I call myself a “frequently failing, but always aspiring minimalist.” There’s a powerful consumer drive inside of me, but I work effortfully to reduce its hold. Sometimes that means going to a store and picking up an item — temporarily — and then returning it to another shelf. I can be captivated by new things — quickly dreaming of what happiness they could bring.
When I’m really struggling to save money and stay minimalistic, I return to some favorite role models’ messages. The following are 8 of my favorite TED Talks on the subject of minimalism, living with less, and learning to love yourself in the process. Hope you enjoy!
1. Jon Jandai: Life is easy. Why do we make it so hard?
2. Mark Boyle: The Moneyless Man
3. Graham Hill: Less stuff, more happiness
4. Grant Blakeman: Minimalism — For a More Full Life
5. The Minimalists: A rich life with less stuff
6. Adam Baker: Sell your crap. Pay your debt. Do what you love.
7. Angela Horn: The Less You Own, the More You Have
8. Amy Henion: How can tiny houses offer the ultimate freedom to our generation?
Can’t watch these now as I’m at work…bad I know… but I will have to check them out later for sure. Thanks for sharing!
Awesome! I love TED Talks. I usually listen to them while I’m riding my bike to and from work–will have to add these to the queue!
You’ve got life figured out! Biking-audiobooks-minimalism…!
I’ve seen #3 before and absolutely loved it. I’ll have to give the rest a watch! Funny, I used to love reaching “inbox zero” at work, but it’s more difficult with my personal email. There’s always something I’m meaning to get around to!
I love TED talks, especially from Adam Baker: Sell your crap. Pay your debt. Do what you love. We should pay off our debt first.
LOVE Ted talks (and am also an aspiring minimalist). Thanks for sharing these Sam!
Thanks for sharing, I’ll have to check those out. I just watched a TED talk last night that seems to jive with the list you’ve got here:
“Why 2.5 billion heartbeats might change the way you think about money” by Preet Banerjee
http://youtu.be/XMo1dRiezaA
thanks for sharing!
Being a minimalist, I really don’t collect anything EXCEPT things that have to do with minimalism, like these clips. Kind of bizarre, huh? Anyhoo, thanks Sam. I look forward to watching these today. 🙂
I didn’t have time to watch all of the videos. I will check these soon!
Hey Sam, Thanks for sharing! Jon Jandai, Mark Boyle, and Graham Hill are some of my favorites- I still have to watch some of the others. I’ve made my own contribution to the minimalism discussion with my TEDx talk, “Adventures with Minimalism and Happiness.” I’d be very curious what you all think. Take care! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0dTdJTHTIk
Awesome TEDx Talk! Thanks so much for sharing this. Amazing story and maybe someday I’ll share my own! 🙂
Okay I love these! I am a constant follower of minimalist blogs. My friends think I am crazy because I keep telling them that my 1600 square foot house is waaayyyy too big. I just found your site and am so excited to read your articles. I have been getting rid of stuff from my house left and right. Examining each thing and asking “does it bring me joy or have a purpose?” If not, out it goes! I feel the need to simplify, simplify, simplify.
Thank you for sharing these talks. I especially loved Adam Baker’s and defining “What does freedom mean to you?”
I’ve been dithering around the idea of selling a heap of my dad’s stuff that found its way to my garage shortly before he died and is driving me nuts. I’ve balked at the idea of selling it ‘cos it was his but on reflection, I’m sure he wouldn’t want it to cause the stress that it is. So, time for clear out. The extra $$ would be nice, too.
Cheers
Another must watch talk about minimalist by marty stano
So there I was searching for minimalist talks to share on my Facebook page and I come across this post, which includes my TEDx Cape Town talk! Wow…thanks for including me, I’m super chuffed. 🙂
Aww, glad you found it! 🙂 Your talk was fantastic.
Pretty sure Adam Baker just drastically changed my life….for the better!! THANK YOU THANK YOU!