You have enough.

Very well said!

When looking at the dismal state of the country I can't help but think that two of the major culprits were "lower prices everyday" and "brand experience". Cheap thrills to satisfy the monkey on people's backs, emptiness.

If we really only use what we need maybe we can regain our dignity in nature.

I just came back from Vegas and was alarmed at the extremities of the place, The wealth of the strip and the poverty of the Native Indians. The extent of the Artifice and the extent of The Natural Desert.

We seem to have lost our way.

Some of us don't have enough... of the basics. Food. A place to live.

"Enough" is different for everyone. Someone who doesn't play guitar might not need even one guitar. Someone who does play it might need more than 5 for it to be "enough" and actually _use_ all of those guitars rather than having them sit around gathering dust.

In North America, it's completely possible to be drowning in too much stuff, and still not be able to pay rent or buy enough fresh vegetables each week. Other people's overconsumption leads to a surplus of secondhand clothes, old electronics that aren't useful anymore, books about how to use windows 3.1, etc.

We don't all have more than we need - not in the things that really matter.

The whole point of the simplicity movement is to decide what is enough for yourself. It's also a lot easier to go from overconsumption to a state of "enough" than it is to go from not having money for food to having enough.

This is all thanks to marketing. "People buy what they want...not what they need." as Seth Godin would say.

In Italian there is even a verb to express this idea.

bastare: to be enough, be sufficient.

"Basta!"= that's enough, that will do

(also the name of a great restaurant in New Haven, CT)

Buona basta! = good enough

And it sorta sounds like a swear word if you say it right. :-)

D: Perfect advice and perfect timing. I am halving as we speak and grateful for all the excess I have around me.

This is so simple yet profound. Derek - you are the best!

"The quickest way to double your income is to halve your expenses."

But why?

I think Chagall hit the nail on the head perfectly with their reply.

Why halve your expenses if it's your version of "enough?" What would you do with all that extra income you freed up? The most important advice I try to impart to the musicians at each IMC is to TRULY define what "success" means to you personally, not the idealized, mythical success that the media pounds into our ears, but the REAL success that is yours and no one else's. Discover your true idea of "enough" and then make that your goal. You can never hit the target if you don't really even know where it is.

Great thoughts Derek, I agree 10000%.

Funny you posted this today, I just watched a terrific independent movie last night where this was the EXACT moral of the film...it's called Amal, I highly recommend it!

Blog, Twitter & Facebook as a giant PA. Wow, there's a great song concept in there. And now I understand your life's current work. A lot like my own. thank you Mr Fabulous.

http://bit.ly/OPxMS Indian man moves mountain all alone.

You made me want an E71 for 38 seconds and then I saw the price.

I'll stick to my system of hand claps and grunts for communicating.

And for long distance (roaming) - I'll use extreme facial expressions like they do in the theatre.

Thanks for your posting Derek. At the beginning of the year I was going to buy nothing new for a year, and I kind of forgot about that now that we're mid-year. I definitely don't want to be swimming in a sea of stuff at home, and now that we're expecting our first child in October, I'm worried about swimming in a sea of unplayed with baby toys.

I am glad you only "love" your devices, I can't imageine how you would describe something you "rave" about. I guess we all love our technology, maybe just a little too much.

I don't know Derek.

There are some days at work when my Ipod makes me really really happy.

My Kindle makes me really really happy. — Derek

When I was leaving work last week, I was coming up with the old Hindi saying by Kabir Das:

"Lord give me enough so that I don't go hungry and if I have a guest neither does he"

I translated it as "As long as I have my rent money and a bit left over for beer, I am cool :-)"

Sometimes it's not until you have it all that you realize that posessions are a burden and anxiety is generated by desire.

thank you for that

I agree. KISS: keep it simple stupid. In other words more is not always more. But that is because I don't have the cash. I wonder what I would do if I had the cash. I'm not saying it would be better. Maybe it would be worse but sometimes it's fun to waste money and try something different.I'm sure I'm happy walking or dancing but if I had the cash I would try a balloon ride not that I need to but it might be fun once.

yeah exactly..so much stuff is not necessary..good products should sell themselves

Hi Derek,

If you are interested on more background knowledge regarding this subject, I would definitely recommend you to read "the high price of materialism" by Tim Kasser. I think it explains very good why materialism is bad for a person and society. This books also attacks our individualistic society and materialistic marketing. Arguments are based on lots of scientific research. It also gave me significant insight in my own personality.

You could have a look at some amazon reviews and see if you might like it.

If you have read it and like it, I like to know:)

Regards,

Wouter

P.s.
I recently read the book "ignore everybody". I liked it. Besides giving me good new advice, it confirms the message of other books I've read: do the things of which you - your genuine self - think they make you happy, then you´ll be truly happy. Btw, I plan to read more of your booklist!(I also have the book of Leil Lowndes:))

'O People!' Shouted Mullah Nasruddin, running through the streets of his village, 'Know that I have lost my donkey. Anyone who brings it back will be given my donkey as a reward.'

'You must be mad', said some spectator to this strange event.

'Not at all', said Nasruddin; 'Do you not know that the pleasure which you get when you find something lost is greater than the joy of possessing it?'
Great parable! Love it. Thank you. — Derek

Thank you so much for sharing! Simplicity is the key! "Happiness precedes experience then produces it." -Neal Donald Walsch

in 2003 when my kids were grown and gone and I retired, I shed whatever wouldn't fit into my 21' travel trailer. Been traveling/working at campgrounds ever since, and I find I STILL have too much! Thinking about living in my van instead, LOL! Love your message, want one of those parrots -- I'd teach it to say "Less is More" :)

I would love to know who the hedge fund manager was!

Raves can be profitable

Wise thought to be self sufficient N be content with what we possess given by Almighty.Thanka a lot for timely advice.

In a progressive tax system like the UK. Assuming you are earning above a living wage, halving you expenses comes closer to tripling income or what you'd have to earn.

I sometimes like to think of how many hours I need to work for that daily or weekly expense. One person I did this with realise they were working at 40hrs a year for their trips to Starbucks. One week!

Other times I like to just buy and enjoy frivolous stuff.

Here's my reply to the mixture of comments:

...I'm still chuckling at the lady years ago who noted a cowboy just needs his trusty horse and his faithful dog...

and I laugh fondly at the "non materialist" traveler who nevertheless carried his nice guitar in a proper case.

And I chuckle at myself, the fellow who lives in a wee "ship's cabin" yet is happy with (needs) his lap top. Not for playing space invaders but for writing manuscripts. This product is cool and light. Expensive yes, but as a middle aged man I need light, and also, like a cowboy, I relish a few good reliable things.

In a way, the less stuff you have, the more you can say that just a few deliberatly chosen products make you happy. Quality, not quantity.
I like how me, the cowboy and the guitar guy all have enough. (That lady I'm not so sure)

I see where a few people have mentioned devices.
As I write this, in 2018, I commonly see at the end of an e-mail the line "sent on my (insert corporate name here)

Some of my best friends are capitalists, but still—do I need to hear the noise of a corporate brand?

So I chuckle to write, without mentioning any brand, "sent on my laptop."

Derek, I have a 1990 Miata as my main runaround which cost me one thousand five hundred pounds. I think that most people have bought new cars or have much later models. For me though it brings a smile, is fun to drive and is paid for. Although I am tempted by new tech and the latest toys. Are you into cars Derek?