Life Coaches Blog

Albert Einstein once said; “everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” I’ve been going on about the simple life lately, but what exactly is simplicity and why is it such a big deal?

In this series, I want to explore simplicity through the eyes of different people. Hopefully, this will enrich our ideas about simplicity and help answer those questions for both you and I.

What is Simplicity According to Zen?

Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism that focuses on direct experience of its teachings. In fact, its legendary founder Bodhidharma asserted that Zen is a “special transmission outside scriptures” which does “not stand upon words.”

While Zen has a lot to teach us about simplicity, I’m going to draw specifically on two aspects linked to Zen that I first learned about from the seminal book Zen and Japanese Culture by Dr. D.T. Suzuki.

This is in response to KC, who wrote in to ask for those links in the sidebar which disappeared when we upgraded Life Coaches Blog. Here they are, plus a few new ones!

9rules Productivity Community

The 9rules Productivity Community, of which I’m a proud member, is full of updated links to good personal development posts from fellow members.

43 Folders

The inimitable 43 Folders, one of the most original, real and funny productivity blogs in the history of the internets.

Adam Khoo

Adam, the self-made Singaporean millionaire whom I used to coach for.

Christine Kane

Christine Kane, songwriter, musician, inspirational, personal development blogger and one hell of a writer.

gapingvoid

How do you describe gapingvoid? Cartoons drawn on the back of a business card? Marketing and Web 2.0? Sheer brilliant genius?

Master Yoda (our little green friend from Star Wars) said something to Luke Skywalker in Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.

He said: “try not, do or do not”. Luke was ‘trying’ to lift his aircraft using his Jedi powers, and he failed.

If you are a NLP Practitioner, you know about the power of words.

The words ‘try’ and ‘do’ have an neurological effect to the brain and to some micro-muscles in our body that impact your performance when you do anything.

But There’s More to It Spiritually

When I “try” to make a mental action or verbal action or physical action, the mind doesn’t believe (or have confidence) that what I am about to do is going to work.

When I “do” and make mental action or verbal action or physical action, the mind isn’t concerned about belief but rather concentrates on what I am about to do in the present moment.

Welcome to the 3rd generation of Life Coaches Blog!

Time sure flies, we’ve been around for 2 years and 8 months now. Today, we stand at 507 posts, spaced out at 64 pages and 14 writers who’ve contributed to Life Coaches Blog.

We’ve gone through 2 revisions of the site’s design and today we’re introducing the 3rd revision. It’s even simpler to navigate, full of new features and it’s really beautiful. If you’re reading this post through an RSS reader or email, click here to take a look.

Why the Change?

I’ve changed in the past year. I’ve grown to enjoy simplicity, decluttering my life and space by letting go of the unimportant things in my life.

Many people have asked me why I’m still a monk after almost 3 years, while initially the plan was to be a monk for just 3 months.

In fact, to me monkhood is nothing much, it’s just wearing a different uniform, from Dockers’ pants to saffron robes, or like working in a different firm.

What’s more, being a monk is what’s made an individual like me change.

And l don’t feel inadequate or contempt or inferior. I only feel happy.

The answer actually boils down into just one sentence.

I just ‘let it go’.

When I let go, I feel lighter. When I feel lighter, I feel happier.

Look at this mathematic function [y = 1/x]

When ‘x’ is less, ‘y’ is more.

When ‘x’ is a lot lesser, ‘y’ is even much, much more – exponentially more.

“The key to self-management is self-esteem. You must maintain it even though you may not be as well informed about some essentially meaningless report or arcane issues as your associates. You must be prepared to got a meeting and endure comments such as, ‘You mean you didn’t read’. Better to suffer the humiliation of saying you didn’t and ask someone else to be kind enough to summarize it than to have had to read all the articles that cross your desk.” Something I’ve learned quickly as a tech journalist; you can’t know everything, and you’ll go crazy trying to. More tips on how to work smarter from Ricardo Semler at 37signals’ blog.

This blog has been down (in more ways than one).

Last week, Life Coaches Blog’s server on Site5 broke down and we became inaccessible for a few days. To their credit, Site5 has apologized and given half a year’s worth of free hosting for all sites that were affected.

While that was going on, I was in Shanghai for a working trip and couldn’t be online to check for updates. Thanks to all my friends who messaged me to ask about what happened to Life Coaches Blog, I appreciate it.

My life’s been shifting the last few months, as I found myself feeling dissatisfied and thoughtful. Questions like; what’s really important to me? with the limited time and energy I have left on this planet, what do I want to commit it to? and ; what would make me happier? ran through my head.

David Allen, found of GTD, is the man Fast Company calls ‘the personal productivity guru’. Today we review the companion book to Getting Things Done; Ready for Anything : 52 Productivity Principles for Work and Life, a collection of 52 of Allen’s essays on productivity.

Do You Need to Have Read GTD?

The obvious question is if you need to have read Getting Things Done : The Art of Stress-Free Productivity to appreciate this book. It certainly helps, as Allen refers to his GTD concepts from time to time to make a point, but it’s not necessary. You can apply a lot of what he writes in this book even if you haven’t read or aren’t familiar with the GTD method.

Perspective is the Most Valuable Commodity on the Planet

The 52 productivity principles are organized into 5 parts; Clear Your Head for Creativity, Focus Productively, Create Structures that Work, Relax and Get in Motion & Remind Yourself of the Fundamentals.

“So often we depend on outside sources when we really have a tremendous source of knowledge and understanding within ourselves. The trouble is that we’re moving too fast and we’re too exhausted most of the time to really tap into it.” Focusing on What Matters Most: An interview with Elaine St. James.

“Compared to the hunter-gatherers who lived a natural life for millions of years before modern civilization, we work much harder and longer to make a living. We face much more physical and psychological violence (in our neighborhoods, in our workplaces, in our war-torn world, and sometimes even in our homes)…Why do we put up with it? Because it’s the only life we know.” Friday Flashback: The Only Life We Know.

“Happiness is not the shallow state of feeling pleased and chipper all the time. Happiness is the state of a human being that has achieved cross-level coherence within herself, and between herself and the people, challenges, and institutions around her. Happiness comes from between.” Beyond the Book How to Become Happier.

The rainforest in Central America taught me a wonderful lesson: if you can quiet yourself and truly focus your attention on your surroundings, you will see a multitude of things that were seemingly invisible. To view the wonders that the rainforest offers takes increased attention and awareness. The obvious analogy to life is that heightened awareness will gift us a life that offers to intrigue us, to expand our horizons and offer new sources of joy.

The rainforest by tauntingpanda.

My two teenagers and I traveled to Costa Rica recently for a 10-day vacation filled with adventure and discovery, not to mention a break from the routine. I had arranged the trip with a wonderful tour company so that we had a personal guide with us for the majority of the trip.