Why altMBA gave me an A

Dear Mr. Godin, Ms. Kao, Coaches and Students of altMBA5,

Thank you for the A.

But…what is it for? I believe it’s for massive change, change you started, change that underlies everything I do now, change that I needed.

Not too long ago I was a person who didn’t do the hard part first, who didn’t embrace emotional labor, who didn’t think of himself as the type of person who can and does, or act that way. I was a person swamped by fear.

Not too long ago, I started going to church again. Well, I didn’t actually go back to mass, but I would go to the church every now and then for some peace and to get a grip. I would go when they were empty, and silent. I had lost my sense of awe in life and being in a church sometimes helped me to see it again. The sheer size of the space made me feel that mentally, I couldn’t possibly fill it, not like the way I had filled my brain full of self-doubt, negativity and most of all, fear. The church could take it. I couldn’t. There was a peace and calm in that environment that I tried to tap into and it usually had some small effect. Whenever there, I would think back to my relationship with the church. I had fallen away from it despite having been totally committed at one stage in my life. I had attended regularly and had spent years as an altar boy. I had been one of the really committed ones, where thoughts of becoming a priest were not a million miles from my younger self. Now, the church was a quiet, safe place to put my head in my hands and feel the tears well up.

Cut to May 2016. On exactly the middle day of the altMBA, I had so much on my plate that there was no way I was going to get it all done. So I went for a walk. I had been promising myself a long walk about this stage of the altMBA to try and let it all sink in, to not get caught up in the flurry of prompts, comments and RS’s. There was so much more good stuff happening in the silent spaces between those activities and I needed some silence to feel my way into it all, not just think it.

My brain was full again, but this time I had a smile on my face.During the altMBA, my head has been spinning with new understandings of things like empathy, worldview’s, silence, creating the tension of possibility, the focus on leading for good, the idea of doing the emotional work first, facing the hard work up front, and committing to levelling up. It’s a full head, just like I had in church all those times, but compared to sitting in the church with my head roaring with negativities, the altMBA took me out of my own head. I’m listening intently, and feeding back with love. I’m connecting to share, and giving first. Instead of smashing into waves of fear, I’m surfing on a wave of connection, support and love.

The altMBA isn’t about the getting to the bottom of the reading lists and books. It’s about creating and leading change, change in me and change in others. For me that starts with listening, to me and to others. That’s part of why I deserve this A.I hope you know what an effect you have on people’s lives every time you run this program. Not just the 100 ruckus-makers, but also their loved ones (what my wife calls the “altMBA widows”, I call them the ”altMBA Support Network) and the people they go out into the world and interact with. I have never met a more inspirational group in my life and while we only touched each other’s lives for this short moment, the effects will last forever. I learned the most from this amazing group of people.You made me apply what I was learning, to stretch myself and others at least 3 times per week, but in reality 7 days per week. This way of thinking, this way of working, has infected my mind and body, in a good way. It was never ending but as the momentum built, a new set of rules and standards took over for me, and I started to level up. That’s also part of why I deserve this A.

Reframing, worldview’s and understanding what it’s for all lend strength to my decision-making abilities, and to make them with confidence. Whether that’s an internal problem or an external one, now I have new, effective tools to help me. That’s also part of why I deserve this A.

My improved understanding of empathy lets me get closer to people, to mindsets and worldviews. I understand the power of stories that I tell myself, the others tell themselves and how I can bridge that gap to create common understanding. This empathy also works inwards.

The altMBA helped me reach out, helped me smash down walls I’ve been scratching at for years. Thank you for my new eyes, new ears, new mind, and new heart. I faced fears, and didn’t look the other way. I set goals, made promises and kept them. I now change problem tension into possibility tension. This A represents me earning this upgrade in my life.

And it’s not over yet. It’s only beginning. This is change I can share. Now I create and I create in the world, and that way everybody wins. Thank you for helping me give other people an A.

I deserve this A because I am a change agent.