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"The Freedom of Enough, When Less is More " July 15, 2001
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Table of Contents

1. Welcome Notes
2. Article – The Freedom of Enough
3. Words of Wisdom
4. Resources

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1. Welcome Notes

Dear Friends,

I'm in the process of moving from my four-bedroom house in
Northeast Tacoma to a one-bedroom apartment in West Seattle.
I am doing this for several reasons. I want to be near the water
again, closer to family and live in a place that is more conducive
to my present needs. Now that I work with my clients over the
telephone, rather than in a client room, I no longer need so much
space. A year ago this house is what I needed, but now it feels
like too much. Smaller and simpler is more attractive to me.

While moving, especially to a much smaller place, can be a
challenge, it's a great time to eliminate clutter – all that stuff
laying around, collecting dust, taking up space and adding no
discernible value to my life. I have been in the process of
eliminating clutter for a couple of years now and have eliminated
many layers. And, I find there are still layers to be uncovered.
One of those layers is my collection of approximately 1,000
books. I love books but I don't need 1,000 of them. Having too
much of anything can be an energy drain. In this issue, I write
about what 'enough' means and how it can be freeing and
fulfilling to have less.

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2. The Freedom of Enough, When Less is More

What is enough? When is less more? These are questions I
ponder. In this issue, I recommend a book, Your Money or Your
Life, by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin. Dominguez and
Robin purport that money = our life energy. They write, "Our
life energy is our allotment of time here on earth, the hours of
precious life available to us." To put this in perspective, they
write, "If you are 40 years old, you can expect to have
approximately 329,601 hours (37 years) of life energy left before
you die." I think there's a problem with their math. Thirty-
Seven years equals 324,120 hours on my calculator. (I'm 56
years old, so I can expect about 183,960 hours (21 years) of life
energy left. As fast as an hour goes for me, 183,960 hours
doesn't seem like a lot. I want to make the most out of those
precious hours.)

We trade our life energy for money when we go to our jobs.
And, then we spend the money that we have traded our life
energy for on necessities, comfort items and then luxuries. A
certain amount of spending is fulfilling, but that only goes to a
point – it's called the 'peak of the Fulfillment Curve'. That peak
is called 'enough'. Once we have paid for our necessities,
comfort items and a few luxuries, we reach the 'enough' point.
Anything we buy beyond that ceases to be fulfilling and actually
becomes an energy drain. This point of 'enough' is unique to
and must be discovered by each person.

I have seen this fulfillment principle at work at children's
birthday parties and Christmas celebrations. A child opens the
first few presents with joy and excitement. Then there comes a
point when the joy and excitement is replaced by frenzy. They
start unwrapping the gifts as fast as they can, barely looking at
each one before they're on to the next one. Then, after
unwrapping a multitude of gifts, they ask, "Is that all there is?"
As parents and grandparents, we are disappointed because they
don't seem to appreciate what we've given them. We've given
them too much! They've gone beyond the 'enough' point and
the remainder is too much – it's no longer fulfilling. Would they
enjoy these celebrations more if we gave them less? I think so.

We adults experience this fulfillment principle when the
paradigm of 'more is better' drives us. One way we do this is by
buying our 'gazingus pins', a term coined by Dominguez and
Robin, for any item we just can't pass by without buying. What
are your gazingus pins? Mine are books. For one person I know,
it's watches. For another, it's shoes. Come on – fess up – what
are yours? We all have them. I have a hard time walking by a
bookstore without going in and buying at least one book. I am
embarrassed that I have so many books. Having 1,000 books is
not fulfilling to me. Rather, they have become a burden. If
money = life energy, I have spent about $18,000 worth of my life
energy purchasing these books. In addition, I spend life energy
taking care of them. I have to store them, dust them and now
move them.

I have decided that I'm not going to move 1,000 books this time,
so I'm looking for new homes for many of them. Sorting out
which ones to give away and which ones to keep is sometimes a
struggle. The "I might need this someday" thought pops into my
head. So, as an aid in this process, I'm asking myself with each
book, "Does having this book add value to my life? Is having
this book energy enhancing?" Every book that gets a 'no'
answer lands in the 'to go' pile. If the answer is 'yes', it goes in
the 'to keep pile'. Simple – yes, easy – no. In this process, I'm
searching for my own 'enough' point – where having enough
books feels fulfilling and not a burden.

To keep myself in that 'enough' state and out of the gazingus pin
stores (bookstores), I'm looking at buying books as an exchange
of my life energy. I'm asking myself if buying another book
would give me the fulfillment, satisfaction and value in
proportion to the life energy I would spend to buy and maintain
it. If the answer is 'no', that book does not find it's way to my
home. If the answer is 'yes', I will eliminate one book in my
collection to make room for the new one.

You've heard the quote "No man ever said on his deathbed I
wish I had spent more time at the office." Well, I say that no
woman on her deathbed ever said I wish I had bought more
books. Enough is enough! There's freedom in having enough
and not too much. Sometimes, less is better.

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3. Words of Wisdom

We clutter our lives with more than physical things. This poem
speaks of throwing out the internal clutter we carry around.

I THREW IT OUT

Last Week I threw out Worrying,
It was getting old and in the way.
It kept me from being me;
I couldn't do things my way.

I threw out those Inhibitions;
They were just crowding me out.
Made room for my New Growth,
Got rid of my old dreams and doubts.

I threw out a book on MY PAST
(didn't have time to read it anyway).
Replaced it with New Goals,
Started reading it today.

I threw out childhood toys
(remember how I treasured them so)?
Got me a NEW PHILOSOPHY too,
Threw out the one from long ago.

Brought in some new books too,
Called I CAN, I WILL, and I MUST.
Threw out I might, I think and I ought.
WOW, You should've seen the dust.

I ran across an OLD FRIEND,
Haven't seen him in a while.
I believe his name is GOD,
Yes, I really like His style.

He helped me to do some cleaning
And added some thing's Himself.
Like PRAYER, HOPE and FAITH,
Yes, I placed them right on the shelf.

I picked up this special thing
And placed it at the front door.
I FOUND IT – its called PEACE.
Nothing gets me down anymore.

Yes, I've got my house looking nice.
Looks good around the place.
For things like Worry and Trouble there just isn't any place.

Its good to do a little house cleaning,
Get rid of the old things on the shelf.
It sure makes things brighter;
Maybe you should TRY IT YOURSELF.

--Author Unknown
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4. Resources

Your Money or Your Life, Transforming Your Relationship
With Money and Achieving Financial Independence, by Joe
Dominguez and Vicki Robin

"For most people money is a source of stress and a controlling
force in our lives: we spend the majority of our day thinking
about money (getting it and spending it) or working for it. Vicki
Robin and Joe Dominguez, now international lecturers, have
developed a unique program for changing the way we interact
with money. It's based on getting out of debt, living minimally
and moving beyond the obsession most of us have with the green
stuff at one level or another. By first minutely considering how
much of our "life energy" is actually spent in the acquisition of
money, where that money is spent (you'll be amazed), and how
our consumption affects the entire planet, we can more
comfortably re-prioritize our values, save money by living
frugally (buying used, bartering services, paying off debt) and
eventually achieve financial independent. The end result is that
we can learn to live" at the peak of the Fulfillment Curve, always
having plenty but never burdened by excess." By Ilene Rosoff

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Until we meet again, remember to:

Count your garden by the flowers,
Never by the leaves that fall.
Count your days by golden hours,
Don't remember clouds at all.
Count your nights by stars, not shadows.
Count your years with smiles, not tears.
Count your blessings, not your troubles.
Count your age by friends, not years.
--Author Unknown

Blessings to you and yours,

Sharon

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Sharon Demarte is a Life Success Coach. She coaches
individuals by telephone and Internet, helping her clients close
the gap between where they are and where they want to be. Her
clients come from all walks of life: small business owners who
are growing their businesses, professionals who are growing their
practices, people in all kinds of life transitions and those who just
want a more balanced lifestyle. She works with people of all
ages, from the young who want to get a good start in life to the
Too Young To Retire – those who are the age of customary
retirement, but choose to go on to yet another career.

She works best with people who have a strong desire, a
willingness to take action, and are motivated to increase the
quality of their lives – sometimes even in difficult situations.

If you are a person who wants more out of life and would like to
explore the possibilities of partnering with Sharon as your coach,
please contact her in whatever way is comfortable for you. By
email: sharon@sharondemarte.com ; by fax (confidential): 253-
568-0453; by telephone: 206-938-1867.

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Copyright © 2000, 2001 all rights reserved. Permission is
granted to reproduce, copy or distribute One of a Kind News so
long as this copyright notice and full information about
contacting the author is attached. The author of this newsletter
is: Sharon L. Demarte, M.A.

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