You might be thinking, “Why do I want to know about religion in my business newsletter?” I’m not writing about the business of spirituality, that is what the places of worship, like churches and mosques, do best. I want to share the idea that when business goes beyond the dollar you go beyond challenge and stress. Sound too ‘woo woo’ for you? Try these three suggestions in your business and see what ‘new’ comes from it.

1. Be the Voice

When I was listening to an audio outtake from a past Wayne Dyer’s TV show I heard him make reference to “being the voice of the person not in the room” with reference to gossiping and kindness. Interesting perspective on helping those without a voice. As I listened further I realized that this was akin to playing the “devil’s advocate”, something I do a lot. The “What if” questions that comes up when we don’t jump to conclusions about people, events, or situations. So often when watching a situational comedy I have had to leave the room because I feel people are so stupid not to ask the questions that would get them out of the hole they dig for themselves with assumptions and secrets.

Don’t let your business be full of assumptions and secrets. Make sure you give people in your business permission to speak when they see something that doesn’t feel right and to make suggestions when they think something can be better. Always be asking questions and looking for the insight into what other options there might be and what other information is missing. Think of having access to an invisible person who knows the full picture telling you what else you might be missing. What would you ask him about your situations so you can have all the facts?

Doing this does not make for funny situational comedy, but it also won’t make you a laughing stock because you acted on misinformation.

2.  Balance is Not About Equal

I think the word “Balance” is used incorrectly with reference to life. When we think of balance we often think of the meaning referencing weights, where you put something on one side and an equal amount on the other side to balance the weight. I picture the “Lady Justice” with her scales of justice in one hand representing the measure of justice as a balanced and equal measure.

The balance we seek in life is more like this definition:

“mental steadiness or emotional stability; habit of calm behavior, judgment, etc.” [http://www.dictionary.com/browse/balance]

‘Calm behaviour’, now that sounds like a balance I want in my life and that has nothing to do with ‘equal’ or ‘fair’. When we look for our work lives and our home lives to be equal we are looking to try and give our time fairly to both and that is not how life works. At least that is not what I tell my kids when I let them know, “life is not fair”. Your work is your life. Krishna says, in the Gita, “One who shirks action does not attain freedom; no one can gain perfection by abstaining from work.” [The Bhagavad Gita – Introduced & translated by Eknath Easwaran – Nigiri Press 2007]

When you find the work that is your true purpose or dharma, it will allow you to be in equilibrium with yourself, so you will bring calm to everything you do. It will not be about 8 hours here and 8 hours there, it will be about being totally engaged in all hours of the day, whether the work is a business meeting or a PTA meeting. We all have different work and we are not all called to be at corporate head office for 16 hours a day, but some of us are. Know what your calling is and understand how you can show-up in your life so you can experience the ‘calm behaviour’ of a truly balanced existence.

3. Get to Guru

In all religions there are leaders that are revered for their understanding of life and their ability to live by the words or knowledge they see as holy. These gurus, saints, disciples, teachers, etc. come with what seems like a direct line to God or the Universe. They have an understanding of life many of us do not try to comprehend. They can use the forces of the universe to their success. We see this in many successful people today as well as those in our holy books and stories from the past.

If you want to lead a full and exceptional life you need to ‘get to guru’. By this I mean, continue to learn from those that know the way and be open to other possibilities. I know that there are more secrets in this universe than all the answers we, as humans, have already uncovered. Don’t discount the impossible or the improbably because we don’t have a scientific way of describing it yet. Your knowledge and faith to get to your goals will always serve you to your highest outcome. So learn, learn, learn and be willing to be led by others farther along the path then you so you can then lead others behind you on the path; especially those inside your business.

We are all spiritual beings; whether your spirit is led by religion or by the energy of atoms. No matter what your belief system is, you cannot deny that what you do and how you react to what happens around you is completely up to you. You are the control panel for your life and you can choose to do things that feel hard and slow or things that feel light and fun. Try adding one of these ideas to your business and see if you can make the changes to your actions affect your life and business in a positive way.