Mr. Simplicity's Favorite Books

  Listen To Blog Post  “A well-designed life is a life that is generative—it is constantly creative, productive, changing, evolving, and there is always the possibility of surprise. You get out of it more than you put in.” -“Designing Your Life” by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans “The Designing Your Life Workbook : A Framework for Building a Life You Can Thrive In” by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans A Brief Book Summary Of “Designing Your Life” by Bill Burnett “Designing Your Life” is a book that aims to help readers create a fulfilling and meaningful life by applying design thinking principles. Authored by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, the book stresses the importance of using design thinking to overcome life's challenges and achieve personal and professional goals. Design thinking is a human-centered approach to problem-solving, and it is a skill that anyone can learn and apply to their everyday life. The authors argue that by using design thinking principles, individuals can...

  The Simplicity Lifestyle  Listen To Blog Post  Simply Create A Goal, Make A Plan, And Take Action  Southworth Planners Creating a goal, making a plan, and taking action are crucial steps towards achieving success and creating a better life. Without these three steps, people tend to drift through life without a clear direction or purpose, leading to dissatisfaction, boredom, and regrets. Goals provide focus and motivation, while a plan outlines the steps required to achieve those goals, and taking consistent action is the glue that turns aspirations into reality. Creating a goal is the first step in designing a better life. Setting goals means creating a vision for our lives and committing to achieving it. It's vital to set goals that are meaningful, specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. Creating a goal means determining what you want and why you want it. The next step is to make a plan. Every successful endeavor requires a solid plan or roadma...

  The Simplicity Lifestyle  Listen To Blog Post  Simply Budgeting Your Way To Financial Health Clever Fox Budget Planners Budgeting our way to financial health is a crucial aspect of achieving financial stability. It involves creating a plan for your money that will ensure that you have enough to cover your basic needs while also providing for future goals and unexpected expenses. By creating a budget, you can prioritize your spending, reduce financial stress, and take control of your money.  Without a budget, it's easy to overspend and underestimate how much you’re actually spending. This can lead to unnecessary debt, compromised savings goals, and ultimately, financial instability. With a budget, you can track your income and expenses, make informed financial decisions, and plan for both the expected and unexpected. Here are five ways to save money on variable expenses: 1. Create a grocery list and stick to it: impulse purchases can quickly add up and derail your b...

  The Simplicity Lifestyle  Simply Starting Your Journaling Journey   Listen To Blog Post  Intelligent Change Journals Journaling is an extremely effective tool for mental and emotional well-being. It is a simple practice of capturing our thoughts, feelings, and experiences on paper. Journaling allows us to reflect and gain insight into our inner selves, helps us process complex emotions, and increases our self-awareness. It also provides us with a sense of clarity and helps us stay grounded. In this fast-paced and stressful world, journaling is a powerful tool that can help us maintain our perspective. Journaling provides a safe space to express ourselves without any judgment. It frees us from the burden of carrying our thoughts and emotions alone, and instead, it offers us the opportunity to acknowledge them and learn from them. Journaling can be a therapeutic habit that allows us to identify any patterns or behavior that needs to be addressed. It also helps to tra...

  The Simplicity Lifestyle  Listen To Blog Post  A Brief Book Summary Of “52 Small Changes for the Mind” by Brett Blumenthal “A happy, healthy mind is the most important aspect of our overall health.”  -“52 Small Changes for the Mind” by Brett Blumenthal In "52 Small Changes for the Mind," author Brett Blumenthal offers a practical guide to improving overall mental health through small, manageable changes. The book, which is divided into weekly chapters, covers a range of topics, from mindfulness and positive thinking, to nutrition and exercise. Blumenthal emphasizes the importance of building positive habits through consistency and repetition. Each weekly chapter focuses on one specific change, with actionable steps and tips for implementation. Some of the changes may seem simple at first glance, such as "Drink More Water" or "Get More Sleep," but they can have a significant impact on overall well-being when practiced consistently. One of the main themes...

  The Simplicity Lifestyle  A Brief Book Summary Of “Getting Things Done” by David Allen “The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small, manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.” -“Getting Things Done” by David Allen David Allen's "Getting Things Done" is a productivity book that offers a comprehensive system for organizing, prioritizing, and executing tasks in both personal and professional settings. The book starts with the recognition that most people have too much on their plate and feel overwhelmed by their daily responsibilities. Allen's solution is to develop a system of capturing everything that needs to be done, clarifying the specific tasks required, organizing the work into manageable projects, and consistently reviewing and executing the work in a disciplined manner. The first chapter of the book sets the tone for the rest of the book by emphasizing the imp...

  The Simplicity Lifestyle  A Brief Book Summary Of “Radically Content” by Jamie Varon “Too many of us are waiting for our lives to begin, putting our happiness on layaway for some future version where it all lines up, when we've accomplished it all, when we have the perfect career, bodies, partners, and when our lives finally feel “good enough.” But what is good enough?” -“Radically Content” by Jamie Varon “Radically Content” is a self-help book written by Jamie Varon offering practical advice and insights on how to cultivate authentic happiness, fulfillment, and contentment in one’s life. The author emphasizes the importance of honesty, simplicity, and mindfulness in achieving a truly satisfying and meaningful existence, free from the constant pressures and distractions of modern society. The book is divided into three sections, each focusing on a different aspect of contented living: Mind, Body, and Spirit. The author argues that true contentment requires a balance of all ...

  The Simplicity Lifestyle  A Brief Book Summary Of “The Art of Happiness” by Dalai Lama “When life becomes too complicated and we feel overwhelmed, it’s often useful just to stand back and remind ourselves of our overall purpose, our overall goal. When faced with a feeling of stagnation and confusion, it may be helpful to take an hour, an afternoon, or even several days to simply reflect on what it is that will truly bring us happiness, and then reset our priorities on the basis of that. This can put our life back in proper context, allow a fresh perspective, and enable us to see which direction to take.”  -“The Art of Happiness” by Dalai Lama “The Art of Happiness,” by the Dalai Lama and psychiatrist Howard C. Cutler, explores the Dalai Lama's philosophy on happiness and the ways in which individuals can cultivate it in their own lives. It is a unique collaboration between a spiritual leader and a medical professional, combining insights from Eastern teachings with mo...

  The Simplicity Lifestyle  A Brief Book Summary Of “The Total Money Makeover” by Dave Ramsey “We buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like.”  -“The Total Money Makeover” by Dave Ramsey “The Total Money Makeover” is a personal finance book by Dave Ramsey that details a step-by-step plan for achieving financial freedom. The book is designed to provide readers with the tools and strategies needed to remove themselves from debt, build up savings, and ultimately achieve their financial goals. The book is divided into seven distinct steps, each of which focuses on a different aspect of personal finance. The first step is to create an emergency fund, which acts as a safety net against unexpected expenses. This should be a fund that can cover three to six months’ worth of expenses in case of a job loss or other financial emergency. The second step is to pay off all debts, starting with the smallest and working up to the largest. Ramsey st...

  The Simplicity Lifestyle  A Brief Book Summary Of “Digital Minimalism” by Cal Newport “Digital Minimalism A philosophy of technology use in which you focus your online time on a small number of carefully selected and optimized activities that strongly support things you value, and then happily miss out on everything else.”  -“Digital Minimalism” by Cal Newport Cal Newport’s “Digital Minimalism” offers a compelling argument against the unrelenting use of technology in our daily lives. The book introduces readers to the concept of digital minimalism, a practice of using technology in a deliberate and intentional way to enhance our lives without becoming slaves to our devices. Newport contends that in the hyper-connected world of social media, notifications, and constant entertainment, we are becoming addicted to our screens, and as a result, suffering from a variety of psychological problems. He argues that, in order to overcome this addiction, we must adopt a minimalist...

  The Simplicity Lifestyle  A Brief Book Summary Of “Stillness Speaks” by Eckhart Tolle “I am not my thoughts, emotions, sense perceptions, and experiences. I am not the content of my life. I am Life. I am the space in which all things happen. I am consciousness. I am the Now. I Am.”  -“Stillness Speaks” by Eckhart Tolle In his book “Stillness Speaks,” Eckhart Tolle offers guidance on finding inner peace and stillness in the midst of a busy, chaotic world. Tolle explains that true stillness is not merely the absence of movement or noise, but rather a state of inner peace and presence that allows us to connect with a deeper part of ourselves and the world around us. Tolle begins the book with an exploration of the nature of stillness, arguing that it cannot be found by seeking external distractions or pleasures. Rather, stillness is found within ourselves, in the present moment, when we quiet our minds and connect with our inner being. Tolle asserts that our true nature ...