E10: Lessons Learned: Ancient Wisdom For The Modern Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurship: the lesson in personal development you didn’t know you needed. Am I right? At least it was for me and many other business owners that I know.

The ups and downs are real, but so are the growth and lessons you get along the way.

In this episode we’re talking all about:

• timeless invaluable ancient wisdom that is applicable for every entrepreneur on their journey
• a captivating story of a Warrior that will change your perspective on Yoga and life
• finding the energetic balance between doing and being for sustainable success and happiness
• how following your unique path will help you develop trust, strength, and adaptability  

Help us celebrate 4 years of growth, connection, and impact in the Energized and Empowered Entrepreneur Community!

Join us to win your chance to feature your business, access exclusive birthday deals, and join us to brainstorm ideas at the wrap up Streamline Your Strategies party. Join the community here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/eandeentrepreneurs 

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iammegannolan

Want to learn more about Me (Megan Nolan) and what I'm up to? Check out my website here: https://www.megan-nolan.com/

Please find the show notes below. Since it is a transcription there may be spelling errors and/or weird grammar. Ignore that and enjoy!

Uh, entrepreneurship.
The lesson in personal development.
You didn't know you needed, and you probably didn't know you were signing up for.
I certainly did not, but holy moly.
It's been quite a journey.
I don't know about you, but I didn't realize that on the way to creating global community, creating programs, writing a book, all the things that I've done, that I would be shown all the ways that I got tripped up, all the ways that I got triggered, all the things.
Right? So that's what we're talking about today.
The journey of the entrepreneur.
Which I really think is ultimately a warrior's journey.
It is one where we are tested, where we are challenged, where we learn, where we row and where you can learn to really begin to fully energize and embody and express all of the beautiful gifts and all of the beautiful, powerful qualities that are within you, right, because I don't know about you, but I believe that the universe is benevolent.
And The fact that you are given a vision, you're given these ideas means that you have the seeds and you have the potential to create them.
And it really is a matter of learning to cultivate that awareness, learning to cultivate self compassion, learning to ultimately control our mind, which is easier said than done.
Right? But we've talked about the different techniques of self sabotage and how the tools of mental fitness and mindful strength method, which are ones that I use can really help you to do that, but another toolset that is really impactful in helping you to do that.
It is the nature of that practice is yoga.
Right? Yoga, the definition is the place of union with the mind, the body, and the spirit.
The intersection of all of those layers of you where you experience a deep connection to all that is.
And I don't know about you, but when I first heard about the warrior poses or did the warrior poses, I had no idea.
As to why in a practice that was so serene and peaceful, there would be these warrior poses, especially when I heard the powerful tale behind them that inspired them.
The tale of Vera Badra, the warrior, with a 1000 heads and a 1000 arms that is sent on a mission by the god Shiva to do one thing, to return with his enemies head.
I didn't know that.
Holy moly.
I was like, what? That's a crazy story, but here's what else I didn't know.
That that story would actually completely transform me and my work and my business create several different programs that were inspired by it, be the inspiration behind my first book called The Warriors Journey, the ancient wisdom for the modern entrepreneur.
And really lead me to a lot of the work that I've done over the last 5 years.
And so that's what we're gonna talk about today.
We're gonna talk about the journey that we go on as entrepreneurs and how it really helps you to awaken to the truth of who you are, which is ultimately the yoga practice.
Right? And so I was gonna take you back a little bit to 2020.
Oh, boy.
March 2020.
We all know what happened then, but I actually need to go a little bit further back.
Because just about a year before, I was in a really challenging place in my work and in my life, and I was so frustrated.
And I felt like I was really kind of going in circles and questioning everything, and was feeling a lot of anxiety, a lot of sadness, and I was outside on my lanai, and on my patio and, you know, doing my morning routine, which at the time was basically just taking the yoga mat and bringing it outside and laying there and crying.
And I was staring off into space, and I was watching a leaf that was spinning on a spider web just spinning in circles.
And I'm thinking to myself, man, that's exactly what I feel like right now.
I really feel as though I'm just untethered, like a kite in the wind.
And I was just whipping all over the place and really not going and getting anywhere.
And I was frustrated.
I was disappointed.
I was discouraged.
I was in the spiral of of a lot of self doubt and shame and guilt and confusion and regret and all of the feelings that can come to us and over us when we are in a place that's really challenging.
And so as I was laying there watching this leave and I was just kind of, uh, you know, really in that really dark and challenging place, crying, and just having a moment.
And as I laid there, I heard this quiet little voice whispered to me.
This is not your path.
There's more for you than this.
You're a warrior.
You'll find a way.
And I didn't really know what it meant.
You know? I I really didn't, but I knew that it was the voice of my heart, and it was time for me to listen because the work and the way that I was doing things wasn't working.
Right? And it was not what I wanted or how I wanted it to go down.
And so it was interesting because just a little bit before, I had actually heard the tale of Yera Badra, the warrior.
The ancient story that inspired the iconic warrior poses in the yoga practice.
And it's a story from ancient ancient Hindu text.
And so the interesting thing is that having just heard it a few days before and really being at a point where I feeling super out of integrity, out of alignment with, you know, being a yoga teacher who really couldn't practice because I was so exhausted.
I thought, well, this is a great opportunity for me dive deeper into this element of philosophy and begin to understand it at a deeper level.
And so I started to explore this story.
And so the story is interesting.
Okay.
So if you haven't heard this story before, you're gonna be blown away a little bit.
And so it's the tale of 2 star crossed lovers.
So we have Shiva, the god of destruction, who's known to be really hot tempered and get angry.
And so his role in the Hindu Trinity is destruction.
So he wakes up and he does this dance construction, and he brings this cycle to an end so that it can be reborn, renewed, refreshed.
And so he's been in love with a beautiful woman, a human woman named Sati, for 100 years, and they have a lovely relationship and she adores him.
She's the epitome of grace and elegance.
So before we go further into the story, I should tell you that it's a metaphor.
It's a metaphor for the different aspects of our own personality that you may begin to recognize yourself in as we go through the story.
And it's also a metaphor for the journey of yoga.
Which, as I mentioned, as you likely know, is to learn to bring our play bring our mind to a place of steadiness and stillness and deep connection so that we can cultivate that awareness within.
Right? And so the many different tools of yoga, including the Asana practice, the physical practice, are ways to do that.
So Shiva and Sati in deep love.
And as you may have expected, her father does not approve of this because she was a bit of a bad boy.
He, like, sit in meditation and just cover himself in ash, and he's got dreadlocks, and it's a whole thing.
And so Her father, Dasha, decides to throw a party and invite everyone, all the gods, all the humans, except for.
You guessed it, the 2 of them.
So she approaches.
She've, uh, you know, expresses her upset and frustration.
And he says, whenever.
It's no big deal.
If you have something to say to him, go talk to him at the party.
And so she storms off and she's kind of, you know, upset.
So see if you can see yourself in any of this because she's really upset.
She's offended.
She feels left out, and she goes to the party, and it's a whole gala, and it's just a beautiful event.
And so she gets there.
She walks up to her father.
And starts to talk to her father about why this is so upsetting to her and she starts to get more and more upset.
And he sees this as an opportunity because They're making a bit of a scene in in this big, beautiful gala.
And he sees it as an opportunity to begin to tell her why he doesn't approve of the love and all the reasons that she shouldn't be with him and why he didn't invite them and da da da da da da da da.
Right? So think about this.
I'm sure you've had a dispute with one of your loved ones, and you've gotten a little more upset and more upset and you started to say things that you didn't necessarily mean, and you maybe regret it after and your temper was starting to boil within you.
And you maybe got to the point where you just lost it and you said something that you regretted later.
So what happened is she got so fired up that she actually burst into flames.
So remember, it's metaphor for, you know, when we lose it and we just explode everywhere, and she crumbled into a pile of ashes in the middle of the floor.
And so what happens next is that instantly because he's a god, she even knows exactly what happened.
And so he stood up from his meditation.
He needs his rage and he's in grief and he's in guilt and he's in frustration and he's just He pulls out one of his dreadlocks, throws it to the ground, takes a big deep breath, and creates fear of badra.
The warrior with a 1000 heads and a 1000 arms.
Each arm holding a sword and says, bring me doctor's head.
And so I think it's an interesting metaphor because we have these different aspects of our personality within us.
But much like Verbadra, who's been given a mission as an entrepreneur, You've been given a mission.
It's in your heart.
Right? You're feeling cool to do these things out in the world.
And so you've set off on your journey, this warriors journey to uncover the different ways that you're gonna create your business, grow your business, reach new people, etcetera, etcetera.
And so he sets off on this mission.
And so he's on the top of a mountain with Shiva.
So he starts to tunnel down.
So this is where the architecture of the poses comes in because Warrior 1 is first aspect of the journey.
Is all about him carving a tunnel.
So he's carving a tunnel down through the mountain, and then he's making his way.
And so think about Warrior 1, if you're familiar with it, really strong base.
Upright torso, arms are up overhead.
And so the arms represent the tools that you have or the swords that he carried.
So he's leading with courage, right, when you're in the pose, your heart is up and open.
Your eyes are very focused.
Your drishti is focused on the hands above you.
So you're focused on where you wanna go.
Right? So this is a metaphor for we get really distracted, right, especially if you have a strong restless saboteur, which is kinda pulling you all over the place or you get excited and you wanna do all these different things.
And so the focus that he teaches us and that we see in the pose is so important as an entrepreneur because what's happening is he's focusing.
He's creating a pathway for himself, and he's moving and he's navigating just you are navigating your way through business development and growth and anxiety and all the emotions that can come until he's right underneath the floor of the palace.
And then he burst through the floor of the palace, and he drops into warrior 2.
So warrior 2 is a much different stance.
Right? Open hearted.
Arms are out to the side.
Grounded, strong, centered, open, connected, very, very determined.
So this is The toolset that the second warrior pose, Verbadra, 2 teaches us is to stand your ground amidst a challenge because he emerges into the center of the party.
Just like you when you go live during your lunch or you show up for a call or a networking event, he merges into the center of the center of the party and stands and strikes a post.
And as much as he is holding the strength, as much as you need the strategy and the stability and the structure or the masculine element, He's also very much in the energy of stillness and courage and composure.
So that's important.
Right? And we learn that on the mat because on the mat, when we're doing these poses, it's not just activating strength and balance of flexibility and awareness and postural strength and and all of that, but it's really ultimately helping you to energize and embody these qualities within you.
Of groundedness and strength and courage and focus.
So he rocks up into the middle of the party.
Can you imagine the scene? They're already really devastated at the loss of sati, and there he is.
This ferocious looking fella, 1000 heads, 1000 arms, and he says, who is doctor? So he's going after it.
Right? He's going after it.
He's asking for what he wants.
He's taking action.
He's speaking his truth because that's what he's been told to do.
And doctor steps forward.
And he says, I'm Dasha, and he's shaking because he knows what he's done.
He knows very well who has sent.
Virabadra.
And so Virabadra sets his eyes for it.
So think about it in the post.
Your arm is out in front of you.
You're looking forward.
Your drish to your gazing point is out in front of you, and it's unwavering.
And so what happens next is he steps forward And then there's a transition because Warrior 3 is a balanced post.
So we have the the foundations for Warrior 1 of the core activation, the courage, the heart open, the nice strong spine.
We have the power and the presence for warrior 2.
He steps forward.
And with one swooop, lops off, doctor's head.
So keep in mind.
Right? It's a metaphor, learning to control the mind, and then instantly, knowing what happened, Satir returns to her form.
Takes a look around the room.
Sees her father, sees Vera Badra, looks up and says, Shiva, I know you're to blame for this.
Please come down here and fix this right now.
So we've all done things that we regret.
We've all done things that we have learned from and grown from because what he does next is he appears at the party and he takes ahead from a goat.
Right? It's a big festival.
They have lots of food and such And so he takes ahead from a go.
Remember, it's metaphor.
It's just, you know, play along.
Takes it puts it back on his body and takes another breath and breathes life back into Dasha.
So the metaphor is deep.
Right? The story is steeped with so many different layers because as you know now, What tends to happen is when we are in these moments of showing up and moving forward and taking action, we tend to get tripped up by these emotionalities, right? The patterns of self sabotage known as the saboteurs that can show up.
We lose our temper.
We work too hard.
We push ourselves.
We get distracted.
We're all over the place.
We're perfectionists.
But ultimately, we are all learning and growing as we move forward on our journey.
And that's ultimately what this practice is about, what yoga is truly about, and what the story is truly about.
Is helping you to make the inner shifts that are required to see the outer results.
And that's really, you know, the essence of the book, ancient wisdom for the modern entrepreneur because and the title is the Warriors Journey is because that's really what it takes is the practice of yoga and the tools that I share inside mindful strength are truly helping you to fully energized and embody and express these qualities that are within you, the qualities that are essential for you to get where you wanna go.
The qualities and the tools that are essential for learning to harness the power of your mind.
And so it's really interesting because that whole story was in my heart.
And I learned it and I started to implement it and and weave it into my life and practice it and for about a year.
And then in 2020, when everything went into shutdown and a lot of my work contracts closed off because I was about to start big, um, contracts with the county of Maui and the hospital here.
And then, of course, they were very busy with everything that was happening the pandemic.
And so I'm out there, and I'm in that same swirl of like, what am I gonna do? This is awful.
What's happening? This is this is you know, unprecedented, scary, like, what's going on.
And so I was laying there and I was staring at the same tree.
And I was watching the leaves just, you know, and I heard my heart say to me again, You're a warrior.
This is not your path.
You know what to do.
And I thought I do know what to do.
I do know what to do.
And I thought, wow.
What a perfect time to share this story and share this practice with people because what I had in my mind created and began to lead in my sessions and workshop is a series that I called Wake the Warrior Within that takes people on this journey.
And so I thought, oh, wow.
This is a perfect time.
I mean, giving people practice and tools to navigate this challenging situation, helping them to strong and healthy.
And so it was an interesting evolution of the toolset that I had used to navigate that challenging time in my life.
That then I was able to share with hundreds of people around the world, and it really led to the creation of my Facebook group, which Now this year is turning 4.
It's also led to the creation of an extension of that story and the practice called The Warrior journey, which is a tool set I use inside the mindful strength method that is yoga cardio workouts, interval workouts, to give you everything you need all in one place to keep your body strong and healthy in your mind clear and your spirit energized and inspired.
And so it's definitely part of the evolution of the work that I get to do in the world, but it really all comes back.
To using this level of awareness of awakening these qualities within you.
Because that's ultimately what the yoga practice is doing.
And, you know, while it's all beautiful and well and good for you to strike a pose and, you know, be doing so on a rock hurtling through space, the true depth and the magic of the yoga practice is who it helps you to become.
And whether you consider yourself to be a warrior on a journey or not, whether you consider yourself to be a purposeful powerhouse CEO, or not, how we see ourselves and how we identify ourselves and the beliefs that we have about ourselves are incredibly impactful on the outcome of your journey, of the growth of your business, of your launches, all the things are impacted by that interstate and ultimately that deep connection between the mind of body and the spirit that is the yoga practice.
And so it's been a really interesting journey over the few years to be able to help people to take their practice to a deeper level, not just in terms of you know, more flexibility, more strength, more confidence, more energy, better sleep, etcetera, etcetera, but truly to a deeper level within themselves.
Because ultimately that's what it's about is cultivating the state of connectivity and resilience and presence within your nervous system.
Right? That's the essence of the yoga practice is is the energetic mind body connection, which is the vehicle for that is the nervous system.
Primarily your vagus nerve.
So that mind body connection that we hear so much about and the mind body spirit practice is done through that awareness of the internal emotional state as you navigate the path of life, right, as you go on the journey and learn to do one of the most challenging things of all to control your mind.
So just like Vira Bandra did, how can you begin to use the practice of yoga, use your workouts, whatever it is that you like to do, How can you begin to use it with that layer of deeper intention so that it truly helps you to have the inter shifts that are required to see the outer results.
Right? And, of course, the journey is really helping you to become the lessons, the growth, the, quote, unquote, obstacles are part of the path, and they are really helping to serve your evolution to become the person that you get to be in order to really live into your dreams and bring them to life.
Right? Because the person that you were back in 2020, not the same person.
Right? And because of all the things that you've navigated in these 4 years, then you have evolved so much.
Right? And so like the practice of yoga really takes us deeper and deeper on the more subtle levels, right, because ultimately that's the mastery of the practice is is the deepening of that sensitivity, deepening of that awareness, and having that balance because that's ultimately what the contrast of Shiva being the masculine and Sati being the feminine is all about.
Right? Because within every posture, we have we have steta, which is the word for strength, So we have the stability, the structure, right, or the more masculine.
And we have Succa, which is sweetness, softness, grace, spaciousness, So think about how that applies both in every asana, right, the yoga, sutra is Stidam Sootkam Asana.
So that means within every posture, with every Asana, we have both strength and stability and softness and space.
So think about how it applies both on the mat, but also in your life and in your business and in your launch.
Or wherever it is that you're showing up because we we need the step by step.
We need the action.
We definitely need the doing.
But ultimately, the being is so important because the energetic alignment is what allows your nervous system to stay in a regulated place and allows you to continue to attract and create and hold all the things that you're working towards.
So we want to have both.
And and yoga really helps us to cultivate that dance.
That fluidity between showing up and taking action, but making sure that you're doing so in a very centered, connected, aware, grounded, calm, confident, aligned place.
Because not only, you know, are we talking about the alignment of your physical body when it comes to yoga, but yoga sees you as a multi layered being.
So, of course, the physical alignment lends to emotional alignment, which lends to mental alignment, which lends to spiritual alignment and vice versa.
Right? There's not really any sequential order in that.
But it's really about who you're being.
And that's really the core.
Of what it means to show up from that place of presence and alignment.
And so really an interesting way to look at a practice, to look at poses that maybe you hadn't seen that before.
Right? And and so the structure of the poses is becomes a lot more clear as to what you're actually doing when you are performing and and expressing that unique architecture of the poses.
And so it's a really interesting way to use a practice that you likely already really enjoy, but use it at a much more intriguing level, if you will.
When you start to really understand why you're doing what you're doing.
And that's where, you know, using these tools to be able to feel the different activations in the post to create this data so that you have the spaciousness.
You have the sukha.
And so really looking at it from that perspective of of what it's helping us to evolve into as you navigate your journey of learning how to harness the power of your mind and really be intentional with everything that you're doing.
And so You know, it's been a really beautiful and interesting journey for me over these last 4 years of really working with this toolset.
And and, you know, I suppose it's been 5 years, actually.
So since it was a year before when started really working with it.
So, yes, but over the last 4 years where I've created this toolset and have it been evolved a few times and and led and first so many other different expressions of it in my work and in myself and really owning that.
That energy and that presence and that expression.
Right? And so whether or not you align with being a warrior, really when it comes to the yogic perspective on it.
It is the one that is seeking growth and seeking knowledge and taking action and being inspired.
And so think of it as the one that it is showing up and moving forward and evolving and peaceful in the sense that it is all about ultimately cultivating deep self awareness which leads to self acceptance, which leads to self love.
And that's the journey of yoga, and that's the, really, the journey of this whole life experience and and, ultimately, also, the journey of personal development, really.
So, yes, been an interesting last few years with this.
And so, um, at the beginning of the journey when I first started to bring it into the world, I created a global Facebook community that has grown many times over and evolved and taken different shapes but it's turning 4 this year.
And so throughout the month of March, I'm actually leading a month long birthday celebration where you can actually win the chance to have your business featured.
Each week, one of the members of the group is gonna have their business spotlighted in front of all 1600 members of energized and empowered entrepreneur community.
There will also be live mini trainings every week as well as special offers and giveaways and then we're gonna wrap up the birthday celebration with a little potty potty and a which will be also a brainstorming session.
To help you to really set yourself up for success with your next launch and streamline your strategies so that you are having these elements of the structure, the stability, the strategy, but also the energetics, the essence, the self care.
So the doing, yes, as far as the sales strategy, but the the being as far as the self care strategy so that you're synchronizing those.
You're syncing those up.
So that's where we're gonna wrap up the month long with a free brainstorming session that you are invited to.
So we'd love to have you join us.
We'd love to, uh, have you win the chance to feature your business.
So winning that is gonna be easy.
All the details will be inside the face community.
And so the link to join us inside, the energized and empowered entrepreneur community will be in the show notes and would love to have you come and play along with us.
And go on this journey over the next month as well as helping you to navigate the challenges, the ups downs all arounds of the journey that is entrepreneurship.
And some, yes.
Thank you so much for being part of this incredible community.
Thank you for continuing to learn to think on purpose and use your mind like a powerful tool to move your body on purpose, keep it strong and healthy and energized.
And breathing on purpose to stay connected and centered and expansive so that you can show up on purpose as the purposeful powerhouse CEO that your vision and your dreams are calling you to be.
Many blessings on your beautiful warriors journey, and we'll see you next time.
Take care.
Bye bye