Kristina Mänd-Lakhiani is an entrepreneur, international speaker, and mother of two. She helped co-found the wildly successful global publishing company Mindvalley in 2003.
Kristina was born and raised in Estonia. She received her Bachelor of Science in Public Administration from the Tallinn University of Technology (or Tal Tech), a prestigious university in Estonia that provides a top-tier science and technical education to students around the world. She later received her Master’s in International Politics at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
Although she graduated college and started her career working for the Estonian government, she eventually decided to move to New York. It was there that she and Vishen started Mindvalley and grew it into an international multimillion-dollar empire. Now, the entrepreneur and speaker is passionate about sharing her truth and teaching others how to create a more authentic life.
Kristina Mand-Lakhiani, International Speaker
Kristina, you’ve been in the personal transformation industry for over 18 years. You’re a well-known international speaker, philanthropist, and co-founder of Mindvalley. We’d love to learn more about your personal journey. Who are you and how have you evolved as a person over the years?
I grew up in Estonia, which used to be part of the former Soviet Union. After I graduated college, I got a job working for the local government. I also worked in the nonprofit sector for prominent organizations such as the United Nations, Oxfam, and AIESEC. Back then, owning a business was not allowed in my country, so I never dreamed that I would one day become an entrepreneur. When I met Vishen and fell in love, I decided to cut my thriving Estonian career short so I could marry him and move to New York. My main desire at that time was to get married and have children.
As the years went by and our family grew, I kind of had an awakening when I turned 40 years old. By that time, I had a husband, two kids, a gorgeous home, and lived a lavish lifestyle. Even though I knew that I had ‘made it’ according to society’s standards, I realized that I had just been ticking off boxes on a list instead of asking myself what I truly wanted. When I was honest with myself, I saw that I was unsatisfied deep down and had been suppressing it all these years.
I decided I wanted to figure out who I was, live a more authentic life, and rewrite the story of my life. Vishen and I decided to consciously uncouple, and I moved back to Estonia. It wasn’t easy at times to reimagine what my career and personal life would look like, but I was determined to be true to myself.
What are you doing now to teach people how to live a more authentic life?
My website offers several programs based on the lessons I’ve learned along my own journey towards designing an authentic life. I created the 7 Days To Happiness program because I believe happiness is a practice and not a destination. The free seven-day video series teaches you how to nurture your relationships and have an attitude of gratitude. The course also teaches you how to be present at the moment, stop comparing yourself to others, and embrace uncomfortable emotions in a healthy way.
I also have a Mindvalley quest or program called Live By Your Own Rules, which explores how to become more self-aware and gather the courage to be authentic with yourself and accept all your flaws and imperfections. By the end of the class, you’ll be able to accept all your flaws and imperfections and have a better understanding of how to love yourself. I like to share a variety of inspirational messages that can help you live your best life on my Instagram account.
Tell us about the origin of Mindvalley and why you started it with Vishen? We originally started Mindvalley in 2003 with just $700 to help market Vishen’s online meditation courses to new students. It didn’t even occur to us then that it would grow into a successful business. We did not create it for our own prosperity. In fact, we reinvested everything we earned back into the company and lived a simple life.
As the company grew and brought in more income, we eventually decided it was best to leave our full-time jobs and focus solely on Mindvalley. We ended up moving to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which is Vishen’s home country, got an office, and started hiring staff from around the world. Things kind of took off from there, and now we’re a global school that delivers transformational education for people of all ages.
I’m very proud of how far we’ve come as a company. Our mission is to show people that they don't need a degree to live a happy, meaningful life. For me, Mindvalley is more than just a business, we are a community of people who want to reach their full potential and support each other on our individual journeys.
Since you focus on living an authentic life, what does your day-to-day look like? How do you incorporate this philosophy into your daily life?
In both my business and personal life, I focus on being present and enjoying the moment. I don’t celebrate hustle culture, which is very popular right now among entrepreneurs. I don’t like being overworked and having a packed schedule. I believe entrepreneurship is a creative process much like art. I try to continually make space in my day, so I can be inspired.
I usually start my morning with rituals that give me peace of mind and spend time with my family. I’m much happier now that I’ve stepped out from behind the scenes and embraced public speaking. I’m very passionate about helping people process their emotions and find their inner joy.
How can someone stay true to themselves in life and business? What are some tips you can give to someone who wants to get started?
Authenticity is very important if you want an extraordinary life. Humans all over the world make compromises over the years to fit in with society and gradually stop being their true selves. Unfortunately, authenticity is a binary phenomenon. You’re either your authentic self or you’re not.
If you want to stay true to yourself in any situation, both professional and personal, I recommend that you develop a relationship with yourself. Who are you when no one is looking and you don’t have to fulfill a role? Who are you besides your choice of profession or religious beliefs? Remove any identity you may have based on your relationship with other people. For example, if you’re a woman, who are you when the title of daughter, sister, wife and mother is taken away? This is a deep internal process where you have to be honest about who you are and what you want out of life. Once you’ve embraced your true identity, you’ll be more in tune with yourself and unapologetic about what you want out of life so you can create an amazing life.
Another tip is to remain your authentic self at all times, especially in the workplace. Don’t waste your time or energy on trying to be someone else. When you have stepped into your own power, you’ll have the courage to always be authentic and make your own life script based on what you truly want that’s not based on societal or cultural norms.
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