Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the new black in business. It is everywhere. And not just as part of personal or self-development, but as part of the DNA of businesses. We are doing quite some work on briefing companies about happy, mindful staff with a sense of purpose. It makes perfect business sense. Happy staff is 25% more productive.
Focus on self-development
There are lots of books on being mindful as a person. From “The secret” to “The Celestine Prophecy” or from “The road less travelled” to “The Monk who sold his Ferrari”. Not much in business books. Maybe “Coherence” or “Reinventing organisations,” but nothing that crosses the self-development chasm to business development.
The old masters
We have always found that in those cases the old masters are worth studying. Management theory is only 50 years old, and Drucker is still the godfather. Mindfulness is a lot older than management theory. It is part of every religion and was part of ancient cultures as a way of life. One of the first people who brought this all together in a book was Jack Black. Another old master and also ahead of his time. His first book was “Mindstore”, the classic personal development programme”.
Read it
If you are into personal development, you should read it. If you are a startup, you should read it. If you are an owner-manager of a small business, you should read it. Everything that is now fashionable and “new” is in that book.
Balance
A balanced view of your life. Family life, social life, health, personal development, attitude, career, finance and spiritual life. His theories and advice are now confirmed by neuroscience. You are what you think. PMA is important. You are limited by your beliefs. The need to manage stress. The importance of setting goals. The importance of writing them down (only 4% does). The need to use all parts of your brain (dual brain).
Control your brain
The need to avoid being managed by the hypothalamus. Apparently, we come with 20,000 inbuilt programmes when we are born. All based on evolution and social biology. A lot are no longer that relevant. The programming in the schools (way before Ken Robinson identified this) doesn’t help either. The trick is to start doing some of your own programming. Your brain is a bio-computer.
Start with attitude
It needs to be positive. Ban negative words (and people). Keep smiling. The mind can only hold one thought at the time. So negative thoughts can always be replaced. And neuroscience will tell you that it does wonders.
Quantum physics
If you believe that the mind is a quantum machine which decides on what your reality is going to be, you can see how powerful it could be. Suggest you read “The future of the mind”. Predicting Mindtech as a hotspot.
Vision
The importance of a vision. A powerful one. Forget achievable and realistic. You need to dream. Making is as visual and detailed a possible. Burning it into your brain (like burning a CD). Burning the pathways. The same way you create habits. Vision is more important than planning. But you need to commit to that vision. Believe it. Helping your quantum computer to make it happen. You are what you think. Our thoughts become our realities. You are creating future history. And it becomes part of the programming of your bio-computer.
The software to programme your brain
He gives you the software as well. The meditation techniques. The mental structures. Literally. He helps you to build a mental house space where you can apply a whole range of techniques. A mental house with a shower, a library, an editing suite, a sleeping room and anything else you can imagine. As the metaphor for relaxation, the re-energising, the mental cleansing, the affirmation and PMA, the visioning, the remembering and the dreaming.
No short cuts
The point is the burning. It has to become a routine. You need to practice and maintain your mental house. There are no short cuts. You need to take the time to do it. Regularly. The way you would exercise your body. Bruce Lee said, “knowing is not enough we must apply, willing is not enough we must do.” There is one shortcut, the famous tip of your tongue at the back of your from teeth. To bring you in a better mental state almost immediately.
It all works
I am interested to find out how this will work in a business context. Being mindful together as a team? Collective business consciousness? Inter-connectedness with communal wisdom? Business 5.0? Brainstorming in alpha waves?
It sounds weird. But so did Mindstore over 20 years ago.
