It’s not often that you read a great book written by a dishwasher.
But Glen Van Peski – who works part-time at the Sparrow Bakery in Bend, Oregon – is not your usual pot scrubber.
Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Glen on extended hiking trips, most recently across Tuscany and along Austria’s Alpe Adria Trail.
Glen has hiked most of the Pacific Crest Trail and wandered much of the backcountry in Europe and Japan. (As J.R.R. Tolkien said, “Not all who wander are lost.”)
He has been featured in Backpacker, Outside, and National Geographic Adventure magazines and The New York Times.
He is an internationally sought-after speaker.
Best known by his trail name “Legend,” he also founded a successful company that manufactures ultralight backpacking equipment.
But these days, when he is not hiking, biking, socializing, or brushing up on his French, Italian, German, and Japanese, you will generally find him down at the Sparrow, reading the Wall Street Journal… or washing dishes.
I promise that you will be entertained by Glen’s many adventures in his book take less. do more.
The book is partly about the pleasures of traveling through some of the most scenic places on earth.
It’s also about founding and running a successful company, Gossamer Gear.
(An idea that had its genesis in a grueling boy scout trip with his 13-year-old son – and a 72-pound backpack.)
It’s about Glen’s personal challenges, failures, and triumphs.
But the best part, for me, is his philosophy of life, revealed on virtually every page.
As Whole Foods founder John Mackey writes in the Foreword…
Glen is a firm believer that subtraction rather than addition would serve most people better. He has successfully applied his ultralight principles to the totality of his life and rediscovered a very old philosophical principle: the simple life is a good life. By uncluttering our lives, we can have a more fulfilling existence.
The book is full of practical advice… and timeless wisdom.
In take less. do more, you will hear Glen’s insights on…
- Kindness: “The wild is a great leveler… Generosity can be transformative if not life saving.”
- Contemplation: “When walking long distances, the mind can wander and flit about.”
- Minimalism: “It’s not about owning the fewest number of things possible but rather owning the right amount of things so we can focus on the priorities we’ve set for our lives.”
- Spending: “I try to purchase what is high quality and will last and spend my money on experiences rather than things.”
- Luck: “We always look at what we don’t have and seldom stop to inventory all the ways our lives have been touched by good fortune and grace.”
- Humility: “Being in the majesty of the wilderness reminds me how small I am.”
- Priorities: “My goals remain consistent: to embrace those elements of my life that feed my greatest wishes and passions and to reduce anything that is a distraction from them.”
- Gratitude: “It takes daily practice. It’s like a muscle that must be worked or it will atrophy.”
- Charity: “When my wife and I begin to feel too comfortable with the amount we’re giving, we increase the percentage.”
- Perfection: “It is attained not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to remove.”
It’s not easy to live a less materialistic life these days.
Glen notes that movies, television, social media and daily advertisements continually suggest that 1) everyone else has this thing we lack and 2) our lives would be so much better if we had it too.
That’s a better recipe for personal bankruptcy than personal happiness.
Envy doesn’t just make it difficult to meet your most important investment goals.
It leads to feelings of bitterness and resentment rather than abundance and gratitude. And that’s an awfully high price to pay.
Like most of us, Glen has had plenty of ups and downs in his life.
Yet he reminds readers that failure can be a blessing in disguise. It increases resilience, hones problem-solving skills, enhances creativity, and allows us to better recognize our own strengths and weaknesses.
Perhaps the best thing Glen shares is his sense of perspective.
He argues that we all have two stories in our lives: a good one and a bad one.
And we get to choose which one to focus on.
For example, Glen grew up a nervous, anxious kid who was traumatized by his parents’ divorce. He was not popular in school and didn’t have many friends. He almost died in a plane crash that killed the pilot. His son Derek was born severely disabled. As his son struggled, his wife’s depression worsened. And when the economy tanked during the financial crisis, his business failed.
Not good. Yet this is not the version of his life that Glen focuses on day-to-day.
He recalls that he was raised by intelligent and loving parents. He had amazing educational opportunities. He was a captain of the lacrosse team and president of the Outing Club. He graduated summa cum laude from college and discovered a passion for civil engineering. He married the love of his life. He started a backpacking company that turned into a multi-million-dollar business. He lives in a nice home in a great neighborhood and has two adult sons that he loves very much. And his outdoor interests have allowed him to make hundreds of interesting friends, including top CEOs, elite athletes, and A-list movie stars.
“What an amazing life!,” he writes.
Read take less. do more and you’ll discover how to “travel light.” (Glen says that most hikers and travelers overpack because they “pack their fears.”)
You will also learn trail partner Matthew McConaughey’s two-second cure for a snoring partner. (Worth the price of the book!)
You’ll hear about Glen’s surprising religious epiphany, which he refers to as “the gopher conversion.”
And you will learn the answer to the question that is probably uppermost in your mind right now: “What the heck is a guy like Glen doing washing dishes down at the Sparrow anyway?”
Read take less. do more and find out!
Grab Your Copy of the Book Here