You have to love the moxie of a guy that calls himself a men’s visionary, coach and contemporary psychology geek. It takes a guy with that kind of gonads to put out a call to the leaders of diverse men's organizations to come together and talk . . . collaborate . . . and co-create something even bigger. Apparently that something "bigger" means bigger than what they are currently leading.
Jayson Gaddis is hosting the Evolving Men's Conference-Build The Foundation Weekend in Boulder, Colorado on this September 25th and 26th. The stated purpose of the gathering is as follows, . . . to bring together established leaders of men’s groups, fatherhood groups, and men’s organizations to brainstorm and plan the development of an Evolving Men’s Conference. The intention is to galvanize the men’s movement, promote collaboration among different men’s organizations, and evolve the consciousness of men around the world.
In the clip just below, Jayson describes what he sees as men's tendencies to work in isolation, in their cave, and as a result he feels men's organizations are also isolated and missing the benefits of collaboration. Jayson says he is unaware of any national scale men's gathering and it sounds like he's hoping to create a men's Woodstock of sorts in Boulder. At the conference, Jayson is hoping to, blast through that “tired paradigm. . . . to practice collaboration and transparency, both hallmarks of the new and emerging masculine paradigm.
From where I sit, I see existing and mature men's organizations reinventing themselves for relevancy. There are new groups supporting men popping up all around the globe, and there are lots of men's groups serving diverse populations of boys, fathers, and women. All of these groups are becoming more visible because of the Internet.
While I'm not sure the men's "movement" is in need of "galvanizing," I am impressed with the scale and scope of Jayson's intention. As I've said in the past and continue to believe, anytime men gather for personal or organizational development, many good things always result. For that reason, I'm happy to support this gathering.
Check out this clip, visit the Evolving Men's Conference website, and decide for yourself if time with good men (and autumn in Boulder, CO) is right for you.
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I agree.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts are that it's extremely important to collaborate with others sharing your ideas, and being able to listen to theirs. Instead of just relying on one's own thoughts, including others, I feel is like opening a door . . . to great wisdom.