In some ways this book was very much in line with "The 4-Hour Workweek", which I just read, in that it makes you question the status quo. Like Ferriss, Josh and Ryan also ended up quitting their corporate jobs and living more meaningful lives, doing what they really love to do, but they went at it from a different angle.
They were both making way more money than I will probably ever see in my lifetime, and spending even more. They had giant homes (much too large for one person, as they were both bachelors at the time) that they stuffed with crap, until one day Josh came across a video on Twitter. It was about a guy (Colin Wright) who was featured on a morning talk show because he owned a total of 50 personal possessions.
Now, Wright is on the extreme side, and this book is certainly not trying to say that we all need only 50 items, but Wright talked about de-cluttering his life and opting out of the rat race and that struck a chord with Josh. He started looking around at everything he owned that he didn't need, and suddenly he thought about it in a different light. Over the course of the next eight months, Josh started getting rid of his excess belongings, stopped buying as much, and started paying off his debt. Ryan noticed that Josh seemed a lot happier and asked what was up. Josh explained, Ryan thought it sounded good, so they had a packing party for Ryan.
Unlike Josh, who slowly got rid of the things he didn't need, Ryan wanted to dive in head first. So they packed up every single one of his belongings, including his furniture and wall hangings. Over the next three weeks, Ryan unpacked items only when he used them. At the end of those three weeks, about 80% of his stuff was still boxed up. Except for some seasonal clothes, Ryan sold or donated everything that remained in those boxes.
After the stuff went, it wasn't too long before they started wondering why they were killing themselves at jobs they hated so they could make money they weren't spending. Their jobs didn't align with their values, so they quit (actually Josh quit, Ryan was fired shortly after, but he didn't seem to be too broken up about it).
The book is written as a sort of memoir of how they came to be minimalists and how it has changed their lives. It's written in narrative prose from Josh's perspective, with end notes from Ryan that act as commentary. Ryan's notes are pretty great, and definitely worth the use of a 2nd bookmark.
It's not a how-to-be-a-minimalist book, it's just the story of how these two friends came across and embraced minimalism. It includes conversations between them about their stuff and their jobs and why they're so unhappy. Those conversations feel a little awkward, like the made-up conversations that Plato had in The First Republic, but they're there to get a point across and they succeed in serving that purpose.
Personally, I have to admit that, for the past few years, I've started feeling overwhelmed by the consumer culture we live in. I think I was in high school when I realized that the joy of getting new things only lasts as long as the things are new. Packing all my stuff twice a year for college was also an eye-opener as far as just how much stuff I had. The last few years have kind of worn me down to a Grinch. Christmas is ridiculous, then there's birthdays, Mother's Day, Father's Day, more birthdays, and then it's Christmas again. It's this endless carousel of giving and getting shit and I want off.
A few years ago, I tried to tell my mom I didn't want anything for Christmas and she said I wasn't allowed to do that. That was exasperating until I figured out the trick of asking for experiences, instead of stuff, and that has gone really well.
As far as getting rid of the stuff I already have, that was also something I had already been considering doing. I already pack up a box of books to give to my local library's book drive every year. This year I decided that, as long as I was doing that, I could get rid of some other things. I think I got rid of four boxes worth of stuff and it feels pretty good.
One of the things I really liked about the book was Josh talking about the various experiments he has conducted to push his limits when it comes to owning and buying less stuff. Just reading about some of the stuff he did made me cringe, but it was also intriguing. As he points out, if you're not pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone, you're not growing. I'm pretty hesitant to get outside my comfort zone, but I guess that's what makes it a comfort zone.
No comments:
Post a Comment