Being a Conscious Entrepreneur
by Leon VanderPol

This article first appeared in Conscious-preneur Magazine.

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If you are reading this, you likely identify as a conscious entrepreneur. It’s an exciting arena to work and play in. Undoubtedly, the more businesses that exist that strive to make the world a better, more caring and compassionate place, the better will be the quality of all our lives.

That is the basis of conscious entrepreneurship: we love what we do, we strive to make the world a better place – for customers, employees, ourselves, and society at large – and we earn money doing it.

It’s About the Money, and It’s Not

For conscious entrepreneurs, money is an important but secondary motivation. Yes, profit is necessary, and riches may come of it, but for the true conscious-preneur, it is not the driving reason or motivator for what we do. We do what we do because it fulfills our need to live purposefully, to do meaningful work, and to make a positive impact on society that transcends the value of the product or service itself.

There is, however, a key aspect to conscious entrepreneurship that cannot be overlooked.

Doing what we love in order to make a meaningful difference in the world is a top priority. But the most conscious of the conscious-preneurs go beyond that. We recognized that business itself is an inner game, and the quality of our inner game is the heart and soul focus of the conscious entrepreneur.

A true conscious entrepreneur is not simply a business owner who does what they love and who has a product or service that betters or uplifts people’s lives. It’s more than that.

A conscious-preneur is a businessperson who actively cultivates self-awareness as part of a practice of continual personal and spiritual growth. 

Consciousness Is Paramount

A conscious entrepreneur recognizes that what truly matters is their inner reality and state of consciousness. The business is an external expression or vehicle by which they are can learn to embody higher potentials of selfhood.

What is paramount is what is going on inside of them in each moment, through each day, in each situation, and how that inner reality expresses itself through their ‘way of being and doing’: from how they manage, lead and communicate, to the organizational culture and operational systems they create.

Every one of those aspects of a business comes to life as an expression of the entrepreneur’s inner state of awareness and level of consciousness.

The conscious-preneur recognizes that ultimately, the quality of their inner reality makes a profound difference in the world, far beyond the impact their product or service itself can ever have.

That’s quite the paradigm shift, I know.

We are taught from a young age that it’s what we do and create that matters greatly. Fame, fortune, recognition and reward, all come to those who can outwardly show that what they do matters.

How many entrepreneurs has the world produced who have created life-changing products but who were often wretched people to live and work with? They lost sight of (or perhaps never saw) what matters most; caught up thinking it was the thing that mattered more than who they were being.

The conscious entrepreneur recognizes that personal growth matters beyond all else because everything they create and do is an extension of their inner reality.

Our Business Reflects Our Inner Game

If there is a fear of failing within them, that will extend itself in some way into the culture of the organization.

If there is great ambition within them, that can lead to living at a manic pace, damaging relationships and well-being along the way.

If there is a need to be in control or dominate, that impacts how well they manage and lead.

If there is greed within them, that can manifest as manipulative marketing and sales systems.

If they have a need to be right, that will influence how openly people share creative ideas or critical feedback.

Conscious entrepreneurs may have a tremendous desire to do meaningful work and to make a positive difference. We may have developed amazing products and services born of that desire. But all of it diminishes in existential value when the way we do business each day comes from a less-than conscious, less-than aware state of mind and being. 

It happens when we lose sight of the paramount importance of the inner game and fall into the trap of believing that it’s the external thing we create or do that matters most. 

Because conscious entrepreneurs see the big picture of life, we recognize that our time on this earth is but an extraordinary opportunity to express our highest ideals and bring our grandest visions to life. We can live a purposeful, meaningful life of service and adventure, and business is our chosen vehicle for it all. (For others it may be teaching or engineering or waiting tables.)

But neither the business nor its output is seen as an end in itself; always are these pathways to a vast playing field upon which all those connected to the business can grow into more of their own highest truth and potential.

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Part 2: Are You Really a Conscious Entrepreneur? Take the test to find out.

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Leon VanderPol is the founder of the Center for Transformational Coaching and author of A Shift in Being – The Art and Practices of Deep Transformational Coaching.

His journey of founding and building the Center into the vibrant global coach training school that it is today, is the fulfillment of a life vision for himself that began over 15 years ago. It has allowed him to do work that is of his highest calling and soul purpose, while enabling a community of transformational coaches and practitioners from around the world to do the same.