In the past, meditation has been seen as something hippies, spiritual people and Buddhist people do. It is viewed as having no place in the world of business where sitting quietly from between 10-30 minutes a day, doing nothing, is seen more as laziness rather than a way to clear your mind, increase creativity, focus, happiness and productivity. Times-are-a-changing! With the benefits of meditation becoming better known, even entrepreneurs are slowly venturing into quiet corners and sitting in silence. Especially in environments that demand high efficiency, like Google or Facebook, meditation has proven its worth and is fast becoming all the rage in Silicon Valley. Here are 5 entrepreneurs who practice meditation:

Rupert Murdoch, Chairman and CEO, News Corp

One would not usually associate this business tycoon with meditation but a tweet from him revealed that he has been trying Transcendental Meditation developed by Mahesh Yogi in the 60s. He now follows in the footsteps of celebrities like Oprah and David Lynch who also practice Transcendental Meditation.

Brad Feld, VC at Foundry Group, author

Author of books such as Do more Faster and The Startup Life, Brad Feld is a well-known VC in the Startup world. He has begun meditating using phone apps like Calm and Headspace to help him get centered and while he has just started his practice, he has noticed the benefits of meditation in his busy entrepreneurial life.

Arianna Huffington – President, Editor-in-Chief, Huffington Post Media Group

Arianna Huffington has been a long time champion of meditation and describes her practice as her ‘joy trigger’. She has even introduced weekly meditation classes in her company.

Evan Williams, Founder of Blogger, Twitter, Medium

What started off as a passing interest back in his early 20s was later made into an integral part of his life. Evan Williams started meditating again after launching Twitter as a way to sustain high performance. Now he not only has spoken at Wisdom 2.0 but he also regularly hosts meditation and mindfulness classes at his new company Medium.

Jeff Weiner, CEO LinkedIn

Jeff uses meditation as a productivity tool and as a way to boost compassion. He believes in managing compassionately, something he calls his “first principle of management.”

As more and more of the ‘fluff’ surrounding meditation is being stripped off (incense and lotus pose not required), it is making it easier for more people to at least start dabbling in the practice and start reaping its benefits. We hope that seeing this list of people will also inspire you to start your own meditation practice. If you’re on the move a lot, check out some great apps on your smartphone that can help enhance your practice. Have fun!

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