
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.
continue reading…
Written 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?
continue reading…
Interview by Everett Bogue | Follow me on Twitter.
I’m excited to present the first in a series of interviews on being minimalist. Every Wednesday on Far Beyond The Stars, for the foreseeable future, I’ll be publishing an interview with an authority on living the minimalist life.
Next week I’ll be speaking with Colin Wright of Exile Lifestyle about his experiences moving abroad and working from anywhere. The week after I’m totally stoked to be speaking with Leo Babauta of Mnmlist and Zen Habits about his experiences with being minimalist.
Don’t miss out these interviews! You can receive free updates from Far Beyond The Stars by RSS or Email.

David Damron, on one of his excursions.
Today I have the honor of speaking with David Damron. Dave writes about being minimalist at The Minimalist Path, and about living life to the fullest at Life Excursion. He’s also published an excellent free ebook: 7 Steps to a Simpler Life.
I talked with Dave about his minimalist goals, his annoyance over the amount of plastic bags being used by consumers, and easy strategies that everyone can adopt in order to make their lives more minimalist.
I hope you’ll give this a read!
The Interview with David Damron
Everett Bogue: There are a few basic pillars on which rests the philosophy of being minimalist, what do you think is the most important element of being minimalist?
David Damron: The most important element of being a minimalist, for me, is determining what is most important in my life. Simplifying and reduction is key, but knowing what is important is the best reason to become a minimalist.
continue reading…

Yes, that's me at the pacific ocean last week.
Writing and photography by Everett Bogue | Follow me on Twitter
I spoke with a person recently who described themselves as ‘definitely-not-minimalist’ about how overwhelming it is to combat a world that is constantly calling on her to buy more and more.
She asked me how she could to stop the cycle of consumerism in her own life.
She was a person who have been accumulating stuff an incredibly long time. She was born in a generation that was defined by consumption and perpetuated by the prices of items falling at an incredible rate.
She bought into one of the great American dreams.
Success was stuff, America defined it. But all of that has changed, the internet has transformed our society into one that is fueled on information and ideas. We can work from anywhere, if we let ourselves see that.
Past the basic essentials that you need to live, most of the stuff we filled our lives with doesn’t matter anymore.
What people don’t realize, when they’re on a ten or fifteen year long consumption binge is just how difficult it is to dig yourself out from the weight of all of this stuff.
They want to get out, they want to be free, but it’s overwhelming.
continue reading…
Writing and photography by Everett Bogue | Follow me on Twitter
It’s almost Thanksgiving! Wow, crazy, this year flew by. To clear time for all of the festivities, –so I can spend time with my family during the holidays without constantly thumbing my iPhone,– I’m trying to wrap up as many projects as I can before I can dig into the turkey –or tofurkey, whatever you’re into.
I like to up my dosage of simplicity for the week, when my life is busier than usual.
One way that I do this is by setting daily goals for myself.
Here are five minimalist goals that I have set for myself for the week. I hope they’re helpful to you. If you’re interested, maybe follow along with me. Let me know what you think in the comments or on Twitter.
If you apply these daily goals, and they work for you, let me know how it went!
Monday: Start the week with a simple and healthy breakfast.
Beginning your week with a healthy breakfast is so important, I can’t stress this enough. On the days that I skip breakfast and just drink a coffee, I get less accomplished and feel drained. Maybe you’re already doing this, I know I am, but take a moment to consider what you’re eating this morning.
I suggest whole grains, a fruit or two, and some protein. Peanut butter on whole wheat toast, and a banana, could be one option. Another, two eggs, an orange, with whole-bran muffin. Perhaps drink some orange juice with that coffee. Yum! I’m going to be sure to shop on Sunday (tonight, when I’m writing this) so I don’t have to go out to get breakfast.
continue reading…