The Man Who Quit Money
The Man Who Quit Money by Mark Sundeen
My coffee cup rating:
☕️☕️☕️☕️ ☕️
Quotes From the book:
“ Randomness is my guru.” -Daniel Suelo
“ Don’t worry about your your life, what you will eat of drink; or about you body, what you will wear. If not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in the barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them…Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” - Jesus
“ Let us live happily, then, though we call nothing our own! We shall be like the bright gods, feeding on happiness.” -Buddha
“ Home is anywhere I’m living, if it’s sleeping on some vacant bench in City Square.” - Merle Haggard
“The person with the least worry over the compromises he must make is, of course, the person who doesn't compromise.” - Mark Sundeen
“Credit and debt keep us fixated on the past and the future.” -Mark Sundeen
I first heard of Daniel Suelo about eight months ago while surfing youtube. During my search I found a TED talk where he describes the framework around a gift economy and how he has lived a moneyless life for the last 15 years. His talk intrigued me, I have heard of the gift economy before but living a complete moneyless life? How was that even possible? Around that same time, I stumbled upon Mark Sundeen’s book about Daniels journey “The Man Who Quit Money”. I was very interested in hearing more about this moneyless man and the book didn’t disappoint. It’s so much more than a biography of some random guy living without money. It’s a wild story of Daniels quest to find meaning and purpose in life all while wrestling to find peace in his beliefs and viewpoints of the world.
Raised in a fundamentalist Christain home, Daniel went through many years of searching and testing his beliefs in God and faith. His turning point came when after years of bouncing between moneyless living and a “normal” life a.k.a. job, house, car, etc. he accidentally ate a poisonous fruit which drove him into a deep depression and later climaxing into a suicide attempt. After surviving driving off a cliff [a miracle all in its own], he experienced spiritual enlightenment which jumpstarted his journey into a truly moneyless existence.
Daniels quest to answer his own philosophical questions takes him on numerous adventures, from the meditation mats of India, the caves of Moab, the wilderness of Alaska, to the streets of Denver, Colorado. His life reads more like a spiritual guru than that of normal human living in the 21st century.
This book was a joy to read from beginning to end. Mark’s writing style syncs up beautifully with the story and subject matter. It’s evident a lot of time and detective work went into recording the story. I went into this book thinking I’d find tips and tricks about living without money, but instead, I went on a journey, one that’s simple and pure in origin, yet spiritually deep and thought-provoking. My biggest take away was this, if you can overcome what people think of you, you can do anything.
More Resources:
Marks Website: Mark Sundeen
Daniels Website : Moneyless World
Other Videos About Daniel: