'The Minimalists' share their message in Schaumburg

Business owners may or may not be the people most open to finding satisfaction with less.

But it was Schaumburg Business Association members who heard this message Tuesday morning from "The Minimalists" - authors and podcasters Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus - whose documentary "Minimalism" was released last year.

The childhood friends' journey toward lives of fewer distracting possessions but greater personal meaning began at a particular low point for Millburn, when he lost his mother and his marriage in the same month.

When deciding how much of his mother's many sentimental keepsakes he was going to hold onto, he had an epiphany.

"Our memories are not in our things, our memories are in us," he said. "I realized that by having fewer sentimental items, I could find greater sentimental value in the few I kept."

Gradually unburdening himself of his possessions, he found other people were amazed by the calmer, nicer person he had become.

Nicodemus, who had been become outwardly successful but inwardly empty, was shocked his old friend seemed happier than he was.

When Nicodemus heard about the minimalist philosophy Millburn had embraced, his conversion was even faster.

"All right, man, I'm in," he said at that first conversation.

His plan was to pack his possessions in boxes, as if he were moving, and spend three weeks fetching only the items he needed. After those 21 days, the 80 percent of his belongings that hadn't been touched were given away.

Millburn and Nicodemus stressed minimalism isn't frugality or the pursuit of a monklike existence, but rather seeking only things that add true value to one's life.

"Living a more meaningful life is the point," Millburn said. "Happiness is just a good byproduct of that."

Having achieved this for themselves and a handful of acquaintances, they felt the next step was to spread the message through a blog. From there sprang the podcasts, books and movie.

An audience member Tuesday asked whether any companies or corporations had adopted such practices. They mentioned Patagonia, a clothing company that encourages customers not to buy its products new, and REI, another clothing company that has opted out of Black Friday sales.

While Millburn and Nicodemus were divorced and single when they adopted minimalism, another audience member wondered how to get an entire family on board with the idea.

They said the first thing to do would be to imagine together how life could be better and what the ideal outcome would be. Such a move should be a pitch, not a demand, they agreed.

"People don't hate change, they hate being changed," Millburn said.

Many in the audience were hearing from The Minimalists for the first time. Others came armed with books to be signed and thanked the pair for changes they'd already helped them achieve through their podcast and documentary.

Nicodemus admitted he was skeptical at first that the 2016 film directed by a friend was the right medium to push the "Minimalism" message, but was astounded by the final product.

"I couldn't be happier with it," he said.