I feel like a misconception that’s made about me is that I want a simple, small life. But that is 100% the opposite of what I want. I want to live a fricking big, full, ambitious, extravagant life. And sometimes I hear people say, “Well, I don’t want to be a minimalist because I don’t want to have nothing, and be nothing.” And I’m right there with you! That’s not what I want either. At all. So, if you’re like me and you struggle with the idea of a minimalism meaning a bare, have-nothing, do-nothing life, I want to share with you why I believe a simple life doesn’t equal a small life.
In This Episode Allie Discusses:
A common misconception about her and what she teaches
Why “simple” doesn’t mean “small”
Some of her ambitions
What simplicity means to her
Mentioned in this Episode:
The A to Z of implementing minimalism in your entire house.
This is my realistic, globally-praised philosophy of a simplified home that is changing lives everywhere! It is a step-by-step guide to decluttering each and every room, closet, and area in your home.
Mom life. We are surrounded with the message that it’s the tired life. The no-time-for-myself life. The hard life. And while it is hard and full of lots of servitude, the idea that motherhood means a joyless life is something I am passionate about putting a stop to. I’m on a mission to help you stop counting down the minutes till bedtime, at least most days. I want you to stop cleaning up after your kid’s childhood and start being present for it. Start enjoying it. I believe in John 10:10 “that we are called to abundant life” and I know mothers are not excluded from that promise. Join me in conversations about simplicity, minimalism and lots of other good stuff that leads to a life of less for the sake of enjoying more in your motherhood. I’m Allie Casazza and this is The Purpose Show.
Hi friends! I am diving right into this because I am kind of amped up. I’ve got a major pep talk for you. It’s going to be quick. It’s going to be a powerful punch. And it’s going to be needed.
I talked about this in an email a couple months ago and it was the first time that I had ever really talked about this with you guys. But it’s been something that I’ve said to people in my personal life—my friends, and people in my circle—a lot over the years since I’ve been doing my business.
I wrote the email and I sent it out back in November, I think. And it felt really good to just say this and get it out into the world. And I feel like I need to do more of that.
There’s no real reason that I haven’t talked about this. It’s not really hard or really secret or anything. It’s just that in my life, my job, my business, my position, in who I am and what I do in the world, there are a lot of things that come with it that other people who don’t do the same thing that I do just don’t understand. Or would probably not really ever think are part of the things that I deal with on a weekly basis.
One of the biggest things that I handle and have to adjust to are the assumptions of people who don’t know me in real life, who are just seeing things online. And this is kind of one of those things.
I feel like so many of you are pursuing simplicity, minimalism and taking action on the things that you’re learning. And it’s got me thinking that you are probably dealing with this too. This isn’t a thing that has to do with what I do in my business. It has to do with minimalism, being a minimalist, and seeking simple. It’s a big misconception and it might not apply to everybody, but it’s something that I wanted to share.
I would love to hear on social media if you resonate with this. If this is something that’s crossed your mind too. If people have maybe made assumptions about you or said things passively that made you like, “Well, wait…that’s not what I’m after.” Let’s just talk about this.
The thing I’m talking about is the idea that seeking simplicity means that you want a small, simple life.
Now, I personally know a lot of people in real life—I can think of five right now off the top of my head—that do want a very simple life. I have friends who have either gone and pursued this and are living it out, or have shared with me that they have goals of living this out. They want to have a very simple life where they live in a small space like on a farm where everything’s very simple.
They don’t really even care if they have internet. They don’t even really care about modern technology. They just want quiet. They want a simple life. They don’t have massive goals or anything. And there is really nothing wrong with that. If there is purpose in that for you and that’s where the peace is for you, then that is a part of your calling. Go!
But as I talk about minimalism, less, simplicity, and pursuing ‘simple’ in life, I feel like a misconception that’s made about me is that I want a simple, small life. And actually, that is very much, super far, extremely the opposite of what I want and why I pursue simplicity.
Just like I am always saying that minimalism doesn’t mean nothing, pursuing simplicity doesn’t mean that I’m pursuing a simple, small life. Actually, I desire to live a very big, full, ambitious, loud, amazing, beautiful, extravagant life. I don’t have a desire for nothing. I have a desire for so much. I am so ambitious. I’ve got big goals, goals that if I shared them with you right now, I don’t think you would believe me or be able to handle it because we’re all in different places in life.
Some of you might would listen to me and think like, “Girl, dream bigger,” because there are some of you out there who dream even bigger than I do because you’re further ahead than I am. But I don’t want to live a simple, small life. I just don’t. I don’t have a desire for that.
This is so surface and not at all what this is even about, but I am drawn to the city. I love being in big cities. I struggle with where I live sometimes because it’s just outside of a large city, but it’s not a large city itself; it’s a suburb. And there are so many amazing things that I love about this space and this town. There are memories here, special people here, and it’s really cute, really sweet and historic. It’s so quaint. A lot of the time I really am grateful that I live where I live, but I’m drawn to the busy-ness of big cities. I love that my business takes me to places like New York City, San Diego, Los Angeles, Nashville and all these big, busy places so often because I love it. I’m so drawn to that energy. And here in the town that I do live in, with the people that I am around, I am that energy all the time.
When you buy something, you buy it with your time. With minutes from your life. Not just with your money. Studies show us that less clutter equals less stress and more time. It is really as simple as that.
This was the founding reason that I created Your Uncluttered Home. It has become my most popular, globally-praised, decluttering course that I designed for moms who want to live their lives more than they want to clean up after it.
It is truly the A-Z of minimalism. Every room. Every area. Every nook and cranny of your house totally uncluttered. This super extensive, extremely detailed course is literally everything you need to become a minimalist momma who is able to be a lot more present for what matters most.
To learn more about the course, go to alliecasazza.com/allcourses.
This really is the short-cut version. The exact journey that I took as a mom, 5-6 years ago, that got me to this point of an uncluttered, minimalistic motherhood where I am spending the least amount of time on my house every day.
Motherhood is just way too sweet a time to be spent struggling so hard and living in survival mode day in and day out. Our stuff is really the cause of that.
If you want to start this lifestyle, if you want to simplify your life… I believe that it all starts at home.
If you were in person with me, you would find that—except when I’m introverting pretty hard because I’m drained—my energy very much replicates that big city hustle and bustle in terms of my ambition, my goals, the way my brain works, and how I’m always pushing forward.
I know when to press pause. I’m super good at that. I’m super good at boundaries. I’m really good at listening to my body, knowing when my energy is gone and I need to rest. And I’m so grateful for the self-development that I’ve done, the books that have come my way and what God has done in me to help me be balanced. But in general, I am the big city energy and I have such a desire to live so much bigger than I even am right now.
Sometimes people will say things to me, basically making comments like, “Wow! You sure have a lot going on and you’re doing a lot.” And I’m thinking, “Really? I have so much more in store.” I get a lot of emails, I get a lot of messages and a lot of the time (not all the time, but often) I’ll get a message from someone that says, “Hey, I just wanted to say I really resonate with your message. Thank you for what you do. I really want to live a simple life too. I would love to just sell everything, move to the middle of nowhere, and just be with my family. Thank you for helping me take the first steps to get there.”
And while, first of all, I love that and that encourages me like crazy and keeps me going, I sometimes struggle with how to respond. Should I say something like, “That’s actually not what I want at all and that’s not what I’m doing. I’m happy that what I’m doing equipped you to realize that’s what you want and to take the steps to get there, but that’s not what I want at all.”? Because I feel like it’s going to be really awkward when I buy property, buy an estate, up level, have a second house in another city, and do all of these things. Because I’ve got big goals, guys. I want to live a giant life where I can help so many more people. The more people that I can help, the more that I can do in my personal life.
And I don’t know if this will happen or if my goals will change, but I’m speaking it out here in case it doesn’t change. I want to own property and have a house that is so amazing it can serve so many people. That it’s big enough to where we can host our church there. Our church needs another meeting place soon and I want to be that meeting place. I want to be able to give away so much money and I’m not going to get there without ambition.
I’m not going to be able to end hunger and sex trafficking without getting bigger. And getting more and doing more. And I’ve got that drive in me because that’s how God made me. I used to feel some shame over that drive and now I don’t. Now I realize that drive is one of the reasons I was even born. And that drive is so important to women, to the nonprofits that depend on my business for help, to the mothers out there who need my message. It’s a cycle and we all have something like that.
So, if you’ve been struggling with this idea of like, “Well I don’t want minimalism because I don’t want nothing. I like my things.” Challenge that. Why do you like your things? What things do you like? Why do you feel like you can’t have anything? Are you using this as an excuse of some kind? Minimalism is relative, make it what you need it to be, but gut check yourself. Why do you feel like you can’t let go of those things? What is it to you? Because what takes up your space takes up your time.
So to me, minimalism is all about making space for more of what matters. More of what I want and less of what I don’t need that’s just taking up space and not serving me at all. And in turn not serving my family because it’s not serving me. And in turn again, it’s not serving the world. Because I’ve got this ambition, I’ve got this crazy drive pushing me forward and calling me to bigger and greater things.
I’ve got this big city energy in me. I’m a mom of four. I live in this small little town and I’ve got this massive city energy just burning within me, getting stuff done, making things happen, starting multiple businesses, having all these endless ideas. And I can’t deal with cleaning up my house all day. I don’t have time for that.
Simplicity in my schedule makes room for more of what I want to do. More of what matters. More of what I was put here on this planet to accomplish. Minimalism doesn’t mean nothing; It means nothing that’s in my freaking way. It means less of what does not matter for more time and more space of what does matter.
I don’t want to live a small life. I just don’t. And again, there’s nothing wrong with seeking that, but that is not why I was born. That’s not why I’m here. And so, simplicity is just the engine that’s allowing me to keep going. That is the answer to the question I always get of how are you doing all of this? It’s simplicity. It’s delegating to my team. It’s having a housekeeper come once a week so I’m not scrubbing the baseboards. I’ve got bigger things that I want to do.
And you know, I had this mindset when I was freaking broke as a joke, too. So it’s not a money thing; it’s a mindset thing. Before I had a successful business that was making money, and before my family knew where our next meal was coming from, I had this mindset and I acted out of that mindset. It looked a little different, but I still had that frame of thinking and that’s how it got me to this place.
So, if you don’t want a small, simple life, I’m with you. I understand that. But continue to pursue simplicity in the other parts of your life. The parts that would hold you back from not living that big, gorgeous, stunning, amazing, loud, abundant life that you’re chasing.
Simplicity belongs in the spaces that are just going to hold us back. Obligations and toxic people who are just negative and drain my energy, I say ‘no’ to those things and people. I don’t allow that into my life and my space because it pulls me from my family. It pulls me from my God. It pulls me from my purpose. So, minimalism there. Minimalism with clutter, junk, crap, and in shopping unnecessarily. Does that make sense?
This is what I want you guys to know…a simple life doesn’t equal a small life.
Simplicity is such a catalyst for great things. I think this is a perspective shift that a lot of us need to have.
This was an episode of The Purpose Show. Did you know there is an exclusive community created solely for the purpose of continuing discussions surrounding The Purpose Show episodes? And to get you to actually take action and make positive changes on the things that you learn here? Go be a part of it. To join go to facebook.com/groups/purposefulmamas.
Thank you so much for tuning in. If you are ready to uplevel and really take action on the things I talk about on my show, and get step-by-step help from me, head to alliecasazza.com. There are free downloads, courses, classes, and ways to learn more about what the next step might look like for you and to focus on whatever you might need help with in whatever season you are in right now.
I am always rooting for you, friend! See ya next time!
+ show Comments
- Hide Comments
add a comment