Why am I obsessed with The Avengers?

I remember it so clearly. I was walking through Central Park on a beautiful day with a new friend going down rabbit hole after rabbit hole of fascinating conversation. Effortless conversation in flow.

He asked me about my vision and when I shared it, I could immediately tell something was different.

This wasn’t the first time I shared my vision. I’ve shared very similar words in a very similar fashion dozens of times over the previous few years and expected a similar reaction. “Oh, cool!” is what I became accustomed to hearing. Not this time though. What I said lit up something powerful in him. I could see the gears cranking in overdrive for him and once he shared his vision, it was so obvious why. We have been imagining the same future for years now in our own little worlds. A future that we were excited to build but even more excited to be a part of.

Here is what I shared…

I want to bring together the real life Avengers to cocreate and build a more beautiful world. I want to assemble this unique collection of talent to develop solutions that were not previous possible, to leverage technology and systems thinking to make massive impact in serving humanity, to build a home where these unique individual superheroes feel inspired and properly compensated to contribute their genius and can come together to be a part of something bigger than themselves.

It fires me up even writing it here. And also, it feels very pie in the sky. I’ve had to come to terms with that. It’s ok. It’s the work of a lifetime, and it’s also really fucking hard. This is why years after having this conversation in Central Park and many times since, I still feel like we are in the first inning of bringing together The Avengers.

I also get sad thinking about what happens if this vision doesn’t come together. I think about all the truly amazing people out there with their super powers rotting away in a cubicle, day trading crypto or partying their life away feeling bored, stuck, lonely, depressed, apathy and hopeless. I think about what would happen if Dr. Strange didn’t have his training that prepared him to become Sorcerer Supreme, if Thor didn’t have his friends to snap him out of his beer drinking, video game mode and if Hulk didn’t work through his own stuff after getting his ego crushed by Thanos. This stuff is happening to us all every single day. I know because I’ve been there. I didn’t get crippled in a car accident like Strange or have my failure cost the lives of trillions like Thor or get whooped by Thanos like the Hulk, but I’ve been on my own journey. We all have. And it’s so clear that we need each other now more than ever.

This is why I think about the real life Avengers every single day. I know they are out there. I’ve been fortunate to have met some over the years and even more grateful to be collaborating with a few. And it’s clear that they need us just as much as we need them.

The old system isn’t working. Our global economy and infrastructure is frail. The climate is collapsing, rapidly. The wealth gap is widening. We’re more politically divided than ever. Mental health issues are on the rise. Our kids want to grow up to be influencers. And our technology is trying to distract us (at best).

So much more is possible. I want more. I’ve seen glimpses of it. We have all the puzzle pieces we need to get started right here in front of us.

When we come together to give our super powers to something bigger than ourselves and cocreate in ways we never have been able to before, we can build a more beautiful world. Not just for ourselves, but for all beings and all generations to come. We have to consciously make the choice over and over and over again. “Will you step the fuck up today?” It’s not easy. I’ve done my best to avoid doing so personally. And I’m so appreciative of all my friends, teachers and mentors who have always nudged me back on my path.

This is the journey of my life time. I’m beyond excited to publish this and plant my flag in the ground. It’s an important public first step in claiming my vision to bring together The Avengers to build to dopest shit the world can’t even imagine yet. And I’ll be asked again tomorrow to step up. And every day. And I won’t be perfect. I don’t have to be.

Every day I wake up and choose to step up is another day closer towards bringing The Avengers into this world.