Frequently Asked Questions about Zen Habits:

Q. When did you start?

A.

Q. Why did you start Zen Habits?

A.

Q. How did you come up with the name?

A.

Q. How did you find early readers?

A.

Q. Where do you find inspiration for posts?

A.

Q. Why do you have six kids?

A. The full story: I am the natural father of only four of my kids, but all six live with us (well, most of the time). I was previously married and had two children with another woman. My current wife (Eva) had two kids with another man before me. We got together about 8 years ago, fell in love, and got married. We decided we really wanted to have babies together, so we had two more.

Six kids wasn’t planned. But I love all of them immensely and wouldn’t change a thing.

Q. What's your secret to success?

A. I don't have a succinct answer. I would probably have to reflect on all my successes and try to sum it up with what I found in common. Some examples:

• Love what you do. This is one of the most important factors.
• Set small goals at first, ones that you will succeed at … then build on those successes!
• Build good habits from the beginning … those habits will build your success.
• Focus on positive thinking, always.
• Focus on the essential, eliminate the non-essential.
•  Be generous and positive and friendly in all interactions.
• Treat mistakes as learning opportunities.

Q. What's Guam like?

A. Guam is like a little piece of the U.S. in the tropics. Kind of like Hawaii, but smaller. It’s a lot like the US in many ways (we’re part of the US of course) … we all speak American English, have malls and bookstores and restaurants and McDonalds and most of the fast food places you have … Kmart and Home Depot … paved roads and American-style houses … American schools and government …etc. We’re consumers and workers.

Different from the US in that we have our own culture, and it’s very much an island. We have tropical weather, humidity and heat, heavy rains and hot sun, typhoons (same as hurricanes), coconut trees and geckos and snakes (tho not as many as some people think). We have our own native language and culture, influenced by the Spanish.

It’s comparable to a rural town in the US, mostly. I think just about everything I write about is applicable to the US. Read more: Guampedia.

Q. Tips for starting the writing habit?

I have so many! I recommend my other blog, WriteToDone. I have a few articles there about this.

Main tips, though:

• Start small. Just 10 mins a day. You can do that! When you’ve succeeded with that habit, expand it.
• Read a lot. As much as you can, every day, wildly varying things.
• Write a lot. The more you do it, the better. Start small, but keep doing it and doing it.
• Write what you're passionate about.

Q. I find it interesting that you are a vegetarian, but your wife and kids are not. How do you feel about raising kids who do not have the same beliefs about food that you do?

A. In a perfect world, everyone would be vegetarian. However, in the real world, there’s no way to convert everyone to your beliefs. You have to allow others to live their lives, and just lead the best life you can.

For myself, I try to lead by example and inspire with enthusiasm. I’ve gotten them to eat a lot of vegetarian dishes, and I believe that’s a great start. My wife has recently become a pescatarian, which is no meat except seafood. That’s a huge step. One step at a time.

My kids might never become vegetarian, and I don’t believe in forcing them. However, I do believe in educating them, which I am doing slowly.

More to come.