Apr 25, 2019
Last week, our guest Dr. Michael Lennox reminded us that although so many of us want to change, far fewer are willing to put in the many long, challenging hours of changing ourselves. Leo Babauta could be one of the most steady, devoted practitioners of personal change I've ever witnessed.
Most of us have some pesky habit we're trying to conquer, or some challenging circumstances we need to transcend in order to fully express in the world. Seven years ago this month, I decided I would never drink alcohol again. That decision continues to be an absolute complete game-changer.
The lead-up to that (pretty major) change was a very start-stop, messy process.
Leo Babauta has written for over a dozen years about his many victories, and struggles in creating lasting, positive change— all on his immensely popular blog Zen Habits. Along the way, he's conquered everything from smoking, to becoming a minimalist, to running ultra-marathons, to writing 4 books, raising 6 kids, and so much more.
Zen Habits has been a beacon of home for literally millions of people over the last 12 years. Leo's lucid, direct teachings come straight out of his own personal experimentation. Because he's a minimalist, he spares us a lot of the woo, and instead focuses on the most clear, proven paths toward personal habit change.
Leo is an insatiably curious person. This served him well in his early career as a journalist, but it's really interesting how it serves him now as a writer, coach, a parent, and in delivering workshops around the world. He's one of those people who's always asking a fresh, better question— one that creates more possibilities.
I honestly loved this conversation, and I'm so excited to share it with you. As a long time fan of his writing on Zen Habits, I admitted to Leo that while we were tossing the football on a beach in Costa Rica last month, I had a fantasy that he was my Dad.
We go deep into his long journey of personal transformation, and call out the major themes of what he learned by quitting the smokes, unschooling their children, to showing up to write at a level that has built such a massive audience.
We also get into the art and science of asking great questions, designing powerful workshop experiences, and facilitation. This has been a major area of focus for Leo recently, and it was so much fun to geek-out on everything he's learning. Pay close attention to what Leo shares around our relationship to uncertainty, and how that relationship impacts our ability to change.
Also, listen for the ways Leo reignites his own curiosity, and how that powers his writing, and his business.
Please enjoy this far-ranging conversation with the friendly, and exquisitely chill: Leo Babauta.