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Australian Entrepreneur Discovers There Is More to Life Than Profits

June 08, 2015 |  

(Minghui.org) Mark Hutchinson appears to be a typical, successful young entrepreneur. What sets him apart is that he is a Falun Gong practitioner. Mark says that Falun Gong gave him the wisdom to be an ethical businessman, which he believes is the secret to his success.

Mark tells others about Falun Gong.

Mark talking to people about the persecution of Falun Gong

Mark and his daughter

A Rising Star in the Business World

Born in the southwest rural area of Western Australia and raised by a single mother, Mark is the second of four brothers. To help his mother support the family, he began to work construction when he was 14. He laid brick and tile, made bicycles, planted crops, and worked in a large hardware store for seven years.

From the time he was a teenager Mark wanted his own business. He tried horticulture, growing grapes and flowers, landscaping, and so on.

After completing university in 2002, Mark founded a high end flooring company he named Bamboozle. The business began in the lounge of his rental property. Within four years Bamboozle was so successful that Mark was recognized as one of the "40 under 40" for business excellence and success among young people in Western Australia.

A Nagging Health Problem

At the pinnacle of Mark’s success, his stomach started to hurt all the time, but the doctors couldn't figure out why. He spent a lot of money, tried all the recommended protocols, and even hired a private health and sports coach. His library was full of self-help books that didn't help. In desperation, he cleaned out all his self improvement books but kept the book his brother Lee had given him: Zhuan Falun.

Mark’s brothers Lee and Sean had been practicing this traditional Chinese meditation practice called Falun Gong, of which Zhuan Falun was the main text. His brothers were happy, healthy, and at peace. One day he talked to them about his unusual stomach symptoms. They suggested that he take up Falun Gong and told him there was a practice site in a park near his house, where he could learn the exercises for free.

Becoming a Practitioner

Accustomed to paying a premium for professional services, Mark was a little skeptical: "Could something free really be useful? Could it cure me? I'll try it for two weeks. If it's effective, I'll continue."

Mark found the park and began to learn the Falun Gong exercises. Two weeks later, he felt he had actually gotten worse. He told the practitioner who was teaching him the exercises about it. She said it was a good thing, that his body was being cleansed. She told him that if he truly wanted to learn Falun Gong, he had to read Zhuan Falun and follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in his daily life.

Mark remembered he had a copy of Zhuan Falun at home, so he began to read it. At first he felt sleepy reading every page, his eyes hurt, and all kinds of thoughts came up in his mind, but he kept at it until he finished the whole book.

He then decided to try Falun Gong for three months. He continued to read Zhuan Falun, and after finishing it for the fourth time, he said to himself, "Now I know what I am missing in my life – peace. And Falun Gong can give me that peace.” He decided to become a Falun Gong practitioner.

After he started to practice Mark began to consciously change the way he did business, as well as his personal behavior, to align with the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. His family, employees, and customers all benefited and took notice.

Where "pursuing profit" was once the force that drove him, he now began to "follow the course of nature." When "profit" is the cornerstone, entrepreneurs are always in pursuit of bigger interests, which feeds their egos and makes it impossible for them to be at peace.

In Mark's companies, everything has gradually shifted to where the measurement for success is "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" instead of "profit."

Falun Gong Takes Mark's Business to the Next Level

With the changes he implemented, Mark's business steadily grew. In 2008, his company installed 2,000 Bamboozle floors in Western Australia, double his business in 2006. He established a new branch in the south of Perth.

In 2009, Bamboozle won the national "Australian Business Award" for the professional and systematized way in which the company was run. In 2010, Bamboozle was nominated for both Family Business Australia finalist and Telstra Business Award finalist. Mark was also a finalist for "Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year.”

In 2012 the company grew again, as two new companies were launched in retail and manufacturing. In 2014, the sister company of Bamboozle – Lifewood – won the prestigious national award for "Showroom of the Year."

Mark won the “Showroom of the Year” award in 2014

Because of the success of Bamboozle, Mark became a "star" in the business community in Western Australia. Young millionaires and entrepreneurs wanted to know how and why Mark was so successful and well regarded in the business community. They visited his company to gain insight into his success.

Mark always tells people how he went from being ill and stressed to how he became a Falun Gong practitioner, and how this made him well, calm, and ultimately more successful than he could have imagined possible.

Mark's Secret to Keeping Calm and Winning Employees' Respect

One of Mark's manufacturing partners in Malaysia, who is also one of the top CEOs in the industry in Malaysia, brought his management team to Perth to learn from Mark’s approach to business. He had been impressed that Mark was so easy to do business with.

After observing for a few days, he asked Mark, "You are so young. How do you keep so calm? You handle things in such a relaxed way and keep the worry out of your mind. Employees usually either complain or are afraid of their boss, but the people who work for you are genuinely respectful and think well of you. How did you achieve that? I hope that my staff can look at me the same way.”

Mark told them how he became a Falun Gong practitioner and how living according to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance gave him the wisdom to achieve such results.

After the team returned to Malaysia, Mark received a text message from the sales director, saying "Hello, Mark, I am now learning Falun Gong in a park near my home."

Committed to Telling People about Falun Gong

There is one thing Mark's friends often wonder about and that is his commitment to handing out Falun Gong leaflets in the streets of Perth. Mark says, “I am very very proud to be a Falun Dafa cultivator and absolutely honored to share Falun Gong with the people of Perth. People are often in a hurry, but I always hope they will stop for a bit, so I can tell them that Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is important for everyone."