Blog Tour : The Effortless Mind by Will Williams - Q&A

As a part of the blog tour for Will Williams’s book, The Effortless Mind, I had a chat with Will on his book and more about all that work-life balance everyone has been talking about.

About The Effortless Mind

Will Williams has taught thousands of everyday people to meditate with astounding results. Long term sufferers of debilitating conditions including insomnia, depression and anxiety have used Will’s unique form of Beeja meditation to transform their lives.  Others have found a new sense of joy and fulfilment in their lives, and report becoming incredibly productive and creative at work and home.

Supported by scientific research, The Effortless Mind explains how Beeja meditation soothes and calms both the mind and the central nervous system - with fast-acting, tangible results. Each chapter in the book is dedicated to a different problem created in our increasingly pressured and demanding world including addiction, divorce, and work-related stress. Compelling real life stories reveal how Beeja meditation can help overcome these traumatic situations and help improve relationships with both ourselves and others, with chapters on family, anger management, digestion and overeating.

Stories from the book include Nick, a banker and father of two who was admitted to psychiatric hospital for depression. Within two months of learning Will’s technique his anxiety had halved, his medication reduced and a month later he returned to work.  Then there is Mia, a medical researcher who suffered with chronic IBS.  With GPs dismissive and medication ineffective, Will’s meditation course led to results within 72 hours. Mia’s IBS clinic discharged her citing meditation as the catalyst.

Will’s meditation technique is so successful at calming the mind that he has become one of the UK’s leading meditation teachers and experts. Will teaches Beeja meditation to the world’s biggest brands including Google, Microsoft, BBC, Spotify, HSBC, Sony and Universal. His celebrated courses and retreats have taught film stars, musicians, business leaders, royals, politicians and explorers how to use his simple method to increase productivity, release potential and foster creativity.

So, let’s get started!

Describe your book, “The Effortless Mind in three words”.

Surprising, insightful, human.

What was your main inspiration behind writing “The Effortless Mind”? 

I really took inspiration from all the people I’d taught, who’d all managed to find ways of making their life better, in spite of some - at times - pretty heavy circumstances. It made me want to give them a platform to tell their stories and show people just how easy, and how relevant meditation can be. I was then able to use their comments as a launch pad to discuss all those aspects of life and living which we could all do with some help on, so we can better navigate our way better.

How important is it that working adults or anyone with a busy lifestyle have a book like this?

Super important! We are all human, and we are all subject to the same experiences and emotions. And now that life is getting so ridiculously busy, we are all in need of catching our breath and remembering to tune into how to be effective, rather than simply busy.

You moved from being a music industry executive to one of the leading meditation teachers in the UK, what do you wish more people knew at the beginning stages of their career?

Not to get sucked into the idea that once you’ve committed to a pathway, that you must stay on it. Humans have evolved and succeeded precisely because they adapted. And if you don’t adapt, even when deep in your heart you feel you need to, then you run the risk of getting to your deathbed and feeling like you blew it.  Every experience you’ve had can be useful to you in your future life calling.

What does the phrase “sparks joy” remind you of?

It reminds me of the feeling we all have when we let ourselves stop taking life seriously for a moment. My only build on this would be that the more balanced and fresh you feel, the more you find joy becoming ever present in your life, so rather than sparks you end up with floods of it.

Creativity, productivity and potential. How do we balance them?

By balancing our body and our mind. It’s actually amazingly simple. The human nervous system is the most extraordinary instrument. We are purpose built to be able to reach elevated heights of experience, if only we start working with it, rather than against it.

What are some of, in your opinion, the most exciting things about productivity at the moment?

The most exciting aspect of productivity for me, is that it’s possible to be highly productive and have a smile on your face. I’m also really excited about the potential that AI offers - because it will force us to be more creative, more emotionally intelligent and ultimately more human, because it will make being a robotic human totally redundant.

Millennials are huge on work-life balance. Why do you think it matters?

As Alfie once said, ‘if you ain’t got peace of mind, you ain’t got nothin’.

On a similar note, what are practical tips on finding balance at work?

The most practical tip is to prioritise your wellbeing in whatever way that means to you, so you can sustain your output into the long term. Shooting stars are beautiful. But they don’t last long. It’s much more powerful if you can be a north star of your business.

Last but not least, how do you unwind at the end of a long day?

Meditation is the best remedy I’ve found. Once I’ve done 20 minutes at the end of a long day, I’m ready to then make life count, in whatever way that means to me on a given day.

About Will Williams

A former music industry executive and insomnia sufferer, Will discovered meditation after he used it to cure his own chronic insomnia. Will William’s meditation expertise is based on over 11 years’ experience training with renowned meditation masters across the globe. Will teaches classes and courses from his Beeja HQ in London and runs regular weekend retreats across the UK. Will leads a team of Beeja meditation teachers worldwide, and will be opening new centres in Berlin, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles this year. Will founded World Meditation Day which takes place on the 15th of May, and this year will be launching the new BEEJA meditation app. Will is also working with the OECD to introduce meditation to all primary and secondary schools globally by 2030, with a trial initiative rolling out in 2020, with 20 schools in the UK expected to take part.

If you would like to know more about Beeja meditation, please click here.