Everything That Remains: A Memoir by The Minimalists

by Joshua Fields Millburn

I had seen other people be very successful entrepreneurs, people who were doing similar things. They all shared one thing in common: they never leave. Once you make a million dollars, a million is no longer enough. So then you have to make five million. And then fifty. And eventually you’ve spent more than half your life simply trying to earn money. But for what?”

Minimalism has allowed me to eliminate the other distractions from my life, things that, when you step back and look at the big picture, just don’t matter as much as we think they do.”

It’s important to remember that these naysayers are just projecting. It’s that ingrained fear we all have, a natural instinct. We tend to be afraid of bucking the status quo. But when you do take that first jump, it actually becomes terrifying to do ‘normal’ things, because you realize what a risk it is to give up your entire life just to be normal.”

Our culture, myself included, seems to be way too focused on “What do you do?” with very little, if any, emphasis on “What are you passionate about?”

It occurs to me there are likely two reasons for this work/passion phenomenon, the epidemic of imbalance. First, the question “What do you do?” is endemic in our culture. It is in many cases the first question we ask strangers.

“You can't change the people around you, but you can change the people around you.”

I’ve met all my most meaningful relationships online.” “Like, on the Internet?” “That’s right. I’ve met most of my closest friends on the Internet.”

“But you see,” I continue, “because of the Internet, you and I are no longer relegated by propinquity. We’re no longer forced to engage in pointless small talk in an effort to uncover a morsel of commonality. We no longer have to hang out with the guy or gal in the nearby cubicle outside work hours. Instead, we can seek out people with similar values and beliefs.”

All my newfound relationships have in common two things: we met because of the Internet, and we see the world through similar lenses. That doesn’t mean we always agree on everything, nor do we have the same tastes, opinions, or personalities—we’re human beings, not robots, for god’s sake—but our common interests allow us to forge bonds that’re predicated on something much more meaningful than proximity.”

reach out and establish new connections with new people who share your ethics and core behaviors.”

People tend to designate one of three labels to their work: job, career, mission.

“I say ‘I’m passionate about writing.’ and then follow-up that statement with, ‘What are you passionate about?’ which completely redirects the conversation, changing its trajectory from what you do, to what you’re both passionate about, which is far more interesting for everyone.”

I’ve discovered that your life should be your real identity—all the things that interest you, not how you earn a paycheck.”

People who do what they love for a living tend to refer to their work as their mission. Not their job, not their career—their mission.

I no longer own things that don’t consistently add value to my life. I wear all my clothes, use all my dishes, enjoy all my possessions because I’ve intentionally retained only that which continues to add value. Everything else is gone.

At age thirty, I earn less money than I did at nineteen, and yet I’ve never been happier. My happiness is derived from my experiences, from my relationships, from my health—not from my income.

Viral content is but a well-crafted soundbite, devoid of substance. So instead of Going Viral, I focus on one thing: Adding Value.

Adding Value surely doesn’t sound as sexy as Going Viral, but it’s the only way to gain long-term buy-in, and it’s one of the few ways to build trust. When people trust you, they are eager to share your message with the people they love. Contribution is a basic human instinct; we are built to share value.

three things that significantly changed his life: establishing habits he enjoyed, simplifying his life, and living with no goals.

I am more productive by doing less. Rather than the normal productivity tropes of planning and scheduling, attempting to force production, I get more done by focusing on only the important stuff first, working through the tasks that truly matter, embracing Real Priorities instead of engaging in fluid inactivity.

Every relationship—friendship, romantic, or otherwise—is a series of gives and takes. Every relationship has an Us Box. For the relationship to work, both people must contribute to—and get something from—that Us Box. If you just give but don’t get, you’ll feel used, exploited, taken advantage of; and if you only take but don’t give, you’re a parasite, a freeloader, a bottom-feeder.

But in reality, I wasn’t growing as much as I once was because I was no longer contributing as much as I once was.

you can’t grow unless you give.

we are not the sum of our material possessions,

we are what we focus on.

I ran toward the place where I thought Happiness was, when Happiness was actually waiting in the place I was running from.

the five most important areas of life: health, relationships, passion, growth, and contribution.

Vasocongestion is the medical term for blueballs. … The word masturbation comes from the Latin word masturbari, which means “to pollute oneself.”

Every year, roughly forty thousand Americans suffer from toilet-related injuries. By peeing in the shower, however, the average American can save one thousand one hundred and fifty-seven gallons of water per annum.

When your work becomes your life’s mission, you no longer need a work-life balance.”

“Step one. Avoid holiday doorbuster sales.

“Step two. Gift your time.

The next time someone asks you what you want for Christmas, consider responding with, ‘Your presence is the best present you can give me.’

“Step three. Gift experiences, not stuff.

“Step four. Ask for better Christmas gifts.

You’re unhappy with the status quo, unhappy with what you’re supposed to do with your life, just unhappy with the way things are. And so was I. But that’s because I wasn’t asking the right questions…”

Love people, use things. The opposite doesn’t work.

Any man who thinks he is going to work less after getting a promotion is setting himself up with a poor expectation, one that will lead to pain and disappointment in the long run.

it has leather seats that warm my ass on my long drive home from my eleven-hour workday—the workday I’m forced to return to tomorrow so I can continue to make those car payments.

I’m getting rid of everything still in those heaps of boxes in my livingroom. All of it. Which makes me realize that maybe with less stuff I don’t need the same income, and if I’m not tied to my income, then maybe I could do something different, something I’m passionate about.

Being content with mediocrity makes us compromise what we really want out of life, so we settle, opting instead for what’s “safe.” But settling should be viewed as a bad thing: sea creatures settle to the bottom of the ocean when they die, where they stay, settled, dead among all the other dead things.

I hate the saying, “Choose a job you love, and you will never work a day in your life,” because it’s misleading. Pursuing your mission requires lots of in-the-trenches hard work and madman-type dedication.