Commit to seeing your life unfold effortlessly
Part of Conscious Leadership series
Most organisations believe that to stay ahead in the marketplace, they need to work harder than their competition.
In many organisations, goals often become more important than quality of life and relationships. It’s serious business, and the fear of failure leaves little room for joy and laughter.
Research from NASA suggests otherwise. They found that organizations whose employees took a nap for at least thirty minutes every day were up to 35% more productive than their competitors.
NASA research suggests that employees who take a short nap everyday are 35% more productive
A question that David Rock has asked several thousand leaders over the last few years is how many hours of productive work do you do a day? Answer: about three.
The workplace has changed considerably, in the 1930s, at Henry Ford’s River Rouge plant, laughter was a disciplinary offense — and humming, whistling, and smiling were evidence of insubordination. In 1940s, John Gallo was sacked because he was “caught in the act of smiling,” after having committed an earlier breach of “laughing with other fellows” and “slowing down the line maybe half a minute.” Fast forward to the 1990s and computers changed the way work was done. In the 2000s, the internet changed the way work was organised. As workplace is changing more rapidly, we believe organisations should use breakthrough technologies to make people more productive and monitor and optimise their well being at work and in life.
Committing to seeing life unfold effortlessly is a commitment to maximising energy by honouring rest, renewal and rhythm. It is the opposite of seeing life as serious and as a struggle or seeing play and rest as distractions from what’s real.
It might be difficult to imagine how play helps with work. It is good to think about it in terms of doing purposeful work. Once you have purpose, something that is larger than you or even your organisation, you become free of seeking constant control, approval or security. You realise that you can focus on the long-term value without paying too much attention to the short-term noise. Conscious leaders, and for that matter, conscious people, become practiced at living in the now moment and welcoming whatever is being experienced; whatever feelings, sensations and thoughts are arising in the moment are welcomed with no desire to control what is being experienced.
My team and I consistently practice these commitments and remind each other about their benefits. We’ve seen the results in our work and how much more enjoyable work has become. To some observers, some of what we do makes little sense but we are happy that we are comfortable with taking bold steps, pushing boundaries and can feel that we are in the flow. Everything we do is aligned with our long-term vision and higher purpose: to empower entrepreneurs.
By the way, if you want to see how Max Mahyar lives an effortless work life, follow him on Instagram Live.
We are lucky to share our our experience of building and investing in high performing teams with you. Feel free to comment or come along to our next Breakfast Series to discuss technology, leadership and global startups.
This is the first in a series of posts Conscious Leadership applied to Global Iranian Entrepreneurs which was also posted on LinkedIn. We’d love to hear from teams with crazy (but commercial) startups. Get in touch or attend our breakfast series. Finally, don’t forget to get your IV Score to prepare for your next VC meeting.
