This is the complete review of Mindvalley’s online course Be Extraordinary.
Be Extraordinary is generating a lot of hype at the moment because it is created by Mindvalley founder, Vishen Lakhaini.
I wanted to find out if all the hype was justified.
In this comprehensive review I’ll cover:
- Who Vishen Lakhaini is and what his qualifications are
- What the Be Extraordinary course is about and what you’ll learn
- The pros and cons of Be Extraordinary
- My opinion on whether Be Extraordinary is worth it
So if you want to figure out if Be Extraordinary is worth it for you, you’ll love this review.
We have a lot to cover so let’s get started.
Who is Vishen Lakhaini?
Vishen Lakhaini is the Founder of Mindvalley, a company that specializes in producing online self-development courses.
If you haven’t heard of Mindvalley before, they focus on creating online courses that “inspire, activate and usher growth in every year of life, from health, relationships, to business and spirituality.”
As the founder of Mindvalley, Vishen has spent over 15 years exploring the science of helping humans reach their fullest potential.
You may have also heard of his book, The Code of The Extraordinary Mind, a New York Times bestseller.
If you haven’t read it before, it’s about how to think like a genius and question, challenge, and create new rules for your life.
I’ve read his book, and found it quite impressive. This is one of the main reasons I wanted to check out his course.
What is the Be Extraordinary Quest?
Be Extraordinary is Vishen’s self-created course on the Mindvalley platform encapsulating his decades of experience in personal growth and human consciousness.
The course aims to be a specially designed framework to help whoever is taking it to redesign their life to fulfill their potential and be more successful and happy.
His free masterclass
Vishen also has a free masterclass that preludes this course.
This is an introduction to his course and what ideas the course tackles.
In this class, he shares his personal framework for intuitively making the right choices and creating outcomes that you personally desire.
After all, it’s your thought patterns that lead you to be successful or unsuccessful.
You’ll be asked to do an exercise to find out what consciousness level you really are. For me, this was a pretty interesting test worth taking before you get into the course.
Vishen says that acting like a victim won’t get you anywhere. Instead, you need to take responsibility and focus on thoughts and actions that will serve you in the long run.
He’ll also share a mind hack that I think many people will find useful.
Well worth checking out, especially if you’re unsure about whether to enroll in the course.
CHECK OUT VISHEN’S FREE MASTERCLASS
What’s in Be Extraordinary
The Be Extraordinary Quest goes for 30 days. Each of these days focuses on improving “stage 3 consciousness.”
You’ll get access to a 10-20 minute video each where Vishen explains the lesson and you’ll usually have a practical activity to do as well.
The course is designed for deep introspection into your life. You’ll reexamine your beliefs and patterns. You’ll think about your ultimate purpose. And most importantly, you’ll be given the tools to change it all for the better.
So you can be adequately informed about what you’ll learn in this course, I’m going to go through exactly what’s in the course:
Warm-up content
Before the course begins, you need to go watch a warm-up video to prepare you.
This is where we learn the story behind the Be Extraordinary framework, and we also learn about the theories and concepts behind this framework.
You’ll learn a lot intellectually, and while there isn’t much practical information, these concepts are important to learn because they’re the foundation of the whole course ahead.
Part 1: The Structures of Consciousness
Alright, let’s get into the course.
Section 1 all about mental models and how to access higher states of human existence.
For me, It was a great start to the course because not only do you learn about the psychology of transformation (how to improve yourself), but you’re also given mind hacks and exercises to implement the theory.
Part 2: The ultimate state of human existence
Emotions are a crucial and unique part of the human experience. However, Vishen says that we were never taught how to use our emotions for self-growth.
In light of this, he shares a great technique to control your attitude and produce a positive emotional state.
He also says that instead of only being happy when you reach a certain destination, it’s better to stop tying your happiness to the attainment of these goals.
Be happy now, and that happiness will drive you to reach your goals.
Part 3: The art of blissipline
This section also covers emotional states, and why “feeling good” is your ultimate goal for anything you do.
In this section, we learn a great technique that’s similar to meditation to calm yourself down and boost those positive emotions.
I think this technique could benefit a lot of people, particularly if you have trouble with normal meditation.
Part 4: A vision for the future
Now we get into how we want our lives to look. If you’re lacking direction or purpose in life, this is the section for you.
Vishen says that the western world has gotten goal-setting wrong because it’s all about consumerism and material gain.
Instead, in this section, we learn how to set goals for what you truly want.
He provides some help by asking you to answer 3 important questions to work out what you really want in life.
These questions helped me become quite introspective and allowed me to structure my thoughts in my brain about what I really want in my life.
To be honest, we should be answering these questions every few months.
Part 5: Becoming unf*ckwithable
Now you’ve dealt with your emotions, you’ve got a plan for how you want your life to look, it’s time to become “unfuckwithable”.
I loved this concept from Vishen. It’s the key to become immune to criticism and praise.
If you’re someone who cares about what other people think, you’ll get great value out of this.
Part 6: Becoming bold
This section builds from the previous section. If you want to become “unfuckwithable” then you also need to be bold.
In the end, Vishen says you want to live life without regrets and fully immerse yourself in the present moment.
That’s the ultimate goal.
There’s quite a valuable lesson in this part when Vishen talks about embracing your past pain to find your purpose.
I found it deeply inspiring and useful in helping me figure out my purpose in life.
Part 7: Tapping into your intuition
I think we all understand the importance of harnessing your intuition. The problem is, most of us don’t really know how to go about it.
This is where Vishen comes in.
He provides some useful information to learn how to let your intuition guide you so that you make the right decisions in life.
This part also discusses the importance of using intuition to harness your creativity.
I have never really understood the concept of intuition so I found this section particularly informative.
Part 8: Bending reality
To be honest, this is probably my favorite section.
In particular, I loved Vishen’s video about focusing on who you truly are, rather than what you want.
What you learn in this section will transform the way you see yourself, your beliefs, your actions, and how you show up in the world.
I also learned how to get clear on manifesting my dreams, what they look like, and how I’ll achieve them.
Again, if you lack purpose or direction, you’ll get some value out of this section.
Part 9: Embrace your calling
In the final part of Be Extraordinary, we learn to understand our soul’s purpose on this planet.
The biggest gem you’ll learn to finish the course is the art of surrender. He talks about you can learn to accept yourself, your universe, and your life. This is incredibly important if you want to move forward with your life and grow as a person.
CHECK OUT BE EXTRAORDINARY HERE
4 key takeaways I learned from Be Extraordinary
1) Invest in the process, not the outcome
This is a constant theme that Vishen brings up in the course.
While it’s important to set our goals and intentions, we shouldn’t hinge our happiness on reaching it.
Instead, Vishen explains that it’s better to embrace our actions and the journey itself. After all, that’s where we spend most of our life!
I learned that I need to take pride in my everyday actions and embrace the present moment.
Not only will this attitude bring me closer to my end goals, but I’ll still be fulfilled even if I don’t reach them.
In fact, waiting for happiness to arrive when you reach a specific outcome sets you up for unhappiness for the majority of your life.
And what happens when you don’t reach that desired outcome?
Unfortunately, we’re not taught this in the western world. It’s all about desiring and wanting something we don’t have, rather than enjoying the present moment and appreciating what we do have.
2) Time to become unfuckwithable
“Extraordinary minds do not need to seek validation from outside opinions or through the attainment of goals. Instead, they’re truly at peace with themselves and the world around them.” – Vishen Lakhiani
Vishen uses this term a lot throughout the course to address the ability to not be affected by the environment.
Unfuckwithable is when you’re at peace with yourself to the point where nothing anyone says or does can bother you.
We all have the unique ability to decide how to respond after stimuli. No other animals can do that. If you piss off an animal, it will respond in rage.
But as humans, we can control ourselves.
I learned how important it is to take a step back, observe what’s around you, and look within yourself before believing any negative emotions.
It’s a simple technique, but it forces me to remember that I have control over my response, and I don’t need to react negatively to criticisms around me.
3) Set goals you can control
Vishen’s course explains why you need goals you can control.
When you set goals outside of your influence, you are depending on things outside of yourself.
When your goals depend on others or the environment that you can’t control, it increases your chance of failure. It also means your fulfillment in life is outside of your control.
Instead, it’s important to set a goal you can fully control.
For me, for example, a goal of mine is to be the best husband I can be to my wife.
That’s completely in my control.
By doing goals like this, you can free yourself from the neediness and dependence on others.
4) You are enough, just the way you are
Many of us harbor insecurities and self-esteem issues. That’s normal.
But one of the main reasons for this is that we don’t look inside ourselves.
Our self-esteem is dependent on others and the environment around us.
Here’s what I learned from Vishen to rectify inner-insecurity issues:
1) Lose validation-seeking ways that I spoke about above.
2) Don’t judge others.
3) Make yourself immune to praise and criticism by not reacting to either. Don’t give power to others to build yourself up, because this also means you’re giving them the ability to tear you down.
Positives of Be Extraordinary
I’ve already spoken about the concepts I learned from this course, so I’ll be quick with the positives here before I get into the course’s limitations:
1) There are many valuable lessons to shift your perspective
As I mentioned above, you will learn new ideas and concepts that challenges your current thinking.
2) Vishen communicates clearly
While some self-development gurus use complicated language to make it hard to understand their ideas, Vishen’s isn’t like this.
Vishen has the ability to make complex ideas easy to understand.
You’ll come away with an “ah, of course, that makes sense” from most of the videos in the course.
3) You get to do this course with other people
While you can do it solo, you can also do the course at the same date as other people. This is an added benefit because you can communicate with others in a discussion group.
4) There are enough tools and information
There is a hell a lot of information to digest in this course, so you don’t have to worry about not having the necessary tools at your disposal.
But it is up to you to put it into practice.
CHECK OUT BE EXTRAORDINARY HERE
Cons of Be Extraordinary
1) The videos are sometimes too short
The videos you get access only go for about 5-20 minutes long.
While they’re insightful and practical, sometimes I wish he expanded on the topics further.
2) You need to mentally commit
While the videos may only go for about 5-20 minutes long, they’re activities that you need to complete.
You also need to read over some of the ideas to fully take in the message. In my opinion, you need to have at least 30-60 minutes a day to digest the lesson and complete the exercises.
You also need to mentally commit to get benefit from this course.
3) You need to be willing to change
If you haven’t got an open mind and you’re not willing to change, then this course may not be for you.
Vishen’s course is all about helping you producing positive change in your life. But to do that, you need to think and act differently.
His teaching may sometimes be confronting, so you can’t close off and be offended.
If you’re pleased with your current life and don’t want to change, then this course may not be for you.
4) Some of the concepts are a little far-fetched
Some of the concepts in the course aren’t exactly practical in my view. For example, do you really need to learn about “quantum jumping” and “Rate of Self Evolution?”
Some people may enjoy the outlandish nature of these ideas, but I found them to be dull and not useful.
There is a lot of practical information in the course, but some of the ideas are just fluff.
5) This course is not a quick fix to solve all of your problems in life
Yes, Be Extraordinary will make you feel empowered, but no course is going to change your life in 30 days.
Vishen’s course enables you to get clear on your vision for your life, and let go of limiting beliefs about the world but to truly embed these changes in your life you’re going to have to stick at it for a lot longer than 30 days.
After all, a positive change in your life takes time and commitment.
While Be Extraordinary does a good job of giving you a foundation to adopt new ways of thinking and practices, it’s up to you to make sure you’re practicing it daily over a long time.
Don’t be turned off by the overhyped marketing claims
Now, what initially turned me off, and I believe might be turning you off, is the exaggerated marketing from Mindvalley about this course.
For example, the landing page of Be Extraordinary says that it will help you “bend reality” and “achieve impossible goals”.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t aim to “bend reality”. That sounds tough.
Instead, I was just want to get rid of some limiting thought patterns, be happier, and live a more productive and mindful life.
The good news is, my fears were put to rest when I heard Vishen speak.
His expertise shone through, and most importantly, he was down-to-earth, practical, and highly relatable.
So while Mindvalley has marketed the course in a way that’s exaggerated and over-hyped, the actual course material is practical and down-to-earth.
No matter how big or small your goals are, I’m confident that the Be Extraordinary Quest can get you there.
It’s a course that can be helpful for everyday people like you and me.
CHECK OUT BE EXTRAORDINARY HERE
Is this course for you?
To completely honest with you, not everyone will get their bang for buck with this course.
Why?
Because they won’t fully take in the message and put in the necessary work.
Vishen discusses techniques and actions to produce positive change in yourself, but if you’re not open to these ideas, then I don’t recommend buying.
After all, Vishen’s big focus is stripping back the limiting thoughts society has placed on many of us, and then putting in the work to systematically change your mind and attitude.
It’s not exactly easy.
But for those who are ready to learn and practice what Vishen is teaching, then I’m confident you can find benefits from this course.
In particular, I believe this course can be useful for you if:
– You have the tendency to self-sabotage or shutdown, and want to control these self-destructive habits.
– You are highly sensitive to the criticism and opinions of others.
– You are suffering from trauma and want to move on from the past.
– You lack a sense of fulfillment and happiness in your self
If you’re a little skeptical about purchasing, then I recommend checking out Vishen’s free masterclass.
This is a great insight into what the course is about.
CHECK OUT BE EXTRAORDINARY HERE
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