Mini-Interview with Leo Babauta from Zen Habits

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Leo Babauta is a God. A blogging God. Okay, maybe I’m being a little over dramatic… but the guy has definitley been a big inspiration to me. He’s about addicted to self improvement, as I have been to other things. Except his addiction is a fine one to have.

Blogging is something that I have discovered in the past year as a new passion for me. It excites me. It motivates me. It fascinates me. It is an opportunity for anyone that is willing to put in the effort to utilize blogging as a creative outlet, a self published writing platform, a small business opportunity, or simply way to express yourself and connect with like minded people. You blogging goals can range from wanting to connect more with your family in another state to creating an entrepreneurial empire. Leo Babauta chose the later.

And, he’s just a plain nice guy. He’s someone that you can tell walks his talk. He doesn’t just preach self improvement, he lives it. Integrity is so refreshing.

Leo was nice enough to let me pick his brain with a couple of my burning questions. Here’s what he had to say.

1. What inspires you most?

Other people following their dreams and doing amazing things. I love reading books, magazine articles, and blogs about people who are creating, getting fit, writing brilliantly, simplifying their lives, making something new and exciting, reaching goals.

And of course, there are people like this in my own life: my wife Eva, my sister Kat, my mom Shannon, friends and family who daily give me the inspiration to keep doing my own thing.

2. What two qualities do you think are key to having a successful blog?

You have to post regularly (not necessarily daily but at least weekly) and you have to post really good content. Stuff that helps people, that has the reader’s needs as its primary target, that shows how to succeed at whatever the reader is interested in.

It helps to be a good writer, to be able to express yourself and your ideas clearly and interestingly. But there are all kinds of people who are writing excellent blogs, and most didn’t start out as writers.

3. What piece of advice would you give to someone that wants to become self employed by following their passion?

Do it. Start now — don’t put it off until next year. Start by reading about it, researching it, getting inspired by others who are doing it, learning about what steps they took. Then start doing it. You can start in small steps, doing it before and after your regular job, and slowly learning the ropes and mastering it. Or you can take a plunge and quit your day job and just do it full time.

Also, reduce your income by simplifying your life and finances. By reducing your needs, you’ll reduce the amount of income you need to succeed as an entrepreneur. Then, when you hit that lower target, you can be self-sustaining and continue to grow.

4. What is the best lesson you have learned from blogging?

It’s helped tremendously with introspection. When you blog, you’re forced to take a closer look at your life, to see what you’re doing right and what you’re doing wrong. You start to question “why”. You step back and take a big-picture look at everything, and then you look at the details. It’s been a fascinating experience. I recommend it to anyone.
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You can check out Leo’s blog Zen Habits here, follow him on Twitter, (or me! ). Thank you Leo, for taking the take to answer my questions.