meditate to innovate! how to use mindfulness to make a difference in your business

LAURENFRITSCH

@magnetismfactor#meditateinnovate

WHAT IS MEDITATION?med· i· ta· tionnoun

the action or practice of meditating.

synonyms: contemplation, thought, thinking, musing, pondering, consideration, reflection, deliberation, rumination, brooding, reverie, brown study, concentration

CONTEMPLATION“an exercise in keeping your heart and mind spaces open long enough for the mind to see other hidden material.”

- Richard Rohr

INNOVATIONis the specific instrument of

entrepreneurship. The act that endows resources with a new

capacity to create wealth.- PETER DRUCKER

ENTREPRENEURSHIP+

INNOVATION = WEALTH

WEALTH = CURRENCY, HEALTH, OPPORTUNITIES,

EDUCATION, EMPOWERMENT

WEALTHENTREPRENEURSHIP

INNOVATIONMEDITATION

• better focus• less anxiety• more creativity• more compassion

• better memory• less stress• more grey matter

WHY MEDITATE?

STRESS=

INNOVATION

"And every day, the world will drag you by the hand, yelling, "This is important! And this is important! And this is important! You need to worry about this! And this! And this!" 

And each day, it's up to you to yank your hand back, put it on your heart and say, "No. This is what's important."  

- Iain Thomas

STRESS clouds your judgment hinders your memory decreases your willpower costs you money

MEDITATION:The Wonder Drug!

“...equivalent to discovering an entirely new class of drugs (but without the inevitable side effects).”- Mark Williams and Danny Penman

Rupert Murdoch Oprah WinfreyBill Ford Jeff Weiner

Mark Bertolini Marc BenioffEvan Williams Jerry SeinfeldPhil Jackson LeBron James

Michael Jordan

MEDITATION CALMS THE STORMPadmasree Warrior, CTO at Cisco says meditation is "a reboot for your brain and your soul." 

• Movement meditation• Mindfulness

meditation• Guided meditation• Transcendental

meditation (TM)• Sound/Sensory

meditation• Mantra meditation

TYPES OF MEDITATION

• Google• Apple• Aetna• Nike• Yahoo! 

• McKinsey• Deutsche Bank• P&G• HBO

COMPANIES THAT PROMOTE MEDITATION/MINDFULNESS

MAKING MEDITATION WORK FOR YOUR WORK

• You can't suck at meditation

• Consistency is key• Guided meditation

can be a great start

• Get a partner• Try an app

TRY IT OUT, MAKE IT STICK!

• daily routine• to "bookend" your

days• when you experience

a stress response

• to get through a creative block

• to solve a pesky problem

WHEN TO USE MEDITATION

DAILY ROUTINELeo Babauta of Zen Habits recommends trying two minutes a day for eight weeks.

THE BOOKEND METHODStart and end your day with short meditations. Try five minutes first thing in the morning and in the evening (just after you return from work or before heading to bed). Work up to 10 or 15 minutes.

TO COUNTERACT STRESSVisualization is the cornerstone of much athletic performance because it can keep the body alert for peak performance without exhausting itself or turning on the full flight or fight stress response. 

TO BLAST THROUGH CREATIVE BLOCKS OR SOLVE A PROBLEMStaring at the wall, short meditation, and/or a wandering mind can all contribute to more creative output and divergent thinking- the kind of thinking that solves problems.

• Buddhify2• Stop, Breathe and Think• The Mindfulness App

• Mindfulness Meditation• Headspace• Insight Timer

MY FAV MEDITATION APPS

CREATE ASPACE

Including rituals in your meditation can enhance the benefits.•Space•Sounds•Smells•Posture

ABOVE ALL

Don’t take meditation (or yourself) too seriously.

BibiliographyHuffington, Arianna. Thrive: The third metric to redefining success and creating a life of well-being, wisdom, and wonder. New York: Harmony Books, 2014.

McGonigal, Kate. The Willpower Instinct: Why self-control matters, why it works, and what you can do to get more of it. New York: Avery, December 29, 2011.

Tan, Chade-Meng, Goleman, Daniel and Kabat-Zin, Jon. Search Inside Yourself: The unexpected path to achieving success, happiness (and world peace). New York: HarperOne, April 24, 2012.

“10 Big Companies That Promote Employee Meditation.” OnlineMBA.com. February 1, 2012.

Colzata, Lorenza, Ozturk, Ayca, Hommel, Bernhard. “Meditate to Create: the impact of focused-attention and open-monitoring training on convergent and divergent thinking.” NCBI.com, April 18, 2012.

Ding, Xioaqian, Tang, Yi-Yuan, Tang, Rongxiang, Posner, Michael. “Improving Creativity Performance by Short Term Meditation.” NCBI.com. March 19, 2014.

Photo CreditsSlides 2, 21, 24, 26 and 27: Justin Woddis

All below from Flickr Creative CommonsSlide 3: Meditation by Hans PeterSlide 4: Don’t Leave Me This Way by Machiel Van ZantenSlide 11: NYC Street by Mista LeeSlide 13: Meditation by Rennett StoweSlide 15: Calm the Storm by JD HancockSlide 18: Breathe. Create. Repeat. Poster by positivelyposters.comSlide 22: meditation room by peter duttonSlide 23: Surfer by Hani Amir

When CEOs, politicians and athletes hit a block, they call Lauren Fritsch.

You may know her as a consultant, but really she’s a sneak-attack spiritualteacher who empowers very visible leaders to grow their businesses, teams and lives with grace and love.

She facilitates amazing growth through the lens of commerce and fun!

Lauren is the founder of TCCConsultingGroup.com and blogs at LaurenFritsch.com.

Tweet her @magnetismfactor