An interview with David Damron: Goals, Plastic, and the Freedom of Being Minimalist.

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.

Courtesy of David Damron

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.

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The (Minimalist) Tipping Point: How Small Choices Create Big Impact.

meonabeach

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.

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The Minimalist Week: 5 Days 5 Ways to Apply Simplicity

holdingitalltogetherWriting 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.

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The Simple Reasons For Being Minimalist

peaceWriting and photography by Everett Bogue | Follow me on Twitter

Being minimalist is about having an honest relationship with your life.

Every action is balanced and effective. Every possession is used with appreciation and regularity. Every thought is worth thinking. Every person is an honor to know.

This is the best approach, that I can think of, to being a better person.

By simplifying your daily approach to everything, you can free up space to explore an uncomplicate the world.





Minimalist Focus: How to Stop Multitasking and Get Work Done

thelongroadWriting and Photography by Everett Bogue | Follow me on Twitter

Hey blogaudience! I’ve got a lot of work to do this week.

As I’m writing blog post for you to read, I’m also doing these things:

  • Creating a brilliant logo for a creative company in California
  • Creating a stunning website for a creative company in California
  • Finishing production on a website for an artist in New York
  • Writing 15 short informative stories for a web publisher
  • Drinking a coffee
  • Checking my Twitter
  • Checking my email
  • Doing dishes
  • Doing laundry
  • Thinking about what to eat for lunch
  • Trying to sell my bike

Whew, that’s a lot of work that I’ve got to do, and most of it involves a hard-to-harness skill called ‘Creativity’.

The problem is that for the last three hours I’ve been trying to do all of this stuff at the same time. I’m getting somewhere, but I’m not seeing the results that I need to see in order to get all of these projects to done in an acceptable amount of time.

It’s a well known fact that multitasking is a productivity killer. Minimalists try not to multitask, because by doing so we’re wasting time that we could be enjoying our lives.

So why am I engaging in the ultimate productivity sin?

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