Summit Basecamp An Expedition that Blew My Mind and Opened My Heart
This weekend I had the humbling honor of participating in the Summit Series Basecamp in Squaw Valley, California. This highly curated gathering of trailblazing entrepreneurs, activists, scientists, thought leaders, educators, artists, authors, provocateurs, spiritual leaders, and three-dimensional creatives produced a spontaneous combustion of conversation, collaboration, and adventure the likes of which I have never seen. And the best part is the masterminds behind the whole thing are an awesome group of young Fat Brains who have literally broken the mold on the large group experience.
The only way I can come close to describing the experience is to say think TED meets Burning Man meets the X Games—a truly non-traditional, break-all-the-conference-rules happening that featured a group of hand-selected rock star innovators as speakers and participants.
Genius peaks
I don’t know if it was the altitude or just the collective consciousness doing what it does but the energy exchanged amongst us all was one of the most powerful, radiant energy fields I have experienced. It was as if we were all of one intuitive and intellectual organism, connected for three days by an invisible pulsing vibe that allowed us to rapidly build upon our ideas and passions together in a cross- disciplinary way that only innovation labs seem to be able to pull off.
Whether it was for the span of an elevator ride or a three-hour, deep-dive, fireside conversation, there was constant sharing, learning, and building upon the assets of each and every person who shared an exchange. Dialogues about new disruptive technologies, to a groundbreaking scientific discovery in health care, to an original perspective on the entrepreneurial mindset combined to suggest monumental potential for communities, businesses, and individuals across the globe.
Some talks were held in a Buckminster Fuller-style dome especially created for us to be immersed in multidimensional media experiences. Sessions were held around the clock, regardless of hour. There were 2:00 a.m. jam sessions and 4:00 a.m. yoga. There were group meals, lectures, mind-game activities, skiing, and extraordinary mediation sessions. If you didn’t want to shut down at all, you didn’t have to. It’s like Steve Jobs said: “Who needs an on and off switch?” Many grabbed a few hours of sleep here and there, but everyone seemed to be in a perpetual state of engagement.
I know that nothing should surprise me, but the unexpected beginning and end of most interactions was punctuated by a six-second hug. If you hug someone for six seconds, your brain releases oxytocin, which gives you a warm, nurturing, emotionally invested feeling. This practice was introduced at the start of day one and we spent the rest of our time together testing and confirming this finding, discovering it produced an invisible, unstoppable, round-the-clock connectivity of mind and heart for all of us. Astonishing.
As both subject and observer of my experience during Summit Basecamp, I couldn’t believe there were 750 incredible examples of what life, play, work, and ventures can look like when they exist at the intersection of heart and mind. This is what I teach, speak, and write about in my book, Practical Genius, and for the first time, I was in the midst of a tribe comprised entirely of practical geniuses living wholly in their genius zones. It felt like I was home at last.
This post is dedicated to the amazing masterminds of Summit Series and Summit Basecamp.
