Tag: simplicity

Series Kickoff – 5 Days of No Coffee!

Published 05/02/2016

I’m so excited for today’s post.

Today I kick off a new series of 5 day challenges.

What does that mean?

We all want to be the best version of ourselves. Maybe we want to exercise more, or quit eating sugar. Maybe we want to go vegan, spend less money, meditate or be less wasteful. Or maybe our goal is to spend more time towards our personal dreams or careers, instead of choosing Netflix.

But doing all of these things all at once can be overwhelming. I don’t know about you, but I’ve tried to change my habits in one go and it just led to failure. There were too many things to keep track of at once.

Comfort always kicked in. But comfort is a lie. In this context, I am referring to those times when we wish to be or do certain things, but choose the easy option that feels good instead. Like choosing the sofa instead of going for that run we promised ourselves we’d do.

Of course comfort is good in healthy doses, we all deserve some relaxation, but when you find yourself frustrated in where you’re at in life, this is when comfort is the enemy.

Realize that in every moment you have a choice. You can choose to build character and look back on your life knowing you lived it as the person you wanted to be, or you can choose the easy thing.

**Let me emphasize that everyone’s struggles are personal. What I struggle with, you might not struggle with at all and vice versa. The way I want to live my life, is not necessarily the same way you want to live your life. Everyone’s ideal self is going to be their own depending on their environment, personality, situation etc. With that being said, if you can relate to these challenges, follow along! 🙂 If not, maybe you’ll be into the next one.

Starting tomorrow (Monday), I kick off the Comfort Is A Lie Series with 5 days of no coffee!

The idea is to build upon my habits, to notice and track my experience, learn something new and hopefully ease my way into a new and improved me while inspiring others to do their own version.

There are many benefits to drinking coffee such as improving your energy both mentally and physically, and preventing certain diseases such as cancer and type 2 diabetes.

But there are also some drawbacks to coffee such as altering your state of mind from what you would naturally be, staining your teeth, causing anxiety/restlessness, and it is dehydrating.

Right now, I’m experiencing more drawbacks than benefits. I’m addicted to coffee, and if I don’t get my daily 3+ cups of coffee, my head starts to pound, I become angry and irritable, depressed and I hate everyone around me. It stains my teeth (yuck) and my mouth just doesn’t feel as clean as it does when I don’t drink coffee. Coffee breath anyone? I want to rely on my own energy and get it naturally from eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly. Coffee also bloats me like crazy, well, it’s probably the cream inside the coffee, but the combo isn’t good for me anyhow. I’m too dependent and feel like I can’t go a day without a cup or 2. I want to free myself from that.

But oh, the warm aromatic scent of fresh coffee in the morning and the boost of energy are very enticing and comforting, but I can do this! As an alternative, I’m going to only allow myself to drink Green Tea (it has much less caffeine) or Water.

I’ll follow up on my experiences by editing this blog post this Friday, and maybe in between as I go. I’m excited (and nervous) to see what I can learn from a week without coffee. I’ve done it before, so I’m prepared for headaches and flu like symptoms haha!

Anyone want to join me? It’d be fun and I’d love to hear your experience below if this is something you can relate to. Follow along as I attempt other 5 day challenges to make myself more into the person I want to be. And if you relate, join me, or create your own personal challenges that resonate with who you want to become.

<3 Pia

**Edit**

5 Days Later (Friday)

I made it! Here I am, and it’s been 5 days of NO COFFEE.

This week, I noticed a few things. I didn’t crash as badly as I thought I would. No Advils were needed. I was however, extremely tired. Especially by 9pm at night, and waking up in the morning was very difficult as well for some reason. Even today, on the fifth day.

On Monday, I was nauseous, and fell asleep really early. On Tuesday, I was still very tired, and my brain was super fuzzy, I couldn’t form a proper thought. My eyes were really itchy and tired too.

On Wednesday, I realized that my gums were less swollen and red. Coffee is acidic, and if you have sensitive gums like me, then they suffer a bit. My mouth felt clean, and I didn’t have morning breath anymore. By Thursday I was still tired and had low energy, but felt ok.

Today is the last day, I’m lethargic, but it’s good for me to continue the no coffee thing. I even lost a couple pounds because I didn’t crave as much food as usual. Coffee is known to increase cortisol, the stress hormone, which makes you crave sugary, salty and fatty foods. And I wasn’t bloated this week because coffee and cream bloats me.

So the benefits of no coffee for me? And maybe you?

No more morning breath
No bloating
Clean mouth, no swollen gums
Weight loss
Less cravings for sugary, salty, fatty foods

So that’s that! Next week I will do a new challenge and see what I learn from it.

If you have any suggestions you’d like me to try, please let me know!

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A New Beginning: I Wrote A Book!

Published 04/09/2016

Hi everyone!

I’m sooo excited to announce something very dear to my heart! I know I’ve been MIA for the past months. But it’s for legitimate reasons 🙂 I’ve been spending my time building businesses, building my health and fitness, and building my character. I escaped the 9-5 to do what I love. (I’m still helping on a part-time basis, but now I have a lot more time to focus on my dreams!)

But my proudest accomplishment is my new book, The Cozy Life: Rediscover the Joy of the Simple Things Through the Danish Concept of Hygge. It takes minimalist and simple living concepts up a notch and will hopefully inspire readers to enjoy what’s truly important.

It’s about the Danish concept of coziness (hygge) and how it helps us embrace the simple things in life, be more authentic, and reconnect with ourselves and our loved ones. It also includes illustrations I’ve drawn, practical tips, activities and personal stories.

EBOOK: There is a FREE PROMO for 2 days starting tomorrow for the official launch (April 10th, and 11th) for the Kindle version here.

PAPERBACK: If you prefer holding a real book in your hands, you can grab one here. The book is definitely the cozier option and looks the prettiest.

If you decide to purchase the book, it would also mean the world to me if you could leave a review and share my book with your network. The more reviews and downloads I get, the higher I can climb in the Amazon charts and hopefully become a best-seller!! <3

Here is a description:

In today’s world, we’re constantly rushing from one thing to the next and are struggling with information overload. We’re more disconnected from ourselves and our loved ones than ever before. Rediscover the joy of the simple things through the Danish concept of Hygge in The Cozy Life. This book will inspire you to slow down and enjoy life’s cozy moments!

Learn about the Danish cultural phenomenon of Hygge, and the secret to why Denmark is consistently rated the happiest country in the world

Embrace the little things and take simplicity and minimalism up a notch

Add Hygge into every aspect of your life with practical examples and tips

Say goodbye to the Winter Blues and live a healthier, centred life

This charming little book, filled with hand drawn illustrations, beautifully addresses that yearning we all have for a more authentic life, created by ourselves instead of external forces.

What’s stopping you from living a more meaningful and connected life?

This book marks the start of my next chapter in life. Expect more posts on this blog as well! I can’t wait to share the magic of hygge with the world! 🙂

What’s most important is I want to thank all of you for inspiring me to write this book and spread the message about living meaningfully and authentically. This book would not exist without you and I know it will bring you infinite amounts of joy and inspiration.

<3
Pia

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Simple Living, Nature, Tiny Homes & Art

Published 09/26/2015

Just a little Saturday morning inspiration…

I came across this YouTube vide below. It’s a little documentary about a travelling hobo artist named Dan Price. He tours his underground home, talks about his art and philosophy. He is all about the simple living. Really simple living, living off the land mostly, and connecting with nature, and making art. He never wanted to grow up and be an adult, and loved the magic you had back then as a child. So he applies that artistic magic to his lifestyle. He’s lived in tents and teepees, but now lives in a hobbit style home in the hills. Watch the video below.

He’s written a couple books too, one on Radical Simplicity. Now edited to My Simple Life, and a book about his Tiny House.

And one on How To Make A Journal of Your Life. This one inspired me to connect with the outer world, and document my life again. I used to write everyday as a teenager to document my high school life. It’s’ wonderful to pick one up and read through it again. Albeit slightly embarrassing too haha.

He’s written a Moonlight Chronicles Series that documents his life traveling the world and the many adventures and observations, and he’s definitely inspiration to the style of books I want to write. I’m really glad I came across this.

Check him out, if you enjoy whimsical things about the meaning of life. It’s a really beautiful breath of fresh air.

Adios and enjoy the weekend!

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More Minimalism YouTube Channels

Published 08/29/2015

It’s 2:41 in the afternoon, and the air is moist. There is a raging windstorm going on outside, which has decided to blow over one side of my balcony railing onto the street below, and tear our patio gazebo apart into a tangled mess of canvas canopy and broken metal. Even with all of this going on, I am very comfy and cozy snuggled up on the sofa with my love, my laptop, and a hot cup of english breakfast tea.

Today has been a great day so far. We spent the morning wandering around the Museum of Vancouver to see the Happiness exhibition and a really neat exhibition on the history of living in Vancouver from the 1900’s to 1970s. Of course my favourite was the hippie display. A good day to slow down indeed.

Anyway, I just wanted to update my list of Minimalism YouTube Channels because it seems to be getting some popular attention, as I’ve found a few (more than a few) more since last time.

Melissa Alexandria – Probably my favourite channel right now. Melissa covers so many different areas in our lives with regards to minimalism and what that means. It’s very inspiring to watch someone go through their journey and follow along.

Samantha Lindsey – Samantha shares her inspiring story on how minimalism helped her deal with anxiety.

Brittany Taylor – Brittany takes a more nomadic approach to minimalism, but it is so cool to watch someone with such a free and spiritual lifestyle. She’s really into acro yoga too.

Carrie LeighAnna – I like Carrie’s simple and sweet approach to minimalism. She also has a really great capsule wardrobe.

High Carb Hannah – Hannah’s channel is more vegan based than minimalist, but she does live a minimalist lifestyle, and I love watching her and her fiancé, at Unconventional Living, build their intentional lives.

My Minimalist Baby – For those of you who have little ones!

Noelia Lewis – A beauty inspired minimalism channel.

The More We Explore – Watch this couple on their journey to living out of an RV.

This week…

I took a bit of a break on my workouts because I was on the 3 day juice cleanse. So I’ve made a commitment to start up with Blogilates again on September 1st to start the new calendar month!

I’m practicing my intuitive eating. Trying not to stuff myself. It’s helping. We bought a scale, and my body actually fluctuates between 4 pounds over an entire day. That weirded me out a little.

Every night I’ve been reading a bit of my Astrology book, but I’ve not been as focused on my goals.

Giving back is great, I’m excited to the Annual Walk for the Kitties event for VOKRA.

I’ve been more honest with the relationships in my life as well as career. I find that when you put the truth out there, a weight is lifted, and things are more likely to turn for the better 🙂

That’s all folks. Some things I could improve on, is focus on eating even better, and smaller meals more often throughout the day. I think my spending could be a bit better too. I don’t really buy a lot of stuff, but I know I could be more aware. I’ll aim for that this week. Less spending and eating better.

Anyone else trying to live more intentionally?

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A Fresh Start to Living with Intention!

Published 08/01/2015

Hey everyone! Long time no chat. I’ve been a bit MIA these days because, well, basically life just sort of took over, but I am back and I want to give this thing the love and attention it needs. I’ve also been fighting a fear between just being myself vs trying to be objective and informational, if that makes sense. But a good friend helped me realize that, what is the worst that could happen if people I knew in real life knew me as personally as I shared myself on this blog? So I’m going to be more real, as I definitely enjoy reading those blogs more than pure informational ones (i.e. 10 Ways to Get Over a Cold!) Be warned, this is a long post, but it’s an intro to a new start, so if you have the patience to read it, then cool!

A lot of things have changed and I must admit that I got distracted from the Minimalism thing because I had moved into a new house with my SO and had a promotion a few months back so I was very busy and overwhelmed. The result was a house full of things (combining my things with his things) and being too mentally exhausted to focus on anything else with all the work stuff going on.

After having gone through some intense personal development workshops and seeing the person I want to be wasn’t exactly who I was currently, I am committing to live a more intentional life starting today, August 1st, 2015! I plan on checking in weekly to see how I am doing, and I am happy for you to point out of I miss any updates (eek!). One thing I need to work on is committing to tasks that are somewhat ‘repetitive’. I seem to have a difficult time with this. But my coach said something brilliant.

Building Character means doing the things that uphold your values and who you want to be, despite you not feeling like it or wanting to do it.

Amen to that. But first.

I kicked off my “Fresh Start” by reading this book, “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” by Marie Kondo. It’s absolutely incredible! Talk about a unique, quirky perspective on minimalism. Basically, Marie talks about the Japanese KonMari method of decluttering, where you hold every item in your hand, and only keep it if it “sparks joy”. She anthropomorphises objects, teaching you to show them love and appreciation, and thank them for their purpose. For example, if there are gifts or cards you don’t want to keep but feel guilty about getting rid of, know that the purpose of a gift/card is to convey someone’s emotions about you. Once that purpose has been served, you have no other obligation to keep the item.

I finished this book in a few hours and was well on my way to decluttering what I had accumulated since my last purge. I got rid of 4 giant garbage bags of clothes/linens, a bunch of books, dishes, and random knickknacks that had no meaning. I also went through useless documents that I thought I had to keep for record keeping sake. Granted, I don’t have a ton of things because I did do a huge purge last year, and I am not the biggest shopper. But I did well! I am so lucky to have a partner who was super supportive of it all.

“Go ahead! I like my office but the rest of the house is yours!”

Yay!

Anyway, pick up this book. It’s very cute, but extremely practical and claims to make you a tidy person for once and for all.

Let’s take a moment to talk about Minimalism for a second. I’ve been watching a lot of YouTube videos lately on minimalism,

Here are a couple I absolutely love:

but most of the Minimalists I am running into, whether on YouTube or on the Blogosphere, focus on extreme minimalism. Like, literally living with only, probably, one item of everything you need. Their decor is very neutral, simple, and clean. Which is really cool, and I wish I could do it, but I can’t ignore who I really am.

You know what brings me joy? Anything antique/vintage/retro and bohemian looking. Think eccentric grandma! Ornate designs carved into wood, colourful eccentric patterns against a neutral background, and textures. I do like to keep the bedroom fairly neutral and relaxing though as a space to clear my mind. Also, my wardrobe is pretty minimalist and neutral. My home just has to be eye candy. Here are some photos below.

So while my tastes don’t match what the norm seems to be out there in the Minimalism world, I adore every piece I own and they all spark joy. This is what it means to me. It means many things to different people. For instance, the world traveler minimalist who lives from their backpack, or a van converted into a home. I think it’s important not to confuse minimalism as one way of being because the purpose is ultimately the same – to get rid of the things we don’t need, to make room for the things we want.

And now, I must move onto to my Intentional Living! I’m not going to lie, I’m a bit nervous to start this. But the blog, Blonde on a Budget (another one you need to check out) really inspired me. Not only is she living more intentionally, but she has been on a Year Long Shopping Ban and onto her second! Amazing work Cait!

Below is a list of things that I intend to focus on so that I can live more intentionally, simply, and meaningfully. I’ve already been doing these things, but the goal is to STICK to them and remember the higher purpose.

Health and Fitness:

Daily Pilates: Currently I’m doing Blogilates daily. (Guys it’s so much fun!)
Bike to work at least 3x/week.
Intuitive eating which is creating a good relationship with food, mind and body. Learning not to eat for emotional reasons, just eating when you’re hungry and stopping when you’re full.
Vegan/Vegetarian diet. I love animals way too much to eat them. Also not eating processed foods, too much sugar/alcohol/caffeine/crap. Currently I’m open to eating seafood, but most of my diet is primarily vegetarian. Let’s see if I can get to vegan. Any advice?
Cook more! Less eating out. Save money. I’ve been doing pretty well here.

Spiritual/Emotional:

Everytime I have the impulse to eat something bad because of emotional reasons (boredom/sadness etc), sit in the feeling, recognize it’s a misguided opportunity to connect with ourselves. Being ok with just feeling the emotions.
Be more present.
Astrology!: I must admit, whether it’s true or not, I find it so fascinating because the things I read seem to be extremely accurate. Been reading a bit of this book everyday. The Only Astrology Book You’ll Ever Need.
Be more aware and ethical in my lifestyle choices, whether it’s cleaning products, food, clothing etc.
Practice my daily Bliss feeling and no suffering so I can learn to push through uncomfortable feelings when I don’t want to do something.
The minimalist lifestyle, living simply, enjoying the little things and open up space for what is important.

Finance:

Currently live on half of my paycheque, and save the other half. Only buy things I need such as food and toiletries. Spending a minimal amount on ‘going out’ and other miscellaneous things.

Giving Back:

This Blog: Writing consistently, and personally, to hopefully inspire others. And I will be honest when I fail on any of these things in my weekly updates.
Animals: Donating money or supplies to Katie’s Place, a local animal shelter in my hometown, Maple Ridge.

Relationships: I think I can sum all of these into really honouring the time I spend with those that I care about. Being truly present with them, instead of being distracted by the next thing I need to do.

Friends: Make an effort to see how people are doing, being more supportive of people’s dreams and aspirations.
Family: Being present with my family, recognizing they won’t be around forever, spending more time with them.
Partner: Also being more present, giving my full attention, appreciating how much I love this man and how amazing he is.

Career/Personal:

Grow my Virtual Assistant business here at Less of the Excess, the ultimate goal for me is to become location independent and self sufficient. Through living a minimalist lifestyle and not buying into consumerism, we need much less money to survive on!
Less time surfing the internet, more time on goals…this one is difficult. Less distractions!

Phew! That was a long one…

I’d love to hear some of things you guys are all doing in order to live more intentionally.

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Aha! Moments – Marta from Change with Marta

Published 11/13/2014

Meet Marta from http://www.changewithmarta.com. Marta writes about her journey to a happier, simpler, clutter free life, and the achievements and mistakes she makes along the way. Please check out her blog!

Marta shares her Aha Moment:

My dog doesn’t defend my house.

Yeap…that was the most challenging concept for me these past few years. Sorry…what? That was what I though myself, that I had lost all common sense.

I came to this realization after a few years of owning a dog. We would leave the apartment to go to work/school/cinema/dining out for a few hours, and unfortunately my dog would stay in the apartment alone.

When any of us get back home, we are received by a mess of jumps, dog hugs, running around and a sense of super happiness, not caring a bit about toys, beds or the house. Just as if we had been away for days. On the other hand, when a family member is already home, our dog would bark at any person coming into the house, in order to protect us.

I understand every dog is different, but at least I was lucky enough to have experienced this. I believe we, as humans, are not so different from other animal species, we all feel fulfilled at least to some extent by social belonging and peer acceptance. And that happiness, doesn’t rely on stuff but rather on experiences and close people.

When I realized this, I was shocked. I had been giving importance to trivial things, like valuable pieces of clothing, and electronics. When I was asked what would I save from my house in case of fire, I started listing some of the most irreplaceable things, before coming to an stop and adding, “given my family is safe of course”. But that thought came second! In my heart I know they are first, and maybe I was assuming the question referred to physical stuff. But it doesn’t matter, now people are on the top of the list, followed by my doggie, and then comes the not-so-irreplaceable-as-we-think material stuff.

Since this realization, I have been in a quest to downsize and declutter my life, to rid my life of unnecessary things and finding what I love the most and what I am passionate about. This also pushed me to start my own blog, Change with Marta. Because life is a journey, it’s not so much about goals and achievements, but about trying, making mistakes and essentially…changes. Some of these changes may take you to closer to your goals, and some may not, but it’s all about growing as a person.

Embrace change as a constant in your life to unlock yourself

I want to share YOUR stories.

If you have experienced any ‘Aha!’ moments where you realized you want to align your life with who you really are, I want to hear about them and share!

All I need from you is:

1) A written 300-700 word personal story
2) A photo of yourself, or something that represents your story (this is optional)
3) A link to your blog/website (if you have one)
4) Email the info to lessoftheexcess at gmail dot com

Take care and see you soon!

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Distraction Detox – September 2014

Published 09/04/2014

I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while, but maybe I just needed that extra kick in the butt.

Well I got two kicks in the butt, and I want you to join me!

The first kick was from a section I came across about having a “Low Information Diet” from the book The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss. Here’s an excerpt from the book that explains it a bit, but I’d recommend checking it out for more in-depth information:

The Low Information Diet – Cultivating Selective Ignorance

From this point forward, I’m going to propose that you develop an uncanny ability to be selectively ignorant. Ignorance may be bliss, but it is also practical. It is imperative that you learn to ignore or redirect all information and interruptions that are irrelevant, unimportant, or unactionable. Most are all three.

The first step is to develop and maintain a low-information diet. Just as modern man consumes both too many calories and calories of no nutritional value, information workers eat data both in excess and from the wrong sources.

Lifestyle design is based on massive action – output. Increase output necessitates decreased input. Most information is time-consuming, negative, irrelevant to your goals, and outside of your influence. I challenge you to look at whatever you read or watched today and tell me that it wasn’t at least two of the four. – Timothy Ferriss

My second kick in the butt was from a YouTube post from Unconventional Living which I’ve posted below. He challenges us to do #30daysunplugged from the internet in order to increase productivity, and not use it as a distraction because we’re bored.

My Distraction Detox!
And why you should join me!

While the internet in general is not my focus, I am committing to a 30 day Distraction Detox of my mindless YouTube and Netflix watching. I want to be deliberate and mindful of the time I’m spending on the internet, so I can get FOCUSED on my personal dreams and goals. It is so easy to get sucked into the land of aimless video watching, and it’s not getting me where I need to be. Yes, there is a lot of valuable info out there that we can get by watching videos that are more educational, but if that is the case, it’s also about taking a break from the research and absorbing, and doing a little more… doing. I’ve already disconnected from Facebook and have noticed a huge benefit of the extra time I got back.

Let me know if you want to join me. What is distracting you from achieving your current dreams and goals? What are the things you know you should focus on but keep getting sidetracked by?

I’ll follow up at the end of the month and talk about my experience. This is something I want to revisit from time to time, or maybe every month, there will be a new distraction to detoxify from!

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

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Getting Back Our Carefree Youthful Sense of Time

Published 08/17/2014

In 7th grade, who you are is what other 7th graders say you are. The funny thing is it’s hard to remember the names of the kids you spent so much time trying to impress. – The Wonder Years

There is a secret about minimalism that we don’t often hear about. When we get rid of all of the excess clutter in our lives, whether it’s the physical, emotional, our to do lists, our relationships, we give ourselves space. And what do we do with this new found space? Go a little crazy perhaps? Just kidding.

Think back to when you were still a student, or before you officially called yourself an ‘adult.’

We were happy and carefree. And we probably didn’t have very much money but we were full of joy anyway. We also had all this extra time on our hands because we didn’t have so many responsibilities. But what made life so good was not because we had the latest piece of technology or hottest fashion trend, it was because we spent it with our friends, doing what we enjoyed, living in the moment, laughing, being silly and full of life.

That’s how we can slow down time and the space we can get back if we choose to stop being slaves to consumerism or keeping up with the Joneses and focus our energies on things that bring us true joy. Not having to deal with the:

“I need to buy new curtains for my living room.”

“I need a new lamp for the bedroom.”

“My plates don’t match, I need a new set.”

“Sorry, I can’t go to the park with you today, I have to clean my house.”

“My boat needs some fixing and maintenance.”

We’re either maintaining, cleaning, or buying.

That is WAY too much energy to be spending on these things. With less clutter, we get rid of this annoyance and time suck. All these so-called ADULT responsibilities – they’re all just a story they want us to believe. They don’t make us more grown up, they make us slaves to our very precious time here on this earth.

I do want to emphasize again, that minimalism is not about deprivation, or living so simply that all you own is a chair and a bed, and have bare white walls with no art. It’s about figuring out what is the most important to you, and cutting out the rest. Every object, task or person has purpose or meaning.

Anyway, I just finished reading The Joy of Less by Francine Jay, because I am a self professed self-help junkie and can’t seem to stop reading these books. Then I have the need to share it with the world. In this book she talks about gaining that youthful sense of time back which is where I got the inspiration to write this post. As well as super practical tips on decluttering your home. So go check it out, it’s probably one of the better books I’ve read on this topic.

Please share your thoughts in the comments below! I’d love to hear them. If you liked what you read, please subscribe!

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Meeting the Minimalists & a Signed Book Giveaway!

Published 08/07/2014

Last Friday I had the pleasure of meeting Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus aka The Minimalists as they were visiting Vancouver, BC, on their Everything That Remains book tour. They were so lovely, warm, and open, and gave a very inspiring speech to a huge Vancouver audience. So many people showed up they had to do their show twice! They also give great hugs 🙂

I just finished reading their new book, Everything That Remains, which they describe as not a “how-to” book, but a “why-to” book. If you get the chance, check this book out. You’ll experience sadness, joy, laughter, and inspiration, but most of all, a new perspective on what is really important in life. After finishing it, I honestly came out with a new appreciation of living a deliberate life, and more confidence to really own my destiny. Anything worth anything takes effort, while passivity leaves us hollow.

What if everything you ever wanted isn’t what you actually want? Twenty-something, suit-clad, and upwardly mobile, Joshua Fields Millburn thought he had everything anyone could ever want. Until he didn’t anymore.

Blindsided by the loss of his mother and his marriage in the same month, Millburn started questioning every aspect of the life he had built for himself. Then, he accidentally discovered a lifestyle known as minimalism…and everything started to change.

That was four years ago. Since, Millburn, now 32, has embraced simplicity. In the pursuit of looking for something more substantial than compulsory consumption and the broken American Dream, he jettisoned most of his material possessions, paid off loads of crippling debt, and walked away from his six-figure career.

So, when everything was gone, what was left? Not a how-to book but a why-to book, Everything That Remains is the touching, surprising story of what happened when one young man decided to let go of everything and begin living more deliberately. Heartrending, uplifting, and deeply personal, this engrossing memoir is peppered with insightful (and often hilarious) interruptions by Ryan Nicodemus, Millburn’s best friend of twenty years.

http://youtu.be/gnKvtfEGDjQ

And now for the awesome news! I’ve got a copy of Everything That Remains that is SIGNED by Joshua and Ryan, and I am giving it away to one of you lovely people! All you have to do is the following:

Leave a comment below about a book, blog or person that has inspired you on your minimalism or personal journey and why
Follow me on Twitter here
Follow The Minimalists on Twitter here

That’s all! In a few weeks I will choose a winner at random and you will be mailed a copy of this incredible book!

You can purchase the book here!

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The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari

Published 07/04/2014

“The secret of happiness is simple: find out what you truly love to do and then direct all of your energy toward doing it. Once you do this, abundance flows into your life and all your desires are filled with ease and grace.” – The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari

I just finished this amazing book, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma. It’s about a very successful lawyer, who one day gets a stroke, which makes him question the meaning of life. He goes away for a while and tours the East, meeting some Sages along the way, who provide him with the wisdom on living a meaningful life.

If you are looking to live a life with more purpose, joy, peace and happiness, I highly recommend this read. It is really inspiring and is a really great guide to get you to a place of self-actualization whether you’re just beginning your journey or still learning. It focuses on the topics of mastering your mind, following your purpose, self-mastery and enlightenment through the body, mind, and soul, living with discipline, respecting your time, being selfless and embracing the present. Furthermore, it talks about the importance of solitude, physicality, live nourishment, abundant knowledge, personal reflection, early awakening, music, spoken word, congruent character and my favourite, simplicity!

Basically, our minds filter our world, and we can live in any world that we want. I’m going to write a post about filtering, aka the law of attraction, aka priming, aka prayer, aka the universe, aka whatever you want to call it. Yep.

You can Purchase the book here and help out the lessoftheexcess website! Let me know if you’ve read this book. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below or send me an email at lessoftheexcess at gmail dot com.

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