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Sinking Ships, Mermaid tails and Lessons from the Deep with Sir Richard Branson

May 29, 2017 by Yanik Silver

I’m back from our 9th trip to Necker Island with our visionary host, Sir Richard Branson, in support of the Virgin Unite charity.

I sometimes have to truly pinch myself because I originally had written in my Life List, “Have lunch with Branson,” and now that’s turned into probably 50 lunches. Who knew? Over the years, we’ve developed a deeper bond from our shared belief that business can be the greatest lever to make a difference in the world and not taking ourselves too seriously.

Not taking ourselves too seriously was on full display as he went along with doing our Q&A in a mermaid tail that Sophia from our team beautifully set up. Yes, we went full “mermen” here…

The outfits were for the “Under the Sea” theme party celebrating an incredible project spearheaded by Maverick #61 Mike Cline and Aydika James.

It was actually an incredible “full circle” experience this year because last year Maverick members and invited guests on Necker were tasked with how to take an old WWII Navy ship and turn it into a self-sustainable impact project. Not an easy task, but we did it!

I believe the right people are in the room at the right time, and this was especially true last year. We had a last-minute cancellation, and Mike and Aydika were flexible enough to join us. As soon as Lauren Keil from Unite BVI started presenting this idea, I was so excited to see those two writing furiously. They have previous experience building Burning Man art cars, and this fit in perfectly with this project.

We took the YO-44 —one of the last five ships that survived Pearl Harbor from being scrapped for metal— and transformed her into a thriving artificial reef and adventure dive site. The project was designed to help rehabilitate heavily over-fished marine populations in ways that boost income for local dive operators and the BVI economy. And it’s a breathtaking art sculpture used as an artificial reef, providing marine science research as well as swim and marine stewardship programs for local BVI kids.

This project was featured in the NY Times, Travel & Leisure, Bloomberg, and numerous other publications for the breakthrough impact.

It was amazing to be able to have started a project last year during our week and have so many of the first donors who raised funds for this incredible project right on the spot. Mavericks Jeff Siegel, Mike Geary, John Ratliff, John Carter, Matt Curry, Tom Shieh, Steve Little, Melinda Wittstock, Jim Spano, Garrett Gunderson and Sasha Ablitt were some of the founding donors. And Mike and Aydika truly dropped everything to ensure this project became a reality. The degree of coordination and partnerships to make this happen was truly incredible. There’s a big lesson here because only an epic project like this can garner this type of support.

The ship was supposed to sink well before our week on Necker, but Mother Nature had other plans. So a few days into our trip, we braved stormy rain and wind to see the ship off. Richard joined us for this amazing three-hour-plus celebration, and as the clouds cleared, our anticipation grew. We weren’t sure how long it would take to sink the ship or if the giant Kraken sculpture would even remain upright.

At the end, when the ship finally sunk, it went down sideways, but the divers below were able to guide it safely to the bottom upright. Phew! Here’s an incredible short film documenting the build and sink.

It fit with my intention for the week. The very first day at sunrise, I wrote this in my journal after meditating.

In case you cannot read it –

TRUST

Trust the Universe has even more in store for you than you can imagine…Trust the divine timing…Trust your crazy ideas…Trust your wings will grow when you leap…Trust your nature…Trust you’ve been encoded with a Cosmic Alarm Clock…Trust the co-conspirators catalyzing your conscious evolution…Trust the perfect unfolding of your understanding…Trust your divine connection

Typically, I don’t read entries from my journal, but that’s how I started off our Growth sessions and conversation in the Temple house that first morning. I read this entry because I trusted who was in the room, the conversations we’d have, and how the experience would shape attendees in profound ways.

That always happens.

Typically, you come in with one intention, but you always leave with a breakthrough in some other way that you’d never expected. It was actually pretty amazing the type of conversations we had that really centered around conscious evolution and working with “invisible” aspects that show up in the material world later on. This would not have been the crux of the conversation several years ago.

Evolutionary Growth

I tested my own level of comfort with having a shamanic ceremony right in the Great House on the night before the full moon. I’ve realized it’s time to actually step fully into this other part of myself too and fully align and integrate that into what we’re doing to “catalyze the catalysts” and light 1,000 suns! I wasn’t sure if it would be too “weird” or not, but we had a good number of the attendees actually take part and many more who were interested in some of the shamanic work. I’ve been meditating and doing yoga regularly now for three-plus years, and it really has started paying dividends because I was in a deep meditation for about an hour and a half during this ceremony. We’ve changed the dollar sign symbol to a tree to reflect this evolutionary direction for Maverick around “growing yourself and growing your business” and not simply profits.

I see our retreats and experiences together as something that can be absolutely transformative on a deeper level.

Authentic Growth

We are pretty selective with our guests and speakers on Necker because it’s more about the conversation— but I was so excited to invite Leslie Blodgett. She’s the former CEO of Bare Minerals who recently sold the company to Shiseido for nearly $1.8B.

Everyone loved her. Leslie doesn’t normally speak at conferences, so this was a real special treat to hear from her. She came in when the company was pretty small, and part of her message to us was to never change being authentic to your brand and yourself as you grow and not to listen to the “professionals” necessarily. For instance, as she’s in the beauty industry, she railed against the “fakeness” of perfect models and instead used real women who actually loved the product.

Leslie told us people love to connect to real people. She never had any media training and actually resisted it even when they started making more and more TV appearances, infomercials, and QVC work. The ethos was a girlfriend talking to another girlfriend. And that’s the way she ran the whole company, asking, “What would you do for your friends?” For instance, one time they had a defective brush that shed hairs all over women as they put on their make-up. Instead of waiting for customers to be upset about it and return them, they preemptively sent all the buyers a new brush.

Leslie also bucked convention because she wouldn’t hire celebrity spokespeople. The whole beauty industry was “fake,” and she was going the opposite direction. She wanted that authentic zealot to be her brand advocate. And Bare Minerals was able to build an incredible group of girlfriends before we had the technology to easily do it and help spur word-of-mouth. In fact, she was so committed to the community that five minutes before the IPO, Leslie told them the news before anyone else. Once the video of Leslie’s presentation is ready, we’ll have it for you in the Maverick Members learning library.

Ocean Conservation and New Business Ideas

Our week on Necker raised $251,033.34 for Virgin Unite, putting our total at over $2.2 million throughout our partnership together.

But it’s not just about a donation. It’s about putting our brainpower and resources together to make a difference. This year we were provided another challenge to take on….

The Ocean Is Everybody’s Business – Ocean Unite

The ocean is also probably the biggest business in the world. It is the world’s seventh largest economy with a GDP equivalent to US$2.5 trillion (about 5% of global GDP). Its key assets have an overall value of more than US$24 trillion.

Life on Earth depends on a healthy, vibrant ocean. Without it, we won’t have a livable planet. It is an essential life system. Habitat destruction, biodiversity loss, overfishing, pollution, climate change, and acidification are together pushing the ocean system to a point of collapse. Yet despite this doom and gloom scenario, we live in a time with unprecedented opportunities for reversing this trajectory of decline and restoring ocean health. Because it’s not too late to solve this crisis. The ocean is amazingly resilient and could recover, but it needs each and every one of us to play a part.

Companies, business leaders, and consumers can play a huge and positive role as force multipliers for positive change to benefit the ocean. Committing to implementing a business model that is both environmentally and socially responsible, will have multiple positive effects for the planet, its people, and the global economy. The private sector is a strong and compelling voice to governments on the need to ensure protection, and it has major reach in terms of brand and consumers.

Our task: to convince the world, especially the business community, that reviving the ocean is mission critical and to get on with making this happen. Just as business leaders helped drive ambitious climate action, now we need business leadership more than ever to reverse the ocean decline and put it on a pathway to recovery.

With that set-up, our task was to create an actual for-profit Evolved Enterprise that would help companies be more profitable, tell a better story, and be more conscious of being in alignment with ocean conservation.

We broke off into teams, and everybody presented to Richard, me, and the team at Virgin Unite as judges. There were some great ideas, and the winner was a business model for an agency to come in and help provide a trust seal and consulting work to companies, helping them reduce and remove plastic from their supply chain. We have allocated startup funds from our donation to support and provide resources for a team of young entrepreneurs to drive and run this new venture. You’ll hear more about this #Blue project as it continues to develop and take shape. I’m also excited to say the other teams that didn’t win are moving ahead with two or three other projects as well, so we are getting more and more seeds planted for this important work! You can find out more at Ocean Unite’s new site – The Ocean is Everybody’s Business.

New Worlds Opening

I had another transformation this week as well. About seven or eight years ago we did a trip to Iceland and dove the Silfra Ravine, which is in between the two tectonic plates of America and Europe. I had gotten certified a week before that dive and truly jumped into the deep end because it required a dry suit, since the water was freezing cold! I wasn’t very comfortable diving and even had a bit of claustrophobia under the water in my hooded dry suit. So I wasn’t sure if I’d dive the new Art Reef or not. Plus, I had issues before with clearing my ears and equalizing.

As we dove down, I started feeling like I wouldn’t be able to do it because at 12–15 feet or so, I wasn’t equalizing. My instructor was super patient, and we just hovered and then swam around for a bit until I realized I was at the bottom of the wreck. Amazing! I was totally comfortable down there, and again I credit my meditation practice for this. It was totally in awe and had deep feelings of joy and wonder playing in and around the Kraken. It seemed so much bigger down there than on land when I had previously toured it before it sank. I can’t wait for others to enjoy this dive and see the ripple of the impact created. Being able to face this truly opened up the world under the sea for me again. It seems totally appropriate with our theme and focus during this week.

Team Necker Finally Wins

We typically end our week on Necker with the annual Patron XO invitational Beach Volleyball match of Team Necker vs. Team Maverick. We are three-time champions, and George from Team Necker had been recruiting all year to make a better showing. The game gets pretty out of hand quickly as we have a shot each time the other team gets seven points. So if you’re losing, those shots add up quickly, as they did for me.

Richard was quite pleased with Team Necker finally claiming the title on their home court, as you can see. Here’s a great pic of the celebration following their victory. Next year, I’m already planning who is coming based on volleyball skills. And as a former “professional” (technically) volleyball player, I’m going to have to enlist a few big guns.

And speaking of next year, we have dates for Necker set. This will be our 10th anniversary of supporting Virgin Unite, so we’re planning some epic surprises. If you want in, I’d expect this to fill very quickly. The dates are March 22–29, 2018.

Coincidences, byproducts, and standing United

January 22, 2017 by Yanik Silver

Was flying home from Denver on Friday, and while in the boarding line, I struck up a conversation with a remarkable woman, who just attracted me for some reason.

I know why now…

First, she had a silver, vintage butterfly pin, and I told her how much I liked it. The gal behind us in line, who was also part of our conversation, mentioned that butterflies always remind her of her grandmother. For me, it’s my mom, who transitioned 11+ years ago.

Instead of a typical response, this woman with the pin said butterflies were symbolic of transformation and rebirth.

Hmmm…

Okay, so who was this person?

In further conversation, she mentioned she was a Jungian analyst. No way! My eyes lit up as I’m a huge Jung fan. We talked for only a few moments in line about her work, her coming to DC for a women’s march, and that she’s been an advocate for women’s rights for a long time, etc. She mentioned writing several books, including her latest, called Artemis.

As we parted, I felt compelled to hand her a copy of Evolved Enterprise. It was the only one I just happened to have in my bag. I said I was involved with helping entrepreneurs make a difference in the world and thought there might be something in there that might connect us.

As I sat in my seat, I felt a little silly as I looked up Artemis and then saw her extensive work. She had authored numerous books on female & male archetypes, symbolism, changing the world, activism, etc. Her name is Jean Shinoda Bolen.

To give you a sense of the depth of her work, here’s part of her latest book description: Artemis: The Indomitable Spirit in Everywoman, a groundbreaking new book that explores the archetype of the activist. Indomitable means untamed, unsubdued. It is the one-in-herself quality in girls and women who will not be victims, no matter what.

I had followed my intuition, but I thought maybe I had missed a turn here.

I felt like I had “pushed” my work on her without truly establishing a deeper connection for why. She was sitting a few rows up from me, and I walked up before the flight to say I didn’t have any attachment to her reading the book and that she could just leave it in the seat—truly, whatever. And that was it.

**
Quick side note: After our Maverick Hawaii Summit, I’ve been working a little with ho’oponopono practices. It’s a remarkable Hawaiian healing practice that I’m just really starting to feel into. There’s actually another pretty remarkable coincidence on how this came into my life too. A few weeks ago, I had toured the U.S. Capitol because I’m intensely intrigued by the fresco underneath the dome, entitled “The Apotheosis of George Washington.”

In my research on the Capitol, I knew about the statue of Columbia on top of the building and much of the symbolism, but I never knew about how the statue came to the U.S. and its remarkable storied past.

And part of that story involves Morrnah Nalamaku Simeona, a Kahuna responsible for bringing the ho’oponopono practice into much wider use around the world. Simeona was so connected to the statue of Columbia that she dedicated her resources and energy to restoring the original plaster model after bringing it out of storage and then installing it at the U.S. Capitol for visitors to appreciate. (Read the full story about how the statue talked to Morrnah—it’s pretty cool!)
**

I did the ho’oponopono process on myself for the feeling of “wanting to be recognized,” and a few moments later, strolling down the aisle toward me is Jean.

She said she skimmed through my book and realized we actually are a lot more connected than she realized. We had an empowering conversation about her advocacy work of helping create women’s circles. We discussed the combination of Malcolm Gladwell’s concept of Tipping Points and Rupert Sheldrake’s work with collective consciousness and how this is THE tipping point coming now with consciousness.

And then we talked about her favorite subject—synchronicity—and one of my favorite Jung concepts as well. I asked her how she knew the difference between a real synchronicity and something our ego wanted to be a meaningful coincidence. She explained that usually it’s lighter and even more whimsical but always in alignment with your higher purpose. Then Jean said we’ll wait to see if this is a synchronicity or not. 😉

I was so moved by all the women on my flight wearing their “cat hats” for the march. And the flight attendants asked everyone wearing the hats to get up so everyone could get pictures.

Then Jean led a quick chant on the plane of “Rise up…rise up…rise up!”

I actually started tearing up seeing someone leading in her full voice, not embarrassed to be doing that on an airplane with others. Just pure heart-centered leadership.

And the magic didn’t stop there, because I asked my seatmate if she was coming for the march too. After answering affirmatively, I pointed out a little “wink” from the Universe that we were on a “United” Airlines flight. I loved it.

United is, unfortunately, not the story the media wants portrayed. They want an enemy to continue dividing up people in one camp or another. The march “against” Trump. It’s unfortunate the media has to continue the story line of labeling this as a “protest” instead of choosing words that would create more solidarity.

The energy and feeling I got talking to different women coming in on the flight to Denver was more of a sisterhood of unity, not against something but standing in unity and solidarity as sisters, ensuring we do not go back. Couldn’t agree more.

I’ve talked to several friends who marched in DC and who have never been “political.” I always believe there are powerful byproducts that arise from anything that seems “bad” or “good.” It’ll be interesting to see which byproducts are catalyzed from these defining moments happening now.

Let The Seeds You Are Planting Grow…

December 24, 2016 by Yanik Silver

That’s part of my journal entry from a few years back when I drew this picture. A little further down the page I wrote:

“Allow the seeds to grow – you cannot constantly pull up the roots and expect a mighty oak to thrive.”

Seems fitting as we approach the holidays and the end of the year…

It’s natural to take stock of what you’ve accomplished this year and what’s next.

My friend and ultra successful entrepreneur, Rick Sapio shared with me his own personal process. (Side note: Rick has founded more than 20 companies and personally spent time with 14 different billionaires. We bonded over a shared experience of getting “kicked off” Necker island our first year. Funny story that you can find in a very old blog post here.)

Rick’s end-of-year process is really powerful and I immediately sent it to my whole team after trying it myself. Download it here. It’s part of a unique strategic program for entrepreneurs called Business Finishing School.

My wife, Missy, and I spent the morning of the Winter Solstice reflecting on 2016 and sharing intentions for 2017. We’ve never done that and it really brought us closer together.

Doing this work brought out some interesting insights including my answer to the question that asked, “What else do you need to do or say to be complete with 2016?”

My answer, “Blog post about “waking up” with drawings.”

Huh?

I didn’t really understand what that meant until yesterday…

A little back-story is in order.

I took the afternoon off to play tourist in DC. My first stop was the Air & Space Museum. I love seeing Spaceship One on display there. This was the ship that won the $10 million dollar X-prize for a spaceship to go up into space twice in one week. This was the technology licensed to become Virgin Galactic so it has a special place in my heart.

Next, I walked down the road to the Botanical gardens to soak in some tropical air. After that I took a detour to the U.S. Capitol building. I had never actually toured there even though I live so close. Luckily I got into the very last group allowed in. I’ve really, really wanted to check out just one feature inside. Underneath the dome of the Capitol is a fresco painting entitled “The Apotheosis of George Washington”.

It’s epic.

Just standing there and taking in this beautiful piece of symbolic art is so powerful.

The guide gave me the official story about the painting but I think there is quite a bit more there from research I’ve seen. Anyway after leaving the Capitol I still had a little time before I was meeting my brother for a Caps game that night, so I looked for a spot to meditate and journal. (Yes, it might sound a little strange but I’ve committed to meditating 2x/day so that calls for some flexibility and sometimes being slightly out of my comfort zone.)

I found a little plot of grass beyond most of the tourists but where I could still see the top of the Capitol building with the statue of Columbia. I leaned up against a tree and after mediating realized I was actually under a White Oak tree.

Aha!

That little nudge prompted me to find this drawing in a previous journal and here we are…

When I found that page from several years back, I read through the entry and realized it was perfect for this time of year:

I’ll type it out here in case you can’t read all of my writing:

“Allow the seeds to grow – you cannot constantly pull up the roots and expect a mighty oak to thrive.

My seeds have been planted, watered and nourished. It’s now a time to allow them to continue blossoming.

Evolved Enterprise as an overlay across what we’re doing is a bloom that has significant potential. It’s the framework for how I catalyze and co-create a meaningful difference & change the way business is played.

Allowing joy, my full heart and full business mind to converge together.

Taking everything that works in marketing and psychology and multiplying by the impact potential without losing the FUN. That playfulness is my barometer for where I’m on track. You could be solving the world’s problems in a totally serious mood – or laughing like the Dalai Lama. I prefer laughter and a sense of a divine inner child. Creating new ideas that have a deeper soul & evolved enterprise essence is fun! All the pieces of the EcoVerse coming together should be and can be incredibly fun…on the journey & as it happens.”

Then here’s text that I wrote with my left hand. (Using your non-dominant hand helps open up another part of your brain.)

“Let the seeds you are planting grow! You are in a place of divine timing and intersection. You’ve already done the ‘work’, in your journal, in your mind, your relationship network, etc. The pins are stacked. Allow yourself to ask for and receive your full abundance of joy, creation and fulfillment.”

Okay But I Still Wasn’t Complete…YetReviewing my answer again of what I needed to be complete with 2016. I didn’t think that one journal entry was quite enough.

I found another more recent one that seemed to really speak to “waking up” — plus it had more drawings.

This one is more personal so I definitely felt a bit uneasy to share it.

However I decided that if I can help empower someone else or nudge them in some way, it’s worth it. And the bigger reason is I cannot shake this deep knowing of a seismic shift happening. I’ve felt it growing stronger as I’ve released Evolved Enterprise but even well before that.

See if this resonates with you:

Here’s the entry typed out:

“As I fully aligned my head (business side & creative side), my heart (impact), my voice (right speech), grounded foundation, gut, fun/lighthearted happy child and higher purpose = everything IS in alignment.

Head, heart higher purpose (and happy inner child) is good shorthand but it is so much more. And aligning your physical body, emotional body, mental body and spiritus body.

The chakras are a very good explanation of the subtle energy that falls into alignment for fully expressing our blueprinted destiny + dharma + truth. A state of grace [MC Yogi song “Grace” was actually playing at this moment]

And they really are subtle energies. The intuitions, the impulses of inspiration, enthusiasm, joy, insight & truth. When I shared my appreciation for the 2020 EcoVerse it was free flowing alignment of my higher purpose being fulfilled by the framework of the EcoVerse. I cried as I received the same MEN energy download on my 43rd birthday. Putting my full effortless effort – embrace my destiny of destiny of fulfilling this role to midwife and empower global visionaries to co-create the shift of the ages (Silver age). Not in an ego way but simply a blueprinted knowing in great service with immense byproducts I cannot even begin to imagine yet…”

[Written with my left hand (I call it my integrated hand)]

“Who are you to play smaller? Who does that serve? Not you, not the world. It’s a false humble. Your JOY is in full service…”

This last part was really huge for me. I wrote this out on my 43rd birthday with my left hand and it really stuck with me. It made it back into my journal again to remind me of this poignant message.

I pretty much always experience something profound writing with my non-dominant hand. I learned this technique from Bill Donius, author of Thought Revolution, when he shared the process with Maverick members. (Note: I have an entire process for journaling for entrepreneurs that I cover inside the Evolved Business Blueprint. It’s one of the modules for getting deep into the answers of a business that delivers your most meaningful work and creates an extraordinary profit in the process.)

Growth * Impact * JoyWe just got back from the Big Island of Hawaii for the Maverick Summit with the theme of “Legendary Legacy”.

Legendary Legacy is about stepping into your true voice. To connect your head (business smarts), with your heart and your higher purpose (without forgetting about the happy inner child too) 😉

The same thing that got you where you are now won’t necessarily get you to the next destination on your journey. The only way to grow is to continually express your deepest essence of your greatest gifts.

That’s why we’ve actually updated the 3 circles I always talk about. Here’s the original illustration that started so much of this journey a few years back:

Tada! The tree keeps showing up…

The dollar sign is replaced with the TREE symbol because at the core of everything we do is truly about growing yourself AND your business. The dollar sign was simply too limiting and one-sided. (Though one of our members did remind me money does grow on trees so we got you covered there too!) This is the DNA for everything we do and at the center of the marketplace of impactful entrepreneurs served.

At the Summit I also shared the BIG picture of how the pieces of the EcoVerse all tie together. Something I’ve been thinking about, journaling on and working through for a long time. (One of the topics I was talking about in the last journal entry.)

You can see the full 2020 Vision document here.

(I’ll be holding a special presentation at the beginning of the year to help you create your own Vision document and what it entails. Look out for those details.)

2017 ThemeNow as you go through the Reflection and intention exercise prompts from the worksheet you’ll end with a few words or phrases as your theme for this next year. One of mine is: “Seeds Blooming”…

Hmm…seems pretty perfect with this drawing and journal entry. And if you read the 2020 EcoVerse Vision you see the symbolism of seeds, soils, suns and blooms are pretty prominent.

Let me know what your theme is in the comments. And leave a note about what you think about these journal entries and going behind the curtain with me.

If you like it, please share this with someone that could benefit from this for the coming year ahead.

How Entrepreneurial Parents Can Help Develop Empowering Identities and Positive Values in Your Kids

July 9, 2016 by Yanik Silver

There’s no doubt what we believe about ourselves has a way of becoming our TRUTH even if it’s not based in objective reality.

And most of our self-identities about what we are good at, who we are or what we can do is shaped at an early age.

Fact is, we have a self-identity for every single little part and parcel of our personality, characteristics and abilities. Taking my almost 11-year old son, Zack, as an example, it would be how well he plays baseball, ice hockey, interacts with teachers, responds to authority, respects rules, how artistic he is, how resilient he is, etc. And that’s a small window; there are probably hundreds of other self-identities beyond these.

Think about yourself.

What were you told as a kid that may or may not be true anymore?

Yes, I’m definitely a big believer in playing to our strengths and talents but I also don’t think you can only be a one-sided or one-dimensional character. For my 9-year, Zoe, she is super artistic and creative. However I always like to remind her that’s she’s more athletic than she thinks and I tell Zack he is more artistic than he thinks.

Zoe has now has taken on the identity of being the “adventurous” one in the family like daddy, so I’ve been nourishing that.

This past week before the kids headed off to sleepaway Camp, Missy and I each took out the kids for some 1-on-1 focused, intentional time together.

At the last Maverick Family Freedom event we both heeded the advice of my friend Jim Sheils, co-founder of BoardMeetings. He believes (rightly so) that it’s important to have just one child and one parent for a ‘retreat’. You want to share an experience you both will enjoy. And finally, a real biggie is NO electronics. Yep turn off the phone and technology.

So for “Daddy/Daughter Day”, Zoe and I went indoor skydiving as her adventurous activity.

It’s a bit of haul from the house but it gave us more time in the car together to talk and hang out.

I feel like the best lessons are from actually living them. Of course it’s usually less about what we say and more about what we do.

I committed a long time ago that I want to make my life my lesson as much as possible. More like guideposts along the way. As Ghandi said, “My life is my message.”

I love it when the kids “catch” me doing yoga, meditating, journaling, reading, being kind to others, doing fun things, teaching, writing, etc. (I remember a study awhile back that mentioned kids that see their parents exercise are healthier, so instead of waiting until kids go to school to exercise they do it in front of them or even together.)

A Different Lesson Learned

Now I thought I might teach Zoe about giving and random acts of kindness on the way to skydiving. We paid twice for the person behind us at the toll plaza. Usually the person acknowledges you, beeps or catches up to you. I thought that would happen again and Zoe would get a little jolt of joy from that. But no, not this time. I was a little frustrated but then realized the real lesson was non-attachment. I told her receiving the thank you is not important – it’s just the act itself that makes us happy as we pulled into our destination.

If you’ve never heard of Indoor Skydiving or tried it – think of a giant chamber where they blow air up so you can position your body in such a way to mimic skydiving.

Zoe did her first flight and did fine. The second flight is a high-flying one with the instructor where you go much higher in the chamber. I could tell she was getting a little nervous but I just told her to breathe and enjoy it. She made it through flight #2 and was really proud of herself.

I’m hoping this moment will add to the mosaic of her adventurous self-identity anytime she feels unsure or scared to do something.

The next day was “Daddy/Dude Day” with Zack.

For the guys day out, we picked Top Golf and miniature golf as our outing.

Top Golf is a driving range that’s been upgraded for the 21^st century. It’s very cool and they’re building locations all around the country. Each ball has an RFID chip in it so it tracks distance and where it lands. There are 7-8 holes you are aiming for with different scores for each one. We played a few different games including one where you just aim for one particular hole but you have to hit the ball into each of the 9 different pie-like slices surrounding the pin.

Intent and Targeting

Cue up lesson from Dad:

Zack did real well at this game. I technically won on points since I hit to the pin and got more points but he beat me on lighting up more areas of the hole. It was a great lesson we talked about over burgers on intentionality and targets. Previous games we just aimed for any of the holes but specifically and deliberately aiming for just 1 hole we each got better. Will that lesson stick? Who knows – but I do know for sure you learn better when that lesson is tied to an experience as an example.

After that we hit the miniature golf course and started making up our own rules to make it more fun. Rules like standing on one leg, pool cue shots (ode to Chevy Chase) and backgrounds through the legs were a few of them that made it lots of fun.

When we got home we decided we’d put together a new backyard swing we bought a few days before.

My own self identity has been the story that I’m not good at anything mechanical. I thought back to desks I put together that leaned to one side or other IKEA-like nightmares. Oh well, I figured it would be a good project with Zack. He loves legos so it made sense he did great on helping put together the swing. Zoe thought she wanted to help, but after tightening a few bolts she hijacked the huge cardboard boxes and turned them into a fun rocket ship.

After we were done I told Zack I couldn’t have put it together without him and he just lit up. He was so proud of himself and couldn’t believe we built something that we were using now in the backyard.

I’ve committed to making sure we have quarterly meetings like this that are scheduled and on my calendar, otherwise they won’t happen.

Think about it.

It’s too easy to get busy with work and other commitments when we only have a small, precious amount of time with our kids. Most entrepreneurial parents I know would say they are working hard to help provide for their family. The travel, long hours and sacrifice is for a better tomorrow.

Yes, that’s true in some ways but there might also be a real blind spot I’ll share with you…

Zack vs. Jack

The other week I was supposed to go to San Francisco to have lunch with a CEO of a top technology company (his first name rhymes with Zack). It would have been my third week in a row leaving in some way and I had just returned from Haiti. I’ve been showing the kids what we are doing in Haiti and on other trips so they just don’t think I leave for no reason.

I was debating if I should go to the West Coast or not. Even though I travel a bit, I have attempted to be home for just about every meaningful event for the kids. Whether it’s a chorus concert or chaperoning a field trip. That kind of flexibility is also a big reason I work out of the house. That way I can play street hockey when Zack comes home from school or hang out with Zoe creating art. In fact, I remember Richard Branson telling me he’s always kept his office in his house to be around everyone.

This might be controversial but I don’t believe in sacrificing for someone else.

That simply creates regret.

If I decided to stay home instead of leaving for SF it was with intention. How many times have you said yes to something you wanted to say no to? Or vice versa. You only end going to the event/meeting, etc. but really want to be somewhere else. I knew Zack would be thrilled for me to watch him play 2 baseball games over the weekend and that’s exactly where I wanted to be in that moment. Even if this isn’t a ‘forever’ etched memory – it just adds to ongoing story that his Dad supported him.

Love Notes from 30,000 Feet

You don’t even need to spend one dollar for an experience to create one of these deep imprints.

I love handwritten thank you notes and think they are incredibly meaningful.

Receiving a personalized note makes such a deep connection because it’s so uncommon in today’s digital age. (BTW – if you want some great cards that also support Haitian orphans check out 10CardsofHope.com)

I’ve sent handwritten notes to my wife, family, colleagues and teammates but never the kids. So on a plane ride home I figured maybe they’d like them. I told each one how proud I was to simply be their dad and then what I appreciated about them. I left the notes on their dressers while they were sleeping to see what happened.

Here’s the note I wrote to Zoe:

Both Zack and Zoe treasured their notes.

I know because Zoe has hers tucked away on her bathroom mirror behind a picture and note she drew for herself:

When you open that note it has reminders of some of the happiest memories she’s had to help her feel better if she has an ‘emergency’ sad feeling.

Personally, I still have a note my mom wrote to me that I’ve kept for 12+ years now after Missy and I took her to Vegas while she was going through chemo. A note costs you nothing but your time and to acknowledge and appreciate the unique awesomeness in your kids.

Saying Yes to What Matters Most

And here’s a final story from the best-selling book Essentialism by Greg McKeown to consider…

Her father made plans to take her out for a night in San Francisco. Cynthia was just 12 years old. Her father planned the date for months. They have everything planned out including her attending the last hour of a presentation he is giving that afternoon. At the end of the presentation they would meet at the back of the room and leave quickly before anyone talked to him. The evening included catching a trolley to Chinatown, eating their favorite food, Chinese, shopping for souvenirs, seeing the sights and catching a movie. After that they’d grab a taxi, back to the hotel where they’d jump in the pool for a swim. Her dad like to sneak in after the pool was closed she mentioned. After all that they’d order a hot fudge sundae from room service and watch the late, late show.

They had discussed this all several times. The anticipation was part of the pleasure of it all.

“Everything was going on plan, when her father was leaving the convention center, he runs into an old college friend and business associate. They hadn’t seen each other in years. They embraced and his friend said, “I’m so glad you are doing some work with our company now. When Lois and I hear about it we thought it would be perfect. We want to invite you, and of course Cynthia, to get a spectacular seafood dinner down at the Wharf!”

Cynthia’s father replied, “Bob it’s so great to see you. Dinner at the wharf sounds great!”

Cynthia felt dispirited. Her daydreams of trolley ride, ice cream sundaes evaporated instantly! Moreover she hated seafood and could just imagine how bored she be listening to adults talk all night.

But her father continued, “But not tonight. Cynthia and I have a special date planned don’t we?” He winked at Cynthia, grabbing her hand and running out the door to continue on an unforgettable night in San Francisco with his daughter, just as he’d promised.

Who was Cynthia’s father? None other than The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People author, Stephen Covey. He’s famous for having said, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”

Exceptional Experiences and Magical Moments Create Deep Imprints

Again, going back to when you were a kid, what do you remember most from interactions with your family?

I bet it something that is really special or something really traumatic in some way. Each of these highly emotional moments are deeply imprinted on us. If that’s the case, then why not consciously create positive imprints for small and big moments? Let me know what you think.

* * *
Resources:

Family Board Meetings book by Jim Sheils

Family Freedom Event:
I believe in “engineered” lessons. I didn’t see anything out there to teach kids business or parents how to raise better kids. So like a good entrepreneur – I created something to scratch my own itch:
www.maverick1000.com/family

The Maverick Who Sold his Aston Martin or What I Learned from Driving a 10-year old “Clunker”

June 1, 2016 by Yanik Silver

A hat tip to Robin Sharma for inspiring the title of this post with his book “The Monk who Sold his Ferrari”.

I read that book ages ago. My story is different than the high-powered attorney character in Robin’s book. For him it took a heart attack to change – mine was from following my heart…

This is a bit longer than many of my other sometimes posts because it takes some time to unravel how I deeply rewired my personal story of success, goal setting and even self worth.

I’ll get back to my Aston in a moment but to really understand this – it’s important to consider what cars fundamentally represent.

In our western society, the idea of the automobile has become entangled with freedom and personal expression. (I think this is changing with millennials valuing a sharing economy but this is what I grew up with.) No doubt, we derive a *LOT* of our identity from what they drive.

I can see it started early for me.

Like a lot of kids my age, I grew up fantasizing about exotic cars with posters of Porsches and Ferraris on my wall. I remember for my Bar Mitzvah calling my parents up to light my final candle and I said something like, “I’d like to call up my parents who have given me everything I’ve ever wanted…except a Porsche.”

When I was 16 years old, my dad made me a deal that I could get my dad’s Toyota Corolla if I went out and actually sold medical equipment and cold-called on Docs. While my friends were living at the beach, I was “stuck” selling medical equipment. (Though looking back I realize how much of a massive head start I got in sales and marketing education.)

In fact, I found my very first journal that I kept for about 6 months when I was 15 through 16. This is start of the entry about how excited I was about getting a car. (And then I went on to write about the 3 girls I was excited to give rides to and try to hook up with.)

My first car was definitely a turning point in many other ways too.

Not only could I take girls out on dates and go where I wanted – but I discovered something else too. I followed Brian Tracey’s advice of creating a “university on wheels”. I would constantly be listening to marketing and self-growth materials. I know a little strange. My friends would ride around with me and wonder what the hell were all these “weird” tapes.

Every car I had held a special place in my heart from road trips, adventures taken or simply feeling a part of you in some way. I bet you can remember all your cars too.

I actually named them too. It started with “Carol the Corolla” when I was 16, then “Nat the Nissan” (a 240 SX) and then “Izzy the Integra” (Acura GSR).

My next car was the start of rewarding myself for doing well in my own business. (And coincidentally they all never got names for some reason.)

It was a Honda S2000 and because it was a really hot car, U.S., dealers were charging a premium. I wanted a particular color combination; silver (obviously) and red leather interior. I literally found like 2 or 3 in the entire country and they were charging $3,000 or $4,000 above sticker. But I grabbed it anyway and made my brother come with to upstate NY to drive it back down. We thought we’d have a fun road trip driving the convertible home but it rained the whole 8-hour drive!

My continued growth and success with all my online ventures fueled my desire for my next upgraded ‘want’ – a Mercedes convertible. I remember considering the SL550 and while I was deciding, I had a speech down in the Keys. So I found a luxury car rental place in Miami to rent a car. The good news is they had the SL55 AMG model available (that’s the $30k upgraded sports version). Talk about a puppy dog close. Well after driving that around for a week, my mind was set to get that model. No worries, I’d just create something else to sell. Easy.

So far so good.

As I was increasing my business success, I kept rewarding myself with cooler and more expensive toys. That’s what we’ve been taught, right?

Funny story. I really babied my AMG and didn’t let anyone eat or drink anything in it but one of my friends did help me see it was ‘just’ a car.

This really hit home to me spending time with my friend, Corey Rudl, before his untimely death. He had a new Lamborghini and we went off to the local smoothie place in La Jolla. Corey forgot he left his smoothie on the armrest and as he accelerated out of the parking out it spilled all over the interior of his car. He just sorta laughed and didn’t freak out so many others might have. From then on I was pretty lax about my cars, including the next one…

Silver…Yanik Silver

After a few of the Underground seminars I got the itch to buy THE iconic vehicle closely tied to 007, the Aston Martin. The model I loved was the Aston V8 Vantage, and it’s been called one of the world’s most beautiful cars. I custom ordered it and had each and every design option personalized, including the door sills that read: “Hand Built in England for Secret Agent Yanik Silver”. I bet the factory thought I was a complete dork but I was a happy dork.

Now when you have an Aston you also get to do some fun stuff. Here’s a pic with George Lazenby, who played James Bond in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

I definitely enjoyed driving the Aston but if I was being totally honest it wasn’t a carefree enjoyment or upkeep. These cars are handmade & bespoke and sometimes act the part. It’s not like I can take it to Jiffy Lube for maintenance either. I would think about where it was parked on the street if it was ok. Or if I used the valet, would they ‘Ferris Bueller’ the car? And I couldn’t drive a dirty Aston, right? So I had a special guy come detail it every other week or so.

My wife, Missy, never really loved it either. She thought it was too conspicuous and hated how it drove. Too bumpy for her and too low to the ground so we hardly took it out on dates. My kids called the car the ‘noisy’ car and I guess that was accurate since I added an awesome quicksilver exhaust. However if I’m really sorting out the deeper feelings – I felt a little bit of judgment. All sorts of heads would turn as I was driving it. I imagined I could hear the thoughts in their heads, Who is this young “kid” with an Aston? Is he a trust fund baby? A drug dealer? What’s his real story?

Now having an Aston with a young family is also not super practical so needed a 3^rd car. We decided on a 2006 Acura MDX as a reliable back-up if we both needed to take the kids somewhere.

The Success Trap

It’s right around this time that things started changing. From the outside, most people would think I had achieved total success. I was making a lot of money online by truly helping people. I had built up a great reputation in the marketplace, drove a cool car, had an incredible family, lived in a nice neighborhood, etc.

Don’t get me wrong, I was (and still am) extremely grateful and appreciative for everything I had, but I just wasn’t totally happy.

Steve Jobs talks about keeping all the passions in your life because you cannot connect the dots looking forward only looking back. There’s a certain bliss that comes from following your passion and turning into a successful endeavor – though there’s also a potential glaring issue that arises.

For me, one of my biggest passions has been unique experiences and adventure. I had an idea in my journal for a long time about combining a lot of different aspects of what I love into a company called ‘Maverick Business Adventures’. The notion was to have once-in-a-lifetime trips for entrepreneurs with business building sessions and philanthropy built-in.

I loved the idea!

And that was part of the problem. You have to be careful to keep some of that passion in check with a pragmatic business model or allocating a certain amount to bootstrap the venture.

Fast forward a little bit and I had sunk about $400,000.00 into this new venture. I had done a lot of financial juggling, like having one company pay for a sponsorship for another instead of letting it stand on its own two feet. But it all came to a head when I faced facts and realized we were not heading in the right direction.

I’ve learned the universe will continue to bonk you on the head with increased severity if you don’t figure out the lesson waiting for you.

I needed to make payroll and pay several vendors, but we were short $70,000.00.

Not good!

Normally I’m a pretty laidback guy, but I was really pissed. Mostly I was just angry at myself for letting this happen. I don’t usually have a temper, but I heaved a cereal bowl at the wall.

Damn it!

I mean, how the hell could I not fix this? I pretty much had the Midas touch with all my business ventures before. But now, something I cared so deeply and passionately about was going south…and dragging my other businesses down along with it. (The full story is in Evolved Enterprise.)

It took selling my Aston to pay for payroll to get my attention. (I still have a small dent on the wall where I threw a plastic cereal bowl as a reminder.) It was pretty much either sell my car at that point or my ticket to space on Virgin Galactic for extra cash to help the company through the crunch. I figured cars come and go—but a ticket to space is pretty awesome. I definitely value experiences more than ‘things’ so this was an easy choice but not that easy decision for my ego.

Feeling Like a Cliché

Selling my car back in to the dealer felt like I had failed. They were probably thinking here’s another guy who overextended to buy an Aston and then went belly up. It was also a little more painful since I only had about 5,000 miles on the car and lost like $60,000 on it. Ouch! But I did what I needed to because the quick transaction paid for expenses to keep the businesses going.

The publishing business was faltering since I wasn’t paying as much attention and my passion wasn’t there anymore. However, I could have gone back to it full time and saved my Aston – but I wasn’t willing to give up on what I thought was there with Maverick.

It was a longer process than I thought, but we did turn the company around, change the business model and now I’m proud to say it’s very solidly in the black.

Looking back at this experience, I’m actually incredibly grateful for not getting it “right” the first go around. I’m thankful for those experiences because it forced me to truly decide if the vision for what we were building was worth it or not. If I was just creating a fun adventure company, then, no, it wasn’t worth it. It was my love for a bigger mission for “changing the way business is played” that kept me going to figure out how to make it work.

Now selling the Aston got my attention and forced me to address what was going on in the business but that wasn’t it. I had also truly figure out how to separate my self worth from my business. I could have easily bought or leased another “suitable” car but I knew there was a bigger lesson here.

My paradox was grappling with my identity.

I am still a successful entrepreneur from my past accomplishments – but here I am driving around in a dinged up SUV as my main car. Even worse, would I be looked at some kind of ‘fake’ because I didn’t have the hot car anymore?

And these were just a few of my thoughts from mid 2010 in my journal:

“It’s slightly agonizing to see how our response rates are dropping and my friends continue to pull multi-million dollar releases. I’m not jealous because that’s not me – however at this point a ‘quick’ mil would go a long way. Some of my confidence is certainly shaken with the results we’ve had. A few years ago – I thought nothing about creating a product to make an extra 100k. Now when we got in financial trouble – I sold the Aston…I’m not too heart broken because I’m sure I’ll get something else cool. And I’m not really yearning for anything in the moment, but that might have to do w/current financial position as well. Regardless, I know I’m in a transition period and looking forward to the next chapter in my life & business…”

As you can see I had felt like my self-assurance was shaken and the idea of “writing my own” ticket to create big chunks of revenue with my list seemed like something I did in the past. Though there was some optimism about a transition period.

Of course, everything I’m talking about doesn’t just apply to a car. If you’re an entrepreneur your identity might be significantly tied to your business, your bank account, your house, your country club membership, your vacation destinations, your <insert your own identity piece here>, etc.

You name it.

I have a colleague who is selling is selling his multi-million dollar, custom-built home because of business downturns. It happens. However what happens next is up to you. You get to decide the story you write for yourself and the meaning you take from it here.

You can get stuck in regret.

If only I had done this differently or made a different decision – I wouldn’t be in this spot. Regret is tied to a feeling of being attached to the past and you cannot move forward until you actually surrender to a deeper reason-why coming forth.

Or you can be attached to recovering your past.

Perhaps you believe once you get back to $XX per year – you’ll be successful. I had to get over this too because it creates an attachment to some time in the future when you’ll be happy (maybe). It doesn’t allow you to simply BE. For some time I thought I needed to get back to my highest income level in order to feel like I’d made it again. But holding out on to these stipulations only creates tension because you haven’t hit the ‘ideal’.

In the moment all of this feels incredibly painful because you’re not trusting life has something more and better in store for you…

In another journal entry I caught a glimpse of this:

“Selling my Aston Martin has been a bit of a wake-up call…These 3 years combined with the economy tanking has exposed some significant holes in my business…and now with passion waning for info/Internet marketing revenues have fallen significantly too. But I cannot really go back to ‘just’ being an expert or online guru. I feel like I’ve evolved and my destiny is to have a much bigger ripple effect…”

Then in October 2010, I had a 2-page journal entry that envisioned my 40^th birthday happening approximately 3 years later. Part of the narrative was:

“…It’s a great Fall day so I’m taking the Fisker Karma to my trainer…”

I had also written some specifics about net worth, how much I’d contributed to charity, my work, who I was celebrating with that day, etc., trying to really capture my ideal, perfect day upon reaching my fourth decade.

Well, a few weeks before my milestone birthday, I went back and found that entry. At first glance, I was a little taken aback because I didn’t really hit that many of the specific goals.

I told Missy about the entry, and after seeing what I wrote, she asked if I was upset that it wasn’t quite here. I thought about it for a second and said, “No.”

And that’s because the essence of the goals were there and even exceeded.

The dollar amount I wrote in my journal was $2M in profits coming in from various business ventures per year. Nope, wasn’t there.

But what’s the real essence behind that? To me, it’s the freedom to work on what you want, with whom you please, and on what gets you excited!

Actually, I don’t need two mil a year to have that, and you wouldn’t either. I already have the essence of that goal. It’s just about creating freedom from passive income or designing your business to support your most important contributions.

I had also jotted down other specific goals too, including giving away $5,000,000 to cause partners. I didn’t hit the $5M in charity contributions, but we are at $2.5M+ and even more when you factor in the ripple effect through other members. Once again, the essence is there.

Allowing Something Better

One interesting goal I had written down was that by the age of 39, I would go into space on Virgin Galactic. Well…that timing is not of my own doing. It’s still happening and coincidentally, Virgin Galactic threw a party for 400+ future astronauts exactly on my 40^th birthday.

But even better, I spent time with Richard on my birthday for the Virgin Galactic event and again roughly a week later when I was invited to a safari in South Africa to support his Virgin Unite foundation.

All of this is something I couldn’t have pictured happening in this way or scripted it out any better. That’s why having the essence of what you want works. It gives you the flexibility of not being attached to how you think something will appear. I’m always in awe of the surprising new paths opening up or meeting the right person or being handed the right book that allows your “goals” to unfold in extraordinary and wonderful ways.

But back to the car…I wasn’t driving a blue Fisker Karma or anything remotely cool. (Interestingly enough, I probably wouldn’t want a Fisker now with all the issues they experienced.)

Truth was, I wasn’t really in a spot to buy another exotic car but I did want to hone in on the feeling behind the car I wanted. To me, it’s about having joy and satisfaction from driving it and something that reflects a bit of my fun-loving spirit.

The requests most of us make are for things (better car, bigger house, closing the deal, etc.) and are not at the same level as requests that come from your heart and a deeper place.

“Learning to receive is learning to ask for the essence of what you want, rather than the form.” – Sanaya Roman

Here’s my full journal entry a few days before my 40^th birthday considering this notion:

I wanted “something that brings joy, satisfaction to drive and reflects my personal spirit.”

The BIG Realization that Changed Everything

It was around that point I realized it actually had to start with what I already had, my “clunker” MDX.

Like everything else in your life, what you appreciate – appreciates and expands.

I’ve always practiced regular gratitude journaling. I absolutely believe in this principle but I had never done it around my current car.

I started feeling immense appreciation for all aspects which I had previously taken for granted or even resented a bit.

I was thankful for the easy ownership and reliability. I loved not worrying about if I threw dirty paddleboards in there from the river or not. I was appreciative of creating a personal oasis by listening to CDs inside. I cleaned up the car and started taking better care of it. And I could feel a shift happening when I got in the car. I sometimes even drove in silence and just paid attention to the sound of the engine or felt immense gratitude for all the hundreds of parts and multitude of people it takes to even make cars possible. (It will boggle your mind when you reflect on how many hands touch a vehicle before it gets to you.)

My feeling of Appreciation was Absolutely and Totally Expansive

And I remember knowing I had really started coming out the other side of this link between what I drove and my core identity when I saw Aston Martins on the road. They are somewhat rare so it wasn’t that often, but I had always felt a little blip of angst. Then in one moment it changed in an instant. It was a beautiful spring day and I saw a convertible Aston heading towards me. Now instead of any regret, I simply blessed the person driving it.

This is going to sound a little strange perhaps – but my MDX also started magically opening up to me. There were these incredible synchronicities that would happen with the time on the clock, a meaningful song or a digital readout in someway. Actually one that really stands out was when I noticed the odometer was about to hit 55555 miles and just at the moment the CD player was 5:55 into the track. I snapped a pic while driving just to capture this moment (it’s a tiny bit blurry as I was moving):

And this was part of my journal entry from that day:

The Subtle Shift

The audio program I was listening to at this exact time had immense significance too. Here’s the exactly message from that exact moment, “reaching a shift that’s not always readily apparent, subtle but meaningful. No turning back.”

And I’ve definitely felt that shift everywhere…

In fact, I’m happier, more content, and more at peace than ever.

And finally I was feeling ready to get a new car.

At first, I considered something simply utilitarian but that didn’t fit my criteria. I could simply continue driving my MDX in that case. I considered getting an old, vintage convertible but not super practical for the kids. I also looked at the MINI cooper Countryman and almost pulled the trigger – but not quite. Something didn’t light me up about it.

Then a few weeks back at Jayson Gaignard’s MasterMind Talks, I ran into Tony Hawk outside our hotel getting out of his car, as he was a surprise guest speaker for the event. I knew Tony from a Zero-G experience we put on a few years back – so I walked over to say hi. I noticed he was driving a different model MINI cooper that I hadn’t seen before and I really liked it.

And that chance encounter was enough to nudge me back to MINI and check out a new Clubman model they were releasing. It just fit my personality so well; Quirky, unique, fun and zippy. (Interesting thing is reading through these old journal entries – the one from 2013 actually mentions MINI as an option.)

The Last Minute ‘Gotcha’

The day I was taking delivery on my car – I also I had had a breakfast meeting with a new friend who was in town. She’s a remarkable business leader & philanthropist dealing with some very significant projects they fund. Our time together flew by as we discussed mutual projects, ideas and philosophies.

We walked out of the hotel together she asked if I had a car to give her a lift to her next meeting. That little pang of embarrassment hit me and I hesitated for a moment. She told me it was no big deal and would just take Uber, probably thinking it wasn’t convenient for me. I realized this moment was the final “tie-down” for everything prior.

It was silly to think twice about giving her a ride.

Sure this woman deals with mega millionaires, Hollywood celebrities, world leaders, etc. and here I was in my 10-year old MDX. I knew it was wouldn’t matter in the slightest unless I felt like it mattered to me. Previously I might have made an excuse about the car not being much – but I actually told her it’s her lucky day since she gets to have the last ride with me. And our conversation on the way to her next meeting actually helped me conceptualize some of these ideas to share them here.

With a joyful heart I went to the dealership and picked up my MINI Cooper Clubman awaiting me. (BTW – a little plug. If you’re around the DC-area contact Jenn Barreto at www.MINIofmontgomerycounty.com)

I’ve always been impressed with the job MINI does of building a community and creating a positive identity for their customers. I’ve talked about them before in presentations about building tribes. Originally when MINI came out they really celebrated their smallness by going after SUVs. The ads and the marketing featured an “Us” vs “Them” feeling that creates cohesion. They also use unique insider language. If you love MINI – you’re a MINIac and you don’t just drive a MINI – you motor!

And here’s the first pic Missy snapped when I got home (funny thing is I almost wore matching pants):

For the MINI, I’m also bringing back the tradition of naming my cars. Feel free to guess the name. Hint: The color reminds me of water and flowing easily through life.

Sinking Ships, Mermaid tails and Lessons from the Deep with Sir Richard Branson

Evolutionary Growth

Authentic Growth

Ocean Conservation and New Business Ideas

The Ocean Is Everybody’s Business – Ocean Unite

New Worlds Opening

Team Necker Finally Wins

Coincidences, byproducts, and standing United

Let The Seeds You Are Planting Grow…

How Entrepreneurial Parents Can Help Develop Empowering Identities and Positive Values in Your Kids

The Maverick Who Sold his Aston Martin or What I Learned from Driving a 10-year old “Clunker”

Change The Way Business Is Played

Tony Hsieh

Evolutionary Growth

Authentic Growth

Ocean Conservation and New Business Ideas

The Ocean Is Everybody’s Business – Ocean Unite

New Worlds Opening

Team Necker Finally Wins

Change The Way Business Is Played

Tony Hsieh

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