I laughed out loud this week when I saw Internet sales guru Eben Pagan hawking meditation as a key tool for achieving business success.

When I first started practicing meditation more than 20 years ago, I hid it under the radar. It was considered weird and ‘out there.’ Kinda like the Moonies or TM and the Maharishi.

But over the course of years, I could see that it ‘worked:’ settling the mind, increasing focus, generating patience, and expanding awareness.

I could see its impact on how I parented; and how I interacted with clients.

I sought out teachers and read voraciously.

But I never talked about it.

Introduced in the West in the 70’s by Jack Canfield, Joseph Goldstein and Sharon Salzberg, mindfulness and meditation practice entered into the arena of psychotherapy in the mid-90’s with the publication of a book by Mark Epstein, M.D., Thoughts Without A Thinker.

The Dalai Lama became an example of how a practitioner leads on a world stage; and he became a proponent of scientific inquiry into the actual physiological benefits of a meditation practice.

Meditation centers grew up around the country; and places like the Omega Institute and Kripalu offered programs that dovetailed with their yogic practices.

But it still it remained ‘granola,’ vegan;’ something that you disappeared to do.

Then, gradually, over the last decade, the science came to the fore.

There is now actual empirical evidence substantiating that mediation, even after only a short period of practice, creates changes in molecular and gene expression, reducing inflammatory response.

Businesses like Apple and Google and Yahoo and Aetna began training their people in meditation and mindfulness; and encouraging it in the workplace!

Arianna Huffington of the Huffington Post incorporated the practice into her work with the Third Metric; and leaders from around the world embraced it at The World Economic Forum in Davos this past January.

Recent bestsellers like Dan Harris’ 10% Happier speak to the transformative power of the practice.

I introduced mediation at a national wealth management conference last year; and have been invited back again this year to do more. And I’ve even shared it with some of my lawyer colleagues at bar association workshops!

So now I talk about it. A lot. (And probably should have been much braver in the past. I might even have beat Eben Pagan to the punch!)

Meditation is simple. It’s really just about sitting; in awareness; of your breath; of your thoughts; as they arise and pass away.

Nothing much more complicated than that. And while it looks really easy – almost stupidly easy – on its face, it’s not.

That’s why it’s called a practice.

But over time it will change your life. And, yes, lead to business success too.

I’ve long been an advocate for the proposition that health and wellness are essential conditions for all achievement; the cornerstones of peak performance in every area of your life.

Meditation, though, is the key to ensuring that you will sustain that peak performance over time, regardless of the challenges you face.

So don’t just do something. Sit there.