"Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less" by Greg McKeown identifies the characteristics of an 'essentialist' person and provides practical steps for becoming one. Contrary to initial perception, essentialism is not a hippy-dippy way to 'get in touch' with yourself but if you understand and follow the precepts of an essentialist person you will get in touch with yourself, in a way more profound than expected. Essentialism isn't an approach to squeezing more into your life but will enable you to add more to your life by reducing reducing the clutter and focusing on what really matters.
McKeown weaves anecdotes from quite a few of modern cultures professional thinkers. At first I found many these stories bothersome, taking pages to rehash things that could have been stated much simpler. I then realized I was fortunate because I had read many of their works and knew the context, others may not. Near the end of the book I began to realize that the philosophies and approaches of many of these top thinkers, while they were often very valuable in themselves, became much more enlightening when viewed through the lens of essentialism.
Easy, straight forward read lined with practical strategies on how to implement this approach into your life if you so choose. [4/5]
McKeown weaves anecdotes from quite a few of modern cultures professional thinkers. At first I found many these stories bothersome, taking pages to rehash things that could have been stated much simpler. I then realized I was fortunate because I had read many of their works and knew the context, others may not. Near the end of the book I began to realize that the philosophies and approaches of many of these top thinkers, while they were often very valuable in themselves, became much more enlightening when viewed through the lens of essentialism.
Easy, straight forward read lined with practical strategies on how to implement this approach into your life if you so choose. [4/5]
