“You can’t do cool sh*t by doing the same old sh*t,” says serial entrepreneur Miki Agrawal in her best-seller, Disrupt-Her. And ain’t that the truth.
A rebel against the norm, the serial entrepreneur is known to take the most ordinary items—pizza, underwear, and bidets, of all things—and turn them into multi-million dollar businesses.
However, it’s not just about creating products for Miki, no. It’s about sparking a revolution in how we think about our most basic needs and desires.
In her appearance on The Mindvalley Show with Vishen, she shares how disruption is the key to her success, all the while challenging societal taboos and redefining industries. And how you, too, with the right mindset, can take the simplest item to become a tool for radical change.
Watch the entire 33-minute episode:
Who is Miki Agrawal?
Now, if you haven’t heard of Miki Agrawal yet, you soon will. Her “social entrepreneur” title is well deserved—she’s unfollowed the bullsh*t rules of society and gone to create innovations that we honestly didn’t know we needed:
- WILD: A farm-to-table gluten-free pizza concept that offers Miki’s favorite comfort food made with organic, gluten-free flour and sauces, as well as hormone-free cheeses and meats. The great thing is, they honor nature by choosing ingredients that are “harvested with respect to their primitive state.”
- THINX: Breaking the period taboo, THINX is the period-proof underwear that’s out to replace pads, tampons, and cups. They are made with a patented design that absorbs moisture, controls odor, and resists leaking. Plus, they’re washable, so you’re definitely helping out with the environment with this one.
- TUSHY: A modern, affordable bidet to upgrade the American bathroom experience because using toilet paper can lead to health issues as well as deforesting millions of acres. The best part of it is that it’s affordable, easy to install, and is—no sh*t—helping the environment one butt at a time.
These unique business ideas of Miki’s have led to a valuation of $200+ million. (It’s no wonder she’s been called to lend her expertise in her Zero to $100 Million Quest on Mindvalley!)
So if Miki can find things to disrupt, what about you?
3 tips to “disrupt yourself”
“Eureka! This bad boy will make millions!” is probably what comes to mind when a genius idea pops into your head. But disruption isn’t 100% about having successful, innovative businesses like Miki.
It’s about helping the old move away so that something new can come in. It’s about, according to Miki, having “the conviction to just put one foot in front of the other and do something every single day towards the thing you want to do.”
Even if it’s nurturing creativity, finding the next big thing, reinventing oneself, contemplating a career change, starting a business, or what have you, here’s what she suggests you do first:
1. Catch your thoughts and name them
“The first thing that people can do is start just catching the thoughts that come into their heads,” Miki advises. It’s essentially being what she calls the “warrior gatekeeper of your mind.”
For example, you’re considering leaving a stable job to start your own business. A thought creeps in: “What if I fail?”
This is where you catch it and name it—let’s call it “Fearful Fred.” Acknowledge Fearful Fred, but then set him aside for a scheduled time—perhaps for a session with a mentor or a moment of personal reflection. This way, Fearful Fred doesn’t overrun your mind and obstruct your day-to-day productivity and creativity.
So whether it’s overcoming self-doubt, facing fears, or making judgments, acknowledging these thoughts allows you to address them constructively. This process is crucial because it helps prevent negative thoughts from spiraling out of control and allows for a clearer mindset to embrace new ideas and opportunities.
2. Put yourself in a container of playfulness
There’s one powerful word Miki swears by, and that’s “Wow!”
“When you walk around in life just saying ‘wow,’ like a child,” she explains, “you literally see things in a different way.”
Childlike wonder isn’t just a state of mind; it’s an active practice that involves engaging in activities that evoke joy. In fact, a 2005 study shows that when we’re happy and playful, we’re more likely to think creatively and try new things.
The unfortunate thing is, we’re so stuck in this routine of “go to work,” “go do this,” “go do that” that we’ve forgotten how to look around us. However, as Miki points out, “when you get back to your childlike state of curiosity, playfulness, and awe, you can create businesses.”
And that’s exactly how WILD, THINX, and TUSHY came about.
3. Understand the importance of iteration
“We are just taught that being perfect is the most important thing,” says Miki. It’s not. Iteration, actually, is more crucial.
It’s trying something, using your dantian to learn from it, and then making it better. It’s about making small changes, step by step, to improve and grow.
The fact of the matter is, the road to success (whatever you define it to be) is never a straight line. It’s more like a path with twists, turns, and heaps of valuable lessons.
So when you iterate, you give yourself room to shift and grow. And in a rollercoaster of a world, it’s a necessity for progress.
“If we just are focusing on being perfect, we are going to stagnate,” Miki adds. “Iteration is perfection. Stagnation is death.”
Stand up and disrupt
In every area of our lives—whether it’s switching career paths or creating something so genius that people wonder how they could’ve lived without it—disruptive ideas are just waiting to stand out.
As the one and only Miki Agrawal says, “People are interested in challenging the status quo and trying new things. I think people just need to be given the permission to do so.”
At Mindvalley, your permission is granted. You want to unlock the formula for a $100 million (or even more) brand? Want to transform a simple idea into a business sensation?
It’s all here in Miki’s FREE Build the Business of Your Dreams Masterclass, where big, disruptive ideas are welcomed with open arms. And where your big, disruptive ideas are, too.
