Joshua Becker's Blog, page 98

8 Ways Minimalism has Changed My Perspective

“Change the way you look at things and the things you look at will change.” —Wayne Dyer

Eight years ago, on May 26, 2008, my life changed forever.

After spending most of my Memorial Day Weekend cleaning the garage, I struck up a conversation with my neighbor. As I recall, we were lamenting the fact that our day had been wasted taking care of things we owned.

It wasn’t a long conversation, but it was long enough for her to introduce me to the idea of minimalism—that there is more joy to be found owning less than we can ever discover pursuing more.

I actually needed very little convincing. My 5-year old son playing alone in the backyard was all the proof I needed that I owned too much stuff—and it was getting in the way of the life I wanted to live.

Over the course of the next 9 months, my wife and I went through every room in our home getting rid of anything and everything we didn’t need. In total, roughly 2/3 of our possessions were recycled, donated, or thrown away.

To journal the progress, I started a blog, Becoming Minimalist. Now, eight years into its existence, it has reached millions of people around the world with the life-giving message of owning less.

Little did I know, at the time, how much my life would change. But as I look back at the last eight years, I can see how minimalism has caused my perspective on life to change in very significant ways.

Here are eight that come to mind:

Money. Like most people, growing up, I wanted to be rich. I used to think about it, dream about it, and pursue it. But now, after finding contentment with less, I no longer have a desire for riches. Henry David Thoreau said it like this “I make myself rich by making my wants few.” Now, not only do I no longer desire to be wealthy, I plainly see the temptation and the trap that often ensnares those who do.

Work. Some people view work as a means to get rich—and that’s too bad. Others, on the other hand, can’t wait to escape work, even embracing minimalism as a means to that end. But I see it differently. Minimalism has allowed me to see work as a means to personal fulfillment—not because of the paycheck that it produces, but in the good I can bring to society through it.

Generosity. I now understand that the most fulfilling thing we can ever do with our money is give it away. Most of us desire to be generous people. Buying less makes that possible.

Culture. Minimalism has allowed me to see the world around me in a new way. Very early in my minimalist journey, while doing research for this blog, I stumbled upon The Story of Stuff on YouTube. It changed my perspective on society almost immediately. I began to see how overconsumption is encouraged in every aspect of our economy—from fashion and furnishings to food and housing. And once you see it, you can never unsee it.

Spirituality. There is little doubt that almost every respected religious leader that has stood the test of time has espoused the value and importance of simplicity. For most of my life, I considered this a call to sacrifice—that I should give up “the good life” so others might benefit. However, since discovering and experiencing the benefits of owning less, I have begun to recognize these teachings are not burdensome at all. They are invitations to a better way of life unburdened with needless weight.

Happiness. I’ve studied quite a bit about happiness over the past eight years. But if I could sum up everything I’ve learned into one sentence, it would be this, “Happiness is not something to be chased or discovered through external circumstances, happiness is a decision we make every single day.” And that makes experiencing it so much easier.

Relationships. I’ve always understood the importance of strong relationships—minimalism has not changed that. But minimalism has caused me to recognize how often we sacrifice those relationships for less important pursuits. And recognizing how those pursuits often distract from the more important ones is the very foundation of minimalism.

Success and Competition. For most of my life, I viewed the opportunity for success as finite—that every time somebody else reached a height of success, it was one less opportunity for me. This often resulted in jealousy and envy. Today, I see it differently. There are countless opportunities to succeed in living meaningful lives. And often times, the quickest way for each of us to succeed in life is to help someone else succeed in theirs.

It’s been a pretty crazy eight years. Looking back on that Saturday morning, I never would have imagined that it would eventually lead to writing books, founding nonprofits, and being on television and in newspapers.

But then again, I had no idea how minimalism would change everything about me—in both my practice and my perspective.

Inspiring Simplicity. Weekend Reads.

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

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

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

Got the Urge to Do Some Spring-Cleaning? Avoid These 5 Classic Mistakes. | Gretchen Rubin by Gretchen Rubin. One of the things about happiness that continually surprises me is the degree to which, for most people, outer order contributes to inner calm, and inner self-command.

12 Sneaky Ways Online Retailers Get You To Spend More | Business Insider by Jessica Mai. Online retailers are competing with hundreds of other sites who might be able to offer the same thing for a lower price, so they have to come up with more ways to get us to seal the deal on their site.

How to Get Rid of Practically Anything | Consumer Reports. Reclaim the space in your home with these tips for selling, donating, recycling, and disposing of things you no longer need or want

Exhausted? It’s Time To Focus | The Guardian by Oliver Burkeman. We act as if our attentional capacities are infinite. It turns out they aren’t.

5 Signs It’s Time to Do Less | Marc and Angel Hack Life by Marc Chernoff. Let’s do a little less… and make the less we do count for even more.

A Simple Guide to Start Saving Money

The recent news on Americans and their saving habits is concerning.

Here are headlines from three recent news articles:

47% of Americans would have trouble finding $400
2/3 of Americans would struggle to cover $1,000 crisis
1 in 3 Americans has saved $0 for retirement

This is not good news. Certainly, our current economic climate is not one that encourages saving (you know, with low interest rates and all), but that doesn’t mean it’s not important.

Money in savings provides a safety net for unexpected expenses. Saving money forces us to spend less than we make. And when the time comes for a major purchase, you’ll be glad you’ve been saving up.

But most of us are fully aware of why we should be putting money in savings.

The problem isn’t that we haven’t thought about saving money, the problem is that too many of us just aren’t doing it.

There are any number of reasons why people are not saving money. They may not think it is urgent or they may not have taken the time to set up a savings account.

But my suspicion is that most people are not setting aside money for savings because they don’t think they have enough to do so.

When everything that gets earned, gets spent, saving is impossible. At the end of the month, there is simply nothing left over to save. So the action gets pushed to the next month… and then the next… and the next.

How then can we break that cycle in our lives?

If you recognize the need to start saving money, but have not done so, this post is for you.

I’d like to offer a simple idea to get you started—in fact, it is the same idea I give when people ask me about charitable giving.

Start small and start today.

I speak often about the benefit of generosity in our lives and how it improves our well-being and life satisfaction. The conversation is often followed by a simple question, “How do I get started? I want to be charitable, I just don’t see how I can be.”

My answer is this, “Just start with $1. Literally, $1. Go find a cause that you believe in and donate $1. Don’t be embarrassed. Because of online giving, you’ll probably never stand face-to-face with anybody anyway. So just start there. Go donate $1 today and see what happens.”

Of course, my hope is not that the person will end their charitable giving with a $1 donation. Instead, my hope is that they will donate $1 and soon discover that they still have food on the table, a roof over the head, and clothes on their back. They can be generous and still survive.

Soon, I hope, they will try giving $5/month. Inevitably, again, they will discover their needs are still being met. Maybe they had more capacity for generosity than they thought. Maybe then they will try $10/month or $15/month.

They did have room for generosity all along, they just needed to discover that was true.

The same is true when it comes to saving money.

If you want to spend less than you make, start building a savings account, and begin getting ahead financially, you can do it. Even if you don’t think it is possible, I believe it is. Start small and discover it is true yourself.

Think of the stress you can begin to alleviate by taking two small steps:

1. Set Up a Savings Account. 

It is important to put your money for savings into a different account than you use for daily, weekly, and monthly bills.

Almost every bank offers savings accounts so check with your local bank first—wherever you already have an account established. However, sometimes these local banks have minimum balance requirements for savings accounts. If you are starting small ($10/month), you’ll want to check that first.

If you cannot find a local financial institution with a no minimum balance savings account, or if you prefer to conduct your finances online anyway, many of my personal finance blogger friends recommend Capital One 360. They have a convenient, no minimum balance savings account available. And it is easy to set-up—it took me less than 10 minutes to open an account with a $10 opening balance.

2. Set Up a $10/Month Automatic Withdraw. 

Just start with $10. Literally $10. Set-up a savings account today and deposit $10. Don’t be embarrassed at the amount. If you select the online option above, you won’t ever have to interact face-to face with anybody anyway.

Deposit $10 and then set up an automatic withdrawal of $10/month, as close to the day you get paid as possible.

And then see what happens. Almost certainly, you will still have food on the table, a roof over your head, and clothes on your back. Once you prove that you can survive and save at the same time, raise your monthly contribution to $15/month or $20/month. Over time, perhaps, you’ll be able to increase the amount even more. But the first goal is to prove to yourself that you can save.

Your first investment into your financial security doesn’t need to be a big one. But you do need to start somewhere.

The More of Less: A National Bestseller (and What the Future Holds)

Early Success for The More of Less

Three weeks ago, I released The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own.

The book introduces the world to minimalism by focusing on the benefits of owning less. It explains how possessions fail to produce happiness in our lives—and even worse, how they keep us from joy by hijacking our most important resources (money, time, energy, & focus).

I am proud of the book. It is inspirational, motivational, and practical.

If you are interested in owning less, you’ll find everything you need in The More of Less to get started on your journey. Or, if you’d like to introduce someone else to the benefits of owning less, this book is a helpful guide.

Here’s how Publisher’s Weekly described it:

With action plans, lists, and appeals to the reader’s quiet nature, Becker successfully presents a well-rounded argument that a journey toward minimalism is possible and enjoyable.

I want to offer a special thank you to everyone who supported its release.

At one point, The More of Less was one of the top 10 selling books in America! And some reports indicate local libraries were operating at a 3:1 hold ratio.

After its first week, the book landed on many National Bestseller Lists:

USA Today Bestsellers List: #10 in Nonfiction; #2 in Self-Help
Publisher’s Weekly: #13 in Hardcover Nonfiction
iBooks: #10 in Nonfiction
Amazon: #1 in Several Categories

Unfortunately, despite outselling many of the other books, The More of Less was not included on the New York Times Bestseller List. I’m a little bummed, but I’m grateful for the opportunity to come close.

The book sold well over 10,000 copies in its first week and 2,000 copies in its second week. In total, in its first 20 days, it has sold 15,000 copies. That’s a lot of people being introduced to the concept of minimalism.

And while a book’s first week is typically the best chance to make the NYT list, anything can still happen in the future.

Speaking of the future…

Playing the Long Game (and How You Can Help)

I’ve learned a lot about traditional publishing over the last 18 months. I’ve learned about the book-writing process, how book distribution works, how bestseller lists are compiled, and how books get sold.

Generally speaking, there are three types of books: 1) Books that never sell. 2) Books that sell on release, but quickly lose momentum and fall off the radar. And 3) Books that gain momentum and continue to have impact into the future.

The goal, certainly, for The More of Less is that it would become a book that continues to have impact in people’s lives—not just in its first three weeks, but well into the future as well.

There are some good signs of that already occurring—it continues to rank among the top-selling books on Amazon, the published reviews for the book are overwhelmingly positive, and the West Coast Book Tour already boasts 1,000+ RSVP’s.

All the signs are good—for which, I am very thankful.

The joy of owning less is an important message in our society today. As long as people need to hear it, I intend to promote it and write about it.

Indeed, many of you can attest to the freedom and empowerment found in minimalism.

If you would like to help “play the long game” and keep The More of Less as a book of influence in our world, here are three things you can do to help:

Leave a positive review on Amazon (or any online retailer). If you’ve read the book and enjoyed it, your rating and positive review will help future readers recognize the potential benefit of the book in their life as well.
Share the book with a friend. If you enjoyed the book, give it to a friend—seriously, just pass along your copy. If you think the book has value for your wider network of friends and family, mention it on Facebook and the influence it has had in your life. More and more people are drawn to the notion of owning less—sometimes, they just need to hear others have already taken the step.
Purchase a copy at your local bookstore. If you haven’t had opportunity to read the book yet, it centers on many of the themes here on Becoming Minimalist (minimalism, intentionality, generosity). But the book format allows opportunity to dive deeper into each of those topics. If you’ve been waiting, your purchase over the next couple weeks will help keep the book on shelves and in the forefront of conversations. You can also find it online almost everywhere (Amazon | B&N | Books A Million | CBD).

The Future of Becoming Minimalist

The publishing of this book does not change my commitment to Becoming Minimalist or the community that has grown around it. I look forward to continue writing about this topic and others into the future.

Thank you for being an important part of it.

3 Keys to Finding More Happiness at Work

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Jeff Goins of Goins Writer.

In our world today, we are overwhelmed with promises to quit our jobs and chase our dreams. We are told that we deserve to be happy and that if we buy enough things that it will eventually happen. We are told to work for the weekend and plan that next vacation. But why can’t we be happy with the life we have right now?

We live in a culture that prizes leisure over labor and longs for a “four-hour work week.” Sadly, like many things in our culture, this promise is an illusion. The truth is you don’t have to hate your job. Work can become a source of fulfillment for you if you choose to see it that way.

For my recent book The Art of Work, I interviewed hundreds of people who had discovered their purpose in life. And as I spoke with these people who had found their callings I learned several lessons. Here are three of them.

1. Hating your job won’t make you any happier.

We don’t have to hate the work we do even if that work isn’t ideally suited to us. Everyone I met who found their calling in life ended up doing something that surprised them. Which means that connecting to your purpose is more about perspective than circumstance.

During World War II, Austrian psychiatrist Viktor Frankl discovered an important lesson about human happiness: “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”

Frankl learned this from living for years in a Nazi concentration camp. Everything was taken from him. His family. His work. His well-being. And yet he realized there was one freedom he could never lose: his.

If you choose to change your perspective, how things look will begin to change. You don’t need to win the lottery to find contentment. In fact, sometimes the very things we think will liberate us will actually only further prison us.

The easiest way to do work you love is to start loving what you do. This is a choice we all have. So let’s stop making work the enemy.

2. Do better work and the work will become more enjoyable.

One way to enjoy your work is to become better at it. It should be no surprise that we find greater fulfillment in activities that we are skilled at doing. But how much this is true is startling.

Laura Carstensen is a psychologist and the director of the Stanford Center on Longevity where they study what makes people live longer and happier lives. What they found was that people who continue to learn enjoy their work more and actually live longer.

Education, according to this study, is the single greatest predictor of lifespan. So you want to live longer? Be happier? Learn a new skill or get better at the one you have. And why not start with the place where you probably already spend eight hours a day?

Once we reach a basic level or proficiency, work that was once tedious may now be enjoyable. As Daniel Pink writes in his book Drive, mastering any skill makes the activity intrinsically more motivating. So if you are struggling to want to go to work in the first place, try doing better work.

3. Realize your whole life is a form of work.

Whether or not you have a day job, you go to work every day. You watch the kids or clean up the house. You mow the lawn or go grocery shopping. Every day, you are working, whether it’s at an office or at home. Whether you are retired or just beginning your career.

We all have important work to do. And that work is our life. Your magnum opus is not just one great thing you did. It is more like a body of work that you are constantly contributing to every day.

In that respect, we all get to decide what kind of job we have and how much we enjoy it. Of course, there are some things that are within our control, like our perspective, and some things that are not, like our circumstances. Your job is to learn to let go of what you can’t control and embrace what you can.

One important lesson about being happier with your life and work is learning to make trade-offs. It’s the dream of many people to want more of everything. More money. More stuff. More time. But you can’t have all three of those all at once.

So decide what’s most important to you. You can do almost anything you want in life but not everything. If you’re not doing what you want, you can quit. But that choice has consequences. You can stay where you are and there is a cost to that as well. One choice isn’t necessarily better than the other, so long as you realize you can’t have it all right now.

There is, however, something beautiful about not getting everything you thought you wanted. Constraints create contentment. Because in those constraints you realize what’s really important.

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Jeff Goins is the author of four books including the national best seller, The Art of Work, which you can get for $2.99 this week only. You can find him on Twitter or follow his award-winning writing blog.

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.

Declutter Your Fantasy Self | Huffington Post by Francine Jay. Decluttering gives us more than clean closets. It gives us clarity – for what we want to do, how we want to live, who we want to be.

Unemployment is down. Gas prices are low. Why isn’t America shopping? | Washington Post by Sarah Halzack. Consumers are choosing to shell out for experiences instead of goods that fill their closets or their kitchens.

12 Creative Ways to Declutter Your Home | Mind Body Green by Joshua Becker. There is a beautiful world of freedom and fresh breath hiding beneath your clutter. How you remove it is up to you.

After eliminating 75% of my wardrobe, I realized Mark Zuckerberg and Barack Obama are on to something big | Business Insider by Kathleen Elkins. There’s a scientific reason some of the most successful people wear the same outfit day in and day out.

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Thanks to everyone who supported the release of my new book, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own. It recently debuted on the USA Today Bestsellers List, the Publisher’s Weekly Bestsellers List, and the iBooks Bestseller List. For that, I am incredibly grateful.

Accomplish More with a 3-Item To Do List

First, let me give credit where credit is due. It was Melissa Camara Wilkins who first introduced me to the 3-Item To Do List.

I have used it ever since. And I’d love to recommend it to you.

For most of my life, I was the person with a mile long to-do list next to me at all times, often carrying over from day-to-day and week-to-week. But no longer.

For the past several months, I have been using a 3-Item To Do List exclusively—and I have found it to increase my productivity and work satisfaction significantly.

The 3-Item To Do List is as simple and profound as it sounds. At the beginning of each day, I take time to identify and articulate the three most important items for me to accomplish.

For example, my To Do List for today consists of these three items:

Write a blog post for Becoming Minimalist
Set agenda for our next Hope Effect Board of Directors’ Meeting
Put final touches on an article pitch for a major publication

That’s it! Three items—all significant, all important, all entirely manageable.

Now, almost certainly,  there are other work-related things I will do today: post to Facebook, answer e-mail, text a peer. But my three main identified projects will always take precedence.

The short list approach keeps me focused on the most important tasks I need to accomplish.

But I have found other benefits as well. The shorter list keeps me from feeling overwhelmed. The shorter list also helps me overcome procrastination—the finish line is always in sight.

Additionally, and equally important, the 3-Item List provides a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. This benefit is the main one that Melissa articulates—she even refers to it as an “Enough List.” When the list is completed, there is a sense of finality. She says it like this:

Now instead of ending each day feeling like I’ve fallen behind, I have a built-in sense of accomplishment in the evenings. I finished my three things! I did what mattered most!

The importance of identifying the three most important things to accomplish in a day is revolutionary regardless of where you apply it. It is a helpful productivity hack at work. It can be used equally well by a stay-at-home mom or dad. It can be uniquely tailored for a hobby or side-business.

In order to accomplish our most important tasks, it is essential to remain focused on them. The 3-Item To Do List accomplishes that and requires you to identify them anew each morning.

Becoming Minimalist

In 2008, Memorial Day weekend promised to deliver beautiful weather—not always the case in Vermont at that time of year. So my wife, Kim, and I decided to spend that Saturday shopping, running errands, and catching up on chores. Spring cleaning was our big goal for the weekend, starting with the garage.

Saturday morning dawned, and as Kim and our infant daughter slept on, I got our son, Salem, out of bed early for some eggs and bacon. I thought that after a nice breakfast he might be in a state of mind to help his dad. Looking back now, I’m not sure why I thought a five-year-old would feel eager about cleaning a garage, but nevertheless this was my hope. After breakfast we made our way to it.

Our two-car garage, as always, was full of stuff. Boxes stacked one on top of another threatened to fall off shelves. Bikes were tangled together, leaned against a wall. A garden hose slumped in loops in a corner. Rakes and shovels and brooms leaned every which way. Some days we’d have to turn sideways when getting in and out of our cars to squeeze through the mess that filled the garage.

“Salem,” I said, “here’s what we need to do. This garage has gotten dirty and messy over the winter, so we’re going to pull everything out onto the driveway. Then we’re going to hose down the entire garage, and after it’s dry, we’ll put everything back more organized. Okay?”

The little guy nodded, pretending to understand everything I had just told him.

I motioned to a plastic bin in the corner and asked Salem to drag it out.

Unfortunately, this particular bin happened to be full of Salem’s summer toys. As you can imagine, as soon as my son was reunited with toys he hadn’t seen in months, the last thing he wanted to do was help me clean the garage. He grabbed his Wiffle ball and bat and began heading for the backyard.

On his way out, he stopped. “Will you play with me, Dad?” he asked, a hopeful expression on his face.

“Sorry, buddy. I can’t,” I told him. “But we can play as soon as I finish. I promise.”

With a pang, I watched Salem’s brown head disappear around the corner of the garage.

As the morning crept along, one thing led to another, and the possibility that I would be able to join Salem in the backyard began to look less and less likely. I was still working in the garage hours later when Kim called Salem and me in for lunch.

When I headed back outside to finish the job, I noticed our next-door neighbor June working in her own yard, planting flowers and watering her garden. June was an elderly woman with gray hair and a kindly smile who had always taken an interest in my family. I waved to her and got on with my work.

By this point, I was trying to clean and organize all the stuff I had dragged out of the garage in the morning. It was hard work and taking much longer than I had expected. As I worked, I thought about all the times lately that I had been feeling discontented while taking care of our stuff. Here was yet another time! What made it worse was that Salem kept appearing from the backyard to ask questions or try to convince me to play with him. Each time I’d tell him, “Almost done, Salem.”

June could recognize the frustration in my body language and tone of voice. At one point, as we happened to pass each other, she said to me sarcastically, “Ah, the joys of home ownership.” She had spent most of the day caring for her own home.

I responded, “Well, you know what they say—the more stuff you own, the more your stuff owns you.”

Her next words changed the course of my life. “Yeah,” she said, “that’s why my daughter is a minimalist. She keeps telling me I don’t need to own all this stuff.”

I don’t need to own all this stuff.

The sentence reverberated in my mind as I turned to look at the fruits of my morning labor: a large pile of dirty, dusty possessions stacked in my driveway. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed my son, alone in the backyard, still playing by himself. The juxtaposition of the two scenes dug deep into my heart, and I began to recognize the source of my discontent for the first time.

It was piled up in my driveway.

I already knew that possessions don’t equal happiness. Doesn’t everybody? At least we all profess to know that our things won’t bring us true satisfaction. But in that moment, as I surveyed the pile of stuff in my driveway, another realization came to me: Not only are my possessions not bringing happiness into my life; even worse, they are actually distracting me from the things that do!

I ran inside the house and found my wife upstairs scrubbing a bathtub. Still trying to catch my breath, I said, “Kim, you’ll never guess what just happened. June said we don’t need to own all this stuff!”

And in that moment a minimalist family was born.

I have learned a lot about minimalism in the eight years since my garage-cleaning experience. The best of my discoveries appear in The More of Less. Yet the point I will keep coming back to is the same insight I had on that first day: Our excessive possessions are not making us happy.

Even worse, they are taking us away from the things that do. Once we let go of the things that don’t matter, we are free to pursue all the things that really do matter.

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“Becoming Minimalist” is an excerpt from The More of Less.

Hardcover. Available everywhere: Amazon | B&N | Books A Million | CBD

Here it is: The More of Less!

“The More of Less, by Joshua Becker, is not at all what I expected when I first picked it up.” —Christina Butcher

The More of Less

Today, my best book ever goes on sale in bookstores around the country (and online retailers around the world).

I am filled with both gratitude and excitement. I am thankful for those who helped make this book what it is today.

And I am excited about the possibility for the influence that it can have—not just in your life, but in society as a whole.

Make no mistake, I wrote this book for one reason: to change the world by promoting the life-giving benefits of owning less and introducing the lifestyle to as many people as possible.

There is more joy to be found in owning less than we can ever discover pursuing more. This book points people to that truth on every page!

The More of Less is a book about owning less, but it is about more than that. It is about intentionality, and generosity, and selflessness, and deciding to live for more important things than bigger houses and fuller closets.

It’s about living our lives to their fullest potential pursuing our greatest passions.

It is the most practical book I have ever written and also the most inspirational, filled with stories from my life and others who have decided to live with less. It has been endorsed by some of the most influential writers inspiring simplicity today.

The More of Less:Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own communicates the benefits of owning less and helps readers craft a personal, practical approach to decluttering their home and life. And it’s the perfect book for anybody who desires to live a better life—focused on things that matter.

Where to Get the Book

Starting today, the book can be found everywhere.

Hardcover: Amazon | B&N | Books A Million | CBD | IndieBound | Lifeway

Special Limited Autographed Edition: B&N

Digital: Kindle | Nook | iBooks | KOBO

Audio: Amazon

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Bonus Offer: 3 Ways to Meet the Author

The online, pre-order sales for The More of Less have been unbelievable—over 10,000 copies sold already! But since this is my first book carried by every major bookstore in the country, I’d love to see the Becoming Minimalist community show up in-person to buy the book as well. 

To help promote in-store sales, I’m offering three distinct ways to meet me and talk about the book:

I will randomly select one reader (and a guest) for dinner. To qualify, purchase a hardcover edition from your local bookstore before Sunday, May 8, and leave a comment on this Facebook post (you will need to provide proof of purchase if selected). A drawing will be held on Sunday at 10am ET. I’ll make arrangements to travel to the hometown of the winner, pick them up, and enjoy the finest dining their hometown has to offer (I’m really quite excited about it). This prize is limited to residents of the continental US.
I will randomly select 10 readers to receive a 60-minute Skype conversation with me. Again, to qualify for the drawing, purchase a hardcover edition from your local bookstore before Sunday, May 8, and leave a comment on this Facebook post (you’ll be required to provide proof of purchase if selected). I’ll arrange a Skype call with ten winners, where we can talk about minimalism, decluttering, writing, the state of American politics… or whatever may be on your mind that day. You set the entire agenda.
In June, my family is heading out on a 10-City, West Coast Book Tour (Tucson, AZ to Victoria, BC and a whole bunch of cities in-between). I’d love for you to join us. Tickets are free and over 700 people have already RSVP’d. To see if we’re coming to your city or to grab a ticket, check out the Tour Schedule.

Bookstores are important. I encourage you to support yours.

I’ve been writing about minimalism for eight years. The More of Less contains everything I have learned during that time.

It is, by far, my best writing ever and you’re really going to love it. So grab a copy today—and grab one for a friend too.

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.

 

Parents Are Bankrupting Themselves to Look Adequate | Bloomberg by Megan McArdle. “The primary reason people have so much trouble saving is that they can always find a reason to justify not doing so.”

Americans don’t like to buy stuff anymore – and that’s a problem | Yahoo Finance by Rick Newman. The shift in attitudes among young people is most striking.

Fear Is Why We Have Too Much Stuff | Zen Habits by Leo Babauta. Fear is what causes us to buy things we don’t really need. Fear keeps us holding onto stuff we don’t need.

Collect Memories, Not Stuff | No Sidebar by Kerry Ogden. When it comes to ridding life of extraneous things, these three questions are instrumental.