Hello. I’m Justin Sloan and this is my personal website. It has existed in various incarnations since 2000, but in late 2010 I decided to take it in a new direction. After years of enjoying life by collecting more and more things, I realized that I was not any more happy than before I had started acquiring stuff. Everything I needed I already had. My wife, my daughter, a job that I loved, and a healthy lifestyle.

But I still had stress in my life. I felt like I was lacking something and didn’t realize that I was lacking nothing. I was too consumed with doing and having more. The things I owned ended up owning me (thanks, Palahniuk). It was time to take back my life. It was time to reduce what I owned and learn to enjoy what I already had. I suddenly realized that I didn’t need to fill my life with stuff, I need to fill my life with experiences.

This site became a way to document what I learn along the way. I’m not looking for a complete lifestyle change. I don’t want to own just 100 things. I don’t want to pretend to live in volunteer poverty to make myself feel better. I’m not giving up red meat, and I like having nice things. But I am disgusted with rampant consumerism. The things I own make life better, but they don’t define me as a person. I want a jacket to keep me warm, not to say anything about me. I don’t want to be judged by my jacket. But if I am only going to own one jacket, it’s going to be a really nice jacket.

I only want to have what I can use regularly and can maintain without stress. I want to steward what I have so that I can help others. I want to engage with the people around me. Basically, I want to live a meaningful life with less stuff, more creating, more giving, and more appreciation for the experiences around me everyday. I want to enjoy life and live humble.