Fearless Entrepreneurs is now Conscious Startups

Hi there, and thanks for tagging along as I’m still in the process of defining for myself what this thing really is about.

Conscious Startus (formerly known as Fearless Entrepreneurs) is something that I saw as a vision - kind of like an epiphany - over three years ago, and that I’m still trying to learn about and define and get wiser about.

What I saw three years ago was that if we could approach entrepreneurship in a way that was more conscious, more mindful, awakened, present, more in the flow of life, more of all of the things, I’d learned from my spiritual teacher, then not only would the process be more fun and enjoyable, more likely to be successful, more likely to be truly worthwhile and meaningful, and more likely to bring you as the entrepreneur to a place of personal growth and fulfillment; it would also be the only really viable way forward for a planet and a civilization headed for big trouble.

Like Kofi Annan realized in his 2015 Millennium Project for Africa, we cannot solve the problems of the world through government and charity alone. We need businesses to take the lead. We need entrepreneurs to solve the problems of the world. Whether we’re talking poverty, overpopulation, climate change, hunger, lack of education, the fact that the talents and abilities of so many people in the world go unused, only through business and entrepreneurship do we stand a chance of solving these problems.

I happen to believe this works out for everyone. I believe this is the way to create the most value for customers, for employees, for vendors, and suppliers, and our society. It’s the way to create improvement for the world at large, and for the environment. And I believe it’s also the way to make the most money to the entrepreneur and the shareholders over the long term.

The only thing you’re sacrificing is instant gratification. You’re choosing to be in it for the long haul, rather than short-term profit. I remember Tony Hsieh from Zappos saying that you’ve got to decide if you want to build a billion dollar company, or merely a multi-million dollar company. Building a billion dollar company takes a completely different path from the multi-million dollar company. You have to think more long-term and be willing to delay the payoff. Amazon is another great example of this thinking.

By bringing your heart and soul to work, by being more aware of the inner state which you’re operating from, and by acknowledging that the fate of your organization is intimately tied to your own personal growth as a leader, and therefore by taking your responsibility to grow personally seriously, everything is improved: Your relationship with your team members, your customers, your suppliers, your spouse, your community, yourself—and your financial payoff.

That’s what Conscious Startups are all about.

Welcome, and welcome again.