Living With Less: An Unexpected Key to Happiness

Today, we released a brand-new book. It is our first book in over two years. It is our first traditionally published work. It combines two of our greatest passions. We couldn’t be happier with it. And I think you are really going to enjoy it.

Currently, it is available for the Kindle and in Paperback.

DESCRIPTION

In Living With Less: An Unexpected Key to Happiness, we invite teenagers and young adults to discover the practical benefits of living with fewer possessions. It is a stage of life full of opportunity and promise. And I believe the minimalist message has great opportunity to influence their future decision-making before they buy the big house… the fancy cars… or pursue the dead-end job just because it comes with a large paycheck. I believe most young adults desperately long for greater achievements in their life.

Living With Less is far more spiritually grounded than any of our previous books (or the focus of this blog). It is a book that finds its introduction, its conclusion, and its foundation in the teachings of Jesus. After working with teenagers and young adults in Christian nonprofit organizations for the past 14 years, I had become tired of books on materialism just discussing the evils of seeking possessions. I wanted to write a book that also articulated the practical benefits of owning fewer possessions: less debt, less distraction, more freedom, more opportunity, more intentionality, more passion. I wanted to invite teenagers to embrace a more abundant way to live. I wanted to write a book that went so far as to believe that Jesus actually meant everything He taught.

I work hard keeping Becoming Minimalist free from specific religious philosophies and will continue to do so. I understand the message of minimalism holds benefit to all who accept it… regardless of spiritual preference. Because of that, I may allude to spirituality on this website, but I always steer clear of speaking in specific terms concerning it.

But again, this new book is different. It embraces many of the spiritual conversations and beliefs concerning Jesus Christ. If you hold to the same, you will greatly enjoy this book. If you are unfamiliar with Jesus’ teachings on possessions, you’ll probably enjoy seeing how they have shaped my view of minimalism. But if you are hostile towards religion, this book is probably not for you. 

Relying heavily on the teachings of Jesus and our personal experience of minimizing our possessions, we argue there is absolutely greater joy to be found in owning fewer possessions than can be found in pursuing more. The book concludes with very practical steps that any college student, high school student, or middle school student could implement today to experience the same joy.

The book has been endorsed by Tsh Oxenreider (Simple Mom), Dave Bruno (100-Thing Challenge), Josh Griffin (Saddleback Church), Scott Rubin (Willow Creek Community Church), Courtney Carver (Be More With Less), Joshua Millburn (The Minimalists), Mark Oestreicher (Youth Cartel), and numerous others available for view inside the book.

SPECIFICS

The book is published by Group Publishing based in Loveland, CO. It is a smidge over 100 pages of highly-readable content filled with practical truth and engaging stories. It is short enough that teenagers and young adults who pick it up will be able to finish it quickly. But it is long enough to cover all facets of the conversation that I believe to be necessary.

The physical copy sells for $7.99 while the Kindle version sells for $6.39. (Nook version to be released shortly).

Living With Less is based heavily on our first book, Simplify. And while it contains some material that can be found elsewhere (previous books, blog posts), almost 50% of the book is entirely new. And the sections that can be found elsewhere have been rephrased to connect with a younger audience. Plus, as I mentioned previously, the spiritual background to minimalist living has not been told anywhere else before this book.

WHAT IF I’M NOT A CHRISTIAN TEENAGER?

Well, then, you have two options:

1) Don’t purchase the new book. No worries. We’ll catch you with the next one. We’re not done writing books. And I’d never recommend you buy something you don’t need… that would defeat the whole purpose of what we’re doing here.

2) Learn something new by buying the book anyway. If you are familiar with the life and/or teachings of Jesus, you’ll find this book to be highly informative and challenging in your understanding of His message. If you have teenagers in your life, you’ll discover a new framework with which to engage them in conversation about the role of possessions in their lives. And lastly, you’ll be supporting us. Your purchase puts us in a far better position to pursue publishers for future projects.

HOW CAN I HELP?

1) You can buy the book. I’m steering my audience towards Amazon.

2) You can share this announcement with your friends by posting on Twitter, sharing on Facebook, pinning to Pinterest, e-mailing a friend, or just talking it up in conversation with others. You are this book’s marketing campaign. Thanks for taking a moment to spread the word.

3) You can post a review on Amazon. Your reviews are very helpful as they prove the message in the book connects with its readers. After you read the book, posting your review would be really helpful.

But mostly, thanks for being part of the Becoming Minimalist community. You make sharing our words with the world possible and highly enjoyable.