Finding Freedom in Having Less

Only the things you frequently use can give you real meaning

Devereux Point in Santa Barbara, California at sunset. Photo: Per Håkansson.

When I began this journey two decades ago my intention was just to declutter, digitize, and reorganize my stuff. The real driver was the insight that everything was in the process of being digitized and that would save everyone time, money, and space.

Owning fewer things has been a red thread throughout my life with the exception of when I started making money between high school and college, and my arrival in Silicon Valley a few year after college.

Simply, when I started to earn more, I also consumed more.

I had the feeling that I had arrived and I could finally have everything else that everyone else had and more. So for a decade I just worked and consumed. Money was rolling in and I was supposedly living the dream, buying things I never used.

I then burned out, took unpaid time off, and reflected on my life. Was it really worth my health and wellbeing to work my ass off to impress others with material wealth and social status? Was there another way, less traveled, that I could explore?

“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.“ – Albert Camus

I looked back at the startups I had been part of and how frugal we had been in the early stages, forcing us to operate with less or no money and more creativity. I also recognized that these were the times that I had the most fun and enjoyed my work the most – the hard-working and unglamorous times.