Meditation and Prayer: Does It Help Entrepreneurs Succeed?

By Cathy Lynn Grossman
USA Today

(RNS) Entrepreneurs behave just like most Americans when it comes to religion -- but with one spiritual twist.

They're significantly more likely to pray several times a day or to meditate, said sociologist Kevin Dougherty, a co-author of the Baylor Religion Survey that was released Tuesday (Sept. 20).

The survey can't answer whether prayerful, peaceful folks are more likely to take a business risk, or whether the stress of a start-up drives folks to their knees or to the lotus position, Dougherty said.

But either way, 34 percent of entrepreneurs say they frequently look up to the Lord, compared with 27 percent of non-entrepreneurs. Nearly as many (32 percent) say they look inward in meditation, while just 22 percent of non-entrepreneurs say they practice any of the eight forms of meditation -- including Christian, Jewish and Buddhist variations -- listed on the survey.

Leading the way: Christian meditation, reported by 18 percent of entrepreneurs.

Leah Rampy of McLean, Va., who ran her own company as an executive leadership coach, said her prayers were often that "the spirit would work through me."

Mindful meditation was cited by 17 percent of entrepreneurs. Wendy Woods, a consultant based in Toronto, shares with her corporate clients how "meditation helps me push away fear and bring in calm and creativity."

Buddhist meditation worked for Ray Yeh, of Ukiah, Calif., who created and ran a software sales company for 20 years. He found "working 12 hours a day, seven days a week leaves you no time to think, to get in touch with your inner self." Yeh sold the company in 1999 and now lives in a Buddhist monastery in Northern California.

Psychologist Kenneth Pargament, a scholar in residence at the Institute for Spirituality and Health at the Texas Medical Center in Houston, put it this way:

"Entrepreneurs have a strong sense they can take matters into their own hands. But they also face risk, unpredictability and uncertainty," he said. "Prayer and meditation can be important resources for people who are trying to achieve a lot and yet still face the reality that there is only so much they can control."

Questions on entrepreneurs were a part of the survey underwritten by Baylor's sociology department, the National Study of Religion and Entrepreneurial Behavior and the National Science Foundation.

(Cathy Lynn Grossman writes for USA Today.)

WATCH How Meditation Can Make You Happier:

Comments

[jgdyogiangel]

04:40 PM on 09/24/2011

Well the proof is in the pudding as they used to say. Try it and see. It is a challenge that the Dhamma brothers took up in maximum security prison with , yes pretty serious crimes committed. A group of prisoners took a 2 week retreat within the prison to meditate and to live in silence under the guidance of 2 trained meditatiors. The results were amazing, Did they change? Yes , they found that Christ was right, the kingdom is within and so is forgiveness, peace , and love. And they faced their guilt and maintained their meditation schedule after the retreat under very trying circumstances because it helped them so much to maintain equilibrium in the hell of that prison. So rent the movie and watch it, the Dhamma Brothers. Then try it yourself and having tried it with depth and seriousness you'll see the results. No one can tell you , no indeed, you have to do it yourself to find out.

[jessivehadit]

06:07 PM on 09/23/2011

Faith is a strongly held belief in something for which there is no proof and no amount of wishing it will bring you any closer to knowing. Faith of this kind is rewarded, elevated and praised as if it was some kind of accomplishment, when it is actually a shortcoming of what makes us human: our desire to "know" instead of guesswork or speculation.

The problem with faith as I see it is that it has no real use or value to the human race. Once we know something, it becomes useful, a tool in our belt, a weapon in our arsenal and it is no longer an article of faith. Knowledge begins where faith ends.

[NathanSW]

12:09 PM on 09/23/2011

I am a self-employed entrepreneur, and I do a mixture of prayer, meditation, and other spiritual practices every day. I do these practices because I enjoy them, and because they help me live my life with fewer illusions and head trips. This translates into having a less dysfunctional life - with a calmer mental state, it is much easier to see what the best way forward is in a given situation. This has led me to have better business practices, and that in turn has led to more income for less work. So yes, I think meditation and prayer have the potential (at least) to help entrepreneurs succeed.

[iLdoRight]

02:37 AM on 09/23/2011

Anyone who actually wants Our Creator's attention should realize there are some things to consider about what to pray for and the proper procedure for submitting those prayers. If one does not care to respect Our Creator enough to consult the "Manual" they have (Not, no one to blame but themselves) , but they can blame themselves and all those who have given them incorrect information on how to do it right. If one does not care enough to try to learn how to do it right, it may result in having their prayers hijacked by Satan the Devil and misleading them to function as an enemy to Our Creator's purpose and intentions for mankind.

[BurtonDesque]

12:04 AM on 09/23/2011

As there is nothing to pray to, prayer is a waste of time.

[gflorence]

11:05 AM on 09/23/2011

Again, you are taking a very limited western view. It is not the case for everyone that prayer means asking some hoary haired, bearded, jealous creator for favors, for things like passing an exam, making you well, ect ect. In some faith traditions prayer would include such things as wishing tranquility to the things around you. Even from a pragmatic perspective, the effects of such thought seem to be measurable on things like EEGs and in the health effects of the person using them. None of it has been conclusively proven or dis-proven, but we are just beginning to understand such things. I think it might be fairer to say that you haven't observed any benefit from it in your experience. Others will differ with you based on their experience. That said, I have reasoned that I am glad I have had my experiences and not yours. The end result of what you experience and what I experience will be exactly the same in the end. It's about the ride, not the destination. I choose to make my ride one of joy in the moment rather than pessimism about what is not.

Your friend
gflorence

[BurtonDesque]

02:59 PM on 09/23/2011

First off, you're not my friend, so labeling yourself as such is arrogant presumption. I've very choosy about my friends and you don't meet the standard.

Secondly, your argument basically plays semantic games with the word 'prayer' until you essentially render it meaningless.

[gflorence]

09:06 PM on 09/22/2011

It benefits no one for people to continue to elaborate on the material advantages of things like meditation. Material advantages are side effects and not goal of these practices. In fact, they quickly become an impediment because they tend to become the object in the mind of the person who experiences it.

[JeffWayne]

08:15 PM on 09/22/2011

Meditation and Prayer: Does It Help Entrepreneurs Succeed?

OK, I read the report twice and it did not provide an answer as to the successfulness of prayer or entrepreneurs who pray.

Does that mean it has no relevance?

[BurtonDesque]

12:04 AM on 09/23/2011

Prayer has no effect on anything else so why should it help you in business?

[shylove2]

07:58 PM on 09/22/2011

Not in the warfare state of western civilization and the logic of force and dominance and submission institutionalized. Including and economic miodel that cannot even recognize interdependence over shot term profits.

[chergoyle3]

07:32 PM on 09/22/2011

"Meditation and Prayer: Does It Help Entrepreneurs Succeed?"

Meditation may help you clear your mind and focus on what actions need to be taken for success.

Prayer, on the other hand works best when offered up, loudly, in front of your sphere of influence and potential customers at Sunday school, church and deacon's dinners. It also doesn't hurt to have a fish printed on your business card and stamped on the backside of your vehicle.

However, if your entrepreneurial efforts center around prayerful meditation, both work very well as advertising and public relations.

The truth is, both activities work to the extent the participants believe they do.

[jessivehadit]

06:17 PM on 09/23/2011

Whenever I see that fish on a business card I think, "This person makes poor decisions or has trouble making decisions."

As I wrote to someone else below, prayer and meditation are similar. Prayer is "intended" for a deity (who isn't there) so you end up reaching yourself instead. Prayer in a way, is a method of tricking yourself into self-examination, through an adult version of the imaginary friend idea that is fed to kids. Prayer is meant to give you extra confidence as you work through your own problems, because it is easier to face problems if you believe that you are being helped. Then it gives you the strength to make it through on your own.

But, people become reliant on it and abuse it, making complicated business or life decisions based solely on the gut feeling they get from prayer instead of researching and investigating the decision at hand.

[peter010908]

07:15 PM on 09/22/2011

It's knowledge and taking action that help people succeed, not praying to an invisible god

[prt207]

07:13 PM on 09/22/2011

I love TV. Is there a better way to be here now and be one with one's sensations? Is watching TV, and especially reality TV, not a form of stress free meditation? Has any previous civilization had a better way of killing time and overcoming the greatest existential threat of all, boredom? Make money. Buy stuff. Kill time. Don't worry, be happy.

[methodman]

04:56 PM on 09/22/2011

Meditation has many special forms. There are classifications of Breathing Patterns. Meridian Systems, Yoga Postures and Relaxing synchronization exercises. There is enough clear material out there. Not in the Evangelical world but ;That is their avoidance. I don't follow Evangelical Christianity so they have no interest or effect upon me at all. Many valid well described processes and helpful humanistic space-opening practices are non-existent to that ilk. Their scriptures don't own my life.

[Cindbird]

01:28 AM on 09/23/2011

There is also Vipassana, Vajrayana, Diety Meditation, Calm Abiding, Transendental and more. I think it depends of the form of meditation and the reason behind it. Buddhist meditation isn't about making a higher profit though. It is about changing the mind and consciousness.

[SarcasticFringehead]

04:55 PM on 09/22/2011

To me, it sounds like prayer and meditation are being used by these entrepreneurs as a stress reduction method and as a timeout from life moment.

Outside of that, this survey isn't telling us very much.

The same effects could be gained by drinking a martini.

[BurtonDesque]

12:05 AM on 09/23/2011

Drinking a martini a day won't clear your mind.

[SarcasticFringehead]

03:40 PM on 09/23/2011

Don't be so sure.

[methodman]

04:49 PM on 09/22/2011

OK Here this gets into syllabic prayer. Where I take Mathematica Categorical words, classify them by the number of syllables and substitute them in famous hymns then sing that in my College Hallway. What I have found is your body recognizes syllable patience and thus in apprasing various tools certain syllables of patience extend themselves. I can pray that and stomach it. Talking to God like a two year old; no extension of vocabulary, no Book Reading. == A waste of Time. Reminds me of that song By Rush "Temple of Osirius" off of 2112

[jessivehadit]

02:44 PM on 09/22/2011

Prayer and meditation are basically the same thing. However, meditation requires a lot more discipline and typically leads to much better results.

[Asmodean1]

04:08 PM on 09/22/2011

I personally like to listen to the speaker - Jiddu Krishnamurti. When he spoke, of prayer and meditation they were nothing alike. Prayer is asking/invoking a deity to help, act or intercede on, in or for - a cause - no one just "prays" for no reason.
Meditation is the mental act of clearing your mind to *think* intently or to dwell on exclusively a single *thought* or chain of *thoughts* - along the line of a single subject.

[jessivehadit]

05:01 PM on 09/22/2011

They are two means to the same end.

[jessivehadit]

03:53 PM on 09/23/2011

I love Krishnamurti, by the way, I have several of his books and dozens of recorded lectures. Although I don't agree with every viewpoint of his, I do agree with a great great number and I love that he is doing what people of all faiths should be encouraged to do: examining the validity of their beliefs with an open mind and exploring all other religions with equal openness. People who have a great understanding of many faiths are less likely to get into a war over faith.

[BurtonDesque]

12:06 AM on 09/23/2011

"Prayer and meditation are basically the same thing"

No, they're not. Prayer is sitting there mumbling to yourself. Meditation is coming to grips with your own mind.