Ryan Nicodemus and Joshua Fields Millburn have been minimalists for over 10 years now. This means that they strive to value time more than money, and counteract the culturally and socially embedded consumerist idea of being more of a person through spending more to have more. Known simply as The Minimalists since 2010 when they started their own website, they are recognized by millions of people around the globe, have authored three books, made a documentary film, launched a popular podcast, and spoken in detail about the movement they have created at Harvard Business School, Apple and Google, among others.

Their second cinematic endeavour, the documentary The Minimalists: Less Is Now (directed by Matt D’Avella), had its international premiere on 1st January 2021 on Netflix. Nicodemus talked with Dariusz Kuźma about what the film aims to say to everyone who is willing and open enough to listen, and how the very process of trying to clear your mind of the craving for new things can make you a happier person.

Dariusz Kuźma: If you had to sum up everything the minimalism movement is about in one or two sentences, what would they be?

Ryan Nicodemus: I would say that minimalism helps us to get past all of the things we don’t really need,