Gary Weber

about making your life something new by embracing three central concepts:
“You choose your path.”
“Many things may be on your plate, but only a few of them really matter.”
“You can do anything, but not everything.”

Innovation and ingenuity will always be the Essentialist’s best friends.

Capitalism also tells us that we’re not worth anything if we can’t earn something from every situation we encounter, but that’s simply not true.

The energetic exchange between people and from people to corporations and vice versa is undeniably complex, and there can’t just be unchecked ebb and flow.

Grab a notebook again and write down the possibility that just presented itself for you. This could have actually happened, or you could have just got a great idea about what to do for your future. Write that concept down. Go ahead and write down a few different opportunities on separate sheets of paper (or on separate spots on the page if you’re trying to conserve paper). Make a space for two columns under each idea and draw out the two columns if you choose to. The left column you can label as your lowest standards and the right one can be your highest standards for the opportunity in question.

Now, write out three lowest standards for each one, with the lowest standard being your absolute minimum qualification for the opportunity to be worth your time. Examples of this column could be minimum pay, absolute maximum distance from home you would travel, minimum benefits, absolute worst feelings you’ll let yourself feel in relation to your life and the opportunity, and worst boss behaviors you’ll withstand (if that applies). There are many other options, so consider these and what works for you to compose your list. If you need more than three minimum qualifications, all the better! The more detail you give to your plan, the more likely you’ll recognize the behaviors needed to enact it when it comes.

You now approach the world with some affirmation of your selective capacities. As an Essentialist, you are a minimalist, and your search for what is important and what is Essential takes precedence in your life. You’re not interested in what most people are because you’ve been awakened to the ways culture imprints values onto you, and you’re no longer complacent with that system. You find value in the path you actively choose, and you reject the greedy, gaudy, grotesque goals of the masses.

Instead, you live the sleek life. You actively remove obstacles from your path, literally and emotionally. You trim out the excess of your living situation, your relationships, and your work as you spiral upwards to success and achievement. As a minimalist and Essentialists, your values are a combination of the following: determination, selectivity, awareness, simplicity, and austerity. You will have to pay very close attention to situations you don’t necessarily like in your cycles of growth, but you will also be able to use what you learn to aid in your progress.

pragmatist is defined as “a person who is guided more by practical concerns than by ideals,” but following with the Essentialist way means you’ll likely be guided equally by both practically and idealism.

Living your life as an Essentialist will be a blessing for you. You will find that you encounter situations exactly when you need to and that you keep your upward motion focused on your goals easier than ever before. You will amaze yourself with how strong you become. You will be able to conquer whatever obstacles you happen to encounter and you will feel affirmed in your abilities to escape to redesign your mission whenever needed.

Through this practice so far, you’ve learned to harness your power through deliberation and choice, you’ve defined your purpose and set plans in motion to enact it, you’ve approached the issue of how to shift unproductive and stagnant energy into real momentum, and you’ve found your limitations and boundaries affirmed. You’ve acknowledged your role as editor of your life path, and you’ve begun to understand how critical routine will be for your future successes. You’ve done a good bit of productive introspection, and you’ve used the fruits of your labors to begin living a life that really matters for you.

The path of the Essentialist is a conscious and impacting one. It may not always be the simplest to enact, but when you get to see its effects play out in your world, you’ll agree how worthwhile it is to endure even the tough moments. When you start to apply Essentialism to your life and eventually live it more constantly, you can expect to see drastic changes in your feelings about work. You can also