He is an East Coast Ivy League senior this term. This past summer he was intern with an investment firm in Asia. As he lived with me for nearly ten weeks, I came to understand the potential makings of a Millennial Leader.

 He was willing to be up and running at the crack of dawn and drag himself home late into the night, only to repeat the process each day. And prepare for it each weekend. This told me he had staying power to learn and deliver on his commitments.

But more than that were the brief conversations in between that shed light on a unique approach to Mindful Self-Leadership – a blend of Western Psychology and Eastern Philosophy.

He tells me that at the age of fifteen he had five goals:

Goal 1: To study in and graduate from a reputable US school, which he did.

Goal 2: To gain entry into an Ivy League college and study business. He did. 

Goal 3: To have the opportunity to intern with a firm in Wall Street. He did that, too.

Goal 4: To have the opportunity to intern with a financial institution in Asia. He has just completed that.

So, he had achieved four out of his five goals thus far.

But what of his fifth goal? Therein lay the gem of discovery for me.

He plans to enter a monastery for a period after graduation in 2016, and learn about Mindful Self-Leadership. And what did he hope to learn, I asked?

His hope is to learn about Mindful Self Leadership through two specific actions: 

1. By giving up all his gadgets he would learn about Non-Attachment.
2. By having to beg for his daily ration, he would learn about Humility.

There was more to this young man than his charm and affable demeanor. He had the insights to recognize and acknowledge that the challenges for the leaders of tomorrow cannot be addressed with the leadership style of today.

How many organizations would want this young man for a leader? How can organizations engage their employees to aspire towards Mindful Self Leadership?