Joshua Becker's Blog, page 94

All the Things You Don’t Need for a Perfect Holiday

’Tis the season for unreasonable expectations.

Over the next several weeks, televisions, magazines, and websites will offer us countless images of the “perfect” holiday season.

Beaming faces, sparkling eyes, glistening gifts, and bountiful tables of food will be shown on media platforms of every sort. Many of these images will stand side-by-side with corporate logos and retail stores.

The turkey is from Butterball. The necklace from Kay’s. The soda is Coca-Cola. The toys were purchased at Walmart. The coffee is Folger’s. The slippers are from Kohl’s. And the new vehicle with the red bow in the driveway is a Lexus.

It would seem, from the image on the screen, these items are essential for a perfect holiday. Because obviously, the smiles are bigger, the family is happier, and the lights shine brighter—if, and only if, we buy the consumer product to make it so.

This is not a new strategy from marketers. All year long they communicate the subtle (and not-so-subtle) message that our lives will be better, happier, and more fulfilled if we buy whatever they’re selling.

But their message reaches a fever-pitch during the Holiday Season and nobody is immune to their meticulously crafted persuasion.

I assume one reason for the effectiveness of these ad campaigns is because we all desire a joyful and merry holiday season. We cherish our time with family and want it to be picture perfect. We love our kids and want them to be happy. And we all enjoy times of celebration and desire them to be memorable.

But let’s remember one important truth today: You don’t need any of those things for a perfect holiday season.

You don’t need a new car in the driveway for a perfect holiday season. You don’t need new jewelry for a perfect holiday season. You don’t need slippers. You don’t need a perfectly-decorated 10-foot tree. And you certainly don’t need a large pile of glistening presents underneath it.

You don’t need any of those things for a perfect holiday season.

The holiday season is about family, and thankfulness, and faith and love and peace. It’s about reflecting on the year that was, and looking forward to the year that can be. It’s about counting blessings. It’s about slowing down long enough to appreciate the things in life that matter most.

And too often, the consumeristic promises and fake-photos keep us from enjoying the season. Instead of slowing down, we speed up. We rush from store-to-store (or website-to-website) filling our shopping carts with all the things we think we need. We fill our schedules with increased commitments and responsibilities. We max out our credit cards.

We get so frustrated and weary chasing the perfect holiday season that we never take time to enjoy the one right in front of us.

But Melody Beattie once said, “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.”

Once we slow down enough to notice our blessings, we begin to see that we already have everything we need for a perfect holiday season.

And maybe that is what worries marketers the most… that we would begin to recognize all the things we don’t need for a perfect holiday season.

Avoid Holiday Clutter. Build Homes for Orphans.

One year ago, we founded and launched a nonprofit organization called The Hope Effect. Our dream is to change orphan care around the world by focusing on new solutions that mimic the family unit.

Rather then constructing orphanages as most people imagine them to be (with high child to adult ratios), we are building smaller homes. Each house will become a home for 6-8 children and 2 parents—in this way, we are able to better reproduce the family unit so children receive all the love and attention and affection they would in a family.

To date, The Hope Effect has raised over $250,000 for orphan care. And $160k of that money has come from the Becoming Minimalist community! I couldn’t be more proud of all the work we’ve been able to accomplish.

Siguatepeque, Honduras.

Our first project began earlier this year in Siguatepeque, Honduras on the campus of La Providencia Orphan Care Community. Ground was broken in January. Currently, Honduran construction crews are working to complete the interior of the home. We expect the house to be completed soon and parents to be placed in the home with children early next year.

The Hope Effect in Siguatepeque, Honduras.

San Luis Río Colorado, Mexico.

Our next home will be built in San Luis Río Colorado, Mexico. San Luis Río Colorado is a city of 250,000 people located on the US-Mexico border. In case you haven’t been watching, the border between US and Mexico has been receiving lots of attention recently—we want to be proactive in helping where we can.

Our desired work has been well-received in the city among government officials and community leaders. In fact, we have been offered a piece of land to construct 3-4 homes just blocks away from the city’s department of child protection services (DIF), which would be an amazing location for us! If funding continues to accumulate, we will be able to begin building these homes in 2017.

To get an idea of the city, here are some sites from my most recent trip:

 

 

Currently we have raised over $50,000 for this project in Mexico. And I’d love for you to help us raise the rest—and solve some of your holiday clutter dilemmas while you do.

Homes For the Holidays

Last year, we launched our first Homes for the Holidays campaign. People all over the world used the opportunity to ask for donations to a nonprofit organization in lieu of holiday clutter under the tree.

The campaign was quite successful. In fact, during the final two months of 2015, we raised over $100,000.

Today, we are launching the campaign again. If you’ve got enough stuff already and are looking for an opportunity to keep your holiday clutter down to a minimum, partner with The Hope Effect by joining our Homes for the Holidays campaign.

Rather than compiling a long gift list this holiday season, ask your friends and family to help you provide homes for orphans by making a donation rather than purchasing another present.

It’s easy to do: 1) Create your very own personalized fundraising page. Then, 2) Share it with your friends and family. It takes less than 5 minutes to sign-up.

Our goal is to have 1,000 people raise $100 each =$100,000 to build homes in San Luis Río Colorado.

Our commitment to you is that 100% of your donation will be used directly for orphan care (construction of homes and operation of orphan care communities). My investment into The Hope Effect has provided the administrative funding so all public donations can be used for the reason they was intended. You can read more here. And because we are a registered 501(c)(3) organization, your loved-one’s donation is tax-deductible.

Or, Join our $10 Team

If you prefer to donate directly, consider joining our $10 Team by committing to donate at least $10/month. For the price of a Netflix subscription, you can provide loving homes and families for orphans around the world. It’s simple and safe to sign-up. The commitment is small, but the combined impact is significant.

This holiday season, let’s be known for the problems we solve.

Maybe Success Just Feels Like This

“Be happy with who you are and what you do, and you can do anything you want.” —Steve Maraboli

Looking back over the past few years, my life has been a crazy ride and something I never imagined. I started this website as a simple online journal, but today:

—Becoming Minimalist welcomes almost 1,000,000 visitors each month totaling 2,000,000 page views.

—Our Facebook page recently exceeded 500,000 followers.

—I’ve written three bestselling books (Simplify, Clutterfree with Kids, and The More of Less)—ranking as high as the #1 Self-Help book on Amazon and appearing on every major best-sellers list in the country except for the NYT.

—My wife and I started a nonprofit organization to change orphan care around the world. To date, The Hope Effect has raised over $250,000 for orphan care projects.

—And I’ve been privileged to speak internationally at various venues inviting others to find more life by owning less.

I include that list above for one reason: by almost every available measure, you could say it’s been a pretty successful past few years.

But here’s what’s weird. I don’t actually feel all that successful.

In fact, some days, I feel like I don’t even know what I’m doing. Other days, I’m evaluating my life wondering what I’m doing wrong, why things aren’t going even better, and wishing I was better at any number of different skills.

I look at other people and wonder why my growth hasn’t equaled theirs. I look at the long list of things I wish I could accomplish and wonder why I haven’t. Some days feel productive… but other days, I wonder if I’m too undisciplined or too undeveloped in the skills I need to move forward.

While things appear to be successful from the outside, I am often filled with doubt that they actually are.

But I’m starting to wonder, if maybe, this is just what success feels like.

I was texting with a friend one time—someone who probably looks up to me in both age and career. He kindly asked how things were going. My response went something like this, “Some days I feel productive. Other days, I feel distracted and undisciplined. As a result, I can never quite tell if I’m moving forward effectively or too inefficient to do so.”

And I’m starting to wonder, if maybe, I’m not alone. If so, maybe this is just what success feels like.

Maybe success feels more like challenge, than accomplishment. I look at people who make success look effortless. And to be honest, there are times when my work seems to flow naturally—entirely unforced. But most of the time, it doesn’t. Most of the time it is hard and calls me to question my skills and talents—always wishing I had more or different.

Maybe success feels more like discontent, than completion. Maybe success never feels like a finish line, or a goal that is ultimately crossed off a list. Maybe success, regardless of past accomplishments, always looks like it is off in the horizon on the other side of the next hill.

Maybe success feels more like giving thanks, than being thanked. I get emails of appreciation every day from readers. They are lovely and I find great encouragement in them. But I often feel their gratitude is misplaced as I consider all the men and women who built into my life to make all of this possible: parents, friends, my family, and fellow bloggers. They are the successful ones worthy of my gratitude.

Maybe success doesn’t always feel like it looks from the outside. (tweet that)

Take heart in this truth, regardless of your pursuit in life. Whether you are trying to be a successful writer, a successful farmer, a successful school teacher, or a successful mom, maybe success doesn’t always feel like success.

Maybe success just feels like this. And if so, maybe you are far more effective in your role than you ever imagined.

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.

Small Change, Small Victories | The Art of Simple by Kara Fleck. Small change does add up. Small victories matter.

11 Things in Your Home That Are Making You Unhappy | House Beautiful by Brie Dyas. It’s time to take a second look at your decor.

My Family is Becoming a Minimalist by Christmas | Babble by Leah Campbell. This holiday season, we don’t need more stuff. We just need more love, more laughter, and more you.

A Friendly Holiday Suggestion From a Mom with Too Much Stuff | Chattanooga Moms Blog by Jama Oliver. “If you are buying that gift because it makes YOU feel good, we probably don’t want it.”

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Simplify: 7 Guiding Principles to Help Anyone Declutter Their Home and Life | Amazon Kindle by Joshua Becker. For the past 10 days, our book has been among the bestselling Self-Help books on Amazon. It provides the motivation and blueprint for you to begin your own journey towards a better life. For the rest of the weekend, you can get the digital version for $0.99.

Celebrating Five Years of Simplify

“Practical and to the point. Half way through this book we began cleaning out our cars, then our dresser, and now our closets. Very motivating.” —Jane Mayer

Five years ago, we released Simplify: 7 Guiding Principles to Help Anyone Declutter Their Home and Life on the Amazon Kindle.

By the end of the day, it was the #1 Self-Help book on Amazon. Since that date, the book has sold just shy of 150,000 copies and has changed countless lives. Even today, it continues to inspire more and more people to live a better life by owning fewer possessions.

In what has become a Becoming Minimalist tradition, every November, we celebrate the anniversary of its release by offering Simplify for just $0.99. This offer is available for the next 10 days.

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Simplify provides the motivation and practical help to encourage others to simplify their home and declutter their possessions. It argues we find more life by owning less. We can discover more time, energy, and finances to pursue our greatest passions. And we begin to experience a greater sense of freedom.

The $0.99 offer is a win-win situation. It allows you to own the book for the cheapest price it has ever been offered. And it helps us generate increased interest, sales, and reviews just before the busy, hectic holiday season.

Simplify retells our story of finding minimalism and the most important lessons we learned during the journey. But more importantly, it provides the motivation and blueprint for you to begin your own journey towards a better life. It invites its readers to discover a new life-giving truth: There is more joy to be found in owning less than we can ever discover in pursuing more. And it will likely change the way you view possessions forever.

Leo Babauta called it “a must-read.”
Courtney Carver listed it as “one of her favorite books on the topic.“
The Albany Times Union said, “If you’re looking for specific advice on how to live well with less, this book is worth a look.”
Anna Reid wrote about the book, “Life-changing. I recommend it to anyone feeling overwhelmed in life.”

Purchase a copy today. It can be found on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords for only $0.99.

After 10 days, it will return to its regular price of $2.99. Currently, Simplify is only available in digital formats.

The Genius Blogger’s Toolkit

One of the first bloggers to take an interest in my writing was Mandi Ehman. Shortly after I started this blog, Mandi emailed and offered me opportunity to guest post on her popular blog, Life Your Way. The post brought new readers. But more than that, receiving an email from a full-time blogger gave me confidence and inspiration to continue writing.

So when Mandi asked me to participate in her Genius Blogging Toolkit, I jumped at the chance.

Specifically, as part of the toolkit, I’ll be teaching a webinar called “Monetizing Your Blog Ethically.”

I have been blessed in many ways through this website and I enjoy opportunities to help others who are trying to blog better.

If you blog, you just might be interested in The Genius Blogging Toolkit they have compiled.

The bundle represents a curated collection of 62 eBooks, eCourses, audios, and printables on blogging ins and outs from some of the most brilliant mentors out there. It’s a digital package crammed full of tools to help you grow your blog, work smarter, and make more money.

—If you’re just getting started on your blog, the resources in this bundle will help you.

—If you need a spark of encouragement or inspiration, you’ll find it.

—If you’ve run out of steam before you’ve reached your full potential, these resources will help you overcome the obstacle in your way.

—Or, if you know you need to make changes in your blogging routine, but lack the roadmap, The Genius Blogger’s Toolkit will make a way for you.

I know many of the bloggers personally who have contributed books and courses to this bundle. And it’s a privilege to be alongside them.

The bundle includes resources related to:

Professional Blogging
Time Management & Productivity
Social Media
Product Creation
Technical Help
Photography & Images
Blog Growth
Content Creation
Monetizing

You can get a detailed look at each of the 62 different resources right here. If it sounds overwhelming, the package even comes with a handy Getting Started Guide so you can take action right away.

The combined value of the resources in the toolkit is over $3,600, but you can get everything for 98% off! Just $97.

Whatever your blogging goals—whether it’s time management, increasing income, growing an audience, addressing technical challenges, or just staying current without spending a fortune—you can get equipped right now to have the blogging experience you desire.

But the bundle is only available for the next two days. After Tuesday, the sale ends.

Also, it’s backed by a full money-back guarantee, so you can make sure it’s right for you. Learn more.

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.

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.

Life Gets Real When the TV Goes Off | Raptitude by David Cain. Even when the TV has only been on in the background, life and all its responsibilities suddenly become a lot more vivid the instant it plunks off.

Incessant Consumer Surveillance Is Leaking Into Physical Stores | The Atlantic by Kaveh Waddell. Retail is on its way to a future of personalized everything.

Staring At Everyone’s Selfies Can Hurt Your Self-Esteem | The Miami Herald by Michael Fuoco. It’s basically upward social comparison, a very classic psychological phenomena

Tiny House Villages Are About to Be the Next Big Housing Trend | Country Living by Jessica Mattern. Living in a tiny village does a few things for one’s health, including creating a better sense of community, satisfying people’s basic needs for relationships, offering affordable housing options, and encouraging physical activity.

In Life’s Most Important Pursuits, Your Only Competition is Yourself

Our world loves to compare and compete and measure success based on the accomplishments of others.

We compare the clothes we wear, the neighborhood we live in, the car we drive, even the handbag we carry. We compare our job titles, our salary, our savings account, even our retirement age.

Unfortunately, these comparisons rarely bring any joy into our lives. Instead, they make us miserable.

One reason is because comparisons by their very nature are unfair. We know ourselves better than we know others. As a result, we compare the worst we know of ourselves to the best we assume in others.

But there’s another reason these comparisons result in lower life satisfaction: the trinkets we are competing for don’t bring fulfillment. Job titles, square footage, and brand names on handbags are not the things that matter in life.

Consider again the things that do: to be a faithful spouse, a loving parent, an example to others, a contributing member of society, or to have lived a life of significance and meaning. These are the most noble pursuits—these are the desires that actually matter.

This is important to recognize.

Equally important, please notice that with each of these pursuits, your competition is not against others. In life’s most important pursuits, your only competition is yourself.

To be a faithful spouse, we war against the selfish desires that undermine a relationship built on trust and selfless motivation.

To be a loving parent, we war against any and every harmful tendency or action that would not seek to build up our children.

To be a positive example to others, we pursue character and integrity in both public and private.

To be the best version of ourselves, we remove foolish distractions and temptations that rob us of time and energy and focus. We become self-aware and self-equipped to recognize the unhealthy motivations within ourselves. And we make the difficult sacrifices necessary to bring about a better world for others.

The crusade is not against others—the skirmish is within our own heart, our own mind, and our soul.

This is the competition that matters: Are we fighting for the things that matter? Are we becoming better people than we were yesterday?

And if so, why would we concern our minds with the temporal success of others when we have so much growth left to accomplish in ourselves?

11 Household Chores Made Easier In a Smaller Home

Five years ago, our family of four moved into a smaller home.

We made the decision because we recognized the benefits of owning a smaller house: less expense, less stress, more freedom, more family interaction, and more opportunity to spend our lives on greater things than square footage.

One of the most attractive advantages we have experienced in a smaller home is the extra time that has been returned to our lives. All homes require maintenance and cleaning, regardless of size. But smaller homes are easier to clean than larger ones. Consider these practical examples.

11 Household Chores Made Easier in a Smaller Home

1. Tidying-Up. In every home, items get moved and things get used. But in our smaller home, tidying up and refreshing the home for a clutter-free morning takes much less time and effort.

2. Dusting. Fewer rooms, fewer walls, fewer shelves, fewer decorations and fewer knick-knacks. Dusting has never been easier.

3. Taking Out the Trash. Because there are fewer rooms and each of them are closer together, taking out the trash/recycling each week is never difficult.

4. Doing Laundry. A smaller home does not mean less laundry—we still wear clothes everyday. But gathering the laundry from different areas in the home and returning the clean clothes is much less burdensome than completing the task in a larger home.

5. Cleaning Floors. Floors need to be vacuumed and/or swept on a routine basis. They also need to be mopped and scrubbed to be kept clean. Less flooring in our home makes this chore easier to accomplish—and easier to find the motivation to even start.

6. Washing Windows. Fewer windows means less time to clean them, both inside and outside. Of course, our single-story home also makes this chore significantly easier.

7. Putting up Holiday/Seasonal Decorating. We still decorate our home for the Fall and Holiday season. But changing the environment of our home takes less time today than before—and it takes fewer decorations to accomplish that cozy feeling.

8. Scrubbing bathrooms. Because who wants to clean more showers and toilets than they have to?

9. Cleaning the furniture. Because we’re not furnishing unnecessary rooms in our home anymore, cleaning furnishings is less burdensome (also cleaning behind/under the furniture). This is a job that gets neglected in many homes—but not ours.

10. Deep Cleaning Baseboard, Cabinets, Corners. In our previous home, the thought of cleaning baseboards and cabinets (especially in lesser-used rooms) was enough to keep us from ever tackling the chore. In our new home, we complete it on a regular basis.

11. Professional services. Stuff breaks and things wear out. And some home repairs are definitely outside my expertise. Each time we have needed a professional service in our new home (new carpets, exterior paint, spraying for insects), our expense has been far less than a comparable service in our previous home.

Because of the numerous practical benefits, I’ve never regretted the decision we made five years ago. We are far happier today living in a smaller home than if we’d purchased a larger one just because we could.

And I continue to recommend the idea to anyone who is listening.

5 Truths About Minimalism I Remind Myself Often

On average, we see 5,000 advertisements every day calling us to buy more and more. And I want to be just one voice inviting us to buy less.

From the very beginning, Becoming Minimalist has had one goal: inspire others to live more by owning less. When I write, I write for those who have never been introduced to minimalism—those are the people I want to reach.

I write books and blog posts for those who are beginning their journey or have not begun…

…and also for those who are looking for encouragement and inspiration to follow through with their desire to own less.

I have discovered, after all these years, that owning less is countercultural, encouragement is essential, community is important, and there are significant truths about minimalism we need to be frequently reminded of. Even in my own life, I need to remind myself often of the core truths of minimalism.

Here are 5 Truths About Minimalism I Remind Myself Often:

1. Excess possessions are a burden and a distraction. Every thing we own requires time, money, energy, and focus to maintain. And every increased possessions adds increased anxiety on to our lives. This exchange would make sense if possessions made us happy. Unfortunately, they do not. Instead, they only distract us from the things that do.

Read more: 21 Life-Giving Benefits of Owning Less

2. Our society is built on excessive consumption. Our economy thrives on artificially manufactured needs and wants. As a result, we are constantly bombarded with messages claiming we are not as happy as we could be and the quickest remedy is to “buy their product.” Discontent is sown into our soul at every turn—and on every billboard. But their messaging is carefully crafted for their own selfish gain. And there is a wonderful joy available to those who reject it.

Read more: 10 Reasons to Escape Excessive Consumerism

3. My life is too valuable to waste chasing material possessions. We each get one life to live and we each get to determine what our life is going to be focused on. Some will use it to pursue money, fame, or power. Others will use it to passionately pursue bigger houses, nicer cars, and fuller closets. But not me. My one life is too valuable to waste chasing things that will never last. I will pursue love and hope, impact and significance. And I will seek to live a life that benefits others above all other things.

Read more: Life is Too Valuable to Waste Chasing Possessions

4. There is no right way to do minimalism. Minimalism is always going to look different from one person to another. And well it should—each of us have different passions and values and gifts that we can offer to the world. For example, a minimalist writer is always going to own different things than a minimalist farmer or a minimalist carpenter. And someone who desires to use their newfound freedom to travel the world is going to own something different than a minimalist who desires to use their freedom to host beautiful dinner parties. Find freedom in this reminder. And refrain from comparing your version of minimalism to anyone else’s.

Read more: Find a Rational Minimalism that Works For You

 5. Minimalism is the pathway, not the goal. Owning the fewest number of things possible is not the greatest goal for your life or mine. Minimalism is not our greatest obsession. Minimalism is simply a means to an end. It removes physical distractions so our greatest priorities can be elevated. It allows our lives to be defined by things that matter. If minimalism has allowed you the opportunity to pursue those things in life you most desire, you have succeeded.

Read more: Live with Less. Pursue Your Passions. Finally.

Minimalism, as a way of life, holds benefit for all. Regardless of gender, religion, race, or socio-economic class, there are life-giving benefits to intentionally owning fewer possessions and removing the pursuit of empty consumerism. This is a message that must be proclaimed and shared often and widely. And for that reason, I will continue to do what I do: inspiring others to live more by owning less.

I will lend my voice to the movement and I hope you will too.