The More of Less Quotes

“You don't need more space. You need less stuff.”
― Joshua Becker, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own

“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.”
― Joshua Becker, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own

“Sometimes, minimizing possessions means a dream must die. But this is not always a bad thing. Sometimes, it takes giving up the person we wanted to be in order to fully appreciate the person we can actually become.”
― Joshua Becker, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own

“But nobody gets to the end of life wishing they had bought more things. Why is that? Because consumption never fully delivers on its promise of fulfillment or happiness. Instead, it steals our freedom and results only in an unquenchable desire for more. It brings burden and regret. It distracts us from the very things that do bring us joy.”
― Joshua Becker, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own

“Maybe the life you’ve always wanted is buried under everything you own!”
― Joshua Becker, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own

“...minimalism in the service of others is a logical extension of the same ethos of selflessness.”
― Joshua Becker, The More Of Less

“Clutter is a visual sign of…procrastination, and carries with it just as much anxiety,”
― Joshua Becker, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own

“The goal of minimalism, let’s remember, is not just to own less stuff. The goal of minimalism is to unburden our lives so we can accomplish more.”
― Joshua Becker, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own

“But maybe the greatest benefit of generosity is this: generous people realize that they already have enough.”
― Joshua Becker, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own

“Mark Twain has been credited as saying, “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” And I might add a third: the day you throw off any distraction and decide to pursue your purpose fully.”
― Joshua Becker, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own

“Will Rogers once said, “Too many people spend money they haven’t earned to buy things they don’t want to impress people they don’t like.” ”
― Joshua Becker, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own

“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.”
― Joshua Becker, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own

“Reorganizing doesn’t actually constitute change in our lives. It is only a temporary fix which we will continually revisit. If organizing your stuff worked, wouldn’t you be done by now?”
― Joshua Becker, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own

“This is what makes the unexamined life so dangerous. We think we are living life to the fullest but we aren’t. Instead, we are often trading long-term purpose for short-term pleasure. When we eat unhealthily, we miss an opportunity to fuel our bodies properly. When we watch too much TV or spend too much time online, we miss opportunities to interact with people in the real world. When we neglect to exercise, we miss the opportunity to enjoy the kinds of adventures available to those with physical stamina. When we stay up late and sleep through the morning, we may be missing out on the most productive period of our day. When we buy more than we need, we miss the opportunity to live free and unburdened. When we spend more than we earn, we shackle ourselves with bondage to debt. When we spend too much money on ourselves, we miss the opportunity to find greater joy by being generous to others. The way to avoid these kinds of mistakes is to live intentionally. That is, we examine our options and make choices with larger purposes and longer-term goals in mind. If an activity, a decision, or a habit is not bringing us closer to our purpose and passion, then we should remove it. Because most of the time it is only distracting us from what really matters.”
― Joshua Becker, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own

“You can do anything you want, but you can’t do everything.”
― Joshua Becker, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own

“What if contentment is actually found in the opposite place from where we have been looking? What if contentment is found not in accumulating things for ourselves but in meeting the needs of others? It’s true that the less we need, the more we can give away. But what if the inverse is also true? What if the more we give away, the less we need? In other words, what if generosity leads to contentment? People who give away possessions hold their remaining possessions in higher esteem. People who give their time make better use of their remaining time. And people who donate money are less wasteful with the money left over.”
― Joshua Becker, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own

“The goal is not to remove every person from my life who does not serve me. The goal is to bring greater intentionality into each of my relationships. I want to find people who will lead me, mentor me, and love me, but I also want to keep in my life people whom I serve and love and pour my life into. Because both are required for a balanced life.”
― Joshua Becker, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own

“People who give away possessions hold their remaining possessions in higher esteem. People who give their time make better use of their remaining time. And people who donate money are less wasteful with the money left over.”
― Joshua Becker, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own

“Purposefully owning less begins to take us out of the unwinnable game of comparison.”
― Joshua Becker, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own

“If organizing your stuff worked, wouldn’t you be done by now?”
― Joshua Becker, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own

“Choosing to invest only in the relationships that benefit us isn't love----it's selfishness.”
― Joshua Becker, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own

“Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from them.”
― Joshua Becker, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own

“Clutter is a visual sign of…procrastination, and carries with it just as much anxiety,” Leo Babauta writes.”
― Joshua Becker, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own

“Minimalism is about what it gives, not what it takes away. It’s the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from them. It’s a new way of living that fills us with hope.”
― Joshua Becker, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own

“The payoff isn’t just a clean house — it’s a more satisfying, more meaningful life. Minimalism is an indispensable key to the better life you’ve been searching for all along.”
― Joshua Becker, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own

“Sometimes, parting with our possessions means giving up an image that we have created in our mind of the person we would like to become. Sometimes, minimizing possessions means a dream must die.”
― Joshua Becker, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own

“In your process of removing the unneeded excess, you’ll want to develop your own working definition of clutter. Early in our minimizing journey, my wife and I began to define clutter as (a) too much stuff in too small a space, (b) anything that we no longer used or loved, and (c) anything that led to a feeling of disorganization. Feel free to rip off that definition if you want. But there are other definitions you might find resonate better with your ideals. For example, Joshua Fields Millburn defines clutter as anything that does not “add value” to his life.1 Marie Kondo describes clutter as those things in her home that do not “spark joy.” 2 Peter Walsh goes even further, saying that clutter is anything that “interferes with the life you could be living.” 3 And William Morris says it this way: “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” 4”
― Joshua Becker, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own

“Success and excess are not the same.”
― Joshua Becker, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own

“For example, one of the things cluttering up the garage was a set of golf clubs. I rarely used them. Would I really be playing golf much in the future? If not, was it worth keeping a set of clubs around? I decided golf was not a high priority of mine, so I got rid of the clubs.”
― Joshua Becker, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own

“More time and energy — Whether we are making the money to buy them, researching and purchasing them, cleaning and organizing them, repairing them, replacing them, or selling them, our possessions consume our time and energy. So the fewer things we have, the more of our time and energy we’ll have left to devote to other pursuits that matter more to us.”
― Joshua Becker, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own