Healthy mind
“Healthy mind, healthy body” is something that CEOs, entrepreneurs, and owner managers should take to heart. In Bookbuzz we have covered quite a few of those books. From “Mindstore” by Jack Black, “Move, eat, sleep” by Tom Rath, down to “Coherence” by Alan Watkins.
Power of the mind
The power of the mind is amazing, and it is getting more and more traction in management theory and technology. Books to read are “The future of the mind” and “The Age of Superman”.
“The code of the extraordinary mind”
Hence the reasons to pick up “The code of the extraordinary mind”. An individual version of “Happiness at work”.
Your internal story
In a world where the big stories are becoming increasingly negative (EU, American elections, Brexit, climate change, refugees, terrorism, war, technology change, unemployment), you need to focus on the small stories, starting with your own internal story. That is what this book does.
In short
Meditate, meditate, meditate.
Less short:
- break (or at least question) the rules
- be aware
- be happy
- happiness is internal
- no pain, no gain
- be aware
- engineer you consciousness
- follow your intuition
- you are what you think
- love yourself
- forgive
- be grateful
- have an exciting vision that makes you happy (he calls it the blueprint for the soul)
- leave a dent
- embrace your quest
Disengaged
According to a Gallup study surveying more than 150,000 Americans, 70 percent of respondents said they were “disengaged” from their jobs. One big reason is the tyranny of rules—rules that suggest we “should” do life in a particular way because everyone else seems to be doing it. One of the keys to being extraordinary is knowing what rules to follow and what rules to break.
Why disengage?
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma—which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
Mastery in living
A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labor and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both.
Be happy
It turns out that our brains are hardwired to perform at their best not when they are negative or even neutral, but when they are positive. Stop postponing your happiness. Be happy now. Your thoughts and beliefs do create your reality, but only when your present state is joyful
Be extraordinary
1. Extraordinary people feel a unique connectedness and kinship to all life.
2. Extraordinary people are open to intuitive insights they attain through this connection.
3. Extraordinary people allow their intuition to lead them to a vision that pulls them forward.
4. As extraordinary people serve this calling, the universe blesses them with luck. This feeling of being lucky reinforces their sense of connectedness and kinship to all life. It’s a virtuous circle because each leads to the other. The feeling of being lucky or blessed leads to a feeling of even greater connectedness with the world as you seek to share these blessings
Is it too fluffy?
All of this could be from “There here and now” by Tolle or the “The monk who sold his Ferrari” or even “The secret”. It all sounds fluffy, but it is quite amazing how this book stacks with lots of the business books we cover in our Bookbuzz sessions, such as the earlier mentioned “The age of Superman” and “ Mindstore” (which are both about engineering your consciousness). But also books such as “Exponential organisations” (What is your transformative purpose?) and “The network always wins” (What is your clock speed of refresh rate?). The book also mentions reading books as part of your “refreshing” or “upgrading your system of living” as a good thing. As Bookbuzz we cannot but agree.
Applies to business
Most of the principles from the book can be applied in a business context. If your business follows the rules of the code of an extraordinary mind, I am fairly sure your business will be a success. The author himself is living proof of that. He has built his company Mindvalley into a big player in the field of mindfulness. Mindvalley appears to be the Zappos of the mind.
Be unfuckwithable
The best part, in my view, is this one. Entrepreneurs will recognise this in particular. Be unfuckwithable. You are enough. Extraordinary minds do not need to seek validation from outside opinion or through the attainment of goals. Instead, they are truly at peace with themselves and the world around them. They live fearlessly—immune to criticism or praise and fuelled by their own inner happiness and self-love.
Just do it
Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. If you aren’t sure what to do, just take a step—a tiny baby step. When the universe calls on you, even if you don’t know the exact path to success—take a baby step. Baby steps show intention. Straight from “Do” by Kevin Kelly or “Poke the Box” by Seth Godin.
Instigation capital is mental capital.
I should invite you to Kenya, not for work but for Holiday.