Patrick Ryan, author of Awakened Wisdom: A Guide to Reclaiming Your Brilliance, is sharing some of his advice and wisdom from his experience as a successful entrepreneur. This is the tenth stop on Patrick’s 14-day Virtual Blog Tour to promote the launch of his new book. After reading today’s article be sure to sign up for the book launch reminder here: http://ow.ly/1kB3m.
Small Business – The Entrepreneur’s Reflection
As a small business owner when you look at your business you are looking at a reflection of who you are. Your business will reveal the state of your inner world. As you created it; it reveals you.
Michele: What does it mean to live an awakened life and what connection does it have with being an entrepreneur or Small Business Owner (SBO)?
Patrick: Living an awakened life is to live a life of conscious presence. I have been an entrepreneur and small business owner virtually my entire life. I have also been a Buddhist monk and apprentice to some amazing indigenous teachers. All the time that I was receiving the blessings of those experiences I was mostly fascinated with the correlation between what I was experiencing in my personal life and the results that I was manifesting in my business life.
The smaller the business, the closer the reflection is between the small business owners way of walking in the world and what the business is experiencing. As a business grows and more and more people become involved in its operations, then the business reflects the totality of the people in it. Still, it is the owner whose impact is likely to be the biggest. Therefore, it is essential for entrepreneurs to develop themselves personally and as they do, to then allow the enterprise to shape shift and reflect the owner’s development.
Michele: Is it possible for someone to separately live an awakened life as an entrepreneur / SBO but not in the other parts of their life?
Patrick: No, as the saying goes, you can keep running but you cannot hide. Our lives are as connected to our business and our business to our lives as a spider web connects it’s whole structure to the tree it is built upon. We can put our attention on one or the other for a while but eventually balance will be required if it is all going to be sustained.
I have coached entrepreneurs for years and one of the biggest challenges for us is to keep all the plates spinning in a good way. If you ignore some part of your life, personal relationships for example, it is just a matter of time before it affects the business and vice-versa.
That is really good news because when you turn this idea over it also teaches us that as we care for all the different aspects of our life it contributes to the well being of our business and again, visa versa. Balance is the key.
Michele: I like the sound of the Eight States Of An Awakened Life… When considering entrepreneurship and SBO’s are there any of these states that are more applicable OR If we consider the cycle of business development and growth, do Business Owners experience the Eight States just as they would experience the cycles of business growth – and is there correlation? Could you expand a little on that?
Patrick: In the book Awakened Wisdom I present the Eight States of an Awakened Life. Taken together these eight states will ensure that an entrepreneur is living, and through their business creating, a whole and healthy life and enterprise.
The Eight States are not linear is their application, all eight states are present and part of our life at all times. What the Awakened Wisdom book does really well is to present them in a way that is easily applicable starting now.
As our enterprises cycle through it different stages of development then what you would look for as you consider each of the eight states may change accordingly.
For example one of the eight states is a Good State of Practice. In this state we are asked to look at the daily, weekly, monthly, annual practices that would support us in sustaining a beautiful life.
If you apply that same state to your business it asks you to become clearer about what practices are needed in your business to maintain its health and vibrancy.
If you enjoy reading, yoga, or meditation for your personal development and wellbeing then it is interesting to ask yourself what yoga or meditation for my business would look like. Whatever insight occurs to you when you ask that question would be worth trying out.
Michele: Would you tell me about your book Awakened Wisdom: A Guide To Reclaiming Your Brilliance – why did you write it and why is it an important book now?
Patrick: We each have our own amazing talents, genius and skills and as entrepreneurs that is usually what comes through our businesses. One thing that I am good at is taking big spiritual or metaphysical concepts and distilling them down to practical ideas that we can apply in our life and business right away.
I wrote the book Awakened Wisdom so that other people could have a resource that would support them in accessing their own wisdom. I don’t presume to tell anybody what they should do but rather how to get in touch with their personal wisdom. Each of us has to navigate our own way so I guess you could say that Awakened Wisdom is like a navigation tool.
I have lived many lives in this one life and sharing the ideas that I have found to be relevant is part of my service to humanity.
I have presented these ideas in boardrooms, training rooms as well as in monasteries and desert retreats. The ideas in this book have been offered into many cultures all around the world and I have personally found it thrilling to witness how each group has found themselves in the teachings in a way that had them feel aligned and deeply touched by the work.
Michele: For the parents who read my blog, is the book appropriate for children? If so, which age group would most benefit from reading this book?
Patrick: I believe that the ideas of the book are relevant for everyone of all ages. Having said that, the style of writing in this book may not relate to young children. I do think that anyone in their teenage years and on up to elderhood would benefit from reading and practicing the ideas in the book.
Michele: From the information you have provided today, could you suggest one implementable / actionable point that Business Owners could go out and do TODAY…What sort of results or experiences could they expect to see?
Patrick: Quite often, as small business owners, we get caught in the day to day busyness of our world. There is always a lot to do, emails, phone calls, appointments and on and on. When we get caught in that swirl one of the best things that we can do is to step out of it and to slow down. That often seems counter productive at first and the results are amazing.
The best way that I have found to do that is to go out into nature for at least a day and better yet three and to just free your Self from the emails and calls and allow your Self to dream about where all this is taking you.
When life is challenging it is important to re-member the dream that lives around the adventure in the first place. By being connected more fully to the bigger dream you will get a perspective that will support you energetically and as well, you will be better able to see what course corrections are needed to navigate well.
Being an entrepreneur is a great adventure and every great adventure will have its easy times and its challenges. If you are reading this then I know that we are brothers and sisters on a great journey together. Do not attempt to do this alone, reach out, ask for help and then let it in. I know that the book Awakened Wisdom: A Guide to Reclaiming Your Brilliance will support you along the path.
Journey well,
Patrick Ryan
www.AwakenedWisdom.com
How can you create a life well-lived? Get Patrick’s new book on April 20th and find out. To receive updates in regards to the official Amazon book launch on April 20th, please visit http://ow.ly/1kB3m
