How the Founder of Mindvalley Envision His Life
To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. — Ralph Waldo Emerson
Earlier this year, Vishen published his second bestseller “The Buddha and the Badass.” I was very excited to read the book over a weekend, and it easily exceeds my expectation.
If you are interested in upgrading your beliefs, come prepared to read it with an open mind. To give you a taste of Vishen’s worldviews, I’ve highlighted Vishen’s 11 worldviews directly form the book:
- Work: When work becomes what you are passionate about, it is no longer work. Our role in life is not about hard work or achievement. It is ultimately about freedom, growth, and expansion.
- Belief: What you believe determines your perceived reality. The world will reflect your identity — what you deeply believe you are.
- Innovation: You won’t change things by fighting reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.
- Growth: Success and failure are illusions. Real success is simply how fast you are growing. As long as you are growing, you’ll be fulfilled.
- Money: Abundance comes from a simple belief that the right amount of money you need in your life would come as and when needed.
- Wisdom: Apprentice with a master, read biographies of legendary people, and slowly come to understand some of their unique worldviews.
- Leadership: Recognize that every person you lead is as brilliant, talented, and have the same capacity for growth as you. Articulate your vision so that you can attract the best people to join your team.
- Relationships: The best relationships are most often between two people who are committed to their own self-evolution.
- Goals: Are your goals worthy enough of you? Speak of your project ten years ahead. End goals are the experiences that create the best memories in our lives.
- Life: The whole point of being a human is to create experiences. As the great playwright George Bernard Shaw said, “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
- Self-actualization: Embrace self-actualization as a way of life. Your life’s work is about removing all the barriers that hold you back from being who you truly want to be.
PS – Vishen also detailed his personal journey in The Buddha and the Badass.
#1 What Great Leads Do
- Great leaders don’t let you get comfortable. They push you to do things you once thought impossible. Remember that impossible is just a state of mind.
- Great leaders hire the best people. They get them to join their team, give them good work, and get out of their way to focus on bigger vision.
- Great leaders share their audacious dream and work with people to turn the vision into reality. They attract the best people by working on a problem that is worth solving!
However, there is a dark side to moving too fast toward incredible visions. It occurs when you forget to take a step to take care of yourself.
#2 Hard Work ≠ Success
Though I strongly believe in the power of hard things, I don’t believe that hard work is the most optimal path to success. We often believe in the power of hard work because we are told this way.
Here are the questions Vishen recommend you to ask:
What if business was easy?
What if making millions of dollars was fun and easy?
What if we had a belief that the more money I make, the more money I make automatically?
In addition to that, research has shown a lot of merits to play. As Alex Pang writes in Rest, deep play is the key to unlock your serious athletic abilities and get into the flow. I plan to write an article on how my new focus on play helps me get even more out of life.
#3 Transcend your everyday self
Here’s how you can take your work to the next level.
When your work is aligned with the legacy you want to leave in the world, your mission will drive you to do the best work. Some people call this self-transcendence—the act of transcending your personal concerns to uplift others and enhance the world.
In college, I took some time to take a step back and write my own obituary. This exercise has helped me reflect on what I want my legacy on this planet to be and figure out my Why in life. If you decide to do this exercise, I am happy to take a look and provide you with some feedback.