“The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials.” - Lin Yutang

Only once you give yourself permission to stop trying to do it all, to stop saying yes to everyone, can you make your highest contribution towards the things that really matter

Weniger aber besser. Less but better

The way of the essentialist is the relentless pursuit of less but better

Am I investing in the right activities?

Essentialism is not about how to get more things done; it’s about how to get the right things done

Living by design, not by default

The way of the essentialist is the path to being in control of our own choices

Enjoy the journey, not just the destination

If you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will

For the first time, people have choices. For the first time, they will have to manage themselves. And society is totally unprepared for it

Decision fatigue: the more choices we are forced to make, the more the quality of our decisions deteriorates

Have the courage to live a life true to yourself, not the life others expect of you

“It is the ability to choose which makes us human.” - Madeleine L’Engle

The ability to choose cannot be taken away or even given away—it can only be forgotten

“Most of what exists in the universe—our actions, and all other forces, resources, and ideas—has little value and yields little result; in the other hand, a few things work fantastically well and have tremendous impact.” - Richard Koch

We can enjoy the success that results from making a consistent set of choices

“Without great solitude no serious work is possible.” - Pablo Picasso

The best asset we have for making a contribution to the world is ourselves

“To attain knowledge add things every day. To attain wisdom subtract things every day.” - Lao Tzu

“Every day do something that will inch you closer to a better tomorrow.” - Doug Firebaugh

“If ones life is simple, contentment has to come. Simplicity is extremely important for happiness.” - Dalai Lama