Pondering through the ZH archives. 20 Classic Zen Habits Posts You Might Not Have Seen Yet
Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter.
While I enjoy the simple beauty of Japan, and all the awesomeness it contains, I thought I’d leave you guys with some of my favorite posts from the archives. Many of you haven’t dug through the massive archives (nearly 800 posts, at least half of them pretty decent), so I decided to cull through them and find a few nuggets you might have missed.
And if you’ve already read them, here’s a chance to enjoy them a second time. I’ve always believed we should get the most enjoyment out of things as possible. :)
- How to Doggedly Pursue Your Dreams in the Face of Naysayers
- 10 Benefits of Rising Early, and How to Do It
- The Magical Power of Focus
- Autopilot Achievement: How to Turn Your Goals Into Habits
- Email Zen: Clear Out Your Inbox
- How to NOT do everything on your to-do list
- Handbook for Life: 52 Tips for Happiness and Productivity
- How to Actually Execute Your To-Do List: or, Why Writing It Down Doesn’t Actually Get It Done
- Haiku Productivity: Limit Your Work Week
- Unproductivity: 8 Fantabulous Ways to Make the Most of Your Laziest Days
- 5 Amazing Mac Apps for Getting Things Done (Plus a Custom-Rigged Setup)
- Lazy Productivity: 10 Simple Ways to Do Only Three Things Today Get all the goodness »
We're super excited about Japan! I’m Going to Japan - But Zen Habits Will Keep Its Doors Open
Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter.
I’m excited to announce that I’m taking my family to Tokyo for the next couple of weeks for vacation. My wife and I and the six kids are all going together — it’s our first trip all together — so it should be a fun adventure.
But be assured, my loyal readers, that Zen Habits won’t shut down while I’m gone. I’ve set things up so that this blog will continue to run smoothly (knock on wood) while I’m enjoying sushi and sake.
Here’s the plan:
- I’ve written some posts that will run while I’m gone — I hope you’ll enjoy them!
- I have guest posts from some excellent writers and from regular contributor Jonathan Mead — I know you’ll enjoy them.
- I also have a couple of “Ask the Reader” features as well as two posts with some of the “Best of Zen Habits”.
I think the content will be as good as ever, so please stick around.
I’ll be popping my head in every now and then to read your comments, but for the most part Zen Habits will be in the trusty hands of my friend, Glen Stansberry of LifeDev. He’ll be moderating comments and generally making sure some of you behave yourselves. You know who you are. :)
Oh, and if all goes well with my Internet connection in Tokyo, we’ll be posting a blog about our trip each day (or thereabouts). Yippee!
Photo courtesy of apesara. Things We Think About But Do Not Say
Article by Zen Habits contributor Jonathan Mead; follow him on twitter.
What would happen if we started being honest with ourselves about what we really want?
What if we started being ruthlessly real? What if we actually said the things that we think about, but are afraid to say?
Our egos may shrink and squirm, afraid to face reality as it is; afraid to bypass all the pretense; afraid to confront the shear nakedness of authenticity.
But maybe if we could evade the grip of our ego-based fears, we could embrace unfiltered, unmediated reality.
Maybe, just then, we’d start to come alive.
When I speak of open, authentic honesty, I mean being truly connected to your higher self. Not the ego-dominated self, but your spirit, (or whatever word you’d like to use, the word is not important). When you’re tuned into this source that is bigger than your puny ego, your living from a state of unadulterated awareness.
When you’re acting from this state, you’re not thinking about whether what you’re doing is right or wrong, appropriate or inappropriate. You act completely naturally, unafraid to express yourself authentically and freely. You’re not afraid to tell someone how you really feel or ask for something you need. It’s from this place that you experience bliss, because there is no ego holding you back from it. There is no hesitation when the ego is not present.
So how do you get into this state of flow and uninhibited movement?
Here are the three simplest and most effective things you can to become more conscious, and in turn, more authentic.
Please Help Zen Habits with 3 Quick Questions
Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter.
This will be one of my shorter posts on Zen Habits, but it’s an important one. I need your help.
I’ve created a short survey to find out what some of the reasons are for people not being able to achieve all their goals and objectives. What are the things that hold people back? Are they mostly external or internal?
You may be hitting every pitch out of the park and if so, I’m happy that you’re accomplishing everything you set out to do. If anything you’ve read in these pages has helped, that would truly make me feel wonderful.
On the other hand, if you’re like most of us you struggle in certain areas and this survey is meant for you. I’d like to know what those issues are as the information will help me to focus my future efforts to provide solutions.
The survey is very brief, just three questions. It is also anonymous. There is no place to enter any personal information.
Thanks for your help.
Here’s the link:
The Zen Habits 3-Question Survey
Thank you, my friends!
Zen Habits Declutters Its Ads
Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter.
You might or might not have noticed recently that Zen Habits has become much less cluttered, especially in the sidebar.
I decided to start practicing the minimalism I preach.
First, I dropped the Google ads, because they weren’t making much money and were serving up a lot of ads I didn’t like. I’d gotten a bunch of reader complaints, and I figured they weren’t worth it.
Second, I got out of three fairly large ad networks I’d been a part of for more than a year. They each brought in decent income, but it was just too much clutter. I’m taking a big drop in income from this, but I’m hoping it’ll help bring about a nicer reader experience for all of you.
Third, I stopped selling the 125×125 pixel ads you see in the sidebar. Right now you’ll still see a few over there (under the search box in the right sidebar), but the top two will stop running in the next week. The bottom two are for my ebooks, and I’ll probably keep them for now.
Fourth, I started selling a single 250×250 ad. Just one per month. This will be an exclusive ad — no other ads will run on Zen Habits. Right now, it’s for Frugal Site Design, and it will always be for sites or companies I feel comfortable with. I think one ad per month is much better than the dozen or two that have been running on Zen Habits for the last couple of years, don’t you agree?
Anyway, all of this means a much more ad-free reading experience for all of you. It also means, of course, a drop of several thousand dollars in revenue for me. So I’m hoping to supplement that with other forms of income.
I’d be grateful to all of you if you could help support this site. You are not obligated to do so, and I won’t be begging for money every week or month. But there are links, and here’s how you can support Zen Habits:
- The Books link is the new Zen Habits bookstore on Amazon. I get a small cut from each sale made there. In fact, if you click through and buy other products from Amazon (not just the books I recommend), I will get a cut. So feel free to click through and buy anything you like from Amazon, if you were planning to buy it anyway. Don’t buy a bunch of useless products just for me. :)
- You can now Hire me as a consultant. I will just take on one client a month. I do consulting for businesses and bloggers, as well as for personal development.
- The Power of Less. My print book is still selling well, and I’d love it if you bought a copy if you haven’t yet. In fact, buy copies for friends, relatives, co-workers, all the people in your company! And of course, recommend it to everyone. :)
- Zen Habits ebooks. My ebooks, Zen To Done and the Zen Habits Handbook for Life, have always sold fairly well, and if you haven’t bought a copy yet I think you’d enjoy them. I hope to write another or two this year, and will let you know more.
- Donations. I’ve received many, many donations from many, many kind people. Your generosity have kept this site alive! Thank you, all of you.
There are a few other announcements that will come out in the coming months — seminars and other cool things you could buy if you like.
Again, I won’t keep bothering all of you with pleas for money. But do know that I am very grateful to all of you, for reading Zen Habits, for buying my book and ebooks, for making donations, and especially for your encouragement and comments. You make this site what it is, and I am humbled by all of you. Thank you.
Leo
Photo courtesy of nati Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway (or, the Privatization of the English Language)
Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter.
Today I received an email from the lawyers of author Susan Jeffers, PhD., notifying me that I’d infringed on her trademark by inadvertently using the phrase “feel the fear and do it anyway” in my post last week, A Guide to Beating the Fears That Hold You Back.
The phrase, apparently, is the title of one of her books … a book I’d never heard of. I wasn’t referring to her book. I’m not using the phrase as a title of a book or product or to sell anything. I was just referring to something a friend said on Twitter.
Her lawyers asked me to insert the (R) symbol after the phrase, in my post, and add this sentence: “This is the registered trademark of Susan Jeffers, Ph.D. and is used with her permission.”
Yeah. I’m not gonna do that. Get all the goodness »
The Culture of Free, and The Power of Less
Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter.
A few people on other websites have commented on the irony of me selling a book (The Power of Less) about working and doing and living with less, saying something along the lines of:
“Yes, I’m going to live with less … starting with not buying books!” Get all the goodness »
Thank you, all of you! The Essential Zen Habits of 2008
Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter.
At the end of 2006, I thought I’d just had the best year of my life — I quit smoking, took up running, completed my first marathon, became an early riser, became organized and productive, started eliminating my debt and getting my finances in order, became a vegetarian, my youngest daughter Noelle was born, among other things. Not bad, for one year!
At the end of 2007, I knew I’d just had the best year of my life: I’d created Zen Habits and made it a Top 100 blog in its first year, I’d sold a best-selling ebook, I landed a book deal, I was able to eliminate my debt completely, and quit my day job. I couldn’t top that!
Well, I just did. Get all the goodness »
The book's out! “The Power of Less” Has Launched! Free Giveaways for Book Buyers!
“Babauta has become a powerhouse of online productivity for good reason: his mantra works.” - Timothy Ferriss, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, The 4-Hour Workweek
Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter.
Just in time for the New Year: I’m thrilled, overjoyed to announce that my new book is now available in bookstores and fine online book retailers near you: The Power of Less: The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essential … in Business and in Life!
You can order The Power of Less today:
Update: After just a few hours, The Power of Less became the #1 bestseller in Amazon’s Business Management & Leadership Motivational section!
New update: The book is now in the Top 100 on Amazon!
Get all the goodness »
Free Ebook: Thriving on Less - Simplifying in a Tough Economy
“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” - Albert Einstein
Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter.
Merry Christmas everyone! As a gift, I’d like to share with you my companion to The Power of Less — a free ebook called “THRIVING ON LESS: Simplifying in a Tough Economy“.
Go here to download the ebook for free. (Please note: click on the link to go to the download page — don’t click “save as” to save the ebook.) Get all the goodness »
