Craig Robinson - Meditation Teacher (DipBSoM), Clear Mind Meditation
What were your career ambitions growing up?
In the good old days where you were allowed in the cockpit of a plane as a kid, I was always in awe of the pilots, controlling these amazing machines through the sky and holding the safety of hundreds of passengers in your hands. So from an early age I wanted to be an airline pilot. My poor eyesight meant it wasn’t meant to be.
What attracted you to the world of meditation?
I stumbled upon it! In the early 2000’s I was working in a high pressured B2B sales role with high targets, deadlines and a culture of ‘work hard play hard’. I was earning well, driving a nice car and wearing expensive suits. I didn’t realise it at the time but I was stressed, heading towards burnout on a regular basis and I was placing my ‘happiness’ somewhere in the distant future. A good friend dragged me along to a meditation class in 2007 and my mind was blown. That one class changed my life and I was hooked from that day onwards. I still continued in my sales career, no longer working crazy hours, being more productive and going about life with a more balanced and regulated mind. Meditation was an absolute game changer.
What is your proudest business achievement?
I regularly smile when a client tells me that meditation has changed their life.
How has your industry changed in the last decade?
If you look at how our world has changed in the last 100 years in terms of technological advancement, our comfort of living, entertainment etc we have ‘grown’ significantly, however our happiness has not. In fact rates of stress, anxiety, depression and general unhappiness are increasing. Particularly in the last decade there has been a boom in people turning to holistic methods to improve their happiness, therefore the wellness industry is certainly growing, becoming more accessible, understood and an important part of peoples lives.
What are you currently working on?
A project which I am currently working on is to help an amazing charity Everyturn with their next Wellness day, I will be delivering a session to their management team on stress. This will be focussed on understanding stress, becoming aware of stress and learning methods of reducing and removing stress via mindfulness and meditation. I am also in training to become a Sound Healer, using frequencies of sound for healing, relaxation and inner exploration.
Tell us about the clients you work with?
I teach regular meditation classes in the North East on a group basis and a 1-2-1 basis. I also work with businesses and charities offering regular meditation sessions and wellness days. My clients completely vary, but there tends to be a similar theme of people simply needing to slow down, breathe and de-stress.
What is the best piece of business advice you have been given?
Through my sales career I attended countless sales training courses learning methods for handing sales cycles, closing business, elevator pitches etc. However I always thought that authenticity was more important than anything. People buy from people. One day a client of mine, told me that being yourself is the most important thing. I’ve carried this with me ever since and its transferrable into any industry, job role and life itself.
What has been your biggest challenge?
I speak to businesses fairly regularly and although they almost always appreciate and promote employee wellbeing, there is usually little to no budget assigned. Coming from a corporate background myself and appreciating the importance of wellness in the workplace it can be a challenge actually bringing this to the table in a corporate environment.
Who are your heroes inside and outside of business?
Mo Gawdat springs to mind. I admire how from his ‘successful’ career being CBO at Google X and ticking the ‘success’ boxes of wealth, status and gaining expensive shiny objects he realised these ‘things’ simply don’t make us happy. Especially so when he lost his son, the last straw for realising we can’t expect the world to make us happy. So he took a complete new trajectory and is now leading an amazing project on happiness (making 1 billion people happy), is a best selling author and key influential speaker on finding true happiness, not from the world, but from ourselves.
How do you unwind outside of work?
Every morning I have my own uninterrupted time, for stretching, meditation, reflection and journaling. This is my favourite time of the day and has become my routine. It sets me up for whatever the day brings. I also love to unwind doing anything in nature, walking, climbing even sitting on the beach with a flask and feeling gratitude for being alive.
Favourite Books and/or Boxset?
1) The Power of Now – Eckhart Tolle. This book is my bible, it is all about living in the now. When we can truly do this, all of our problems completely disappear.
2) 1Q84 – Haruki Murakami – If you want to get lost in a world of fantasy and mystery with parallel worlds and mind bending fiction this is your book.
Boxset – It has to be the US Office.
www.clearmindmeditation.co.uk