I was talking with a friend this morning who mentioned he’s beginning a new seven year cycle. A month ago, another friend was saying the same thing. I’ve heard it mentioned here and there and apparently it’s a thing – according to my quick AI search, the seven year cycle is a ubiquitous pattern in religion, astrology, childhood development, and relationships such as marriage.
It also happens to be an interesting way to make sense of a recent major life transition – after seven years of employment, I parted ways with Gensler at the end of April. It was a bittersweet decision, and I’ll forever be thankful for my time there. At Gensler, leaders invested in me like none had ever before. Gensler was a place where people encouraged me to step into greater fullness and integration, while challenging me in the ways I needed to be challenged – there was significant pruning as I learned how to lead, empower, and forge a path for a burgeoning team. Jacob Simons deserves to be mentioned here as a friend, mentor, and boss; I’ve never worked for a leader as prolific as Jacob, and I hope in my future endeavors I can carry forward his spirit of humility, generosity, brilliance, and genuine love for those he leads. Cheers, Jacob. Love you tons. 💙🥂
So many beautiful things are coming to life.
So what’s next?! So many beautiful things are coming to life, and I can’t wait to share them with you. These are things that have been stirring in me for years, and I can’t believe I’m in a position to pursue them. I’ll be making formal public announcements in the next month about the shape and form these dreams have taken. For now, I’ll just say beautiful things have been incubating. My good friends Trace, Tina, and Chris have all been crafting this new endeavor with me – this team is stellar and I’ve never been more inspired.
Tell us more! Ok, I guess I can give you a little more.
What does it mean to be and to become in this world?
The metacrisis. The great simplification. The age of reunion. The long dark. The Anthropocene. The in-between. There are many names for the daily dissonance, grief, catastrophe, and trauma our planet and our species is facing. Regardless of what we call it, the prevalent question remains, ‘how do we live through it?’ ‘How do we fix it?’ Better yet, what does it mean to be and to become in this world? How do we create a better world? A world where there is no metacrisis? Where people and the planet can flourish together? In what manner of living do we create prosperity for soul, soil, and society? How do we cultivate a world in which all the parts and wholes of existence exist in right relationship to each other?
While the answers to these questions are many, and will come from many sources, we have some ideas. Sharing these ideas and inviting others to engage them, share them, challenge them, and embody them is what’s next. 😉 I’ll leave it there for now. More soon!
Until then, as always, thanks for following along.
–Joel
🌱🌱🌱🌱
Upcoming Event – The Regenerative Journey Retreat: I’m excited to be co-facilitating a retreat in Santa Rosa on July 9th, hosted and facilitated by Michelle Lee. IF you’re building something (whether you identify as an entrepreneur, intrapreneur, business owner, freelancer), AND you want to do it a different way (from integrity, aliveness, abundance, connectedness), this retreat may be for you. 🌱 We’ll diving deeper into some of the questions above. If you’re interested in learning more, shoot me a message. We’d love to have you.
Congratulations on this beautiful transition, Joel. You are right on time and right on topic. The world will be a better place for it. Go man, go!
I am thrilled for you, my friend. So good to be on the journey with you and see what comes during the next 7 years!