Markus Almond Quotes

In the past, being successful meant working hard and being smart.  In the future, success will be the ability to ignore advertisements and to disconnect from social media long enough to actually create something of value.  If you believe in yourself, if you cultivate focus, you will arrive at the finish line of self-sufficiency and abundance.

Minimalism isn’t about getting rid of your stuff, it’s about focusing on the things you love about life.

I’m confused about the part of life where everyone goes out all the time and has sex with each other and dances until 4am and then the part where everyone picks a life partner and tries to have children, gets real jobs and never goes out again.  It seems like an unreasonable transition.

Please take the status quo with a grain of salt and be brave enough to make your own way.

You don’t get many second chances in this world.  Don’t turn your back on them.  You don’t get many true loves.  Embrace the ones in your life and set your fears aside.  You only get two parents.  Forgive them.  Not every business in this country will willingly hand you a paycheck.  Do your work with presence.  And if the stars align and the heavens deem your art acceptable enough for an audience, love every new friend and never put ads on your website.

Start small first.  Donate the clothes that don’t fit you anymore.  Make yourself a promise to empty a drawer today.  Once you start to gain momentum, you’ll find that minimizing your belongings can provide a great spiritual relief.

Eliminate things that don’t add value to your life.

Never forget that the pressures of modern life are only a manmade game.  You can take a break whenever you wish.  It isn’t necessary to stress yourself to the level of those around you.  Take nothing as seriously as your universal right to seek peace.

The key to success is running towards what you’re scared of – that and being so full of shit that you have no plan B.

I hope there is a heaven.  Because I don’t think I could handle emptiness without you.

It’s a good night as long as you can gaze across the table at each other and the card at the bar hasn’t been declined.

If you need no recognition and no serious bank account, you can do whatever you love to do, every day for the rest of your life.

I’m really not interested in aging.

Don’t reward yourself.  The change is its own reward.  If you see your efforts as something that needs to be rewarded, you’re not seeing things correctly.

This moment won’t last long.  I know it’s easy to be focused on the future.  But this moment is all there is.  The opportunity for change may only be available today.

There is an ocean of peace and strength in your chest.  Deep breaths will set you free.

One of the most appealing things about being rich is having all your needs met.  But there is a loop-hole to this.  If you can diminish your wants and live on less, you’re just as powerful as the asshole in the Valentino suit.  The only difference is that he is working 60 hour weeks, and you don’t have to worry about staining your slacks when you sit on the beach.

To my surprise and smiling, tearing, eyes, I’ve found that this is by far the best time to be alive.  We can have it all.  Happiness and autonomy.  Financial stability and free time.  It’s all right there if we perfect our skills and create something of value.  The only thing left to do is take whatever it is that keeps you up at night and perfect it until it’s an undeniable force.

Keep people who inspire you in your life. Seek teachers and study great artist. No matter how talented or gifted you are you've had a long line of great people come before you. Learn from them.

The orca's fin collapses while held in captivity and the human soul is no different.

There was a time when you and I were a couple of firecrackers.  We were going to be together forever and make the rest of the universe jealous.  We had lightning in a bottle and cut our hands on the glass before we could even find the cap.

Will power is finite.  Use it wisely.

Welcome to the world.  You will hurt the people you love the most.  You will say stupid things and embarrass yourself repeatedly.  You will crash your car and lose your wallet before the bill comes.  You will get sick, sad and lonely.  You’ll oversleep on the day of the big meeting.  But there are wonderful things in this world too.  And the dumb mistakes that make us human are just a sneeze on your wedding day.  They are just one bad peanut in a Payday bar.  They are just a stubbed toe on the way to the best sex of your life.

The most valuable lessons we will ever learn are the ones that happen after we fall flat on our faces without anyone around to catch us.

Learning to fail is an important part of success.  I’d like everyone reading this to fail at something.  Get out there and try the impossible.  Set your sights high and do something that you’re almost certain is beyond your skill level.  Call the girl.  Meet with a millionaire.  Pitch your art project to a retail store.  Negotiate a large salary increase.  Push yourself to accomplish something enormous.  You may fail a hundred times.  But it only takes one success to completely change your life.

She left town and what do you do when part of your soul leaves town.  Most people just ignore it.  Others have a good cry and make an honest attempt to get better.  And a very select few, the weird ones, try to re-create that missing piece with drugs and music and mindless sex and throwing everything else away.

Will power should be thought of as a renewable energy.  It should be used selectively and given the opportunity to replenish itself.

There is an illusion that has swept and become ingrained in American culture.  The illusion is that we need things and income to be happy.  This illusion is in front of us every day in the form of advertisements and peer pressure to earn and consume.  This illusion is doing our souls and hearts a great disservice and it’s time to take a step back and reevaluate.  It’s time to take a stand and enjoy the meaningful things in life.

Quit everything in your mind and piece your life back together one thing at a time.

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”  -Leonardo da Vinci

The way we spend our days determines how we live our lives and ultimately what we’ll be remembered for.

You know that scene in every shoot-em-up movie where the hero is shot in the gut and bleeding all over the floors?  He makes it through the last 20 minutes of the movie like that – shooting up bad guys with one hand and holding his gut with the other.  Life is a lot like that.  We’ve all got our own problems - health problems, money problems, love problems, fears, insecurities, a brutal past that tries to haunt us.  But we can’t be paralyzed by that stuff.  We’ve got to save the day even if we bleed on the floors.