#073 – Essentialism Summary (Essentialism Pt 23) [Podcast]

We have spent 22 weeks talking about the issue of Essentialism.  We are now at the end of our study on this, and today we give an Essentialism Summary.  In this episode, we cover the last chapter of Greg’s book, as well as go through a big overview of the entire book.

Essentialism Summary

Essentialism Summary

What is the essence of Essentialism?

“There are far more activities and opportunities in the world than we have time and resources to invest in,” McKeown says. “And although many of them may be good, or even very good, the fact is that most are trivial and few are vital.”

That’s the crucial difference between blessing and burden. We can fill our time with very good things and end up saddled, straddled, and stressed. That’s because good things might still be trivial.

Click to Listen

#072 – Now (Essentialism Pt 22) [Podcast]

What does it mean to live fully in the now … the present moment? It means that your awareness is completely centered on the here and now. You are not worrying about the future or thinking about the past. When you live in the present, you are living where life is happening. The past and future are illusions, they don’t exist.

Now

Now

If you’re not living in the present, you’re living in illusion. That seems to a be a pretty good reason to live in the present, doesn’t it? But how often are we worrying about things that have yet to come, how often do we beat ourselves up for mistakes that we’ve made, no matter how much time has passed? The answer is too much. Not only will living in the present have a dramatic effect on your emotional well-being, but it can also impact your physical health. It’s long been known that the amount of mental stress you carry can have a detrimental impact on your health. If you’re living in the present, you’re living in acceptance. You’re accepting life as it is now, not as how you wish it would have been. When you’re living in acceptance, you realize everything is complete as it is. You can forgive yourself for the mistakes you’ve made, and you can have peace in your heart knowing that everything that should happen will.

Click to Listen

#071 – Greg McKeown Interview (Essentialism Pt 21) [Podcast]

As we wrap up this study on Essentialism, I wanted to play an interview with Greg McKeown. I had hoped to interview Greg myself, but our schedules didn’t work out.  Instead, I want to play you a recent interview with Greg by Michael Hyatt.  This interview comes from Platform University, a wonderful interactive environment from Michael Hyatt that I subscribe to. Platform University is a great resource for how to better articulate your message or website.  I would highly encourage you to check out Michael’s site as it provided tremendous value for such small subscription cost.

Greg McKeown

Greg McKeown

Greg talks about a variety of issues in this interview.  I found his take on two types of people (lost and those who know they are lost) to be particularly inspiring.

Click to Listen