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book shill. edit: perhaps this is a bit harsh, let me rephrase. This article is a series of paragraphs with one obvious statement, if you want to make somethin

book shill. edit: perhaps this is a bit harsh, let me rephrase. This article is a series of paragraphs with one obvious statement, if you want to make something you have to find the time to make it, followed by an advertisement for his book.

mrspeaker 15y ago
I voted you up. This was an obvious advertisement with a few paragraphs of fluff formatted to have the appearance of an "inspirational" piece of text (I'm not saying they aren't passionate or honest about it - it just doesn't contain any nugget of insight, or artistic spark). And it's fair enough - there's obviously a market for that, but I don't think it should be allowed to get by riding on the coat tails of truly inspirational, thought-provoking pieces. "Random inspiration quote" - famous person.
- crux 15y ago
  Zenhabits has always been one of the fluffiest of the original 'productivity' blogs. For years they've found the lowest common denominator self-help/productivity inspirational approach—follow your dreams! Write! Do, live, drive, discuss!—And wrapped it in a veneer of trendy aesthetic signifiers. As some who tries to practice Buddhism I find their wholly superficial co-option of the word 'Zen' to be irksome, but even past that, they always seem to have the most banal, uninsightful take on whatever the self-help blogger concept of the moment is, whether everyone's agreeing this week that you should write something every day, or use a full-screen text editor, or work _less_, or get rid of all your possessions... Frankly, it's a cushy gig.
  - billswift 15y ago
    I agree they aren't very Zen. But Zen isn't very Buddhist either, it's more Taoism with a Buddhist gloss.
    - crux 15y ago
      Can't argue with that. I'm a Thai Forest Tradition man myself. But I have a soft spot in my heart for Zen, formed back when I was a teenager and in the thrall of the exact same aesthetics that have made it such a buzzword on the internet today.
    - gruseom 15y ago
      Zen isn't very Buddhist either, it's more Taoism with a Buddhist gloss. Are you sure? That doesn't sound right to me. Zen is traced back to Bodhidharma, who came from Southern India. Taoism certainly didn't come from India. Moreover, Zen's almost nihilistic austerity seems at odds with the back-to-nature lyricism of, say, the Tao te Ching. It is difficult to imagine Lao Tse beating disciples with sticks.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- ryan-allen 15y ago
  How is this different from many of the other posts that are book shills? I reckon there's at least one post a day on the front page. It's not fair to call it out when shilling is tolerated on HN, simply because you didn't like the article.

mrspeaker 15y ago

I voted you up. This was an obvious advertisement with a few paragraphs of fluff formatted to have the appearance of an "inspirational" piece of text (I'm not saying they aren't passionate or honest about it - it just doesn't contain any nugget of insight, or artistic spark). And it's fair enough - there's obviously a market for that, but I don't think it should be allowed to get by riding on the coat tails of truly inspirational, thought-provoking pieces. "Random inspiration quote" - famous person.

crux 15y ago
Zenhabits has always been one of the fluffiest of the original 'productivity' blogs. For years they've found the lowest common denominator self-help/productivity inspirational approach—follow your dreams! Write! Do, live, drive, discuss!—And wrapped it in a veneer of trendy aesthetic signifiers. As some who tries to practice Buddhism I find their wholly superficial co-option of the word 'Zen' to be irksome, but even past that, they always seem to have the most banal, uninsightful take on whatever the self-help blogger concept of the moment is, whether everyone's agreeing this week that you should write something every day, or use a full-screen text editor, or work _less_, or get rid of all your possessions... Frankly, it's a cushy gig.
- billswift 15y ago
  I agree they aren't very Zen. But Zen isn't very Buddhist either, it's more Taoism with a Buddhist gloss.
  - crux 15y ago
    Can't argue with that. I'm a Thai Forest Tradition man myself. But I have a soft spot in my heart for Zen, formed back when I was a teenager and in the thrall of the exact same aesthetics that have made it such a buzzword on the internet today.
  - gruseom 15y ago
    Zen isn't very Buddhist either, it's more Taoism with a Buddhist gloss. Are you sure? That doesn't sound right to me. Zen is traced back to Bodhidharma, who came from Southern India. Taoism certainly didn't come from India. Moreover, Zen's almost nihilistic austerity seems at odds with the back-to-nature lyricism of, say, the Tao te Ching. It is difficult to imagine Lao Tse beating disciples with sticks.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
ryan-allen 15y ago
How is this different from many of the other posts that are book shills? I reckon there's at least one post a day on the front page. It's not fair to call it out when shilling is tolerated on HN, simply because you didn't like the article.