What if the biggest growth hack isn’t doing more, but seeing differently?
Happy Sunday, Reader
So... over the last 16 months,
I read just about 141 books on spirituality and business
...just to realise they are the same thing.
Before I get into this I just want to share that I have opened 2 more spots to apply for my 1:1 work. (this has been closed since april)
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This is for founders/creators/profressionals who are already established - but need guidance getting to that next level.
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Seekers
There’s a certain sect of people,
probably like yourself if you’re reading this, that I like to call ‘seekers’
You have this thirst for knowledge,
you want to consume from the greats and discover new ways to understand life
And rightly so…
But I’m going to explain to you how finding the connections that others miss will give you a unique edge,
and I’ll give you the secret to how I did exactly this
to blow up my growth so you can too…
Having spent the last decade being a seeker,
I now understand that wisdom is like a circle
Ideas you are first introduced to at the beginning of your journey
Seem to loop back on you as you get deeper in,
only later you understand it with more depth
We like to think that the answers we’re looking for will be in some crazy, complex hidden scroll from 12,000 years ago…
But in actuality, the same lessons and answers exist today,
just in new shapes and forms.
So the secret is, being able to see the connective tissue between the two,
to see the parallels in seemingly opposite ways of life.
What does the Monk in the Mountains and the Founder in Silicon Valley have in common?
More than you realize.
“Entrepreneurship is just a personal growth engine in disguise”
I read this when I was 19 or so and it changed the way I looked at business entirely.
I realized, that business wasn’t solely for the pursuit of money,
I mean obviously to some extent,
but mainly for the pursuit of yourself and who you want to become.
In one way or another,
eventually you want to build what helps you find meaning in the world.
This is no different from the spiritual journey.
Everyone is seeking meaning, purpose and clarity.
Business just provides the vehicle to do that.
Am I saying you have to be a business owner to reach enlightenment or feel fulfilled?
Not at all
But I am saying that, at its core, business is about service
and spirituality is also about service...
And most founders I know or work with 1-1,
who understand this concept seem to have an edge.
(Look into why Steve Jobs would often retreat to India for long meditations…)
It’s like a cheat code, to know
that what you’re working on, is also working on you.
There’s a book called “The Hero with a Thousand Faces “
by Joseph Campbell and essentially it showed me that all myths or stories
across cultures share a common structure called the “Hero’s Journey”
a universal pattern of transformation where an ordinary person is called to adventure, faces trials, overcomes inner and outer challenges
and returns changed, bearing a gift for the world.
Think about the story of Christ
Or the story of Prometheus
Don’t they to some extent mirror the stories of business leaders today?
Or even look at your own life -
you are on your own individual hero’s journey.
And by reading countless books on spirituality like the untethered soul, the power of now, the Tao Te Ching…
And comparing them with the countless business books like - Shoe dog, zero to one, start with why...
I can see this pattern unfold time and time again
Whether it’s the story about the mystic like in the alchemist
Or it’s the real story of the founder like Charlie Munger
The themes, and lessons can be extrapolated across all fields,
if you’re willing to open your mind up to that.
Whether it’s Buddha under a tree or a founder building from rock bottom,
the journey is the same:
leave comfort, face chaos, transform, return with wisdom.
The problem is, we are conditioned into thinking that things are one way or the other, black or white...
When in reality, it’s all interconnected.
When you close yourself off to learning from different perspectives,
you also create a ceiling on your growth.
I know founders who write off spirituality as some woo-woo worldview that won’t serve them...
And I don’t blame them for thinking that way,
there are a lot of negative connotations with spirituality…
And I also know those who are deep on the journey of spirituality
who think business is about greed, evil and exploitation
but what if I told you the magic happens in the integration?
It’s how I was able to build a 7 figure business at 21,
it’s how I’ve helped countless founders navigate on their journey...
Anyway, my point is, you don’t have to read all the books like I have…
The secret to exponential growth is,
allowing yourself to learn from everyone and everything.
But that means letting go of your ego,
it means dropping your judgment,
it means reading between the lines.
My brand that I am building, untethrd,
literally means to un-tether yourself from the norm
“Break the loop” sometimes means breaking out of your world entirely, to see with new eyes.
But 99% of people aren’t willing to do that, to the 1% that do,
they experience not only the outer growth they’re looking for,
but the inner fulfillment too.
I can’t tell you how many founders I personally know,
have worked with, or have read about, that have hit this wall
because they were programmed to chase this external goal,
without ever acknowledging their internal ones.
The entrepreneur life cycle goes like this:
- Set an external goal (money, exit, status)
- Build and chase it relentlessly
- Achieve it (this is rare in itself)
- Feel empty
- Start soul searching
- Begin building something new, but this time, from alignment and acknowledging what was in front of you the entire time.
How do I know this?
I know, because I’ve lived it.
I opened a restaurant in central London at 23,
and the 18 month build up, as stressful as it was,
was better than the actual running of it.
What I thought I was seeking, wasn’t there, apart from a little bit of status.
The exit of that presented me with my ‘soul searching’ phase,
which lead me to what I do right now.
That soul searching phase is where I dove into the depths of spirituality
trying to understand the deeper reasons behind why we’re here
And to my surprise,
I found that same lessons that I had read about before,
just presented in a new way,
I’ll give you 5 quick examples:
Business taught me to not focus on the results, but refine the process and improve upon the product to provide the best service
Spirituality taught me that detachment from the outcome is how you navigate through life storms
Business taught me that the only lever I need to pull to make progress is my focused attention
Spirituality taught me that awareness of the present moment is the secret to advancement and living in flow
Business: The best companies solve real problems and are passionate about what they do.
Spirituality: Live in dharma (your purpose), not ego.
Business: Mindset precedes execution. Identity drives strategy.
Spirituality: As within, so without. Reality mirrors consciousness.
I could go on… these truths are everywhere, and are timeless.
Whether it’s in the Gita, the Bible, in stoicism, in scaling a startup, or in selling a product…
Once you’ve been around the block, you realize:
It’s the same lessons in different wrapping paper.
So you might be thinking, well then...
Where’s the best place to look to learn and progress?
hen you come to the understanding that there are no new truths or ideas,
That the same universal laws and principles have carried throughout time
And are just packed in different ways, with different messengers
(including me)
Then you just have to find what resonates with you most and go all in…
Your inner make up is different to mine,
which means different things will speak to you
We’re all learning the same lessons from different points of view.
But here’s the secret sauce that will get you ahead of most people
Integration of the Inner and Outer
I think Steve Jobs embodied this philosophy perfectly
He did the spiritual work as well as the physical work and fused the two to create from a place that was truly unique
Apple wasn’t built just with tech, it was built on intuition, elegance, presence, and silence.
His mentors weren’t just engineers, they were spiritual thinkers, Zen teachers, and yogic texts.
He once said:
“The best ideas come from the quiet mind.”
He designed a life and company that reflected these principles multi-dimensionally, because he understood both worlds.
But was he perfect? Far from it
In fact, it was well documented that he was not a good person, and not many people liked him
But true wisdom and learning from others is about taking the good and discarding the bad…
So, what I’ve learnt from reading all of these books has been this...
The only separation that exists is in our mind.
We’re taught that things can either be red or blue,
but in reality both colors exist on the same palette.
I could have titled this letter
“I read 141 books on everything, and it’s all the same”
From spiritual awakenings to business breakthroughs,
none of it is separate, as long as you’re willing to seek the thread
It’s all just different expressions of the same journey and energy
And when you truly understand that,
you stop compartmentalizing your life…
And start living it with deeper clarity, alignment, and purpose.
That’s the edge.
Not just building something great,
but becoming someone greater in the process.
I once read that the sinner and the saint exchange notes.
The saint has sinned, and the sinner shall be sanctified one day.
Meaning we’re all interconnected, wearing different masks.
What we judge as”good” or “bad” are just different expressions of the same fundamental energy.
The same is true with everything else that we separate.
And again, I’ve spent years learning how to bridge these worlds
Not just for myself, but for the clients I guide every day.
If this resonates…
If you’re tired of being split in two
If you’re ready to build something real, from a place that’s real
Then I’d love to help you navigate that next phase.
Tap the link — if you’re ready, you’ll know.
But otherwise I’ll leave you with this
Whilst you’re on your hero’s journey.
And the more you chase answers outside of yourself, the more you’ll realise
you’re not actually trying to find something new…
You’re trying to remember what you already know.
The right words, the right messenger, the right timing
that’s what makes it click.
That’s what makes it land.
And maybe, maybe, that’s why you’re here right now.
I still urge you to seek, and find answers, I still read these books daily
But the truths you are looking for are revealed through experiences,
So experience more, build more, and create more
And the answers you're looking for will reveal themselves to you.
P.S - If you're ready to accelerate through to the next level, here are some other ways I can help you...🔮
Until next time,
Milan | Untethrd
