Another one of those blogging sensations, Leo Babauta has over 3000 subscribers (as of this posting) to his blog Zen Habits which he started in November 2006, “but didn’t really get serious about it until late January.” He has been a tremendous asset to the blogging community. His mantra is “useful content.”

I stumbled upon his blog through the Personal Development Index and was hooked by his Motivation Hacks series. I wasn’t the only one, it caught the eye of Gina Tripani’s Life Hacker. That was in February, only a month later he scored interviews with the A-listers about the habits that they practice to reach their goals in the Golden Goals Series.

We started the conversation with how he got into blogging and how he scored those big interviews, but what was most interesting to me was Leo’s emphasis on family. His devotion to his wife and kids. He said several times during the interview that his is very thankful for his supportive wife and kids because he thinks that he takes a lot of time from them. He wanted to make sure that they were all mentioned as they are the focus of his life. He even has a picture. He’s the guy in the middle holding the baby. His wife is to his right in the green dress, and his father-in-law is to his left.

Nneka - Why did you start blogging?
Leo - My original idea was to create a blog where I shared my goals and my progress with the world, along with what I’ve learned along the way. It was supposed to be a way where I kept myself accountable for my goals by blogging about it, and at the same time helped others trying to accomplish similar goals.

It’s evolved a bit since then, as people have asked about all kinds of stuff that I’m interested in, ranging from productivity to frugality to habit changes to GTD to motivation to family issues to simplifying your life. They’re issues I’ve studied and worked on for years, and so writing about them comes naturally and it’s extremely interesting and fun to me. I love blogging now - it’s a passion of mine!

Nneka - What are your Zen Habits?
Leo - This is a tough one, as I still have a lot of habits that I think need more work, and that I struggle with now and then. Some habits that are already firmly ingrained that I’ve added just in the last year or two:

• Exercise - I run regularly, and am now biking and swimming
• Eating healthy - I’m a vegan, although I have a weakness for sweets
• Clean-as-you-go - instead of letting things get messy and having to clean it all up, I put things where they belong and clean up after myself throughout the day
• Frugality - this has been a constantly evolving habit, but I consider myself a pretty frugal person
• Waking early - I now rise at 4:30 or 5 a.m. every day … mornings are my favorite time each day
• Clear inbox and desk - I dispatch of things coming in right away, instead of letting things pile up
• Simplifying - I am very good at reducing clutter and leaving a calm, peaceful setting for work and life
• Writing daily
• Positive thinking - this is really the habit that started all my other habits

There are more, but this is to give you a sample. Some habits that I am working on (or have worked on and still need more work on

• Be present - one of the things I love about Balanced Life Center is its focus on being present and mindfulness … I have improved on this, but I could use more work
• Procrastination - actually, I’ve made great strides on this, but there are plenty of times when I waste time reading about stuff when I have other things to do … this will be a goal of mine in the next month or two

Nneka - What is your greatest achievement to date?
Leo - Just choose one?

There are so many: the marathon I ran last year, writing a novel, quitting smoking, losing weight, creating the Zen Habits blog, to name a few. But if I had to choose just one, it would be this: I am a father of six wonderful and beautiful kids: Chloe, Justin, Rain, Maia, Seth and our baby, Noelle Cayce.

I am not a perfect father, but I do my best. My happiest moments are the times I spend with my kids and wife, Eva, either on a one-to-one basis or as a family. These moments fill me with bliss. In the past year, I’ve increased those moments by creating Family Day on Sundays, and strictly observing the rule of doing Nothing But Family Day Stuff on Sundays. This has made my children and wife happier, and making them happy (and by extension, myself very happy) has been my greatest accomplishment, without a doubt.

Nneka - How would you like to change the world?
Leo - Aside from what I write about, I am also involved (not as much as I’d like, but I hope to change that in the future) in a few causes that concern me — homelessness, global poverty, and the issue of colonialization of the people on Guam, where I live. Global poverty, for example, seems like such a huge problem that we cannot fix it. But there are things our country is doing that affect the poverty levels of those in the Third World to a great degree, and there are things our country could do to alleviate (if not eliminate) those problems. And it affects so many people, on such a basic and human level, that I feel we must do something about it.

On Guam, we actually live comparatively comfortable lives, so being a colony of the U.S. doesn’t seem so bad. But it’s an issue of freedom, and I strongly believe that every individual and every culture should be able to determine its own fate and not be controlled by a more powerful nation. I hope that public awareness of this issue can bring about greater freedom and autonomy for the people of Guam.

On another note, I’d like to empower people to change their daily lives, as I have. And if I can make people happy and put smiles on their faces, that would be a great start!

Nneka - What are your spiritual practices?
Leo - I have to admit to being less spiritual than I’d like. I go to church on a fairly regular basis, and believe that prayer has helped my life. I have also begun the practice of meditation, sporadically though. It does help me center and calm myself when I do it. I would also like to become more mindful and be more present in my daily life.

I think the one area I can be proud of, spiritually speaking, is on a more practical level: I believe one of the core beliefs in any faith is expressed in the Golden Rule: treat others as you would have them treat you. I live by this simple but powerful rule every day, with everyone I meet. I believe that this not only makes me a good person, but it makes me and the people I meet much happier. They also tend to treat me better as a result, and in the end, my life is much better because of it.

Leo, I am struck by your humility and generosity, and I am a great fan of your writing. I’m very glad I stumbled upon your blog that day in February. I look forward to that book you have in the works.

BTW, Leo is also a member of the Positive Blog Network.

In Spirit,
Nneka