“Essentialism” by Greg McKeown, published in 2014 is one of those books I forgot about mentally filed away on my “to be read” list and like so many other things in my life, the so-called URGENT books took the place of the IMPORTANT books. This is an important book. I am so annoyed with myself for all the time I spent reading stupid and shallow books when I could have read this years ago and as a result, become a better steward of my precious time.

If you read only one non-fiction book this year, let it be this one. Seriously. I am boldly declaring THIS BOOK WILL TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE.

But only if you let it.

I think I might have ignored this book or brushed it aside because I am not a business person and maybe I believed it wouldn’t have much to offer me since my priorities are family, reading, writing, gardening, Netflix, and visiting book stores.

What exactly is “essentialism” anyway?

“Essentialism” is broken into four sections:

Part I: Essence –What is the core mindset of an Essentialist?

Part II: Explore – How can we discern the trivial many from the vital few?

Part III: Eliminate – How can we cut out the trivial many?

Part IV: Execute: How can we make doing the vital few things almost effortless?

“If you take one thing away from this book, I hope you will remember this: whatever decision or challenge or crossroads you race in your life, simply ask yourself, “What is essential?” Eliminate everything else.

If you are ready to look inside yourself for the answer to this question, then you are ready to commit to the way of the Essentialist.”

Greg McKeown

“Essentialism” and is chock-full of interesting graphics, quotes and real-life examples of the “disciplined pursuit of less”. This is not about minimalism in the conventional sense of the word, but living a life of purpose that really, truly matters because you have eliminated the distractions of busyness.

Have you already read “Essentialism”? If so, I’d love to hear from you.

I hope you have a great weekend, and remember, Saturday is Independent Bookstore Day. Go buy a book! If you don’t have an indie bookstore nearby, check out one listed on my blog.