What did Steve Jobs, George Harrison and Gandhi Have in Common?
Frank Fitzpatrick 10/27/2020
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The three visionaries were all shaped by the life and teachings of another cultural disruptor, businessman and visionary leader named Paramahamsa Yogananda.
“The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”
—Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs, Tech Visionary, Apple Cofounder (1955–2011)
The one book Steve Jobs had on his iPad was Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi.
He found its teachings so meaningful to his life that he made sure the book was gifted to every guest who attended his memorial service (preorchestrated by Jobs himself).
Salesforce Founder Marc Benioff, who started his career as an intern for Jobs, was in attendance that day. Benioff was not surprised by his friend’s parting gesture.
In a 2013 interview, he told Crunchfund’s Michael Arrington that Apple and others had failed to appreciate the spiritual side of Steve Jobs. “He had the ability to see the future and inspire it in others,” said Benioff.
His favorite book, Autobiography of a Yogi played no small part in Jobs developing his abilities.
Beyond the science, spiritual philosophy, and disciplined practices of yoga and meditation, Yogananda taught that business success was dependent upon developing one’s intuitive capacity.
“Most of you have had the feeling that you could be great and do great things,
but because you have lacked intuitive power,
that potential has, for the most part, remained dormant.
To progress and avoid the misery of mistakes,
you have to find what is the truth in everything …
In your relationships with others, in your business,
in your married life, in every part of your life, intuition is essential.”
—Paramahansa Yogananda, Autobiography of a Yogi
This deep connection to truth and intuition resonated with Jobs, who had become one of the world’s most inspired entrepreneurs.
“Give me love. Give me love. Give me peace on earth.”
—George Harrison, from Living in the Material World
George Harrison, Musical Icon, Beatle (1943–2001)
Autobiography of a Yogi was one of George Harrison’s essential travel companions on his life-changing journey to India in 1966.
Through the music he created afterward, and by incorporating traditional mantras, he brought the ancient wisdom of India to global pop audiences.
During his visits to Los Angeles, George would spend time at Yogananda’s Self-Realization Fellowship in Encinitas, California, near the home of his friend and musical collaborator Ravi Shankar.
Before he passed, he planned for proceeds from the 2002 reissue of his 1970 hit song “My Sweet Lord” to support the Self-Realization Fellowship and the teachings that shaped his life.
“Most people think when the world gets itself together we’ll all be okay.
I don’t see that situation arriving. I think, one by one, we all free ourselves
from the chains we have chained ourselves to.”
—George Harrison, at a Los Angeles press conference in 1974
Mahatma Gandhi, Historical Legend, Nonviolent Freedom Fighter (1869–1948)
You might say Yogananda was Gandhi’s yoga teacher. Yogananda first initiated Gandhi into Kriya Yoga in Wardha, India in 1935. The two remained good friends until Gandhi passed in 1948.
In 1950, Yogananda built a monument at his Lake Shrine Temple and Garden in Pacific Palisades, California. It is one of only two places, other than the sacred rivers of India, that remain home to Gandhi’s ashes.
Today the Lake Shrine is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Yogananda coming to America (October 1920) and bringing the ancient wisdom, science, and practices of India to the West.
If you had the privilege of visiting the Lake Shrine this month, you would have been greeted with a photo of Gandhi underscored by his words and the two leaders’ shared belief:
“The golden way is to be friends with the world.”
—Mahatma Gandhi
What We Can Learn from Them
The word yoga means union.
The practices of yoga, mindfulness, and meditation help us settle the unrest within our minds, tune out relentless noise stealing our attention, and reunite with that inner voice of truth and intuition.
While some of you reading this may not know of, or care about, the life and teachings of Paramahamsa Yogananda, there is little doubt you’ve been influenced by one of the aforementioned icons.
The core message they all shared is one leaders and entrepreneurs can learn from and apply today:
Become self-actualized, do something great, and make the world a better place for everyone.
Answers in the Midst of Chaos
Like the founders of our country, Yogananda was a revolutionary. The practices he taught are not religious dogma nor limited to any class or belief. He combined ancient wisdom with proven science, and spoke equally to Christians and Hindus, to atheists and spiritualists, and to politicians and industrialists.
In the face of great opposition, he worked tirelessly to help each of us self-actualize as humans, to love and respect our planet, and to embrace our responsibility as an inseparable part of a global interconnected family and collective body known as humanity.
Today, in the midst of political chaos, an environmental and human health crisis, and a lingering mental-health pandemic, we are seeing many of these practices scale through new technologies and from unprecedented consumer demand for balance, meaning, and well-being.
Technology Alone Is Not Enough
Advances in digital technology will continue to introduce millions more to the practices of meditation and mindfulness and to help us communicate in new ways with our friends and family across the globe.
Hearables will further transform how we experience the world and enhance our ability to take charge of our well-being and potential.
While two of the most powerful forces in the world today — technology and media — can help us, they can also greatly undermine our potential to hear that voice and, in doing so, keep us from the truth.
We need a more powerful force — one that embraces and celebrates our common humanity.
It is ultimately our shared values, our respect for one another, the stories we tell, and our ability to listen to the voice of our own intuition, however, that will truly transform our world — inside and out.
Leadership and Politics
We are only a week away from one of the most important elections in recent history. Even beyond its significance for the future of our country, our businesses, and our families, it is a critical moment for the world and the future of humanity.
The world looks to us and is severely impacted by our actions. We are more intricately connected than ever before in history.
As a nation, we cannot collectively evolve as humans if we let political division and profits without integrity define who we are.
As global citizens, we will not survive the challenges we are facing unilaterally.
Business as usual, even with the best technology, will no longer do.
“An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.”
—Mahatma Gandhi
Tough Choices and Core Values
As Americans, we get to vote. It is a great privilege and a tremendous responsibility. That responsibility raises a few questions:
Can we transform the way we do business, reprogram our media, and elect our future leaders from a place that rises above race, greed, and political rhetoric?
Do we have the humility to undo the damage we have done — to embrace a global community and move from unilateralism to unity, from false protectionism to shared abundance?
Is each of us willing to do the inner work and show up as leaders and exemplars for truth, compassion, and inclusion at any cost?
Co-creating a Better Future — Together
We have the power and the resources to restore and rebuild America in the vision that Yogananda, Steve Jobs, George Harrison, Gandhi, and our forefathers all shared.
Together, we can stand united in those core values upon which America was built:
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all.
Together, we can rebuild a broken world, so our children — and all children —
can experience a healthier, more peaceful, and more deeply connected future.
We owe it to them — to the trailblazers of the past and the young leaders of tomorrow.
The world is watching.
The choice is ours.
The time is now.
Think Different. Act accordingly.
Note: If you would like to learn more about the life of Paramahamsa Yoginanda, there is a great documentary on his life called Awake.
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About the Author
Frank Fitzpatrick is a Creative Visioneer, Engagement Expert and High-Performance Coach on the Faculty of Singularity University’s Exponential Medicine.
To connect, go to FrankFitzpatrick.com
To learn more about working 1-on1 with Frank, go to BeyondPerformance.Life
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