Most people believe that success and spirituality are the opposite sides of the spectrum. Entrepreneurs often feel that their sense of spirituality and their desire for success in their business are mutually exclusive. But the truth however lies in the fact that success and spirituality are the same.
True success is a sense of achievement along with inner fulfilment. Only fulfillment without tangible achievements is self-deception, a lie and a glorified excuse for laziness and incompetence. Only tangible achievements without inner fulfillment and joy is depressing. It is a sign of insecurity and lack of gratitude.
While passion, intellect, vision and industry-specific knowledge certainly qualifies as business acumen, the growth and scale of your business also depends on your spiritual strength. So, in order to achieve your goals and fulfill your vision, exploring your inner spirit and staying connected with your soul, is the answer. For entrepreneurs, when they start using spiritual tools and techniques, they are able to make better decisions, solve problems more easily, build authentic relationships, be more productive and have fun while they’re at it.
One cannot claim that they are being spiritual, if they have not explored themselves through the depth of experiences by playing big and bold in life. The pursuit of big goals puts your soul through challenging experiences which is a great spiritual exercise of personal exploration.
Spiritual growth helps create a vision of our highest purpose. And purpose as we know is the goal behind the goal. A spiritual awakening moves you towards the truth and away from your harmful emotions. By embracing spirituality, you get ready to start serving your fellow humans through the medium of your business.
Your idea of success too will move beyond personal gains and into wealth creation – wealth which is not just for yourself but for your partners, your vendors, your employees. You will start focusing on adding value to the society at large.
So, for an entrepreneur success is certainly the highest form of spirituality. Here are a few more pointers by which we can draw similarities between the two –
- Taking Ownership: You are 100% responsible for your life. Success happens to you when you mindfully take charge of your current reality, the state of your business and your employees. As a leader, it is imperative that you come with compassion, kindness and self-awareness so you can conquer all your battles. Spirituality is all about achieving growth in every area of life. So, taking ownership showcases your true commitment to your goals and values.
- Serving People: The amount of money you make is directly proportional to the number of lives you touch through your products and services. Wealth creation is possible only through value creation. When you deliver value, you make money. And spirituality is nothing but serving people and touching lives. Most people also have this misconception that spirituality is about sacrifice and putting yourself through pain and penance. But this is a flawed view. Spirituality is experiencing abundance. And true abundance is to be fulfilled mentally, emotionally, physically and financially which is what success is also about.
- Consciously Creating: Every entrepreneur is a creator. We create products, services and solutions to serve people. We make a difference and do it profitably. This is how successful businesses are built! The role of a spiritual being is also to consciously create to serve their fellow humans. So, an entrepreneur who is making a difference by adding value to people is being spiritual knowingly or unknowingly.
- Positive Mindset: Success requires you to have two things, a positive mindset and faith. You must be willing to take risks, accept challenges knowing fully well that the universe has your back. And it is only when you’re spiritually inclined you are able to be calm, composed enough to get to the root cause of the problem at hand, thereby, coming up with better solutions.
- Work-in-Progress: Both success and spirituality are a work in progress. There’s no formula for success nor there is a defined finish line. In fact, it is the result of hustle, consistency, passion and a lot of work. Spirituality too is a process and every step you take brings you closer to your purpose. There is no finish line, only the next level.
Spirituality is not running away from your responsibilities of mastering the material plane. It is not an excuse for your incompetence through superficial claims of abstinence. It’s about having the complete human experience by pursuing and accomplishing goals that transform the lives of your customers, team members and yourself as an entrepreneur.
So, dear entrepreneur, start bringing your spiritual beliefs with you to work every day. This will help you be happier, more forgiving and lead a life of value, of fulfillment.