5 Simple Reasons to be Thankful for Being Minimalist

minimalisttreesWritten by Everett Bogue | Follow me on Twitter

There are a lot of reasons to be thankful for living a simple minimalist life. Here are the five that came to my mind just now.

I’m thankful for…

  1. Having peace of mind. I love that all of my important stuff fits in a bag that I can carry anywhere with me. I can be anywhere, and not have to worry about anything bad happening to my stuff. There’s no need to worry about overdue project deadlines, as I have the time to do them immediately. Peace of mind is beautiful. How being minimalist can lead to peace of mind.
  2. Being able to focus on the important. To me, being minimalist is about time management. The world is overflowing with distractions, and it’s easy to get sucked into doing things that you’re not really interested in. Being able to opt out of that chaos, and focus on what you really want to achieve is incredibly important. How to stop doing the unimportant.
  3. That there is no clutter in my life. Once in awhile someone will ask me ‘should I keep this tiny bit of broken plastic in a drawer somewhere?’ and I say ‘no, recycle it, you don’t need it.’ and they think I’m crazy and save it anyway. Isn’t saving broken things in drawers silly? A lot of people will think you’re weird for being minimalist, but the funny thing is, the joke is on them. Minimalists are going on vacation five times a year (or working from a beach all year), and the clutterers are spending all of that time sorting through drawers full of broken crap. How to unclutter your life.
  4. Having the time to focus on eating right. I always have time to prepare meals for myself that are made out of healthy ingredients that come from real food (like vegetables!) Processed foods are so bad for you, especially corn in a can. High fructose corn syrup is just insane, why do so many people drink refined grains? The ability to eat food that’s made out of food is definitely worth being thankful for. How to eat real food.
  5. Attaining freedom from location. I’m incredibly thankful for being able to actually be in Chicago for thanksgiving this year. In previous years I was always tied to a job that would only give me Thursday off, so it was impossible to fly home. In a week I’ll be working from my girlfriend’s apartment back in Brooklyn, then I’ll fly back to Chicago and spend New Years at a lodge in Wisconsin. Achieving freedom from location is not easy, but the benefits are endless. How to achieve location independence.

What are you thankful for?





An Interview with Colin Wright: The Freedom of Working From Anywhere in Sexy Shoes

Interview by Everett Bogue | Follow me on Twitter.

Every Wednesday on Far Beyond The Stars I interview an important person on the subject of being minimalist.

Last week we visited with David Damron of A Minimalist Path, he spoke about plastic bag usage in the US and how to make your life more minimal.

Next week I’m excited to speak with Leo Babauta of Zen Habits and Mnmlist. Be sure to sign up for free updates so you don’t miss the interview!

colinFor today’s interview, I spoke with Colin Wright of Exile Lifestyle. Colin writes about location independent lifestyle design, and just published an outstanding free e-book on How to be Remarkable.

We talked about the challenge of moving to new countries every four months, minimizing possessions, working exclusively online, and his sexy shoes.

Check out the interview below!

Everett Bogue: You’ve set a goal of moving every four months to another country, which I imagine means that you’ve had to really streamline your possessions. What are the essential possessions that you take on on the road for a project like yours?

Colin Wright: Oh man, did I ever streamline. I went from having a two-story townhouse full of stuff (5 computers, a room-sized closet full of clothing, a car AND a scooter AND a bike, etc) to owning only what will fit in a single carry-on bag.

It’s been a major shift, but a really liberating one.

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It’s a Minimalist Christmas! How to Give (what matters) This Holiday Season

chicagoWritten by Everett Bogue | Follow me on Twitter

Uh oh, it’s almost Black Friday.

Hopefully the idea of running out to consume, after you’ve consumed all of that turkey, gives the shudders. It certainly gives them to me. The idea of people cramming half-off things into shopping cards actually makes me want to lock myself in the cellar and reemerge after the holidays are over.

Nothing is sadder than running around a store frantically trying to buy useless things at a discount, then pawning them off on some poor friend or family member who has to deal with that object until they can safely throw it away without you noticing.

Stop buying stupid stuff, especially for other people. Please!

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The Revolution Will NOT Be Televised: How to Destroy Your TV

television

Written by Everett Bogue | Follow me on Twitter

I just read a story over at Get Rich Slowly about a frugal man who is trying to live a minimalist life, but was being made fun of by his peers for not owning a TV.

“My colleagues at work tell me that I live a miserable life, and I don’t give my family “materialistic life pleasures”. Those sort of words hurt me a lot. We don’t have a TV at our house and my colleague makes fun of this thing all the time.”

Am I the only one who thinks that’s silly?

J.D. Roth of Get Rich Slowly had a little to say about the situation:

“…I don’t see how the lack of television is something to mock. If anything, it ought to be praised. The most productive, least materialistic people I know are those who watch little or no television. This site would never have been built if I were a TV-watcher.”

Exactly.

The most productive people I know don’t watch TV.

Think about it. Television is by nature an all consuming direct form of marketing. It’s supported by advertisements trying to get you to buy the next biggest thing, the shows on it are filled with product placement and supported by ad revenue.

Companies are spending billions of dollars on psychologists and ad companies trying to get you to buy buy buy. The television shows are complacent in this scheme. — Obviously PBS is an exception, but when was the last time you watched PBS?

98% of TV is crap.

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The True Food Diet: 7 Rules for Eating Right

cowsWritten by Everett Bogue | Follow me on Twitter

As I write this I’m sitting in the lounge car of the Empire Builder Express, cruising through the middle of rural Montana. It’s pretty sweet.

Everyone I told that I was taking a train from Portland to Chicago had either this reaction “wow, that’s awesome!” or “you’re insane.”

I must be in the camp that feels it’s awesome.

There’s no cellphone connection in the middle of nowhere, so I’m not sure when I’ll be able to upload this. (note, finally posted after I got to Chicago.)

I’ve been reading An Omnivore’s Dilemma, and though I’m not even half way through the book, I can say for certain that it’s definitely a book worth reading. Michael Pollan, like he did in In Defense of Food, dives into the problems facing our country’s food system head-on.

The first stop: Cornucopia.

You might not realize just how much corn you’re consuming in your average diet, but the quantity is astounding. A full quarter of the products in the supermarket have some form of corn in them. Coke and Pepsi is basically reduced corn juice (high fructose corn syrup). Most common-denominator meat consists of cows that are force-fed corn, which they aren’t able to digest properly, making them sick and depressed.

This makes me sad.

Reading about this subject reminded me of the dramatic change I’ve made in the way that I eat. Over the last six months, since I read Pollan’s In Defense of Food, I took his advice and started eating real food.

True food, if you will. Food that is made out of food.

There is a startling amount of “food” in the supermarket that didn’t exist fifty years ago. Most of this food exists in the isles in the middle of the grocery store filled with boxes and in freezers.

I stopped eating anything that came in a package, anything that had been processed, anything that won’t spoil. This includes veggie supplements such as soy hotdogs, veggie burgers, cereals, gogurts, etc.

I decided to abandon all of these foods. I started eating true food.

The result is that I’m an additional 10 pounds lighter than I was when I left New York. I finally don’t have a disgusting little belly anymore. It’s great. I haven’t weighed myself lately, but I estimate that I’m somewhere around 160-165 lbs. (I’m 5’11″) I had to poke a new hole in the belt that I’ve had since I was 16. When I was a teenager I weighed more than I do now, crazy!

Here’s how I did it. I promise you, if you follow these instructions you will lose weight naturally. You will also reduce your risk of heart disease and cancer. But keep in mind I’m not a nutritional expert. I’m just a common sense expert who reads books on food.

If this sounds extreme, take it slow. If you’re hooked on what the food industry wants you to eat, it’s hard to get off. Start by eating one meal a week with these instructions, and gradually work your way up.

I’d also like to dedicate this post to my blog friend Gordie. If you don’t know him, he’s the world’s fattest lifestyle designer. Check out his blog.

He’s made the brave decision of choosing to change his life. Go read about what he’s doing. Drop him a note of encouragement, it would warm my heart and his!

Now onto the secret to eating right. It’s pretty obvious, why haven’t you been doing this all along?

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