As leaders, we constantly strive to sharpen our skills and deepen our impact by learning everything we can about the world around us.
However, the most profound transformations often come when we push the limits of the world within us.
In this case, with the help of a tradition of wisdom 35 generations strong.
Recently, I had the great privilege of speaking with Shing Heng Yi (Shifu), a 35th-generation Shaolin master and headmaster of the Shaolin Temple in Europe.
Our conversation unearthed many profound Shaolin insights that are not only relevant but absolutely essential for seasoned business founders looking to transform their relationship with themselves so they transform how they lead those who count on them most.
Ready to unleash your full potential as an enlightened leader? Watch the full interview with Shing Heng Yi now and unlock the secrets of 2,000+ years of Shaolin wisdom.
Reframe "Work-Life Balance" to "Life Balance"
As we opened our conversation, we began by reflecting on how seemingly different the disciplines of martial arts and entrepreneurship are, but how in life, revelations can arise from the least likely of places. It was when discussing this that Shifu introduced his first golden nugget of wisdom that challenged the pervasive concept of work-life balance:
“We don’t need a work-life balance,” he started. “…Meaning deciding how to invest our time into work and how to invest our time into our private life because we have currently one life and within this lifetime, you go to work, you do have holidays, you do have a partnership, you do have different other areas in your life that you’re taking care of.”
In the world of high achievement, we often seek respite from our work and divide work and the rest of our human experience into two opposing forces. Shifu’s perspective invites us instead to see how our lives might look if we approached it holistically rather than as compartmentalized segments.
As leaders, we often fall into the trap of trying to balance competing priorities when, in reality, the key to better balance and results boils down to finding harmony within the totality of our experience.
This allows us, as bearers and beacons of genius, to fully embody our mission and live out our legacies.
Cultivate Present Moment Awareness
Shifu continued by emphasizing the critical importance of being fully present in a world that so often pushes us from person to person and from place to place:
“If you eat your breakfast, eat your breakfast, your mind also stays with the breakfast. If you drink your coffee, drink and be with the coffee. If you drive the car, drive the car. If you are breathing, breathe.”
In our fast-paced lives as leaders, it’s easy to constantly project into the future or dwell on the past. But true power comes from being fully engaged in the present moment without judgment.
Often, when we high-level CEOs try to be present, we judge ourselves for it, writing off anything we deem to be “unproductive” (i.e., not directly bringing in revenue) as “inessential” when in fact, this fallacy prevents us from savoring who we are, and bringing in more tangible outcomes as a result.
When practiced, this level of presence allows us to make clearer decisions, connect more authentically with our teams, and spot opportunities we might otherwise miss, making this skill a cornerstone of high-value business owners and purpose-driven leaders.
Understand the Cyclical Nature of Experience
In reflecting on his roots tying back to the Shaolin tradition, he made it clear that one of the most important distinctions to understand is that even seemingly opposing forces can not only co-exist, but be vital to each other, and to us.
Shifu illustrated this by stating that “there is a time when the sun is rising and there’s a time when the sun is gone. So we have the exchange between day and night ever since we are born. It is like this.”
He went on to explain how this principle applies to all aspects of life – success and failure, growth and decline, etc.
As leaders, embracing this reality can help us navigate challenges with greater equanimity. Instead of resisting the “downs,” we can see them as natural parts of the cycle, maintaining our composure so we can steer our organizations with steady hands.
This steady hand is the golden thread to the revolutionary lives and legacies of many of the most prolific pioneers on the planet and one of the essential qualities of all architects of the future—one that Master Shifu embodies each and every day.
Develop Unshakeable Awareness
Soon after, Shifu expanded on this concept of duality in life, explaining that “the ups and downs [are] something which will always start to move like a pendulum. You never know when you will be in an up or down, you cannot really decide. …But what is stable is your ability to actually observe it.”
Not only did this insight remind me of how I tend to approach my own life and the inevitable challenges that we as global leaders come to count on, it illustrates the deeper impermanence of the good and the bad. That no negative experience will last forever, but neither will any positive.
This invites us to develop a level of consciousness that transcends the fluctuations of our daily business lives so we can make decisions from a place of clarity in careful anticipation of when the pendulum will swing again.
Lead from Authentic Possession
One of the most striking insights for me in the middle of the conversation, which directly spoke to my work in helping founders codify their genius, was Shing Heng’s perspective on authentic leadership.
“If somebody wants to lead the way, making other people follow along a direction, along a vision, well, I think he better have a very clear vision where the journey is going. Because else wise… you have a lot of followers but you actually don’t even know yourself.”
This strikes at the heart of genuine leadership.
As I often emphasize in my work with The Models Method, true organizational alignment comes from a clearly articulated vision that originates from the leader’s deep understanding and conviction. To put it simply, we can’t give away what we don’t possess ourselves.
True leadership is leadership by example, which starts with how you lead you.
Seek Continuous "Waking Up"
As we wrapped up our conversation, Shifu shared a personal aspiration that was not only a perfect closing remark to a deep and riveting interview but one that, in my opinion, encapsulates the lifelong journey of leadership.
In reflecting upon his 31+ years as a Shaolin martial artist and now Shaolin Master, he shared that “If there is something that with one glimpse would come, it would be what I’m trying to work for this whole lifetime already, which means the waking up of the mind.”
This pursuit of ever-deepening awareness and understanding is at the core of great leadership. The goal of any leader worth following is not to reach some final destination, but to continuously expand your consciousness to positively impact yourself and those around you.
This conversation is a must-watch for any leader looking to rediscover themselves amidst the expectations of others and deepen their relationship with the internal and external forces that shape them.
Shifu offers timeless truths and illuminating insights, and frankly, this article alone just scratches the surface.
So here’s my challenge to you: Watch this episode.
Then, like Shifu would advise, take a moment to be fully present and ask yourself:
Are you asleep to yourself or leading wide awake?
Open your eyes to the profound gems of self-realization that are being uncovered by Masters like Shing Heng Yi and thinkers like you.
Don’t sleep on this – be part of the transformation and the conversation.
Watch the full interview with Shing Heng Yi on The Wisdom Of… Show
And don’t miss Simon Bowen’s transformative masterclass on unlocking your hidden genius. Your future self will thank you.
