Energy - How Do You Manage Yours? Beware the Energy Vampires - Dandapani

Dandapani is a former Hindu monk, a speaker, and entrepreneur. He works with companies and organizations around the world conducting training through workshops, retreats, and coaching. Dandapani brings a really unique and fascinating perspective into Paper Napkin Wisdom, his focus is on energy. He says: “Everything is energy. Get to know it, understand it & learn to channel it. It’s a great gift to give yourself!”

Be aware of your energy Dandapani talks about how we have a finite amount of energy throughout the day and it is up to us how we spend it. We ought to be conscious of where we spend our energy, he advises. We’re very aware of where we spend our money, we ought to be just as conscious of where we spend our energy. This is a valuable lesson for us as entrepreneurs. We’re a group who are often easily distracted, but we need to practice devoting our focus to one thing and to keeping ourselves conscious of where we spend our energy. As entrepreneurs, we especially need to watch out for energy vampires (people/things that drain energy from us) and invest our energy in people and situations we want to grow and tend to. As he talks about energy and focus, Dandapani explains that there are a myriad of benefits to being conscious of our energy. By conserving and being aware of our energy and focus we forge richer relationships with those around us, we’re more effective, and we teach our bodies to absorb and retain more energy over time. More energy is something we could all use. As entrepreneurs we often try to excuse our distraction as part of our industry, as something that’s unavoidable. Dandapani is firmly opposed to this viewpoint. “You don’t have an excuse to be distracted,” he says. It’s a choice we make, we can make the decision to be focused and stay aware of where we invest our energy or we can make the decision not to.

"You don't have an excuse to be distracted," I am fortunate to have been exposed early to the notion that I was responsible for my energy level- that I could control my mind and place my attention intentionally on things I wanted and that I could gain an advantage in difficult times by doing so. I think I took that for granted for a long time, I certainly stopped making it a deliberate part of each day, but I did count on the strong foundation of energy I had built to carry me through the entrepreneurial roller coaster. Dandapani reminds me that I need to cultivate my energy, guard it, and deploy it so that I can better impact my team in a positive direction consistently and intentionally. Where are you spending your energy? What are you investing your energy in? Listen to my conversation with Dandapani here: