Simple Living

One of the most common simple living struggles people have is overcoming the desire to keep up with the Joneses. You know, the theoretical family that always has nice new things. The home, the cars, the vacations, the clothing. We tell ourselves that we need to have what they have. We get jealous. We compare […]

Toyota is one of the most widely respected companies in the world. They are known for their focus on quality, reliability and efficiency. Anybody who has been to business school has certainly read one or more case studies on this incredible company. One of the Toyota processes that was likely studied was “Just In Time […]

It’s easy to find yourself watching the actions of another person and ask, “Why would they do that?” If it’s something you disagree with, the easiest conclusion to come to is that a person is acting intentionally bad.  You think they are making the wrong choice. But with some critical thought, we know that is […]

No matter how simple you strive to make your life, you’ll still always have to eat food. And while you could in theory eat out for every meal, it’s healthier, less expensive, and brings your closer to your food to cook at home. I keep a minimalist approach to all the rooms in my home, […]

Feedback loops are systems where the output is returned back to the input of the system, essentially causing the system to respond to itself. If you’ve ever been to a concert before, you are well aware of how a feedback loop works; the loud screech when a microphone picks up the sound coming from the […]

“I’m in control of my luxury spending, I can stop whenever I want to.” “I’m not like Darren, he really spends too much on luxury items.” “It’s okay if buying my luxury items keeps me from saving, you’re going to die someday.” Like a powerful drug, luxury purchases are nothing more than an addiction to […]

Sometimes when you look towards the future, gazing over the horizon of what is to come, it scares you. – When you are a toddler, it’s the dark. Then it’s the bike without training wheels. Then it’s performing in the school play. Then it’s talking to that boy/girl. Years later, it’s to apply for that […]

Learning to be content with what you have is an important step to improve your life. There is a reason that so many religions, philosophers, and life coaches have focused on contentment. When you learn to be content with what you have, you unlock freedom from temptation, jealousy, and the need for always wanting more. Contentment […]

Before starting my journey into simple living, I was overweight, out of shape, and spent all of the “extra” money I had on tech gadgets and other material goods. It felt as though I was searching for something that couldn’t be found. It was an unfulfilling and anxious place to be. I turned to simple living […]

Each day, on average: We check our phone 47 times. We receive 121 work emails. We get 48 notifications on our phone. We see well over 500 online advertisements. We are bombarded with stimuli that stop us from focusing on the present. Ads, notifications, and messages are all competing for our attention. Some of it […]