Jesse Israel
Jesse Israel, co-creator of MediClub, discusses his journey from a record label founder to building a meditation community for young adults. He shares how meditation helped him manage stress and follow his intuition.
Deep Dive Analysis
15 Topic Outline
Meditation's Growing Popularity Among Young People
Jesse Israel's Journey: From Record Label to Meditation
Early Meditation Practice: Shambhala Technique and Habit Formation
Transition to Vedic Meditation and Its Transformative Impact
Leaving the Record Label to Pursue Purpose
Community Organizing: Cheeseburger Club and Bike Club
Founding MediClub: The Call to Action and First Gathering
MediClub's Structure: Monthly Gatherings, Circles, and Big Quiet
The Business Model and Financial Sustainability of MediClub
Navigating Entrepreneurial Challenges and Lifestyle Changes
Vision for Global Expansion and Maintaining Intimacy
Generational Differences: Earnestness vs. Irony in Communication
MediClub's Practice Agnosticism and Life Relevance
Personal Meditation Goals and the Concept of Enlightenment
The Impact of Vulnerability in Public Storytelling
3 Key Concepts
The Habit Loop
A framework for building habits, consisting of three parts: a cue, a routine, and a reward. Identifying these components allows individuals to consciously build or change habits, as demonstrated by Jesse in his meditation practice.
Comparing Mind
A Buddhist concept referring to the tendency to compare oneself to others. This mental habit can be very painful and is often a waste of energy, though a small amount can be motivating if managed with mindfulness.
Millennial Authenticity
A generational trait characterized by a drive for purpose and mission, a willingness to speak vulnerably, and a high value placed on authenticity and transparency. This approach to communication allows for heartfelt expression but can sometimes alienate those with different mindsets.
9 Questions Answered
Jesse started meditating in his early 20s to manage the overwhelming stress of running a record label full-time while also being a student, seeking tools to cope with the high-pressure environment.
Jesse first learned an eyes-open meditation technique at the Shambhala Institute, which involved sitting upright without back support, gazing down with a soft gaze, and bringing attention to the breath.
While Shambhala instantly provided relaxation and reduced reactivity, Vedic meditation, practiced over a longer period, has slowly stripped stress out of his body, leading to a clearer channel to his intuition and easier decision-making based on what feels right.
Jesse left his record label because his intuition, strengthened by meditation, told him it was time to move on, despite all logical reasons pointing to staying. He felt he was meant to do something else, even without a clear plan.
Jesse sustains himself through a side video production business he started in college, a part-time salary from MediClub/Big Quiet event revenue, and by adjusting his lifestyle, including moving to an apartment with roommates to reduce expenses.
Jesse believes it is, explaining that MediClub events are more than just meditation; they involve taking over spaces, booking talent, and creating cultural experiences. He found that not charging prevented scaling and doing the work in the way they envisioned, while also offering tiered pricing to accommodate different means.
Jesse's grand vision is for MediClub, Circles, and Big Quiets to be happening in every major city globally, scaling to large venues like Madison Square Garden while simultaneously maintaining intimacy through small, 10-person peer-to-peer support circles.
No, Jesse does not have a goal of 'enlightenment' for his practice, viewing the term as confused and misrepresented. He was taught that whatever happens during practice, whether thinking or feeling 'deep,' is perfect as long as he is sitting down and practicing.
Dan believes his vulnerability, discussing panic attacks, depression, anxiety, and drug abuse, resonated with some readers. However, he also realized that people primarily cared about the usefulness of his message rather than his personal story, which was a liberating realization.
29 Actionable Insights
1. Implement a Habit Loop
To build new habits, identify a ‘cue’ (e.g., leaving the bathroom), establish a ‘routine’ (e.g., 3 minutes of meditation), and create a ‘reward’ (e.g., tracking progress in an app) to reinforce the behavior.
2. Build Meditation Habit Gradually
Start a meditation practice with a realistic, short duration (e.g., 3 minutes daily) and gradually increase the time as the habit solidifies, eventually reaching longer sessions like 10 or 30 minutes.
3. Practice Vedic Meditation
To slowly strip stress from your body and improve intuition, practice Vedic meditation by sitting comfortably with eyes closed, gently and effortlessly repeating a mantra, and returning to it when thoughts arise.
4. Practice Shambhala Meditation
For immediate relaxation and reduced reactivity, practice Shambhala meditation by sitting upright with eyes open, gazing softly downwards, and bringing attention to your breath for about 10 minutes.
5. Trust Your Intuition
Make decisions based on what ‘feels right’ or your gut intuition, even if logical reasons are not immediately apparent, as this can lead to powerful life changes.
6. Drop Comparison Mindset
Avoid the ‘comparison story’ with peers and focus on your own unique path, as constant comparison can lead to ‘instant torture’ and distract from personal growth.
7. Mindful Comparison
Use mindfulness to draw the line between useful comparison (which can be motivating) and useless comparison (which is painful and wasted energy), recognizing when it becomes unproductive.
8. Embrace Public Vulnerability
Share your personal struggles and vulnerabilities publicly, as this can inspire others, foster deep connection, and help people relate to your message.
9. Focus on Usefulness
When creating or communicating, prioritize delivering something genuinely useful to others rather than being burdened by narcissistic self-obsession or worrying about what people think of you.
10. Speak From Your Heart
In difficult conversations or transitions, speak from your heart; people tend to respect this, even if the message is challenging or emotional.
11. Ask About Your Gifts
When uncertain about your next steps or career, ask trusted people what they perceive your greatest gifts or abilities to be, to generate new ideas and directions.
12. Adjust Lifestyle for Passions
To pursue passion projects or new ventures, be willing to adjust your lifestyle, such as moving to a more affordable living situation, to free up resources and time.
13. Combine Passions & Leadership
Identify your passions (e.g., meditation) and combine them with your leadership or community-organizing abilities to create meaningful initiatives and shared experiences.
14. Create Safe Conversation Spaces
Organize gatherings that not only share an activity (like meditation) but also ‘hold space’ for safe, vulnerable conversations about real-life challenges (e.g., relationships, money, career).
15. Integrate Intimate & Large Groups
When building a community, combine large-scale events that create mass connection with smaller, intimate peer-to-peer support groups to maintain depth and personal connection as you grow.
16. Stay True to Vision
When creating something, stand for what you believe in and stay true to your vision, even if it means not appealing to everybody or facing criticism; trying to please everyone can lead to mediocrity.
17. Meet People Where They’re At
Practice emotional intelligence in communication by understanding where others are coming from and adjusting your communication style to stay in sync, without alienating them with overly earnest or specific language.
18. Balance Authenticity & Approachability
Strive for a balance between being authentic and being approachable, ensuring your communication and initiatives are genuine without pushing people away with excessive earnestness or niche styles.
19. Make Meditation Relevant
Connect meditation practice to active and important areas of people’s lives, such as creativity, sex, relationships, money, and career purpose, to increase engagement and perceived value.
20. Meditate for Life Areas
Utilize meditation to enhance various components of your life, including improving your role as a lover, partner (romantic and business), and a creative person, leading to clearer decision-making.
21. Practice Without Enlightenment Goal
Approach your meditation practice without a specific goal like ’enlightenment,’ instead focusing on consistent sitting, trusting that ‘whatever happens is perfect,’ even if you’re thinking or experiencing plateaus.
22. Start Interest-Based Clubs
Create community and connection by starting clubs based on shared interests (e.g., cheeseburgers, biking), which can evolve into support groups or larger movements.
23. Lend Purpose to Projects
Look for ways to lend more purpose to your side projects and passions, such as turning a bike club into a bike share program for students in need, to increase meaning and impact.
24. Offer Beginner Meditation Technique
When hosting group meditation events, provide a simple, short technique (e.g., 4 minutes) for newcomers who may have never meditated before, to ensure they have a positive initial experience.
25. Encourage Practice Exploration
Foster a community where participants are encouraged to explore different meditation techniques, talk to others about their practices, and utilize diverse resources to find what works best for them.
26. Implement Tiered Event Pricing
For events or community gatherings, offer tiered pricing with varying contribution levels to accommodate different financial means, making participation accessible while supporting growth.
27. Refine Locally Before Scaling
Before expanding a concept globally, focus on refining, testing, and iterating it successfully in one location (e.g., a specific city) to ensure a strong foundation for broader reach.
28. Use Interactive Group Elements
In group settings, incorporate interactive elements like ‘make your own handshake’ or ‘snap instead of clap’ to break people out of their routines, loosen them up, and foster connection.
29. Join a Mindfulness Club
Seek out or join existing mindfulness clubs or groups in your community to practice meditation with like-minded people and build a consistent routine.
5 Key Quotes
I'm 30. I stay out late and party. I start my own businesses. I use emojis and ride a skateboard. I go through a lot of breakups. I travel a ton. I get exhausted. I get excited. I get sad. I get inspired and I meditate twice a day.
Jesse Israel
So I'm able to follow my intuition and, um, uh, and feeling into that has been one of the most powerful kind of components to the way I live my life and the way that I make decisions in my life.
Jesse Israel
And the emails that used to come in, like the bad emails that kind of get you in the stomach, weren't really getting me in the stomach as much. I was kind of like, oh, you know, it was like bad news, good news, just news.
Jesse Israel
If you're willing to really stand for something and do it in the way that you believe in, you can have a real impact, but you may not – it may not appeal to everybody.
Jesse Israel
What people cared about was what do you, Harris, have for me that could be potentially useful? And that was actually hugely liberating because I don't know walking around under the false impression that people really care about me.
Dan Harris
4 Protocols
Building a Meditation Habit (Jesse Israel's Method)
Jesse Israel- Identify a cue: For Jesse, this was leaving the bathroom every morning.
- Establish a routine: Immediately sit down for three minutes and practice the Shambhala technique.
- Implement a reward: Use an app (like 'Chains') to tally daily practice, creating a visual chain of consistency.
- Gradually increase duration: After about a month of three-minute sessions, extend the practice to 10 minutes, then eventually to 30 minutes daily as the body naturally desires it.
Shambhala Meditation Technique (as practiced by Jesse Israel)
Jesse Israel- Sit upright without back support.
- Gaze down at the ground with a soft gaze.
- Bring your attention to your breath.
- Practice for approximately 10 minutes (as initially suggested).
Vedic Meditation Technique
Jesse Israel- Sit comfortably with back support.
- Close your eyes.
- Gently and effortlessly repeat a mantra (specific to the student).
- If thoughts arise, acknowledge them without judgment and gently return your attention to the mantra.
- Learn the specific rhythm and technique through a dedicated course.
MediClub Gathering Structure
Jesse Israel- Gather together for a group meditation session.
- Hold space for safe, vulnerable conversations among attendees.
- Discuss relevant life topics such as sex, dating, relationships, money, career purpose, and social media comparison.