Joshua Becker's Blog, page 35

Every Child Deserves a Family

Last month, I released my latest book, Things That Matter.

Minimalism, to me, has always been about living a focused, meaningful life—one that accomplishes the most good for the greatest number of people. Things That Matter is about living well and pursuing a life dedicated to meaningful pursuits—and allowing that pursuit to take you on journeys to places you never imagined.

For example, I never aspired to start a nonprofit organization. But living with intentionality and removing distractions allowed me to discover a need I could help address. A problem I could help solve.

I was able to focus on things that matter—like helping orphaned and vulnerable children around the world find the love of a family.

The Hope Effect

In 2016, with incredible support from the Becoming Minimalist community, we launched a nonprofit organization called The Hope Effect.

The mission of The Hope Effect is to change the way the world cares for orphans.

Millions of children around the world are growing up without parents. In many developing countries, orphans are raised in institutions—orphanages with a lot of children and a rotating staff of employees (exactly what most people think of when you hear the work orphanage).

Unfortunately, institutional care has damaging long-term effects on children and we’ve known that for decades. When children grow up in orphanages, they don’t receive the love, support and personal attention found within the family structure.

As a result, children’s physical, emotional, and psychological development are stunted and learning abilities are delayed or lost. Many children age out of orphanages only to face a future of crime, prostitution, or trafficking.

The studies are clear. Children do best when they are raised in families. 

That’s why The Hope Effect is working to change the way the world cares for orphans by providing loving family-style care around the world. We believe every child deserves a family.

Currently, we’re pioneering and expanding innovative family-style orphan care around the globe in several locations in Mexico, Honduras, and Thailand. Children are receiving the love, care, and individual attention they need in a stable, supportive family.

Through the love of a family, children like Luisa* have hope for a brighter future.

Luisa’s Story

Like many orphaned and vulnerable children, Luisa experienced tragedy and loss at a young age. Her mother passed away during childbirth, and Luisa went to live with her aunt in Sonora, Mexico.

Unfortunately, her aunt’s home was not a safe environment. Luisa was neglected and abandoned. She was found wandering the streets, alone and afraid.

The Sonoran government placed Luisa in an orphanage. While the orphanage was certainly safer than the streets of Mexico, as you can probably imagine, it was not equipped to help Luisa heal from the trauma of her past or learn what it means to be part of a family.

Thankfully, Luisa did not remain in the orphanage for long. Our team in Sonora was able to place Luisa in family-style care. There, she began to thrive. Luisa became more playful and talkative as she began to trust and bond with her foster family. She knew she was safe and loved.

Take a look at how this beautiful little girl’s life was changed:

Give Hope For One Dollar A Day

Incredibly, just one dollar a day is all it takes to help a child like Luisa find a family. To get a child out of an orphanage and into loving family-style care. To give a child hope for the future.

May is National Foster Care Month, and I’d be honored if you would partner with us in this important work by joining our Dollar A Day Team. Your support will change the lives of children around the world.

Additionally, in honor of National Foster Care Month, one of our generous supporters is matching the donations of the first 50 people who join the team… for the entire first year!

The Hope Effect is a 501(c)(3) organization, so your donation is tax-deductible within the U.S. And because we know you want your donation to be used for the reason it was given, you can choose to direct 100% of your gift for orphan care work. Every dollar you give will be used directly to help orphaned children find loving families.

Thank you so much for supporting the mission and passion of The Hope Effect over the years. You are changing so many lives. Together, we are changing the way the world cares for orphans.

*The child’s name has been changed to protect her privacy.

The Greatest Conversation Advice I Ever Received

In college, I had dinner with a friend named Donnie. He wasn’t much older than me but was certainly more mature — although that wasn’t particularly difficult at the time :)

I looked up to him in quite a few ways. But one thing that impressed me, maybe above everything else, was his ability to engage in conversation wherever we were. It didn’t matter what room we walked into, or the people in the room, Donnie was always quick to make new friends and start new relationships.

People just seemed to like him immediately after meeting him.

So, at dinner, I asked him how he was able to do that so effortlessly.

His answer to my question changed the way I engage in conversation ever since. And even to this day, I consider it the greatest conversation advice I’ve ever received.

When I asked him how he was so good at talking to people, he said this, “Oh, it’s easy. Just ask a lot of questions. Ask about their family, their job, their hobbies, their past… anything really. People love talking about themselves.”

I immediately put this idea into practice. And found it works incredibly well—in every circumstance and interaction. Simply ask questions.

Years later, when reading the incredibly popular book by Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People, I found the advice repeated:

So if you aspire to be a good conversationalist, be an attentive listener. To be interesting, be interested. Ask questions that other persons will enjoy answering. Encourage them to talk about themselves and their accomplishments. Remember that the people you are talking to are a hundred times more interested in themselves and their wants and problems than they are in you and your problems.

I still apply his advice today whenever I meet someone new or am catching up with a friend.

And I have found there is a dual benefit to the approach. Not only does asking questions result in great conversation, it benefits me as well.

First, it results in a selfless attitude.

To begin the practice of asking questions, you need to make the conversation not about you. Every time you ask a question, by definition, you are shifting the attention away from you and toward the other person.

Asking questions forces selflessness onto us.

You can’t hold a desire to draw attention to your own accomplishments or stories while genuinely inquiring about the other person’s. Rather than looking for opportunities to proclaim our own interests, the attention is focused on theirs.

Second, it helps us become better listeners.

Asking good questions requires good ears and a focused attention.

Anyone can ask questions (and that’s always a good place to start). But asking great questions will require you to be a good listener.

The more you practice this approach to conversation, the more you learn this skill.

Focused attention can lead to follow up questions. It can help you remember important details about the other person. And may even help you understand their emotions or passion related to the topic they are discussing.

Third, it results in better learning.

Everyone we meet has a backstory of experience. And the more questions we ask, the more we learn about the world. Because we learn about more than just the person, we learn about humanity.

Everyone wants a friend who cares about them (selfless), who pays attention to them (good listener), and can understand the world and their point of view (learner).

Asking questions provides that opportunity.

Even all these years later, it’s still the greatest conversation advice I’ve ever received. What about you?

So What if Everybody Else is Doing It?

The age-old parenting wisdom goes something like this, “If all of your friends jumped off a bridge, would you jump too?”

The classic cliché, utilized by parents everywhere since the invention of bridges, is meant to motivate young minds to think for themselves.

Most of us, as teenagers, simply shrugged it off as stupid advice.

“Obviously I’m thinking for myself. How insulting to say that I’m only following along with the crowd,” is probably what we said to ourselves (or your kids thought when you tried it with them).

The older we get, the less it seems people speak this advice into our decisions.

But that’s okay… the older we get, the less likely we are to be persuaded by others into foolish decisions… right?

Wrong.

We are just as likely to follow the crowd.

In fact, there is a term for this tendency to follow the crowd: groupthink.

According to Psychology Today, groupthink is a phenomenon that occurs when a group of well-intentioned people makes irrational or non-optimal decisions spurred by the urge to conform or the belief that dissent is impossible.

Non-optimal decisions spurred by the urge to conform.

I think we all need to be reminded, from time-to-time, that just because everyone around us may be making non-optimal decisions, we don’t need to as well.

Conformity isn’t a value to be pursued if the group is moving in the wrong direction.

Consumer debt in the US has now reached $15.31 trillion.

Americans spend 3.1 hours per day watching television, 2.5 hours per day on social media, and 2.4 hours per day playing video games.

According to the Mayo Clinic, 97.3% of Americans live an unhealthy lifestyle.

The average American home contains 300,000 items, 10.6% of us rent an offsite storage unit, and yet we continue to spend, on average, $1,497 per month on non-essential items.

66% of the American workforce is disengaged at work.

85% of Americans suffer from low self-esteem.

And 77% of us admit spending time and resources on less important pursuits at the expense of things that matter most to us.

The desire to conform is not leading us, as individuals, in the best direction for our lives and families.

But there is good news, just because everyone else is jumping off a bridge doesn’t mean you have to.

You get to choose the best path for your life.

You don’t have to watch the same shows as everyone else, you don’t have to buy the same things or shop the same sales. You don’t have to eat unhealthy, endlessly scroll social media, or hate your job.

You never have to sacrifice your greatest values and passions for the purpose of conformity.

So what if everybody else is doing it?

We get to choose our own life.

Creating Simple, Family Routines

Note: This is a guest post from Merissa A. Alink of Little House Living.

Whether we realize it or not, we all go through life carrying out various daily and weekly patterns and routines. Sometimes they are made from careful planning and consideration, and sometimes they come from a lack of planning and end in chaos.

There’s no doubt that good routines help us create a simple rhythm in our homes. This can be beneficial to everyone, especially since we are living in a fast-paced world where you never know what might happen next.

Having a routine helps us focus on the things that do not change, things we can count on that bring us comfort and peace in this always-changing world. Routines also remind us of things we want or need to do.

Routines don’t need to be complicated; they can be extremely simple and do not require much effort once you get into the swing of them. Our family has routines for shopping trips, for special one-on-one time between children and parents, bedtimes, and for the beginning of school days. We have routines in our home when it comes to mealtimes too, especially breakfast time.

Having simple routines is a big part of living slower and can add a wonderful simplicity to our lives that we might not have been expecting.

Here are some tips that will help you craft routines that fit into your family dynamic and might just help you create that atmosphere of peace and continuity that you are looking for in your home.

Your routines that you create will depend on your family dynamic and the goals you have as a household. Here are some ideas of types of routines you could make:

MorningBreakfastChoresOne-on-one kids’ timePersonal careGrocery shoppingBefore schoolAfter schoolMeal prepBedtimeTidying upMiddayLaundryExercise / healthy livingBible reading / prayerFellowshipCleaningGardeningHomeschooling/school day

Routines are easy to create; it’s the following of them and sticking with them that are the difficult parts.

But if you start with a strong reason why you want to create one, you are more likely to succeed.

Here are five tips for creating a routine:

Make a goal.

What do you want to accomplish? Our family’s personal goal for our breakfast routine is to create a slow, simple start to our day as well as to ensure that our children know about the day’s plans.

The goal of our evening routine is to help the kids feel safe and connected before they go to bed as well as to provide set-aside time in the day for my husband and me.

Think about the goals you have for your family for your days when you are crafting your routines.

Consider how to implement the goal.

What time of day would benefit from a routine? Does the routine need to be a long one or a short one? What are all the things that need to happen during the routine in order to accomplish the goal?

Plan routines around the times of day when they will be the most effective. If you are not an early bird, don’t plan on starting a morning routine at 5:00 a.m. Make routines realistic based on what your days already look like.

If you currently have no structure to your day, you will have to do a little more planning and a little more trial and error to see what will work for you.

Plan by the hour or part of the day, not by the minute.

Trying to plan every minute of your day is almost a guaranteed recipe for failure.

We have a few set times in our routines (breakfast is at 7:00, and current bedtimes have specific times), but I do not plan that at 5:30 we will do the supper dishes, at 5:45 we will do showers, at 6:00 we will begin reading, etc.

Let the routine flow so it becomes a part of your everyday life, not something forced into place by a stopwatch.

Give it a go.

Once you’ve made a plan, start it! Try your routine for a few days as you planned it.

If something isn’t working or isn’t flowing well, make some adjustments and keep going. The longer you work at your routine, the more naturally it will become infused into your daily life until you realize you aren’t thinking much about it anymore—it’s just part of the daily flow.

Reevaluate routines every couple of months.

Are they working? Are they serving their intended purpose? Does anything need to be added or adjusted—either permanently or for the current season?

I love routines because they help our family meet goals. They also help simplify our day and our plans. They keep us productive and the day moving forward.

When you write out a routine, it may not seem like it will help create a slower lifestyle. But when you actually live the routine, you will see how it really helps to create a nice, smooth flow to the day and allows you to meet the goals you have for your family.

If you are struggling in your daily life to find time to do the things you want or need to do, consider crafting some routines to help give structure and promise to your day.

We can use routines to create structure and harmony in our homes. They can ultimately be used to create time and space for things we want to have more time for, such as helping others, focusing on our faith, caring for ourselves, or tending to the needs of our own families.

***

Merissa A. Alink is the blogger behind the popular Little House Living, a website that teaches people how to live a simpler and more frugal lifestyle.

Her new book, Living Slower: Simple Ideas to Eliminate Excess and Make Time for What Matters, will help you reevaluate your priorities, seek God first, and take small steps toward a life more in line with your values.

Encouraging Simplicity. Weekend Reads.

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

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 intentionally 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.

7 Tough Love Decluttering Tips | Abundant Life With Less by Rachelle Crawford. “While I deeply believe grace is the number one ingredient when moving from an overabundance of stuff to a clutter free life, it’s easy to get stuck stocking up on feel-good tips when what we need is a heavy dose of reality.”

5 Frustratingly Common Myths About Simple Living and Minimalism That Will Hold You Back If You Let Them | Medium by Charlie Brown. “Life is complicated. It’s stressful. It’s debt-ridden. Most of us could do with an interjection of simplicity thrown in there. And contrary to popular belief, we don’t need to own 100 items in a stark, white-walled room to achieve it.“

The Slip Slide into Minimalism | The Beauty of a Story by Shaina Frantz. “During all those purges, one thing bothered me. No matter how many times I did it, I got rid of so much every single time. Where was it all coming from? How did I end up with the exact same size pile every single time I purged?”

The Older I Get the More Minimalism Appeals to Me | A Mess Free Life by Maureen Campaiola. “I recognize that the insatiable need to own more is primarily a marketing construct that we internalize. It hits those buttons in us that somehow makes us believe we are less than if we don’t own this crap.”

79% Of Americans Believe More Money Will Make Them Happier. Here’s Why They’re Wrong | Forbes by Joshua Becker. That is where the greatest distraction to our well-being lives—not in how much money we have, but in how much we desire it.

10 Things You Can Do to Live More Like a Minimalist | Joshua Becker on YouTube. Minimalism isn’t about owning less than you need, it’s about owning exactly what you need.

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Uncluttered. If you’re looking for help trying to minimize your possessions, my 12-week course will help you own less, live more, and discover the life you want. But this is the last weekend to sign-up. Registrations ends Sunday, May 08. The experience begins on Tuesday.

Now is the Time to Get Uncluttered

Registration for the May Edition of Uncluttered is now open!

Uncluttered is a 12-week online course designed by me to help you own less, live more, and discover the life you’ve always wanted. If you want to own less, but need a little help getting there, Uncluttered is for you.

I offer the course only three times each year.

Decluttering is more important now than ever.

Removing unneeded possessions from our home promotes calm, peace, and control. It fosters flexibility, freedom, and financial stability—in a time when each are desperately needed.

Now is the time to get uncluttered, once and for all.

—

No doubt you are familiar with the “whys” of minimalism.

Uncluttered is all about the “how”:

How to think about possessions in a way that feels freeing.How to decide what to keep, and what to let go.How to move away from shopping as a hobby, and into being an intentional consumer.How to develop clutterfree habits for your unique home.How to determine what is “enough” in any area of life.How to live forever free from the weight and burden of clutter.

Uncluttered is one of the most important things I do. If you are drawn to the idea of owning less, but continually struggle to get there, I want to help you as best I can to own less and live more.

More than 75,000 people have taken the Uncluttered Course since I created the program.

Here’s what they’re saying:

“The course gave me everything I needed. I’ve been trying to declutter a long time but I’ve noticed a big difference in my progress since starting the course and it’s changed my life.”

“I am now ready to tackle my clutter and appreciate that I can go through the course again!”

“This course has helped a lot. I am getting married in a few months and it’s helping me prepare a home with a lot less clutter.”

“I have a family of 6 and so sometimes even minimized spaces get a little cluttered when you have three kids in a tiny room. I love seeing how other families maximize storage and organize spaces to create that clean, open look with larger than average families.”

Uncluttered is an online course created for you, to help you own less and live more.

You’ll get lifetime access* to 12 weeks’ worth of lessons, live Q&As, a committed community, interviews, and more. Take the course and bring calm to your home at your own pace, and in your own time. Better yet, take it with a friend and declutter together.

*I know that sometimes life happens over the course of 12 weeks, so every participant has lifetime access to the course materials so that can take it again for free if they want or need.

But registration for this edition of the course closes on Sunday, May 8th, so don’t wait.

I’ll help (and cheer you along every step of the way) while you discover the more of owning less. You’ll clear the clutter, focus on what matters most in your life, and enjoy a renewed sense of clarity.

Ready to bring about new peace and calm in your home?

Sign up for Uncluttered now, and make this the season you discover the home and life you’ve always wanted!

The cost is $99 (USD) for this upcoming edition of the course.

Also, you can find a 25% off discount code in the back of The Minimalist Home. The book is not required—but it’s cheaper to buy the book and use the discount code than it is to pay full price—the option is yours.

I hope you’ll consider joining us if you want to own less and live more. Register now to join me >>>

5 Principles to Declutter Your Financial Life

Note: This is a guest post from Bob Lotich, author of Simple Money, Rich Life.

In keeping with the theme of Things That Matter, today I want to highlight a few financial tips to help you spend less time and mental energy on money so you can have more time to focus on what actually matters in life.

I tend to be someone who believes that personal finance is personal and that there aren’t any one-size-fits-all solutions. But there are principles that even if they can’t be applied directly, can often be adapted to our situations.

So with that, let’s get to the list.

1. An uncluttered financial life is one with little to no debt.

Yes, I guess this is obvious, but it is worth stating. Debt doesn’t just cost you money; it also makes life more complicated. Not only do you have to spend more time paying bills, but each debt adds more stress and is taking money out of your pocket that could be used for things you actually want to use it for.

I am thankful to be 100% debt free, and from having spent years with a dozen or more outstanding debts, I can say with confidence that an uncluttered financial life is one with little (or zero) debt.

Eliminating debt obviously isn’t a push-button fix, but is always a financial goal worth pursuing.

2. Fewer credit cards are better

If you choose to use a credit card for points and simplicity, you don’t need 3, or 5, or 10 credit cards. Just find the best one for your situation and then get on with your life.

I actually opened up 34 credit cards to see which one was best for our family (I know, I am weird like that). Now I only have one credit card in our wallet (with a debit card as a backup).

(And yes, if you have a bunch of cards and close them all, it may have a negative effect on your credit score.)

So if you are concerned about it affecting your credit score, then consider keeping the card with the highest credit limit and/or the card that has the longest history, and close the others. Doing this will reduce any potential negative impact on your credit score.

3. Owning a home costs more clutter than renting

We all know the arguments for owning a home, so I won’t get into that here, but I do think it is worth bringing up a counterpoint: renting tends to yield a less cluttered life than owning.

Owning your own home comes with a long list of expenses and responsibilities that you wouldn’t have if you rented. For example, you wouldn’t need to be concerned about repairs, maintenance, or HOA special assessments. Your landlord would be responsible for those.

Generally speaking, renting reduces you to just a monthly rent payment, and a small number of utilities. Anything beyond that will not be your concern. That will simplify both your finances and your life.

Additionally, I found that renting (especially apartments or condos) tends to prevent clutter. Simply because there isn’t nearly as much room as most homeowners have. When we lived in an apartment, I found that it forced me to constantly evaluate purchase decisions because of our limited space.

4. Ignoring the noise that is the financial industry is BETTER for your investments

Far too many investors think the key to financial success is just reading the Wall St. Journal every day, watching stock prices non-stop, analyzing charts, etc. But the truth is, you can invest wisely, passively, and without any of the stress most investors deal with.

In fact, years ago Fidelity did a study that revealed that of all their clients, the ones with the best investment performance were the accounts that were forgotten about or accounts where the investor had died. The takeaway is that as investors, we tend to be our own worst enemy, and good simple investing tends to be set-it-and-forget-it.

Taking this to heart, I have been passively investing for the last 10+ years and only check my investments 1 time per year. I spend about an hour or so per year thinking about my investments, so I don’t have to deal with any of the mental clutter and noise that the financial industry seems hell-bent on stressing us out with.

If you want to learn all the details of how I do it check out my 10x Investing Course.

5. In work/business, do less, but do it better

When it comes to generating income, it makes sense to focus on the things that are working best and to cut out the rest. This applies most directly to the self-employed and to commissioned salespeople, but it does have relevance to salaried employees as well.

Many freelancers and businesses will find that the 80/20 principle holds true in their revenue numbers.

What if you actually cut out a lot of promotional activities that are bearing minimal fruit and instead put all your energy towards the 1 or 2 things that are generating the most revenue? Or for salaried employees, this could be concentrating your efforts on activities that are likely to produce a larger bonus, or put you in a better position to be promoted.

This single change in strategy can both increase your income, and simplify the income earning process of your life.

***

Bob Lotich is a award-winning blogger, podcaster, and the author of the newly released book Simple Money, Rich Life: Achieve True Financial Freedom and Design a Life of Eternal Impact and has spent all week chasing Joshua on the Amazon Bestseller lists to no avail.

The Things That Matter Book Tour

This summer, I will be touring 12 US cities (across the Midwest and South) to discuss my new book, Things That Matter: Overcoming Distraction to Pursue a More Meaningful Life.

This will be my first opportunity to get out and discuss the book with the Becoming Minimalist Community. I look forward to meeting many of you. (I’m also excited to have my family along with me for the tour.)

Each of the events will provide opportunity for me to connect with you, share my heart behind the book, and answer your questions about anything Becoming Minimalist. There will also be plenty of time for conversation, photos, and signings.*

Tour Dates.

June 16 – Phoenix, AZ (tickets)

July 01 – Omaha, NE (tickets)

July 03 – Des Moines, IA (tickets)

July 05 – Chicago, IL (tickets)

July 06 – Indianapolis, IN (tickets)

July 07 – Louisville, KY (tickets)

July 09 – Nashville, TN (tickets)

July 11 – Atlanta, GA (tickets)

July 13 – Birmingham, AL (tickets)

July 15 – New Orleans, LA (tickets)

July 17 – Houston, TX (tickets)

July 18 – Austin, TX (tickets)

Admission to the events is $10.* (Please note: Phoenix is $12/ticket).

If you live in the Midwest or the Southern United States, grab a friend and a ticket. Because of space limitations, I expect each of these events to sell out, so don’t delay.

And we’ll have a great time together. I look forward to meeting you.

*Books will be available for purchase at each event. Or you can bring your own.

Inspiring Simplicity. Weekend Reads.

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

The simplicity/minimalism movement is a beautiful community. And I enjoy any opportunity to promote writing that encourages people to live more by owning less.

I invite you to 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.

Kids Learn Contentment from Us | No Sidebar by Joshua Becker. When it comes to our children, so often life lessons are caught more than taught.

The Pursuit of Happiness | Rich in What Matters by Julia Ubbenga. While society assures arriving at happiness stems from looking out for oneself, a closer look proves otherwise.

Minimalist Living: 14 Simple Ways to Easily Improve Your Life | The Savvy Couple by Brittany Kline. We used to look around our house and feel like we didn’t own our things- our things owned us. They took up so much space in our house!

How To Know If You Need A Digital Detox (And Other Practices For Pursuing A More Meaningful Life) | Mind Body Green by Joshua Becker. One of the most important steps I have ever taken to keep my use of technology healthy and balanced is an annual digital detox.

Things That Matter Podcast Episode | The Minimalists with Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus. I was a guest on The Minimalists Podcast this past week. You can find our conversation here.

10 Unconventional Habits to Live Distraction-Less | Joshua Becker on YouTube. We live distracted lives and our ability to focus, create, and accomplish suffers significantly. Here are some simple strategies to overcome distraction.

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As you know, my new book Things That Matter: Overcoming Distraction to Pursue a More Meaningful Life, released this week. What you might not know is that it was the #1 Self-Help New Release on both Amazon and Barnes and Noble! Thank you for all your support.

I encourage you to read it. You’ll find the chapters both challenge and inspire you to live your most intentional life. It can be found everywhere books are sold including: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, ChristianBook.com, Target, and Walmart.

Things That Matter: Overcoming Distraction to Pursue a More Meaningful Life

“How do we get to the end of our lives with minimal regrets? We choose well. We set aside lesser pursuits to seek meaning in our lives. And we do it every single day.” —Joshua Becker

My new book, Things That Matter, is now available. 

The Book I Had to Write

Three years ago, I sat in a Conference Room in Mesa, AZ attending a workshop called Start Finishing. At the beginning of the seminar, Charlie Gilkey, our trainer for the event, asked each of a pointed question:

“With your eyes closed, answer this, ‘If you were to die today, what is the one project you would be most disappointed that you weren’t able to complete?'”

After the question, we shared around the table what work we saw as most important. The young woman next to me mentioned an art project she wanted to complete. A mother of two spoke about her desire to prepare her two teenagers for life.

For me, without hesitation, I answered Charlie’s question this way: If I were to die today, I would be most disappointed that I never got a chance to write that book I’ve been thinking about for a long time now.

A book that takes the principles of minimalism I am known for and paints a bigger picture of how distractions can keep us from meaning, purpose, and satisfaction.

Things That Matter is that book. And I’ve spent the last three years working on it.

There is one message that drives me more than any other—and it’s not helping people clean out their closets, as useful as that is. The one message that burns most in my heart is the invitation to live an intentional, meaningful life.

I’ve used this blog for the last thirteen years to write on many of the distractions that are covered in the book: Money, Possessions, Fame, Technology, Leisure… even Fear and Regrets.

It’s one of the reasons people keep coming back to Becoming Minimalist year after year—this blog has always been about more than owning less. It’s about living a meaningful life—one that accomplishes the most good for the most number of people.

About Things That Matter

Things That Matter is a book about living well. It’s about overcoming the noise of a world focused on all the wrong things. And rethinking the common assumptions of today to find satisfaction and fulfillment tomorrow.

More specifically, Things That Matter will help you:

• identify the pursuits that matter most to you
• align your dreams with your daily priorities
• recognize how money and possessions can keep you from happiness
• become aware of how others’ opinions of you influence your choices
• embrace what you’re truly passionate about instead of planning that next escape
• let go of past mistakes and debilitating habits
• figure out what to do with all those emails, notifications, and pings

I’m proud of the book. If you have found benefit from my writing here on Becoming Minimalist in either owning less or living more intentionally, you will enjoy and appreciate Things That Matter.

Where to Find Things That Matter

The book is available in three formats:

1. Hardcover

You can support your community by purchasing Things That Matter at your local bookstore.

Or at any online retailer:

Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Books-a-Million
Bookshop.org
Changing Hands
Hudson Booksellers
Powell’s
Target
Walmart

2. Ebook

Things That Matter can be read on your mobile device:

Kindle
Apple Books
Nook
Google Play
Kobo

3. Audiobook

And it is available as an audiobook narrated by me:

Apple Books
Audible 
Audiobooks.com
Google Play
Libro.fm

—International

If you are outside the USA, check your regional Amazon site for pricing and release dates. However, many international outlets are already out of stock!

If that is the case in your part of the world, Book Depository is currently offering free shipping to anywhere in the world for Things That Matter.

—

As I write in the acknowledgment section of the book, “Thank you to the entire Becoming Minimalist community, your encouragement and support have allowed me to do what I do.”

I am grateful to finally share this work with you.

PS: I’ll be hosting a live, 4-week virtual book club to discuss the book directly with you. The online Book Club begins Friday, April 29 and is free for anyone who orders the book this week in any format, from any retailer. Simply register here using your receipt number.