In May of this year I was lucky enough to head to Bali for a conference named “Beneath the Surface”. This was essentially a break from everyday life that forced me to disconnect so I could reconnect.

For the entire week all electronic equipment was banned, and in all honesty I really did wonder how I would go not being able to check email and messages. What became apparent after a day or so was that we are the individuals who control our environment, and switching off is in fact very simple to do. And guess what – when I eventually reconnected not one person said to me that my absence affected them, nor that the business suffered.

Bali was my introduction to meditation. We meditated at 3am each morning for a little over one hour. Whilst the first few days were very difficult, by the end of the week it had become part of my routine and waking up at that time each day actually became relatively easy.

During my week in Bali each day was fully scheduled with workshops focusing on meditation and mindfulness, and how to include these into my everyday life including my work life. We spent many an hour workshopping any one particular area until we understood the relationship and got it!

Since returning from Bali I still wake to meditate at 3am. Granted, there are days that I miss but I do try and make it part of my everyday life. One thing I have realised is that my day seems to be much harder on the days I don’t meditate.

During my meditation I dedicate some of the time to my life and family, and some of my time to business.  Some examples of affirmations I use are:

“I trust that things are always working out really, really well for me

I am Present, Positive & Powerful

Forget the past, create the future from the present”

“I attract what I am, not what I want” – this is a great affirmation as you can relate it to all aspects of your personal and business life. For example, if it’s staff you’re looking for, you will attract what you are – so if you’re thinking positively all the time you will attract positive people.

There will be some people who read this post who know me personally and I’m sure they’ll say “Wow, is this really Tony?”  and others that just won’t get it at all. All I can say is that before I started, I was one of those individuals who would have thought this just sounds like absolute rubbish. But now, 2 months down the track from my week in Bali, it’s very apparent to me that it works – and the actions within my life over the last two months clearly show this.