Book SummaryThe Buddha and the Badass, by Vishen Lakhiani

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of The Buddha and the Badass

In The Buddha and the Badass, Vishen Lakhiani sheds light on why so many employees dislike their work and why so many modern workplaces fail to adequately support their workers: They buy into hustle culture and the lie that it’s a prerequisite for success. Lakhiani, on the other hand, believes hustle culture is misguided and proposes a different way to go about finding success in work and life: by being both spiritually enlightened—calm, centered, and in tune with yourself—and disruptive: willing to shake things up to make work a fulfilling experience.

When you merge these traits, you transform your company into an unstoppable force, accelerated by passionate, happy employees who believe in your...

The Buddha and the Badass Summary The Problem With Modern Work: Hustle Culture

Lakhiani writes that our vision of success in life is based on false information we’re fed from an early age: that you must work harder than everyone else, that you should try to make as much money as possible, and that your personal life must be sacrificed for your professional life. In other words, to be successful, you must hustle.

(Shortform note: While the belief in hard work may have always been around, [its manifestation as hustle culture only came about during the rise of the tech...

The Buddha and the Badass Summary A Better Way to Work: Be Enlightened and Disruptive

According to Lakhiani, to have success at work and in life, you must shed your belief in “hustle culture” and develop a new, dual approach to work: Be both spiritually enlightened and disruptive of workplace norms. This is what Lakhiani refers to as being both a Buddha and a badass. When you’re both enlightened and disruptive, you work effortlessly—as if it was for fun. You’re also a great team player, excel in your roles, are universally loved, and can handle multiple responsibilities and tasks. You seem to be lucky and in good health and happiness all the time. In short, life and work are easy and enjoyable.

(Shortform note: Lakhiani’s description of an enlightened and disruptive leader might seem idealistic: Can anyone really have such a blessed life? Even if you’re extraordinarily lucky, you’re bound to run into setbacks at some point. Perhaps it would be more realistic to additionally describe an enlightened and disruptive person as being resilient. If you’re resilient, even when you run into inevitable setbacks, you maintain your effortless and positive approach to life by [adapting to and bouncing back from...

The Buddha and the Badass Summary How to Become Spiritually Enlightened

According to Lakhiani, there are two parts to becoming spiritually enlightened. The first part is getting to know yourself well, and the second part is creating a routine that lets you continuously grow spiritually. We’ll look at both in this section.

Find Your Inner Identity: Your Values and Purpose

The most important way you can become spiritually enlightened is by understanding your unique inner identity—what Lakhiani calls your soulprint (like a fingerprint but for your self). Your inner identity is made up of your values and your true purpose, writes Lakhiani. When you understand those aspects of yourself, you can live every day in alignment with them, which will give you the inner peace and contentment of enlightenment.

(Shortform note: In The Untethered Soul, Michael Singer adds that most people don’t understand their inner identities and the values and purpose that make them up. They therefore bounce between conflicting pursuits—perhaps one day feeling they should quit their jobs to pursue their passion for acting, and the next day...

The Buddha and the Badass Summary How to Become Disruptive

Now that you know how to move toward spiritual enlightenment, let’s look at the other side of the coin: how to be disruptive. Again, this means building a revolutionary workplace in which people can grow, feel important and valued, develop friendships, and contribute to meaningful work. This type of workplace stands in stark contrast to most other modern work environments, states Lakhiani. There are three parts to being a disruptive leader.

Set Your Company’s Values and Use Them to Attract the Right Team

The first step of setting up a disruptive business is to define the company’s values, which are based on your personal values. You must do this because when your company has clearly defined values, applicants who have the same values and the ability to bring them to life will want to work for you. And when your company is composed of people with shared values, it’s far more likely to succeed.

(Shortform note: Some disagree with Lakhiani’s belief in the power of value statements. While corporate value statements may paint a pleasant picture of the company, often, [the pressure to maximize profit wins...

The Buddha and the Badass Summary How to Merge Spiritual Enlightenment With Disruption

Now that you know how to separately be enlightened and disruptive, let’s look at how to merge enlightenment and disruptiveness in the workplace to turn work into an enjoyable and fulfilling pursuit for you and your employees.

Develop a Mission and Rally Employees Behind It

To merge enlightenment with disruption, Lakhiani advises that you develop a mission to improve the world that will keep employees motivated. People naturally need missions to fuel their efforts. Without a mission, they have no reason to care about what they’re doing.

This mission should specifically be aimed at positively impacting others. Ask yourself how you can help humanity through what you’re doing—perhaps by providing affordable, sustainable clothing to people around the world. State your mission clearly so both applicants and consumers see what you stand for. Lakhiani notes consumers also expect companies to develop social and political perspectives and to act on those perspectives, so stating your mission is important commercially, as well.

Encouraging Different Interpretations of Your Mission

Others agree that every company should have a mission to motivate employees, but in...

Shortform Exercise: Uncover Your Inner Identity, Values, and Purpose

Determine your inner identity, values, and purpose to start leading a more spiritually enlightened life.

Clarify your inner identity by listing eight to 12 important experiences you’ve had in your life. These should be events that significantly changed you or the way you see the world. They can be both positive and negative events, though, according to Lakhiani, negative events usually come with more personal growth and learning.