How does a meditation app move toward becoming a corporate behemoth?

I've spoken highly of Sam Harris' "Waking Up" App, which now clocks me as having done 776 practice or theory sessions.  I would recommend his theory sessions on the fundamentals of meditation, the illusory self, and free will are the best I have come across. My use of the App has diminished as I have become habituated and mildly allergic to Harris' spoken delivery style, but the continual recruitment of new contributing gurus alleviates that problem. I could wish he would put all of his own material down in written form.   The app has been so successful that I'm not surprised to have two emails I recently received that I can't resist passing on in their entirety.  It would appear that "Waking Up" is moving for the big time, to become a complete and self sustaining corporate entity, even opening up a retail shop selling personal items. Perhaps this is permitting the intense Mr. Harris to pass on some of his chores to others, dial back his direct involvement, and take more of his deep breaths.  Here are the emails:

Over the past several months, we’ve put out two calls to our members: one for creators and another for potential show hosts. We’ve been blown away by the extraordinary amount of talent we’ve seen, and have already begun to develop various projects with our members.  

We know there are many brilliant people who use and love the app. And whatever we do out in the world, we prefer it to be with members 

So, we want to know who you are. 

Here are some roles we’re interested in, specifically:

 

• Vocal producer for original series (working with our contributors to shape their content and delivery)
• Creative marketing lead for various digital campaigns we’re planning to run 
• Actors for potential video shorts 
• Copy editors for transcription reviews (with a basic grasp of Buddhist and Hindu concepts and terms)
• Corporate finance experts with CFO experience
• Apparel executives (specifically, if you own an apparel brand or have deep experience in the industry)

 

But those are just for more immediate opportunities. Whether you’re a musician, actor, comedian, journalist, poet, lawyer, filmmaker, marketer, designer, author, artist, technologist, engineer, meditation teacher, scholar, or anyone else, we want to know about you. 

We have no idea what might come of this, but we’re excited to continue growing Waking Up—and, as we do, we’d like it to be with some of you. Please know that, while we won’t be able to get back to most people, we’ll read every submission. 

 

REACH OUT

 

Feel free to send us a note at hey@wakingup.com, too. We’re looking forward to learning about all the expertise, know-how, and creativity within the Waking Up community.

 

THE WAKING UP TEAM

The Waking Up shop is now live.  We have a very limited number of t-shirts, hoodies, pens, mugs, keychains, and other items.  We may or may not offer more items in the future, so we encourage you to grab whichever items you like.  Thanks for your support of Waking Up—and for being a member.    THE WAKING UP TEAM