The Simple Sophisticate - Intelligent Living Paired with Signature Style

Shannon Ables
  • 4.7 (881)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Biweekly

The simple sophisticate is someone who prefers quality over quantity, sensible living over mindless consumption, personal style instead of trendy fashions, has an insatiable curiosity for life's endless questions and a desire to live a truly fulfilling life rather than being led around by the nose. Inspired by her lifestyle blog The Simply Luxurious Life, Shannon Ables (the original Simple Sophisticate) shares with listeners tips on how to live a refined life on an everyday income, a life of true contentment. Founded on the principle of the art of living a life of quality over quantity, episodes explore topics ranging from creating an everyday life you love living, strengthening mindfulness practices, preparing seasonally delicious meals, building a capsule wardrobe, traveling the world (Francophiles and Anglophiles tune in as France as well as the Britain are favorite destinations), and living life to the fullest without breaking the bank because living well is really quite simple. *illustration by artist Sarah Löcker exclusively commissioned for the show

  1. 2d ago

    429: How Embracing Uncertainty Leads to a Fulfilling Life and How to Do It

    "Uncertainty will happen to us even when we try to avoid it. To reach our highest potential and live our noblest values, we need to be willing to step into uncertainty." —Nathan Furr and Susannah Harmon Furr, authors of The Upside of Uncertainty From knowing how the day will unfold to how our year will unfold, we cannot know until we live it. Uncertainty surrounds us, and to deny its existence by trying to live the same way each day, do what we've always done, we only limit the amazing possibilities that have the potential to be experienced and elevate the quality of our life. In a book published back in 2022, husband and wife team, Nathan Furr and Susannah Harmon Furr, share with oodles of research paired with examples from current and past entrepreneurs, philosophers, activists, and ordinary people, including their own life experience which found them moving their entire family to France and settling into the French culture, how embracing uncertainty instead of shunning it, pretending it doesn't exist is a primary approach to living a life you love. The Upside of Uncertainty includes detailed, concrete approaches, tools and supports for our mindset, to help us stay the course during the time that uncertainty inevitably arrives along our journey when we've decided to do something we've never done before. All that will be shared today is gleaned from the book, and is just a taste of what you will find when you pick it up. A resource I know I will return to repeatedly to be reminded of how to sustain my tenacity, how to incorporate supportive components, as well as how to course correct or make the most of outcomes undesired along the way. Let's begin by taking a look at the importance of choosing to embrace uncertainty.   Find the Show Notes for this episode on The Simply Luxurious Life blog - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/podcast429

    50 min

  2. 4d ago

    The Paradox of Where We Find Peace — Un Moment de Méditation: No. 26

    Find the text for this mini-episode on The Simply Luxurious Life - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/moment26

    8 min

  3. Jun 21

    The Path to Contentment — Un Moment de Méditation: No. 25

    Find the text for this mini-episode on The Simply Luxurious Life - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/moment25

    7 min

  4. Jun 17

    428: Cultivating Equanimity — The Paramount Benefit of Living with Contentment for Everyday Peace of Mind

    Dynamicism embodies the ability to move, adjust, adapt and thus thrive in whatever environment one finds themselves. To be dynamic is to be fully alive and thus living fully the life that we are given. Whenever we talk about contentment and what lies at the heart of experiencing contentment and how I introduce the Contentment Masterclass is the idea of a vehicle that provides us a mode of transportation along our life journey. When we are content, the motor of our vehicle that creates the abiding peace during any type of driving conditions (life and world events outside of our control) is the learned skill of equanimity. "Equanimity is a state of psychological balance and stability. Evenness of mind and temper allows us to navigate the many curveballs that life may throw at us with grace and serenity." —PositivePsychology.com Notice that equanimity is described as a skill. This is awesome news. We do not come out of the womb with the ability to keep ourselves calm, yet remain loving and kind while honoring our integrity, in difficult situations. It is a skill we choose to learn, and like most skills, it takes practice. We will wobble and feel very uneasy in our first attempts at holding ourselves calmly in an agitating moment, watching our words with care before uttering them or deciding whether or not to respond. This will take extraordinary reserves of energy as we welcome this skill into our toolbox of contentment. But the more we engage in such a way, it gradually becomes our default. And as we witness the peace we feel afterward, knowing we are at ease with how we engaged, what we said, and how we spoke (our tone and our words), we are self-encouraged to continue to apply this skill moving forward. This is where we begin, knowing what the word literally means. Now, let's dive into how to we practice this skill in our lives and the many opportunities to do so. Find the Show Notes for this episode on The Simply Luxurious Life blog - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/podcast428

    56 min

  5. Jun 14

    Plant the Seeds You Want to See Grow, Un Moment de Méditation: No. 24

    Find the text for this mini-episode on The Simply Luxurious Life - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/moment24

    9 min

  6. Jun 7

    Acceptance Is Where We Begin, Un Moment de Méditation: No. 23

    Find the text for this mini-episode on The Simply Luxurious Life - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/moment23

    9 min

  7. Jun 3

    427: 15 Life Investments — 10 Daily Choices, 5 Big Moves

    The bad habits you didn't pick up. The good habits that you did. The thoughts you chose to hold on to and explore further and the ones you let go. The priorities we set and the long-term dreams we said yes to and gradually stepped toward. Both the simple everyday choices paired with the foundational decisions that require long-range planning and commitment play a role in the quality of our life today and down the road. Generally, we understand this truth, but whether or not we put it into practice depends on how consciously we live our lives. How present we are, how clear-eyed we are (i.e., self-aware), and how brave we are. When it comes to nurturing dreams into materialization, it is first the awareness of where we point our sails of intention, and then the knowledge of which everyday choices will increase the potential for our eventual arrival. Most real, lasting change happens quietly and goes unnoticed until it suddenly seems to appear, but the truth is, it was built over time by our daily choices and big investments. Today, we'll explore 10 everyday, perhaps seemingly mundane and inconsequential choices that actually contribute significantly to a healthier daily life today and tomorrow, along with five significant investments that require serious consideration. All 15 choices will strengthen our well-being and lead us to being able to fulfill our dreams. View the complete Show Notes on The Simply Luxurious Life blog - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/podcast427

    51 min

  8. May 31

    Why It Isn't Working . . . Yet, Un Moment de Méditation: No. 22

    Find the text for this mini-episode on The Simply Luxurious Life - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/moment22

    8 min
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The simple sophisticate is someone who prefers quality over quantity, sensible living over mindless consumption, personal style instead of trendy fashions, has an insatiable curiosity for life's endless questions and a desire to live a truly fulfilling life rather than being led around by the nose. Inspired by her lifestyle blog The Simply Luxurious Life, Shannon Ables (the original Simple Sophisticate) shares with listeners tips on how to live a refined life on an everyday income, a life of true contentment. Founded on the principle of the art of living a life of quality over quantity, episodes explore topics ranging from creating an everyday life you love living, strengthening mindfulness practices, preparing seasonally delicious meals, building a capsule wardrobe, traveling the world (Francophiles and Anglophiles tune in as France as well as the Britain are favorite destinations), and living life to the fullest without breaking the bank because living well is really quite simple. *illustration by artist Sarah Löcker exclusively commissioned for the show

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