Jay Shetty Profile
Jay Shetty is a #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of Think Like a Monk. He is on a mission to share the timeless wisdom of the world in an accessible, relevant and practical way. He has produced over 400 viral videos which have surpassed more than 7 billion views, and his podcast, On Purpose, is consistently ranked as the #1 Health podcast in the world. He was named in the Forbes 30 Under 30 for being a game changer in the world of media and has won both the Streamy and Shorty Awards for Best Health and Wellness Creator of the Year.
After meeting a monk at the age of 18, Jay sought to redefine personal success. He was inspired by a life of service, impact and passion as opposed to money, fame and power. After graduating with a first-class BSc (Hons) Degree in Behavioral Science from Cass Business School, he turned down lucrative job offers from prestigious companies, moved to India and lived as a monk. He traded his suits for robes, shaved his head, slept on the floor and lived out of a gym locker. Jay meditated for 4-8 hours a day and studied ancient philosophy. Half the day was spent on personal growth and the other on help others. This included everything from personal and collective meditation, study and reflection to teaching and philanthropy. For three years, Jay helped build sustainable villages, food programs distributing over one million meals per day and coached millennials throughout India and Europe.
Jay received a proposal from his guru who believed he could share what he had learnt if he left the path. Jay moved back to London with his parents, in massive debt with no recognizable skills on his resume. Fortunately, his friends, now working for the largest organizations in the world yet experiencing tremendous stress and pressure, invited Jay to coach them on wellbeing, purpose and mindfulness. Jay began sharing his experiences as a monk in the world's largest corporations including EY and Nasdaq.
Driven by a desire to share his learnings with as many people as possible, he re-engaged with the world and dove head first into learning about the tools and techniques that might allow knowledge to spread as fast as entertainment. He joined Accenture, helping them build their digital division while learning about the forces shaping the new digital landscape. He quickly became their #1 social media influencer, in a company of 400,000 people. Along the way, he advised over 150 executives on their personal brands, which provided a very broad base with which to test theories. He leveraged his findings to launch his own Facebook page in 2016, which exploded.
Jay's videos were spotted by Arianna Huffington, who asked him to create a series for HuffPost. His first four videos hit over 50 million views – the highest HuffPost had ever received. Arianna invited Jay to New York to be a Senior Host & Producer for HuffPost Live where he created #FollowTheReader. The Facebook Live Daily Talk Show, featuring authors and life changing ideas, became #1 for audience engagement – with themes that include passion, purpose, mindfulness, resilience, failure and communication. He has also collaborated with Ellen DeGeneres' Ellen Digital to produce content centered on purposeful living.
These days, Jay continues to expand his brand through his viral video agency, group coaching & workshops with his 37+ million followers. His first book, Think Like a Monk, is an effortless guide on how ANYONE can be courageous, compassionate and determined in our fast-paced, stressed out and disconnected world.