I’d like to introduce you to one of my favorite songs of 2013: Peter Doran’s ‘Every Little Thing’…

I’m pleased to announce that this beautiful song, which is from Peter’s new album Overhead the Stars, is now the official song of my forthcoming memoir, Everything That Remains. The song itself fits our simple-living message perfectly, melding optimistic, decaffeinated chords with Zen-folksinger wisdom. Even the titles of the song and book sync harmoniously.

The only thing I enjoy more than supporting great music is supporting great indie music. As an indie author myself, I know the painstaking work that goes into handcrafting every aspect of a project, from writing to printing and the myriad steps in between. When done correctly, though, the result is truly special.

Indie art itself is special. It connects the creator with the audience without the unnecessary muck in the middle. In fact, that’s why Ryan, Colin, and I started Asymmetrical Press, a publishing house for the indie at heart. And it’s also why I jumped at a recent opportunity to partner with Peter Doran, a talented singer-songwriter from Ireland.

We’ll feature ‘Every Little Thing’ in at least one book trailer later this year. Visit Peter Doran’s website for more music. And find him on Twitter.

‘Every Little Thing’ Lyrics

Every little thing, you think that you need
Every little thing, you think that you need
Every little thing that’s just feeding your greed
Oh, I bet that you’d be fine without it

Every little thing that you’ve gotta have
Every little thing that you’ve gotta have
That you’ve got to reach for and you’ve got to grab
Oh, I bet that you’d be fine without it

So tear your eyes away, oh tear your eyes away

Every little thing that sparkles and shines
Every little thing that sparkles and shines
It’s driving you sweetly out of your mind
But I bet that you’d be fine without it

So tear your eyes away, oh tear your eyes away

Every little thing that you’re lusting for
Every little thing that you’re lusting for
How did you ever get along before
Oh, I bet that you were fine without it

So tear your eyes away, oh tear your eyes away

Before you’re tripping over junk that’s lying scattered on your floor
The dusty and discarded toys that don’t shine any more
Every one you had to have, every one you swore
Would satisfy your greedy heart for now and evermore

Every little thing that catches your eye
Every little thing that catches your eye
Gets under your skin and it won’t be denied
Oh, I bet that you’d be fine without it

Oh, I bet that you’d be fine without it

//

Share this song with a friend:

Whether we’re touring, speaking at colleges, or writing books, The Minimalists are always looking for new ways to spread our simple-living message—to introduce minimalism to the masses.

We’ve discovered that one of the best introductions to our work is our ‘best of’ book, Simplicity: Essays, a collection of our most important writings all in one book—46 essays about living a meaningful life with less stuff.

Ergo, Simplicity is now $1 on Kindle.

Don’t own a Kindle? No problem! Kindle books can also be read using the Free Kindle Reader App for your web browser, PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, or Android.

Or you can of course pick up the Paperback or Audiobook versions, both of which have been reduced to $7 each.

If you enjoy the book, we’d love a review on Amazon or Goodreads.

“A life-changing book”

—Chris Brogan, New York Times bestselling author of Trust Agents

Everyone develops their own creative process over time.

Some sculptors, Bernini for instance, build sculptures with clay. Others, like Michelangelo, carve from marble. Though I’m no Michelangelo, my creative process tends to mimic the latter, building way too much and then removing massive amounts of excess until I uncover the beauty beneath the banality.

I call this process Subtractive Creation. Unlike most carving sculptors, though, I also have to quarry the marble from which I pitch, chisel, and polish.

The essays on this site are published with around 400 words, even though they often start with 2,000 or more. My novel was 950 pages before it entered the world with only 283. The current book I’m editing, a memoir called Everything That Remains, is 550 pages, though I hope to whittle it down to fewer than 200.

When I edit this way, the final result is far more meaningful—to me, to the reader. The care and handcraftedness shows in the final work. I teach my writing students how to edit this way, too; that is, how to spend 1/3 of their time writing effectively and 2/3 of their time editing, shaping their work into something more concise, more powerful, more beautiful.

Subtractive Creation seems to be an appropriate synecdoche for the rest of life, as well. There will always be life’s excess, always more, always too many inputs bombarding us from every direction. But instead of abhorrent multitasking, instead of trying to get things done, we can make life more beautiful via subtraction.

We can filter out the noise. We can remove superfluous material possessions. We can let go of sentimental items. We can get rid of shitty relationships. We can avoid the UnAmerican Dream. And when everyone is looking for more, we can focus on less.

Sure there’s an infinite amount of materials with which to build our lives, but sometimes the best way to build is to subtract. The best lives are often well-edited, carefully curated lives.

Speaking of my online writing class, the summer session doesn’t start for two months, but there are fewer than 10 seats remaining if you’re interested.

(N.B. Yes, I know that Bernini also sculpted with marble.)

I don’t own many things. But everything I own adds value to my life.

Each of my belongings—my kitchenware, furniture, clothes, car—functions either as a tool or gives some sort of positive aesthetic value to my life. That is, as a minimalist, every possession serves a purpose and/or brings me joy.

Over time, though, situations’ll change. They always do. And so I’m forced to ask the same important question over and over and over again: Does this thing add value to my life?

And but it’s not just material possessions at which I posit this query. I ask it, too, in regard to relationships, social media, and any other potentially superfluous matters in life.

I constantly ask this question because circumstances constantly change. Just because something adds value to my life today, that doesn’t mean it’ll necessarily add value to my life tomorrow. So I keep asking, and I adjust accordingly.

“Does This Thingy Add Value to My Life” is a small sliver of a passage from my forthcoming memoir, Everything That Remains, for which you can find updates on Twitter: @ETRbook. Ryan and I also elaborated on this topic during our live Seattle Meetup (link takes you directly to this specific portion of the talk).

The Missoula sun is working its way through the last bits of snow on the mountains. Puffer coats are being closeted for a few months. Snow tires are being removed from Subarus trepidatiously.

It’s almost summertime in Montana, and just to the north our neighbors in Alberta, Canada are about to receive a (not-so-) surprise June visit from The Minimalists: Calgary on 6/11 and Edmonton on 6/13.

Both meetups are minimally priced (FREE!). And Colin’ll be there too. You can find all the details and RSVP on our tour page.

If you’re waiting for us to come to your city, hold tight. Make sure you subscribe via email to keep updated on future tour stops.

(Big thanks to Matt Bailey from Live Limitless for organizing both events.)

#minstour