Joshua Fields Milburn

Join Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, renowned advocates of minimalism and co-hosts of The Minimalists podcast, as they delve into the transformative power of decluttering your life. They discuss how releasing material attachments can lead to profound happiness and mental clarity. Their personal journeys highlight the pitfalls of consumer culture and the search for true fulfillment. Tune in to explore the liberating insights they offer on mindfulness, emotional well-being, and the essential nature of meaningful connections.

Join Joshua Fields Millburn and TK Coleman, the dynamic duo behind The Minimalists, as they share their transformative journeys toward simplicity. They explore the art of letting go, emphasizing how to make intentional choices that align with personal values. Discover the importance of self-reflection and questioning consumer motivations to break free from clutter. They also challenge the allure of comfort, urging listeners to embrace discomfort for genuine growth. Tune in for insights on finding balance and unleashing your best self through minimalism!

Joshua Fields Millburn, one half of The Minimalists and author of "Love People, Use Things," dives deep into the journey of minimalism. He shares personal insights on how less can truly mean more when it comes to happiness. The discussion highlights the staggering waste from consumerism, prompting a reflection on our attachment to belongings. Millburn offers practical strategies for decluttering and emotional challenges around letting go of sentimental items. He emphasizes that meaningful relationships should take precedence over material possessions for a fulfilling life.

Join The Minimalists, Joshua Fields Milburn and Ryan Nicodemus, known for their impactful documentaries and recent book, as they delve into the art of living with less. They share their personal journeys toward minimalism and discuss how this lifestyle fosters freedom from consumerism. Renowned Buddhist teacher Oren Jay Sofer adds depth by connecting mindfulness to minimalism, encouraging listeners to reevaluate their attachment to material things. Together, they highlight the importance of prioritizing relationships over possessions for a more meaningful life.

I thought it would make me happy.So, I studied hard. Nailed the grades & aced my college applications — 7 for 7. Even Harvard gave me the green light. I snagged a degree from Stanford, eked my way through Cornell Law School, bagged the fancy job, worked ridiculous hours in overpriced suits and rode the elevator all the way up the corporate ladder, hammering impressive paychecks along the way.Prosperity? I guess. Security? Maybe. Personal satisfaction?Not so much.Don't get me wrong. The American Dream is a beautiful ideal. An egalitarian proposition I bought into wholesale, forging a life trajectory premised upon material well being. But the dream is not without it's fissures. Nowhere does it promise personal well being. Nowhere does it promise meaning. Nowhere does it promise happiness.But this is on me. Because at no point did I take action on anything of personal importance. What do I want? Who do I want to be? At 30, I lacked the maturity and self-awareness to honestly answer these questions. But let's face it — I didn't even ask.At first, my dissatisfaction was barely noticeable. But as my disquieting malaise progressively escalated, I compensated with all manner of unhealthy habits. Blackout binges that landed me in jail. Horrendously noxious food that left me atrociously unhealthy. Spending sprees that escalated my debt to almost un-fixable levels.Nothing worked. So I drank more, ate more, spent more, consumed more. Yet no matter how overindulgent my insalubrious habits, how desperate my accelerating efforts to medicate my discomforting dis-ease of self became, that hole in my spirit just grew. Deeper. Wider. Darker. Until it's sheer vastness swallowed me whole, leaving me lost, despondent and utterly alone.Hoping to die and unable to live, all that remained was the realm of the hungry ghost.I honestly don't know how or why I survived. But I do know my rebirth was not by my hand. My divine moment was just that – divine. A faint whisper from the dark recesses of my rootless, discomposed consciousness:You don't have to live this way anymore.This week's guest knows a thing or two about what I'm talking about. Because not that many years ago, Joshua Fields Milburn was blazing a similar trajectory. Mired in the corporate grind, he chased the American Dream banking six figures managing 150 telecom retail stores, expiating for the satisfaction his career failed to provide by doing what we do — accumulating. And when that didn't work, he accumulated more.In fact — much like me — the more Joshua measured self-worth via the barometer of externalities like job titles, condos, and big screen tv's, the more his hole darkened, dilating in depth, width and scope.Joshua's divine moment was delivered in the sudden passing of his mother, followed quickly by the dissolution of his marriage. A devastating succession of events that forced him to take a long look in the mirror. Despondent with the guy being reflected back to him, a whisper began to echo:You don't have to live this way anymore.Hence was born Joshua's search for a more fulfilling and personally satisfying way of living and being. A search that ultimately illuminated a beacon in the darkest of nights.Minimalism.It began with unshackling his relationship to material things. But it culminated in something far more profound: freedom.In Joshua's words, freedom from fear. Freedom from worry. Freedom from overwhelm. Freedom from guilt. Freedom from depression. Freedom from the trappings of the consumer culture we’ve built our lives around. Real freedom.Enjoy!Rich