I make a habit of asking people whom I admire what the most life-changing books are that they’ve read. A few years ago a friend recommended Tim Ferriss’ Tools of Titans – a series of interviews of entrepreneurs and artists who are at the top of their respective fields. After I read it, he and I discussed the commonalities amongst the tools of the titans.
I was surprised to find that there were few consistencies. I figured that everyone would be part of the 4am wake-up club, would work crazy hours, and emphasize hard work, but there were plenty of night owls, people who put down busyness, and others who championed working 80 hour weeks. So what was the common thread?
Almost everybody meditated.
This post isn’t about recommending the book, although you should read it if you’re an entrepreneur, but rather to talk about the importance of meditation as a daily practice.
Why meditate?
If you’re an online entrepreneur like I am, you likely set your own schedule and do much of your work alone. Beginning the day with a clean slate and silence is one of the best ways that I have found to set off on the right foot and ensure that all of the thoughts in my head are my own. Meditation is a powerful way to achieve this, as well as peak performance in work and in life. It’s been proven to change the brain, after all.
It’s too easy to let my day get stolen away by the email inbox or messages from people, so when I’m being good about my practice, I keep my phone on airplane mode until I’ve already done my meditation. I’m rarely perfect about this, but life is so much better when I’m disciplined! The following are five of my favorite meditations for female entrepreneurs to start the day off right:
For Motivation
Melissa Ambrosini’s Manifest Your Deepest Desires (listen for free on Insight timer here.)
This is my favorite motivational meditation to start the day with. Though all of Melissa’s meditations are lovely, this one hones in on how you want your day, and life, to look. Visualizing success sounds simple and maybe even useless, but it’s one of the most powerful ways that I, and Michael Phelps, have found to get to where we want to be. I like that Melissa’s meditation focuses not only on work but all facets of life. It’s all interconnected, after all!
For Clarity of Mind and Energy
Manoj Dias Morning Meditation for Energy and Clarity (listen for free on Insight timer here).
I can’t be the only one who wakes up already exhausted sometimes, with a laundry list of things that need to all somehow get done in an impossibly short amount of time. Or sometimes I wake up with anxiety because I know that as soon as my phone is off of airplane mode there’s going to be at least one fire that I need to put out. If I’ve got a crazy day ahead of me, starting it off with breath work helps tremendously. Plus, Manoj’s voice is so deep and calming.
For Gentle Reassurance
Sarah Blondin – Transforming Fear (listen for free on Insight Timer here).
Sarah’s meditations have a running theme of gentle reassurance, particularly in hard times. Since entrepreneurs are often overworked and our jobs can be isolating, the reassuring voice of Sarah helps me in times like these.
Check out her other meditations as well, including Making Your Life Sacred, if fear isn’t your hurdle, but being uplifted sounds good!
For Insight and Higher Vision
Not every meditation is best guided. Sometimes healing sound bowls, or total silence, can be perfect.
When I want to activate my third eye chakra, which aids with clarity and insight, I love giving myself a bit more time and supplementing it with sound bowls meant to stimulate that particular chakra. Learn more about chakra healing meditations here and check out Sonic Yogi’s linked sound bowl meditation.
For When Your Mind is Getting Away from You
This is one of my favorite guided meditations by Sam Harris. Some might recognize him as the author of Waking Up. His meditation urges us to question what comes up in our mind and disassociate feelings of self. This goes back to classic Buddhist teachings and is an important reminder for all of us about the foundation of meditation. It helps us to remember that thoughts are part of meditation, and life, but that they don’t have to carry us away.
This is the whole point of meditation, isn’t it? To learn to observe our thoughts rather than getting caught up in them?
Over my years of experience with meditation, from 10 day silent meditation retreats to my morning practice, I’ve become much more of an observer of my thoughts and feelings, which has been helpful for getting over unpleasant thoughts and also knowing that whatever feelings arise, whether I label them good or bad, are part of life.
As entrepreneurs, learning to be the master of our thoughts and feelings is an important step towards getting over self-doubt, and learning to work through our fears.
For those who want to take it a step further and be part of a group of female entrepreneurs, join my BMTM Female Travel Blogger Accelerator on Facebook. Among other things, we have meditation sessions and goal setting videos, as well as monthly themes and book clubs to help advance your work.
Whether that’s a fit for you or not, I hope this list introduced you to some new options or to the wonderful world of meditation.
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Reviewed by Kritik Sah
on
January 05, 2020
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