Joshua Fields Millburn Ryan Nicodemus Popular Books

Joshua Fields Millburn Ryan Nicodemus Biography & Facts

The Minimalists are American authors, podcasters, filmmakers, and public speakers Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, who promote a minimalist lifestyle. They are known for the Netflix documentaries Minimalism (2016) and the Emmy-nominated Less Is Now (2021); the New York Times bestselling book Love People, Use Things (2021); The Minimalists Podcast; and their minimalism blog. Educator T.K. Coleman joined The Minimalists as podcast co-host in August 2022. Early life and corporate careers Millburn was born June 29, 1981, in Dayton, Ohio; his family often lived on food stamps. Nicodemus was also born in 1981 and raised as a Jehovah's Witness; his parents separated when he was seven. His family moved around when he was a child, eventually settling in Ohio when he was eight years old. Both Millburn and Nicodemus experienced alcohol and drug abuse in their childhood homes. They became close friends as elementary school students. By age 28, both Millburn and Nicodemus held managerial positions at a regional telecommunications company. Millburn was the director of operations in charge of 150 retail stores; Nicodemus handled sales and marketing. Millburn had everything he ever wanted and bought things he did not need, but he was in debt and unhappy. A reporter for the Birmingham News called them "the embodiment of upwardly mobile, busy, fashionable, unhealthy, wasteful young professionals." Embracing minimalism Millburn's mother died of lung cancer in October 2009. In the same month, his marriage ended. Rather than renting a storage unit for his late mother's possessions, Millburn donated them. He then discovered Colin Wright, a minimalist and traveler. Millburn connected with other minimalists—Leo Babauta, Courtney Carver, and Joshua Becker, among others—and began to adopt a minimalist lifestyle. He moved into a smaller home and soon helped Nicodemus to do the same. Nicodemus adopted a similar philosophy to Millburn, organizing a "packing party" and disposing of most items he owned in a few weeks. Career as the Minimalists Millburn and Nicodemus launched their website in 2010. They have since published books, launched a podcast, and produced two feature-length documentaries. They have spoken at Harvard, Apple, and Google, and they have given two TEDx Talks: "A Rich Life with Less" and "The Art of Letting Go." In 2011, still working corporately, Millburn was asked to craft a plan to close eight retail stores and terminate 41 workers. Millburn chose to resign in protest. Shortly after, Nicodemus was laid off. Later in 2011, they self-published their first book, Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life, and went on a 33-city book tour. In 2012, Millburn and Nicodemus left Dayton and moved to Philipsburg, Montana, where they wrote the first draft of their memoir, Everything That Remains. The Boston Globe referred to this experiment as living "like Henry David Thoreau, but with Wi-Fi." In 2013, they moved to Missoula, Montana and founded a publishing company, Asymmetrical Press, with minimalist Colin Wright; it has since has published more than 30 fiction and nonfiction titles for nine authors. Asymmetrical Press republished Millburn's semi-autobiographical novel about a struggling singer-songwriter, As a Decade Fades. Also in 2013, Nicodemus, Millburn, and Wright went on two speaking tours: March's "Spring into Minimalism Tour" in the United States, and June's "Alberta Mini-Tour" in Calgary and Edmonton. In 2014, the Minimalists published their memoir, Everything That Remains. To support the book, they went on a ten-month, 119-event bookstore tour. During their 2014 tour, Millburn and Nicodemus established Minimalist.org, a website with 100 free local meetup groups in eight countries. Groups meet monthly to discuss minimalism, decluttering, careers, finances, relationships, and more. In 2015, they published Essential, an essay collection promoted as "the best of the Minimalists." The book included many of their most popular online writings plus some new essays. That spring they were joined by several authors from Asymmetrical Press, as well as the musician Skye Steele, for their "Wordtasting Tour," visiting 42 cities across the western United States and Canada. At the end of the year, they started The Minimalists Podcast, an audio and video show in which they discuss minimalism, decluttering, and simple living. Millburn and Nicodemus released the first episode of The Minimalists Podcast in December 2015. Originally recorded in a conference room at the University of Montana, it has been recorded at the Minimalists' studio in Hollywood, California, since 2018. On the podcast, Millburn and Nicodemus bring a guest into their studio to answer audience questions and to discuss "what it means to live a meaningful life with less." Previous guests include 2020 United States presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, actress Jennette McCurdy, former megachurch pastor Rob Bell, writer Glennon Doyle, columnist Dan Savage, and scientist Andrew McAfee, among others. The Minimalists do not sell advertising time, believing it would be hypocritical to write about minimalism while advertising material products. Their podcast is listener-supported. They sometimes begin episodes of their podcast with the phrase, "This episode of the Minimalists is brought to you by nobody because advertisements suck." Millburn expanded on this stance in an essay entitled "Can We Have an Honest Conversation About Advertisements?" In 2016, the Minimalists released their first feature-length film, Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things, directed by Matt D'Avella. The film features interviews with journalist Dan Harris, sociology professor Juliet Schor, and neuroscientist Sam Harris, among others, and follows Millburn and Nicodemus during their 2014 tour. Before its theatrical release, the Minimalists visited fourteen U.S. and Canadian cities on their "Documentary Tour" to premiere the film with live audiences. Originally released by Gathr Films on May 24, 2016, it played in roughly 400 theaters in the United States, Canada, and Australia. Millburn and Nicodemus partnered with Minimalissimo magazine and online publication 5 Style in 2016 to create Minimalism Life, a project that houses community journal articles, minimalist wallpapers, and a series of letters called Inside Minimalism. In 2017, the Minimalists set out on their 50-city "Less Is Now Tour," presented by Live Nation, across America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Also in 2017, they moved to Los Angeles, California. In 2018, Millburn and Nicodemus traveled to the U.S. South with a team of financial experts from Ramsey Solutions for their “Simply Southern Tour,” the theme of which was “money and minimalism.” In 2019, production began on their second feature-length film, The Minimalists: Less Is Now, also directed by D'Avella. The documentary was released worldwide by Netflix on January 1, 2021, and features interviews with radio host D.... Discover the Joshua Fields Millburn Ryan Nicodemus popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Joshua Fields Millburn Ryan Nicodemus books.