No ambition at all.

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I have never cared about having a big house or a fancy car. In fact, I live like what I would call a "secular monk". I agree with Einstein when he said, with regard to his humble living arrangement "I have a table, and a chair, and a bed, and reading material, and what more do I need?"

All my life, all I have ever wanted is to live simply and peacefully for long periods of time. Which I now do. But my family sees this as somewhat of a scandalous waste of what they see as my talent. I always did well in school, and they cant comprehend why I became a geologist and not a business exec or lawyer. A business exec or lawyer would be way to high stress and require social skills I know I don't have.

I understand I don't really want much in lifeand I don't understand why some people want so much more I just want a decent amount of money a roof over my head and a job I like I want to spend my life doing what I love traveling to knew places learning and experiencing new things I dont want to be a billionaire or a fancy car or house I just wanna be happy

Amen to that.

I feel the same way. I have ambition, but not for traditional success in terms of money, possessions, prestigious career, etc. I don't want to turn 80 and realize I've spent all my youth locked up in a workplace I don't like earning money I barely have time left to use.

My only ambition as a child was to be an adult.

My only ambition as an adult is to retire with a pension enough to enable me to travel the world.

Amen to that too!

Experiences and the happy memories they can create are far more important than material possessions, status and riches.

Good company whom accepts you for what you are is far more important than acquaintences whom only want to know you if your status is high enough!

Life was made to be lived, not spent trapped in a prision cell of your own making surrounded by materialism, greed, status, social conventions and so on.

One doesn't need much in order to take care of survival 101.

On saying that one does not need to be a complete aesthetic. I am a minimalist but I still have a few material possessions such as a bike (which i love and call penny (short for lady penelope) even though she didn't cost me much to buy), a computer and camera gear so I can take photographs, as well as a variety of art supplies I can express myself with). Other than those things though I dont need much...

A bed, shelter, warmth, clothing, oxygen, nutritious food, somthing to cook with, somewhere to sit (although the floor can work for me), a good book, something to write with and my imagination...

Not much more is needed for a satisfying life.

I only miss the good company component.

Its just that human company is not worth all the drama with the way things presently are in society. It's all judgementalism and pressure to always be better when I just want to be ok with what I am and enjoy the experience of being alive....

Afterall, I only have this one existence...why should i be unhappy with it (or myself) because its not what someone else thinks it should be?

Welcome to "Voluntary Simplicity." We are a small tribe, but a happy one. My friend Galen would go to family gatherings and park an exquisite little trailer he'd made among the WinnerBiggos, and I guess the amusement was mutual. My best friend here spent much of his life on remote beaches, and now enjoys a cabin in the woods. I'd be there too, but I found a perfectly sound house a block from a dozen stores for $15k. Vehicular living is becoming popular, too. My mother did it half the year for decades, and I've done it from time to time, not always using the wheels. I'm currently converting a micro-car to a stealth camper, all self-contained.

The last section of "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" was written in a truck camper. Richard Bach went from having a hangar full of aircraft to sharing a travel trailer with a similarly wealthy spouse.

If you are urban, my best advice is to use a bicycle for everything routine. If you find your home, work, and shops by bike, they will always be within comfortable range. You get the fastest, cheapest transportation, a sport, and a fitness program that automatically increases to burn adrenalin while actually saving time on the busy days.

"Live Simply, so Others can Simply Live"
- bumpersticker

"There is enough for everyone's need, but not for everyone's greed."
- M.K. Gandhi

Because of the nature of my job, I have to have a 4WD vehicle. But I live as simply as possible. I wish I could live entirely off the grid, but that's not possible for me right now.

I would bike to work—but I have a phobia if riding on city streets.

The first fix for that is using a mirror attached to your helmet. With practice, you can scan behind yourself by turning your head, but the most important view is right there for just a flick of the eye. If you are not really confident in your bike handling, that can be practiced away from traffic. Then, it is just a process of moving onto busier streets. In heavy traffic, I often "adopt" cars for a few seconds when things get busy. I hang just behind and beside one car, and watch that fender closely. If I don't hit it, nothing else will hit me in that space. After a few seconds when the traffic is less chaotic, I'll move up to the next car, or let one pass.