Just saw this tweet and about spit my coffee out!
No house!! Or possessions!
From a BILLIONAIRE who can have anything and everything under the sun! Wowwww!!!
So WHY????
“Possessions just weigh you down.” BOOM. Damn truth right there.
And of course he still needs a place to live and HAS to keep at least one of his own cars, right???!, but seeing how he’s just listed a couple of his LA homes for sale, it looks like he’s starting to put his money where his keyboard is…
And I love him for it!! So does the rest of the minimalist community I’d imagine as it only amplifies our message! :) If a billionaire can keep their wants in check, why can’t the rest of us?? Or perhaps that’s precisely why he’s able to do it easier? Because the thrill of the “wants” are now gone?
Whatever the case, we all know that the more you own, the more you have to maintain, so if you’re going for pure FOCUS improvements this would certainly be a way to get it.
And I’ll admit I’m a tad bit jealous too! Not for his money at all, but just for the fact he can make moves like that without his family getting all pissed off! ;) Though from another tweet he shot soon after, it looks like his gf isn’t exactly on his side, haha… So even more power to him!
If anyone gives you $hit, Elon, just pass along this line mic drop style:
Freedom > Money > Stuff
3 simple words that have gone on to immensely change my own life. We’re all in different phases of this, but it ultimately comes down to the freedom to CHOOSE our own lives instead of letting others choose for us… “Choose Yourself” as James Altucher would say.
Normal people get normal results, so if you want something extraordinary you need to make extraordinary changes! And rerouting your life towards *freedom* instead of *stuff* is a major first step towards that transition.
So keep doing YOU, señor Musk! Keep showing the world there are other ways to live your life than what’s expected, whether we want to head to other planets or simply create a better life for ourselves here on Earth. It’s not always easy to follow even when we KNOW what we should be doing, but hearing people like you just going for it definitely helps inspire.
So thanks!! And I’m rooting for you over here!
What say my other minimalists in the house? Think you could take it to this level or is it too extreme for you? What’s the biggest thing YOU’VE ever given up to improve your lifestyle?
******
Pic up top via Wikimedia Commons – It’s the Tesla Roadster orbiting Earth!!
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My wife and I have considered selling the house and going with an RV/camper many of times. My wife and I can and have kept our wants in check. Not owning much would be fine with us. We wouldn’t do this to save the Earth but because it’s something that isn’t normal. Like you said, “normal people get normal results”. We don’t consider ourselves too normal right now with our lifestyle around money, so it wouldn’t be much of a change for us.
I want an email if you ever pull the trigger on it.
(and an invite to hop on board and check it out!! :))
As you know, we’ve already done this. Last July we made the decision to sell it all & retire to Panama to rent a furnished 2 BR home. 7/26 we starting selling on Facebook/Craigslist. We had a garage sale in Oct. Continued selling almost daily until our final garage sale 2/9. We closed on the sale of our home 2/13. Yesterday we sold my husband’s car. We officially own 1 small car (2016 Ford Fiesta), 5 suitcases of old clothes/computer/printer & 2 old dogs. It’s really quite liberating. Now we’re renting an AirBNB & will sell our final car as soon as Panama reopens its’ borders. Looking back now, we hardly miss any of the “stuff” we sold!!!
You are my hero :)
Crazy timing too with everything!
Yes, we thank our lucky stars we got it all done right before the virus outbreak. Our only monthly bills now are our AirBNB $800 rent (utilities are included), $28 cell phone bill, $45 car insurance, gas for one car (paid $1.50 a gallon yesterday) & food.
Incredible!
I’m of course the Debbie Downer here, but I think it is easier if you’re a billionaire. He can buy whatever he needs whenever he needs it. NO possessions? I mean is he going to be naked? I get and understand how minimalism can feel liberating—even though I’ve acquired more stuff as I’ve gotten older, it matters to me less, my newish (to me) house being the exception. I think “I love this place so much” on the daily. I guess the secret is owning your possessions but not letting them own you. I did the Marie Kondo thing when her book first came out—not the media version of it, which misconstrued it as purging everything you own, but the one that is actually in her book. I took a good hard look at nearly every single thing I owned. I still had things by the end that didn’t spark joy, probably, but it gave me good insight into my habits and what actually made me happy. I started dating soon after that—after a very dry spell—and met my husband. Coincidence? Maybe, but I know the brain work I was doing around life’s priorities had to be in play. Anyway, it’s all very interesting to think about! I don’t think I could own nothing…there are things that matter to me very much as parts of my life. But more as reminders of other things that matter more.
That is interesting about meeting your husband then!! And he obviously sparks JOY!!! Hahahaha….
You’re right this is def. not for everyone, but as you mentioned it’s good to at least *visit* it and gain some insight. Maybe it becomes exciting and you turn your whole life upside down, or maybe it’s just a passing thought and you go back to enjoying your current life :) Either way at least it’s your *conscious* decision than living on auto-pilot!
I love the idea! Often tease my family that I’m buying kerosene and taking all the stuff away with a match- On the other hand, I feel like Lady Mary with thoughts of “I don’t buy furnishings I inherit them” lovely items that were great-great grandparents and such. Very interesting to think about!
Ahhhh inherited items are one of my weak spots too!! I try to only get *one* thing from each person so it’s more special and doesn’t add much more to my stuff, but it’s still super hard to stick to it at times… I certainly have a few items in my “memories” box that I’d never depart with no matter how extreme I get.
We passed down sentimental items to other family members.
To hold onto forever or for safe keeping upon your return?
We passed items down to younger members of our families forever. Time to pass the torch! Having nothing of real value means we’ll never have to buy insurance (medical costs are so cheap, many expats don’t bother with medical insurance). PS this is a bit morbid but funerals average $700 in Panama OR $300 for cremation so we don’t even need life insurance. Most expats rent furnished homes & don’t own cars either. Taxis average $1-$2 & buses are also quite cheap. Many just walk to the store & use a cart to haul groceries.
I love every bit of this :)
We used to talk about doing the whole sell everything and live in an rv/travel the world and then our child came into the mix. He craves the familiar and doesn’t ever want to leave the house we live in now. This cracks us up as we both moved every couple of years as kids but we are also trying to respect his personality and have agreed we will stay in this house at least through elementary school. After that, we shall see…
That’s very Parent’y of you :)
We’re doing the same here despite it BEING REALLY HARD for all those reasons listed above and in 1/4 my posts I write about here! Haha… For people who love freedom we sure love having lots of kids around :)
It doesn’t sound terrible. Although, I think if someone feels that weighed down by their possessions they probably have other issues. It will be interesting to see where he plans to keep his six children? Don’t they need shelter and stability? If he was a single person with no family or responsibilities I would say do you Elon……but he’s not. It just seems selfish.
I am curious about the whole kid/family stuff too…
Although I generally veer toward minimalism (or probably more anti-consumption/anti-waste) I don’t know what we’re supposed to take away from Musk as a lesson. I think selling everything one owns on a weird whim is something an eccentric billionaire can easily do, but for the average person it would be meaningless and pointless. And as Christine points out, what does that actually mean? I’m sure he probably meant most of this possessions. Aren’t his companies “possessions”?
I do think there is value in Kondo-ing some stuff. I did so myself, parsing through each item and making sure it had real value. There are some pitfalls of the “sparks joy” mantra. My spatula doesn’t spark joy by any means, but it sure is handy. So I retooled and added the “immediately useful” category in going through my things. I think a lot of people get Marie Kondo wrong. It’s not about getting rid of everything, it’s about paring down to the things you really care about. Kind of like how mustachianism is about paring down your spending to the things you really care about.
True true..
And remember Musk is still keeping *some* stuff, just not *all* stuff… Though i’m not sure only billionaires can pull this off as plenty of people in the minimalism/tiny home living space has def. done it on millions and billions less :) In fact, it’s actually CHEAPER to not own and buy stuff all the time! Though of course having $$$ as a cushion helps with making decisions faster without much consequences (financially-speaking). So maybe that’s how he’s able to make decisions like this easier than the common person?
Elon Musk is hardly the poster child for minimalism. Even if he sold everything – including all his houses (how many does he have around the world? Three in LA alone?!) – I am sure he can more than afford to rent or stay in luxury hotels for the rest of his life and never wear the same clothing twice. When he DONATES everything he owns and majority of his earnings to charity, then I will be impressed. :-)
I think he’s trying to donate Mars to everyone, lol…
I totally agree with Ez.
We can change our minds. Nothing is forever except what comes with faith and love. It all and more is just too easy to collect again; fast.
It’s all a publicity stunt. He doesn’t have to own a house. One of his many corporations can own houses all over the world, and rent them out to the CEO for $1 a month. He doesn’t need to own a car either. He can use 7 company Teslas, one for every day of the week. He doesn’t need a jet. He can use a company jet for free. See where this is going?
There’s a fine line between genius and madman, and Elon Musk is constantly walking it.
I still choose to see it as a great thing to consider in our lives as a very happy practicing minimalist myself :)