It has been more than three weeks since I have finished the book titled The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own by Joshua Becker and honestly this was a book I really couldn’t put down after I started it.

Before I tell you about the book specifically I want to point something out, I had originally started with only the Kindle version and was enjoying reading it at nights before bed but I realized that I only found limited time to pick it up every night as it didn’t fit with my normal routine of reading/listening to things.  So I decided to upgrade my purchase to the audible companion which was well worth it as I could listen to the Audiobook during my morning run, or while cleaning up and getting things ready in the evening for the next day.  However, the biggest benefit was that I could then pick up my Kindle and actually physically read the book right where my audio portion left off.  Honestly, the best of both worlds and I would recommend it for this book as I can see myself reading and listening to it again in the near future.

Now onto my thoughts of “The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything you Own” by Joshua Becker.  For someone like me that has just stumbled upon this concept of minimalism, I still really hadn’t figure out what it meant and assumed that this book was going to tell me how to throw away almost everything I own.  I quickly realized by Joshua’s definition of minimalism it didn’t specifically talk about “physical things” and in fact, I feel this is a much better definition than what people think.

Minimalism: the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from them

After reading that definition in the book it dawned on me as to why he titled the book “The More of Less.”  Through the book, he explains this from his own personal story of why he wanted less as well as through the stories of others which are great examples of how The More of Less can take on many forms.  In fact, you quickly realize there isn’t a wrong answer or a right way, you just need to figure out your own WHY.  It is a tough question that takes some time to figure out and I honestly believe it might change as you go.  It has for me at least.  Once you start formulating it in your head, it should become clearer as to the actions you might want to take in order to get you on the right track.  That track is again where this book is great. Joshua does a great job laying out various examples of what you can do to take those next steps after the why.  In fact, most are simple steps to get you started, and nothing life-changing like selling/getting rid of everything you own.  Now I had started some of this process of removing less value-added things in my life (I call it decluttering) before I read the book but one of his super simple ideas to start was to keep your car clean.  Why that is so simple that it hadn’t even been on my mind yet and with 3 kids your car quickly becomes overtaken with “stuff” all over.  So that night after reading that part of the book I cleaned both our vehicles out.  Now after 3 weeks it is still cleaner than before because it is easier than before and every time I get into my car I just feel that much better.

That was just one example of the many that are touched on in the book.  Honestly, when I got to the last page I was just finishing an early morning run and I was a little sad that the book was over.  There is so many useful examples/thoughts that Joshua put in there and I enjoyed hearing all of them as they continued to shape my thoughts.

I would definitely recommend this book to everyone as I think everyone can find pieces/parts of the book that will relate to their lives no matter what your own personal situation is.  Joshua Becker has also written some other books, has a blog where he captures his thoughts as well at Becoming Minimalist, and also has a 12-week course titled Uncluttered.

Too many people spend money they haven’t earned to buy things they don’t want to impress people they don’t like. - Will Rogers