Ronal Shah, MBA, points out that in recent years, many banks have failed to honor their fiduciary responsibilities to their clients. Instead, they have focused on maximizing short-term shareholder returns, which has led to economic inequality, environmental degradation, and social unrest. He believes that The Conscious Bank can be a catalyst for transformative change by serving true wealth. True wealth refers to the creation of durable, sustainable, and meaningful assets for the benefit of current and future generations.
Shah’s book, The Conscious Bank, provides a blueprint for how financial institutions can develop and implement a conscious and holistic approach to banking. It includes case studies of real-life examples of conscious banks, as well as practical advice for those looking to transform their own institutions. The book is accessible and easy to read, with clear explanations of complex topics.
Can you provide an overview of your book, “The Conscious Bank: A Financial Institution Serving True Wealth and Transformative Creations”? This book is part finance / economics and part spirituality. In many spiritual traditions, being “conscious” means being driven my your higher self, and not the ego, and it is in this sense that I talk about a conscious bank. A Conscious Bank is a financial institution that encourages people to have businesses that are driven by their higher self, which I argue is the best way to create true wealth for you and for society.
What inspired you to write this book? Was there a specific event or experience that motivated you to explore the concept of a conscious bank? After a successful career in finance, I have been exploring coaching and spiritual approaches over the past 5 years and recently the drive to combine these two worlds has become part of my own higher goals and life purpose.
In your book, you discuss the concept of a conscious bank. Can you explain what this means and how it differs from traditional financial institutions? So a bank essentially is an institution linking savers and borrowers, giving savers returns and borrowers access to capital. A conscious bank does the same but the intent is that borrowers create businesses in line with their higher nature and thus contribute a world of raised consciousness.
How do you envision a conscious bank serving true wealth? What are the key principles and practices that define such an institution? In the book I explain that while traditional economics sees wealth measurement as a relative measure, there is an idea of True Wealth which is where what is created in the world is in line with the universal consciousness. Creations in line with the higher consciousness are creating True, objective wealth.
This bank supports such True Wealth creation.
What role does transformative creations play in the context of a conscious bank? How can financial institutions support and promote transformative ideas and innovations? By transformative creations in this books I mean businesses and products that move people from ego driven creation (which is most of worldly creation at the moment) to higher creations.
They are an essential part of the movement from a world of ego to a world of conscious creation.
In your research, did you come across any real-world examples of conscious banks or financial institutions that align with your vision? Could you share some of those examples and how they have made a positive impact? I haven’t yet. Most “conscious financial institutions” have a specific definition of conscious based on ESG factors. That is great but actually my vision doesn’t prescribe what your higher self with give you as a vision for your business. The business, in theory, can be in any industry. It is more about how aligned that business is with your true nature, your higher self.
The financial industry is often associated with profit-driven motives. How do you address the potential challenges or conflicts that arise when trying to create a conscious bank within this system? The hypothesis is that when you create more True Wealth, you actually create traditional wealth in the process.
The profit motive is not as much an issue as where the motive comes from. If it comes from ego, from a fear driven need to provide excessive risk reduction or status or attention, then that is a disaster. If it comes from a place of serving your higher self and expanding true abundance in the world, then great.
What steps can individuals and communities take to support the development and growth of conscious banks? How can we encourage the transformation of existing financial institutions into more conscious entities? The biggest thing anyone can do it to take steps to discover their higher nature and higher purpose, and then take action to live from that place.
The more people do this, the more such institutions will be encouraged and grow.
The more people in existing financial institutions do this, the more the entity will evolve into a more conscious entity. When I have tried this in the past, there is a strong ego driven resistance from the team or company I worked in, so it requires increasing numbers of individuals to do it for the changes to occur and be more permanent.
What are some of the potential benefits for both individuals and society as a whole when financial institutions adopt a conscious approach? Massive wealth creation and profound inner peace.
How do you see the future of banking and finance evolving? Do you believe that conscious banks will become the norm, and if so, what will be the catalyst for this transformation? The world is clearly starting a conscious awakening, which is currently pitting old ego driven structures against emerging conscious driven momentum. This is not about environmentalism or wokeness – all groups have ego and conscious elements.
My aim here is to provide a map of how a conscious bank can function and allow an organic interest in the topic to arise from those who the message resonates with. As that grows, finance will evolve
As readers, what key takeaways or actionable insights do you hope they gain from reading your book? Find your true purpose. Now!
Are there any specific recommendations or suggestions you would make to policymakers or regulators to facilitate the establishment and operation of conscious banks?
Mostly, start providing facilities to people to discover their true purpose, their calling from their higher nature. It is not about forcing laws and actions on people, but allowing people to discover the massive advantages of operating from their true nature.
Can you tell us about your background and experience in leadership, business, and trading consulting? How did you get started in this field? I used to think that I fell into finance and the related roles that came from there. I just studied what I felt like at the time, and found a job when needed and worked hard at it.
Now I feel that I was guided by the higher nature and that it was when I went with what my higher nature told me the universe aligned, and when I went with ego, life became very tough.
What do you believe are the key qualities and skills that make a successful leader in today’s business environment? Authenticity. Be clear with why you want to do what you do, and people will feel that long before they hear a clever presentation or smart business strategy. If your motivations are aligned with your higher self, the more powerful your leadership impact.
In your experience, how does effective leadership impact overall business performance and success? Culture comes from the top, even in flat organizations. Good leadership drives good performance and weak ego driven leadership destroys wealth.
Can you share any memorable success stories or examples where your consulting services made a significant positive impact on a client’s business? There are many. A doctor, Mo, came to me with several health tech ideas which he thought would be profitable businesses as he moved out of being a doctor and he couldn’t decide. We spent our first session on clarifying his purpose and, the idea most aligned with him became clear. The last time I spoke with him, his health tech business was being trialled on a national scale in a foreign country, impacting both him and society.
In your opinion, what role does technology play in shaping leadership and business strategies today? How can businesses leverage technology to gain a competitive edge?
Looking into the future, what trends do you anticipate will have a significant impact on leadership, business, and trading consulting? How do you plan to adapt and stay ahead of these trends?
What other resources or further reading would you recommend to individuals who are interested in learning more about conscious banking and the principles you discuss in your book?
In your personal journey, what have been some of the most significant challenges or hurdles you faced when advocating for conscious banking? How did you overcome them?
Lastly, what impact do you hope your book will have on the readers and the financial industry as a whole?
Author Ronal Shah, MBA
Ronal Shah MBA, CFA has coached 1000s of professionals and consulted to dozens of companies. He is the Founder of FinTeXec Consulting, the premier Leadership, Business and Trading Consultant in the UK. Born in London, UK, after earning his BA Economics at Cambridge and MSc Mathematical Finance at LSE he headed up the international Equity Derivatives trading desk at a large global investment house and was the country head of the Japanese arm of a global insurance company. Subsequent to completing his MBA at London Business School, he established FinTeXec, rapidly establishing their premier reputation through his elite coaching. He is happily married and enjoys the spiritual energy practice of Sukyo Mahikari.
Learn more on Ronal Shah website https://ronalshah.com/
The Conscious Bank: A Financial Institution Serving True Wealth and Transformative Creations
A Financial Institution Serving True Wealth and Transformative Creations.
As AI takes over more and more of the value creation in society, and as more wealth redistributive policies come into effect in the coming decade, the role of the financial institution needs to change. Business and human creation will more and more be driven by higher forms of creativity as machines perform repetitive and easily replicated tasks across the economy. A new type of bank needs to come into existence, that is driven to fund transformative creations and true, purpose and mission driven wealth, wealth that reflects human creative energy that gives meaning to existence beyond just survival.
If you want to know why such a bank needs to exist and how it will look, then you need to read this book.
Purchase on Amazon https://amzn.to/3PJK7OB
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