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Moonshots
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Week 7: Emergence
Week 8: Activation
(Each of these will become links to access extended readings, experiments, and media as we move along.)
welcome
We are thrilled that you’ve chosen to participate in this initiative at this moment in time. You are all highly accomplished, however each of you has been invited or nominated because of your heart, your integrity, and your dedication to creating a shared future that benefits all.
Here we play with detaching from outcome.
Embracing the goalless goal.
Practicing the practice of showing up.
Devoting ourselves to a shared process.
Thank you for your willingness and for your trust.
As you know by now, this program is built to lean into innovative possibility by first choosing to stand in the void amongst the chaos. Therefore, this program will push the edges of what you would traditionally expect from a leadership-focused discussion. As stuff comes up for you, whether it is smooth or sticky, expansive or dense, liberating or limiting…please know that it is all welcome and it is all part of it. This process is subtle, revelatory, and emergent. You will most likely at some point experience frustration, resistance, or a drop in energy. The invitation for you is to continue to lean in and stay curious.
This page will function as a home base throughout the program. This is where you’ll be able to access all program information that you might need such as details, structure, and logistics. We will also be utilizing this page to post weekly content, materials, homework, and videos to support you as we move through the experience together.
Program Details
Zoom Sessions
All of our group sessions will be held on Zoom. Please ensure you have Zoom downloaded, ideally on a computer. An iPad is an alternative if a computer isn’t available, however the functionality is limited. I recommend against using the cellphone app version because you can’t access several features that will come into play in our sessions. I am also requesting that we all put our cells on airplane mode during session, and mute notifications on any noisy computer apps.
Please be mindful to keep your video on for the entire session. When people turn video off and on, it can be distracting because it shifts the windows around.
The meeting ID is 816 9570 4917.
All seven remaining sessions will be held on Sundays at 10am PT.
Anonymity
Anonymity is an important piece of this experience. As such, we will not be doing introductions, we will not be using full names, and we will not directly reference past “selves” or outward-facing roles. There are several reasons for this, but the most important and present is that the Alchemy of Chaos space is one that demands that we are fully alive and urgently relevant within who we are exactly now, without referencing or building upon who we’ve been. Consider this small yet integral piece as an alchemical process that will make more sense later.
Therefore, when you log on to Zoom please rename yourself so that only the name by which you’d like to be called shows up. You’re also invited to insert your pronouns.
For example, my name on Zoom will be:
Christine (she/her)
Group Makeup
With each iteration of Alchemy of Chaos thus far (this is the fourth cohort!), the collection of humans keeps blowing my mind, and this Innovators’ Edition group is no different. You are all the type of people who actually have your hands on the levers of change, innovating at speed on behalf of our shared humanity in so many different ways. We are spread across 11 time zones. We have entrepreneurs, activists, public figures, artists, investors, executives, mystics, and more.
We are leaders in the following fields as innovators, thinkers, and boundaries-pushers:
food systems
journalism
anthropology
economies
sexuality
modern mysticism
blockchain
human experience design
music
venture capital
psychedelics
medical innovation
luxury commerce
social justice
brand identity
big tech
psychology
indigenous wisdom
cultural philosophy
…compelling, right?
Session Structure
While we have a general idea of what the session structure could look like, we are also going to be moving with what will best serve the group at any given time. There are a few elements of each call that will most likely be involved. Here are some things to keep in mind.
Start with Stillness: We will be spending the first few minutes of each session together in silence, which allows each of us a moment to drop into presence after signing on. This is not a small talk space. Bonus points for arriving to your session space 15 minutes ahead of time with a tea and some time to think and settle in.
Checking In: It’s important to us to get everyone’s voice into the mix early on, so we will move straight into a group check in. This will most likely look like a simple prompt that everyone goes around and answers.
Small Groups: We will have at least one small group breakout in every session. Zoom randomly places people in breakout rooms, so it’s always a fun surprise to see who you get to connect with each time. There will be a deeper prompt and/or thought exercise, and we will ask each group to self manage to ensure that total time is divided up evenly. Usually we will want to create space not only for each person to share their thoughts, but also to have “impact sharing” time. For instance, if we are in groups of 3, we will have 15ish minutes to connect and share. Ideally after each person shares their thoughts for max 4 minutes, there is a minute or so is utilized by the other two people to reflect back to the person who just spoke. This is the time to say what resonated with you about what that person said, what intrigued you, or even what you’d like to connect on later. Then the group’s attention shifts to the next person.
Emergent Conversation: This will be the part of the session where we all come back together and create a lengthier shared conversation about what we are seeing, thinking about, noticing, or grappling with. We recommend keeping a notepad near you to jot down and track your own ideas that are sparked, as well as what others are saying that you might want to explore further. We will use this information in various ways. We are going to be playing around with a few versions of this conversation section to see what setup works best for our group.
Content delivery
Throughout our time together, Pablo and I are going to be attuning to what is most relevant and helpful for us with regards to how I deliver the content each week. We will be feeling into what’s coming up for us individually and as a group. And, we will be watching the way the world shifts around us week to week in order to bring broader societal narratives into how we are plugging into the content, related to both self and innovation. By choosing to keep our outline vague, we are allowing space for what can emerge from this collective within each iteration of this program.
Marco Polo
We will have a group Marco Polo thread that will run in the background as a landing place in between sessions. Please go ahead and download it now so that I can loop everyone in immediately following our first session. This piece of the program was not originally something I had planned for, but the first AoC group asked for a way to stay in touch with each other between sessions. We chose Marco Polo as our app of choice because it was unique for most, still asymmetrical, and because it requires raw, in the moment communications. This ended up being a fully integrated piece of the experience that added tons of depth, playfulness, and context for everyone, so please opt in even if you are cringing at the thought of downloading another app. ;)
Investment
As part of this program, you are invited to make an investment into an organization, initiative, or even a person who you believe in and is doing work in the world that inspires you. You could also choose to contribute to a pay it forward initiative related to Alchemy of Chaos x Moonshots. The amount is whatever feels significant and right to you.
Please fill out the form below.
1:1 Sessions
Pablo and I will be opening up times for 1:1 session work throughout the program. These sessions deepen our ability to connect around your individual experience, and it will also eventually serve as a series of windows of insight into our process from each of our unique perspectives. The 1:1 conversations ultimately have a role in shaping parts of the upcoming coming group session. So, if you notice that you have a ton of energy around the content or conversation one week, please reach out and let us know so that we can unfurl that more together. You can book with Pablo if you’d like to orient more towards innovation, and you can book with me if you’d like to orient more towards self inquiry and deep work.
Podcast Interviews
At the conclusion of the program, I will invite you to book a podcast interview with me so that we can capture your experience and insights through your unique lens. As we extract value from our shared ideas, our methods, and our collaborations, those gems of wisdom and action can be offered up to serve our extended communities and organizations.
The invitation for you
is to become an alchemist.
Step into the possibility
that awaits you
beyond strategy,
beyond the mental monkey mind,
beyond forecasts,
and beyond what is “known.”
Understand that alchemy
happens in the process
and is not found
in the outcome.
Everything is always in a state of flux
and it is within that state of flux
that transformation and innovation take place.
PROGRAM ARCHETYPES
This experience is for you if you sense that the next edge of your leadership is waiting just beyond the shadow of your own self-knowledge.
It’s for you if you’re ready to illuminate the crevices of your being that come alive when you face the unknown.
The Audacious maverick
Someone who aims for 10X, not 10%. One who dares to try things no one else has tried before. Possesses a sense of adventure and resilience in the face of change. Doesn´t look for a playbook as there is none. Knows no idea is too crazy to suggest and no effort is too sacred to change or end. Believes it is okay to be afraid, and that audacity is for everyone. Is just as audacious to explore inner motivations as well as outer manifestations. Loves taking big, risky swings to find 10X-better ideas rather than settling for incremental improvements.
the creative deviant
Keeps it weird. Draws inspiration from unexpected places and applies insights from disparate fields. Finds opportunities for play and keeps a sense of humor in play. Is not afraid of sounding stupid. Understands that stability is an illusion and that our lives are built on constantly shifting sands. Steered by the compass that failed ideas can be turned into "moonshot compost" that grow new ideas — while nourishing the innate innovator.
The Tension Alchemist
Holds opposites as part of an identical nature to ride the unknown with a dynamic stability. Embodies patient-impatience: patiently understands that the nature of moonshots is not assuming outcomes or knowing the answer. Yet impatiently activates learnings and experiments, fast and scrappy, into the world as soon as possible. Understands responsible-irresponsible: bold and has initiative, sets aside the fear of failing, yet encourages learning and good judgment. Aligns with passionately-dispassionate: passionately pursues creativity and innovation, yet chooses discipline over gambling, understands brutal honesty and being humble are required to move forward. Sees the beauty in holding the tension of opposites as the ultimate fuel.
the problem lover
Falls in love with the problem - the moon - not the solution. Would rather have a 10% chance of helping 1 billion people than a 100% chance of helping one. Builds the future, but knows you can´t predict it. Doesn´t know the right way, and instead embraces serendipity and unpredictability. Turns failures into learnings that become new superpowers to keep diving into the unknown. Keeps learning logs. Pursues impactful opportunities, yet learns to go back to the drawing board as a new dramatic challenge arises and tackles change regularly. Traces the willingness to seek out synchronicity inside problems back to the willingness to seek out complex conundrums of self knowledge.
the story teller
Connects the journey from belief to impact and wound to gift, both within the self and the outside world. Uses imagination, dreaming, desire, sci-fi thinking, and future and present fictions to explore how people's lives can be transformed. Rethinks utopian futures as modernized versions of dystopian ones. Makes ideas concrete in the form of impeccable and attractive stories to represent crucible moments that can inspire change and action. Is okay when metrics can´t tell the whole story. Unites hearts and minds, knowledge and spirituality in beautifully crafted stories. Understands that data shifts science, but that stories shift culture.
agreements
ONE
You agree to be present at each session. You may miss up to one session if absolutely unavoidable. If you do need to miss one, please let us know in advance. You understand that if you miss more than one session, you will not be invited to continue the program.
TWO
You agree to be on time. If you arrive more than four minutes past the beginning of the session, the room will be locked and you won’t be able to attend.
THREE
You agree to confidentiality and the Chatham House Rule. While you can share the general content of the program, you may not share who said what.
FOUR
You agree to anonymity. This program is run on a first name basis only. People do not share the particulars of their outward-facing identity or work in the world. This space exists as pure potential, and we don't want to limit someone's expression by having their past accomplishments swirling around.
FIVE
You agree to show up, pay attention, tell the truth, and let go of any desires for a particular outcome. You will come to see how this agreement moves throughout the experience in profound ways.
Chaos is our teacher
This is different from all the other programs out there because there are no gurus here. We are inviting you into our chaotic innovation lab. The only teachers are Alchemy of Chaos and Moonshots, and the rest of us are showing up to play, to learn, and to discover new perspectives.