If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with a team.
Why finding a tribe is so important
In order for us to reach our highest potential, we need other people.
Every high performer I’ve known of has one thing in common: they have a tribe.
Frodo did not get to Mordor on his own.
He had a ‘fellowship’ of savages to help him on his quest.
Star athletes don’t do it on their own. They have coaches, teams, and physical therapists all helping them achieve peak performance.
The mere fact of knowing that they’re not alone in their struggles can make a huge difference.
This is what I wanted. A tribe.
[Image]: Family sitting at the dinner table, candles lit, table filled with food and drink. Holding hands as the father prays. “Amen and Bon Appetite!”.
[Image]: Friends dancing and cooking in the kitchen. The smell of chilli con carni wafts in the air. Housemates rush home from lectures.
[Image]: Floodlights pierce through the dark evening onto the pitch. The coach shouts orders at the team, sweating and panting as they practice drills.
Their ‘tribe’ may not look like anything you’d expect.
Some use it for emotional support, to clear their head when times are tough. Others use it to bounce around ideas so they can get real-time feedback, whether their ideas are genius or just crazy-talk. Still, others use their tribe to gain deep insights into themselves and the people around them.
Teams provide:
- Purpose. They remind you of your goal. They give you motivation when you are down, support when you are weak, nourishment when you are hungry.
- Accountability. They keep you to your word. They remind you of your big dreams and goals. They nudge you (or push) when you get sidetracked. They keep you accountable.
- Advice and guidance. The best teams learn from each other. They advise and instruct and discuss with everyone’s best interest at heart: achieving the common goal.
- Comfort and discomfort. Hard men are broken by hard things. A team must be broke down to its… before it can rise up again. The team pushes you into new scenarios which may be difficult, but you grow. You have the team as your foundation, as your bedrock.
It’s the team and community. Being part of something bigger than yourself. If I’ve learnt anything it’s that you can’t do it all alone. Fight the urge to turn inward. You need your tribe, people that will love and support you along the way.
The tribe reminds you that you are part of something. It pushes you to excel and supports you when you are weak.
The point is: find your tribe. What is the goal that unites you? Meeting a target? Finding inner peace through meditation? Winning the premier league? Aim for the goal and share the journey with others.
After all…
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with a team.
