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Secret Ways to Incorporate Mindfulness Into a Stressful Business Environment.
Matt Tenney is a social entrepreneur and the author of Serve to Be Great: Leadership Lessons from a Prison, a Monastery, and a Boardroom. He is also an international keynote speaker, a trainer, and a consultant with the prestigious Perth Leadership Institute, whose clients include numerous Fortune 500 companies. He works with companies, associations, universities, and non-profits to develop highly effective leaders who achieve lasting success by focusing on serving and inspiring greatness in the people around them.
Today's topic is heavily focused on the subject of mindfulness and its benefits. When Matt went to prison for five years, he lived and breathed mindfulness and became a monk, so to speak, during that time. When he was released, he studied zen practices with monks in a monastery to further his education on the subject. I was fortunate enough to sit down with Matt to discuss what mindfulness really, really means and how it can be applied in a work setting.
In our talk, Matt shared with me that mindfulness can be used throughout the day, especially when we're preforming tasks on autopilot - like brushing our teeth and that some students actually preferred to be electrocuted than to sit still in silence. Sitting in silence can be an uncomfortable experience for some, but there have been many studies on the benefits of calming the mind and become more self-aware of our actions. I had such a fascinating talk with Matt and I’m excited to share some of his key insights with you today.
Show Notes
[3:10] What is Matt’s story?
[3:45] It all started with failure, which lead to prison.
[5:30] He lived as a monk while he was in prison and then when he was released, he went to train at a real monastery.
[7:55] How did Matt find mindfulness in a prison?
[9:35] What books did Matt find that were the most helpful in teaching mindfulness?
[11:45] Mindfulness practices is not about religion. It should be viewed as a complement to anyone’s core religious beliefs.
[13:35] What does 'being mindful' really mean?
[16:45] We are all already mindful. There's nothing weird about being mindful.
[19:15] Make a new habit of mindfulness on top of the mundane tasks you already do on autopilot, like brushing your teeth.
[22:20] Self-awareness is the most important skill we can develop, especially in a leadership setting.
[22:55] You can actually change your brain to help you become more self-aware.
[25:25] Emotional intelligence is what separates an average leader to an exceptional one. Discover more by listening to this segment of the interview.
[28:40] It comes back to listening. Listen to what's being said by your team members as well as your clients.
[31:15] Instead of going back to what we think we know, go back to having a beginner's mind. Matt explains further on how you can personally achieve this.
[34:30] By having a diverse team, it helps challenge one’s beliefs about what’s considered to be the “norm”. Be open to their differing opinions and do not shut them down because they do not conform to your world view.
[37:35] How can people be more mindful in the work place?
[45:35] Matt discusses a study that was done on students sitting still in silence. Students preferred to be shocked than to sit still and do nothing!
[46:55] We're so conditioned to always be doing something that doing nothing has become uncomfortable.
[48:00] Matt shares examples of what mindfulness can do in a leadership setting.
[54:00] If we are ambitious and want to achieve great things in the world, then we need others around us.
Ambition Quote:
“Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve.” - Martin Luther King Jr.
“Anybody can be great because everyone can serve.” - Adam Grant - Give and Take
Read:
Peace Is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh
Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh
Follow:
John O'Leary
David Goldman
Suzuki
Richard Brickhouse
Stephen Shapiro
70kft
Janice Marturano (GE)
Southwest Airlines
Campbell Soup
Connect with Matt
www.matttenney.com/
Serve To Be Great by Matt Tenney
Matt's Recommended Resources:
Give and Take by Adam Grant
Search Inside Yourself by Chade-Meng Tan
Leave Me a Review:
If you enjoyed this episode, please help me by leaving an honest review on iTunes. Your feedback is important to me. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to subscribe to the Show.
On iTunes On Stitcher
View all episodes
By Deirdre SanbornMatt Tenney is a social entrepreneur and the author of Serve to Be Great: Leadership Lessons from a Prison, a Monastery, and a Boardroom. He is also an international keynote speaker, a trainer, and a consultant with the prestigious Perth Leadership Institute, whose clients include numerous Fortune 500 companies. He works with companies, associations, universities, and non-profits to develop highly effective leaders who achieve lasting success by focusing on serving and inspiring greatness in the people around them.
Today's topic is heavily focused on the subject of mindfulness and its benefits. When Matt went to prison for five years, he lived and breathed mindfulness and became a monk, so to speak, during that time. When he was released, he studied zen practices with monks in a monastery to further his education on the subject. I was fortunate enough to sit down with Matt to discuss what mindfulness really, really means and how it can be applied in a work setting.
In our talk, Matt shared with me that mindfulness can be used throughout the day, especially when we're preforming tasks on autopilot - like brushing our teeth and that some students actually preferred to be electrocuted than to sit still in silence. Sitting in silence can be an uncomfortable experience for some, but there have been many studies on the benefits of calming the mind and become more self-aware of our actions. I had such a fascinating talk with Matt and I’m excited to share some of his key insights with you today.
Show Notes
[3:10] What is Matt’s story?
[3:45] It all started with failure, which lead to prison.
[5:30] He lived as a monk while he was in prison and then when he was released, he went to train at a real monastery.
[7:55] How did Matt find mindfulness in a prison?
[9:35] What books did Matt find that were the most helpful in teaching mindfulness?
[11:45] Mindfulness practices is not about religion. It should be viewed as a complement to anyone’s core religious beliefs.
[13:35] What does 'being mindful' really mean?
[16:45] We are all already mindful. There's nothing weird about being mindful.
[19:15] Make a new habit of mindfulness on top of the mundane tasks you already do on autopilot, like brushing your teeth.
[22:20] Self-awareness is the most important skill we can develop, especially in a leadership setting.
[22:55] You can actually change your brain to help you become more self-aware.
[25:25] Emotional intelligence is what separates an average leader to an exceptional one. Discover more by listening to this segment of the interview.
[28:40] It comes back to listening. Listen to what's being said by your team members as well as your clients.
[31:15] Instead of going back to what we think we know, go back to having a beginner's mind. Matt explains further on how you can personally achieve this.
[34:30] By having a diverse team, it helps challenge one’s beliefs about what’s considered to be the “norm”. Be open to their differing opinions and do not shut them down because they do not conform to your world view.
[37:35] How can people be more mindful in the work place?
[45:35] Matt discusses a study that was done on students sitting still in silence. Students preferred to be shocked than to sit still and do nothing!
[46:55] We're so conditioned to always be doing something that doing nothing has become uncomfortable.
[48:00] Matt shares examples of what mindfulness can do in a leadership setting.
[54:00] If we are ambitious and want to achieve great things in the world, then we need others around us.
Ambition Quote:
“Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve.” - Martin Luther King Jr.
“Anybody can be great because everyone can serve.” - Adam Grant - Give and Take
Read:
Peace Is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh
Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh
Follow:
John O'Leary
David Goldman
Suzuki
Richard Brickhouse
Stephen Shapiro
70kft
Janice Marturano (GE)
Southwest Airlines
Campbell Soup
Connect with Matt
www.matttenney.com/
Serve To Be Great by Matt Tenney
Matt's Recommended Resources:
Give and Take by Adam Grant
Search Inside Yourself by Chade-Meng Tan
Leave Me a Review:
If you enjoyed this episode, please help me by leaving an honest review on iTunes. Your feedback is important to me. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to subscribe to the Show.
On iTunes On Stitcher