Meditation and The Modern Doorpreneur

When I talk about the importance of being able to meditate in my life, some of my colleagues look at me puzzled. They have this image that links meditation with monks in flowing robes on a mountain top, and that doesn’t match the average business person’s life at all.

I am nothing like that. I’m a serial entrepreneur or “Doorpreneur” as I call myself in my property management and related businesses. I have a family with children, and I have a great group of friends. Isolation and mountain tops are not part of my daily routine unless I get seriously lost.

But being able to mediate helps me physically and mentally to run my companies, and I believe it will help you. When you increase your awareness of your work and sharpen your attention to the task at hand, you will end up being more efficient and more creative.

Upping the engagement

Meditation connects me to my work and my life with a sense of heightened engagement. It gives me peace of mind in a world where the phone never stops and it’s always bad news when you pick it up.

I’m not alone as an entrepreneur keen on mediation as a way to reset my body and mind in the midst of crazy busyness. Arianna Huffington, president, and editor-in-chief of Huffington Post Media Group is one of many entrepreneurs like Richard Branson who embrace the practice of meditation.

Mega corporate giants like eBay, Twitter, and Google all promote meditation as a means of entrepreneurial success. In the midst of some of the most amazing technology in the world, they recognize that workers sometimes just need to turn themselves off and on again.

Natural stress reliever

Meditation is a natural way to deal with stress and avoid stress-related illnesses like angina, ulcers, and hypertension. It is a way to infuse yourself with confidence in the face of crippling self-doubt. As an entrepreneur who must constantly engage in risk-taking decisions, it is a center of calm and confidence.

For myself, I take a few minutes almost every day to move to a quiet zone, sit comfortably, and focus my attention on my breathing, an object, or on a particular string of words. My attitude is open and non-judgmental; any thoughts that cross my mind at this time are accepted and respected.

If you want to try it, here’s a simple meditative exercise that has served me well.

1. Sit upright, but in a comfortable posture that is natural to you. Keep your back straight. You can cross your legs but you don’t have to. Center your thoughts on your mind and your breath. Hold your hands lightly face-down on your thighs. Keep your eyes open and let them stop naturally where they chose to.
2. Inhale and exhale three times deeply and listen to your thoughts. You only need two minutes for this exercise to be effective, but many people relish the insight by holding it for anywhere from five to 20 minutes. If you are always rushed for time, take two minutes and try to build up gradually, rather than taking 20 minutes and getting stressed over work piling up.
3. Adopt a healthy attitude toward meditation. Think of it the same way as you think of your gym membership. You work out your body and feel better for it; why not work out your brain and reap the rewards? Meditation is a means of securing the inner power you need to do what has to be done, to reach out and grow, and to find clarity in what needs to be done.

Tony LeBlanc, author of The Doorpreneur: Property Management Beyond the Rent Roll, is founder and CEO of Grand Floor Property Management, one of the largest property management firms in Canada, and founder of CORE Property Care. Using diversification and imagination, he developed a system for using property management to form the foundation of a robust business empire. Learn more about his “Doorpreneur” principles at www.doorpreneur.com