This week, I was planning to write about different ways to love yourself.
It is the week of Valentine’s Day, after all.
But, that seemed so “been there, done that”.
Instead, I’m inspired to write about why it’s important to infuse your business—and your way of doing business—with love.
Why?
First, my clients tell me that as a result of our work, they love themselves more and there is more love in their overall life. That our work together re-ignites the passion they have for their work in the world and inspires them to dream bigger and do better. I love hearing that!
Second, I heard John Mackey, Co-CEO of Whole Foods, speak last week about his new book Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business. And, believe it or not, he spoke about love!
Third, the most pure form of energy in the world is love. It vibrates at the highest level, it heals all wounds, it’s at the core of all good things—relationships, good business, and peace. (Read Anita Moorjani’s book Dying to Be Me if you want to know more.)
Read on to learn what John Mackey has to say about how LOVE fits into his own personal best practices—what I call Platinum Practices (see chapter 7 of my book for more details)—and what love has to do with good business.
John defines conscious business as business that …
- Operates for a higher purpose
- Is mindful of its stakeholders
- Has leaders who have a higher degree of emotional intelligence, spiritual intelligence, and sense of stewardship, and
- Cultivates a culture of consciousness.
He emphasized that: “conscious business requires conscious leadership.”
He describes conscious leaders as people:
- Whose actions must transcend the ego
- Who invest in self-improvement and professional development
- Grow in Emotional Intelligence (he emphasized this as being absolutely essential)
- And Who allow LOVE to permeate the workplace (something, he feels, that women do more naturally).
John Mackey’s 3 Platinum Practices
When I stepped up to the microphone and asked him what his personal best practices were—the things he does on a daily or weekly basis that help him to be a conscious leader and continue to evolve, he answered:
1. S.O.U.L.
John practices SOUL, an acronym he made up to describe the following practice:
- Stop what you are doing.
- Observe what is happening.
- Seek to Understand more.
- Bring LOVE to the situation. (As in: acting from a place of love.)
2. BE in the moment.
He described this as being a practice of simply noticing where your thoughts are going, then bringing yourself back to the moment. He didn’t say it was easy, but that it was really important to do this throughout the day. In the first chapter of my book, I emphasize the importance of carving out time each day to quiet the mind. If you haven’t read it yet, download this first chapter here.
3. Be Honest, Authentic, and Speak the Truth.
He admitted he’s received a lot of criticism for doing this, but that it’s the only way to run a business consciously. I teach my clients to align their thoughts, feelings, words, and actions with their vision—and this is consistent with living and working in a positive, conscious way.
NOTE: John did not once explicitly mention yoga, or mindfulness, or meditation, or any other Eastern-inspired practices, but I can clearly see that he gets it: it’s important to quiet your mind, to let go of the ego and listen without attachment, and to be compassionate.
Lastly, John shared this: If you are operating from a point of view that you can either be profitable or do well in the world, then it’s time to shift your paradigm.
He said, and I quote: “Tradeoffs are generally a failure of creativity.”
The whole point of John Mackey’s work in the world and the subject of his book is that you can operate profitably while making a positive difference in the world. I know this because I spend time with most of my clients working on their Mindset, helping them to adopt an expansive view of life and work, leaving behind the “fixed pie” mentally that is painfully limiting.
In my business, it’s simple but true: I LOVE my work, I LOVE my clients, I LOVE helping people improve their performance so they can make a positive impact on the world.
So, what’s LOVE got to do with your work and business? How does LOVE help you perform at a more optimal level? I’d love to hear from you! Reply to this email or follow me on Twitter, connect with me on Facebook or LinkedIn.
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