Key Messages
Activate Your Buddha And Badass To Achieve Balance And Fulfillment In Life
The Buddha and the Badass by Vishen Lakhiani can help you elevate your experience of life and work.
It shows how it is in fact possible to be happy, contented and fulfilled at work – and in life itself.
The key? Combining two sides of yourself: the Buddha (your inner self) and the Badass (the changemaker).
By streaming these two contrasting forces, you will be able to identify inspiring goals more easily and operate towards them with ease, joy and intention.
This book explores the idea of activating both parts of yourself so that you can better understand yourself, create an impact in the world around you, and discover your foundational values – all while having fun along the way!
In these sections, you’ll learn just how often Google fails us; how a few simple questions can change our lives forever; and why we should strive for mastery over every aspect of our lives instead of settling for mediocrity
By raising your awareness through this book, you can effectively harmonize both sides – the inner soulfulness of the Buddha with the determination & drive of the Badass- aligning them to ensure success in life and work.
The Key To Unlocking Our Inner Selves: Uncovering Our Foundational Values
In his book, “The Buddha and the Badass,” the author explains how knowing our foundational values can bring more clarity and direction into our lives.
These foundational values are formed through life experiences, usually during childhood and adolescence, and they remain fairly stable throughout adulthood.
By becoming aware of our foundational values, we can connect to our inner selves and understand better what truly resonates with us.
Rather than drifting aimlessly through life, feeling confused or lost about where we’re going, we can use these values to discover our goals and gain confidence in ourselves.
The author suggests that once we know what our core values are, it is much easier to take action towards creating a purposeful life – one where we are true to ourselves and have an impact in the world.
To be able to achieve this, he recommends doing an origin story exercise which involves reflecting deeply on your own experiences to identify important moments that influenced you not only on an emotional level but also in terms of values which should serve as a compass for your future decisions.
Ultimately, being aware of your foundational values is the key to unlocking both the Buddha within you who strives for inner peace as well as the badass within you who’s capable of achieving great things in life!
How To Attract The Right People: Identify Your Big Why, Communicate It Through A Manifesto, And Create A Vision
If you want to attract the right people to partner with in your endeavors, you have to make sure they understand your deeper purpose and plan.
It is essential that other like-minded individuals in your circle match your values and align with what you’re hoping to accomplish.
A great way to do this is by communicating your goals through a manifesto.
This should include what makes you unique, your beliefs, and the values that drive you.
Basically, it’s a public statement outlining why you’re doing what you’re doing and how exactly it works.
When done properly, it can be an effective tool for gaining collaborators who are aligned with both your big why and vision.
Your big why is the most important element of that statement—it’s the deeper purpose behind everything else which appeals directly to our emotions as humans.
Companies like Apple and Nike use their big why statements (e.g., challenge conventions, innovate for athletes) to attract customers all around the world—if you want those same people joining forces with you in work or life, having a clear vision of where you want to go is key!
This can be obtained simply by asking yourself “where do I see myself three years from now?” Doing this helps create intentionality in action and will keep everyone focused on achieving a common goal together.
The Key To A Successful Work Or Personal Project: Foster Social Connections
The authors of ‘The Buddha and the Badass’ make a strong point in their book – that when you build social bonds, it increases levels of happiness, engagement, and performance within any given team.
This is more than just an idea; researchers have proved time and time again that friendship at work improves employee productivity, with analytics company Gallup finding that those with good friends in the workplace are seven times more engaged than their friendless co-workers.
Making this strong connection doesn’t require much effort.
You may begin each day with a gratitude exercise for people to share what they’re thankful for, or have regular gatherings outside of the office space – anything to help form stronger ties between members of the team.
Additionally, having a digital safe-space for people to express vulnerability can also be helpful in fostering connectedness.
Lastly, it all starts from having one person taking the lead through authenticity in expressing vulnerability – give others permission to do this as well and create an opportunity for them to support you when needed.
It’s clear that encouraging social bonds is essential to reach greater heights of teamwork performance!
Choose A Mission-Oriented Path To Make The World Better: Become Humanity Plus With Massive Transformational Purpose Or Take A Stand
In The Buddha and the Badass, it’s clear that the author wants us to be mindful of our choices and their consequences.
We need to ensure that we’re part of businesses that add value to the world, rather than making it worse.
That means having a mission that will leave the world a better place.
This mission could be anything from helping people access more information through Google, to taking a stand against unhealthy foods in social media influencer marketing.
Whatever you choose, make sure it’s meaningful and impactful.
The author also mentions “Massive Transformational Purpose,” or MTP for short.
This is for companies whose projects are bigger than just one person — your MTP serves as a long-term goal that can have an immense effect on society or the technology sector.
But even if you don’t have a huge organization behind you or aren’t running any big projects yet, there are still ways to make your work meaningful and create change: simply take a stand.
Choose something you care about – whether it’s homelessness or animal rights — and make that your focus when doing business.
Make it known what kind of company you run, chip away at systematic problems, and slowly but surely change the world for the better!
Don’T Limit Yourself: Dare To Dream Big And Reach Bold Goals To Achieve Success
We all know the concept of being afraid to dream big, it’s something that we’ve heard numerous times.
However, it’s important to look past those doubts and embrace bigger visions instead.
The truth is that when you have a bold vision, you are more likely to accomplish great things.
Take the flea-in-the-jar experiment for instance.
Scientists placed fleas in an open jar and naturally they jumped out, then when the lid was taken off a sealed jar after a few days, the fleas showed no signs of jumping out because they had been conditioned to only jump as high as the jar’s opening.
Even though people are smarter than fleas, we too can be conditioned this way and limit ourselves from achieving what we want.
So embrace your bold visions so you can push boundaries and leave a mark on the world while at it!
To help with this process it helps to think ahead; speak about your project 10 years down the line, set measurable goals along the way and give yourself permission to fail occasionally when trying new things out.
It’s also important to get other people on board by planting ideas in their minds like Richard Branson did with his challenge of swimming three miles between two islands – he planted the thought that once achieved one could do it again in reverse!
By doing so he opened up people’s minds to accomplishing impossible feats!
Experience The Power Of Human Unity By Creating A Unified Brain Environment
The Buddha and the Badass book summary explains one of the most important keys to creating an optimal work environment – allowing people to freely communicate and act quickly.
When it comes to achieving success as a team, speed and communication go hand in hand.
Brain coupling is a term coined by neuroscientists which occurs when two or more people are completely in sync, building on each other’s ideas with lightning speed.
This is only possible when rigid hierarchy and systems are removed from the equation, allowing for rapid idea exchange and natural growth.
Pixar is an example of a company who has done this successfully.
They cut out the formal chain of command and replaced it with direct access to their staff whenever necessary – regardless of role or seniority level.
Similarly, The United States Air Force Colonel utilized an approach that encouraged people to act fast – no matter how uncertain they were – in order to recognise opportunities as soon as possible.
This same approach can be taken by other organisations, who should embrace acts of speed over extensive meetings or email threads.
Take advantage of quick messaging, like Slack or Whatsapp, which gives everyone involved the freedom to make decisions in minutes rather than days or even hours!
Allowing your team members this kind of freedom helps ensures faster learning cycles and ultimately leads to more wins!
How To Overcome The Need For Approval And Design Your Own Life
The Buddha and the Badass by Vishen Lakhiani teaches that to overcome setbacks and pressure one must know that they are enough and design a life unique to them.
The idea is that when you accept your worth as an individual, external factors such as failure or negative feedback won’t be able to affect your self-esteem.
To begin feeling like enough one should practice extending self-love and expressing gratitude to oneself.
Making it a habit to tell yourself “I love you” in the mirror every morning, as well as listing all the positive traits you have will ultimately lead to increased self worth.
The next step is crafting a life built around your own dreams, goals and values rather than letting family and society dictate what your life should look like.
Take time to reflect on what experiences you want, how you want to grow & develop, and how you would like to give back.
Once you find these answers for yourself create a life tailored towards them – not others’.
Stop Chasing Success: Aim For Personal Growth And Transformation Instead
According to The Buddha and the Badass, success should not be your ultimate goal in life.
Instead, aim for constant and deliberate growth in all areas of your life – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and professional.
Growth is a transformation that is irreversible, unlike knowledge which can easily be forgotten.
That’s why it’s important to opt for intentional growth rather than relying on painful lessons to change you.
One way to achieve this growth is through creating a personal transformation routine.
Find an activity that works for you – such as improving your sleep quality, meditating or speed reading – and add it into your daily habits.
Having some time dedicated to personal growth will result in improved performance at work as well as better overall health and wellbeing.
The author suggests that freeing up your mornings can also be beneficial to help prioritize these activities.
Additionally, setting aside money specifically for training or education opportunities can further contribute to growth in our lives.
By striving for constant and deliberate growth in all aspects of our lives, we are able to experience a transformation that improves all parts of us; making us healthier overall mentally and physically!
It Takes Reframing Your Identity To Become Your Best Self
It’s been said that your identity shapes your experiences.
Your beliefs about yourself inform your behaviors and, in turn, the direction of your life.
If you want to achieve a true inner transformation and fulfill that perfect life you’ve been dreaming about, one of the first steps is to change the way you view yourself.
This shift in identity can come from altering the lens through which you view yourself and making empowering beliefs that promote positive behavior.
This can be achieved through many different techniques, such as journaling or using what is known as the Lofty Questions technique.
The Lofty Questions technique involves coming up with specific questions related to your desired ideal self (i.e., How resilient am I?).
Asking these questions and meditating on them daily encourages your brain to search for evidence of how this ideal version of yourself could exist, thus giving rise to better belief systems relevant to that image and ultimately inspiring new behaviors.
This enables you to gradually begin living according to those improved beliefs and reap the rewards accordingly: manifesting a more fulfilling life overall!
Wrap Up
The ultimate point of The Buddha and the Badass is that life, work and our sense of purpose don’t have to be hard, rather they can be creative, uplifting and fulfilling.
To get there requires alignment with what we value, powerful personal visions and collaboration amongst others.
Finally it’s about believing in ourselves – our potential for being the best version of ourselves.
The actionable advice from this book is to help others design the lives of their dreams as you work on your own.
So reach out to those around you, ask them what they want to achieve, then give them a small gift that encourages growth – like a book or other tool!
By deliberately taking time for self-reflection and building powerful relationships, we can each create unique masterpieces that enrich our lives.
