“Deep conversations” is how I would summarize The Collective in two words.

I wish I had a few trustworthy friends who “get it”… With whom I could discuss whatever weird ideas I’ve had for my businesses or personal life. But with friends and family, I constantly have to edit my thoughts to avoid backlash or blank stares.

The best remedy for me is being part of The Collective. It’s a small group of people who understand there’s a lot more to business than making a living. And who aren’t scared to look beyond the surface.

I was actually petrified when I joined the group because I hate being in the spotlight. But our group calls are a rare safe space where it’s OK to be human… Flawed, scared, scatter-brained… With dreams and ideas that anyone else would label crazy (or worse).

Listening to others’ approaches, and getting to examine and articulate my own thoughts, triggered many epiphanies in my mind over the last year, and brought me a level of clarity that can only happen in this sort of environment.

And my monthly call with Megan has now become my personal sanity check. Not only does she understand me, she helps me see perspectives I wouldn’t have thought of without our conversations. Megan doesn’t tell me what I want to hear, she helps me think deeper.

These deep conversations always leave me with better, clearer ideas and an invaluable sense of direction. But the more subtle benefit is the calm confidence I feel on where to focus my time and energy – and that what I’m working on does matter.