It’s the beginning of a new year, and I’ve been thinking a lot about how I’ll structure my life and work over the next 365 days. Like I said before, you don’t need to wait for any monumental occasion to make a big change in your life; but as long as the occasion is here, you might as well use it.
If you didn’t notice, 2010 was pretty well dominated by the minimalist movement. The news was filled with stories of simple living, new blogs sprouted up all over the internet, and people actually started counting how many things they owned. That’s good; I have a lot of minimalist friends – people like Everett Bogue, Tammy Strobel, Joshua Becker, Nina Yau, and Dusti Arab. They’re great folks and they’re doing great work.
If you came over to my place for dinner, you might think I was a minimalist – I have very few material possessions. But, when Tammy recently asked if I considered myself a minimalist, all I could answer with was “No, not really.”
After thinking about it for awhile, I realized that I’m more of a maximalist with minimalist tendencies – I own little so that I may have a lot.
- So that I may have a lot of experiences. Owning few things and finding comfort in traveling with less allows me to see more of the world faster. It allows me the freedom to do many things and, rather than slowly absorbing the world around me, I choose to use that freedom to drink it in as fast as possible.
- So that I may have a lot of friends. Being tied to little allows me all the time and mental capacity I need to form all the human connections that I want. Dunbar’s Law says that you can only maintain 150 connections in your life, but I reject that notion. That’s why I follow back every person that follows me on Twitter.
- So that I may have a lot of possessions if I want them. Being very conscious of what I choose to own and spend my money on allows me to own a lot, if that’s what I want. For a long time, I owned a lot of musical equipment – a whole studio’s worth, really. I used it every day to fuel my passion for recording and I produced a lot of work that I’m quite proud of.
More, and More Less
At the heart of this new maximalist movement is one simple ideal: more. I think people want more from life, not less. But, I also think that the two are not mutually exclusive.
I reject the idea that the answer to a happy life is merely to simplify and do less. Instead, I propose that it’s to:
- Do much more of what you love and much less of what you’d prefer to avoid.
- Think more about what makes you happy and less about what makes you sad.
- Say more of what you truly feel and stop giving lip service to what you think people want to hear.
- Have more of the things you value in your life and purge everything you don’t.
- Be more of the person you want to be and less of the person you think others want you to be.
- Create more beautiful things and destroy more ugly ones.
Rather than exclude indiscriminately, focus your time, energy, and effort on more of the good things in life and ruthlessly exclude the bad. Get more of what you really want.
Twice as Good and Twice as Much
I think it was Jason Fried of 37 Signals who said “Half. Not half-ass.” When his company develops a piece of software, they do an incredible job implementing half the features they want to rather than half-assing the whole shebang. In other words, twice as good, not twice as much.
Jason’s a sharp guy, and I look up to him in a lot of ways. That quote made me think hard about how I focus my own attention. However, I think the real goal for maximalists like you and me is twice as good, and twice as much. Yes, I do think it’s possible to do everything you want and do it well. It takes an incredible focus and determination, but that’s something worth pursuing for it’s own sake, don’t you think?
When I was in college studying architecture, I had a professor that loved to use the time–cost–quality pyramid as a teaching aid. It looks like this:
The argument is that, in any project, you must sacrifice one leg of that pyramid to achieve the other two. Needless to say, we didn’t exactly see eye to eye. I found this idea wholly accepted even after I left college and started working in construction.
Most people are happy to accept these terms as they’re given to them, but not us. No, I believe that when you embrace maximalism and focus your energy on what you love and what you’re good at, then you can, in fact, have your cake and eat it to.
You can have fast, cheap, and good. You can have twice as good and twice as much.
Be an Extremist
To truly accept the idea of maximalism, I think you have to be a bit of an extremist; there isn’t much room for existing “in the middle.”
If you’re going to maximize what you love, then you must also minimize what you hate. Embracing maximalism doesn’t make a lot of sense if you use it to intensify what makes you unhappy.
I aim for maximum enjoyment, maximum purpose, and maximum achievement. I think that’s possible and even more likely to happen by embracing more instead of shunning it.
- If you want to be social, be very social. Make as many new friends as possible, and don’t exclude anyone. Work hard to maintain your connections and build a huge network of people who support you as much as you support them. Disregard Dunbar’s Law and build your relationships how you want to.
- If you enjoy owning something, own a lot of it. You don’t have to follow my lead and banish possessions. My grandma owns hundreds of Beanie Babies. It makes absolutely no sense to me, but it’s not my collection and it’s none of my business. I’ve never once heard her complain about having too many.
- If you love to travel, go to ten places instead of just one the next time you take a trip. Squeeze as many different experiences as you can out of your adventure. Or, go to one place and stay there ten times longer. Get to know it better than any outsider.
- If you love doing something, try to be the best at it. I’ve never really understood the idea of trying to do something you couldn’t be the best at. If you can’t be the best, then consider trying to be the worst.
- If you’re a goal setter, set lots of them and make them big. Then, work your ass off to accomplish them. If you’re a risk taker, find more ways to take big risks. If you stand for something, go all out and really stand for it.
Start thinking and acting either really big or really small. Maximize. Or, maximize your minimization.
Now Accepting Applications
Yes, I’m a maximalist, and no longer will I hide it. If you think you might be one, I’d encourage you to come out of the closet as well. Minimalism is great, but this is a big world and there’s room for all of us. You don’t have to deny yourself what you really want for the sake of keeping up with the Joneses because keeping up with the Joneses is exactly what minimalism aims to defeat.
What I mean to say is that it’s okay to be the Joneses if that’s who you really want to be. And it’s okay to be okay with others not keeping up with you. Live and let live, I say.
I’m declaring 2011 the year of maximalism. If that sounds good to you, then I’m also accepting applications for the movement. We’ll meet right here twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays. There’s no selection process – you just apply and you’re in. Here’s the sign-up form:
See you on the other side?
~~~~~
Image by: lindaaslund
I’ve been waiting for someone to write this post Tyler
. I’m glad it was you. Well put sir.
Now how we go about maximizing the number of people in the maximalist movement
.
Thanks for sharing – you’ve managed to put a finger on what’s always bugged me about the minimalist movement (not to knock it overall, just not a good fit for me).
My goals have always revolved around “more” – give more, share more, live more, love more, etc – so focusing on having “less” in my life in order to have more never really sat right with me.
Here’s to 2011 – a year of more!
I think the term minimalist has always bugged me. I don’t want a tiny little life with tiny little experiences, like an 18th century woman who never left her village. Yes, I could reduce my possessions down to the 18th century level (plus a computer), but is that really living? Not for me.
I want to travel, eat great food, meet and laugh with fun people, walk across a country, LIVE! I don’t want to over-program myself with activities, but neither do I want to live cooped up in one small room. A lot of us end up there at the end of life, I want to live while I still can.
I’m all about spending money on experiences and not things and I believe this is what people mean when they refer to minimalist – not white walls with no wonderful art that takes your breath away.
I’m also about maximising those experiences and taking away from them what I will – friendships, new knowledge, stretched boundaries, new influences, new awareness.
So looking forward to 2011 Tyler and creating new adventures.
Natalie
Viva la Revolución! Thanks for the comments so far, everyone. I figured I probably wasn’t the only one feeling this way.
I have to say Tyler, thanks for posting this. It seems to have been in the brain and for a long time, and here you are…posting what I (as well as other I would surmise) have been thinking. Here’s to the next 365 days of opportunity and adventure. Thanks for being “aware” and having the guts to get it out there.
I think you take a very good approach to what is minimalism. I think the minimalist movement is just a gateway for people to find what they want to maximize in their life.
To go along with your thoughts, I never entertained the thought of getting rid of possessions I liked and used, just for the sheer purpose of being a minimalist and counting my possessions.
I am minimizing for the sheer purpose of taking out the clutter in my life so that I can truly identify and enjoy what is important to me.
Minimizing is merely the first step for me.
Thank-you, Tyler. This so needed to be said. I resonate with this in a lot of ways. The way I live has a lot of the trappings of minimalism—but I really don’t care for that label, or think about anything that way. Life is all about more—just more of the right things. The things that add to life rather than confusing it. In some ways minimalism reaches for the same things, but there seems to be an undercurrent of belief in scarcity that runs through a lot of the minimalist thinking. No thanks. There’s plenty here for all. Focus on more.
I think you’ve just convinced me to defect. Actually, I probably already have.
I’m a fan of your blog, Tyler, so I don’t want anyone to crucify me for this.
But I think that you’re misrepresenting the minimalist movement. Chris G. has been doing this when he talks about “maximalism” for awhile. I don’t think that minimalism has anything to do with minimizing experiences. What you describe sounds exactly like minimalism to me, except that you say that it’s ok to own a lot of things if you want.
Call me cynical, but every time I hear a blogger call himself a “maximalist”, I feel like they’re just trying to get traffic and attention by using a fun new word that will get clicks.
Again – I love the blog, and I love what you’re doing, so don’t take this as a personal attack or anything. Just my .02 cents.
Oh, thank God, I can keep my 1,700 books and not feel bad. Beautiful!! In return, though, I am clearing out A LOT of stuff. We have two coffee drinkers in our house, myself and my wife. We have…wait for it…56 coffee cups. Yes, that’s right, I counted them.
I love books (maximize!). I’m indifferent to coffee mugs (minimize!).
Glad you wrote this, Tyler. Like many others said, I’ve been waiting for the minimalist movement to be addressed. The main thing that always struck a nerve with me is that many minimalists still travel all over the world, which seems contradictory.
I’m not one for labels too much, but I do like living life to the max[imalist].
I think some of you are misunderstanding what most minimalists are actually about. For most of us, it’s about reducing those things we don’t need so we can have more of what actually make us happy. I think the issue is one of semantics. Minimalism is probably a poor choice of word for what “minimalism the movement” is actually about. Just like maximalism is not really about maxing EVERY aspect of life. Really, what is posted here is exactly the same as most minimalists have on their sites. They are simply different words used to explain the exact same thing.
Awesome post Tyler.
For those talking about misrepresenting minimalism, I think you and Tyler are talking about the same thing but referring to it in different ways. To me, it looks like minimizing things you don’t want and maximizing things you do want are pretty much the same thing.
It does seem like there are 2 different types of minimalists though. Ones that don’t mind having lots of stuff as long as they use it to do things they love and those that want to minimize EVERYTHING.
Question for Tyler. I don’t really get how you can get around the Time, Cost, Quality triangle. I can’t think of a single thing that it wouldn’t apply to.
What I think is funny is that your definition of maximalist is how I have always interpreted the point of being a minimalist. Minimal and maximum go hand-in-hand I think. They are not oil and water, but milk and Ovaltine beautifully blended.
Hey Tyler,
Ok, Twighlight zone moment (cue theme music) we were just talking about that same thing; we struggle with being pigeon holed as minimalists when some aspects of our lives don’t qualify in the strictest sense. Therein lies the problem with labels and status quo expectations of strict adherence. Maybe we’re mini maximalists, or maximizing minimalists…either way, thanks for putting another challenge to typical thinking out there. Great post! We’ll catch you Thursday!
For 2010 I did engage in minimalism movement to eliminate material goods that had no value/usage and maximized space, and stopped playing games to use the time to study and socialize with friends. I think it’s all about figuring out what is valuable to you, and knowing what can be reduced or eliminated to increase what you cherish.
You are genius. This is exactly how I live.
Great post (again), Tyler. People have been getting put into groups over this minimalism vs. consumerism thing, when it should be about cutting out the unnecessary & focusing on what your passion is.
My passion is fly fishing (& travel/photography along with it); I feel like whipping my friends with my fly rod when they call me out for getting a new piece of equipment (“so much for being a minimalist, huh?”). I choose to not spend my money on cable TV or designer clothes so I can go fly fishing.
Some people are starting to get it, though…finally!
Happy New Year, everyone.
Mat
“Be an Extremist”
Indeed! Thanks to nut job religious folks, extremist is a somewhat tainted word these days. And while my position on the inanity of belief in invisible superhero magicians from outer space is no secret, I’ll quote one of their myths to support your post…
“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” – Revelation 3:15-16
Hey Tyler – good stuff
10/10 for inspiration! I’ve had a similar post burning inside me about simple living for awhile and you may have just inspired me to finally get it out.
Regardless of whether you have ten things or ten thousand things, if it’s rubbish, then it’s not worth having. Same with experiences – travel, relationships, work projects. We could all be minimalists and have very little possessions, but as you point out, if your passion is music or Beanie Babies, that’s not going to make you happy.
I love to cook. I could fill my kitchen with every plastic fantastic gadget available or I could invest in a frequently used, high quality food processor (which I have done and it’s an ongoing, passionate love affair). To me – that’s living simply. Quality over quantity. Sometimes I think the minimalist movement forgets about finding the quality in the rush to reliquish ‘stuff’.
Wow, thank you. This comment “Think more about what makes you happy and less about what makes you sad.” in particular is so freeing for me. I come from a family that values ‘being aware of reality’ but only if it creates depression–if it’s not sad, unpleasant and self-defeating, it’s not real enough–and I’ve been fighting my training for years.
There are happy things in the world to think on. I don’t have to face their reality any more. I can focus on the positive and still be an adult.
Thank you!
So well put. I’m jumping on this bandwagon for sure! Here’s to maximizing this maximalist movement.
Love your blog by the way.
While I can appreciate that in some senses minimalism seems to have gone too far to one extreme, I agree with some of the other commenters that what you describe in your post is minimalism at its best.
Less is more when it comes to consumerism, but generally not experiences.
I’m going to go ahead and give you a hard time since I wrote this post (http://www.thesimplerlife.net/2010/07/15/minimalism-suckers-conscious-maximist/) in July of 2010
I like the sentiment, obviously. Conscious Maximalism is where it’s at.
Refreshing perspective.
The most important trait of happy people is focusing on what you have rather than what you don’t have.
I find this post to be incredibly frustrating. It just reeks of rebranding and remarketing. I agree with most of the principals but what your saying is all that “minimalism” supports
Thanks Tyler,
Great post and responses too
Well it seems to me that a meaningful life can be lived whether you have few or many possessions. I read once that Mother Teresa had 3 robes: one to wear, one in the laundry and one being mended. But no one remembers her as a “minimalist”. Winston Churchill, on the other hand, lived in a house in the country on 300 acres that is a museum today filled with his books and memorabilia. Besides his well-known accomplishments, he was also a painter and one room in his home remains as he left it . . “unfinished canvases and completed works are piled to the ceiling.” Maybe he was a packrat! But that’s not why he’s remembered either.
Great responses just keep coming. Thanks for all the input, everyone. It looks like I’ve ruffled a few feathers, but that was to be expected. Hopefully we can still be friends.
[...] you have Tyler Tervoreen declaring the “Maximalist” movement. Here’s what he [...]
http://breakthewallsnow.com/2011/01/stop-calling-me-fucking-names/
I was too short on my comment here. Reaction post.
Dan, thanks for getting so fired up about your beliefs. The world needs more people like you.
Thanks, Tyler, I enjoy your blog! Post wasn’t aimed straight at you, just the ideas behind this particular post.
Not sure I agree about maximalism. I don’t believe there’s that many human connections to make – too many non-like-minded people!
I’m trying to disconnect and focus on just the minimum – less is more.
Less junk (material or immaterial) for more meaningful experiences. Me likey
I for one really am a minimalist. When I own fewer things the relative importance of each of them is magnified.
But I hear what you’re saying, that there should be a reason for it.
Hey Tyler a lot of good points here but I think you are most spot on with this comment:
>>Focus your time, energy, and effort on more of the good things in life and ruthlessly exclude the bad.
I think there’s a continuum here.
Step 1: Slow down, pare down, and give yourself a chance to think about what you really want out of life. That’s minimalism, to me.
Step 2: Spend your time and energy on that thing. Maybe you want to call this step Maximalism. But whatever you call it, some people still need to go through step 1 before they have decluttered their mind enough to move onto step 2.
Later
Hi Tyler, thanks for provoking my thoughts…they need it.
I discovered the minimalist movement back in the summer, and it felt like striking gold. Suddenly, I’d found all these folks who lived unconventional lives, and so much of it resonated with me. That word “minimalism” was all over the place, and I felt kinship. But like anything, there are as many definitions of it as there are people who consider it.
It boils down to what my yoga teacher said last night at the beginning of our class…here in the new year, we want to focus LESS on what is not serving us…and MORE on the things that bring us to our own Light. Whatever that may mean, for each individual. The concept of minimalism as I understand it helps me discern what’s not serving me, whether it be possessions or thoughts or life directions. And what you say about maximalism helps me look at what I want more of. It’s not a black and white thing, one or the other, for me. It’s about finding balance.
I’m a minimalist, and I think that minimalism and maximalism go together really well- they’re FLIP sides of a coin!
I MINIMALIZE my possessions so I can MAXIMALIZE my space to do things I really love like hooping and yoga.
I MINIMALIZE commitments I don’t really dig so I can MAXIMALIZE the amount of time I spend doing things I love.
I MINIMALIZE the friends that bring me down, so I can MAXIMALIZE the time I spend with friends that bring me up.
It isn’t about one or the other, not for me. It’s about balance.
Minimalism seems like a great mentality to me, but not a great lifestyle
I hold a high level of respect for everybody who chooses minimalism, but as for me, I’d like to do tons of stuff and use my money (wisely) to buy the things that I want and live life to the fullest with those I love. That’s my maximalist life goal
fascinating 365 day declaration – looking forward to your evolving your maximalism movement.
I love it! I like the idea of really maxing out on the things you love to do. I’ll gladly be a part of the Maximalist movement!
I think a lot of minimalists are coming to a similar conclusion, in fact I didn’t read this until today (the 5th) after I posted my own article “Minimal Input, Optimal Output” on http://lessplease.net
Minimalism is about trimming the fat from our lives so that we can pursue that which really matters.
I too may be a maximalist, minimalism is just a tool for maximalism.
I used to think this way, Tyler, but in the end, there are only 24 hours in a day. The idea I can or should be the best in everything I do is frankly a bit tiring. This gets to the core of life balance and it’s taken me, a very ambitious person by nature, a long time to learn it.
It’s okay to shoot for being the best, as long as you set parameters for yourself that don’t cause you to ignore everything else. For example, I want to be a very successful writer and blogger. But I also want to be a very successful and engaged mother. It’s hard to be the BEST at both. In the end, I think just being very good at both is…good enough.
The thing about maximalism is that you can’t maximize everything. I make the conscious choice to maximize a breadth of experiences rather than impressing the maximum number of people with my success. Ultimately, the only person I really have to impress is myself, and I hope I’m always courageous enough to define it on my own terms.
Hope that wasn’t too rambly, but I spend a lot of time thinking about it! Thanks for the prompt.
Eventually I will have to stop telling you “this is my favorite post yet.” I know that I have to stop saying it or else it will lose all of its meaning and you’ll just sit on the other end, looking at your screen and think “yeah, yeah. Every post is your favorite one yet.”
But seriously, this is my favorite post yet.
I enjoy your site, Tyler, but your message is starting to get muddy. For example, you took control of your social shyness by talking to one person a day you wouldn’t normally engage (which I can relate to). You took small risks to redirected yourself toward the place you wanted to be – one step at a time – good advice for the long haul. Back then, if someone told you that to overcome shyness you need to go extreme and introduce yourself to hundreds of people, you’d completely dismiss it. Further, going extreme, celebrating mass consumption, cramming your life full of goals rather than just being in the moment are the things marketers lick their chops for. Selling vulnerable, disenfranchised people more goods to “finally achieve contentment” is what spawned the movement in the first place. The movement being an intense personal self-examination of what it means to be alive. Perhaps I misinterpreted your essay, I look forward to your thoughts.
Hi Dean. Thanks for your thoughts; I can understand your argument. However, I don’t think my message is getting muddy – it’s always been to pay attention to what’s important to you and go after new and exciting experiences.
This doesn’t change anything. As I learn more and try new things, I shift my strategies and report back here on AR. The overall message remains the same, but every day I learn more and more about how to get what I really want. Sometimes, that means abandoning an old strategy for a new one.
If it isn’t right for you, then I’d recommend you not follow my advice.
Take what works for you, and leave the rest. The most important thing you can do is create a life strategy based on your own wants and needs. Sometimes, that will probably conflict with mine. In those cases, pay no attention to what I say because you know yourself far better than I do.
I completely agree!
I always thought minimalism was about focusing on what you’re passionate about and banishing everything else that doesn’t matter. So maximalism makes perfect sense.
I just own less, so I can focus on creating art. And perhaps collecting some. I declared 2011 the year of action. So now I’ll have to maximize the year even further. Thanks Tyler.
[...] Welcoming The Maximalist Movement “At the heart of this new maximalist movement is one simple ideal: more. I think people want more from life, not less. But, I also think that the two are not mutually exclusive. [...]
Great post.
I’ve been always suspicious of any …isms, including minimalism. Can you imagine if everybody was a minimalist, would we have beautiful works of architecture found in Rome or Florence, would we undertake grand projects like Panama Canal, or imagine Gaudi building his famous Sagrada Familia with a minimalist approach. We would have just another japanese zen style temple).
Also as we emerge from the Great Recession, lot’s of folks will start singing a different tune. Minimalism is not a complete answer, neither is maximalism. The answer is searching your heart and going for what is most important to you.
Thanks for posting this – I’ve been reading lots of these new minimalist blogs and feeling maybe there was something wrong with me that I was so attached to my many possessions… I collect books, perfumes, shoes and purses, and all of them make me so happy, it was distressing to me to think about having to get rid of them to achieve that vaunted peace of mind. But then I realized that it just wasn’t me, that I’m more of a maximalist than a minimalist at heart. I put my energies and money into the things I really enjoy, and cut way back on the things that matter less to me, and that works for me.
[...] point in our discussions of minimalism and downsizing. Today I read Tyler Tervooren’s post, Welcoming the Maximalist Movement, on his blog Advanced Riskology. Tyler writes, “If you came over to my place for dinner, you [...]
Heh… I’ve think I’ve lost track of the difference between minimalism and maximalism here.
Agreed.
This all seems like a the minimalist movement with the emphasis on what you can do via minimizing aspects of your life.
Same shit, different name.
[...] Welcoming the Maximalist Movement by Tyler Tervooren If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed! [...]
Hey Tyler,
I agree that the time-cost-quality pyramid is outdated and flawed. The new model that I think is more worthwhile is from the book Blue Ocean Strategy where they talk about “Value Innovation” that increases value to the end user while reducing costs.
The research behind the book is substantial and turns the time-cost-quality model on its ear.
So, to relate your post to Blue Ocean Strategy, I’d say we should pursue maximizing our value in anything (ie: experiences, stuff, relationships) while reducing the cost (intangible or real). I think the challenge lies in the work to eliminate cost and is why the average person lives a life of costly mediocrity.
My best,
-Josh
Gotcha! Don’t leave Tyler any of the Beanie Babies” in the will!!!
[...] Tyler of Advanced Riskology has declared 2011 to be “the year of maximalism.” [...]
How many bloggers and minimalists live in Portland? I hear, that it is a beautiful place; look forward to a visit.
Tyler; I had come across your site through the blog of Everett Bogue.
Well done on the skydiving; you’ll have to jump solo next time.
[...] lately about the downsides of minimalism. My what minimalism isn’t post was a response to one of them. A Nina Yau guest post on RowdyKittens about minimalism and abundance. Then there was a wonderful, [...]
I agree with this. I want a tiny house in my future but not so I can do with less. I want everything in it! No getting rid of the refrigerator or bathtub or washing machine for me. I want comfort in a tiny space so I figured I didn’t fit “minimalist” but didn’t quite think about maximalism. The truth is, that’s what I am really after though, seeing my cup as full rather than half ful or half empty. Why not go for full?!!
[...] Welcoming the Maximalist Movement. by Tyler Tervooren. I have a giant blog crush on Tyler. He writes great posts. This one is his take on minimalism. He doesn’t see himself as a minimalist, either. Read this one! [...]
[...] Welcoming the Maximalist Movement. by Tyler Tervooren. I have a giant blog crush on Tyler. He writes great posts. This one is his take on minimalism. He doesn’t see himself as a minimalist, either. Read this one! [...]
[...] Welcoming the Maximalist Movement. by Tyler Tervooren. I have a giant blog crush on Tyler. He writes great posts. This one is his take on minimalism. He doesn?t see himself as a minimalist, either. Read this one! [...]
I’m stepping up to the plate Tyler. I agree with the idea of being a maximalist! Keep the good ideas comin’!
[...] some additional reading, I especially love Tyler Tervooren’s post on maximalism. Awesome. « Previous PostNext Post [...]
Is this not pretty close to minimalism? From what I’ve read…people are lessening to gain more from life. They are lowering their time on the internet so that they may spend more time with their family. Isn’t this the same thing?
“If you love doing something, try to be the best at it. I’ve never really understood the idea of trying to do something you couldn’t be the best at. If you can’t be the best, then consider trying to be the worst.”
Would you mind expanding on this a little? Why best, not better? How would you define best? When and how do you know you can’t be best and why is ‘worst’ the best alternative (no pun intended)? I ask because I’m having a hard time visualizing this.