Mike Reining and Vishen Lakhiani with Sean Stephenson
A couple weeks ago, FinerMinds' parent company, MindValley, went on a company retreat. Now before you picture convention rooms and bad lighting, let me tell you where we went.
Bali, Indonesia.
If you think we're crazy for going all the way to Bali, we're not (well, maybe just a little bit). Because we're based out of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia it only cost $10,000 for 46 people to stay in Bali for 3 beautiful, starry nights.
At MindValley, we're not just any boring company. When I said 46 people, what I really wanted to say was 43 people from 17 different countries and 3 amazing kids.
All the amazing interviews we've had on FinerMinds, the exclusive content, the growth of the FinerMinds community is credited to the employees of MindValley who continually strive for personal growth for themselves and for you, the readers, and the world we live in.
This is our 5th year of doing this annual retreat and this one was the biggest and best by far. We had three amazing speakers, Sean Stephenson, author of Get Off Your 'But', Brian Johnson of PhilosophersNotes.com, and Brian Wong of Quanlife.com.
Mike Reining with Sean Stephenson
We learned so much from these guys, I can't even fit everything into one blog post so stay tuned for 3 upcoming posts on the amazing insights we gained from them.
We discussed personal goals, values, what our self-limited beliefs were and how we can empower each of us. We focused on gratitude, spirituality, and the definition of success.
It was a transformational weekend for the company and for each of the individuals. I hate to sound like a cliche of a movie review, but we laughed, we cried, we hugged (a lot), and our lives will never be the same again.
Okay, maybe an overstatement but it was a breakthrough event for many of the people at this retreat. The level of self-awareness had gone up ten-fold and I can see it everyday at work.
Now some of you might be thinking, "Wait, isn't this a company retreat and not a self-help seminar?" Yes and no.
While it was entirely a company retreat with the end goal of furthering MindValley's growth, I know that nothing amazing can be accomplished without the growth of myself, my business partner, Mike Reining, and all the employees who are always working to find new ways to spread enlightened ideas.
The point I'm trying to drive across is this:
You can't grow your business without growing yourself and your employees.
It's as simple as that. I'm hoping in the next few years, this will be common knowledge and that the MindValley way can be replicated across the globe. I sound a little like human resources right now, but your employees are your greatest assets and resources. So why wouldn't you want to invest in them?
With spiritual, educational, and personal development, your company will continue to break through the glass ceiling.
Listening intently on a personal growth session.
Saying our daily affirmations for success.
Mike Reining swears by his affirmations with hand on heart.
A little friendly competition within the MindValley family.
Brian Johnson with his girlfriend.
Brian Wong showing his son something surely spectacular.
We're just like one big happy family.
Sean Stephenson performs hypnotism on one of our Project Managers to help her quit smoking.
The end result of the hypnotism. You can't see her, but one of FinerMinds' writers, Gabrielle, is stuck in there somewhere.
Sean Stephenson and Mike Reining share an in depth discussion on personal transformation.
Sean Stephenson with his parents.
And yes, we have musical talent too.
Brian Wong and his son.
I wish every employer understood the fact that when you invest in the employees, the company grows. It's a win-win.
Great stuff! Sean Stephenson is the true role model.
You are doing the one thing that most companies don't ..Appreciating and showing that you Value your employees! In my coaching I specialize in Positive Workforce Strategies, and thank you for providing such a great model to help others learn the wonderful power of treating your employees well. Well Done Finer Minds!
Stephanie Kathan
Cranberry and Sage of Vermont
Master Key Coaching
Wowee, Vishen!! What a truly inspiring post and stunning pictures too.
I've heard it said most people leave jobs not because of lack of pay, but because of lack of appreciation. You clearly deeply appreciate your staff. You are an inspiration, my friend. Keep up the amazing work!!
Cheers,
Mari
That is beautiful and inspiration. Well done !!!! lindsayclewis.com
Amazing retreat. I think I'll recommend to Laura Silva that we do something similar for our team of Silva Instructors.
The first thing most organizations want to cut is training and it is the last thing to cut, in my 10 years of experience delivering specialized employee wellness programs.
Congratulations on being an enlightened organization.
Better & Better,
Ken Coscia
Silva International Training Director
The way of the future. How good if we could incorporate this into all our relationships.
Nice,
I believe we would live in a better world if every companies would put their employee well-being and growth before the shockholder growth.
We see less and less of these human oriented companies
Thanks for the example!
Appreciation, validation, collaboration, inspiration= creation.
Powerful and beautiful--thank you for sharing. The photos are gorgeous.
Congratulations are setting a new benchmark!
Truly inspiring Vishen. Loved the blog post and keep them coming...
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this.