Then, in late 2009, my mother died and my marriage ended in the same month. I looked around at everything that had become my life’s focus and realized that I was most focused on accumulation and so-called success.

A month later, on Twitter, I stumbled across minimalism and found an entire community of people who were living more deliberate, meaningful lives with less stuff.

Ryan Nicodemus: In 2010, I noticed a change in Josh. He was happy for the first time in a long time. But I didn’t understand why. We have known each other since we were fat little fifth graders, and we had climbed the corporate ladder together throughout our twenties. Up until 2010 he had been just as discontented as me. To boot, two of the most difficult events of his life had just happened: his mother’s death and the end of his marriage. He wasn’t supposed to be happy. And he definitely wasn’t supposed to be happier than me.

So I took him to lunch one day and asked him a question: Why the hell are you so happy lately? He told me about something called minimalism. He talked about how he’d spent the last eight months simplifying his life, getting the clutter out of the way to make room for what’s truly important. Then he introduced me to an entire online community of people who had done the same thing.

Can you elaborate on what minimalism is? What is the community like? How the movement has evolved over time?

RN: First, Josh showed me this guy named Colin Wright. He was this 25-year-old entrepreneur who traveled to a new country every four months, carrying with him everything that he owned. Then there was Joshua Becker, a 36-year-old husband and father of two, with a full-time job and a car and a house in the suburbs. And Courtney Carver, a 40-year-old wife and mother to a teenage daughter in Salt Lake City. Finally he introduced me to Leo Babauta, a 38-year-old husband and father of six (!) in San Francisco.

Although all these people were living considerably different lives—people with families or varying work situations—I noticed that they all shared at least two things in common: First, they were passionate and purpose-driven; they seemed much richer than any of the so-called “rich” guys I worked with in the corporate world. Second, they all attributed their more meaningful lives to this lifestyle they called minimalism.

JFM: Minimalism is a lifestyle that helps people question what things add value to their lives. By clearing the clutter from life’s path, we can all make room for the most important aspects of life: health, relationships, passion, growth, and contribution.

As Ryan stated above, there are many flavors of minimalism: a 20-year-old single guy’s minimalist lifestyle looks different from a 40-year-old with six kids. Even though everyone embraces minimalism differently, each path leads to the same place: a life with more freedom.