Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha

James Clear: Atomic Habits, How Small Habits Change Your Life | E265

Jan 1, 2024

James Clear, expert on habits, shares his journey from a baseball player to bestselling author of 'Atomic Habits'. He discusses habit stacking, building a successful email newsletter, making habits research accessible to readers, and the importance of identity-based habits. Clear emphasizes the power of small habits, breaking bad habits, and building sustainable habits by focusing on the process and journey of self-improvement.

51:00

Episode guests

James Clear

AI Summary

Highlights

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Building good habits involves making them obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying.

To break a bad habit, make it invisible, unattractive, difficult, and unsatisfying.

Rather than focusing solely on outcome-based goals, it is more effective to shift towards identity-based habits.

Deep dives

Building Good Habits

Building good habits involves making them obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying. By focusing on the identity you want to have, you can shape your behavior and cast votes for the type of person you want to become.

The Importance of Pride and Identity in Creating Lasting Habits

00:30

The Power of Habits and Outcome-based Thinking

01:09

The Power of Small Habits and Emphasizing Trajectory

00:31

Introduction

2min

Building Habits for Success

16min

The Benefits of Email and Podcasting for Connecting with an Audience

5min

The Evolution of the Habits Academy and the Introduction of Adams App

2min

Making Habits More Accessible and Practical

2min

Unexpected Success and the Power of Small Habits

6min

The Power and Importance of Habits

9min

Building Sustainable Habits

11min

James Clear grew up dreaming of becoming a professional baseball player. But after suffering a serious head injury from being hit in the face with a baseball bat in high school, he had to regroup and figure out how best to play the cards he had been dealt. Thanks to his diligent work ethic, he rebounded to become a college pitcher before embarking on a career as a writer, blogger, best-selling author, and expert on habits. In today’s episode, James will share his story, the rocky road to his bestselling book Atomic Habits, and how you can break your worst habits.

James Clear has been writing at JamesClear.com about habits, decision-making, and continuous improvement since 2012. He is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, Atomic Habits, which has sold millions of copies worldwide and has been translated into more than 50 languages. His popular "3-2-1" email newsletter is sent out weekly to more than 1 million subscribers.

In this episode, Hala and James will discuss:

- The accident that changed his life

- His accomplishments on the ball field

- How to incorporate habit stacking into your routines

- His journey from blogging to best-selling book

- How he built his successful email newsletter

- Making habits research accessible to readers

- The runaway success of Atomic Habits

- His next book project

- Habits as the compound interest of improvement

- The importance of identity-based habits

- Why fixating on goals can be unhealthy

- How to break a bad habit

- And other topics…

James Clear has been writing at JamesClear.com about habits, decision-making, and continuous improvement since 2012. He is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, Atomic Habits, which has sold millions of copies worldwide and has been translated into more than 50 languages. Clear is a regular speaker at Fortune 500 companies and his work has been featured in places like Time magazine, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and on CBS This Morning. His popular "3-2-1" email newsletter is sent out weekly to more than 1 million subscribers.

Resources Mentioned:

James’s Website: https://jamesclear.com/

James’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesclear/

James’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/JamesClear

James’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesclear/

James’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jamesclear/

James’s Newsletter (The 3-2-1 Newsletter): https://jamesclear.com/3-2-1

James’s Masterclass (Small Habits that Make a Big Impact on Your Life): https://www.masterclass.com/classes/small-habits-that-make-a-big-impact-on-your-life

James’s book, Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones: https://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Habits-Proven-Build-Break/dp/0735211299

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