Building Your Network

Rama believed that “next to meditation itself, there isn’t anything more important than the development of your career.”

For one on the path to Enlightenment, there should always be a constant focus on enhancing one’s focus – “A Buddhist is working not just to get paid, but working to advance spiritually. You shouldn’t create a syntactical break in your mind between your career and your religious practice.”

If you seek enlightenment, then a career is a very important idea on your agenda. Approach your career from this standpoint and you will have a very different career. You will be successful. One of the greatest mistakes that people make who pursue self-discovery is they neglect to develop their careers. There is a popular notion that those who seek enlightenment should abandon the things of this world.

 

 

We live in a world of careers. Work, as Sri Krishna points out in the Bhagavad Gita, is a necessary path for everyone attaining enlightenment. It is something that we all do. If you don’t meet the challenge, if you don’t learn anything new, if you kind of just veg-out in this lifetime, then you will be right back in the same place in your next life.

Your career should serve to raise your awareness. If your career is lowering your personal power, then it has got to change. If you are in a place where your career is lowering your personal power, the networking is a great way to proactively build contacts to not only help if you need to transition into a better career, but it will also help you develop a strong network of professionals to support your career goals. From mentoring to securing your next big sale, a strong network is key to taking big steps in your career.

 

 

All quotes reprinted or included here with permission from The Frederick P. Lenz Foundation for American Buddhism.