Building a company is very difficult, especially one focused on disrupting a mature industry. To succeed against established, multi-billion-dollar competitors requires an enormous amount of determination, hardwork, and boundless optimism. With minimal resources, you must figure out how to: create a solution that achieves the ever-elusive product market fit, develop a unique value proposition and establish competitive differentiation, hire and retain rockstar employees, persuade investors to support your vision, execute on a business plan and go-to-market strategy, and overcome a lot of rejection and failure along the way.
As the co-founder of Vatica Health, I have experienced these challenges (and more) as we evolved from a startup to a market-leading company with hundreds of amazing employees backed by prominent investors. Fortunately, early on in my journey I discovered an X Factor—an unconventional practice and mindset that has made an enormous difference.
It started with a better understanding of our minds’ limitations and tendencies. Despite our extraordinary capacity to innovate and solve complex problems, there is one thing most humans cannot do. We cannot stop the critical voices in our heads from producing incessant, judgmental chatter that interferes with our productivity and effectiveness—not to mention our peace and serenity. Our wandering minds can wreak havoc on both our personal and business lives by producing greater stress and anxiety, conflicts with colleagues, unproductive distractions, and burnout—all of which lead to poor decisions and suboptimal outcomes.
Approximately 10 years ago I discovered meditation and Eastern philosophy, which has helped me cultivate greater selfawareness, concentration, and the capacity for introspective examination. Meditation is a powerful tool to train our easily distracted minds to observe our unproductive and negative thoughts, rather than actively engage with them. This enables us to respond more productively to the vicissitudes of life, as opposed to having knee-jerk reactions. The ability to think clearly under pressure, while not reacting emotionally, is essential for leadership. Scientific research has validated the enormous benefits of meditation, including improved focus, creativity and decision making, and a reduction in stress and anxiety. It is therefore not a surprise that numerous progressive organizations, such as Apple, Google, Nike, and McKinsey promote employee meditation programs.
There is a Zen Buddhist concept of the Beginner’s Mind, an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceived conceptions. I’ve attempted to build Vatica through the lens of the Beginner’s Mind, recognizing that my knowledge and skills are limited and my ego, capable of being a great motivator to pursue a bold vision, can also be more toxic than kryptonite. I have countless examples of how being more mindful of my thoughts and emotions has enabled me to successfully navigate major business decisions. But I have found that the real superpower is applying a high degree of mindfulness and intentionality to the little things, the dozens of choices we make each week that may seem small, that build on each other and shape our company’s DNA and entrepreneurial destiny.
So what’s the point? It’s essential to get the business fundamentals right –build a great product, hire and retain amazing employees, attract best in class investors, be obsessed with customer service and loyalty. But recognize the best product in the world won’t optimize your company’s potential if you are constantly distracted, ensnared by unproductive ruminations and emotions, or blinded by your ego’s self-centered and distorted view of reality.
While it may seem like there is a tenuous connection between business and mindfulness, a basic meditation practice and understanding of Eastern philosophy is a game changer. It can help you cultivate a greater awareness of your inner dialogue to produce a deeper sense of calm and clarity, which produces better business decisions and outcomes. Becoming more mindful of my thoughts and emotions has been one of the most important skills I’ve developed and has not only helped fuel Vatica Health’s success, but it has also exponentially increased my levels of fulfillment and equanimity.