickly escalates to resignation, I often step in and encourage her to persevere.

I understand that life can be very difficult at times. I realize many of the most important concepts she will learn in school and life will take time and effort. I have come to understand that nobody gets life right the first time. And in those moments, perseverance is an essential life discipline to draw upon. We will never reach our full potential until we learn to push through the frustration… no matter how difficult our circumstances may be.

Of course, the very nature of perseverance requires that we face trials in life. We can not learn perseverance without experiencing difficulty. This often makes it a painful skill to learn. But also, one of the most rewarding.

People who become the most in life have learned the skill of perseverance. They are the ones who refuse to give in regardless of the score… or the current trial they are facing.

My dear friend, today, persevere.

Image: matthewthecoolguy