Optimal Finance Daily · Thursday, September 10, 2026
Joshua Fields Millburn of The Minimalists shared his journey from a childhood marked by poverty to a high-paying corporate career, ultimately realizing that chasing wealth did not bring happiness or security. He discovered that making better decisions, rather than accumulating money, was the key to alleviating financial anxiety.
“By the time adulthood was at my doorstep, I thought if I made enough money, I could circumvent mom's path. I could somehow achieve happiness, or at least finance it.”
“All these guys I emulated, the men I most wanted to be like, the VPs and executives, were not happy. In fact, they were miserable.”
“It turns out that repeated good decisions, not money, allows us to let go of the worry that plagues us.”