What does meditation and mindfulness have to do with success?

In today’s episode, you’ll hear from Sharon Salzberg, one of the first people to bring insight & mindfulness meditation to the US back in the 70s and 80s. She has taught meditation to thousands of people, including at retreats alongside the Dalai Lama.

So why meditation?

Because I’ve experienced & seen first-hand how meditation has helped me and others to develop the traits that are essential to succeeding by putting people first:
Empathy, compassion, presence, peace, decreased stress & anxiety, increased self-control, focus, and discipline, increased levels of energy, a heightened sense of well-being.

And the list goes on and on.

In fact, if there was only ONE thing that I would recommend others do if they want to succeed by putting people first, it would be making some kind of mindfulness or meditation practice a regular part of your life.

But don’t just take my word for it. Let’s listen to Sharon talk about her own experiences in bringing mindfulness meditation to a skeptical audience, what got her hooked to meditation, the scientific evidence behind the benefits of meditation, and how to easily get started without a lot of fuss.

Topics Discussed in This Episode:

• [00:03:00] Whether Sharon has needed to hold another job during the 40 years that she’s been teaching meditation.
• [00:04:41] When Sharon realized she could teach meditation full time and make a living from it
• [00:06:14] What led Sharon to get into meditation and make it her life’s work
• [00:09:14] Sharon’s trip to India when she was in college
• [00:09:39] What about meditation had such a strong impact on Sharon
• [00:12:13] Why you should continue with meditation even when it brings up negative emotions
• [00:15:53] Some of the scientific findings behind the benefits of meditation
• [00:22:53] How people can get started with meditation and make it part of their daily lives
• [00:25:59] Which styles of meditation are best to start with
• [00:27:52] Why even Type-A personalities can benefit from meditation
• [00:29:55] Sharon’s book, Real Happiness at Work
• [00:32:10] Sharon’s experience with perfectionism
• [00:35:11] What a Loving Kindness practice is
• [00:37:16] Sharon’s experience with the Dalai Lama
• [00:41:28] How Sharon would convince people to adopt a people-first mindset
• [00:44:37] Resources that Sharon recommends