I spent the past week at an event called MastermindTalks. It was incredibly challenging to fit it into my schedule and I hemmed and hawed over whether I should go for months. Literally months! Somehow I found my way there (booking my flight the day before I left) and with good reason. I came home a smarter, more aware and richer person. Richer not only in money (the things I learned about myself and my industry led me to mapping out a $5 million business model on the plane ride home) but also richer in relationships. And the relationships are so much more exciting than the money.
“Self-made is a myth; we are community-made.”
– Zach Anner
One of my favorite talks of the week was by an actor, comedian and writer named Zach Anner. He is hilarious and has cerebral palsy. In his talk, Zach shared that one of the benefits of having cerebral palsy is that it’s obvious to him that he can’t accomplish his goals without help. He talked about the many friends who have helped him in big, incredible ways (like the time his friends carried him on a treacherous two-mile hike to see a remote waterfall). Without their help, he would not have a successful career nor a life filled with adventure.
Zach’s point was that we all need the help of our friends to get where we are trying to go. For him, it’s obvious that he needs help to get dressed for a speaking gig or to travel to a fun location to film a video for his YouTube channel. For the rest of us, we waste time and energy pretending that we can do it all alone when the truth is “our success is the sum of our best collaborators.”
“Drowning in content, starving for connection.”
– Jayson Gaignard
Life can get very lonely. Even more so when you are an entrepreneur living an unconventional life filled with risk. I know you’ve heard me say this before but I’ll say it again (and again and again): squad is everything.
If you could do only one thing to bring you closer to your goals this week, month or year, I would tell you to focus on community. Surround yourself with people who are goal-getters; action takers who not only dream but also pursue their dream at full speed. Create a community of “all in” people that you can be 100% honest with and you will make the road to your own success about 10,000,000 times easier (<– actual fact) and a lot more fun, too.
xo,
PS: At MastermindTalks I was inspired to create a new mastermind program for professional women. It won't be ready for a few months but in the coming weeks I’ll tell you how to get on the early-access list. If you are looking for a powerful community to be a part of, this may be it. Stay tuned …
