Less: Accomplishing More by Doing Less

161 Pages·2017·0.84 MB·English

by  Marc Lesser

PRAISE FOR LESS
“If only I had had Marc’s insight into my personal busyness earlier in my life, I
would have been able to save thousands of heartbeats to spend with my
grandchildren. The quiet perspective of Less will change how one works and
how one lives.”
— Warren Langley, former president of the Pacific Stock
Exchange and managing member of GuruWizard Fund, LLC
“Like all great ideas, Less is disarmingly simple: know who you are, what you
want to accomplish and why, and just do it, with a minimum of fuss and a
maximum of joy. 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, poet, Zen abbot and teacher, and author of
Sailing Home: Using the Wisdom of Homer’s Odyssey
to Navigate Life’s Perils and Pitfalls
“An author who offers a book titled Less: Accomplishing More by Doing Less
either really knows what he’s talking about or is perpetrating a commercial
fraud. Marc Lesser knows, and 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. Marc and I have
practiced Zen Buddhism in the same community for over thirty years. Yet I was
surprised on page after page by how much I learned (and needed to learn) from
my calm and unassuming friend. Give your daily life and work a spring cleaning
by following the practices and path suggested in this book.”
— Peter Coyote, actor and writer
“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. Any reader will be able to take
up the methods he proposes to great and immediate effect — reducing stress and
improving productivity with what really matters. You’ll feel met and understood
as you read and yet challenged to examine your actions, habits, and beliefs.
Insights will abound, but the real payoff is taking them into your everyday life,
and Marc shows dozens of ways to do that. 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
LESS
OTHER BOOKS BY MARC LESSER
Z.B.A. — Zen of Business Administration:
How Zen Practice Can Transform Your Work and Your Life
LESS
Accomplishing More
by Doing Less
MARC LESSER
New World Library
Novato, California
Copyright © 2009 by Marc Lesser All rights reserved. This book may not be
reproduced in whole or in part, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any
form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, or other — without written
permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief
passages in a review.
The material in this book is intended for education. It is not meant to take the
place of diagnosis and treatment by a qualified medical practitioner or therapist.
No expressed or implied guarantee as to the effects of the use of the
recommendations can be given nor liability taken.
Text design by Tona Pearce Myers Library of Congress Cataloging-in-
Publication Data Lesser, Marc.
Less : accomplishing more by doing less / Marc Lesser.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-57731-617-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Contemplation. 2. Rest. 3. Time
management. I. Title.
BV5091.C7L46 2009
650.1—dc22
2008044951
First printing, February 2009
ISBN 978-1-57731-617-6
Printed in Canada on 100% postconsumer-waste recycled paper New World
Library is a proud member of the Green Press Initiative.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Lee, Jason, and Carol
You bring hope, beyond words
You must learn one thing.
The world was made to be free in.
— David Whyte
CONTENTS
PROLOGUE: Accomplish More
PART I
THE OVERWHELMING BUSYNESS OF OUR
LIVES
CHAPTER 1: The Immense Sea
CHAPTER 2: The Art of Less
PART II
TRANSFORMING BUSYNESS
INTO COMPOSURE AND RESULTS
CHAPTER 3: The Less Manifesto
CHAPTER 4: Fear
CHAPTER 5: Assumptions
CHAPTER 6: Distractions