We know that a ton of successful people meditate, but it seems like an activity that has little to no bearing on our actual lives, specifically our work. But the latest research shows that meditation not only improves our health and longevity, but also it transforms our brains into a fertile breeding ground for new ideas, innovation and creativity. If you have to be creative in your work but feel stressed, concrete meditation and mindfulness tools can help you and your teams meet deadlines, enhance productivity, deliver epic-quality work, and enjoy the process. Even better? You'll live a longer, healthier life as a result. Come for the external benefits, stay for the internal ones. This talk was first given at SXSWV2V in Las Vegas, July 2014 by Lauren Fritsch

2. LAUREN
FRITSCH
@magnetismfactor
#meditateinnovate

3. WHAT IS
MEDITATION
?
med· i· ta· tion
noun
the action or
practice of
meditating.
synonyms:
contemplation, thought,
thinking, musing,
pondering,
consideration, reflection,
deliberation, rumination,
brooding, reverie, brown

4. CONTEMPLATION
“an exercise in keeping your heart and
mind spaces open long enough for the
mind to see other hidden material.”
- Richard Rohr

5. INNOVATION
is the specific instrument of
entrepreneurship. The act that
endows resources with a new
capacity to create wealth.
- PETER DRUCKER

6. ENTREPRENEURSHIP
+
INNOVATION = WEALTH

7. WEALTH = CURRENCY,
HEALTH, OPPORTUNITIES,
EDUCATION,
EMPOWERMENT

8. WEALTH
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
INNOVATION
MEDITATION

9. • better focus
• less anxiety
• more creativity
• more compassion
• better memory
• less stress
• more grey matter
WHY MEDITATE?

10. STRESS
=
INNOVATION

11. "And every day, the
world will drag you
by the hand, yelling,
"This is important!
And this is important!
And this is important!
You need to worry
about this! And this!
And this!"
And each day, it's
up to you to yank
your hand back, put
it on your heart and
say, "No. This is what's
important."
- Iain Thomas

12. STRESS
 clouds your judgment
 hinders your memory
 decreases your willpower
 costs you money

13. MEDITATION:
The Wonder Drug!
“...equivalent to
discovering an entirely
new class of drugs (but
without the inevitable
side effects).”
- Mark Williams and Danny Penman

14. Rupert Murdoch Oprah Winfrey
Bill Ford Jeff Weiner
Mark Bertolini Marc Benioff
Evan Williams Jerry Seinfeld
Phil Jackson LeBron James
Michael Jordan

15. MEDITATION
CALMS THE
STORM
Padmasree
Warrior, CTO at
Cisco says
meditation is "a
reboot for your
brain and your
soul."

16. • Movement meditation
• Mindfulness meditation
• Guided meditation
• Transcendental
meditation (TM)
• Sound/Sensory
meditation
• Mantra meditation
TYPES OF MEDITATION

17. • Google
• Apple
• Aetna
• Nike
• Yahoo!
• McKinsey
• Deutsche Bank
• P&G
• HBO
COMPANIES THAT PROMOTE
MEDITATION/MINDFULNESS

18. MAKING MEDITATION
WORK FOR YOUR
WORK

19. • You can't suck at
meditation
• Consistency is key
• Guided meditation
can be a great start
• Get a partner
• Try an app
TRY IT OUT, MAKE IT STICK!

20. • daily routine
• to "bookend" your
days
• when you experience
a stress response
• to get through a
creative block
• to solve a pesky
problem
WHEN TO USE MEDITATION

21. DAILY
ROUTINE
Leo Babauta of
Zen Habits
recommends trying
two minutes a day
for eight weeks.

22. THE
BOOKEND
METHOD
Start and end your
day with short
meditations. Try
five minutes first
thing in the
morning and in the
evening (just after
you return from
work or before
heading to bed).
Work up to 10 or 15
minutes.

23. TO
COUNTERACT
STRESS
Visualization is the
cornerstone of much
athletic performance
because it can keep
the body alert for
peak performance
without exhausting
itself or turning on the
full flight or fight stress
response.

24. TO BLAST THROUGH
CREATIVE BLOCKS OR
SOLVE A PROBLEM
Staring at the wall, short meditation,
and/or a wandering mind can all
contribute to more creative output
and divergent thinking- the kind of
thinking that solves problems.

25. • Buddhify2
• Stop, Breathe and Think
• The Mindfulness App
• Mindfulness Meditation
• Headspace
• Insight Timer
MY FAV MEDITATION APPS

26. CREATE A
SPACE
Including rituals in
your meditation
can enhance the
benefits.
•Space
•Sounds
•Smells
•Posture

27. ABOVE ALL
Don’t take
meditation (or
yourself) too
seriously.

28. Bibiliography
Huffington, Arianna. Thrive: The third metric to redefining success and creating a life of well-being, wisdom, and wonder. New
York: Harmony Books, 2014.
McGonigal, Kate. The Willpower Instinct: Why self-control matters, why it works, and what you can do to get more of it. New
York: Avery, December 29, 2011.
Tan, Chade-Meng, Goleman, Daniel and Kabat-Zin, Jon. Search Inside Yourself: The unexpected path to achieving success,
happiness (and world peace). New York: HarperOne, April 24, 2012.
“10 Big Companies That Promote Employee Meditation.” OnlineMBA.com. February 1, 2012.
Colzata, Lorenza, Ozturk, Ayca, Hommel, Bernhard. “Meditate to Create: the impact of focused-attention and open-
monitoring training on convergent and divergent thinking.” NCBI.com, April 18, 2012.
Ding, Xioaqian, Tang, Yi-Yuan, Tang, Rongxiang, Posner, Michael. “Improving Creativity Performance by Short Term
Meditation.” NCBI.com. March 19, 2014.

29. Photo Credits
Slides 2, 21, 24, 26 and 27: Justin Woddis
All below from Flickr Creative Commons
Slide 3: Meditation by Hans Peter
Slide 4: Don’t Leave Me This Way by Machiel Van Zanten
Slide 11: NYC Street by Mista Lee
Slide 13: Meditation by Rennett Stowe
Slide 15: Calm the Storm by JD Hancock
Slide 18: Breathe. Create. Repeat. Poster by positivelyposters.com
Slide 22: meditation room by peter dutton
Slide 23: Surfer by Hani Amir

30. When CEOs, politicians and athletes hit a block, they call Lauren Fritsch.
You may know her as a consultant, but really she’s a sneak-attack spiritual
teacher who empowers very visible leaders to grow their businesses, teams
and lives with grace and love.
She facilitates amazing growth through the lens of commerce and fun!
Lauren is the founder of TCCConsultingGroup.com and blogs at
LaurenFritsch.com.
Tweet her @magnetismfactor