It's a minimalist Monday edition of Optimal Living Daily, episode 1683, changes in the rear view,

and struggling with choices, both by Joshua Fields Millburn of theMinimalist.com,

and I'm Justin Mollock, the guy that reads to you every single day of the year, including weekends

and holidays, tell you live a more meaningful and positive life. Two posts today, both from Josh

of the minimalist, so let's get right to them as we optimize your life.

Changes in the rear view by Joshua Fields Millburn of theMinimalist.com

I spoke with a man in dire straits recently. This man, let's call him John, laid before me many of

his problems, a crumbling marriage, massive debt, low income, and unhealthy lifestyle. John was

unhappy, depressed, and frustrated with where he was in life, so he asked me for my advice. He

wanted to know how I had changed so many things in such a short period of time. I explained to John

that I didn't have any advice for him. I told him he knew his situation better than I ever could,

and he likely knew what to do. Then I asked what advice he'd give himself if he were in my shoes.

John spent the next 15 minutes explaining detail after detail exactly what he would say to himself

to fix his marriage, get out of debt, increase his income, and regain control of his health.

I smiled and said, while that sounds like great advice, too bad our own advice is the hardest pill

to swallow. But of course, he didn't like his own advice because it was too gradual,

plus his advice wasn't easy. He had recommended only small, incremental changes that wouldn't

likely make a huge difference right away. Instead, he wanted the magic pill, something that would

radically change his life immediately. He wanted instant gratification, but his advice seemed so

basic, so intuitive, that it couldn't be what I did to change my life. And I obviously had the

shortcut with this whole minimalism thing, and he wanted my secret. I told John that while I had no

advice for him, I could tell him how I changed my life, and you could see whether any of those changes

...