The Zen of Business E-Book

Keith Edward Roberts

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 274

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

Discover your perfect balance with a combination of ancient Eastern wisdom and timeless business advice

In The Zen of Business: Ancient Wisdom to Help Modern Leaders Lead with Intention, Clarity, and Purpose, transformational speaker and leadership expert Keith Roberts delivers an exhilarating guide to personal growth and professional success that incorporates ancient Buddhist wisdom, including the principles of karma, the Eightfold Path, and other Eastern philosophy mainstays. You'll learn how you can apply this timeless guidance to modern business to increase your profit and impact.

Beginning with the concept of Ikigai, a Japanese term that means “a reason for being,” the book moves you through guided exercises and reflective practices that lead you on a journey to uncover your own life's purpose and vision.

Inside the book:

• A collection of Zen tools and techniques you can apply to your business and personal life
• Strategies to cultivate mindfulness, enhance focus, and promote ethical decision-making
• A combination of proven, ancient practices with established business techniques

Perfect for managers, executives, and other business leaders, The Zen of Business is also a can't-miss resource for entrepreneurs, founders, freelancers, and small business owners seeking balance, success, and happiness in business and in life.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Cover

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Foreword

Preface

Introduction: Becoming Zenman

Finding Entrepreneurship

Finding My Path

Combining the Business and the Spiritual

PART 1: Begin

CHAPTER 1: Shoshin

Let Go of the Desire to Win Arguments

Listen More than You Speak

Release the Need to Problem‐Solve for Others

CHAPTER 2: The Four Noble Truths

A Quick Introduction to the Four Noble Truths

Dukkha in Business

Samudāya in Business

Nirodha in Business

Magga in Business

CHAPTER 3: Finding Your Way

Finding Our Way: The Unalome

Addressing Self‐Sabotage

Discovering the Middle Way

CHAPTER 4: The Noble Eightfold Path

Right Understanding (

Samma Ditthi

)

Right Thought (

Samma Sankappa

)

Right Speech (

Samma Vaca

)

Right Action (

Samma Kammanta

)

Right Livelihood (

Samma Ajiva)

Right Effort (

Samma Vayama

)

Right Mindfulness (

Samma Sati

)

Right Concentration (

Samma Samadhi

)

PART 2: Wisdom (panna)

CHAPTER 5: Right Understanding

Right Understanding of Business

How to Practice Right Understanding

CHAPTER 6: Impermanence

Impermanence in Business

Embracing Impermanence

CHAPTER 7: Wabi‐Sabi (侘び寂び)

Three Fundamental Principles of Wabi‐Sabi

Wabi‐Sabi in Business

CHAPTER 8: Right Thought

The Three Stages of Right Thought

Right Thought in Business

CHAPTER 9: Being Present (Sati)

Releasing the Past

Technology Distractions

The Tiger and the Strawberry

Sati in Business

PART 3: Morality (

sila

)

Chapter 10: Right Speech

A Few Principles and Tools of Right Speech

Right Speech in Business

Cultivating Right Speech in the Workplace

CHAPTER 11: Zen and the Art of Communication

Challenges in Business Communication

CHAPTER 12: Right Action

Time: The Most Precious Resource

Act with Purpose

Right Action in Business

CHAPTER 13: Embracing Your Inner Monk

Starting the Day Off Right

Why We Meditate

Being a Warrior Monk in Business

CHAPTER 14: Forest Bathing (Shinrin Yoku)

Practicing Shinrin Yoku (Even at Work)

Just Go Camping

CHAPTER 15: Right Livelihood

Avoiding Harm and Finding Balance

Right Livelihood in Business

Using Business Success to Make the World a Better Place

CHAPTER 16: Ikigai

The Magic of Ikigai

Finding My Ikigai

What Is Your Why?

Happiness and Longevity

CHAPTER 17: Vision, Mission, and Values

Clarifying the Vision

Defining the Mission

Figuring Out Your Business's Core Values

Determining Personal Core Values

PART 4: Mind (

samadhi

)

CHAPTER 18: Right Effort

A Few Principles of Right Effort

Right Effort in Business

Consistency in Your Right Effort

CHAPTER 19: Misogi

A Little Misogi History

The Two Rules of a Misogi

CHAPTER 20: Right Mindfulness

Achieving Mindfulness with Meditation

Right Mindfulness in Business

CHAPTER 21: The Law of Attraction

Embracing the Law of Attraction

The Law of Attraction in Business

CHAPTER 22: Right Concentration

Right Concentration in Business

CHAPTER 23: The Enlightened Entrepreneur

Karma in Business and Life

Karma Defined

Karma at Work

The Three Mountains

In Conclusion

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Index

End User License Agreement

List of Illustrations

Chapter 3

FIGURE 3.1 The Unalome represents how winding our path will be from beginnin...

Chapter 12

FIGURE 12.1 What consistency looks like.

Chapter 16

FIGURE 16.1 The Western interpretation of Ikigai.

Chapter 18

FIGURE 18.1 Identifying your areas of focus.

Guide

Cover

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Foreword

Preface

Introduction: Becoming Zenman

Begin Reading

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Index

End User License Agreement

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The Zen of Business

ANCIENT WISDOM TO HELP MODERN LEADERS LEAD WITH INTENTION, CLARITY, AND PURPOSE

KEITH EDWARD ROBERTS III

Copyright © 2025 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved, including rights for text and data mining and training of artificial technologies or similar technologies.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

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Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data is Available:

ISBN 9781394309962 (Cloth)

ISBN 9781394309986 (ePDF)

ISBN 9781394309979 (ePub)

Cover Design: Wiley

Cover Image: © chekat/Getty Images

Author Photo by Andrea Flanagan

For my sons, Gavin and Quinn.

This book is to show you it's possible to live beyond your wildest dreams while making the world a better place.

Foreword

In today's fast‐paced, hustle‐driven business world, finding balance can feel like an impossible task. Many entrepreneurs and leaders chase success at the cost of their peace, relationships, and sometimes even their health. But what if success didn't have to come with sacrifice? What if there was a way to build thriving businesses while cultivating inner calm, personal growth, and a positive impact on the world? This book offers a path to that balance.

The Zen of Business is a timely guide for modern leaders looking to align their entrepreneurial ambitions with ancient principles that transcend the noise of current trends. In a world obsessed with quick fixes and surface‐level solutions, this book digs deeper, providing readers with a tool kit grounded in Buddhist and Eastern philosophies that have stood the test of time.

The author, whom I deeply respect and admire, has a unique ability to bridge ancient wisdom with modern business acumen. His perspective isn't just insightful—it's necessary. He offers readers more than just business advice; he offers a philosophy for life, one that is rooted in mindfulness, compassion, and the recognition that true success is not just about what you achieve but how you achieve it.

Whether you are a seasoned entrepreneur, a leader navigating complex challenges, or someone simply looking for a better way to balance work and life, The Zen of Business will provide you with the tools to create lasting success in a way that honors both yourself and the people you lead.

I hope you find the same depth of wisdom and inspiration in reading this book as I have in my friendship with its author. His unique perspective, shaped by years of study and personal experience, is a gift to anyone seeking not just success but fulfillment.

This is not just a book on business; it's a road map for living with purpose, integrity, and impact.

—Bennie Fowler, Denver Broncos, Super Bowl 50 Champions

Preface

It is absolutely possible to be a successful entrepreneur or business leader in a way that is positive for your karma, your employees, and the world. I wrote this book to help align core Buddhist and ancient Eastern wisdom into a toolbox for modern leaders. In today's hustle‐preneur culture, it's easy to get lost in the hype of passing trends. Yes, a cold plunge is going to reduce inflammation and increase blood flow and overall cardiovascular health, but it's not a guarantee to make your business successful.

Rather than embrace the fad trending on social media this week, I want to provide you with a toolbox of ancient practices that modern science has proven to have profound benefits. When applied to business, these techniques produce exponential results in culture, productivity, innovation, and profits.

You do not need to embrace Buddhism to benefit from the following lessons. These truths are for anyone to understand. The practices can be adopted and applied regardless of the reader's spiritual beliefs.

Life is too short to learn everything through experience. I hope that this book helps you avoid some of the potholes I stepped into and empowers you to capitalize on the opportunities you encounter.

Introduction: Becoming Zenman

From my first memories, I struggled with religion. I grew up in a tiny town in rural Indiana. When I was five years old, my father's cousin convinced my parents to have me accompany them to their church, followed by Sunday school. The church service didn't stick in my mind, but Sunday school did. The adult was telling the story of Adam and Eve's experience in the Garden of Eden to my class. As a curious child who was consumed with dinosaurs, I persisted in asking a series of questions that annoyed the parent leading the group. What had happened to the Mesozoic era in this story?

Eventually, she had me sit in the corner for the remainder of Sunday school. That was my last time being invited to join my relatives for church. I hadn't intended to be disruptive or disrespectful in any way. It was genuine curiosity. Even at the early age of five, I had seen dinosaur bones at the La Brea Tar Pits when we made the Griswold Family road trip to Disneyland that was a rite of passage for Gen X. The proof existed right there in the middle of LA. Dinosaurs are real, and I guess even at an early age, I was a fan of debating different ideas and beliefs.

Fast forward a decade to advanced biology class during my freshman year in high school, which reinforced my questioning of the beliefs most of my peers embraced. I distinctly remember sitting next to my friend Mike―with whom I had played soccer for most of my life―just closing his book when we got to the chapter on evolution. Shutting the book meant he shut his mind to any ideas that differed or challenged the belief he was born into. I always struggled with the thought “What if I was born in the wrong place?”

Everywhere else in the world, billions of different people have the same devotion to their religion. Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, and followers of every other belief firmly believe that the “others” are wrong and will suffer eternal damnation or whatever retribution their dogma dictates. As a little boy, this tormented me. I did not want to make the wrong choice when it came to something as crucial as my eternal being. Coupled with the learnings of evolution, this shaped me into a devout atheist. At that time, learning about evolution meant that I no longer had to find the right religion, and I embraced science. For the next four years, my belief was that of a devoted atheist with no need or desire for organized religion.

That was just the beginning of my journey.

Finding Entrepreneurship

The first time I remember hearing the word “entrepreneur” was two years before my evolution breakthrough in seventh‐grade economics class. I clearly remember the teacher's definition of an entrepreneur as “someone who would face multiple failures in life before possibly reaching any success.” He went on to expand on how it was a life of hardship that could lead to financial ruin and despair. In my day, the “safe” path was the corporate job; to be even more specific, I was meant to be an engineer. That was my introduction to the world of entrepreneurship, and rather than convincing me to take the safe path in life, it had the opposite effect. I knew right there that I was going to be an entrepreneur.

Ever since I was a boy, the best way to motivate me was to tell me I couldn't do something. That is one of the most common characteristics of founders. We see a challenge not as an obstacle but as an opportunity.

I remember a poster of Robert Frost's poem “The Road Less Traveled” hanging in my grandmother's bedroom. The final stanza has been burned into my subconscious.

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

That stanza struck a chord in me that has resonated since, especially “I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” The idea of taking the road less traveled was only reinforced by my middle school economics teacher telling the class, “You can't build your own business—you will fail,” which was all the motivation I needed. That 12‐year‐old kid decided then and there that I would own my first business before my 30th birthday.

That might sound like an audacious goal for many people, while for others it might appear conservative. For the contingent that feels the goal was too lofty, I would offer this perspective from Michelangelo: “The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.” Aim for your dreams, and even if you don't reach every goal, life will still be extraordinary.

The other half who see starting their first business by the age of 30 as a conservative goal could have a skewed perspective by looking at Steve Jobs, who was 21 when he co‐founded Apple with Steve Wozniak in his garage, or Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who started Google at the ripe old age of 24. Most successful startup founders are between 35 and 45 years old. Our society today focuses so intensely on the unicorns that most fail to see the significant number of failures.

Singles and doubles win ballgames. You have a much lower probability of success and are likelier to strike out if you swing for the fences every time you come up to bat.

The same is true in business. Consistent results create profitable businesses and companies that are better positioned for acquisition if that is the end goal. Don't misinterpret this as avoiding all risk or playing too safe in business and life. By all means, set lofty goals; just ensure they're plausible. It's better to make some progress than to strike out because you are trying to hit a grand slam or even worse because you need to. A couple of times in my business, I had to sell a job to make payroll, which was a horrible place to be and which I hope you never experience personally.

Not only is this a terrible mindset when entering a business negotiation, but it also decreases the probability of closing the sale. We have a saying in poker: Scared money never wins. Desperation is an unattractive quality both for a potential mate and in business dealings. Even at the energetic level, it's much better to come from an abundance mindset than a scarcity belief.

Finding My Path

My introduction to Buddhism came much later. Fast‐forward to my first semester in college, and I met a man who would change my life forever. College for me was a small art school that specialized in photography and motion pictures called Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, California. To be completely honest, it was heavenly. To this day, after being fortunate enough to travel all over the world, Santa Barbara is still hands down my favorite place on planet Earth.

The program at Brooks was intense but considered the best in the world. To pay for living in one of the most beautiful and hence expensive cities in the country, I worked six days a week as a bartender at night. This meant too many late nights with excessive alcohol consumption. Additionally, I smoked a pack or more of Camels a day—a stark contrast from the man who would change the course of my life for the better.

One of my classmates was a monk named Lopsang. He worked directly with the Dalai Lama, who sent him to the United States with the goal of attending a series of higher‐education institutions. Lopsang was the first example that I was awake to of “when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”

Although Brooks was a melting pot of artists from all over the globe, Lopsang stood out among the class. Most of the students dressed like a grunge band from Seattle, and we had a solid contingent of expedition‐ready photo‐vest‐wearing classmates, but Lopsang was the only one in saffron monk robes. During break I would grab whatever soda had the most caffeine in the vending machine and chain smoke two cigarettes. I used to light the second smoke from the cherry of the first while polluting my body with hapless disregard. After observing me for a few weeks, Lopsang started asking questions, like “Why do you prefer breathing cigarette smoke over the beautiful ocean air?” To which there really isn't an intelligent response. Instead of feeling like he was passing judgment, his questions made me contemplate the choices that had become unhealthy habits.

Our conversations deepened throughout the fall as Lopsang introduced me to concepts that intrigued rather than polarized me. The first was moderation. Buddha learned that excess isn't the path to Nirvana, just as self‐deprivation isn't the path to enlightenment. As a chain‐smoking bartender, my life was far from moderate. Although I didn't shift to Buddhism before Lopsang left for the next college, he was instrumental in helping me find my path. Before departing at the end of his time at Brooks, Lopsang shared ideas that lit a fire in me to shift from a life of excess to one of clarity and moderation.

Over the course of the next few years I dove deeper into Buddhism, eventually shifting from atheism to taking refuge in what are known as the three jewels: Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. In the early '90s, it was a lot less common for a Westerner to completely embrace Buddhism than it is today. I can't tell you how many family holidays devolved into a heated debate because I didn't follow the traditional path of Christianity or, more importantly, “didn't believe in and fear God.”

Combining the Business and the Spiritual

Over the past few decades, it's become mainstream and even hip to use “Zen” in marketing or the nomenclature of companies like Zendesk, Zenfolio, ZenPayroll, and Zenefits. At the time of this writing, there are 724 active trademarks containing the word “Zen” registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. That wasn't the case when I started my agency. I had been doing freelance creative work at night while grinding it out during the day at a mind‐numbing, soul‐sucking job designing reports for a market research firm. When the opportunity presented itself in the form of a severance package, I made the decision to start the business the seventh‐grade version of myself had vowed to do before turning 30. At the time, I was 26. Since the entire company consisted of a Buddhist creative guy building websites under the stairs in his loft, the name was “Zenman.”

The first year was lean, but I managed to make a little more than the corporate cubicle job paid. It consisted of any work that I could generate by rubbing two sticks together. It required becoming a salesperson, which is the opposite personality type from creatives, while simultaneously building a portfolio of work to show potential clients. In the early days, it was truly the Wild West of the web. Amazon was still losing money in 1998, a significant percentage of businesses didn't have or even think they needed an online presence, and the most visited website at the time was AOL.

Acquiring new clients in the early days required some out‐of‐the‐box thinking. Denver was in a booming development stage at the time, with lofts, condos, and apartments being built all over town. I would drive around taking down the phone numbers of any development that didn't have a website on their signage. Then I'd pretend to be someone from New York or San Francisco moving to Denver who had heard of their project and, of course, ask for the domain of their website to learn more about the development and available units. When they responded with a lack of a website and offered to mail brochures, I would politely decline and occasionally question how serious the developer was if they didn't have a site. After a series of these calls over a few weeks, I would show up at the sales office to pitch a website. This was just one of the different techniques I applied in the early years.

Through two decades of highs and lows, Zenman grew into a globally recognized leader in the digital space. Our clients included an airline, several Fortune 500 companies, rock stars, and a unicorn (Ibotta, a startup that achieved a billion‐dollar valuation) that we helped from inception to a two‐billion‐dollar publicly traded company. During my years running the agency, Zenman had some incredible runs of success, along with our share of dark times that nearly killed me. After 23 years in the game, I made a choice to get off the treadmill and start living my Ikigai (reason for being).

The process wasn't easy, but life has little ways of nudging you in the right direction if you don't fight the universe. I had a moment of clarity in 2017 when the realization hit me that the business that had been built through blood, sweat, and tears throughout my entire adult life was a machine that traded my time for money. I was selling the only finite resource in my possession…my time.

That day, there was a shift. I stopped designing and marketing products for other people. My passion and skills went into designing tools that helped people reach their full potential. The first product was the OAK Journal, a 90‐day structured journal designed around my daily, weekly, and quarterly routines. As I started building and selling direct‐to‐consumer products, two things happened. First, the OAK Journal made it into the hands of several leaders all over Asia, and I was invited to do a speaking tour in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, and Vietnam. But they didn't want to hear me talk about the latest online trends; the request was for the methodology shared in the tool I had created.

The second was even more serendipitous. At a leadership conference in Peru I met a man from Argentina named Dani. One day he called me out of the blue to say that he wanted to buy an agency in the United States. My response was to start to tell him about the different agencies I knew in town, but he cut me off to say, “No, I want to buy your agency.”

A few months later, Zenman was acquired by an exceptional organization. The merger took care of our clients and gave me an off‐ramp that allowed me to transition into the next chapter. A year later, my earnout was finished, and after a sacred mushroom journey in Joshua Tree to cut any ties my ego had to the agency, I closed that door, enabling me to walk through the next one.

Now I spend my time writing books or keynote speaking. On the way to a recent event in Lake Tahoe, I was driving from Colorado to Nevada. My oldest son had just graduated from eighth grade, and his Continuation Ceremony was held in the evening, the night before I was scheduled to speak. The timing meant that there were no available flights, so I drove through the night to make it to my talk. Just before sunrise, I fell asleep and my 4Runner crossed the middle line and scraped a truck and trailer coming the opposite direction head‐on at 70 mph. Both tires and rims on the driver's side exploded on impact as they stuck out a couple of inches from the body of the truck, and it tore the door handles off. It was a miracle the crash wasn't a head‐on collision that would have likely been fatal. The accident left me in shock for two days, but miraculously I walked away without a scratch. It took a series of cabs, flights, and hitched rides, but somehow I managed to make it to the event to do my first keynote in a clinical state of shock.

On the flight home, the second miracle occurred. I received a message from an acquisitions editor at John Wiley & Sons that this book was a green light. Maybe there was a reason the accident wasn't an inch to the left, which is why I am still here. Perhaps it was to share some of the concepts that have helped me through my entrepreneurial journey to help you, dear reader, find and live your Ikigai.

PART 1Begin

“Each morning, we are born again.

What we do today is what matters most.”

—Buddha

CHAPTER 1Shoshin

Shoshin (初心) is a Zen Buddhist concept conveying a beginner's mind. It refers to having a perspective of openness, enthusiasm, and lack of preconceptions, even at an advanced level, just as a beginner would. To the beginner, there are many possibilities, whereas to the expert, there are few or possibly only one. Having a beginner's mind when reading this book and in your day‐to‐day life will result in exponential growth personally and professionally.

When someone is a genuine novice, their mind is unobstructed and available, like a kid discovering something for the first time. Over our lives, we develop knowledge and expertise, which can make our minds inherently more closed. Don't fall into the trap of thinking, “I already know how to do this.”

A risk comes with believing we are an expert in anything. We overlook or ignore the facts contradicting what we learned previously and yield to the information confirming our current approach. We think we're learning, but we are cherry‐picking through information and conversations, waiting to hear something corresponding to our existing ideology or prior understanding, and cherry‐picking information to justify our current behaviors and beliefs. Most people want something other than new information; they want validating facts that reinforce existing beliefs.

In his book Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, Zen master Shunryu Suzuki said, “In the beginner's mind, there are many possibilities, but in the expert's, there are few.” When we believe we are experts in anything, we must pay more attention, not less. If you are familiar with 95 percent of the details on any topic, you must listen carefully to pick up on the remaining 5 percent.

There are a few valuable ways to find your beginner's mind and embrace the concept of shoshin.

Let Go of the Desire to Win Arguments

If someone makes a statement you believe is false during a discussion, embrace releasing the urge to correct it. Letting go of your need to show others how smart you are opens the possibility of learning something new. We will touch more on this in the chapter on Right Speech (Chapter 10).

Try the perspective of curiosity with topics in which you have extensive experience. Examine everything using an entirely different approach with an open mind. Minds are like parachutes; they don't work if they are closed.

Listen More than You Speak

We think faster than we can speak. On average, a person speaks between 135 and 175 words per minute, but we can process up to 500 words per minute. Most people impatiently wait to speak while thinking of what to say next, rather than engaging in active listening. This is exasperating in business because, as leaders, we are looked up to as problem solvers, which leads to members of the team not speaking up and sharing their ideas.