This book is about the benefits of doing less in a world that has increasingly embraced more - more desire, more activity, more things, more exhaustion. This book is about stopping, as well as the possibility of finding composure in the midst of activity. It is also about the power of accomplishing more by doing less. Of course, a certain kind of being busy enables us to earn a living, be a leader, achieve academically, and create as an artist. The good kind of busy that makes us feel productive and avoid boredom. But "Less" is about something else. Call it crazy busy, way-too-busy, over-busy, or non-stop-busy, full of extraneous and getting-you-nowhere effort.Lesser calls it, simply, busyness, and it is taking over our world. Doing less means stripping away the activities and unhelpful ways of thinking that cram your day with stress and exhaustion. It means streamlining the activities you choose to engage in so that they become more satisfying and you derive more happiness from your achievements. It also means being fully present and engaged in whatever activity you undertake.
Time for quiet and reflection are part of this transformative process - but the true power of a daily practice emerges only in conjunction with a different way of approaching and structuring one's day and, Lesser writes, a different way of defining accomplishment.
About the Author :
Marc Lesser is the founder and CEO of ZBA Associates, a management consulting, coaching, and training company. A Zen teacher with an MBA, Marc speaks and leads workshops throughout North America.
Review :
"This wise, beautifully written book is grounded in a refreshing new way to understand busyness and filled with concrete strategies to recapture your quality of life -- for good."
-- Cheryl Richardson, author of Take Time for Your Life "A wise, compassionate, and insightful guide to finding spaciousness in the only place it truly exists: inside your own mind, heart, and life."
-- Jane Hirshfield, poet and author of After and Nine Gates
"With gentle wisdom and real-world common sense, Marc Lesser effortlessly integrates profound spiritual wisdom into a clear and doable program for sane self-improvement, whatever the challenges of your work or life."
-- Norman Fischer, Zen abbot and teacher, poet, and author of Sailing Home
"Marc Lesser dives into one of the most pervasive and persistent difficulties of our time -- overwhelming busyness -- with courage, deep practical know-how, profound spiritual understanding, and kindness. . . . Less goes way beyond most self-help books -- yet stays within everyone's reach. Quite amazing."
-- James Flaherty, founder of New Ventures West Integral Coaching and author of Coaching: Evoking Excellence in Others
"This valuable work is so loaded with practical, applicable insights and suggestions to simplify work and daily existence that after reading it I felt that I should be studying at Marc's feet. . . . Give your daily life and work a spring cleaning by following the practices and path suggested in this book."
-- Peter Coyote, actor and writer
"This Buddhist teacher-cum-lifestyle coach has come up with a very practical life plan."
-- Mandala magazine
"Less is more, as the old saying goes. Author Marc Lesser takes this to heart in his new book, Less: Accomplishing More by Doing Less. 'Too often we mistakenly believe that doing less makes us lazy and results in a lack of productivity, ' Lesser writes. What it really does, he argues, is make us better appreciate the things we actually do get done. The author offers a 'Less Manifesto' aimed at getting more of those kinds of things you can't put your hands on: patience, love, kindness, generosity, and quiet self-reflection."
-- Body + Soul magazine
