By Fleet Maull PhD
Entrepreneurship has been woven into the fabric of my life since childhood. I grew up in a Midwestern family that ran a small business, watching firsthand how creation and commerce could intertwine. Ironically, as the 1960s counterculture swept me up in its anti-establishment fervor, my innate entrepreneurial drive didn't disappear—it simply found unconventional expression. Seeking freedom and financial independence outside the system I was rebelling against, I channeled those creative instincts into drug smuggling, a path that eventually led me to prison.
But even behind bars, that same creative energy found positive expression. I founded two national organizations from inside prison that catalyzed movements extending far beyond those walls. This founder's instinct—this drive to create something from nothing—has been the common thread throughout my journey, from establishing nonprofits to building for-profit companies like Heart Mind Institute.
From Idea to Reality: The Entrepreneurial Process
What lights me up about entrepreneurship is that magical process of transformation—taking an idea and bringing it into reality. At Heart Mind Institute, we produce summits, and I love the entire journey: conceiving an idea, elaborating it into a design, recruiting speakers, conducting interviews, and finally seeing it manifest in the world – impacting many tens of thousands of people. This process—moving from conception to actuality—gets my creative juices flowing in ways nothing else can. Entrepreneurship has always been my creative outlet.
Many associate entrepreneurship solely with profit-making, but at its core, it's about creation and possibility. It's about manifesting something where there was previously nothing. Heart Mind Institute started with zero resources, no investors, and actually lost $20,000 in its first year. Now, we've grown to a team of 16-17 people and hit the Inc 5000 list. That came out of nothing but vision, determination, and creativity.
Spiritual Evolution: The Foundation of Effective Entrepreneurship People often ask me how I reconcile being both a meditation teacher and a business owner, as if these roles exist in fundamental opposition. This perceived contradiction stems from the misconception that spiritual practice and entrepreneurship operate in separate spheres with incompatible values. In reality, I've found these paths deeply complementary. Being in business, particularly as a founder, can be incredibly stressful. You carry responsibility for your team, customers, vendors, and other stakeholders. Problems constantly arise, and conditions change in ways outside your control. Without emotional and spiritual maturity, it's easy to become reactive, making fear-based or confused decisions that undermine your business and relationships. Mindfulness training develops presence and emotional balance. Research confirms that basic mindfulness practice enhances emotional balance and cognitive control. As an entrepreneur, you need to "stand in the fire" of daily challenges while responding from your best self. This requires mindfulness, awareness, and emotional intelligence. Far from contradicting my path as a meditation teacher and practitioner, my business experience has deepened my understanding of how essential these practices are in high-pressure environments. Some might call this "emotionally intelligent entrepreneurship," and many successful entrepreneurs have indeed developed high levels of emotional intelligence through various means. They've learned to slow down and make good decisions even in the midst of chaos, challenges, and disruption. What initially appears as a contradiction between spiritual practice and business reveals itself as a powerful integration—one enhancing the other.
Beyond Success: Awakened Entrepreneurship
While emotional intelligence is valuable, what I call "wakeful" or "enlightened" entrepreneurship implies an even deeper level of consciousness. It means not only actualizing your own possibilities and those of your company and team but doing so with greater community and global awareness. Awakened entrepreneurs understand how their business fits into the broader community and global landscape. They're committed to adding value to the world while minimizing harm. Their businesses reduce carbon footprints and ecological damage. They operate in a flow of generosity, constantly finding ways to give back. When we become entrepreneurs, our initial motivations might stem from fear—fear of scarcity, fear of being fired, fear of repeating childhood experiences of limited resources. There's nothing inherently wrong with personal ambition or the desire to build financial stability. But awakened entrepreneurship emerges when we connect these motivations to a higher purpose of contribution—finding ways to make a meaningful difference in the world.
Debunking Misconceptions About Business I was once guilty of associating business, entrepreneurship, and profit-making with greed, ego, and corruption. This is a common misconception in spiritual and activist communities. But my perspective has transformed through direct experience. Many of the entrepreneurs I've connected with are among the most conscious and generous people I know. They create tremendous value, generating opportunities for their teams, employees, vendors, and customers while giving back in significant ways. Successful entrepreneurs are generative—they create possibilities and resources that benefit many people. The knee-jerk antipathy toward business that exists in some spiritual and social justice circles is shortsighted. While corporate greed and harm certainly exist, the entrepreneurial engine itself is morally neutral. It can be directed toward tremendous good. In fact, I've come to believe that the for-profit model often uses human and financial capital more efficiently than nonprofits. That's not to dismiss the nonprofit model entirely—I'm still responsible for several nonprofit organizations I love. But if I were starting over, I might tackle the same mission through a B Corp or socially purposed business.
Measuring Success in Wakeful Entrepreneurship Awakened entrepreneurship connects profit to purpose. Success isn't measured solely by financial returns but by positive impact. Are you improving quality of life for people and communities? Are you addressing ecological challenges? These impacts can and should be measured. At Heart Mind Institute, we donate 5% of profits annually to organizations bringing mindfulness-based healing solutions to incarcerated individuals, supporting Indigenous rights, and addressing climate change. Beyond financial contributions, our core business itself focuses on positive impact—helping people heal themselves and optimize their lives through an integration of ancestral wisdom, yogic sciences, and current neuroscience. Our BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) is to reach a billion people with three things: 1) experiences that help them develop faith and confidence in their own innate goodness and that of others; 2) mindfulness-based skills for self-regulation and assuming ownership for regulating their own autonomic nervous system and emotions, and 3) mindfulness-based tools for co-regulation that support creating safe and positive connections with others. We believe that reaching a billion people with these three will create global transformation. The entrepreneurial model allows us to pursue this mission with fewer limitations than a nonprofit approach. Rather than depending on grants and donations, we can generate the resources needed to expand our reach. The better we do as a company, the more significant the impact we can have.
Entrepreneurship as a Path to Freedom I'm particularly passionate about sharing entrepreneurial knowledge with those who face barriers to traditional success—especially formerly incarcerated individuals. With a criminal record, many conventional opportunities for employment and career success may be limited, but entrepreneurship offers a path forward with limitless possibilities and lower barriers to entry than ever before. Today, anyone with a mobile phone can start a business. The democratization of entrepreneurship opportunities means more people can access this route to financial stability and even financial freedom. It takes courage and persistence, but the possibilities are real. While our culture encourages consumption, the fastest path to financial freedom has always been ownership—whether through starting a business or intelligently investing in businesses you believe in. I'm inspired to share the message and possibilities of entrepreneurship, at least in part because I wish someone had recognized my entrepreneurial instincts when I was younger and directed me toward more positive expressions of that energy. That's why I'm committed to helping others discover and channel their entrepreneurial potential. In a world of limitations, entrepreneurship offers the opportunity to live in the realm of possibility—making the impossible possible and creating extraordinary outcomes from seemingly nothing. There is nothing more fulfilling than accessing and manifesting our innate creative intelligence to benefit the world.
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