For Kelly Foss, discovering minimalism meant discovering her authentic self. As the co-host of the Millennial Minimalists podcast, she’s fully embraced the minimalist lifestyle, freeing herself from unnecessary possessions and mental baggage in the process. Kelly loves to remind others that minimalism isn't just about getting rid of things - it's about clearing the clutter to focus on what truly brings you joy. Kelly's story is a powerful exploration of how letting go can lead to greater happiness and authenticity. In this intimate conversation, she talks about her personal journey to finding minimalism, how she challenged deeply ingrained beliefs about self-worth and success, the importance of allowing your professional motivations to change over time, and how she redefined what success meant to her.
For Kelly Foss, discovering minimalism meant discovering her authentic self. As the co-host of the Millennial Minimalists podcast, she’s fully embraced the minimalist lifestyle, freeing herself from unnecessary possessions and mental baggage in the process. Kelly loves to remind others that minimalism isn't just about getting rid of things - it's about clearing the clutter to focus on what truly brings you joy.
Kelly's story is a powerful exploration of how letting go can lead to greater happiness and authenticity. In this intimate conversation, she talks about her personal journey to finding minimalism, how she challenged deeply ingrained beliefs about self-worth and success, the importance of allowing your professional motivations to change over time, and how she redefined what success meant to her.
Listen to the Millennial Minimalists podcast.
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In this episode, we cover:
Quote of the Week:
“Everyone starts at a different time and moves at a different pace…you’ve gotta keep positive. You have to remind yourself about the small wins.” - Kelly Foss
Hosted by Katherin Vasilopoulos. Made by Cansulta and Ethan Lee.
Music by © Chris Zabriskie, published by You've Been a Wonderful Laugh Track (ASCAP).
Songs used in this episode include: "Air Hockey Saloon," "The House Glows (With Almost No Help)," "We Were Never Meant to Live Here," "Short Song 011923," "Short Song 030623," "Short Song 012123," "I'm About to Do the Second Hardest Thing I've Ever Done," "A New Day in a New Sector."
Used under the Creative Commons 4.0 International License
[00:00:00] Katherin Vasilopoulos: Hi, I'm Katherin Vasilopoulos. Starting my own venture wasn't easy.
After a decade working in the corporate world, I realized that so many things are out of my control, like layoffs and changes in direction. I didn't like the instability. I didn't want that to define my whole career at professional story, and so I left. I started my own company and achieved more than I ever imagined.
Now I'm on a mission to share stories from extraordinary entrepreneurs who are changing the world and who never gave up on their vision.
Throughout our lives, we tend to accumulate stuff. Hanging on to both physical possessions and internal baggage can halt our forward momentum as entrepreneurs, whether we realize it or not. But confronting the past can change our lives for the better. Kelly Foss has based her lifestyle around letting go of this stuff. Because Kelly is a minimalist.
As the co-host of the Millennial Minimalists podcast, embracing minimalism allowed Kelly to find her authentic self. As she often explains to others, minimalism isn't about throwing away all your furniture. It's about letting go of the unnecessary. Kelly lets go of the things that don't bring her happiness to better engage with the things that do. But finding the value in minimalism wasn't a simple process.
Along the way, she had to unlearn lessons she had internalized about discipline and self comparison. The motivations that drove Kelly to work hard changed multiple times, and on her journey, she realized just how deeply seated her beliefs were going all the way back to her time in elementary school. In this episode, Kelly talks about her journey towards minimalism, the experience of changing her definition of success, and how she developed a passion for sharing the value of minimalism with the world.
Hi, Kelly. Welcome to the podcast.
[00:02:05] Kelly Foss: Hi. Thank you so much for having me.
[00:02:07] Katherin Vasilopoulos: You're a podcast host. The name of your show is Millennial Minimalists, and I want you to tell me a little bit about what minimalism means to you and what the definition is for those of us who don't know a lot about it.
[00:02:19] Kelly Foss: Great.
This is a perfect way to start. I like to tell our listeners and anybody I come across in the world that minimalism is a lifestyle. It is an opportunity to live a simpler, more intentional life. I think when I come across most people, they say, oh, you know, you must not own a lot of stuff, and that's a misconception.
People think it's all about the things that you own. When it's much, much more than that, it goes much deeper. But to simply put, I like to say that it is a lifestyle template. It is an opportunity to start fresh. It is a clean slate. I describe it as removing the excess from your life so that you can focus on the things that are most important to you.
And there are so many forms of excess that we forget about. There's the physical excess, but there's also mental emotional. Spiritual, digital, relational. There's calendar clutter, there's a lot of areas of clutter, and the next step associated with this is, it's not only about removing that excess, but it's about what do you do with that newfound space that you gain once you remove that excess and that baggage that you've accumulated over time?
What are you gonna do with that newfound time, energy, and your attention? And so it challenges you to really step back and take time to reflect and figure out what are the things that you really want out of life that you aren't pursuing today.
[00:03:46] Katherin Vasilopoulos: You light up so much when you talk about it, and I'm very curious to know, what do people tell you when you ask them?
What have you made space for?
[00:03:54] Kelly Foss: You know what's amazing is that whenever I tell someone what I do, they say, oh, that's so fascinating, and they always have a story to share. Everyone can relate. They either tell me that they've just organized their closet, or they tell me that they have way too much stuff and they need my help.
Or they say, you know what? I actually have a lot of mental clutter. Some people are aware of that area of access, that it's invisible, right? So we don't know it's there. But something I love to tell people is that our physical clutter is a manifestation of our mental clutter in ways. So it's a part of what's happening inside.
It's, we're kind of avoiding, you know, our own issues or the things that we don't wanna confront by accumulating more. That's something that a lot of people deal with. It's something that my co-host and I continually have to work on, managing that mental excess. But we have our podcast Millennial Minimalists, and we inspire people to live a simple, more intentional life, and we inspire them to come on our journey with us.
You know, we are millennials and we are minimalists, but this lifestyle is imperfectly perfect, and it requires a lifelong maintenance. So it's not like you're just a minimalist and you declutter your closet and you're done. You know, there's excess coming into our lives all the time. It's continually coming in and out of our lives.
[00:05:11] Katherin Vasilopoulos: So yeah, it's an ongoing process. Yeah.
[00:05:13] Kelly Foss: That's right.
[00:05:13] Katherin Vasilopoulos: Yes. Yes. And, um, you were talking about the excesses. Um, I automatically think of hoarders and that could be a manifestation of maybe a void that's happening inside. So you have to surround yourself by stuff just to prove that you exist. And that's a huge thing.
People have accumulated things in their homes, in their apartments, in storage lockers cuz they can't let go. They think that those things define them.
[00:05:37] Kelly Foss: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And that's the scariest thing, you know, when you're defining yourself by your job title or the stuff you own. That's not healthy, right?
You wanna really figure out who you are, and that's what this lifestyle has done for me. It's not only helped me live closer to my values, but it's helped me pursue my goals, pursue my ambitions, and help me embrace my authentic self. It's helped me let go in a way where I can just be me. It's an amazing feeling, and that's something that a lot of our listeners have given us feedback saying, wow, like, I've been able to let go of all this stuff and I feel like myself again.
I don't care as much what people think of me. I'm proud of myself and I'm just gonna pursue this thing that maybe people will laugh at me, and maybe people will think that I'm not good enough to do X, but I'm gonna do it anyways.
[00:06:24] Katherin Vasilopoulos: Tell me more about the authentic self. What does that mean and how does that manifest in your life?
Because I don't know much about that.
[00:06:31] Kelly Foss: So I think in life in general, and this is before I'll go into my personal journey, we learn and we grow as the years go by, but at the same time, we're also collecting baggage over time. There's so much baggage, whether it's external or internal baggage. Maybe we're told that we're not good enough, or maybe we're told that we should pursue X career, when really deep inside that's not what we want.
But over time we have these moments where we realize, hey, these values or these learnings don't really apply to me today. So I think minimalism really challenges us. To unlearn certain ideas that we've collected over the years, and it challenges us to let go of those things, which is really difficult.
You have to face your fears.
[00:07:27] Katherin Vasilopoulos: I can imagine people who are just dragging the past into the present years, decades worth of messaging, ideas, false preconceptions, things that don't belong here anymore. I don't need to bring all this stuff from the past into the present and just leave some baggage behind. Otherwise, this trip, this voyage that we're on, it just gets really heavy.
I'm curious to know more about your own journey and how you got started. Like, tell me more about your education and then your first jobs in corporate and then how did you switch into this?
[00:07:58] Kelly Foss: I was thinking about my personal journey when we initially connected, and I wanna frame it like I just discussed about how we collect baggage over time, and that started in high school for me. So in my high school years, no, even in my elementary years, I was told that I should be put back a year because I had a learning disability. And at the time I was like, no, I don't. I wanna stay in with my friends. And so my mission was to prove my teachers wrong, which I did, but that was actually unhealthy, so I, became my goal to get the highest marks.
I was overworking. My parents would come to my room, this is in high school. They'd say, you gotta go to sleep. You can't keep working. I was determined, and it was because I was told in ways that I wasn't worthy or I wasn't good enough. So it lit a fire under me. That was my kind of a high school setback for me because it caused me to be shy.
It caused me to be afraid to put up my hand because I thought I would say the wrong thing, and it caused me to think, okay, well this is probably where I fall on the spectrum compared to my peers, so I won't be as successful as them. But it also made me think, okay, but maybe I can try. Maybe I have that grit to prove people wrong, but also prove myself.
And so in that journey, I ended up excelling in high school. But again, I don't think from a healthy perspective. Uh, then I went into university. I went to the University of Western Ontario. It was an amazing experience. I took a journalism program there, and while I was there, I realized I really, really enjoyed writing.
And in the summer months, I got the opportunity to pay for my education by modeling overseas. It was an amazing opportunity to see the world. I lived in Hong Kong and Tokyo and Los Angeles.
[00:09:44] Katherin Vasilopoulos: Oh, wow.
[00:09:45] Kelly Foss: It was just, yeah, it was an amazing experience. And I went from this shy girl to this girl with a newfound confidence, and I think it was all thanks to being able to travel the world, but also I didn't realize in that moment that I was actually my own boss.
And I started kind of learning how to run my own business. I was my own brand. Then after university, I realized I really wanted produce and write. I was passionate about sharing people's stories. And then I got a job in Toronto, a stable job with a Canadian broadcaster, and my parents, I would probably say the same thing if I were them.
They're like, Hey, this is a safe, comfy job. And I didn't like it and, but I did it. I learned that I wasn't using my skillset every day and people were leaving at 4:00 PM in the afternoon. I was the youngest in the office thinking, what am I doing? So I was so confused, so lost. And from there I ended up creating, actually, an opportunity at a Canadian airline. And it was in that moment, I was like, wow, you don't have to apply for jobs. You can actually pitch companies. And I created my own opportunity in content marketing and business development at a Canadian airline. And I honestly loved the role. I had an absolute blast.
I worked. So hard. I was so dedicated, and one day I arrived to work and I got let go, and I was completely heartbroken. And then a couple days later, I started getting angry inside and I thought to myself, wow, companies can just drop you like a hat. They can just drop you.
[00:11:20] Katherin Vasilopoulos: Mm-hmm.
[00:11:20] Kelly Foss: And in that moment I thought to myself, wow, maybe I can start being in charge of my direction.
Maybe I can start working for myself in some capacity. And so I started getting that idea in my head. At that point, I ended up realizing, or I ended up creating another opportunity that enabled me to be an entrepreneur within a company, and I was there for two years. It was a hospitality firm. I loved the company, I loved what I did for them.
And I ended up choosing to leave and I ended up choosing them leave, I think. So that was five years ago. I. And in that moment I was like, okay, this is a big risk. I'm leaving. This company's so great. But the reason why I ended up leaving is because as much as I loved it, I was so burnt out. And so I ended up leaving.
I was doing nothing but working on reflection, journaling. Figuring out what I want to do next. I ended up listening to this podcast by Tom Bilyeu, it's called Impact Theory. He invented Quest Nutrition Bars. I'm sure some of the listeners will know of him, but he has such an amazing personal development podcast, and that podcast really inspired me to realize that I need to take time to explore my interests and build a passion.
And in that experience, I also found minimalism. I started connecting more, spending time with my best friend Lauren, who's always lived with less. She's my co-host of the Millennium Minimalist podcast.
[00:12:48] Katherin Vasilopoulos: Mm-hmm. Okay.
[00:12:49] Kelly Foss: And she challenged me to declutter my closet. So I had time. I decluttered my closet and then I was like, wow, I love podcasting.
I love minimalism. I started really loving minimalism, and then from there, Lauren and I, Lauren was also in between jobs, and she goes, let's book a trip to Italy. So we booked a trip to Italy. And it was there that we recorded our first episode of our podcast in the fields of Florence, italy.
[00:13:13] Katherin Vasilopoulos: Magnificent.
Wow. I love the story. And what I find interesting is that you've been an entrepreneur since the beginning, in case you didn't know from the modeling to pitching a position to a major company. Not everyone knows to do that when they're younger. People just wait for a job description and I'm applying for a job, and if I meet the criteria, I get hired.
You didn't do that, you just went ahead and said, no, no. Let's bypass all that and I'll just go ahead and say what my idea is. At one point you said you were working for a broadcaster and you were dissatisfied. What was it about the job that you didn't like other than them not using all of your skills, but there must have been some other emotional dissatisfaction there. Can you tell me more about that?
[00:13:55] Kelly Foss: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Absolutely. So in that role, it was a role that required two deadlines a day. It was all computer work, all numbers. I was actually booking commercial spots within the broadcasters programming, and there wasn't much connecting with the salespeople.
I was just a booker. So I was just booking things in and. There were two deadlines, and I learned earlier in my life, in my high school years and in my university years, that I am successful when it comes to project management. So any project that was given to me, I would put my heart and soul into it, and I would get 103%.
But if it was an exam, exams were always a challenge for me, multiple choice. And so I saw it as a role where it's an exam, you have to meet the deadline on the day. It also wasn't creative and I felt like I was stuck to my chair and I felt like there was someone over my shoulder. And I know that so many listeners can relate to that feeling and that is just, ugh.
Some people can do that, but I could not do that. And I said, you know, I need to get outta here.
[00:15:00] Katherin Vasilopoulos: And there's a lack of motivation. At some point, you have to feel motivated to do the work that you love, and if you don't love the work, then there's maybe not enough motivation to keep going.
[00:15:10] Kelly Foss: When I ended up creating my own opportunity, it was because I applied for so many jobs and nobody was getting back to me.
[00:15:17] Katherin Vasilopoulos: Mm-hmm.
[00:15:17] Kelly Foss: There was such high competition that I ended up going to any networking event I could find. I created my own business cards and I gave a business card to this specific CEO of this airline, and he took two and a half months to email me. But he did. You never know. Just try. Just keep going.
[00:15:35] Katherin Vasilopoulos: Yes.
[00:15:36] Kelly Foss: And it's stories like that that keep me motivated. And you know what also keeps me motivated when I see my peers. I have a lot of friends who are entrepreneurs, quite successful entrepreneurs, and they always tell me, you know, if I can do it, you can do it. As you said, keeping motivated. How I keep motivated is I call a friend every single day.
I try to do something related to social, whether that is I calling a friend, seeing that friend in person or exercising with a group of people. I just need a sense of community every day. Cuz if I don't have that, I get too much in my head. So we all have our issues.
[00:16:16] Katherin Vasilopoulos: It's a good summary. It's, it's a combination of community, discipline and motivation.
Those three things really are the positives in being an entrepreneur and a business owner. And if you don't do those, then the balance starts to skew and it's not fun, and you start to maybe burn out a little bit. I can imagine that there are many moments where you feel alone or overwhelmed. Describe a little bit, maybe a moment in your life where you felt burned out.
What did that look like?
[00:16:43] Kelly Foss: Well, I was burnt out at that hospitality firm that I worked at, but I was also excelling in that role.
[00:16:51] Katherin Vasilopoulos: Mm-hmm.
[00:16:51] Kelly Foss: I remember my boss coming up to me and saying, you're my best hire. That made me feel so good.
[00:16:55] Katherin Vasilopoulos: That's good validation. Yeah.
[00:16:57] Kelly Foss: Yeah. I was like really nice to hear some validation that I was doing good work.
Cause you don't really hear that often. I work with people today and I am always giving them that because that's what I would want intern.
[00:17:16] Katherin Vasilopoulos: But I can imagine that sometimes you don't like the job that you're doing, but you get high praise for it. It's hard to leave because you know, on the one hand you know that that person thinks you're doing a good job and you're needed, and your skills are valued, but it's still not the right match or something else is missing.
[00:17:34] Kelly Foss: Okay. I love that you mentioned this. You know, a lot of people have the golden handcuffs.
[00:17:38] Katherin Vasilopoulos: Mm-hmm.
[00:17:38] Kelly Foss: Right?
[00:17:39] Katherin Vasilopoulos: Mm-hmm.
[00:17:40] Kelly Foss: They're like, oh, and I'm feel comfortable. And also, you know, I'm speaking as someone who doesn't have children, and so I always try to keep that in mind. Some people, they have dependence or they have a parent that they're looking after, so I always keep that in mind on the podcast, but there's always room to make space to kind of figure out what is missing from your life, what you're not doing that would make you happy. At the end of the day, I always say it's worth the risk and sometimes we can't take the risk fully. We can't just leave our jobs because we have to look after certain people
[00:18:10] Katherin Vasilopoulos: Right.
[00:18:11] Kelly Foss: And ourselves.
[00:18:11] Katherin Vasilopoulos: Right.
[00:18:12] Kelly Foss: But I was able to make this shift because I had another opportunity on the side that helped facilitate the podcast. So I also manage a run in support of 25 charities in Toronto, and so I direct a race and it's super, super fulfilling and it makes me feel great cause I'm helping the community, but at the same time it's helping me focus on my passion.
I'm actually getting closer to that point where I'm almost ready to do my podcast and all the things that we do with the podcast full-time. And it's exciting, but it's not overnight. It doesn't work that way.
[00:18:48] Katherin Vasilopoulos: No, it's never an overnight thing. Did you ever feel like you were being compared to other people and how did that affect you?
[00:18:56] Kelly Foss: I still feel that way.
[00:18:58] Katherin Vasilopoulos: Mm-hmm.
[00:18:59] Kelly Foss: I definitely find myself getting stuck in the comparison game. The comparison trap. I always remind myself, and I always remind my listeners that everyone starts at a different time and moves at a different pace. My grandfather, he was 93. He says, here's some words for you, Kelly.
He's like, I gotta remind you that everyone has a different timeline for things, so don't worry. You know, maybe that person who's five years ahead of you on something is gonna have a family. Then the next five years is gonna be focused on family, and then you're gonna be focused on this. It doesn't really matter.
Your biggest competition is yourself. I'm sure you've heard that before.
[00:19:37] Katherin Vasilopoulos: Mm-hmm. Right.
[00:19:37] Kelly Foss: I try to remind myself that, and you know, something that I always deal with is self doubt. I think most people who are working for themselves deal with that and feeling like, oh, can I do this? Can I? But you can. You've gotta keep positive.
You have to remind yourself about the small wins. You have to also celebrate the small wins. That's something that my co-host and I don't do enough of, and we've recently talked about that. We're like, there's some wins here. We should celebrate. We get so many beautiful messages from our listeners especially, and that is what keeps us motivated.
That is probably my biggest motivator. It's also very emotional. It's not just, Hey, you've helped me clear my space and I have more clarity when I walk in my door. At the end of the day, it's, oh my gosh, you helped me get rid of the clutter so that I could move and live a life that I really, really wanted.
[00:20:29] Katherin Vasilopoulos: I agree. I heard once, not just recently, someone say that at the end of the day. When they pray, they don't just pray. They actually go back and say, What went right today? And it could be that little moment of, I found a little tiny win in my day that I'm going to remember tonight before going to bed.
Instead of just sitting there going, please send me something else. Please. Whatever people pray for, it's actually being thankful and having that gratitude of like, at least one good thing happened today and it's a win. And I will remember that and keep it under my belt. And it could be a simple thing like, I finished my billing today.
[00:21:05] Kelly Foss: Mm-hmm.
[00:21:05] Katherin Vasilopoulos: Or I was able to pick up the phone and do one cold call to a client that I'm terrified of. But tell me about what's so emotional when people tell you, oh my God, you helped me clarify something or clear out some stuff in my life.
[00:21:17] Kelly Foss: Well, the process of letting go of certain things, certain memories that they have that they are not getting rid of, that is the emotional process.
It's the physical things usually in their home where they're like, oh, but this sparks a memory and I really need this. But I always say, let's say someone's partner passed, or a parent passed. You don't need to keep all their stuff. I suggest keeping a few items that are meaningful to you or useful to you, that will spark memories and that usually works.
Definitely works, but it takes time to figure out what are those things that you wanna keep. I wanna add, when we talk about the struggle as an entrepreneur working on our own, And sometimes feeling like we're not accomplishing anything, like we need to identify, oh, I'm grateful for finishing X. You know, as you said, you know, billing for the day.
I highly recommend keeping a bullet journal. It's a way of recording your daily tasks.
[00:22:13] Katherin Vasilopoulos: Yes, yes. The bullet journal.
[00:22:15] Kelly Foss: You've heard of it, okay.
[00:22:16] Katherin Vasilopoulos: Of course, yes.
[00:22:17] Kelly Foss: So anybody listening, Google the bullet journal method, by Ryder Carroll. It's incredible. And basically I'm able to write down usually around four to five notes every day of the things that I wanna accomplish.
Just the process of physically crossing it out just makes me think, okay, yep, I have accomplished something today. Because sometimes working for yourself, you look in front of the computer like. What did I do today? I didn't accomplish anything. And then now you have proof. Yes, it's great.
[00:22:45] Katherin Vasilopoulos: Because you could work eight hours and everything goes out into the vacuum.
You're like, what did I do? I have to look in my scent items sometimes to remember, oh yeah, I sent this thing. I sent that thing. This is what I did today. Otherwise, it just becomes a big mishmash of virtual things. And then at the end of the day, you're thinking, what did I just do?
[00:23:00] Kelly Foss: Yeah.
[00:23:01] Katherin Vasilopoulos: How do you process your emotions of letting go of things and what are some experiences that you've had where you've had to let go of things?
[00:23:09] Kelly Foss: I grew up in a family that loves their stuff, so I accumulate quite a bit of stuff. When I moved into my first apartment, it was like, oh yeah, I need this and this and this and this. And then over time you realize, I. Oh, I don't need magnets on my fridge. I don't need those extra carpets in my bathroom. I don't need all these knickknacks around the living room.
And I was like, wow. I feel a sense of calm in my place. I mean, if you walk to my place, you'd be like, oh, it's really nice. It enables me to focus because there isn't excess stuff in here. And when it comes to mental clutter, my co-host and I, we both have therapists that we speak to, and it has been life changing for me.
I think that therapy is something that is more popular these days. The Gen Z generation, that's more like, oh, you don't have a therapist.
[00:23:55] Katherin Vasilopoulos: Mm-hmm.
[00:23:55] Kelly Foss: Whereas millennials are like, you have a therapist. Why? But no, it's good. I think that everyone deserves a fly on the wall, even when there are days where I'm like, I don't even know what to talk about today, cuz I feel good.
And then all this stuff starts pouring out and you're like, wow, okay. I had a lot in there that I wasn't aware of, and so that process has really helped me. But I would honestly say just running the podcast itself has helped me so much because it helps me do the personal development, the work for myself.
At the same time I'm helping my listeners. It's incredible.
[00:24:26] Katherin Vasilopoulos: I totally agree. And I keep saying that this becomes a therapy session every week, an hour of talking about a theme or multiple themes that we kind of have tucked away in the back of our minds, and then it comes out and you start to realize, oh, I'm not the only one who thinks this.
What did you let go of emotionally? As a minimalist, because that's the deeper conversation. Like stuff is one thing, but what's going on inside? What did you have to let go of?
[00:24:52] Kelly Foss: I think that I'm continually letting go of this. It is. Probably, I've probably had maybe now 12 sessions with my therapist and I uncover that.
I definitely have this unworthiness wound, not feeling worthy of success. It's definitely still a part of my psyche, but I've definitely worked through that to the point where I do have this confidence. I do know that I can do what I wanna do, I can excel. I do have this motivation, but there's still something in the back of my head.
That is still there saying you're not worthy, and it's something that I'm continually working on.
[00:25:30] Katherin Vasilopoulos: Do you know where it comes from? Go back way back in the past and what happened?
[00:25:35] Kelly Foss: It was actually in grade one. I was told I should be put back a year and then I was told again in grade seven. It happened twice.
And I proved them wrong by working hard.
[00:25:45] Katherin Vasilopoulos: Good girl.
[00:25:45] Kelly Foss: And again, probably not the healthiest way to do it, but it helped light a fire in me, and I think it's what made me the ambitious person I am today. So I'm actually quite grateful for those experiences. I'm actually happy those things happened to me, and that's why I'm starting to realize, no, I am worthy and I need to start telling myself that a little bit more.
And that's something that my therapist continually tells me. You gotta realize you are worthy. You are worthy, you are worthy. You have to tell yourself this. And you know what? One of the ways that helps me kind of realize this is by not only pursuing my ambitions, but by also turning outwards. You know, I always say that this lifestyle improves our lives in five ways.
It helps us let go of clutter, whether that be internal or external clutter. It helps us live with greater intentions so that we can be more mindful of how we spend our time. It helps us embrace our authentic selves. When we let go, we can begin to focus on investing in the asset that is ourselves rather than stop excess things that are fleeting, helps us follow our curiosities and pursue our goals.
And it helps us turn outwards. It helps us help others.
[00:26:55] Katherin Vasilopoulos: It validates their need to step outside of what they're currently doing and really pursue a passion. Cause you're not here forever. You're here for a short time. So maximize your time and do what makes you happy. Walk away from the things that don't work.
[00:27:08] Kelly Foss: Mm-hmm.
[00:27:09] Katherin Vasilopoulos: And I want to go back to your point about you took something that was said to you and you turn it into a positive. And I think when people go through adversity, especially at a younger age, it helps light the fire under their butt and saying, you know what? I'm gonna prove you wrong just because you said that it's the truth doesn't make it my truth.
That's a big thing for me right now is to let go of whatever people said about me way in the past and not let the opinion of a teacher or an eight-year-old or anyone else shape who I am today. And that's a, I guess, a part of the minimalism journey that you've been talking about. So thank you for echoing that.
It's very validating for me.
[00:27:47] Kelly Foss: No, definitely actually, uh, The Minimalists, they're two guys who left their corporate jobs to pursue this blog that blew up. Now they have the podcast, The Minimalists, they're friends of ours.
[00:27:55] Katherin Vasilopoulos: Mm-hmm.
[00:27:56] Kelly Foss: And one of them, TK Coleman, he says that minimalism isn't so much about things.
Minimalism is about the baggage we have accumulated over time that gets in the way of us being our true selves. So I'm glad that you're recognizing that.
[00:28:09] Katherin Vasilopoulos: Yes.
[00:28:09] Kelly Foss: That we need to let go of and I love that message because most people think it's just about things when it's just so much deeper. It is a lifestyle.
It is a way to help you unlearn and let go.
[00:28:22] Katherin Vasilopoulos: Can we talk about how you feel when you're, you know, you're kind of out of your comfort zone. What does that feel like?
[00:28:30] Kelly Foss: Hmm. So you know what? When I'm outside of my comfort zone, I think the first thing that comes to my mind is finances. I am a big saver. I grew up in a family where it's like you save, save, save, save, and you're very intentional with your money.
But I've also learned that in business you also have to spend money to make money and to grow. And so it's that investment piece. I think that's a little bit scary for me. I would say that I guess I'm so focused in this comfort zone and I'm getting a lot of work done that I don't feel the need to do those things yet.
So, but I think what's holding me back is the financial aspect. Also fear that maybe I'm not ready. Even though inside I kind of know that I'm ready. I've never felt more ready. I'll never forget Katherin, I had an interview with CBC Television about minimalism five years ago, a month into the podcast.
It was crazy. We just started the podcast and we had all these listeners right off the bat organically. It just happened. We were so lucky and they interviewed me about minimalism, and I remember being so nervous.
[00:29:38] Katherin Vasilopoulos: Mm-hmm.
[00:29:38] Kelly Foss: I was so nervous. I had my notes out and now I'm like, wow, this is a lifestyle, and it just flows off my tongue now because I'm living and breathing it every single day.
So I am ready. So I appreciate that question because you're making me realize that that's what's holding me back.
[00:29:57] Katherin Vasilopoulos: It is. It's all in our heads, right?
[00:29:59] Kelly Foss: Yeah.
[00:29:59] Katherin Vasilopoulos: And you know, when you're in the comfort zone, to me it feels like you're just on a boat, on a very even keeled ocean. Nothing much is happening. It's when you're out of the comfort zone that you start to feel queasy, you start to feel uncomfortable in like physically and even mentally. And that's when you know you're outta the comfort zone. And when you start to feel that, well, you have to evaluate the risk and benefit, and it happens as a business owner, but it also happens on a personal basis when you put yourself in situations socially that you're not comfortable in.
But then one day you have to tell yourself, I need to push myself and try to feel uncomfortable and try to step out of the comfort zone. And then what's that saying? Um, Uh, life starts at the end of your comfort zone, like the minute you-
[00:30:46] Kelly Foss: Oh yeah. No, honestly, like. When, when you're speaking right now, all I'm thinking about is every time I have exited this comfort zone, I have felt better and I feel alive.
I always feel alive after every experience that I have outside of my comfort zone. My life has been very much up and down. Up and down, up and up, up and down.
[00:31:06] Katherin Vasilopoulos: Mm-hmm.
[00:31:06] Kelly Foss: But I love that. I always say I prefer that than an even-keeled line. I rather take those risks in life because it's worth taking that risk, because I know in my late forties and fifties, I'm going to regret it.
That being said, whether you're in your forties or fifties, I know so many successful people who have started businesses at that age, so...
[00:31:26] Katherin Vasilopoulos: It's never too late.
[00:31:27] Kelly Foss: That's another thing.
[00:31:27] Katherin Vasilopoulos: That's another thing. It's never too late.
[00:31:29] Kelly Foss: Never too late, and my favorite quote ever is by Greg McEwen. He says, when you focus on what you lack, you lose what you have.
And when you focus on what you have, you gain what you lack. So keep focus on what you have. Take those risks. And you'll gain what you lack.
[00:31:44] Katherin Vasilopoulos: Yes.
[00:31:44] Kelly Foss: It's such a beautiful thing.
[00:31:45] Katherin Vasilopoulos: Yes, yes, yes.
[00:31:46] Kelly Foss: I, do you have that story yourself? Do you remember doing something like that?
[00:31:50] Katherin Vasilopoulos: Yes, yes. I was on the board of directors of an international organization and had to go to the States and present in front of a bunch of Americans, and it's terrifying as a Canadian. I was able to do it year after year in our annual meetings and I thought, I can do this. This is not so scary.
[00:32:05] Kelly Foss: And even if we fail in that process, that's okay. My interview with TK Coleman at The Minimalist, he shared how the purpose for following a dream isn't that we might get everything we want, but rather that we will get to become a superior version of ourselves in spite of the failures that happen along the way.
[00:32:23] Katherin Vasilopoulos: Mm.
[00:32:23] Kelly Foss: It's so true. Even if we fail, we're still growing. So for example, I have tried Los Angeles, I admit, twice already. And I saw it as, you know, I go there and I fail, and then I come back and originally I saw Toronto as a place where you come back when you fail. I don't see that that way anymore. I see those experiences as growth experiences.
So it's honestly, as you say, what's holding you back? You don't grow in your comfort zone as we know, and so you gotta keep taking those risks. But you also have to be mindful about those risks that you're taking. You know, I remember I was in my early twenties when I was taking these risks, and now I'm in my thirties and I have more responsibilities, and so I can't just get up and go all the time.
But if you sit down and you're mindful about this approach, you can make it happen.
[00:33:14] Katherin Vasilopoulos: I am so thankful to Kelly Foss for being our guest today. You can give the Millennial Minimalists podcast listen by clicking the link in the episode description. If you enjoyed this episode, please let us know. We would love it if you shared what you liked in a review no matter where you listen. And So, She Left is made by Cansulta and Ethan Lee.
We'll be back next Wednesday with a new episode. Our music is by Chris Zabriskie, edited for your enjoyment. You can find a list of all the songs you heard here in the episode notes. I'm Katherin Vasilopoulos, and thanks for listening.