carl
Spirituality and business are closer aligned than you may think, and I’m speaking from experience. I almost gave up on running my own business in favour of returning to the safety of working for someone else – an idea that I’ve always hated!
Fortunately, after a close friend opened my eyes to the world of spirituality, I’ve never looked back. It massively impacted the way I viewed business and I quickly found my habits outside of business benefitting my performance within business. I’ve written this article for those who are either new to entrepreneurship or struggling with it. Read on to see how I think spirituality can greatly benefit your entrepreneurial journey.
What Is Spirituality?
Firstly, it’s important to understand what spirituality actually is. We all have our own ideas, but it wasn’t until I started to research spirituality that I actually understood the topic and its practices.
If you want a dictionary definition, Taking Charge of Your Wellbeing explains spirituality as “seeking a meaningful connection with something bigger than yourself”. To some, this means becoming closer to a religious figure but in more modern times, spirituality can also be practiced by atheists.
In terms of what it actually looks like, it varies from individual to individual. To some, spiritual activities include praying, attending church and giving back to your local community. To others, it could be as simple as meditating, journaling, goal setting and reading.
I think it’s important at this point to stress that finding what works for you is key. What works for your friend may not work for you – and that’s totally fine!
The Advantages of Spirituality For Entrepreneurs
Clearer Clarity & Purpose
You’ll find that becoming more spiritual changes the way you look at life. You’ll benefit from having a clearer purpose and understanding of what matters to you and what doesn’t. You’ll find yourself taking a new look at life in the business world.
When entrepreneurs first begin their journey, money is all that matters, and I was definitely guilty of this. After finding spirituality, you may find yourself motivated by making a positive difference in the world or even using your vehicle to help others achieve their own personal goals.
You’ll also find yourself prioritising the long term. As an entrepreneur, it’s easy to let a bad day, week or month spiral out of control. Taking time to reflect and think more rationally will lead you to live life in years rather than minutes.
Ethical Decision-Making
Following on from the above, you’ll find that accepting there’s more to life than money can make you a better person. Decisions that are motivated by money can easily be seen as greedy or unethical. You may fail to see the issue with this at first, but there’s no quicker way to lose customers than to lose their trust, and unethical business practices do exactly that.
After finding spirituality, I found myself considering many more factors than money when it came to making business decisions. In fact, money fell behind various other motivations including the environment, my own mental health and the impact that my decisions had on others.
Increased Focus
Stress and anxiety can easily lead to us losing focus of what really matters. Any entrepreneur will be able to provide you with examples of a time they sacrificed something more important to prepare for a meeting that wasn’t worth stressing over.
Taking time at the end of your day to meditate can get rid of any negative thoughts, including any stress and anxiety. As a result, you’ll wake up with a refreshed focus, ready to tackle the things that actually matter, which could be related to business or family life.
Stronger Leadership Skills
There seems to be this strange belief that to be a great leader, you must be intimidating and forceful. In most cases, however, people react much better to leaders who are compassionate and approachable.
New entrepreneurs view these traits as a sign of weakness, but I’ve found from experience that employees will be far more motivated if they have a closer relationship with you. As a matter of fact, the less you are viewed as a leader and more as a colleague or friend, the further your workforce will be prepared to go for you.
You’ll also find that this naturally translates into a stronger company culture. A group of hardworking individuals who feel supported and appreciated are more likely to stay with the company for the long term. On the other hand, a company that is constantly replacing team members will find it harder to create a stable culture.
Final Thoughts
I’d recommend spirituality to any business leader. Whether you are looking to scale an ecommerce digital marketing agency or a small side hustle that you run from your bedroom. You’ll likely find that spirituality won’t just improve your business career, but the wider areas of your life too including relationships, wellness and motivation.
