I haven’t written on this space for awhile. Looking at the reasons, mostly I had nothing to say that I felt was interesting enough for people to read or care about. I also became very focused with getting my career going. Right now, I work as a public relations consultant. It’s an interesting job, each day is different from the previous one, but there’s also a lot of stress. At the end of the day, it’s not who I am as a person.

I’m posting for several reasons. One, since my hiatus — I’ve learned a lot of new things and have grown as a person. My perspective has grown clearer. Time is short and not guaranteed. Realizing this statement at something more than a cliche, but on a gut level is changing my life. Second, one of my friends I met through this blog, Sheri at Simpler. Easier. Happier. (formerly Minimalist OC) sent me a message out of the blue recently. I was surprised and happy she reached out to me. Her effort made me think back to the friendships I’ve made with people through this blog. In the end, for me that’s what important — People, Not Stuff. And crafting my life around the power of authentic connections and inspiring others to shift their values towards people and away from isolation, unnecessary materials, and other blocks towards inner happiness is important to me.

I’ve decided to post again here. I have a very clear direction of where I’m taking this blog and I’m excited share my ideas, thoughts, and experiences. I’m also looking forward to meeting people through this blog and learning more about where you’re coming from as well.

Something is wrong with the way we live. We work these jobs that don’t mean much. Many of these jobs make us sacrifice our true personality, our opinions, and our real feelings. When I say “us”, I mean those adults living and working in America. At those jobs, many of us are overworked, undervalued as anything more than replaceable cogs in a large machine. There is a significant lack of human dignity and a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. I come home to a neighborhood where there is no sense of authentic connection with my neighbors. I feel alone in thinking it’s strange that I literally sleep next to my neighbors for years, yet I don’t know anything about them on a meaningful level. I feel no sense of connection from my co-workers in a way that’s permanent. I look at the infighting among politicians and political groups in this country and see a lack of unity and decency on a level purely past politics.

I’m trying to make sense of this world in which so many people are unhappy and feel alone. It seems to me that based off of everything we have, the pervasive sense of aloneness I feel should be much less common.

I have a strong desire to do work that’s impactful, meaningful to me, and improves the quality of others’ lives. I want to achieve this through my writing.

I feel like we are given such a short time on this Earth. Doing anything less than making a difference or working towards goals that empower us is such a waste of the human potential that everyone possesses (whether they realize they have that potential).

I’m frustrated because none of the options I see in front of me are appealing or seem likely to happen. As I see it, I can continue struggling to secure a full-time position. I can continue working on building a freelance writing business. I can do something totally different like become a certified personal trainer. Or I can pour my passion into a project with the hope that I can make money from it one day.

What I’m certain is that people need people. The way our society is structured creates a sense of isolation for many people. What I want to do is highlight the need for other people – and not in the sense of using other people for our own agendas – but the importance of having a sense of community and close-knit bonds. Traditionally, these things came from family and while they still do, most families have most adult members working so many hours that time for learning, playing, and growing together is very limited.

I want to help people structure their lives in a way that creates authentic bonds with other people and inspire others to wake-up to their potential.

2011 has taken off to a good start.

My overall goal to eliminate procrastination has proven to be solid. Not spectacular but for the first month in, pretty decent.

Like most people tackling New Year’s resolutions, I started off blazing in the first few weeks. I started slipping the 3rd week in January. Fortunately I realized I was starting to get too comfortable and picked up the tempo. Again, not perfectly but the effort has been there.

I’ve been juggling a lot of activities lately. The positive news is that I’ve been focused on tasks I believe are worth the time.  Here’s what I’ve been up to recently:

*Wrote an article for my local newspaper that was featured on the front cover of the Local Life section.

*Contacted Chris Guillebeau at Unconventional Guides.

* Paid of 1 of 2 credit cards in full! Credit card 2 of 2 will be paid off this Friday.

*I re-acquainted with my old boss and mentor for his 40th birthday. (Wish I had pictures).

*I’m also working on a top-secret project. (Okay, not a CIA level secret but I haven’t told anyone but I will definitely share it here when it’s finished.)

*My bank savings are increasing, which allows me to move closer towards my plan towards freedom.

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Photo Credit: Wikipedia Commons

I want to comment on Everett Bogue’s post about the end of minimalism. I’m not going to criticize him because he’s free to live as he chooses, however, I think his quote that “minimalism isn’t cool anymore” misses the point.

I think what he really means is that he doesn’t see any financial gain to be made from minimalism anymore — which is fine. I would give him more respect if he just came out with that statement instead.

I read through some other cool minimalist blogs and I thought that each opinion was thoughtful, entertaining and funny. Read below to check out what other people have to say about Everett Bogue and also the state of minimalism.

The Art of Minimalism

Minimalist Packrat

Annienygma

I think it’s great to see different perspectives from people. Also if you have any opinions, please post a comment. I’d love to read it.

Goal making is important for many minimalists, and for good reason. In fact, I recently talked about some of my goals for 2011. Consciously creating goals and reviewing them adds clarity, focus and direction. Leo Babauta’s Zen Habits, I believe, has played a significant role in the now popular convergence between minimalism, simplicity, and positive goal setting.

I notice many people interested in minimalism, specifically new information seekers, who read a bunch of interesting and valuable information about minimalism from places like:

Meg Wolfe at Minimalist Woman

Josh Becker at Becoming Minimalist

Courtney Carver at Be More With Less

Penelope at Brazen Careerist

Colin Wright at Exile Lifestyle

These sites definitely provide value and each differs in their perspective on minimalism. The problem lies in where I see many people who suddenly think, “great this is awesome, all I have to do is adopt minimalism, create goals, and life will be awesome!”

But unfortunately I have found life doesn’t work this way. Rarely is there a magic bullet to anything. And living a minimalist path isn’t one either. I am directing my word of caution primarily at those new to minimalism or interested in trying. But the advice also applies to those, including myself,  who are more familiar with minimalism but have encountered some frustrations.

Minimalism, alone, can not change your life.

It can only provide a path.

I think it’s an important point to get across because I rarely hear it spoken about. Getting rid of excess, creating goals, and trying on new ways of thinking is wonderful. But be careful to monitor your expectations as well.  It takes time for the changes that most often get made to set in. And it also takes persistence to continually challenge old habits again and again.

Minimalism’s biggest help is to create a sense of direction. But once the direction is set, the decision to consistently take action still lies with yourself. And this fact remains whether one chooses to adopt minimalism or not.

I always look forward to the arrival of the new year.

This time of year offers the perfect opportunity for self-assessment. You can examine what’s working, what isn’t working, and how to take corrective action.

When I began my minimalist journey, I had a rough plan in place. But I wasn’t certain where the minimalist path would lead me. So far, I am happy to report that I’m doing great. 2010 was a year of struggle — for many people, including myself. However I feel these challenging times have helped me grow mentally stronger and more capable of handling life’s obstacles.

While I’m cautiously pleased with the progress I have made living a minimalist lifestyle, I still am hungry to take things to a new level for 2011. I have taken a significant amount of time to determine what I want to accomplish in 2011. But from all the goals I have, the biggest one is to eliminate procrastination.

This common goal seems to appear out of place in the minimalist world. But I am realizing that procrastination seems to be the sludge consistently holding back many goals that would are shared by many minimalists.

For instance, here are some sub-goals of mine for 2011:

1. I want to be writing for Men’s Health as a regular contributor by December 1st, 2011.
2. I want to have $5,000 in my savings account by September 23rd, 2011.
3. I want to be an active participant in life that goes after what I want and faces challenges directly and immediately.

These goals don’t seem to have much to do with each other initially. But completing my main goal of eliminating procrastination helps me reach all of these goals. For instance, by not delaying to write whenever I feel the impulse, I am providing myself more opportunities to write fantastic articles. The better I write, the more likely I am to earn income. As my income grows, I can more rapidly earn by goal of saving $5,000 by September 23rd. As my financial situation steadily improves, I would more than likely move to my desired studio apartment. As I have discussed before, a studio is not for everybody. But at this point in my life it’s exactly what I want to help me move forward with minimalism. And as a result, I will have less demand physically, as well as on my time. This freedom allows me to achieve my third sub-goal more easily. All of these goals are connected and easily achievable by tackling the big goal of eliminating procrastination completely.

Think about how many problems most minimalists want to solve such as excess, not having enough time, and debt. These things stem from procrastination.

I don’t believe there is a magic bullet to defeat procrastination. I believe it’s going to take a lot of hard work and a healthy degree of self-awareness to change an ingrained habit. The good news is that procrastination is just that — a habit. Habits can always be reversed. Unfortunately, like anything worthwhile, the transformation doesn’t occur overnight.

Hello everyone — I want to provide you an update on what’s going with PeopleNotStuff and where I have been lately.

I have been absent lately from publishing any new posts recently for several reasons:

1) I didn’t feel I had anything of value to say. Usually, I have ideas, experiences, and questions floating in my brain that I like to share. Although recently I have had those things, I haven’t had anything I felt would be adding real value. I’d rather not write for the sake of writing. So you can be assured that if you see a post here, it’s something interesting to me and it’s something I felt might be of value to you.

2) I picked up a part-time second job. (Although I have now left there due to a long-story.)

3) Between my current internship downtown and going on informational interviews, I have been running around meeting new people and networking. Things are going pretty good and I am feeling cautiously optimistic.

4) I needed to unplug from the Internet. We speak a lot about choosing the essential and leaving the rest behind. I felt the amount of time I was spending online between my assigned tasks at work and my home-life wasn’t healthy or something I wanted. I needed to take a break to de-plug from technology.

What’s coming up on PeopleNotStuff? :

1) New Posts -I’m going to continue writing new posts and hopefully they are something that can make you look at your own perspective in a new way, figure out how to achieve something related towards minimalism, or even just entertains. Also, I really appreciate feedback (positive or negative) from you about what things you enjoy reading about and what doesn’t add anything for you. You can always email me at rah204 (at) gmail (dot) com and I will definitely respond.

2) Guest Features -Really informative and fun guest posts. Since I’ve been blogging, I’ve come across and “met” some really interesting thinkers who are using minimalism to tackle obstacles and live the life of their choosing. So be prepared for some perspectives on minimalism from those people.

3) Pictures – I’m a very visual person. Sometimes much more can be learned from a single picture than an entire blog post. I want to feature some pictures of things I come across that shows minimalism in action. Maybe the pictures can inspire you or provide additional ideas.

Last Friday, I was riding in the back of a taxi in downtown Philadelphia with nothing but some cash and my camera. I was sent on a mission from my boss/mentor to capture a collection of pictures featuring several famous mural paintings. (If you’re interested, email me for the pics) Since I had to make several stops, I asked my cab driver if he wouldn’t mind waiting for me during each stop.

I rarely initiate conversation with cab drivers beyond a standard “hello” and “thank you”, but on this day, that would change. I briefly watched his eyes in the mirror from my vantage point in the back seat and it didn’t take a social genius to instantly realize he looked lonely. I thought, What the hell, I’m going to introduce myself.

Immediately the cab driver’s eyes lit up after I told him my name. Unfortunately I don’t remember his name but I know it was something Arabic. He learned I graduated nine months ago, I discovered he was in his 60′s and had six children. It’s crazy to realize he had been driving taxis longer than I have been alive. But the conversation turned differently when he let me in on his secretly unfulfilled desire to earn a college education.

He told me he didn’t really enjoy driving his taxi but it was the only thing he could do without a college education and limited English. I felt a strong urge to reply to him but I kept silent; mostly because there just isn’t much to say when someone old basically tells you they didn’t get to live the life they had desired.

I told him a little about the problem many Generation Yers are facing in terms of employment. He looked into the mirror at me and said, “Never give up on your dream. The key to life is living honestly. That way, you will never lose yourself.” I tipped him as I exited the cab and went back to work. But his words and more importantly, his attitude, have stuck with me. I have been thinking how amazing the taxi driver’s life perspective is and how I can apply his lessons towards living a minimalist lifestyle.

Photo Credit: yellowcabofsavannah.com

Lessons I’m Trying To Apply Towards A Minimalist Lifestyle:

1. “Sacrifice is necessary.” - I think the way our current society works, sacrifice almost seems like a dirty word. Advertisements and social conditioning have led many of us to believe we should have everything — and we should have it right now. But that style of living isn’t healthy and it’s also unrealistic. Sacrifice is one of the roots of long-lasting success. If you really look at people who have made it to the top of their professions or craft, most have spent countless hours practicing. The minimalist lifestyle in many regards involves sacrifice. It’s definitely a sacrifice to give up certain things we like but know deep down aren’t really needed for anything useful. And it’s a sacrifice to risk being alienated from how the rest of much of society behaves in terms of consumerism. But just like the taxi driver sacrificed to make sure he could earn a stable living, it’s vital to remember that by giving up some things, we also gain. Specifically, minimalists gain more clarity, more freedom, and a better sense of real-self.

2. “Persistence will pay.” – I know I can get frustrated sometimes when things don’t go the way I want. I also think that’s healthy to a degree. But listening to the taxi driver tell me the importance of never giving up, I know he’s right. I think that maybe obstacles are just life’s way of testing to see how badly we really want something. If we are going after something we deem personally worthwhile, most of us will continue striving for it no matter what. I know for myself, the idea of freedom is something I yearn for. And even though obstacles come my way, it’s important to remember the power of persistence because that’s going to be the force that takes you towards your desired destination.

3. “Find your dream and keep it alive.” – I have already created my personal mission statement. And I also know I want to create significant positive change. But if you asked me right now how I can make my dream come true, I couldn’t tell you for certain. And I think this state is okay. I’m using minimalism to add clarity, not create more confusion. So as a Generation Yer, I’m still finding my way. And as long as I have a road map, I’m going to get where I want to go. The taxi driver never got the chance to go to college, and being blunt, in all likelihood probably won’t. But he still hasn’t given up on his dream. By living a minimalist lifestyle, it’s easier to erase distractions in life and focus on finding your dream and keeping the fire alive.

It’s so easy, unfortunately, to lose sight of just how much each one of us has already achieved some successes on the minimalist path towards creating a desired lifestyle.

I know that when I set goals for myself, I generally try to focus on where I’m currently standing and what specific action steps I need to take that will get me closer towards where I want to be. Generally, I don’t like excessively looking backwards because I fear too much reflection will lead towards complacency, which leads towards stagnation.

However, sometimes it’s not only rewarding, but healthy, to take a moment to become consciously aware of the progress that you have made. Often, the people around us can see and appreciate the positive changes and progress we have made more than we notice ourselves.

The idea to reflect was inspired from a thoughtful post titled “What’s On Your ‘Already There’ List?” on Gip Plaster’s So Much More Life blog. Do yourself a favor and check our Gip’s blog to find more insightful information and personal anecdotes about simple living, spirituality, and the writing life.

Photo Credit: LolaCreative.com

Gip’s list inspired me to create me own. Here is my list that celebrates some recent successes and also some areas I have felt “ahead of the game.” My hope is that reading my list sparks the desire to create your own and also that you feel self-appreciation at how far you already are.

1. I gave up TV for a week. Since, I have drastically reduced my viewing habits. Without sports and Mad Men, it would be even easier.

2. I drink water all the time. I rarely drink sodas and prefer water and juice. Water is a solution for many problems people face such as losing weight, maintaining good health, and increasing alertness/energy.

3. I sold and donated my used books. I’ve been a read-a-holic since I was very young. Naturally, books have increasingly dominated space wherever I have lived. It felt great to create space, give the books a good home, and make a few extra bucks.

4. I actually enjoy going to the gym, running outside, and being active. During the times when for whatever reason I can’t exercise, I feel strange for not going and I miss the activity.

5. Minimalism is helping get closer to my desired work. The Great Recession hasn’t been easy for myself or the majority of people. But I’m plowing through it and making the most from a bad situation.

6. I identified the unique ways minimalism challenges myself and many of us. Being aware of how minimalism can be difficult has helped me accept and deal with those obstacles.

7. I started People, Not Stuff when I was initially afraid to do so. I never wrote on a blog before and didn’t know how people would react, or whether anybody would even read. It’s been very rewarding doing so and I can only imagine where it goes from here which leads me to…

8. I’ve made friends within the Minimalist Community. I am happy to read the different stories and perspectives from the people I have met so far. If you get a chance, make sure to give them a read. You can find them on the Blogroll or scattered throughout many of my posts.

With my 24th birthday coming up in less than 3 weeks, I’ll be coming up with a new list of where I want to go from here. But it’s vital to also appreciate where I currently am. I hope you take some time, even just 10 minutes today, to reflect at all the progress you have already made.

To me, freedom is the most important concept when it comes to living a minimalist lifestyle. I have a burning desire to live as freely as possible. One People,Not Stuff reader named Tony, who blogs at Regards From The Balcony, wrote a comment in my post about “Creating Significant Positive Change.” Tony writes:

I think generally the less encumbered you are with material things, the more freedom you will have. On relationships, well, now that’s a tricky one, they tend to “encumber” one far more than things. Can I throw you a bone to chew on – is anyone in a relationship truly free? Is anyone who has a child free? What exactly does freedom mean?

Excellent question worth contemplating, especially if you consider yourself somebody who is or would like to live a minimalist lifestyle. Understanding what your own personal definition of freedom gives you the ability to center your focus on actually achieving it. Minimalism is designed so that you can create more freedom in your life.

So what is freedom? The true meaning of freedom has been debated since philosophers roamed ancient Greece and Rome. Your personal definition of freedom most likely differs from mine, but each perspective is valid. Tony’s question got me thinking, and to me, I view freedom as something that occurs on two levels: physically and mentally.

Photo Credit: Logo Design Love

Physical Freedom: This is the ability for an individual to act as they desire, without outside constraint or impediment. It’s having agency to use your body and it’s capabilities as you deem fit and not being denied full access to changing and using the physical properties of the world around you. Physical freedom is a tangible entity.

Mental Freedom: This type of freedom often looms as a precursor to physical freedom because our mental thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs generally determine our actions — which sets the foundation of physical freedom. To me, mental freedom remains much more rare than physical freedom. Our school education system, parental teaching, religious doctrines, and societal pressures each tell us their version of how and why things are they way they are. Mental freedom involves you as an individual being simultaneously aware of these institutional teachings, while also being independent from them in your thought.

Mental freedom intimately involves truth. If you are living a lie, or find yourself outwardly agreeing with other people’s vision of life but secretly feeling their wrong, or denying to yourself what you see and feel, then it’s impossible to attain mental freedom.  For those who achieve mental freedom, the result is clarity. The way our world works, clarity can be elusive because our mental focus is often centered on things that constrain us rather than free us. Fear is the biggest barrier towards mental clarity. This fear can manifest itself for minimalists in physical and mental ways with actions and thoughts such as:

I need more stuff so I can feel more self-value. I can’t live a minimalist lifestyle because it’s different from what many other people do. I am better than other people because I am a “minimalist.” Or actions such as hoarding, the opposite perspective of being afraid to own anything, and consuming rather than reusing.

So in a nutshell, freedom to me is a combination of awareness + truth + fearlessness + independence.

For me, minimalism is only the vehicle to get me to Freedom.

One of the important questions I have is what do I really want? I am realizing creating significant positive change is an issue of great importance for me.  It’s difficult for me to articulate what I mean exactly by significant positive change but defining the term is crucial if I’m ever going to achieve it.

It’s probably easier for to start out what I don’t mean when I say create significant positive change.

I do not just want to put a smile on somebody’s face of brighten up their day.

I don’t mean working anonmously through an organization and not seeing the fruits of my labor.

I want to wake people up in some way. I want people to become empowered to make changes to their lives they have always desired.

I want to join or build a community of people connected and working together to take the steering wheel of their own lives.

I want people to believe at their core they were not put on Earth only to follow a pattern of: Birth –> School –> Job –> Buy Stuff –> Maybe Marriage & Kids —> Old —-> Death.  Those things aren’t bad to me, but I don’t believe they bring happiness by themselves. I think everybody needs a sense of purpose. Or at least I do.

I do not think I’m alone in my thoughts. But if so, why do many people not make changes to their life? I think it’s because they believe it’s not possible — for themselves.

Here are some excuses I have made for myself in the past about why creating significant possible change isn’t possible:

1) I only have a little bit of money

2) Nobody is supporting me

3) I don’t know what services I would use to help others

4) It’s going to take a lot of time and effort — I might fail

5) I’m not going to be respected or my efforts taken seriously

While some of these excuses might appear in my head during difficult times, right now I am at the stage of “where there is a will, there is a way.” I think that as individuals, we are all more powerful than we realize. I think it’s up to us to realize this fact, and take appropriate action.