“if you want to change the world, change education.” — Nelson Mandela
I’ve seen firsthand how personal growth can remarkably change your life. For me, it was discovering meditation when I was at my lowest point. I was depressed and feeling like a failure; and so I did what so many people do…I turned to Google for hope. Once I discovered meditation and started practicing daily, my work performance transformed. At the time, I was working in sales and got promoted three times in four months. I realized meditation was helping me use my mind in different ways; I even went on to become a meditation instructor. But I kept wondering, “why on earth didn’t the school system teach me these things? Why is our education model so broken?” As my life and career continued, this thought kept tugging at my heels. And though I kept trying to ignore it, it is what inevitably drove me to create Mindvalley.
My life has always been shaped by diversity and not fitting in. I was raised in a Hindu family, in a Muslim country. Growing up, I struggled to accept mainstream religion’s divisive claim to just one form of truth. I moved to the United States for college and tried the regular path, which wasn’t for me. When I entered the workforce, within weeks I wanted to quit because I was more interested in the world than sitting in a cubicle trying to make a sale. At times, I felt lost and didn’t know where to turn, until I realized turning within was the best place to start.
The decision to become a meditation instructor is what ultimately changed everything for me. I think a person can only realize their fullest potential when they’re in a constant state of growth; and transformation is the essence of Mindvalley’s promise. A promise that feeds into a larger goal of a brighter future in education. One that can be deployed across nations, schools, businesses and large populations. One that allows us to reach our next level as a species.
Over the past few decades, technological and social progress have far outpaced the education system – which still operates on outdated industrial revolution-era models. People continue to be programmed to operate like machines. Which is why many of us are now concerned that we’ll be replaced by machines. I was always more drawn to exploring spirituality as a phenomenon with the power to reconnect us with our true nature, and bring us together instead of apart.
In 2004, I took my first real major step toward this idea, by registering a little website to sell meditation CDs. It was called Mindvalley and our end goal was to bring together the world’s top educators under one platform. It took many years (and using myself as a guinea pig) to develop courses and content that could truly help people.
From 2016-2018, the company transformed and grew exponentially. We launched our award-winning Quests and.I penned the book “The Code for the Extraordinary Mind,” which challenges you to reject the inherited Bullshit Rules (Brules). My book went on to be a New York Times and Amazon bestseller.
In 2017, we launched Mindvalley University—a true experiment on our vision of what a real college experience should be. We bring together hundreds of people for 30 days of transformational learning and immerse them into an ecosystem of workshops, talks, and seminars. But most of all, you’re learning and acquiring life tools that have been forgotten in traditional schooling.
Today, Mindvalley has become the leading brand online in personal growth, helping 10 million people all over the world transform through a variety of topics and learning formats. Everyone learns differently and we make sure there is something for everyone on Mindvalley.com.
My days are filled with constant travel and I work with some of the top teachers on the planet, speaking at conferences and corporations, and filming content you can find online. I am and will always be committed to bringing a collaboration of these visions to the Mindvalley platform, so everyone gets the opportunity to create a life of extraordinary growth.
Our end goal? Transform the lives of 1 billion souls by 2038.
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