Material possessions are extremely important.

If you have the view that strategically acquiring material possessions is a positive thing, you are on the right path.

If you have a negative view of acquiring physical possessions, then I hope this letter will offer another perspective.

I will preface this letter by saying that the cultural materialism I advocate for is for those who desire to live a nomadic entrepreneurial lifestyle.

This is the lifestyle that I advocate for in the Total System Freedom community.

It is not written for people that are happy to be anchored to one physical location, are happy to be an employee in a job they don’t like or are not looking to self-actualise, although the ideas can be applicable to anyone.

In this letter, I reference materialism in a cultural context relating to material possessions. Rather than the philosophical or scientific contexts of the term, which are quite different.

Perhaps the concept of ‘buying things’ is somewhat common sense and doesn’t need to be talked about.

If you adopt a purposeful and conscious approach to ‘buying things’ that aligns with your vision for your life, then I believe it is quite a different concept that should be explored in-depth.

In this letter I will take an uncommon approach and offer a unique perspective.

Mindset

The journey starts with assessing your mindset and how it has been shaped.

The portrayal of ‘materialism’ in mainstream society is generally negative.

The connection people have to the word conjures images of someone buying consumer products in order to make themselves feel better, or to try and elevate their status.

Status is important but If you routinely buy things for a dopamine hit to numb pain, this is bad.

If you use materialism to achieve your goals and move you towards your vision, this is good.

As a matter of priority and importance, you should develop a clear vision for your life before you begin the journey of mindfully curating your material possessions and personal effects.

When you set clear goals in life, your mind will now be programmed to notice anything that will aid you in achieving these goals.

If you set a new goal to become an entrepreneur, you will walk past an Apple store and notice the elegant computers, tablets and smartphones with a fresh lens.

If you were to own one, you can now envision the productivity gains and increased speed at which you can build out your business, produce content and self-educate.

Your mind will re-orient and your computer won’t be seen as an entertainment device, but rather as a productivity tool.

If you set the goal of becoming a nomadic entrepreneur, you will now see all the crap you may have acquired over the years as a problem.

Your mind is a programmable goal-striving machine.

A cybernetic system that you need to be aware of.

Be aware of its existence as a system and of the inputs that you feed it.

By setting clear goals and developing a vision for your life, a newly developed approach to materialism will produce better outcomes for you spiritually and financially.

If you adopt an aligned approach to the curation of your physical possessions, your quality of life and personal freedom will increase.

Our possessions can greatly improve the quality of our lives and we should embrace it.

Being able to purchase a wide variety of these goods is a direct indicator of a prosperous society.

The more goods you can buy the better.

I am very happy that Steve Jobs the founder of Apple did what he did.

I can write this letter on one of his computers, which is an incredible piece of technology that was born from the material world and from materialistic pursuits.

It was born from the entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to improve the world, which is great thing.

Become A Modern Renaissance Man

In this rapidly changing world, you need to become a modern international renaissance man.

You need to become a deep generalist, embrace skill and knowledge acquisition and develop a foundational economic understanding of the world.

This applies to women also, the word ‘man’ in this context can be understood as shorthand for the word ‘human’.

To become this man, the possessions you acquire will play a vital role in how you navigate and move about in the world.

They can make you money, protect your body, allow you to communicate freely, allow you to travel and can be tools of self expression, artistry and creativity.

Focus on aesthetics, design and functionality.

Focus on minimalism in physicality and design.

Focus on modularity as viewing your items as interchangeable and interconnected will help with packing efficiency and speed.

This will afford you more time to pursue your goals.

Create two goals to strive for when acquiring possessions. Quality and minimalism.

Perhaps you could call it ‘minimal aesthetic quality materialism’.

Strike a balance between seeking the highest quality and between acquiring the least amount of possessions that take up the least amount of space in your carriers, luggage and your abode.

You want to make travelling as easy as possible.

In the future world, being able to travel freely and move quickly grants you the ability to escape any unpleasant situations in your current location in a timely manner.

For example, owning a motorcycle enables you to not rely on others for transport, you can cross land borders more easily, and in contrast to owning a car it gives you the ability to put your motorcycle on a train or boat if roads are blocked.

A motorcycle will afford you optionality and increase your personal freedom, as you will use it for leisure, day to day commuting and as a freedom tool.

This is the mental approach that you need to adopt.

Optimise you carry-on luggage for air travel so you have everything you need in your carry-on.

This eliminates the counter-party risk of having checked luggage.

When you have checked luggage there can be problems. It may not make the transfer to a connecting flight, it might be delayed or it may be lost altogether.

Embrace the idea of paying more for quality and for new items where you know the history of the item.

Take pride in the ownership of the possessions that you have carefully researched, selected and curated.

Create a maintenance routine to keep your possessions in the best condition. For example cleaning your laptop, tablets and smartphone with rubbing alcohol and a microfibre cloth or applying leather conditioning to your leather luggage.

Recommend quality products that you own to people you know, so the business that improved your life will also benefit in a virtuous economic circle that will improve quality of life of others.

When ridding yourself of material possessions, consider the return on investment of the time taken to sell the items versus the time you would save by just throwing them out.

The International Escape Briefcase

This is a fun one.

Earlier this year there was an earthquake in Bangkok where I live.

I missed the earthquake by one day. I was in Vietnam and I was due to travel back to Bangkok the day after the earthquake.

Many people had a very frightening experience as they were running down the stairwells of their tall condominium complexes thinking the building may collapse at any moment.

In these situations you don’t have time, so preparing a briefcase of important effects beforehand to grab quickly would help.

In this briefcase include your passport/s, birth certificate, other important documents, precious metals and jewellery (more gold than silver is ideal as silver can get heavy), multiple stacks of currencies in cash for desirable nearby countries, physical maps, small toiletry kit, additional set of every day carry items (EDC - flashlight, compass, watch, earphones, pen, notebook, charger, backup phone, backup tablet, backup laptop).

Anything that could set you up in a neighbouring country quickly and efficiently.

It is very spy movie so have some fun with it and be creative.

Personal Effects & Carrier Optimisation

Have two sets of particular items.

One for home and one for being on the road.

This would include toiletries, coffee kits, device chargers, cables, electronic accessories and computers.

If you decide you want to travel to a new place after having your morning coffee, you can quickly pack your carrier and get out the door quickly.

You won’t have to pack up your bathroom or your chargers and cables as everything will be packed already. Just add your clothes and you are good to go.

If you have the means, owning a desktop computer for your home and a laptop for travel is ideal.

This approach vastly reduces the time you spend packing and allows for quicker spontaneous travel.

I recommend MUJI pen cases for storing your electronic accessories as they have many different compartments that seem to fit everything perfectly.

Think modular as your multiple storage packs will fit much better into your carriers if they are all the same size.

When choosing your personal effects and carriers it is very much up to personal preference.

Use this as an opportunity to indulge your materialistic desires and express your personal style and aesthetic preference.

Your personal effects and everyday carry items should be minimal with a focus on design, aesthetics and functionality.

These items include smartphones, wallets, watches, lighters, flashlights, pens, notepads and multi tools.

Your carriers include backpacks, duffel bags, wheeled luggage, shoulder bags and camera bags.

I personally like leather backpacks, duffel bags, shoulder bags and luggage from a company called Trip machine as it can be attached to my motorcycle.

Think about multiple use cases and scenarios for the carriers that you buy.

Is it weather resistant or can I protect it from rain? Can it be attached to a motorcycle?

I suggest considering roll top backpacks instead of zipped backpacks because zips constantly break.

There are endless features to consider so assess what items you have at the moment and consider if you can improve on what you already have.

Type ‘everyday carry’ into the Youtube search bar and go down the rabbit hole of EDC optimisation.

There are many great creators there that review great products and make recommendations.

When it comes to clothes you can adopt the same approach of considering aesthetics, design and functionality while adopting a ‘minimal aesthetic quality materialism’ frame.

Categories Of Possessions

You want to keep this simple.

• Electronics

• Carriers

• EDC

• Toiletries

• Clothes

• Passions/Hobbies

Create a checklist

I have created a personal checklist of personal possessions that is tailored for a nomadic entrepreneurial lifestyle. You can download it here if you are interested and want some inspiration.

Otherwise it is a good idea to create your own and tick off the boxes as you acquire items.

Take action

It takes a long time to research and buy things. Too long if you are a busy entrepreneur.

Try and be efficient with your research and decision making.

Adopt a buy, hold and maintain mentality.

Acquire quality products that could last forever.

Adopt a mindset of ‘minimal aesthetic quality materialism’.

Enjoy the feel good hormone cocktail that gets triggered when you buy cool stuff.

Thankyou for reading, see you in the next issue.

-Shernon

P.S

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I recommend the services of Bullionstar in Singapore and Strategic Wealth Preservation (SWP Cayman) in the Cayman Islands.

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Thank-you for your support.

*Not to be construed as financial advice. This newsletter is for informational and entertainment purposes only. Please perform your own research when making financial decisions.

Cover photograph by Shernon Hague | Shibuya- Tokyo, Japan 2016 | 35mm film