Minimizing Simplicity and Simplifying Minimalism
The Timeless Principle of Simplicity
This is one in a series of essays that was originally conceived as a book for print publication. If you enjoy it and would like to read more from the collection, you can find a sort of Table of Contents here.
Simplicity is all the rage online these days. The minimalist lifestyle gets a lot of press, especially in the blogosphere where literally thousands of blogs have sprung up over the last few years dedicated to simplifying and reducing consumerism.
The reason for this influx of “go simple” advice is pretty obvious: if you look at the sheer amount of stuff the average American has in his possession today in comparison to what his great-great grandfather owned 100 years ago, it’s flat-out ridiculous.
Add to that the never-ending tidal wave of ads insisting that we need MORE, BIGGER, BETTER, UPDATED AND UPGRADED… well, you see where it’s heading.
As a copywriter, I walk a fine line because frankly, ads are part of what I do. When I’m writing an ad for a client who is trying to sell a product or a service, I’m going to write to appeal to his customer as best I can so that the customer feels that the client’s product or service is absolutely indispensable. That the customer would be STUPID not to buy…
