She has written three sequels: Inner Simplicity: 100 Ways to Regain Peace and Nourish Your Soul (Hyperion, 1995), Living the Simple Life: A Guide to Scaling Down and Enjoying More (Hyperion, 1996), and Simplifying Your Life with Kids: 100 Ways to Make Family Life Easier and More Fun (Andrews & McMeel, 1997). Simplify Your Life: 100 Ways to Slow Down and Enjoy the Things That Really Matter is now in its 26th printing. Hyperion published her first book on the topic four years ago. She left real estate to build a career around her new passion. It became a way of life – and a way to make a living. James, simplicity wasn’t just a way to live. “It’s hard to put a price tag on that much time.”įor St. “We’ve each created an extra 30 hours per week,” she says. Over time, these small steps added up to a big change. They moved across the country, into a house that was easier to maintain and just minutes from her husband’s office. She and her husband got rid of material possessions – books, equipment, furniture – that cluttered their home but added little to their lives. James vowed to work one hour less per day. Why did she tolerate such misplaced priorities? Because she was so busy living her life that “it was impossible to imagine anything different.” Slowly, though, things began to change. Her husband, who loved his job, spent four hours a day commuting to it – so they could live in that burdensome home.
Her sprawling country home, which required countless hours of upkeep, felt like a burden rather than a blessing. She wasn’t really satisfied in the real-estate business – even though she worked at it 10 to 12 hours a day. She also ran a thriving seminar business and was the author of a popular book on real-estate investing. Back in 1990, she was a high-powered real-estate investor with properties in southern California and Connecticut.