351 Take Off Your Shoes and Walk From Corporate To Calm; Ben Feder

Ben Feder is CEO of a large gaming enterprise called Tencent Games and formerly was CEO of Take Two Interactive, the publisher of Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption. In an effort to revitalize his sense of purpose and rebuild family relationships, he dropped everything and left his fast-paced Manhatten life-style to an exotic island for a year of growth, including a new level of mindfulness, meditation, and artistic expression.

Contact Info

• Website: www.BenFederAuthor.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BenFederAuthor/
• Twitter: @BenFederAuthor https://twitter.com/BenFederAuthor

Most Influential Person

•  Eric Langshur, author of 'Start Here'

Effect on Emotions

• They skew much more positively than they used to and are much more optimistic.

Thoughts on Breathing

• Breathing is the center of my mindfulness practice. My mindfulness practice amounts to three things. It's yoga, meditation, and art. In terms of yoga and meditation, [breathing] is integral to the practice, and in terms of art, probably not so much, but I wonder what would happen to my art if I actually incorporated [breathing].

Suggested Resources

• Book: Take Off Your Shoes: One Man's Journey from the Boardroom to Bali and Back By Ben Feder
• Book: Mindfulness In Plain English by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana
• Book: Joyful Wisdom by Rinpoche Youngey Mingyur
• App: 10% Happier, Mindfulness Studio, Headspace

Bullying Story

• My daughter was bullied in school and really suffered terribly. She would come home and either cry or fight with her brothers and we wouldn't know what it was about until towards the end of the evening, when you'd kind of find out what happened in school.
• It oftentimes wasn't anything specific. It was an eye roll from some girl and you know, all of a sudden she became devastated.
• By taking her out of that environment and putting her into an environment where she absolutely flourished, we noticed that she could have a positive experience, so that school was obviously the wrong place for her.
• A few years later, as she's a young adult now, or a teenager. She's just this utterly different human being. It just looks so amazing to watch. I'm sure some of that may have happened anyway, but taking her out of that toxic environment in and of itself was probably a mindful approach.
• So, I don't think you need to like, get up and go to Bali and have that experience, but taking her out of a toxic environment, provided you can put her in an environment that's not toxic, A, is beneficial, and B, it shows her that her parents are paying attention and are concerned and caring and doing the best thing for her.

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