Chris Lovett - Discovery of LESS: How I Found Everything I Wanted Underneath Everything I Owned

First published by Less is Progress Limited, 2021

Copyright Chris Lovett, 2021

The moral rights of the author have been asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the author at the email address below.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Cover design and interiors by Matt Windsor (thedesigngarden.co.uk)

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ISBN: 978-1-8384375-0-3

ISBN: 978-1-8384375-1-0 (e-book)

Printed by Ingram Spark

www.lessisprogress.com

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Praise for Discovery of Less

Chris Lovett offers a remarkably insightful look into what one can accomplish by disrupting our view of more, and the discovery of less. Bravo!

Whitney Johnson, award-winning author of Disrupt Yourself and Thinkers50 Leading Management Thinkers

Like a dip in an icy lake, this book allows you to feel alive again. Inspiring yet practical, its a compelling argument to assess life in the context of getting more, by adopting a philosophy of simple and less. A great contribution to the area of personal improvement.

Jamil Qureshi, Performance Coach and Psychologist

I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed reading Chris Lovetts personal journey towards owning less stuff. I found his style of writing with candor and humor refreshing. His stories illuminate the absurdity of keeping large quantities of things that arent being used or enjoyed. Discovery of Less rises to the challenge of adding value and a fresh voice to the movement of minimalism.

Lisa J. Shultz, author of Lighter Living

Chris has inspired me to take the plunge. Taking my foot off the materialist pedal makes perfect happiness sense!

Dr Andy Cope, Dr of Happiness and bestselling author of How to be a Well Being

This book will inspire more people to simplify and take back control of their lives.

Andy Storch, Author of Own Your Career Own Your Life and host of Talent Development Hot Seat podcast

Chris Lovett brings light and humor to an often dark and cold space of minimalism. Read his story to let go of more, and to reach your potential.

Justin Malik, Host/Producer, Optimal Living Daily podcast

Chris Lovett has articulated something that feels timely and important. I was immediately struck by the resonance of the idea then immediately inspired to respond.

Bruce Daisley, Bestselling author of The Joy of Work and host of Apple #1 business podcast Eat, Sleep, Work, Repeat

Chris is a text-book example of the positive, enriching outcomes of decluttering. We literally feel his shoulders lower and settle as he takes us through his journey towards minimalism. Heres to him inspiring his readers to give themselves permission to crack on with their own decluttering journeys, boost their wellbeing and make their own discoveries.

Caroline Rogers, Author of Home and the Extended-Self: The Association Between Clutter and Wellbeing, Journal of Environmental Psychology, 2021

Chris brings a freshness, honesty and humour to the world of minimalism and intentional living in Discovery of Less. His storytelling captured my heart and mind. Whether youre a hardcore minimalist or this is the first book you ever pick up on minimalism, youll laugh, be inspired and ultimately walk away determined to live with less.

Amy Revell, Host of The Art of Decluttering podcast and author of Simply Organised

About the Author

Chris Lovett is a minimalist, author, speaker, career mentor, professional executive coach and simplicity coach. Through his talks, blogs and seminars he unlocks the potential of individuals, families, teams and organisations through doing less. His words have touched thousands of lives in more than forty-five countries, inspiring and empowering people to let go of material possessions and unlocking their potential by removing the stuff that gets in the way. He has been featured prominently on platforms such as No Sidebar, Minimalism Life and Optimal Living Daily and has talked at festivals, well-being events, financial institutions and consultancy firms across the UK.

Discover more online at lessisprogress.com

Contents

Discovery Begins Now

Never underestimate the importance of abandoningcrap you dont need. It has the power to change your life.

Joshua Becker,
Forbes.com, 2018

Lets go...

Most of us have too much clutter. We may not be fully aware of it yet but its there. And by clutter, I mean anything physical, digital, mental or emotional that gets in the way of achieving our goals and living a fulfilling life.

Either consciously or subconsciously, weve all decided to surround ourselves with stuff that doesnt benefit us or enhance our life experience, and yet we leave it in our immediate environments to take up room physical and psychological in our lives. Most of us live with an abundance of crap locked away in cupboards, in the back of wardrobes, up lofts, down basements, in garages or out at storage units that we pay additional rent for.

The work-life calendar always looks stacked and weve all made the choice, somewhere down the line, to determine that busy just doesnt cut it anymore so we proclaim to be super-busy, anything to foster the appearance of If were super-busy, we must have significance, purpose.

Its a lie.

Our handheld smart devices are littered with pointless email subscriptions that add no value, friends who arent friends at all, unused networking connections, useless old contacts and random stuff like that car parking app you used that one time, five years ago. Feel free to take a second and delete it now, if you like. Happy to wait.

Excuses, comparisons and mistruths spam our minds, polluting them with self-inflicted limitations. The stories we tell ourselves hold us back from letting go and progressing. Previous ambitions and aspirations are left as what ifs, dreams or fantasies destined to remain unfulfilled. What we might be dealing with now is that the stuff we decided to bring into our lives to take ownership of, now actually owns us.

Of course, I am not the first to say this. Nor will I be the last. But I am here to tell you what you already know: it has to stop.

The clothes that no longer fit, the DVDs weve never watched and the instruction manuals to electronics we no longer own remain in our close proximities, surrounding us, suffocating us, defeating us. Why? Because we me, you, all of us find it incredibly difficult to let go of stuff. The useless shit weve surrounded ourselves with is holding us back from moving forward. Its keeping us tethered to the ground, an anchor dragging us down, keeping us in the same spot. Its getting in the way of us taking control of our lives. Its keeping us restrained to the decisions of the past. Its blocking our growth. Its stopping us from unlocking our potential.