Welcome to an interview of myself on simple, intentional living. Simple living is a somewhat subjective concept. In this post, I share with it means to me. Lets get to the questions.

1. Tell us a little about yourself…

I am a husband to Shae, daddy to Paisley and a optimistic dreamer. I LOVE the outdoors, building things with my hands and playing in the dirt aka gardening. I am passionate about healthy living, helping others connect with nature and making a dent in poverty. I am an entrepreneur at heart and enjoy no longer working for the man and building businesses that matter. I get excited over sustainability, green energy, outdoor adventures and good ideas. Words I try to live by: Do more with less, Live simply so others may simply live.

2. What does intentional living mean to you?

Intentional living is being thoughtful and deliberate with how and what I spend my precious time & breath on. I am blessed with time, talents, treasure and relationships and I believe I am accountable for what I do with each of these. I want to deliberately and intentionally spend my life.

“Intentional living is being thoughtful and deliberate with how and what I spend my precious time & breath on.”

3. What are the benefits to living intentionally?

An intentional life is one of purpose, direction and fulfillment. Doesn’t get much better than that.

4. Have there been some challenges for you along the way?

In our society & culture there are so many external demands, expectations and temptations with how you should live. Breaking away from these molds has been a challenge.

Even if you care little about what other people think it gets old not being understood. I find myself constantly answering why we are doing what we are doing. While its a great opportunity to challenge set paradigms it does get old constantly paddling up stream.

5. What ways were you not able to live intentionally in the past?

You can always live intentionally no matter your circumstances. That said with the demands and responsibilities of a traditional existence (A nine-to-five J-O-B, accumulating stuff, house and bills…) intentional living can be a real challenge.

The first 6 years of our marriage, while good, were not spent 100% around our passions. While we were not living our dream we were living intentionally by using this season of our lives to get our finances in order and begin planning what we wanted to do with our lives.

6. What does intentional living look like in your life? What are you passionate about?

• Enjoying Experiences over Stuff
• Time with Family & Friends
• Time in Nature & Teaching Outdoor School
• Sharing Healthy Living through our site: veggiemealmaker.com
• Community Garden Project
• Helping to make a dent in poverty

Ultimately I am passionate about freedom and time to purse what God has for me to do. And its awesome to have my wife and daughter apart of my team and working with me in my passions everyday.

7. What are some practical suggestions for those wanting to live more intentionally?

DREAM Free yourself to dream about what you want your life to look like. Throw out all the reasons why it’s not possible and dream!

TAKE INVENTORY Sit down and take inventory of your life…Itemize what’s most important then map out your talents, hobbies and what you love to do.

EVALUATE Compare your current life with your dreams & inventory then ask yourself, “how am I doing?”

MAKE A PLAN There are hundreds of reasons why you can’t…fill in the blank here. Compile a list of all the reasons and/or excuses of why you can’t intentionally live your dreams then use this list as a check-list of things you need to address to get to more intentional living.

In conclusion I formally invite you to lead the life you want, to be intentional with each breath and never regret another day!

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