Joel Gerschman - The Mindful Entrepreneur: How to rapidly grow your business while staying sane, focused and fulfilled

Is it possible to turn around your business and your life in a single year? Maybe in legends and fairytales, right? Classic books and movies are full of fictional heroes who step up to a challenge, battle adversity and come out on top. But does it happen in real life? And is there anything that ordinary, mere mortals like you and I can learn from these stories?

Howard Fingers personal and business transformation is based on real life. Most of it also happened within a year. But let me back up a minute to give you some context. There are three key characters in this story: Howard Finger, the embattled but gritty small business owner, he is the protagonist; Aryeh Goldman, Howards guru and mentor on mindful living; and me, the business coach who helps Howard to save and then grow his business. I dont want to spoil the story so Ill leave the details about how we came to mentor Howard until later. But I do want to tell you why we wrote this book.

After working with Howard for some months, we began to see incredible results. He veered away from a fast-approaching business collapse and intensely stressful life towards a profitable, growing business and a deeper sense of personal wellbeing and fulfilment. We decided to chronicle his experiences because the transformational process that Howard undertook is entirely replicable, and could therefore help other business owners like you.

But make no mistake. This isnt simply another business book. Nor is it another self-help manual on mindfulness. Instead, its a holistic approach to surviving and thriving in business that fuses proven, cutting-edge business strategy with powerful psychological practices.

The state of your business and your state of mind are deeply intertwined. A chaotic, cash-strapped business that consumes all of your time will profoundly impact your stress levels and your sense of satisfaction. Likewise, your ability to cope with stress and maintain internal balance will significantly affect your capacity to run a successful business. Dealing with only one of these dimensions will leave the other wanting. It takes a holistic approach to deliver the outcomes that business owners truly desire: a successful business and a real sense of personal fulfilment.

To help you achieve these outcomes, The Mindful Entrepreneur offers a practical, holistic approach that focuses on three key areas:

1. Generating rapid,profitable growth to fund your desired lifestyle;
2. Making your business run without your constant involvement, so you have the space, time and freedom to focus on each area of your life, not just work; and
3. Building your capacity to stay sane, focused and fulfilled while managing the inevitable challenges, stressors and disappointments that life throws at you.

Theres another reason why this isnt your run-of-the-mill business or self-help book: it straddles two vastly different styles. Think of it as gripping non-fiction novel meets intensive training seminar. What do I mean? Firstly, its a true story written as a story, not as a typical how-to manual. Its a real-life, warts-and-all account of how Howard saved and grew his business, written in a relaxed, conversational tone with only minor chronology and contextual changes to ensure a coherent narrative. Secondly, the book is more than just an interesting story; its also a highly practical guide, filled with strategies, examples and tools that you can apply immediately. At the end of each chapter youll find concise summaries, combined with links to downloadable resources, to aid your application.

Finally, while the holistic approach and the books style are unique, its core principles are not. Theyre inspired by some of the most effective strategies developed by leading authorities across the business, psychology and spiritual fields. The Mindful Entrepreneur draws heavily, for example, on the work of my own mentor, Michael Gerber, author of the business classic, The E-Myth Revisited, and often referred to as the worlds number one small business guru. Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, Simon Sinek, author of Start with Why , and the ground-breaking works of psychiatrists such as Aron Beck and Victor Frankl also find expression in the pages that follow, along with the works of many others. The Mindful Entrepreneur is as much a paean to them and their pioneering work as it is a vivid demonstration of how their ideas changed Howards business and life.

We hope you enjoy The Mindful Entrepreneur and that you learn practical strategies and tools to rapidly grow your own business while staying sane, focused and fulfilled.