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Simplicity Quotes

Simplicity is often misunderstood as a lack of substance or an absence of complexity, but in reality, it is the most refined form of clarity and focus.

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."
Leonardo da Vinci
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Source: Inspired by: Art and Design Principles

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"Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants."
Epictetus
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Source: Book: Enchiridion

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"The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak."
Hans Hofmann
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Source: Inspired by: Art and Expression

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"If you have to buy stuff to store your stuff, you might have too much stuff."
Courtney Carver
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Source: Blog: Be More with Less

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"Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple."
Steve Jobs
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Source: Interview: BusinessWeek, 1998

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"I have made this longer than usual because I have not had time to make it shorter."
Blaise Pascal
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Source: Letter: Lettres Provinciales

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"Genius might be the ability to say a profound thing in a simple way."
Charles Bukowski
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Source: Poem: The Genius

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"Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself in your way of thinking."
Marcus Aurelius
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Source: Book: Meditations, Book VII

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"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
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Source: Book: Wind, Sand and Stars

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"Minimalism is a tool that lets us focus on what's really important so we can find happiness."
Fumio Sasaki
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Source: Book: Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism

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"The more you know, the less you need."
Naval Ravikant
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Source: Social Post: Twitter @naval

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"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."
Albert Einstein
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Source: Lecture: On the Method of Theoretical Physics (1933)

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"Nothing is more simple than greatness; indeed, to be simple is to be great."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Source: Essay: Literary Ethics

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"Our life is frittered away by detail... simplify, simplify."
Henry David Thoreau
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Source: Inspired by: Walden

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"Essentialism is not about how to get more things done; it's about how to get the right things done."
Greg McKeown
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Source: Book: Essentialism

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"The easiest way to get what you want is to want less."
Seth Godin
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Source: Blog: Seth's Blog

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"Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated."
Confucius
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Source: Book: The Analects

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"The most effective way to live is to simplify your habits and focus on the systems that matter."
James Clear
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Source: Newsletter: 3-2-1 Thursday

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"There is more to life than increasing its speed."
Mahatma Gandhi
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Source: Speech: Address to the Guildhall 1931

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"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius to move in the opposite direction."
E.F. Schumacher
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Source: Book: Small Is Beautiful

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"It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, who is poor."
Seneca
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Source: Letter: Letters from a Stoic

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"The more things we desire, the more we have to work for them, and the less time we have for what matters."
ryan holiday
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Source: Book: Stillness Is the Key

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"It's not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential."
Bruce Lee
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Source: Book: Tao of Jeet Kune Do

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"Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."
William Morris
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Source: Lecture: The Beauty of Life

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"Out of intense complexities, intense simplicities emerge."
Winston Churchill
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Source: Speech: To the House of Commons

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"The first step in crafting the life you want is to get rid of everything you don't."
Joshua Becker
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Source: Blog: Becoming Minimalist

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"I don't look to jump over 7-foot bars: I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over."
Warren Buffett
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Source: Book: The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life

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"Simplicity of character is no hindrance to subtlety of intellect."
George Bernard Shaw
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Source: Play: Back to Methuselah

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"Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things."
Peter Drucker
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Source: Book: The Effective Executive

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"I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures."
Lao Tzu
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Source: Book: Tao Te Ching

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"If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough."
Richard Feynman
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Source: Biography: Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman

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"Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious and adding the meaningful."
John Maeda
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Source: Inspired by: Design and Innovation

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"There is no greatness where there is not simplicity, goodness, and truth."
Leo Tolstoy
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Source: Book: War and Peace

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"Live simply so that others may simply live."
Mahatma Gandhi
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Source: Speech: Address at Guildhall

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"I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there."
Richard Feynman
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Source: Letter: To unknown recipient regarding his worldview

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Why these quotes matter

Simplicity reduces the cognitive load that leads to decision fatigue and chronic stress. By focusing on the essential, we regain our time and energy for meaningful pursuits and deeper relationships.

How to apply them daily

Start by auditing your daily commitments and physical belongings, removing one thing that doesn't add value. Practice saying no to distractions to protect your mental space and improve focus.

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"Embracing simplicity is a lifelong journey toward clarity, offering a sustainable path to peace in an increasingly chaotic world."