These super-successful entrepreneurs meditate and you should too.
There are heated debates in the entrepreneurial community about most things related to personal growth, development and productivity.
Some people say bulletproof coffee, others swear against it. Some say you can sleep just five hours, others say you need a full eight.
Consensus is hard to find on most of these issues. But one practice has become broadly accepted in recent years and is commonly believed to be beneficial.
That practice is meditation. It is hard to find someone with a compelling argument against meditation. Studies have shown meditation can change your brain matter, reduce stress, and help entrepreneurs make better decisions.
The other thing you find when you look into meditation is just how many successful entrepreneurs and high-level executives are doing it. Their methods vary, but when studying these people you consistently find that nearly all of them have some form of meditation built into their daily routine.
Here are 11 uber-successful entrepreneurs and executives who swear by daily meditation:
1. Jeff Weiner
This former Yahoo executive-turned-Linkedin CEO blocks out time in his calendar each day to practice his meditation.
Why? Weiner says the reason is simple: “Just to think.”
This helps him to practice empathy and compassion and has a positive impact on his productivity.
2. Arianna Huffington
As you could probably surmise from her name, she is the founder of Huffington Post and has been meditating since she was just a teenager. Today she is a vocal advocate and says that meditation alone has played a huge part in her success.
3. Padmasree Warrior
Warrior is the Chief Technology and Strategy Office of Cicso Systems and was named by Forbes as one of the top 100 most powerful women in the world.
Reaching that level comes with a lot of stress, something that Warrior manages with 20 minute meditation sessions every evening.
4. Jerry Seinfeld
More than just a comedian, Seinfeld is worth over $800 million, making him one of the most successful entertainers in the world. While some may have spiritual reasons for meditating, Seinfeld’s is simply for one purpose: productivity.
5. Ray Dalio
When the founder of the world’s largest hedge fund says that mediation is the single biggest thing he can trace back to his success, entrepreneurs should pay attention.
Well, that’s who Ray is–and he’s been meditating for over 40 years.
5. Bob Stiller
As founder of Green Mountain Coffee, Stiller not only believes in meditation for himself, he encourages his entire team to practice it. He even offers incentives centered around increasing their happiness, which he believes is key to reaching peak performance.
6. Russell Simmons
Like many others on this list, Simmons shares a similar belief that nothing else has been as important in his career than meditation. As founder of the infamous Def Jam records, he’s someone worth listening to.
7. Joe Rogan
UFC host and host of the popular podcast the Joe Rogan Show, he may not fit the image of the average meditator, but Rogan states it’s had a large impact on allowing him to focus on various ventures with a clear and cool headed approach.
8. Marc Benioff
Yet another billionaire meditator to make the list. As the CEO and founder of multi-billion dollar sales giant Salesforce, Benioff says he began doing it earlier in his career while working at Oracle and carried over the practice as he went off on his own to start Salesforce.
9. Andrew Chert
CEO of Panda Express, Chert doesn’t just believe in meditation for himself, he also strongly encourages the practice among his staff.
As the story goes, one time while in a meeting, a store manager began to lose their cool. Chert asked to stop the meeting and allow the person to step out and meditate before returning.
10. Bob Shapiro
The former Monsanto CEO (surely that comes with lots of stress) turned venture capitalist began to meditate back when he was a student at Harvard.
He told Bloomberg news, “As a business person, I noticed a number of people I knew pretty well who really picked up on it, people who perhaps had come into it with some degree of skepticism and found the experience useful.”
11. Oprah Winfrey
Another billionaire on this list, Oprah believes in mediation more as a form of “getting closer to God” and cites it as one of the most significant things she’s done on her journey to a billion-plus dollars worth of success.
The list goes on and on but hopefully the message is clear. Numerous successful people swear by meditation and if you’ve studied personal growth, you are aware of the idea of following “blueprints”. These are formulas that others have used to become successful which you can follow as well. Meditation is one of those success formulas worth following.
From: Inc.