‘Less Is Now’ presented by The Minimalists

At a seminar at the Forum Theatre, Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, aka The Minimalists, spoke to over 700 hundred Melburnians about the essence of minimalism and how it can add value to your life.

If you’re new to this term, it’s best to start at the beginning. Joshua and Ryan have distilled the concept into one pithy sentence: ‘Minimalism is the thing that gets us past the things so we can make room for life’s most important things – which actually aren’t things at all’.

Josh and Ryan, two men in their mid 30s, have discovered a recipe that has added value their lives — and they want to share with others. Both these guys have reached what people would say is ‘a successful life’. They had the six-figure salary, huge house, the newest car and the mortgage that came with them, both living the ‘great American dream’. It all came into question when Josh lost his mother and his marriage broke down and he came to realise that the ‘stuff’ that he had worked so hard to buy and collect accounted for nothing.

This crisis point brought on the discovery of minimalism for Josh, followed by his childhood friend Ryan. Together they turned away from their corporate lives to embrace minimalism. It is from their shared personal journey that Josh and Ryan have created a Netflix documentary titled Minimalism: A Documentary About The Important Things, written bestselling books, released multiple podcasts, and embarked on their 50 city tour ending in Melbourne.

The Minimalists

The evening was broken into two parts. The first part of the evening was a lecture given by Josh and Ryan. This goes back to the foundations of minimalism and the value of letting go. The second half of the evening was a Q&A where audience members were invited up to the microphone to ask their personal questions.

As a fan of The Minimalist podcasts I was wary of the Q&A time becoming an opportunity for individuals to complain or brag about their lives; however, this certainly was not the case. The audience was filled with people from all walks of life, and so were the questions. Josh and Ryan were amazing at showing people the positives of life and opportunities for how minimalism can aid in their soul searching.

The Minimalists

The essence of the night came down to The Minimalists’ most well-known phrase: ‘Use things and love people, because the opposite never works’.

– Amber
Amber Bock is a freelance stage manager who is excited to keep you up to date with Melbourne’s best theatre.

The Minimalists’ Less Is Now Tour may be coming to an end, but there is one final show this Tuesday at the Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne. Tickets are still on sale.    

Disclosure: The Plus Ones were guests of Shawn C Harding.
Image credit: The Minimalists.