Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The more time I spend working in marketing, the more parallels I find between my professional and personal life. This makes sense because I am a human being with human experience. Naturally, there will be some synchronicities.
I recently picked up Deepak Chopra’s The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, and after finishing it (it’s a super easy read), I kept thinking about how much of it resonated with me and how much I wanted to apply to my work.
Most folks have a hard line between work and life. “It’s just business,” “I am a different person at work,” etc. But what if we brought some of the beauty of the personal into the professional? What if it didn’t have to be quite so black and white — rather, we used the principles that work for us and make us feel good in our daily lives to be better at work?
I feel that so much of business is associated with greed, scarcity and pressure right now. Yet the brands that are succeeding are living out values and beliefs that resonate with people on a personal level. Reading Deepak’s laws I kept thinking — what if we applied these in the office and made ourselves better in the process?
So, without further adieu, below are the laws, their meaning, and how we can apply them to be better businesspeople.
1. The law of pure potentiality
This law means that we exist within a state of pure potential. This principle, for me, recalls the American dream: the idea that we can do anything we put our minds to with enough effort and persistence.
Core to tapping into your potentiality however, is knowing who you are. In business, my brain immediately jumps to your brand strategy. How well do you ‘know thy brand’ — your mission, purpose, DNA, USP? How well do your customers know it?
So much of what we as humans buy is based on beliefs about the brand. Do we know what our beliefs are? And if so, do we communicate with them? Infinite potential lies within any brand that understands and communicates its unique values and beliefs to the right audience.
Related: 3 Common Misconceptions About Marketing — And How We Can Reframe Them
2. The law of giving
This is one of my personal favorites: giving and giving — without expecting or needing anything in return. In marketing, it’s often content- ‘Download this whitepaper in exchange for your email address’… (yawn). What if you just gave it for free? What if you could provide real, customized value- and didn’t need anything in return?
This is not me saying to give away all your services for free, but it is asking you to think about what you can give without needing anything back. I get messages all the time from recent college grads looking for careers. While I have no job openings, I offer them a virtual or in-person coffee instead to talk about their interests and give them any recommendations for places to look or people to connect with.
It can be a lot at times, but for me, this is creating the kind of environment I wish I had when I was in my career. When I get a lead for marketing, I do a free 30-minute call. I take 15-20 minutes asking questions and listening to their answers, and the remainder of the time, I tell them everything I think they should do. No selling. I just say what they should start, stop and improve upon.
Multiple people asked me why I gave away so much when they could take that information and do it themselves or go elsewhere. If they want to, they will. But I would rather them have the knowledge to do so in a way that will be better for them and save them time, money and frustration. It doesn’t necessarily matter if they choose to do it with me.
I want them to win and do what’s best for them. When you approach business from the perspective of having more to give than get, work naturally starts flowing to you because it makes people feel good. It doesn’t feel like “here’s another $10k out the window on marketing,” it’s the excitement and energy in investing in something you already have received so much value from.
3. The law of karma
We’re all familiar with this: you get what you give. One of the biggest parallels I can draw is with money. If you, as a business owner, are stingy with your money, how can you expect others to invest and spend their money on you? It doesn’t make sense.
You have to act according to what you want to receive. If you want others to believe in you, you need to believe in yourself. If you want brands to buy from you, why not buy from them? Whenever I make a good connection, I make an effort to buy/try their product and or/service. I then write to them afterward and tell them about it. Give them all the praise for the awesome thing they created. What goes around comes around, and what I want to put out there is a legacy of supporting amazing people who have created great things and acknowledge all of the efforts that went into it.
Related: 5 Good Karma Tips to Grow Your Business (Infographic)
4. The law of least effort
This is all about going with the flow. As business owners, there is never a shortage of to-do lists, meetings and deadlines. It can feel exhausting. Sometimes, the best thing we can do is work with what feels easy and exciting.
I used to be a time-blocking pro. My calendar was a game of Tetris with all the things I had to get done and then some. When I look at it now, my question is, ‘What needs to happen?’ and ‘What feels good to accomplish today?’
Forcing myself to sit and write an article when I am stressed and feeling down… it’s going to suck. I would rather take the path of least resistance. Work with what works and what feels good. Sometimes I get 50% done with a project and realize I have so much resistance, I have to start over. Reframe it- ask what I am really trying to do and how I can make it easier. When you are in the flow state, you feel unstoppable. The work is awesome, you feel good, and work is no longer a grind.’
5. The law of intention and desire — and 6. — The law of detachment
I combined the two of these laws intentionally because, to me, they represent all of the core and key principles of manifesting. You start with your desires. In business, we call these your goals, and there should be more to them than just the amount of money you want to make.
The laws state that these things are possible, but we need to give up our attachment to the outcome. It’s one thing to say what you really want, it’s another to have an iron grip on the way you need to receive it so that it meets your expectations.
This is all about giving up control, which, as an entrepreneur, is really challenging. I will tell you from personal experience that I have made a million business mistakes, which I felt strongly were the right move at the time. They forced me to question what I wanted. I didn’t want a course, five more employees, or ten new clients. I wanted a business that felt aligned with my skills and passions.
I wanted to shift my services to provide what I knew business owners really needed instead of what they told me they needed. When I was able to let go of how I thought it would look, was when I really thought my business became a success.
Related: AI is the Antithesis of Authenticity — But There’s Hope. Here’s How We Can Align Our Human Values with AI.
7. The law of dharma
We’re here for a reason, to serve a purpose. Are you aligned with yours? Think about it. What would you say if I asked you what you do and why? You don’t need to be the Dalai Lama to do good in this world, but you must be contributing. You know what that is, and it feels aligned with your values and beliefs. I believe this law is a game changer- and has challenged me to answer the question of what I want my legacy to be. That’s why I created a scholarship and volunteered to teach marketing to middle schoolers or give free lectures. I want to inspire future entrepreneurs. I want them to know it’s all possible (or, to use Deepak’s words, Purely Potential).
How many of these laws do you feel you can relate to in life and work? This is not a map of how to live or work, but I do think it brings into alignment the potential to have a greater, more meaningful experience in your business — if you let it.
