My favorite movie of all time is Fight Club. If you haven’t seen it, I won’t ruin it for you, but I will be using some of the best quotes from the movie. Many of them contain profanity – if that offends you, skip this post and move on.
One of the main characters in Fight Club is a man by the name of Tyler Durden. Tyler is many things, but for the purpose of this article, he is a man who lives quite simply. His ideas and concepts are brilliant, and fit in with the theme of The Simple Llama quite well. Here are some of my favorite quotes:
“Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don’t need.”
Simply brilliant. With the constant bombardment of advertising that we’re all subjected to, it almost becomes second nature to buy more and more. Tyler made the simple connection that buying too much stuff can lead to you being stuck at a job you hate, simply to pay for the stuff you don’t need. Stop buying stuff, starting doing what you love.
“I say never be complete, I say stop being perfect, I say let… lets evolve, let the chips fall where they may.”
Could there really be a better definition of a simple life? Sometimes good enough is good enough – there’s no need to be perfect.
“You’re not your job. You’re not how much money you have in the bank. You’re not the car you drive. You’re not the contents of your wallet. You’re not your fucking khakis.”
Too often we feel the need to define ourselves by the things we possess. Things do not make us who we are. Accepting that is the first step to owning less, and living a simpler life.
“The things you own end up owning you. “
Too many possessions, too much stuff… you will end up spending too much of your time on the maintenance, upkeep, organization, and repair of your stuff. Don’t let your stuff own you.
“We’re consumers. We are by-products of a lifestyle obsession. Murder, crime, poverty, these things don’t concern me. What concerns me are celebrity magazines, television with 500 channels, some guy’s name on my underwear. Rogaine, Viagra, Olestra. “
To the average person, 500 channels of high definition television is vastly more important than poverty. I’m not saying you have to change the world and feed all the poor. But realizing how backwards are priorities are can help you live a better life, less focused on material things.
“Fuck what you know. You need to forget about what you know, that’s your problem. Forget about what you think you know about life, about friendship, and especially about you and me. “
If you really want to change your life and live more simply, then you must forget everything you know. Your current / old way of doing things is wrong, and the things you’ve learned must be unlearned. Forget these things so you can learn all over again.
“What do you want? Wanna go back to the shit job, fuckin’ condo world, watching sitcoms? Fuck you, I won’t do it.”
Once you’ve experienced a drastically simplified life, whatever that may mean to you, there’s no way in the world you will go back. The benefits are too dramatic, too fantastic, too wonderful to give up.
Tyler Durden is a fictional character, of course, and has his share of deep-rooted issues. But when it comes to living a simple life, he knows what he’s talking about, and has tons of advice to offer.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
My favorite movie. and also really good minimalist quotes.
Thanks Pat. When I watched Fight Club the first time, I had no idea of the message that wasn’t really being sent. Years later when I watch it, I see an entirely different, even more profound movie. In fact, I think I may watch it again this weekend
Excellent post. I too love Fight Club and have watched it a few times now. Tyler has some wise things to say – “the things you own end up owning you” always sticks with me.