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

    430: A Mid-Year Check-In List for Living on Purpose

    The month of July announces the second half of the year's beginning, and yet, it doesn't rush ahead. It is as if time stands still for about four weeks before picking up pace with August's arrival, and then September rapidly moves time along at the pace we seem to follow for ten months of the year. Because of this sensation of time slowing down, I find myself physically permitting myself to slow down as well. To linger, to rest, and then, as a result, having the space to ponder all that leaps into the forefront of my mind, asking me to entertain in some way, figure out how to bring it into my life to add to the symphony that already is. After all, any instrument that is frequently used and appreciated needs to be maintained. So, while this will involve new ideas, it will also be reminders of what is already contributing to the life we love living, so we are deepening our awareness and thus reminded to appreciate what already is going well. How we do that is by slowing down, shifting into a lower, toodling-along gear for more than a day or a weekend. Whenever you are able to begin shifting down into a slower pace, today's post/episode is an invitation to sink into your being, rest your mind and then observe where it wishes to go, what tickles the curiosity. Let July be the month that reminds you that you can refuse to live the life that the world says you should want and instead build a life that makes you infinitely content and joyously happy. Let July provide the time and space to ponder what that life consists of. Tune in to the episode to take a look at the 7-point check-in list, and find the detailed Show Notes on The Simply Luxurious Life blog - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/podcast430

  2. 4d ago

    Befriending Ourselves — Un Moment de Méditation: No. 28

    Find the text for this mini-episode on The Simply Luxurious Life - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/moment27

  3. Jul 5

    One Simple 'Fix' — Un Moment de Méditation: No. 27 — One Simple 'Fix'

    Find the text for this mini-episode on The Simply Luxurious Life - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/moment27

  4. Jul 1

    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

  5. Jun 28

    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

  6. 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. 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

  8. 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

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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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