In our last +1, we talked about the importance of Virtue Management vis-a-vis Energy Management and Time Management.

At the end of that I invited you to join us for our 2020 Mastery Series and Heroic Coach programs. Today I want to tell you a little more about one of the key components of the program (the Soul Force Forge!) and introduce you to one of my new favorite words (and phrases).

So…

As we’ve discussed, we had over 1,000 people (from over 50 countries) join our inaugural Heroic Coach program. Almost exactly half of our Heroes “just” wanted to use the program as a way to step up and into the next-best version of themselves while the other half wanted to do that and actually get certified as a Coach.

The first 8 months of our 10-month program were focused on what we called our “Mastery Series.” The basic idea: If you want to become a Heroic Coach, you need to become a radiant exemplar and Coach yourself first.

Now…

As we wrapped our brains around how to best serve you in 2020, we realized it would probably make the most sense to separate our Mastery Series and Heroic Coach certification programs into two related but distinct offerings.

So…

The Mastery Series will feature a studio-produced “Start here!!!” program in which I walk us through the seven core modules of our Heroic approach—starting with Eudaimonology, The Big 3 (x2) (+1s), and Carpe Diem then moving on to Heroic Quests, Algorithms, The Fundamentals, and Antifragile Confidence + Heroic Courage.

(Each of my sessions is also complemented with some recap videos featuring our brilliant Head Coach, Michael Balchan, who walks us through the Worksheets that accompany each Module and helps us go from Theory to Practice to Mastery.)

But…

That’s just part of the Mastery Series.

One of the things that made the inaugural class so life-changing for so many people was the fact that we got together (via Zoom) LIVE throughout the year.

As we architected our program for 2020, I realized that, even though we’ll have the studio-produced stuff ready to go in advance, we needed to get together live.

In my notes, I called those “SOUL FORCE Sessions.”

“Soul Force” is, essentially, the #1 thing we want to help you cultivate in the program. But that’s not quite what I want to chat about Today.

As I iterated (and iterated and iterated and iterated!) my thoughts on how to best architect the programs in Deep Work session after Deep Work session (after Deep Work session after…) I was looking for a different, more powerful word than “Sessions.”

Then it hit me.

Forge.

As in: “Soul Force Forge.”

Yes! That’s what we’d do together every Tuesday morning.

We’d forge our souls. 🤓

Of course, this led me to my little walk from my desk to my book shelf to pick up my big dictionary. And, that’s when I officially fell in love with the word forge and all its potent meanings.

First: Do you know what the word forge literally means? (I didn’t.)

It’s from the Latin faber and means “worker.” (Of course, I love that.)

Then, it gets even more interesting.

Forge has two distinct meanings and can be used as either a noun or a verb.

In the first meaning, here’s the definition of the noun version of forge: “A furnace where metals are heated or wrought; a smithy.”

The verb versions of that? “1. To form (metal, for example) by heating in a forge and beating and hammering into shape.” And, “2. To give form or shape to, especially by means of careful effort. (Forge a treaty or a close relationship.)”

Side note: As we’ve discussed, one of the metaphors I like to use is that our program is kinda like a dojo. You can enter that dojo with a couple different attitudes—both of which are fine but you want to know how you’re approaching it: You can go through the motions or you can go for mastery.

So… I LOVE the idea of a Soul Force dojo-Forge. 🙂

Now…

On to the second set of definitions.

In addition to being a place where soul-metals are crafted and/or the actual process of such craftsmanship, forge is also an intransitive verb with these two definitions: “1. To advance gradually but steadily” and “2. To advance with an abrupt increase of speed: forged into first place with seconds to go.”

This is when the choir of angels officially starting singing very loudly.

“To forge” somehow simultaneously means “to advance gradually but steadily” (+1 +1 +1!) AND, at the same time, also means “to advance with an abrupt increase of speed” (+101!!).

Hah. I’ll take it.

And, well… That’s Today’s +1.

How’s your Soul Force Forge?

If you feel so inspired, we’d love to welcome you to ours.

The Heroic Soul Force Forge is open the first three Tuesdays of every month at 9:00 AM Pacific time. (With all sessions recorded and archived, of course.)

I plan to spend the first 5-15-30 minutes sharing some of my latest thinking on how to operationalize virtue then spend the rest of our 90 minutes together Coaching you so we can all close the gap between who we’re capable of being and who we’re actually being more as we have fun Optimizing and actualizing in service to the world.

You can sign up for either our Mastery Series or Heroic Coach programs to join our Heroic Soul Force Forge.

Here’s to forging our Optimus-best selves and making 2020 the greatest year of our lives.

🔨

Soul Force Forge #1011

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