With almost 2.5 million students, “Be Extraordinary” is one of the most popular courses on Mindvalley. This self development course is led by the CEO and founder of Mindvalley, the Malaysian EdTech maverick Vishen Lakhiani.
“Be Extraordinary” encapsulates wisdom and practical self development exercises Lakhiani has gathered from his decades-long studies on spiritual development, self-mastery, and transformational education.
Looking at the testimonials of this program, my expectations for the class instantly shot sky-high. For example, Bianca Andreescu is a fan of Mindvalley and also a graduate of the “Be Extraordinary” program. For those of you not into sports, know that Bianca is the surprise winner of the 2019 US Open, one of the most important annual tennis events in the world.
In this review of Be Extraordinary Mindvalley Quest, I will be reviewing my experiences as a student of this online course.
Here is a short guide on all topics covered in this Be Extraordinary review:
Table of Contents
What is the "Be Extraordinary" Mindvalley Quest about?
In broad terms, Be Extraordinary is about restarting your entire view of the world and “taking the red pill”. “The Matrix” reference was not random, by the way. Vishen Lakhiani is a huge fan of the movie and even named his son after the main character, Neo.
For those of you unfamiliar with the cult classic “The Matrix”, here’s a quickie. In the movie, the character Neo was asked to choose between two pills – blue and red. The blue pill would let Neo stay in ignorant bliss – never truly understanding the world he lives in. The red pill, on the other hand, would create a dramatical transformation within Neo’s mind, enabling him to truly see, experience, and understand the world he has been living in his whole life. But, there would be no going back once he had taken the red pill. The change would be permanent.
Here’s how the scene looked on the big screen:
In his online course “Be Extraordinary”, Vishen Lakhiani has a similar, although slightly less dramatic view on mind transformation. Lakhiani firmly believes that a radical shift in consciousness is the key to achieving ultimate success in life. The shift in mindset should be quick and transformative – the “red pill”.
Before we proceed, have a look at the following illustration of 4 levels of consciousness:
Lakhiani believes that most humans operate at level 1, following the rules of what he calls “culturescape”. Culturescape is a set of limiting beliefs stemming from our cultural environment, conditioning from our childhoods, and popular opinion. Most of us never question our culturescape. Thus, we unknowingly set limits to reaching our full potential in our personal and professional lives.
Allow me to give you some examples of my own limiting beliefs uncovered thanks to Be Extraordinary:
- Spiritual practices such as meditation and mindfulness have no place in the business world
- Prioritizing monetary success is amoral
- Dressing well is not for introverts
- A university degree is essential for succeeding in the world
- Intelligence is a fixed characteristic
Of course, most of us are not consciously aware of beliefs such as this. But, holding on to self-set limitations is quite dangerous. It can hold us back from going for the life we truly desire.
In Be Extraordinary, Vishen will teach you how to start elevating your level of consciousness. What does this process look like?
Lakhiani believes in elevating personal consciousness through a structured, easy-to-follow system of learning. This is also why this Mindvalley Quest has gone through numerous revisions over the years.
According to Mindvalley fans and personal growth enthusiasts, the current version is thus far the best and most accessible of all Vishen Lakhiani’s self development programs.
For those of you unfamiliar to Vishen Lakhiani, allow me to quickly introduce you to the mastermind behind Mindvalley.
Who is Vishen Lakhiani?
Vishen Lakhiani is the founder and CEO of Mindvalley, one of the leading online learning platforms in the world. In addition to his work with Mindvalley, Lakhiani has also made a considerable mark as an activist, a public speaker, and an author.
If you are interested in his literary work, I suggest reading his best-selling “The Code of the Extraordinary Mind”.
As I mentioned, Vishen is also a very inspiring speaker. To see what I’m talking about, check out this 4-minute clip. In this clip, Vishen compares traditional learning with transformation. It is a splendid introduction to the mission statement of Vishen Lakhiani and Mindvalley in general.
As you saw in the video, Lakhiani is an innovator in the purest sense of the term. He believes that spiritual practices coupled with the latest science are the key to redefining education, relationships, business, and parenting.
Of course, transforming humanity is not something one can do solo. Over the years, he has expanded Mindvalley into an international team of 300. Plus, the company frequently cooperates with some of the worlds leading minds on business, culture, relationships, and spirituality.
How does the Be Extraordinary Quest work?
The Be Extraordinary Quest is structured to slowly elevate the consciousness levels of its students. It does so by following the standard course template of Mindvalley.
You will attend a daily video lesson with Vishen, which will take anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes. These video lessons are a summarization of Vishen’s decades-long work in spirituality and personal growth.
The lessons of Be Extraordinary are split into 9 different key categories:
- Part 1 – States of consciousness (psychologically “hacking” self-improvement)
- Part 2 – Human emotions (practical techniques for mastering your emotional landscape)
- Part 3 – Blissipline (the art of tapping into a positive mindstate at will)
- Part 4 – Mapping out a vision for the future (insightful lessons on how to map out your life goals)
- Part 5 – Becoming immune to criticism and praise (lessons on staying true to who you are despite the contrasting opinions of other people)
- Part 6 – Developing boldness (techniques on how to develop willpower and grit for pursuing your dreams and goals)
- Part 7 – Intuition (advanced techniques for harnessing creativity and luck at will)
- Part 8 – Bending reality (the science behind positive thinking explained)
- Part 9 – Merging (techniques for merging your progress and goals to also benefit those around you)
Some of these concepts might seem foreign to you at first. Don’t worry, Vishen has developed this class to be accessible to people from all walks of life. So, even if you are entirely new to psychology, neuroscience, and eastern spirituality, this class will not overwhelm you.
Still, what you will learn is that expanding your consciousness is exactly like building muscle. And, you do not build muscle by just watching videos about nutrition and exercise (how nice would that be!).
Day by day, you are going to have to make tiny changes in your habits. Over time, these habits will stack up and you will reap the benefits in your professional, personal, and spiritual life.
Who is Vishen Lakhiani's Be Extraordinary for?
Be Extraordinary is a great program for anyone interested in personal growth. Still, the key ideas behind the course are quite radical. It welcomes you to explore how you view the material world, the society, and most importantly, your own daily habits. This is not a task everyone is willing to undertake.
Still, if you recognize yourself in the following, I would highly suggest taking Be Extraordinary:
- You often feel overwhelmed by your day to day life
- You have a hard time prioritizing your need
- You lack a clear purpose in your professional and personal life
- You have tried meditation and mindfulness, yet feel as if you are doing it wrong
- You struggle to find motivation for trying new things
These are only some examples, but you should get the gist of it. Most of us tend to go for a self-help book or a psychiatrist for addressing these issues. But, as you may already know, most self-help books offer little more than a short-term dopamine boost. And, finding the right therapist can be a very long process.
In Be Extraordinary, Vishen Lakhiani offers a solid alternative. A journey into the self that is led by someone who has elevated the lives of both Fortune 500 CEOs and “Joe’s from across the street”.
Can I try Be Extraordinary for free?
Mindvalley is serious about popularizing transformational education. This is why they consistently offer some of their high quality content for free. One of the ways of trying the Mindvalley experience for free is enrolling in free Mindvalley Masterclasses. These 60 to 90 minute videos feature transformational ideas from Mindvalley teachers.
People interested in Be Extraordinary are in luck. Vishen Lakhiani has developed a free Masterclass called “Reconstructing Reality”.
This Masterclass offers a glimpse into Vishen’s decades-long studies on human consciousness. Your level of consciousness is responsible for nearly everything in your life. Emotions, creativity, intuition, relationships. All these aspects of your life can be elevated by expanding your consciousness. In this free Mindvalley Masterclass, you will first take a test to see at which level of consciousness you are currently operating at. Then, you will also get a few neuroscience-based hacks on how to elevate your state of mind.
Of course, the class covers only a fraction of “Be Extraordinary”. For reinventing yourself completely, you are going to have to take the full 30 day quest. Still, for getting an idea of whether Be Extraordinary Quest would be beneficial to you, I highly suggest trying this free Masterclass.
Here is the link to the free consciousness-expanding Masterclass from Vishen Lakhiani.
How much does Be Extraordinary cost?
Starting in 2022, Be Extraordinary is only available through a Mindvalley All Access membership. The good news is that the cost for a year of membership, at $499, is approximately the same as the previous cost for just the Be Extraordinary course, but it comes with access to the full Mindvalley course catalogue, which is a huge value to anyone interested in personal development.
You can also buy monthly access to Mindvalley for just $99 per month, which can be a great value if you intend to complete the course in 30 days and then end your subscription. Just note that this also ends your access to the course – I have found it very valuable with an annual subscription to be able to go back to the course over time for a refresher.
If you are still unsure, I would recommend that you give the course a try – Mindvalley has a very straightforward no-questions-asked refund policy for 15 days, so you have plenty of time to tell whether the course is for you.
Review conclusion: is Vishen Lakhiani's Be Extraordinary worth it?
All things considered, this course took me by a surprise. And, in a very positive manner. Before enrolling, I was already familiar with some of the spiritual and motivational concepts and practices presented by Vishen.
Still, Vishen presented even some familiar concepts like creative visualization and goal-setting in a way that is super concise and practical. So, whether you are entirely new to spirituality, or have taken similar courses before, you will find this Mindvalley quest very beneficial.
I was also impressed with lessons on cultivating a personal vision. Yes, this is one of the key practices in many self-development classes. But, Vishen has developed a system for vision mapping that is super detailed, insightful, and realistic.
The guided meditations were another highlight. I have always thought of meditation as something that needs the intimate, physical presence of the tutor. I was wrong! Vishen’s background as a meditation teacher clearly shows in Be Extraordinary. I felt as if he were in my room, guiding me into deeper states of consciousness. Coming from someone who has meditated on and off for years, this is a very high praise.
Make no mistake, this is not merely a meditation class. Be Extraordinary Mindvalley Quest also teaches you countless other practical tools for self-empowerment, confidence building, and brain performance.
Whether you actually decide to use all these tools is up to you. If you are not willing to put some time into changing your habits, you might as well stick to motivational Facebook quotes.
However, if you decide to follow what Vishen teaches, you will be surprised at your newfound mental and physical capabilities after 30 days. I know I was.
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