Theyre All Just a Bunch of Hippies!

Theyre All Just a Bunch of Hippies! A loyal reader, Austen, recently sent us an email titled Theyre All Just a Bunch of Hippies! The email portrayed a certain sentiment that is often expressed by people who hear about minimalism the first time. And its an odd sentimentâ€"its as if theyre offended by our radically different lifestyle, as if they think we are questioning their lifestyle. But were not. We simply share what has worked for usâ€"what has helped us live more meaningful livesâ€"and we hope it works for you, too. We are not, however, telling you how to live your life. Rather, we hope to give you our perspective and allow you to make your own decisions. We hope our perspective sheds some light on the subjectâ€"on some of the pernicious aspects of our heavily mediated consumer cultureâ€"and that it helps you make the changes you want to make and live a more meaningful life. Thats our intent. Austens Email While at work yesterday I mentioned how I was particularly moved by an article I re-read that morning and forwarded it to one of my co-workers. We are a small, tight-knit division within my company in which I see this particular co-worker striving to climb the corporate ladder. This associate and I tend to see things similarly when it comes to finding an amicable and best-suited solution. He has always been very open to criticism and suggestions and uses them to determine the best course of action. I have learned to be more open to others ideas from observing and interacting with him. He has told me he admires that I am so organized and keep lists (which as he says, 90% of the most successful people do). Anyway, I shared with him your essay Living with No Goals and Leos essay Achieving Without Goals because this concept had been on my mind. I expected a Huh, thats an interesting perception, (I know, my first mistake was having an expectation), but instead he made some noise reminiscent of a dreaming dog and said, I cant read this! I just read the line Goals take credit for our accomplishments and its just crap! Sure, if you want to contribute nothing and just be merry living in San Francisco, with no health insurance, no safetytheyre all just a bunch of hippies! I was a bit astonished. I not seen him this riled up before, and I tried to explain to him that just because these people werent in a corporate structure didnt mean they werent happy or contributing; it led to a discussion past working hours on definitions of success, organization, security, and civic/personal responsibility. What would you guys have said? How do you respond to a presumed criticism that people living without goals are hippies? What about health insurance? I like feeling productive and as an added bonus it makes me great at my job, but I feel like Ive heard you and Leo all suggest to do lists and accomplishments should be redefined; what am I missing? Joshuas Response I have a few issues with the statement 90% of successful people keep lists. Not only is that difficult  to quantify, its also rather vague. Id ask him, How do you define successful people? What does a successful person look like? What makes someone successful? Money? Physical possessions? Status? When I made over $100k a year and managed 100 people, I wasnt truly successful. For me, success is a simple equation, and it has nothing to do with these things. Regarding the no health insurance comment, Im not sure why that assumption was made. I have health insurance. Health insurance doesnt equal safety, though, nor does working for a corporation. Regarding being merry in San Francisco: whats wrong with that? (Although Im currently being merry in Dayton, Ohio.) Regarding the hippies comment: Ha! I just laugh off comments like that. If you ever met Leo, Ryan, or myself, youd think we were anything but hippies. The truth is that anyone who knows usâ€"or any other well-know minimalists like Colin Wright or Courtney Carver or Joshua Beckerâ€"know were far from hippies. Not that there is necessarily anything wrong with being a hippie, but that label is inaccurate for us. We are simply a small group of people who were dissatisfied with the status quo and decided to reject that lifestyle in favor of more meaningful lives. So, how would I have responded to your friend? I wouldnt have. I dont try to change peoples minds through just words; I do so through my actions (everything we write about on our site is about our actions). Its amazing how many people who literally thought we were crazy, or that we were joining a cult, eventually came around and embraced certain aspects of minimalism. They saw the changes we made and the happiness we experienced and the results spoke for themselves. I always suggest you start with yourself, and, eventually, people will notice and want to make similar changes in their lives. Subscribe to The Minimalists via email.