Lets begin the article with the words from Vishen Lakhiani—
“When you start seeing failures simply as a means to growth; you become immune to failure”.
Vishen Lakhiani, who took his first breath on earth on 14 January 1976, is now among the top entrepreneurs and influential speakers.
Besides giving influential talks, he also loves to write. He is the author of two most popular books: The Code of the Extraordinary Mind and The Buddha and the Badass.
And, currently, we all know him as the founder and CEO of Mindvalley, an institution that focuses on personality enhancement, offering all the essential skills that regular education might lack.
Vishen Lakhiani was born into a middle-class family. He pursued his higher education in the United States, attending the University of Michigan. He graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 1999.
He got married in 2003 with Kristina Lakhiani, and now they are living together with their two children, happily exploring business as well as the spiritual world together.
Ok, that’s all about his personal info. Let’s now switch to his early life—I mean, the life before the era of Mindvalley.
How was Vishen Lakhiani’s Early life?
If hard work, dedication, and approach are perfectly tangled, then we can get an idea of the heights you can reach by looking at today’s The Vishen Lakhiani.
He was born into a middle-class family. You know that the journey from a middle-class environment to becoming an entrepreneur not only reflects his mindset but also proves his strong willpower.
Yes, if we are born in a family that has no relation to things like business or entrepreneurship, then such children have to face a lot of opposition from the family, especially when the children express their desire to become businessmen or want to do something of their own.
We can call it the concern of parents towards their children or overprotective nature or forcefully imposing their wishes on the children; we can call it anything.
As long as the child is immature, such behavior can be expected from the parents, but even after maturity, if there is family pressure, then in a way it becomes an obstacle in the career growth of the children.
And this kind of pressure from parents is very commonly seen in middle-class families; it takes a lot of strong willpower to move ahead from it.
- Educational Background
After completing his schooling, he went to the US for higher education, and from there he completed his graduation in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
It is so interesting and surprising that a student from a technology background is today talking about spirituality, personality development, and life skills.
So how did such a transformation happen in a person?
Was tech as a career, not a good option according to him?
Well, there was nothing like that.
It was not an overnight transformation that today he got a degree in computer science, and now from tomorrow, he started giving lectures on spirituality and life skills.
No, this wasn’t how it all went.
Rather, after graduation, he explored life as a computer engineer.
He worked in a startup in Silicon Valley, which is known for its startup environment.
There he explored what corporate culture is and what the atmosphere looks like, how it feels to work under someone, the stress of office work, and how it feels to lead a team
- Career and Life before Mindvalley
You might be wondering whether a person with a computer science degree goes to work in a company to apply their skills or to experience various emotional and psychological scenarios.
It’s hard for me to say exactly what was going through his mind at that time, but here’s what I’d like to add:
We’re all humans, and emotional dramas and psychological fluctuations are things we encounter frequently. Perhaps something similar might have happened with him.
Transitioning from college life to the corporate world, where both social and professional interactions are different, was something he hadn’t experienced before.
It felt like entering a completely new life.
He was exposed to the complexities of corporate life and went through all the experiences he could.
In short, he explored life as an independent person and tried to understand how life works.
He realized that if someone wants to achieve something in life and become a capable person, there are certain skills they must possess—skills he referred to as “life skills.”
- Influence of Meditation on his life
One of the habits he highlighted most was meditation.
To get relief from the stress of office work, he started practicing meditation daily at home, and its effect was so great that within just 7 months, he rose from the junior level to the level of vice president of the company.
He got promoted not because he was performing meditation at home. But rather because meditation paved the way for other good habits in his life.
He started indulging in spiritual acts; he started focusing on his mental and physical enhancements.
The result was so fascinating that, at 27, he was given the opportunity to manage the company’s New York office.
When an individual reaches this level, they can no longer be referred to as an employee. At this point, the qualities of a businessman started showing through his personality.
We can guess this from the fact that, only 18 months after becoming the head of the New York office, he decided to quit it and pursue a career as a meditation and personal growth coach.
And the result was the birth of MindValley.
What is the story behind Mindvalley?
The Birth— Why he started MindValley?
Can we say that Mindvalley was nothing but the result of realization? The realization he got after experiencing various aspects of life.
Yes, he was in his late 30’s when he marked the beginning of MindValley.
After investing nearly half of a decade in the corporate sector, he came to understand that academic certifications are necessary but aren’t enough to cultivate the seeds of success and satisfaction in one’s life.
He recognized that beyond educational certifications, students should also focus on acquiring skills that are often excluded from the traditional educational system.
Skills such as communication, public speaking, social interaction, personal growth, mental relaxation, and so on should be added to the curriculum.
These skills, along with traditional degrees, offer individuals an edge against their competitors, which he realized while working in start-up culture.
That’s why he decided to launch Mindvalley, a platform that purely focuses on giving what traditional education lacks.
MindValley offers home to hundreds of talented educators who have dedicated their lives to helping others become individuals who are worth becoming.
Mindvalley’s success Journey
Inspired by Mandela’s quote, “If you want to change the world, change education.” Mindvalley was born which is today a team of more than 300 people from 50 countries and has exceeded 100 million dollars in revenue.
But, what I feel is that the company’s revenue should not be the sole factor determining success.
Should we use materialistic standards to measure the success of a company that focuses on spiritual practices, emotional well-being, mental stability, and consciousness?
Then, what should we consider to evaluate their success?
To keep it fair enough; Let’s evaluate their success based on the impact they were able to create on the lives of people who joined it.
Let’s see how does it influences the mind, thoughts, and overall personality of people, and for that, we will get into some case studies.
- Raquel Rache’s Transformation Through Manifesting Mastery
Raquel Rache, a sound healer from Fortaleza, Brazil, took part in the *Manifesting Mastery* quest to improve her manifestation skills and increase sales for her programs.
During the quest, she gained a deeper understanding of manifestation, leading to positive changes in her life including her marriage, family relationships, physical health, and overcoming her fear of public speaking. Although her business sales didn’t immediately meet her goals, she believes they will improve as she continues to grow.
Overall, Raquel’s experience with *Manifesting Mastery* brought about significant personal growth and provided her with the tools to manifest her best self and achieve future success.
- Meriel Hiramoto’s Healing Journey with Manifestation
Meriel Hiramoto, a designer from Izu, Japan, experienced relief from a painful neurological disease by participating in a manifestation course.
Despite her discomfort, she fully engaged in the lessons, using them as a form of meditation and distraction from her physical pain. The daily practice of the teachings led to personal growth and transformation, and on the final day of the course, her pain completely went away, marking an extraordinary healing experience.
This journey taught her not only about manifestation but also about the power of frequency and self-awareness.
- Alice Chen’s Success with Mindvalley Manifestation
Alice Chen, who lives in San Francisco, achieved great success with Mindvalley’s Art of Manifesting quest. In November 2023, she aimed to earn $100,000 in Q4 while working on two start-ups.
Surprisingly, she easily reached her goal.In Spring 2024, Alice joined Manifesting Mastery and experienced even more success. Her FinTech startup secured a $3 million oversubscribed Seed round, gained recognition from Forbes as a Top 100 software, and she personally gained $250,000 in liquidity, avoiding a property sale.
These achievements were credited to her daily manifestation practices, which helped her achieve success effortlessly.
Two famous books written by Vishen Lakhiani
1. The Code of the Extraordinary Mind
This book revolves around how an individual can live his life on his own terms.
Live your life in your own way and on your own strength, not under pressure or by being subservient to anyone. This book inspires you to do so.
If you want to become a doctor, then become one; if you want to become an engineer, then become one; or if you are interested in any sport, then take it up; there is no problem.
But yes, the final decision should be completely yours. You should not play with your future by coming under anyone’s pressure.
It is right to take advice from others, but it is wrong to live life according to others; this is what we read in this book.
Along with this, Vishen has mentioned ten such good habits in this book, which if we adopt in our lives, then we will be able to live a successful and effective life.
2. The Buddha and The Badass
Another popular book by Vishen, “The Buddha and The Badass.” Let’s get into it and see what it has for us.
Buddha we all know what it represents: inner peace, stability, spirituality and mindfulness. Whereas, badass here represents bold actions, high performance.
This book explains how if the spiritual approach is integrated with the professional (materialistic) life in a balanced quantity, then the personal and professional life of the individual can improve very positively.
Vishen’s Future Vision
According to him, the current education system is outdated and does not keep up with technological and social progress.There is a need to update the global education system to adapt to the modern world.
The future of education should involve lifelong learning, access to education from anywhere, and a shift from rote learning to engaging, fun learning experiences.
The Vishen is aiming to promote this vision through platforms like Mindvalley Quests and events like Mindvalley University City Campus, with the goal of transforming the lives of 1 billion people by 2038.
It was a great post to read.