The Good Guy Discount
I’ll confess right here at the beginning of this short article, the concept of the Good Guy Discount is not mine. A few months ago I was listening to National Public Radio (NPR) when a fascinating episode about the Good Guy Discount aired. During the show one staffer at NPR challenges another to try to get a Good Guy Discount at various retail stores. The concept is that if you have a positive, funny, and upbeat attitude while...
Buying Tangibles vs Experiences
Childhood Views on Spending: Buying Goods I was raised believing when I spend money, I should spend it on durable goods, something I can have and hold for some extended period of time. I believed, and was mostly taught, this was a frugal and thrifty way to live. As a youth I rarely purchased things like candy bars, food, or anything that was “consumed” in a short period of time. I only spend money on things that I could...
Simple Living: Having and Doing Less
One of the core concepts of 7ism is simple living. I apply simple living to all aspects of my life from my physical possessions to my daily to-do list. It is an all encompassing principle in my life centered around reduction of having or doing too much. Reduction of Physical Belongings Over the past several years I have been reducing the amount of physical belongings I have. In 2010 I owned a four bedroom house completely full of...
Being Passionate and Avoiding Goal Setting
Until recently I had made goal setting a major function of my life. I would create a system of goals every six months and build my schedule around accomplishing my goals. But, recently I’ve began to see goal setting as unhealthy physically, mentally and emotionally. As such, I’m beginning to rethink the importance of goal setting and building my life around goals (and new year’s resolutions). Why Goals Can Be...
Hoarding vs Letting Go
Western culture promotes and encourages amassing stuff and things. If we own a two bedroom house, we will fill it wall to wall. I owned a four bedroom house and although I lived alone, I managed to fill every room and had a full garage. Go figure! Why do Americans and people in western culture feel a driving need to have things? Why do we feel compelled to endlessly shop for something newer or better? As I was growing up I...
Simplifying with Single-Tasking
Everyone is talking about multi-tasking; you’ll find job descriptions which require multi-tasking. You’ll find whole bookshelves devoted to the topic. It wasn’t until recently that I began questioning if multi-tasking might actually be less productive and actually not have much to offer in the way of benefits. The more I’ve been looking at multi-tasking, the more I’ve concluded there are really no...