Ep. 45 The Power of Finding Your Tribe

Last week was my birthday. I gave myself what turned out to be one of the greatest gifts I've ever received - a four-day retreat in Southern California. What made it such a great gift?​​It wasn't the location, though it was very nice.​It wasn't the food, though there was plenty of good food to be had.​It wasn't the amenities and activities, though I got some great yoga and a cold water immersion.  It was the people I was with. You see, this retreat was specifically for men who are caring for kids with rare diseases (or caring for themselves having a rare disease). Some of you may know that our 21-year old has been suffering from a Spinal Cerebral Spinal Fluid Leak over the past four years. This is an extremely painful and challenging condition. ​The headaches are intense. There's severe sound and light sensitivity. There's brain fog. And as the condition progressed, our kid suffered from non-epileptic seizures. I am happy to say that earlier this year they had a procedure that fixed the leak and ​the leak symptoms have abated. But there's lots of therapy and reconditioning to work through to get them to a good place after four years of suffering. The intensity of the challenge for our family and for me was unlike anything I've ever experienced. It is so far outside the norm, that most people can't quite imagine it.  So what made the retreat I attended such an amazing gift, was that I was with six other men who knew exactly what it was like to be in this kind of situation. We were able to share openly about our experiences, our grief, where we felt like we showed up, and where we felt like we fell short.It was one of the most powerful​ experiences I've had in my entire life. ​ I went into the ​retreat feeling like I've been in a deep trough. I was honestly pretty spent. I came out of it feeling renewed and like I had not just regained my own strength, but could draw on the collective strength of my guys.  For the first time in my life, I really felt the power of finding your tribe. While the stakes aren't quite as high, being a startup Founder is definitely outside the norm of most people's experiences - and definitely super challenging.There's not many situations where you can talk about what's truly going on with you. The  temptation is to isolate​ and soldier on. But eventually that will grind you down. In this ​​​​​week's Rocket Ship Founder podcast episode I talk about the power of finding your tribe. I cover: The ease and danger of isolation as a Founder Why it's so important to have a Founder tribe How to find your Founder tribe This 12-minute listen is one of the most important lessons I've learned in Founder life.PS I coach an amazing group of Seed Stage founders. If you'd like to join our tribe, write me at [email protected] and we'll set up at time to talk.