Using our iphones.

I’m sure we can be honest about who is really to blame, though. Ethical Consumption is something we all preach but find it hard to truly achieve. When there is benefit to us, the ethical dilemma is lightened for some reason.

Activist groups could lobby the companies to stop, but why would any company sacrifice its own profits just because it was asked?

Creating laws to limit business activities would be bad for the economy and have all sorts of other implications so is unlikely to happen.

Refusing to patronise companies with these business practices is unlikely to attract the kind of numbers needed to make a dent in any large company’s profit – so long as they keep making stuff we want.

Yet, until the labour-based economy collapses, this is the only way it’s going to stop.

Adverts are a distraction, and quite often an insult to our intelligence. They prey on our insecurities for money.

Wouldn’t the world would be so much quieter without them? Well, you can eliminate ads from your web  browsing experience.

First of all, you need to be using Firefox. You should be using this anyway. Internet Explorer has never been a good browser. Google Chrome, although fast, sleek and minimalist, is owned by Google, a large American corporation. This is a problem because of the Patriot Act – American companies have to hand over their data to the government if asked for any reason, without a warrant.

Firefox is open source, which means how it works is open to the public. There is no chance of any sneaky code tracking your every move or doing anything unethical. It is also at least as good as Chrome. The latest version is faster if not as fast, and uses the same amount of screen space (not a lot). So really I can see no reason to choose Chrome over Firefox now anyway.

Once you have Firefox, download Ad Block Plus.

Voila. You no longer have Google ads all over web pages. It also blocks ads on Facebook. It’s just one more place you’re not being sold to, and this is a good thing.

Now, if someone can just make a version for the high street…

Now you probably realise that a lot of what you learnt growing up wasn’t exactly right.

Your parents only wanted what was best for you, and to get that, you had to do what they said. Most of the time, they were probably right. They were wiser than you, so their instructions had purpose. It was for your own good.

However, because you accepted this dynamic from your parents, it made it easier for others, such as school teachers, religious leaders, and other “authority figures” to impose control over you. In all their wisdom, our parents conditioned us to be obedient, and all authority has taken advantage.

Of course the blame shouldn’t be put completely on parents. Many people grow up without being instilled with obedience. But these people are still surrounded by it anyway, in school, and in everyday life, so they too grow accustomed to doing as they’re told. If you do as you’re told enough, eventually you lose the power to think for yourself. And that’s what has happened to a large percentage of the population.

Throughout history, authority has held power over the people. This is a problem because it causes us to be unwitting puppets in dangerous games played by those in power.

• If people were more disobedient, they wouldn’t be able to get anyone to go to war.
• They wouldn’t be able to sneak in corrupt laws that go against all of our rights.
• They wouldn’t get away with incremental, crippling taxes and austerity measures that steal from the poor to give to the rich.
• They wouldn’t be able to destroy spirituality with fabrications concocted to control society with guilt.
• They wouldn’t be able to sell to us with advertisements that make us feel inferior.
• They wouldn’t be able to intimidate or manipulate us with egos and emotions.  We would only respond to reason.

We need more disobedience in society if we are to live in a world of reason. We need disobedience against political leaders. Disobedience against religious leaders. Disobedience against all authority figures. Disobedience against the abstract concept of money.

They only hold their power because we give it to them. Individually and collectively – we have to stop complying – stop believing in their power.

The emperor is naked. And you are as free as you believe you are.

What if you could turn this interest into inspiration?

Instead of posting a controversial story on your facebook feed, think really long and hard about what this story means.

How does it affect your life?

How does it affect other people’s lives?

If it’s bad news, how can you help protect people from it? If it’s good news, how can you help people benefit from it?

How will it change the world? Will it change anything?

What could it lead to? What opportunities will this present?

Instead of sharing the news,  imagine how you can make it.

Surely that’s no way to sell a brand?

Sadly, the inferiority complex is a powerful marketing tool and one that keeps companies like Gillette, as well as those companies who make ridiculously over-indulgent toothbrushes, in business.

Chances are, what you are currently using is perfectly fine.

How can we make people’s lives better? That is the question we each should be asking ourselves every day.

The potential for creation is immense. Capitalism’s inevitable collapse is going to have such significant implications that it will open the door to an untold number of possibilities, new solutions, and innovations to make our lives better.

So rather than trying to change people’s attitudes by telling them about this grand new world, true visionaries need to show it.

Many minimalists have taken the 100 Things Challenge, with the number of items varying between people.

But I think you can do better.

I reckon you can take it all the way down to zero.

But how, you ask? What about clothes? I have to wear something. What about my laptop, my driving licence, my keys?

Well, the idea is that you don’t physically get rid of your last 100 (or however many) items. You just detach from them. You remove your dependence on them. While you still own them, they no longer matter to you.

What if there was a fire, flood or some other disaster, and everything you own disappeared? The idea is to be in a position where this wouldn’t matter.

How you do this is up to you and what you feel is important. Perhaps you could take any important documents and store them securely online. This would be up to you if you felt comfortable with it. But the idea is to let go of these things. Let go of your dependency on them.

This allows you to accumulate some stuff – useful stuff – such as a tent, or a new pair of walking shoes – even a boat – because these things will add value to your life – but they don’t define your life. It wouldn’t matter if you didn’t have them tomorrow.

You don’t need to own nothing. But only when you are holding onto nothing can you really appreciate living without stuff. And when you do, anything new that you might happen to accumulate doesn’t attach itself to you. You have a different attitude towards those few things you own.

They no longer own you.

I remember my imagination running wild.

I remember ideas coming from nowhere, then feeding off each other.

I remember quiet contemplation, peaceful meditation, daydreaming.

I remember evenings of self reflection, thinking about the day past, and peaceful dozing.

I remember waking refreshed, and jumping out of bed.

I remember feeling enriched with reading, and being inspired by music.

Today, I removed the TV from the bedroom.

Now – I have my mind back.

I say they have nobody to blame but themselves.

The problem is systemic. Voting won’t change anything. Occupying won’t change anything. Protesting might change some things but it doesn’t address the underlying problems so it will never truly change the system.

The problem is that our whole way of life depends on the system remaining as it is. We couldn’t survive if the world changed tomorrow – and that is why it hasn’t.

If we want to change the system, we have to change our way of life. If you want change – it has to start with you.

But I’m sure you’ve heard all these cliches before. What you really what to know is how  – how to live a life that can change the world.

The answer is to forget about changing the world.

In the worlds of Howard Thurman:

“Don’t worry about what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” 

Yes, we need to remove our support from the corporations, the media, the big banks, the elite. But we can do this on our terms – in a way that increases our quality of life. Reducing consumption, non-compliance, and embracing a simpler, more conscientious life is certainly a great foundation for better life. It frees us.  But we should not be forced to compromise.

Why live a life of minimalism when you can live a life of abundance?

We each have unlimited potential that is going to waste because we are so preoccupied with this broken system. We could make the world better for everyone – including ourselves. To do this we need to embrace life – not escape it.

Let’s make this new year about us – not the elite. Let’s live the life we were supposed to live – and show the world how it’s done.