After almost a month of training my new puppy, Buddy, I have come to realize that there are similarities between dog training and marketing yourself to your customers.

It drives me crazy to have dogs jumping around while their food is being prepared, so I train them to sit and wait to eat until I give the command, “Say Grace, Amen”.  Buddy LOVES food, so this behavior modification has been relatively easy.  The food is coming nowhere near the floor until he sits and waits.  Getting it down to the ground without him jumping up again took a bit more time, I did have to hold him for the first couple of weeks, but he’s already getting this down, too.  What it took was persistence. (more…)

On Friday, I went to the mall to buy a new pair of running shoes.  I have no doubt that I was entering the Foot Locker with some intention.  I am not crazy about shopping and only venture out to the malls when absolutely necessary.

As I entered the store, I was greeted with a warm “hello,” even though the store was busy.  I proceeded to the women’s running shoes and stopped to evaluate.  Within a minute, a sales clerk asked if I was looking for new running shoes.  I responded in the affirmative.   He then asked me if I preferred bright colors or more subdued.  I responded with more subdued and he nodded and briefly told me about only two of the countless models on the wall.

He then walked away, giving me the space to evaluate the two models he had suggested.  Given the space to make my own decision, I picked out a pair.  (more…)

Post written by Leo Babauta.

I’m often asked how you can start doing work you love — how you can make a living doing something you’re passionate about.

I don’t profess to have all the answers, but the answer for me has been fairly simple:

Do one thing really well.

People want a more comprehensive answer than that, but in my experience, if you learn to do this, the rest will follow.

(more…)

Post written by Leo Babauta.

How much of your stress, frustration, disappointment, anger, irritation, pissed-offedness comes from one little thing?

Almost all of it comes from your expectations, and when things (inevitably) don’t turn out as we expect, from wishing things were different.

We build these expectations in our heads of what other people should do, what our lives should be like, how other drivers should behave … and yet it’s all fantasy. It’s not real.

And when reality doesn’t meet our fantasy, we wish the world were different.

Here’s a simple solution:

Take your expectations, and throw them in the ocean. (more…)

This blog post directly ties to the story I am sharing this week in my eZine.  I am raising money for the Relay for Life of Altadena to benefit the American Cancer Society and the wonderful work they are doing to help cancer survivors and their caregivers.

Why “my story” is important is that it is the reason I have become a huge advocate of helping those with cancer and also funding research to finding a cure in our lifetime.  (more…)

Guest Post written by Leo Babauta.

It was only a couple years ago that I was completely focused on goals … and I accomplished a lot by setting and working on goals.

I ran several marathons, lost a lot of weight, got out of debt, started a fairly successful blog … the list of goals I achieved is long. These days, for more than a year now, I’ve pretty much given up on goals, though I’m still learning how that works.

The question most people have is: how do you achieve anything without goals? (more…)

This past weekend I had the opportunity to hear Kathy Ireland speak at a marketing conference in Chicago.  Just before she was scheduled to be on, I was headed to the restroom and ran into her.  She smiled brightly and said “hello” – like we were old friends just running into each other.  I returned the smile and greeting – not putting it together fast enough that it was Kathy Ireland I was talking to.  Living in Los Angeles, this happens to me often.  I see someone I recognize and then after the moment has passed I realize that they are some sort of celebrity I’d seen in a movie or on TV.  Duh!

Anyway, Kathy Ireland soon took the stage and shared her story.  She talked about how she leveraged her super-model career into a $1.4 billion empire by creating (more…)

‘Men must live and create. Live to the point of tears.’ ~Albert Camus

Post written by Leo Babauta.

It’s amazing how many people I talk to who tell me they want to create a new blog, write a book, start a new business, change careers, make something new.

But they keep putting it off.

Does that sound familiar? (more…)

Last week my friend was showing me his new iPad 2 and the video game Angry Birds.  Of course, I know that this game is very popular, but I had no idea why it was so addictive until I started playing.  For those who have not seen Angry Birds, or who have no idea what I am talking about . . . the objective of the game is to sling shot an “angry bird” up and across to knock out a bunch of squeaking pigs.  Yes, you do want the sound turned up. (more…)

I know that a lot of you believe I have super-human powers that allow me to do more in the 24/7 than the average human.  Really, I don’t.  I am just good at creating self-imposed deadlines.

I wish I could say that I do this for everything in my life that needs to get done, but the reality is there are many projects I put off doing because I have not given them the priority they deserve.  But, I digress, I am talking about how to create self-imposed deadlines that work.

For me, getting stuff done is a bit of a game.  If there are any game players out there, you know that as you move from task to task in another world, you are rewarded and this reward gives you a rush of adrenaline which makes you feel good.

I consider my game a variation of “Beat-the-Clock”.  Of course, I want to “win” (more…)