Building castles and laying foundations: An interview with radical minimalist Nina Yau

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“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” – Henry David Thoreau.

Nina Yau wants you to live a life without regret, and she’s kindly demonstrating how it’s done. Back in October she exploded onto the minimalist scene with her ebook The Radical Minimalist, then in November she ditched her corporate job and wrote a novel in 18 days (just for kicks). A few weeks ago she upped and moved to Taiwan with all 34 of her possessions.

Like me, Nina isn’t making a full-time living online just yet, but I have no doubt she’ll succeed in creating the lifestyle of her dreams. In the meantime, there’s a lot she can teach us about taking affirmative action, dealing with resistance, and standing out in a crowded niche.

Five questions from me, five answers from Ms. Yau…

1. How has minimalism helped you get to where you are now, and how do you see it helping you in the future?

Despite different folks’ interpretations of what minimalism means to us as the human dynamic, themselves as unique individuals, and minimalism as an entire movement, this much is true: minimalism is merely a means to get you to where you need to be in order to be the most free and happy.

However you interpret this is up to you and you alone.

I cannot say you must own less than 100 things in order to be happy. And nor should anyone else. I also cannot say you need to up and quit your slave-laboring indentured servitude that is the horrendous job you despise, thereby ‘minimizing’ your woeful anxieties and your precious time being wasted on a life that is not the one you want to be living. Because in the end, you need to make that decision and own up to your life. No one will be held accountable for your life except for you.

With that being said, minimalism has by far helped me get the lifestyle that I’ve always wanted: living freely and moving about the world as I please with no more than a bag on me with my life’s possessions in tow. I can be free to create, to write, to explore the vast lands that is the beautiful Earth in which we walk upon and dwell.

What does it matter that I move across the street or across the world? Either way, I only have a few items with me and it makes things so much simpler. Simpler on the environment, simpler on the economy, simpler on my personal finances, simpler overall. People tend to hoard, save, and harbor a ridiculous fear of letting go. I fully know and understand our things here is just one massive ‘borrowing.’ That is, we ourselves will come and go. Is it not natural that our things will as well?

2. You’ve been quite the active author in the last few months, releasing The Radical Minimalist in October, writing a 50,000-word novel in November, and releasing Minimalist Freedom in January. How do you manage to pump out your work so fast?

Balls. Guts. Sheer tenacity and determination. Laser-intense focus.

Whatever you call it, you can have it too. My personality is one of fierce drive and aggressive tendencies towards making my dreams a reality. I hate having regrets in my life as we often regret the things we did not do rather than the things we have done.

I faced a looming wall of destructive barriers, one after another, all throughout my life. It is only by overcoming my fears, and truly, overcoming myself, that I am able to be so proactive in my writing, in my travels and in the message that I live and breathe.

When one believes that a certain dream project is too much work or will take too long to realize, you have already met defeat before you’ve even begun. What does it matter that it may take you some time to get yourself to where you need to be (read: happy)? Start it now, rather than later. You’d be surprised how just one micro-action a day can take you so very far.

I think back to one year ago and how I just begun my new corporate job, excited and eager to learn but at the same time, with a feeling of restlessness and where something did not feel right with the whole situation. Like a fresh splinter in one’s finger, it bothered me that my creative self was not aligned with my actual self. So after some internal wrestling, I came to the conclusion that in order to make my life one without regrets, I’d have to do just that: live it with no regrets.

3. In one of your most powerful posts at Castles in the Air, you wrote about your family’s opposition to you quitting your corporate career to pursue your artistic passions. I believe a lack of support from friends and family often stops people from really getting after their dreams. How did you overcome that challenge?

For me, obstacles and barriers actually fuel my drive and desire to do what I need to do. Just because someone or something says I cannot do it, doesn’t mean it can’t be done. And how would they know? Were they in my exact situation? Felt my exact emotions and feelings? Were they, in fact, me? Of course not. Only you know yourself best and listening to others’ without questioning their viewpoints is ridiculous and foolish.

Thankfully, I’ve now been met with greater support from my family and perhaps that is due to the small success I’ve experienced thus far in the online world. It is always after the fact that those who vehemently denied you and your passionate pursuits seemingly come back to support you after they’ve seen you succeed. This is human nature and I do not hold this against them.

Bear in mind, I do not rely on others’ acceptance and approval before I do something and nor should you. By not laying my self-worth in their hands, I am then fully able to pursue my dreams boldly and unapologetically without fear of rejection and condemnation. I can finally be myself.

4. Your blog has become quite popular and you’ve been able to connect and collaborate with many big-name bloggers in just a short space of time. What do you consider to be your top breakthrough moments, and how did you make them happen?

It takes a lot of hard work, learning and research, asking good questions and continual networking. One must be unafraid to take healthy ‘risks’ that seem like risks to the general population but that is only because the general population loves to be comfortable and safe. This is not how I operate. Complacency and mediocrity are for the masses. I do not consider myself a part of this category. And not because of a self-righteous attitude. It is merely how I am as a creative person.

In one of my latest posts entitled Fuck Hate and Joining the LGBTQ Community, I came out publicly. Does this take incredible audacity to hit the publish button after deciding to write this post, possibly facing hate e-mails and condemnation from all sides possible? You bet. But I did it anyways because my blog is not a place for me to hide behind. It IS me and if people don’t like that, I cannot change this fact.

I’ve written controversial posts before, heartbreaking posts, and thought-provoking ones as well. Not because I want to up the traffic on my blog, as if that was the only reason why I write the way I write. No. It is because that is who I am. It is a mere layer of the multi-faceted and complex thought-processes that I have within me, at-times hauntingly beautiful and other times supremely crazy and outlandish. These are just some of the mesmerizing thoughts and dreams that dance inside of my head all day, every day.

I create because I must. And if I don’t, I perish.

Do understand that there is no such thing as an overnight success. Overnight successes only seem overnight because the masses did not get a whiff of them until all of a sudden, they see that person’s name and face everywhere.

You did not see me getting up in the middle of the night countless times, furiously writing my thoughts out as they awakened me from my semi-conscious sleep. You did not see me sitting at my cubicle job, dropping hot tears of discontentment as I worked on my blog during my lunch hour, yearning to be free. You did not see my horrendous fights and battles I’ve had to endure, both internal and external. You did not see me losing friends due to my seemingly ‘selfish’ decisions to live the way I live. You just don’t see all of this.

All you see is the finished product, a sleek and polished article or book that’s published, nicely packaged and ready to go. But beneath the fancy words on the screen lay an intensely creative creature that works extremely hard to get to where she needs to be.

5. The whole quit-your-job-and-pursue-your-passions movement seems to be dominated by men. Do you think it’s tougher for women to break free and live their dreams?

It’s tough for women to break free and live their dreams only if they believe it to be so. Gender differences, though not as large as it were 100 years ago, still affects people’s everyday decisions, including life decisions.

To all this, I say, shut your inner critic and grow a pair! If you’re a woman, you need not fear rejection. You need not fear this so-called betrayal against your duties at home, in your relationships, at work, etc. You’re not betraying anyone and anything but yourself if you neglect the most important person in this world: you.

Strong women have always ridden the waves of discrimination throughout the centuries. This century is no different.

Keep an eye out for us ladies. We’re here to change the world, one person at a time, with our lives as the leading examples.

I personally endorse and highly recommend the following sensational women in today’s blogosphere: Ashley Ambirge of The Middle Finger Project, Maren Kate Donovan of Escaping the 9-to-5, Tammy Strobel of Rowdy Kittens and Susan Finch of Creative Guide To Life.

Wrap up

Ladies and gentlemen, that was Nina Yau, kicking ass as per usual. For me, the most inspiring thing about Nina is how she ploughs on with her dreams and writes her truth even at the risk of massive resistance and backlash. There are a few things I plan to write about in the near future which may have the same effect.

Get more Nina

Follow the links below to find out more about Nina and follow her radical journey:

• Castles in the Air
• One of my favorite posts from Nina: They Laid Off 28 Employees From My Company (or How Your Job Is Not Safe)
• Ebook: The Radical Minimalist (full disclosure: I haven’t read it, hence no affiliate link)
• Ebook: Minimalist Freedom (read it, recommend it, and it’s free!)
• Follow Nina on Twitter

More interviews

I post an interview relating to small online business every two weeks. Let me know in the comments what type of questions you’d like to have answered by future cool people. If you can recommend a good interview candidate, drop me a line here.

Past interviews:

• How to travel the world as a full-time language hacker: An interview with Irish polyglot Benny Lewis
• How to travel the world indefinitely: An interview with pro nomad Mark Webster
• How to make serious money doing what you love (and without quitting your day job): An interview with Emmett Cooke
• How to rock it as an online entrepreneur: Video interview with Corbett Barr and Everett Bogue
• “Nobody said saving the world would be easy” – An interview with Raam Dev

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