What Meditation Taught Me About Marketing

I started my meditation practice in March 2020. *insert eyeroll here*, I know. Don’t worry, I’ll spare you my holistic meditation manifesto (besides a shout out to Headspace, ilysm). However, after 18 months of daily stillness, daily quiet, I can confidently say I’m a new, better Marketer. 

What do marketing and meditation have in common? Well for starters, finding space to actually think in today’s marketing process is a lot like finding space in your day to meditate. Difficult on good days, near impossible on busy days. As marketers, we are required to create, track, and engage in constant communication. The magic happens when you start to discern when this communication is adding value, and when it’s just noise. 

We’ve all heard the phrase “move fast and break things”, but what if we instead moved with intention and questioned things? We named our strategy practice Hush because we believe listening and learning are the true superpowers in a world, and especially the marketing industry, that typically only pays attention to the loudest voice. Quieting those voices is step one to clarity. To change. To progress. 

Below are a few of my favorite quotes + musings which connect the power of meditation within a marketer’s existence. Please breathe. Please enjoy. 

“There's zero correlation between being the best talker and having the best ideas.”

― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“Curiosity is about listening to the answer when you ask a question. Curiosity involves sitting back, being quiet and listening and watching.” - adrienne maree brown, Pleasure Activism, A Conversation between the Rocca Family and Zizi

“Silence is the foundation of calm and clarity that allows us to hear what others have to say.” - Headspace

"We were quiet because we agreed. We didn’t add anything because we trust each other. Sometimes there’s just nothing to say, and that’s a good thing." - Allison Fendrick, The Hush Collaborative

“I worry that there are people who are put in positions of authority because they're good talkers,...much of a premium on presenting and not enough on substance and critical thinking.”

― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking