Building Resilience: How Entrepreneurs Can Harness Mental Health, Discipline, and Spirituality for Lasting Success

For entrepreneurs, mental health is often overlooked, yet it’s crucial for long-term success. The pressures of decision-making and responsibility can lead to burnout if not managed properly. Addressing mental health requires a layered approach, starting with the physical foundation—sleep, diet, and exercise. Without this base, it's hard to sustain the energy needed for the challenges ahead.

Once the physical foundation is set, the next step is mindset. Mental models and philosophical frameworks, like Stoicism, help entrepreneurs navigate challenges by shifting perspective. Instead of being weighed down by negative thoughts, you learn to transform them into strengths. This mental discipline is crucial for staying sharp and resilient.

The emotional layer follows, focusing on emotional intelligence and the ability to nurture relationships. Building strong communication skills and fostering healthy relationships, both personally and professionally, are key components of long-term fulfillment.

Finally, entrepreneurs can focus on purpose—understanding their mission and aligning their daily actions with a larger vision. However, this journey is not always linear. Skipping foundational steps can lead to a lack of discipline, making it harder to reach deeper levels of fulfillment, especially in the spiritual realm.

To explore the importance of spirituality in this layered approach, I sat down with two Japanese monks at the "Dragonfly H.E.A.L. Summit 2024", who uniquely blend ancient wisdom with modern life, offering valuable insights for entrepreneurs.

Kanho Yakushiji: Merging Music with Mindfulness

The first monk I spoke with, Kanho Yakushiji, immediately impressed with his calm demeanor and an aura of serene wisdom. At 45, his youthful, vibrant appearance mirrors his balanced lifestyle. Our conversation began just after I had witnessed him chanting the Heart Sutra with a local follower, a deeply moving moment that immediately calmed my own agitated nerves after a long day. It became clear that Kanho embodies the very balance he preaches.

His journey from aspiring musician to monk was marked by moments of tension, especially with family expectations. "My father, also a monk, expected me to follow in his footsteps," he recalled. Yet, Kanho had dreams of pursuing music. His breakthrough came during a concert when a fan shared that his music brought memories of her family, a realization that his art was already serving the purpose of healing—much like a monk’s teachings.

"That’s when I realized I could merge the two," he shared. And merge them he did, creating music that serves as both spiritual practice and artistic expression. "Lyrics first, melody second," he emphasized, noting that his approach to life and music is one of perspective. "There are no challenges, only how you view them," he said, adding that walking meditation and physical activity, like swimming, are integral to his daily routine.

Kanho’s emphasis on balance through discipline mirrors the entrepreneurial journey. Just as entrepreneurs must develop habits to support their physical and mental well-being, spiritual growth requires consistent effort and dedication. His story serves as a reminder that spirituality, much like business success, is rooted in daily practices that ground the mind and body.

Yogetsu Akasaka: Redefining Tradition with a Modern Twist

The second monk, Yogetsu Akasaka, has taken an even more unconventional path to merging music and spirituality. His story began not in a temple, but in Australia, where he first discovered beatboxing—a seemingly unlikely foundation for a Buddhist monk. His love for music eventually brought him back to Japan, where he took over his father’s temple and began to blend his modern musical passion with traditional Buddhist teachings.

Yogetsu’s philosophy is to make Buddhism accessible to everyone, especially the younger generation. "Temples and chanting were once just for funerals," he explained. "But the teachings are for the living. Why not make them more accessible?" His innovative approach is focused on integrating contemporary sounds with ancient wisdom, making spirituality more relatable and engaging.

His emphasis on following passion aligns closely with the entrepreneurial mindset. Yogetsu believes that finding and pursuing your passion is essential not just to personal fulfillment, but also to spiritual growth. "Your passion will reveal who you really are," he stated. By blending creativity with tradition, Yogetsu shows that spirituality can evolve and adapt, just as businesses must do to survive and thrive in a rapidly changing world.

Beyond music, Yogetsu’s disciplined lifestyle includes martial arts and mindfulness practices, highlighting the importance of physical and mental discipline in maintaining spiritual well-being. His dedication to merging old and new is a valuable lesson for entrepreneurs, illustrating how blending innovation with tradition can create something powerful and relevant for today’s world.

Spirituality as a Layer of Wellness

These monks, each in their own way, remind us that spirituality is not something that stands apart from other aspects of wellness. It is intricately linked with physical health, mental discipline, emotional intelligence, and purpose. As entrepreneurs, we often focus on the tangible—profits, growth, success—but without cultivating the deeper aspects of mental health, we risk burnout and disconnection from what truly drives us.

The spiritual journey, much like entrepreneurship, requires balance, discipline, and an openness to evolve. The music of these monks at the Dragonfly H.E.A.L. Summit 2024 was a poignant reminder of this balance—a fusion of the ancient and the modern, the personal and the universal. In their performances and in their teachings, we find a roadmap for how to integrate spirituality into our lives, offering not just healing, but growth, clarity, and a deeper sense of purpose.

Incorporating spirituality into the entrepreneurial mindset doesn’t mean abandoning ambition—it means fueling it with a sense of meaning that transcends material success. By building a foundation of physical, mental, and emotional discipline, and following your passion, the spiritual layer can emerge, completing the full spectrum of what it means to be a resilient and fulfilled entrepreneur.

Research Contributor: Marisa Yenbamroong