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A post shared by Waylon Lewis & Friends (@walkthetalkshow) on May 5, 2019 at 5:05am PDT

Crazy as it may sound, when I started smoking at the age of 18 it was because the smokers at work would get two extra breaks during the day while non-smokers did not.

So at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., I would light my Marlboro to connect with other employees—and that started an unhealthy addiction. *Coughs*

As the years have passed and I’ve learned about the connection between my addiction and my trauma, what has helped me tremendously in my healing journey has been meditation. It’s opened up so many other doors to deeper healing and happiness.

It’s made me a better entrepreneur and leader. Now I can control myself, instead of my emotions taking control of me.

I’m not here to “win” anything or even to compete. My ego has been tamed, thank goodness.

I regularly sit for an hour in each meditation session. Sometimes, the silence shifts and releases some energy in my body that is causing tension around my back and shoulders. Other times, I will just cry. But I get my power back and have found the real Simon Lovell during these moments.

On other occasions, sitting has brought up a new business idea with such clarity that I’m able to implement it and achieve amazing results for myself and my clients.

Imagine if more business owners meditated and created the freedom for staff members to open up when they are stressed or overwhelmed and simply say the words: “I need to go and meditate.”

What if there were meditation rooms in more workplaces, where the staff came together to design something that creates well-being for the company? This is the future of the grounded, conscious leader who breeds a calm, happy staff that feels cared about beyond targets and numbers.

We truly need to close our eyes to see clearly, and that is what I wish for more business owners to not just understand but experience. And to recognize that their staff feels this energy shift too.

Meditation has kick-started my creativity in times of despair, assisted me in discovering solutions to problems I would not have seen, and grounded me into the space of a calm and confident leader when the going gets tough. Not to mention aligning me to my deepest purpose and mission by helping me to remove the masks that showed up when I was presenting myself as someone that I wasn’t, just to be liked.

Meditation has become a non-negotiable because it’s made me a better man. It allowed me to let go of unhealthy ways to soothe my pain.

Meditation also replaced drinking. As I was going through a breakup, the intense emotion caused me to want to head to the bar, but in walking there a voice dropped in that said: “What if you went back to your hotel room and meditated, then see if you want a drink?”

That day, I didn’t drink. In fact, meditation led to me giving up alcohol completely, and it’s been two years since I made the decision to be clear of the toxicity that “spirits” bring me.

I’m now a conscious, caring human who can see more clearly among the fog, especially when leading, creating impact, and inspiring change in others. It brings patience to my impatience.

Accessing my heart slows what the ego wants to rush and that opens up calmer thought patterns that lead to better, more conscious decisions.

More than that, it’s the ease that meditation brings once the laptop closes that is most profound—presence to my relationships, a softer tone, a calmer being. I am more open to looking at something from someone else’s point of view, to dropping the need to be right.

Honestly, I just don’t react like an asshole anymore.

Business owners tend to put a lot of pressure on themselves, and that often creates an impatience that can send shivers of fear down through a workforce. But the truth is, the more entrepreneurs and business owners who experience meditation, the more they will want to introduce it in their business, which helps the employees feel safe to put in the request.

I see a new wave of conscious business owners who are committed to not just meditating, but really immersing themselves in the healing process. I’ve noticed that this change creates so much of a shift that they insist their staff take meditation breaks if and when they feel the need.

This is exactly what I implemented with my previous company.

I created a small meditation room, which I used myself, but also opened up the conversation with those who worked for me so they knew that whenever they needed a “time out,” they could go down, close their eyes, and realign themselves back into a space where they could fully engage in the work ahead.

While this is a fantastic start, it is just that—a start.

I’ve helped many business owners and entrepreneurs shift their life perspective and energy, and heal from trauma using a combination of releasing techniques that incorporate meditation.

When these types of shifts happen, with the help of a calm and confident leader, there is a pull, a drive, and a passion for others to do the same. You now have someone who is far more compassionate, vulnerable, and open to having authentic communication with staff.

The team begins to unite differently because the consciousness of the enterprise is shifting from its core.

Whether it is a company of one or many, the result is huge for anyone coming into contact with the business.

And naturally, the result for clients and customers is just as profound.

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