Temptation is rampant along the road of life. Billboards selling the flashy new toys and restaurants offering the tantalizing tastes. Too often, we detour from our goal-driven path to these beckoning road stops. When we finally leave these destinations of luxury, we are weighed down by unnecessary stuff and bloated stomachs. All the while, we have just added distance between us and our goal. For a lot of people today, Location Independence has become the desired destination. Unfortunately, the materials along that path have distracted, discouraged, disappointed many and kept them from that Location Independent lifestyle. However, if we ignore the turnoffs and drive straight ahead, reaching our goal is realistic. The lifestyle that can keep you from meandering and get you to the goal of a Location Independent Lifestyle is that of minimalism.
To live a life of a minimalist, you may want to know what in the world minimalism is. The glossary definition (Dictionary.com) of minimalism is the Use of the fewest and barest essentials or elements, as in the arts, literature, or design. Minimalism, in my eyes and similar to the glossary, is living a life where the absolute necessities are available and one is capable of living with very little else.
In today’s economic uncertainty and sky-high unemployment rates, becoming a minimalist is not only reasonable, but necessary. Families are struggling to pay the necessities in many instances because they lived a lavish lifestyle when all was well. Now, those big SUV’s and affluently furnished refinanced homes are biting back. The minimalist family is beginning to become the common family.
Other than being financially stable, the minimalist lifestyle can open doors that we all once dreamed of walking through. By limiting the unnecessary purchases in our lives, saving as much as we can, and focusing on what is really important to us, becoming a Location Independent person or family is achievable. The less debt and ties to /stuff/ that we have, the greater the opportunity to explore our dreams.
There are two prime examples of individuals I personally know that are minimalists and are living their lives on their terms. The first being Cody McKibben of ThrillingHeroics.com. He is currently working Location Independent as a web consultant while managing his blog. The second is Mark Wiens of Migrationology.com. Mark is currently traveling somewhere in Southeast Asia and will soon be teaching ESL classes in Bangkok. Both of these individuals are living life as minimalists. They need little and they live it up. The key is that they manage to balance the financial aspect of being Location Independents by being minimalists.
The following is a short list of ways minimalism leads to a Location Independent life:
Not a lot of baggage
The more you limit your stuff, the greater the possibility of picking up and fulfilling worldwide travel/work dreams.
The greater the savings
If you are not filling your home or office with junk, you are saving a lot of money that can help make your dream more of a reality.
Sit back, relax and enjoy
It is a great feeling when you can sit in a room that is not cluttered with meaningless items and relax to the serenity that is around you.
Develops organizational skills
While traveling abroad and trying to make a life anywhere, having everything organized and at the ready limits the hassles of the life of a Location Independent individual.
Combats societal norms
Society will tell you time and again that your dream is not possible. That it is too tough and too much effort. If you can live the minimalist life, you are already breaking down the social perceptions of life’s possibilities.
The minimalist life may not be for everyone. I have family and friends that live their life to attain stuff. But, if becoming a Location Independent person is your goal, the minimalist road is definitely worth taking.
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Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/lrargerich/ / CC BY 2.0
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Hey, I'm JD. Last year, I started Wage Slave Rebel as a resource for those who are dying to escape from conformity and design the lifestyles they dream of! I write about online entrepreneurship, productivity, and lifestyle design.
Thanks for posting! Hope you all enjoy and feel free to ask questions or suggestions through WSR's comments section.
Have a great day!
Dave
LifeExcursion
Thanks for the post, Dave! I've been meaning to do more on location independence so I was happy to get your email. Plus I'm a sucker for minimalism!
Awesome guest post David, glad to see you on J.D.'s site! Great writers, both of you! And of course I am totally down for the minimalist lifestyle. Thanks for sending a shoutout for me and Mark, just got back from a trip to Laos with that crazy guy, Dwight & Joel!
I agree wholeheartedly. I recently left with my 3 daughters for a year abroad and we each kept to one suitcase (small enough for an 8 year old to handle) plus one small backpack. We are now living in a very small apartment in Brazil. It is very freeing not to be burdened with lots of "stuff" or with a large house to maintain. Wish more people could experience this to see what it feels like.
Yeah, I'm currently in the process of minimizing all the junk I have. I have so many books that I've either read and will never read again or that I never plan on reading ever. That's most of my mess. The stuff I have just feels like a real burden. I can't wait to knock some of it out.
I'm backpacking Australia and New Zealand right now and it is definitely nicer to have less stuff. Less to carry, less to worry about, less to buy. You can get along with very little. I read somewhere that you should pack and then take half the stuff and twice the money.
Yea….I just finished the same excursion and it was great but I wish I would have brought even less. Have fun….Check this link for packing details http://lifeexcursion.com/index.php/travel/the-art...
I'd never heard that before. Half the stuff twice the money. I'll have to remember that. I'm currently planning my first major trip. Always nice to hear advice from people who have done what I want to do. Thanks for stopping by Ross!
There is another key benefit of minimalism that I think is often over looked, that is the mental savings associated with decreased spending. So much of our lives are spent comparison shopping, evaluating products, maintaining things, cleaning possessions, worrying about theft and damage. All of that cognitive power can be much better spent creating and enjoying real experiences. Consumption is making us stupid. Turn off your TV, stay out of the shopping malls and just do something. "Do" NOT "Buy"
Well said, John. I'd never even thought of the mental benefits of minimalism, but I'm sure it's the most rewarding part about not having to maintain a lot of junk. Like they say, it's better to spend your money on experiences than stuff.
I love having very little stuff, and I love having a clean out and giving some of my stuff away, which I do every time we move. We're moving again at the end of the month and since we haven't collected much extra stuff this time, I only have a small bag of clothing to pass on. I agree with John – it's an enormously mentally freeing thing not to have much stuff.
A challenge for us is that my husband and I like to "do" a lot of things that require stuff (cycling/ snowboarding/ kiting/ motorcycling/ camping, etc), but we're learning to pare that stuff down to the bare essentials (you don't really need all the kit!) and in some cases, since we're a little ADD with our hobbies, rather than buying kit, we're renting it. If you have a diverse range of interests and hobbies, you'll often spend only a few weekends a year on each, and it can be cheaper to rent the equipment rather than buying stuff you don't use very often.
Cath
I love reading this post and so fitting as we are in the process of becoming a more efficient minimalist. after our three month long trip on the road in US and in Asia, my suspicion is confirmed- too much *stuff* we lived out of our two suitcases and our Honda Fit. And John is right, so freeing mentally to not be constantly in the consuming mode. I am amazed when I hear about those stories where consumers wait all night before a big christmas sale so they can be the first in line. Crazy! I agree it is better to spend my money on experience for me and my family, especially my child in creating memories, than on stuff. She will learn deeper lessons than just spend spend spend- buying affection from children as some parents do!
Great article. Thanks to Cody, so glad I found it.
Thanks for the article on minimalism. I think it's funny that not being interested in material things brands one as an oddball. This is because so many people base their lives on the acquiring of and/or care for stuff.