Was the Buddha an entrepreneur?
This question encompasses my love for both mindfulness and business.
Today I want to share with you on how I arrived at this idea and this question and why it continues to inspire me.
Let me take you back where it all began.
It started in 6th grade social studies class with my teacher Ms.
Fancher.
I remember her so vividly.
She was this incredible,
Wise,
Free-spirited woman who would love to share stories about her travels around the world.
And she was a seeker of spirituality herself.
And she was someone who brought a sense of curiosity and depth into our little classroom in upstate New York.
I grew up a pastor's kid.
I would go to church many times a week.
And even as a little girl,
I was always asking big questions and wondering about religions and spirituality.
So when my teacher Ms.
Fancher taught us about the world religions and Buddha,
I felt like it was the perfect match for who I was and who I was becoming.
I was mesmerized by the story of Siddhartha Gautama,
Also known as the Buddha.
There was just something about that story that I just couldn't let it go.
And even as a little girl,
I knew that it was special and so different.
You may or may not know that the Buddha,
Siddhartha Gautama,
Was born into royalty.
He was the son of a king.
And a prophecy declared even before he was born that he was going to be destined for a spiritual path.
But his father,
The king,
Was so afraid of losing him,
And he tried to shield him from the realities of the world.
Siddhartha was raised surrounded by luxury and beauty and comfort,
All of this in hopes to keep him safe within the bounds of the palace.
But when Siddhartha was 29 years old,
Everything changed for him.
He asked to step beyond the walls of the palace,
And that's when he saw realities of life,
Sickness,
Aging,
And death.
Seeing these realities were so visceral,
And it caused his awakening.
These realizations shook him to his core.
He could not,
Inside of himself,
Reconcile the suffering he saw in comparison to the life that he had been living.
As the prophecy had declared,
He made a decision,
And he left the palace.
He gave up every single thing that he knew ever since he was born.
He gave up his royal birthright and his identity to embark on a journey to seek truth and to alleviate the suffering of humanity that he had seen.
Through that journey,
Siddhartha Gautama became Buddha.
As I reflect on this story,
I can't help but wonder,
Was the Buddha an entrepreneur?
I mean,
Think about it.
Entrepreneurship requires a deep desire to solve problems,
A willingness to make sacrifices in your life,
And a readiness and a determination to transform yourself,
To change your identity.
And wouldn't you say that that describes Buddha's journey?
See,
Entrepreneurs are often described as individuals who anticipate needs,
Take initiative,
And bring new ideas into the world.
And that's exactly what the Buddha did.
He saw suffering,
And he envisioned a better way.
And he committed his life to sharing that vision and that mission with others.
When we hear the word entrepreneur,
Though,
It's easy to picture someone in tech,
Someone hustling to build a startup.
But I argue that that's just one version.
Entrepreneurs can come in many forms.
They're like you,
And they're like me.
Individuals who are moved by the problems that we see and want to make a difference,
Whether it's in our own lives,
In our families' lives,
Or in our communities.
My own entrepreneurial path has been anything but traditional.
Over the past almost 10 years,
I've founded companies,
I've built startups,
And I've led marketing and communications teams.
I even co-founded a 15,
000-square-foot immersive art museum in Florida,
And I managed the largest entrepreneurship center in Tampa Bay.
Being an entrepreneur and supporting entrepreneurs has taught me something very profound.
That entrepreneurship is less about titles and more about the spirit,
About a willingness to create something meaningful,
Where there once was nothing.
I've personally faced many moments where I've had to shed an old identity and embrace something new.
I often think back to Ms.
Vantra when I reflect on this journey.
She didn't just teach history,
She lived it.
And she brought the world into our classroom with her stories of travel and spiritual exploration.
I'm grateful for the way that she sparked that curiosity within me.
I believe that her own seeking planted a seed in me and gave me permission to explore as well.
It's one that continues to grow and grow in my work and in my life.
So I invite you to reflect today.
Think about a time when you saw something in the world or in yourself that you wanted to change.
What was it about that that moved you?
Because in those moments,
You and I are no different than Siddhartha Gautama,
Who was at the threshold of that palace,
Wondering,
What is behind these walls?
What truth is out there that I have not understood yet?
Is there something in this world that I need to explore for myself?
Because as Siddhartha Gautama shows us,
Transformation is up to us.
It's up to us to take that brave step and go into the world and shed old identities and take action on what inspires us and what moves us.
Entrepreneurship and leadership takes many forms.
Buddha's story reminds us that transformation begins with a willingness to see things as they are,
A willingness to help others,
And a willingness to see beyond the walls we were born into.
Remember that it takes courage to take the actions that you've been taking,
But what awaits you on the other side is truth,
Clarity,
And the highest version of yourself.
Was the Buddha an entrepreneur?
I personally think so.
And you might be too.
