Adventure & Experiences Archives

Illuminations from the Dark

November 20, 2023 by Yanik Silver

For my 50th birthday I had planned on something quite a bit different. I was to spend 4 days/nights in complete darkness. It was profound.

This was definitely an odd way to spend this milestone bday as many of my friends and family told me. Lots of people thought I was crazy but I knew there was a powerful medicine here for me.

Ever since hearing about this ancient practice of going into full darkness, I had equal parts attraction and trepidation of what would show up.

What happens when it’s just you and yourself in the infinite void?

A darkness retreat is a small room that’s completely pitch black with zero light coming in. You’ve got one bed, yoga mat, meditation cushion, futon and a bathroom with a shower. There’s a little shelf for you to eat your meals delivered through a 2-way box. (You can check more at BlissHaven.yoga)

I had 2 friends who each did 10 days at this same location. I didn’t really research where it was and there’s real magic to this little spot in Mazunte, Mexico. It’s the most southern point of Mexico with a really powerful energy. I learned from healer (only a day before I left for home) that this land was known by indigenous people as the sacred womb of the Americas.

I felt like my last 10 years of spiritual practices, ceremonies and journeys had helped prepare me for this sacred initiation.

To start the ceremony, you are escorted back into your room with a single candle. A tiny bit of light to get acquainted and mentally map out your room. (I did have a wall disappear on me. My caretaker confirmed that happened we to her too. Remember it’s the infinite void in there!)

You’re the one who blows out the candle so you start your ceremony and I thought I’d be freaked out for a brief moment, but it was incredibly peaceful. My friend, Emily Fletcher, just did a 5 day darkness retreat shared how the darkness is feminine, gentle womb-like medicine. It doesn’t have to be scary.

I sat for my first mediation and immediately got so peaceful about everything.

One insight came up that seems so simple:

“For Not Against”

“What do you want more of?” Essentially stop giving more energy to what we don’t want and connect to what we do want. (Here’s a page written in the dark.) 😉

“Control vs freedom” (ie so much censorship happening)

“poisons vs nurturing.”

Consumption vs creation.”

Everything you could ever need or want is truly in the palm of your hands.

What are you creating right now?

One good way to check is to see what IS showing up in your “reality.”

Cosmic Catalyst Journaling Invitation

Q: What am I “For” not “against?

M.A.G.I.C. Meditation

My very first meditation in there was for the magic and gratitude of cacao. I had the caretaker serve me cacao each morning. It was my guide. I brought an art pad in the dark and never knew which colors I was using. Here’s the first one after meditating on the magical threads cacao has connected to me in my life.

So believe it or not, I brought a sketch pad with me in the darkness and also 50 different colored markers. (It was my 50^th remember?) I had no idea what color I was selecting or anything like and simply drew from the feelings and energies that were opened up after the meditations or breathwork sessions.

This is the very first one I doodled in there:

This Cosmic Doodle represents the joyful appreciation of my Mentors, Allies, Guides, Inner Circle and Catalysts in my life across all different stages. (Did you get it? M.A.G.I.C.) 😉

Also as you’re looking at the picture it carries this energy too. (Special Deal: I’ll send you a signed Cosmic Journal if you can tell me what plant is represented here.)

This was such a powerful meditation because it filled me up with gratitude, appreciation and magic for the next 4 days and nights in the complete dark. I held a recent gathering for our ONE Thousand Suns and shared this same M.A.G.I.C. Meditation with them.

Have a listen if you like.

It’s less than 10 minutes so give it a try. Also you are welcome to share with others, but please forward this entire email.

Now after your meditation answer the following…

Cosmic Catalyst Journaling Invitation

Q: “Who is on my M.A.G.I.C. Team?”

Bonus action: Send 2 or 3 of them handwritten notes of appreciation. (You can read the blog post here – https://yaniksilver.com/handwritten-note/ if you need more of a reason to do this.)

Cozy Cosmic Cocoon…

Now my wife, Missy, gave me the intention of “cozy.” I connected to that and it never felt scary – but just like a “Cozy Cosmic Cocoon.”

My intention was “Joyful RE emergence in Full Being.”

And part of that was my review of the different phases of my life:

Stage 1) I connected deeply in there with the 11-year old Yanik, the fun, creative, goofy little starchild.

Stage 2) The Athlete phase or competitor phase when I was deep into competitive ice hockey and volleyball.

Stage 3) The Achiever/Entrepreneur phase and all the incredible teachers that “randomly” came into my life. From Dan Kennedy to Ted Nicholas, Earl Nightingale, Foster Hibbard-type material to the Internet world and then all the incredible icons I’ve met since.

Stage 4) My spiritual awakening at 39 prompted punctuated by a praying mantis at the door the day before my birthday.

I feel like the last 10 years+ of practices, ceremony and earth wisdom all prepared me for what’s to come.

The entire time inside the darkness felt like a deep initiation into this next phase of my life. In some ways like a phoenix. Actually, in there, I had several meditations of growing wings and envisioned phoenix wings. (And the “make magic” moment is when I came out sitting at the table next to me was a guy with a phoenix tattoo on his back. Seriously!)

I integrated all these previous parts and wrote this in the dark as the next phase:

**Stage V Initiation:**
**Cosmic Evolutionary connected to the pulse of the Universe.**
**Your hands are its tools**

Cosmic Catalyst Journaling Invitation

Q: “What is your next cosmic evolutionary stage?”

Shoot for the Stars

July 27, 2021 by Amy Basingstoke

When you get a last-minute invite to join Richard Branson for his first space flight, you re-arrange your schedule to make it happen. So it was back to New Mexico again for Sophia and I after previously being there for our Maverick Summer Solstice Summit.

Getting to Spaceport is in the appropriately named town of Truth or Consequences and one of the truths is it’s definitely not the easiest.

However, when you can witness a little bit of history in the making – you do what you can.

This has been a long time coming and quite a journey

As you might know, I’ve been a Virgin Galactic ticket holder for many years, fourteen to be more exact.

Fact is, I’ve followed the program since it began with the very first X-prize created by Peter Diamandis. (We actually had Peter at a Maverick event and he shared the story of how the prize was born out of his own frustration and deep desire to go into space. It’s a great example of pursuing your deepest passion without a clear roadmap of how it can happen. My friend Nick Nanton created a documentary celebrating Peter called “Visioneer” that’s worth checking out.)

To set the stage; The X-prize was awarded to a vehicle that goes to space twice in two weeks, with that company receiving ten million dollars as the prize. The prize was won by Scaled Composites and then Richard Branson and the Virgin team quickly licensed the tech to become Virgin Galactic.

Once tickets were going to be on sale, I registered my interest on the Virgin Galactic website. However I was one of 40,000 people who did the same thing and their team had no idea who was really a prospect and who wasn’t. Somehow I never got contacted.

The Magic Zero-G flight

Now fast forward two or three years later and I’m taking a group from my Mastermind to play in Zero-G with me. This is where a specially outfitted 737 flies parabolas and imitates different lunar, Martian and zero gravity environments. It’s only for about 30 seconds each time – but the smile on your face goes from ear to ear as you bounce around in zero-gravity just like space.

Our plane had some mechanical problems and the crew would have logged too many hours so we had to wait to swap out for another team. We finally get onboard again and I start talking to my new seatmate about Zero-g and then to the topic of space. Within a few minutes, I shared that Virgin Galactic never responded to me and she told me adamantly, “Oh don’t worry, I’ll make sure they take your money.”

Haha! And who was sitting next to me?

None other than Loretta Hildalgo Whitesides who is very active in the space community herself plus her husband, George Whitesides, ended up being the CEO of Virgin Galactic itself before switching roles recently for their next phase. The odds of me meeting Loretta like this seem pretty astronomical and the synchronicity of this moment is never lost on me.

So I put in a good chunk of cash and was officially in. (Funny side note: I promised my wife, Missy, I wouldn’t touch our savings and I didn’t because I ended up selling a workshop to pay for my spot. I was just sharing this with a high-level group of copywriters about how you can write yourself pretty much whatever you want with this skill. I haven’t taught copywriting in quite some time but I’m considering doing a Cosmic Creativity exploration. If you want to know more make sure you sign up for the Cosmic Tuesday emails here.)

Okay back to our story.

At this point, I’d never met Richard and was thrilled to get this letter kinda from him:

Nobody thought it would be this long but throughout the years Galactic has continued to send all sorts of gear and interesting gifts. The very first item you get is an epic 2-foot tall book detailing spaceflight history plus incredible high-resolution pictures of that X-prize winning flight. I’ve never seen a book this size or this impressive. (In the bottom picture is an oversized publication so you can get a little bit of a relative feel for how big this book is.)

And we got a cool model of the ship that Zack promptly started to fly around the house.

That might have been a collector’s item but little kids and fragile models don’t really mix well. 😉

Magic and Tragedy

The program hit more milestones and more magic unfolded including the unveiling of Spaceship Two literally on my 40th birthday, exactly September 25, 2013! But then a tragedy struck nearly one year later on October 31, 2014. Spaceship Two VSS Enterprise test flight disintegrated midair because of an error activating the feather mechanism too early.

I remember hearing about that accident while eating lunch with futurist Barbara Marx Hubbard, literally discussing how she’d want to meditate in space to send back an evolutionary activation to everyone on Earth. I started tearing up and crying as I got the news from Missy via text.

It wasn’t because, “Boo hoo, it’ll take longer for Yanik to reach space,” but because of what I believe space means for humanity. And I’m not alone. Inside each person’s spacesuit is a quote from famed cosmologist and physicist Stephen Hawking, which reads:

“Taking more and more passengers out into space will enable them and us to look both outwards and back, but with a fresh perspective in both directions.”

The good news from the disastrous crash is there is a better fail-safe mechanism now installed for the VSS Unity and Richard himself always wanted to prove the safety of the spaceship by flying himself on one of the earliest flights.

And on July 11, 2021 that’s exactly what happened.

All of us had quite an early wake-up call with buses leaving from the hotel at 3:15AM. Yep – brutal but I was pretty excited and ready to go!

Several other Mavericks were also invited including John Ratliff and Ben Richter who have been with us to Necker multiple times. (Note: Necker is on again and can’t wait to host another gathering there for Mavericks and visionary leaders. This will be our 11th or 12th year there. If you’d like to apply and get more details please go here.)

The amazing part was getting to see everything from the “inside.”

There was a bigger part of the Spaceport set up for media (200+) plus special invited guests and future astronauts. You were still pretty lucky to get inside there, but we were even more fortunate to be invited to witness Richard’s flight right alongside his family, close friends and key partners in another section of Spaceport.

In a surreal way it seems like a regular Sunday morning for Richard. He was just eating breakfast as we walked in to give him a good luck hug. And Richard being Richard actually thanked us several times for being there!

There was a lot of energy swirling around.

Getting to to talk to Richard’s daughter, Holly, the next day she said she was vividly reliving many of the emotions she felt when she was just a kid and her dad took on so many adventures and even had his near-death misses. You could see this mixture of excitement and nervousness from a lot of us as Richard and the rest of the flight team walked out to their Land Rovers taking them to the ship. (Pretty good sponsorship opp for Land Rover!)

3…2…1…Release…release

I brought my big binoculars (which took up like 1/3 of my carry-on luggage) so I could see the flight directly instead of just watching the livecast playing there. I got goosebumps watching VSS Unity disengage from the mother ship and fire up its rocket engine going straight up.

Once it was out of my sight I went back inside to monitor the flight status and transmission feed. I loved the fact that as the ship reaches space, Richard relays this message:

“To all you kids down there. I was once a child with a dream looking up to the stars. Now I’m an adult in a spaceship with lots of other wonderful adults looking down to our beautiful, beautiful Earth. To the next generation of dreamers, if we can do this… just imagine what you can do.”

And then he unclips to go play in Zero-gravity followed by a few exclamations of “Incredible” and “Oh my!”

Then we welcomed him back to Earth with fist bumps and huge grins.

Next it was off to the main stage for the beautiful astronaut wings celebration and a few remarks. I’d say it’s definitely pretty fun to be so close you get some of the celebratory champagne sprayed on you!

Everyone at Spaceport was so excited and happy as we hugged each other and high-fived watching this historic flight – but then I started seeing some other takes that had a completely different energy.

The question is: why shouldn’t billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson use their resources to solve problems on Earth instead of “wasting” money on space or catering to a bunch of “rich space tourists.”

As the Stephen Hawking quote said, there’s something bigger here than simply boasting about being an astronaut at the next cocktail party. There’s something called the Overview Effect that previous astronauts have talked of that happens when you see the Earth without borders and floating against the inky blackness of space. You start seeing how precious and beautiful our home really is and many are moved to do more to steward it.

After the first space missions, an American writer, Steward Brand, pressured NASA to release an image of the Earth taken from outer space so others could marvel at this blue marble. This became the inspiration for the “whole earth,” essentially the bible for all things green and eco-friendly.

There’s no doubt there is much work to be done on Earth, however we need to look at the entire planet as a whole and these kinds of moments lead to a more holistic expanse. I believe this new space focus will create a greater evolutionary pull towards greater cosmic consciousness. That’s obviously where I get excited.

Maverick Space Flight?

There’s also some talk of having a Maverick spaceship charter. I know there are 2 or 3 members seriously talking about it. Or if you don’t want to spring for the ticket yet, you can enter to win 2 spots via www.Omaze.com/space

As all of this unfolded I imagined myself going up. I’m ticket holder #144 so if they do one flight per month, the timing might work out to be flying on or around my 50th birthday.

You’re all invited and champagne’s on me!

Sic Itur Ad Astra

Maverick Impact Experience Recap: Kenya with Sir Richard Branson

November 20, 2019 by Yanik Silver

Maverick has once again partnered with Virgin Unite and Sir Richard Branson in creating a unique Impact Experience bringing together game-changing entrepreneurs from around the globe. This time in Kenya.

A group of Mavericks and invited guests from countries such as Denmark, Ireland, Indonesia, Canada, Croatia and the U.S, came together for a 7-night experience in Kenya to not only share a once in a lifetime experience, but to use their talents, resources and brainpower to make a difference.

Here are a few highlights…

Day 1: African Prison Project, David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and the Giraffe Sanctuary – Nairobi

On our first morning in Nairobi we traveled to Thika Prison to visit with

African Prison Project. The mission of APP is to bring dignity, hope, and justice to prison communities in Africa by providing legal training and services for prisoners and prison staff. Their program is having a tremendous amount of impact.

For many, this was their first time inside of a prison, but regardless it was an eye-opening experience for all. On first glance you can see the overwhelming problem of the prison having far more prisoners than they are able to accommodate with many inmates sitting in each other’s laps and even sharing small mattresses at night.

More surprising was when we learned that one of the overflowing wings we visited is full of people that haven’t even been convicted. An entire room of 100+ people that could potentially be found not guilty, living as prisoners in pretty challenging conditions – for an average of 1-3 years because they can’t afford bail (which is typically around $50 USD).

But what may have surprised everyone the most is the camaraderie and shared family-connection between prisoners and guards. APP also helps bring these two groups together as you’ll often find guards and inmates studying and working together through the program…and even dancing together as we got a send-off at the end.

One of the immediate needs we heard about from the prison was access to clean water. After digging in, we came to understand that this was simply a function of the small number of tanks available onsite. Mavericks quickly mobilized to raise the funds and with the help of local members, Samit and Taran Gehlot, we’re happy to say that the wheels are in motion and the Thika prison should have clean water very soon!

After seeing the impact of the work that African Prison Project is doing in the prisons, Virgin Unite and Maverick will also be contributing $10,000.00 of the proceeds from this trip towards opening a stand-alone legal clinic at the maximum security Naivasha prison. This project is still in need of additional funding for the building, office equipment, admin and operations. Please contact us for more details or how to contribute.

Elephant Encounter

After an intense morning, we made our way down to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (Sheldrickwildlifetrust.org), best known for protecting baby elephants and operating one of the most successful orphan elephant rescue and rehabilitation programs in the world.

Day 2: Living Goods, Nai Nami and Africa Yoga Project

Living Goods: Community Health Empowered Opportunities

Yanik was first introduced to Living Goods (LivingGoods.org ) doing research while writing the Evolved Enterprise book. He loved the model of providing economic empowerment opportunities to health entrepreneurs to deliver lifesaving products to the doorsteps of the poor. It was like an Avon model but used for delivering life-saving health benefits.

We were able to get an incredible “show and tell” explanation of the ways they are empowering their community health worker (CHW) to be able to support every rural community.

Armed with a tablet and a powerful CRM on the backend, these local women and men are transformed into frontline health workers who can deliver on-demand, life-saving care to families in need.

They go door-to-door treating sick children, supporting pregnant mothers, counseling women on modern family planning choices, educating families on better health, and delivering high-impact medicines and health products. A rigorous 2014 study in Uganda found with CHWs support, they decreased child deaths by 27 percent for less than $2 per person annually.

From Streets to Significance: The Nai Nami Tour

We walked into a downtown hotel lobby bar and seated in front of us were a 6 young men that were stylish and cool, a little bit like a gang but not quite. Nobody knew what we were doing there or what this was about until one of the leaders explained that each of these young men at one time lived on the streets and grew up in the slums until they found another option with Nai Nami. A way to create an honest way of living…and even thriving.

This was their story.

Nai Nami is a social enterprise created to help former criminals become respectable and admired members of their communities, proving that it’s possible to make a living without crime.

Not only did we get a chance to walk the streets of dynamic and vibrant downtown Nairobi, but we were able to connect with these amazing young men in a deep and meaningful way during this unique storytelling experience. The stories and the sights are intense, punctuated with heart-crushing trauma, loss and suffering yet sprinkled with humor and smiles. We definitely left inspired and touched with a tremendous amount of respect for these young men, their hustle, shining personalities and beautiful hearts!

Yoga as Community Connection Tool

Next we visited the Africa Yoga Project (Africayogaproject.org) to learn how yoga has transformed and brings together hundreds of communities of all socio-economic backgrounds.

The idea is simple, provide yoga teacher training to help provide success skills, a living wage and new opportunity to those who wouldn’t normally have one. The trained teachers are then encouraged to provide free community classes where they’ve “come from.” Over 6,000 people participate in more than 360 community yoga classes taught by AYP teacher representing 19 different African countries.

Mavericks even took a yoga class instructed by a deaf teacher with diversity and inclusion being part of the core values for the Africa Yoga Project.

Day 3: Bush Bound: Mahali Mzuri

The next morning Mavericks headed out to the beautiful Maasai Mara Reserve to meet Richard and experience his beautiful luxury safari camp, Mahali Mzuri.

The safari started the moment we arrived as we encountered lions, leopards, elephants and giraffes on the way in.

Each day Mavericks were engaged with Growth Sessions where we shared ideas, impactful conversations and insights.

We connected with the land to see how we can learn from the radical abundance and interconnection of nature and had discussions on a variety of topics such as longevity, relationships, business and our responsibility for future generations (4-7 generations) to be stewards of this planet by evolving even more purpose in our companies.

And, of course, we had a bit of fun…

Mavericks brought Día de Muertos in the bush, and we’re pretty sure that was the first time it was ever celebrated there.

The morning session was all about our ancestors and in the evening everyone was clad in traditional Día de Muertos costumes.

Lost Bets and Surprises

The World Cup of Rugby championship happened to occur while we there with England facing off against South Africa. England had played incredibly well to beat two very good squads to get into the championship.

One of our guests, Ben Croft had a little surprise for Richard with custom England jerseys for both of them to wear.

Yanik decided it would be more fun to have a little wager on the game. He took South Africa and bet that the loser would have to don the infamous Maverick green speedo on the next game drive.

The next day, Mavericks took to the skies for an early morning balloon ride with Richard actually piloting one of the balloons, making sure his group came within inches of the ground…just to keep things interesting, of course. Sophia and Stephanie Farr also decided to bring a bit of Necker to the bush that morning by donning their best Lemur get-ups that morning! It was a totally different kind of game drive, soundlessly soaring above the majestic Mahara, lemurs in tow..

Community Connection

On our third day in the bush, we ventured out to see different community projects being developed by the partnerships of Maasai and the lodges.

Mahali Mzuri itself and the entire region are an excellent example of Evolved Enterprise thinking creating a win/win/win for everyone across the board.

One of the issues facing this region was the number of fences being put up by the Maasai to herd their flocks of sheep and cows. The problem was this created a barrier for the annual migrations, where millions and millions of animals travel through the area. Coming together with 277 Maasai landowners and five tourism partners, a solution was created encompassing 13,500 hectares named the Olare Conservancy.

This land is leased at a more favorable rate from the Maasai landowners and the community also provides job opportunities in tourism and conservation management. Plus, there is an emphasis on supporting community initiatives that we got to experience touring the water projects, medical facilities and schools.

Visiting the kids at their school was a highlight for so many of us. Many Mavericks participated in the Pack for a Purpose program which encourages visitors to utilize some of their luggage space for much needed supplies. We were greeted with lots of smiles, hugs, dances and high-fives.

Maverick Classrooms

With the community thriving there is a need to have more schools, with a larger capacity. The idea was to build three more classrooms ($10K each), in order to have one for every grade of elementary school as well as the kindergarten. Well, thanks to a collaboration by Richard and a few of our guests – this project will be underway shortly!

1-Degree Network

On the final day, we planted the seed for the project I’ve been thinking of, dreaming about and journaling on for 5+ years with the mission of nudging the consciousness of the world by 1-degree through the leverage of business. This will be incubated in 2020 because our world needs it more than ever. There’s no time to waste.

www.1DegreeNetwork.com

We think one of our guests, Bernadette Doyle, summed up the essence of this experience best as she kept asking, “How can it get any better than this?” But it did as more surprises from bush dinners and breakfasts to incredible animal encounters, meaningful conversations and Maverick magic kept taking place.

Who shows up? Maverick members are industry leading entrepreneurs that are committed to continuously growing themselves and their businesses while creating an impact in the world and having a little (or A LOT) of fun in the process!

Our roles are to catalyze the catalysts and help leading entrepreneurs utilize their skills and resources to make a difference in the world. In fact, that’s what has always drawn our two organizations together. Richard and Maverick have a shared belief that business can be the greatest lever to make a difference in the world tackling serious issues – without taking yourself too seriously.

More details about Maverick here – www.maverick1000.com

Want to be considered for the next Epic Impact Experience on Necker Island? Check out www.maverick1000.com/necker

Redefining Second Chances (Maverick and mavericks in prison)

May 10, 2019 by Yanik Silver

Mavericks joined other Mavericks in jail last month.

I never thought I’d write that sentence, but it is completely true.

Maverick members teamed up with Jayson Gaignard and his MMT community for a totally unique Hustle 2.0 Impact experience with co-founder Cat Hoke.

Hustle 2.0 provides incarcerated people with the training and tools they need to transform their lives, make an impact, and hustle. Hustle 2.0’s comprehensive curriculum is co-authored by industry-leading content experts and incarcerated people, with relatable, evidence-informed courses that are directly relevant to incarcerated people’s success while doing time and after release. In fact, the previous program, Cat, co-created with Defy Ventures, has an astoundingly tiny, single-digit percentage going back into prison as compared to the standard 70–80% recidivism rate.

I didn’t really know what to expect but was ready and open for anything.

Our day started with a 5:30 a.m. departure from LA and a very strict dress code. Many volunteers even had to buy new clothes just because certain colors were absolute NOs for the prison based on the colors the incarcerated population wears, what guards wear, or just gang colors. We were headed to Kern Valley prison, a Level IV Maximum Security institution in Delano, CA.

After a thorough process of being led through doors and barbed wire fences, we were greeted with a tunnel of joy. All the inmates who are part of the program were high-fiving and whooping it up as we ran through the entrance. And then we met the mavericks! That’s right!

To me, language is so important. Your words create your world, and Hustle 2.0 calls participants “Mavericks.” So Mavericks and Mavericks together in prison!

(Note: To make it clearer, in this article, I’ll use capital ‘M’ Maverick for members and lowercase ‘m’ for mavericks in the Hustle 2.0 program.)

Part of the mentoring and connection process is learning about each other. All of the volunteers had a quick moment to share their biggest business brags after a bit of dancing to the front of the room. Cat and Hustle 2.0 are definitely after our own heart when it comes to bringing fun and joy into an area that has the potential for a lot of emotional pain.

Before I went, several people asked me why I’d want to help murderers and violent criminals. My answer was, “If they are getting out anyway, I want to equip them with the empathy, tools, and thinking to ensure they don’t do it again.” There’s an inside part to this about feeling whole, seen, and loved, and there’s the practical part of having an economic opportunity.

That’s why two weeks before the event at Traffic & Conversion, a few Mavericks broke away to spend a few hours doing an exploratory brainstorm about developing an “Evolved Economic Empowerment Business-in-a-Box” idea for these returning citizens. Maverick #154 Damien Zamora, Maverick #304 Chris Koomey, Maverick #269 Tom Shieh, and Maverick #61 Mike Cline were in that room, along with a few more colleagues and our new Community Catalyst, Chris Hay. (Part of Chris’s role is working on accelerating impact projects and the ripple effect we can have.)

We made some progress, and there’s more to come. Certainly now, after experiencing an even deeper connection, I have an even better understanding of the situation.

And that deep connection came with one-on-one conversations and mentoring with Mavericks. Volunteers were seated in a circle around the gym, while Mavericks were on the inside. We did a few sequences of speed networking and mentoring sessions. After each session, you exchange words of appreciation on your “Sweet Sheet,” and at the end, you pick individuals to truly “see.”

These words of affirmation and acknowledgment make all the difference to people no matter what level they are at in life. (Many Campers tell us they hang on to their “Happy Camper” notes for years. I do too!)

I heard quite a few stories that would break your heart. One of the mavericks I really connected with was “Jumping James.” Each of us put an adjective using the first letter of our first name on our name badge. Mine was “Yoda’cious Yanik.” So many people have referred to me as a Yoda so I’m embracing it, but it’s not an adjective, so yoda’cious I guess is my made up one.

James looked me directly in the eye and starting telling me his story and his dream. When he was finished, I saw a book he had brought with him – 177 Mental Toughness Secrets of the World Class by Steve Siebold. I recognized it because I have it on my bookshelf too but haven’t looked at in years. I opened it up, and James had underlined and devoured the book. And then we got to talking about other habits, and he told me he meditated each day. Wow! I had to look past the tattoo around his eye, but looking directly into his eyes, he had the spark – that light of being able to do something great if given the chance.

Part of the speed mentoring was each maverick sharing their business idea with you and then getting some quick advice from the volunteers. Then, at the end of the three rounds, you had one ticket to give to someone who you thought you’d invest in. By that time, James wasn’t in my area of the circle anymore, so I didn’t hear his pitch. But I was really proud because he was one of four or five mavericks who got all three tickets from the volunteers. That means all three volunteers thought his idea would work.

James circled back after that, and we grabbed lunch together and a quick picture.

Step to the Line

One of the most emotional exercises Cat facilitates took place after lunch. I had done it with my friend Gio and his Archangels group, where I had met Cat, so I knew a little bit of what to expect. I don’t want to spoil the process for you with too many details, because I’m sure many of the Mavericks will go at some point for this impact experience. The exercise is called “Step to the Line,” and it’s designed to help you see the commonality of what we all have. If a statement read is true for you, you step up to the line. If not, you walk away from the line. You are paired off with one person directly in front of you. My partner was Jumping James again. We made sure to be together.

With each statement, you learned a bit more about everyone around you with statements of “I’ve had too much to drink and still drove” or “I’ve contemplated suicide,” etc. It was incredible how many people on the volunteer side actually stepped to the line for that statement. In fact, when we had a moment of one-on-one time with our partner, that was what got James to cry. He was deeply moved by how many incredible people had considered ending it all. (In fact, I think suicide and depression are two of the hidden secrets too many entrepreneurs keep private and it’s something I’d like to do more impact work around.)

One statement was asking if you have fully and completely forgiven yourself for mistakes of the past. James and I both stepped OFF the line for that. Part of the program is helping to bring forgiveness because otherwise, that non-forgiveness shows back up in violence, anger, and revenge. James and I shared a deep, deep connection because of what happened there, and then I got a little tinge of “oh, oh!”

He told me he is coming out in five months.

I thought, “Am I for real, or do I just want to feel good in here and then ‘they’ stay where they are?”

But this is a guy I’d bet on – reading all the time, underlining, taking notes, meditating, etc. I told him later, before we left, “I believe in you.” And I do. But it was a real sobering moment to be aware of that feeling, and that also plays into what are other opportunities for people with criminal records, those who look “dangerous.”

After this experience, I have an even deeper sense that there needs to be more done with the prison system. Is it for punishment or rehabilitation? All the incentives of the prison system are set up to be a highly profitable mega business without truly delivering the value our society needs right now. I’m proud to have Mavericks and mavericks unite to help co-create new solutions to this pressing issue.

If you’re a successful entrepreneur and want to get involved in more solutions for making a greater impact check out the collective of Maverick1000.com

Overcoming Adversity and Rising Stronger

December 26, 2017 by Yanik Silver

We’ve just returned from a magical and impactful Maverick Summit in Puerto Rico.

I don’t really believe in coincidences. At Camp Maverick, we coined the term “Synchro-Maverick-nicity.” I’d say this qualifies…

We were already scheduled to host this year’s Summit in San Juan and while the hotel allowed us to get out of our contract – we decided that instead of canceling we were going to do what Mavericks do best; show up and make a difference to catalyze change with the entrepreneurs and business leaders there.

Puerto Rico Summit was a wonderful way to cap off our Impact this year.
On day 1, we held a powerful and insightful full day seminar with about 30 local business leaders on revised theme of “Overcoming Adversity and Rising Stronger.”

It was a REAL conversation that struck deep about how to work through any challenges we all face…health, financial, business, etc. Stories of surviving and thriving after catastrophic accidents, suicide attempts, business collapses, natural disasters, crooked business partners and more. One attendee shared with me this was the first business event, in his words, that had ever felt “real” and “genuine.”

Maverick members and local Puerto Rican business leaders gathering to overcome adversity and rise stronger

Guillermo Paz, one of the local Puerto Rican business leaders conducting a session on Stillness and thought power in the midst of turmoil

One of my favorite quotes of the day from my friend Hal Elrod:

“Every negative emotion is self created by the degree of resistance to reality.”

He also shared his “5-minute rule” that related to this, basically you get 5 minutes to whine and complain but then that’s it. Then you fully accept the situation. Hal also had some great questions to consider as you’re going through this:

What am I supposed to learn here?
What am I destined to become as I go through this?
Who can I serve with this experience?

Really powerful and puts the focus on a greater meaning.

In Viktor Frankl’s iconic book Man’s Search for Meaning, the idea of finding a deeper WHY or meaning allows you to deal with any how. For Frankl that was being held captive in a German concentration camp.

I truly believe we grow through joy or pain. And in many cases “pain” is an even greater teacher once you get an elevated view of the situation. I think if you looked back on your own life you’d agree. In the opening session I shared the idea that we cannot control circumstance but we can control our own reaction. And that means the following:

emotions
judgments
creativity
actions
beliefs
decisions

It’s in the moments in between stimulus and response that define who we are.

More Ways to Help Puerto Rico

Some of the local entrepreneurs gave us their “elevator pitch” of 3 things they know will move the needle on their business right now – post Hurricane Maria. These could be key resources, connections, investments, etc. While we were able to make quite a few direction connections from the attendees there and Mavericks but we know there’s still more. Please watch (and share) these videos with your network to help make a big difference in Puerto Rico. https://maverick1000.com/puertorico/

Day 2 “Pop-in”

On Day 2, Mavericks had our own deep and vulnerable conversations on this same theme until this guy dropped in and interrupted us!

Richard came by to share a few of his own lessons of overcoming adversity as they’ve been incredibly hard hit by Hurricane Irma on his island home in the BVIs. Richard wanted to share his appreciation for our work earlier in the year for that Hurricane relief too with so many Mavericks going above and beyond!

One interesting echo from Day 1 was Richard sharing his own view that as the leader our emotional state sets the tone for the rest of your organization. So he makes it a point to be that optimistic, positive force that the rest of the team can rally around. We had just talked about that topic on day 1, mentioning my friend Chip Conley’s book, Emotional Equations. He said CEOs are not Chief Executive Officers but Chief Emotional Officers.

For instance a few years back when the Great House on Necker was destroyed by lightning, he gathered everyone together the next morning to dream and imagine how to make the next building even better. Our group was one of the first to stay in the new Great House after it was re-built and they did an incredible job of keeping the old feel of it but adding incredible new elements like a hot tub up in the crow’s nest. Richard was thinking along the same lines after this disaster too. He mentioned maybe turning his tennis courts into a disco at night or something else cool.

Impact Delivered

I had many members share that Puerto Rico was incredible because of the deep impact and work we did there. And it didn’t stop with our brain power and mentoring because we also delivered on-the-ground aid.

Later in the day we went out into the mountains to communities still without water to deliver direct help. We were able to source 200 gravity based water filters for different communities that still hadn’t been able to have clean water 2 months after the storm. (And thanks to the generosity of Mavericks Todd Tzeng, Gary Nealon and Steve Little we were able to deliver even more immediate aid after we left and to more remote areas we couldn’t get to. Thank you!)

The act of service and giving always makes you feel good. It’s truly amazing how we are hard-wired this way as humans.

We had intentionally worked on making a real impact with this Summit. That meant using our dollars in the local community as much as possible…from our vendors, apparel, entertainment, etc. One out-of-the-way stop was to visit a young entrepreneur known as the “Coconut King” to learn about surviving on coconuts for shelter and nourishment. I’m proud to say I can add a new bullet to my resume; #1 coconut tree climber!

Exploring Puerto Rico

Day 3 was about the experience and having a bit of fun and adventure…

The group split and I was in the Rainforest Adventure tours with Rocalize outfitters. We climbed up river throughout a gorgeous crystal clear stream and then at the top finally rappelling down an 80 ft waterfall and a few zip lines along the way. It was great!

We were the very first tour group since Hurricane Maria and that really made it special to continue supporting the tourism industry and show our support. Spread the word about Puerto Rico being open for business and tourism again. Happy to report several Mavericks posted on TripAdvisor and that helps in a big way too.

Near the end of the tour, one of our guides, Jacob, pointed out there was a slippery inclined rock we could slide down. I decided to go headfirst with some speed. Bad idea! Jacob leaped across the water to help shield me from hitting the rocks at the bottom with my noggin!

Full Moon in Perfect Timing

After everyone returned we held a full moon ceremony on the beach. The weather was looking iffy the whole time for this night but I don’t go by the weather app anymore when we’re surrounded by Maverick magic!

The ceremony was about recalling our intentions set during the sunrise yoga on the very first morning. I fell into meditation within the circle and my first thought was, “Agh…we’re on the beach too early to see the moon rise.” But then I just let that go and trusted. We connected to the Earth and sand on the beach and the power of the moon energy and right as we finished the moon popped out behind a few clouds.

Perfect!

I was the last one to leave because I felt called to connect to our drummer, Carlos. He told me to make sure I shared with the group that the lightning and thunder was an auspicious sign during this ceremony. It was the “Thunderbeings” acknowledging our prayers and intentions. I did see lightning just as we were wrapping up. I continued talking to Carlos for a few more minutes and as I left, literally 5 minutes later the sky opened up and started to rain. Again perfect timing. If we had been a few minutes later, we never would have seen the full moon.

One of my guiding lights for this year has been this notion of Trust. This is what I wrote in my journal at sunrise the very first morning on Necker this year (then our team turned it into this image):

I could look around at every Maverick member in that final circle and see how they are and continue growing as a “sun.” Our intention to “Light 1,000 suns who can light another 1,000 more” is my guidepost for what we’re building with Maverick as we move forward. The next year we are going to be focusing on consciously evolving yourself, evolving your business and creating even more impact in the world! It’s going to be a fun ride!

And as it’s the end of the year, I also wanted to give huge shout out to Team Green. Our small but mighty team continues making big things happen inside the 2020 EcoVerse vision.

Here are a couple highlights for me:

Evolved Enterprise hardcover book release funding an entire village of micro-entrepreneurs through Village Enterprise. (Then this created a ripple of 2 more villages being funded by Dima Kozlov on his Influex launch and Anik Singal, one of our super affiliates.)
Sinking the BVI Art Reef. The Maverick Magic of it exactly happening on our annual Necker week. A complete full circle.
Burpee challenge with Joe DeSena of Spartan and then the ripple effect of Mavericks Tom Shieh and Steve Young taking the challenge of heading to Iceland for the 24-hour Ultra championships!
Camp Maverick being acclaimed as one of the most incredible, must-attend events. You know it’s good when Sally Hogshead says, “Different is better than better…and you are absolutely different!” (Note: 2018 Dates are set – May 17-19, 2018, 1 hour outside Austin, TX)
Helping accelerate $250,000.00 from the Sara Blakely Foundation to mentor and create business models for 10 social impact entrepreneurs in Atlanta…and so much more.

If you’d like to see what’s on tap for 2018 schedule – check it out here.

Illuminations from the Dark

M.A.G.I.C. Meditation

Cozy Cosmic Cocoon…

Shoot for the Stars

Maverick Impact Experience Recap: Kenya with Sir Richard Branson

Redefining Second Chances (Maverick and mavericks in prison)

Overcoming Adversity and Rising Stronger

Change The Way Business Is Played

Tony Hsieh