Chapter 35, Part 5: What Plant Medicine Taught Me About Business Strategy
Some of the most profound lessons I've learned about business strategy didn't come from a business book. They came from experiences that forced me to slow down, get honest, and look at myself differently. My work with plant medicine has been one part of that journey. I'm not suggesting that plant medicine is a business strategy—or that a psychedelic experience will magically tell you how to run your company. What it can do, when approached intentionally and integrated thoughtfully, is create an opportunity to see yourself, your patterns, and your life from a different perspective.
One of the biggest lessons I've taken from those experiences is this: you can't strategize your way out of an identity that no longer fits. Entrepreneurs often think they have a business problem when they actually have an identity problem. Maybe you're trying to grow a business that belongs to an older version of you. Maybe you're holding onto an offer because it worked two years ago. Maybe you're chasing revenue because you haven't stopped to ask what the money is actually for. Strategy requires looking honestly at what is—and being willing to let go of what no longer is.
Another lesson is the difference between information and integration. You can have an incredible insight and still wake up the next morning living exactly the same way. The same thing happens in business. You can read every strategy book, take every course, attend every networking event, and collect an impressive amount of information without actually changing how you make decisions. Real transformation happens when insight becomes action. What do you need to stop doing? What conversation needs to happen? What offer needs to change? What boundary needs to be created? What number finally needs to be looked at?
This is actually one of the reasons I love the intersection of spirituality and strategy. I'm interested in the place where inner transformation meets practical action. Your intuition matters. Your values matter. Your vision matters. But so do your numbers, your customers, your pricing, your cash flow, and your strategy. I don't believe you have to choose between being deeply spiritual and being incredibly practical. In fact, I think the most powerful businesses are often built when those two worlds finally start talking to each other.