Building A Virtual Brain Trust: Let’s Do It!
The Virtual Brain Trust sign-up is now closed. Thanks to everyone who expressed interested in getting involved!
I went to a meet-up on the weekend and one of the topics of discussion was the difference that being part of a support network makes when trying to launch a new idea or to make changes in your life/career and the difficulty in peopling your world with folks who are at the same stage of the process that you are and in the market for the same type of peer support and motivation. How do you find these people? It’s an especially salient question for those of us in the early years of our career (or lack thereof). For example, a Chamber of Commerce mixer populated by successful fortysomething entrepreneurs isn’t likely to be the right venue. And while friends and coworkers might be blanketly supportive of your endeavors, they might not necessarily share your interests, career approach or attitude toward risk. What if you live in a small town with few peers? Or in a big city where you don’t even know where to start looking for like minds, let alone go about building relationships with them?
Photo by @boetter
Enter the internet. I’m at the point of being ready to implement some new career-ish measures and I realize that I could really use some like minds to bounce ideas around with. I doubt I’m the only one in this boat. Context (i.e., an environment that supports and encourages your ideas and gives you access to the resources to implement them) is vitally important when undertaking a new challenge. So, I’m looking to put together a virtual brain trust/board of directors/Algonquin Roundtable of folks interested in providing support and accountability for each other’s pet projects and flights of fancy. The group would meet virtually for regular brainstorming/problem-solving/progress reports/reality checks/encouragement, etc. as we all worked away on our own ideas and timelines.
Interested? Here’s who you are:
You have a project/challenge/goal related to increasing your self-sufficiency or career independence (opening an etsy shop, launching a micro business, starting an ultimate Frisbee league in your city, becoming an internet celebrity, writing a book, inventing a better mousetrap, etc.). You’re clear(ish) about what you want even if you’re not clear about how to get there.
You want/need external accountability and can offer that accountability and support to others. Will power and sheer grit is swell and all, but sometimes we need the compelling power of other people counting on us to come through to provide that impetus to create/build/implement/discover.
You’re at the (intellectual) do or die stage when it comes to making changes in your life (and if you’re not there yet, there’s no shame in that) and are ready and able to make the commitment of time and investment of energy that being a part of such a group entails. You’re ready for this. Asses will be kicked, names will be taken, so it is written, so it shall be done and all that jazz.
Here’s who you’re not:
Unclear about what it is you want to do. Just wanting a change isn’t enough. You might not have a definitive plan laid out, but you at least have an idea (or a two or three that that the group can help you decide among) of where you’re heading and what you want to work on with the group.
Not good with commitment. The time commitment won’t be great – biweekly or monthly virtual meet-ups, occasional emails – but you’ll need to be able to participate fully and to tackle your own tasks between meetings. If this is something you struggle with, this might not be the right environment for you.
A premature energy ejaculator. You come on strong, really strong. You have great ideas, boundless enthusiasm and evince a keen interest in helping others and getting all up in their business. And then you just fizzle out. You get bored, want to move on to the next great thing, have good intentions but lack follow-through, etc. You likely mean well, but until you can temper your approach and learn to maintain your focus, your love ‘em and leave ‘em style doesn’t make you an ideal team member. Work on your stamina and then we’ll talk, ‘kay?
Still keen? Fill out the form below and I’ll be in touch pronto. Or, if forms aren’t your thing, drop me an email. If there’s an overwhelming response, we can think about splitting into smaller groups.
