“We don’t need to increase our goods nearly as much as we need to scale down our wants. Not wanting something is as good as possessing it.” –Donald Horban

In life, it’s easy to get caught up in all the things we want. But what happens when our wants outpace the resources we actually have?

In business, there are two ways to improve the bottom line: Either increase revenue, or decrease expenses. It doesn’t matter whether I bring in 20% more in sales, or I cut costs by 20%. The net result is the same.

The same principle applies to our desires. We can either continue to chase after more, or we can learn to want less.

When we already have something, we no longer want it—which is the equivalent of not wanting it to begin with. Both roads lead to the same end. The difference is that not wanting it requires no time, energy, or stress to get there.