Are you experiencing some version of frustration, annoyance, confusion or anxiety?
I might have something for you. This is the time of year when I launch the next season of blog posts. Fall for me is always the energetic start of the year. As a kid, I was always excited about the renewal opportunities a fresh start in school afforded. I spent this summer meditating on what I had achieved last year, where I am ultimately going and the theme of the coming year.
I am launching a new co-mentoring community called the impact collective. I am creating a vibrant and supportive forum for:
- Purpose-driven entrepreneurs with a strong growth mindset,
- Making a significant economic and social impact,
- Scaling a business that is both highly technical and highly service-oriented and
- Navigating complex personal or business transitions.
I believe there are many people evolving into this world view and I want to do my part to organize the connection and conversation. Maybe you are one of them.
the prophesy of the stoics
If the movement I am joining and helping to organize had a spiritual founder, I am convinced that person would be Marcus Aurelius.
The early Stoic philosophers took on the role of tutoring the young men in line to become Roman Emperor. Marcus took his turn as the last of the Five Good Emperors from 161 to 180 AD. He was the manifistation of their hope that a great leader would emerge to lead the world with the classic Stoic values of courage, temperence, wisdom and justice. I read the multi millenia-old classic Meditations, by Aurelius a few years ago and have since longed to have someone leading my nation with even a fraction of his fine character.
I like the story because I think the relationship between Marcus and his Stoic teachers is the archetypal relationship between mentor and impact entrepreneur. I am blessed to have supported a fine cadre of such entrepreneurs: men and women with gifted strategic minds, assertive leadership and integrity of character. I think this partnership is a key to the sustainability of the nation.
I am working with my co-mentoring partner Owen Reader from Indelible on the design of the first forum initiative for the impact collective: the impact intensive.
We are holding the first running of this unique 4-day experience at Azuridge Estate Hotel in the foothills of the Rockies, a short drive outside of Calgary on April 24-27, 2024. We'll do a more formal launch in mid-October, but this is what we can tell you about what we plan to deliver.
A co-mentoring partnership is a special kind of mastermind
The core component of the program–and your life and business going forward–is your co-mentoring partner. This person could be your business partner, life partner, family member, close friend or business associate, boss, successor, patron or protégé. There is a quality of this relationship that holds a key ingredient of your future impact. When this relationship works better, so does your business and your life. It might not be obvious why this is true at first blush, but this person is likely to have a very functional view into your blindspots and your values, your history and your future.
You can expect to do your deeper personal work with this person, along with the other exceptional people gathered if you choose to join us. We promise that you will generate a profound strategic insight as the basis of a new plan to implement change at both the personal and business level.
Most people think of "mentorship" as an older (usually male)–" master"–and a younger protégé (I don't like the word "mentee")-" apprentice". To me, my mentors–regardless of gender, age, education, success level or place in the world–are further along paths important to my growth, with much to teach me, as I have much to teach them from a place on a path important to them. And there is much learning in the teaching. This is our tilt on the familiar concept of the mastermind. We are turning the idea of "peer" on its head.
If you are moved by the spirit of Marcus Aurelius, let me know. We can start figuring out who your co-mentoring partner is. I'm sure this person would be delighted with your commitment to your relationship. Think of this as a kind of fun four-day fishing trip with a buddy (or spa trip), but where the fish you catch (or ideas you relax into) can change the rest of your life.
Changing the lives of the people changing the world