SASM 029 – 4 Reasons and a Moral Imperative to Unsimplify

It all started with a fleeting bed-time thought.

“Joel. You haven't increased your awareness today. Are you OK with that? What are you going to do about that?!”

That brief internal challenge was the catalyst for this solo episode of Smart and Simple Matters. The words spilled from my brain onto my monitor as I raced to write the outline for my moral imperative to unsimplify.

As I recorded this episode, one thought kept coming up over and over, like a broken record of unsimplicity:

There is room for and growth in seeking out new and expanded awareness every … single … day.

[Tweet that]

As I contemplated publishing something that would almost guarantee I'm a future hypocrite, I felt compelled to share my vision about why, how, and when to unsimplify.

After all, even people in simplicity circles don't frequently resemble my unique brand of “simple.”

I take this challenge of unsimplifying seriously. Unsimplification is too often a topic that gets swept under a minimalist's or simplifier's rug when they fail to acknowledge the elephant in the room: that unsimplifying can sometimes be the just, moral, and best way.

I want to answer my own questions and the hidden questions lurking in every aspiring or accomplished simplifier's brain. Questions like:

• Do you have to be worldly to be worthy? – [Tweet that]
• Why is wading into the pool of other people's problems so damn complex?
• Is there a strategic moral imperative to be as self-aware or globally aware as possible?

It's asking these kinds of questions that helps us grow. And by trying to answer these doozies, I hope to push myself and challenge you in the pursuit of simplifying, organizing, and being money wise.

What You'll Learn

You'll learn along with me as I share my moral imperative to unsimplify and thoughts about:

• How toxic news is to your body.
• Who the holy prophets might be for your personal renaissance.
• Why there's a moral imperative to strategically unsimplify.
• If you have to be worldly to be worthy.
• Why constant curiosity and self-awareness is so important.
• How changing a light bulb can be seriously unsimple (no joke required).
• Why peer development is complex, but (almost) always worth it.
• When unsimple is great, even if you don't expect it.

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Resources and Items Mentioned in This Episode Include:

• Websites:
  • Zen Habits
  • Raam Dev
  • Smart Passive Income
• Resources:
  • The Value of Simple Declaration
  • Experience Curating
  • The Continuous Creation Challenge
  • The Refuge of Simplicity
  • Why Chasing Money Is Worse Than Dogs Chasing Cars
  • News is Bad for You – and Giving Up Reading It Will Make You Happier
  • Feedly (for RSS)
• Books:
  • The 4-Hour Workweek
• Public Speaking
  • My SXSW 2014 Talk, Experience Curating: the World in One Spreadsheet
• Other SASM Episodes:
  • SASM 016 – Relationship Mindsets to Cultivate Lifetime Friends and Allies
  • SASM 019 – The Continuous Creation Challenge and Your Ultimate Guide to Rock It

Topics

• [06:55] The story that crystallized my unsimplicity quest
• [10:27] Joel gets worked up about a sensationalist article about news
• [17:18] My moral imperative for unsimplifying the news
• [20:49] Unsimplifying your family
• [24:02] Unsimplifying your work
• [28:45] Unsimplifying your relationships
• [32:40] Why simplicity is still a core philosophy
• [33:39] How to challenge yourself to unsimplify
• [37:10] An update on the Refuge of Simplicity

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Transcript

The transcript will not be available until I find a new transcriptionist (if you know someone good, let me know).

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