Selfish-actualization is kinda creepy.

Free kids club CoderDojo started without a master plan, no polished framework, no grand institutional scaffolding just some values, a rule and a purpose. There was a deep recognition that young people were hungry for the ability to create with technology, and that their potential was being limited, not by lack of talent, rather by lack of access, encouragement, and community.

Best learning practice means giving young people a space where they can make things by playing with tech together. Removing the fear of hierarchy that says only some people are allowed to build. Letting curiosity lead. Letting play lead. Letting generosity lead. Letting it unfold without smothering it with rules. (CoderDojo has just one rule for kids; “Be Cool”)

What happened next for CoderDojo was growth that did not follow the usual rules of organizations or institutions. Skills did not develop in isolation. Confidence did not emerge from competing to be the best in the room. Progress happened because young people sat beside one another, shared what they knew, and learned faster through mutual exploration and play than they ever could have learned alone.

That is what mutual actualization looks like in practice. It is not isolated individual self-improvement. It is capability expanding across a community all at once. When mutual actualization happens, something remarkable takes place. Barriers fall away. The question of “who is allowed to innovate?” disappears. Young people who might have once seen technology as something of a black box, corporate controlled and somehow not fully accessible, begin to see it as a medium they can actually shape themselves.

Once a collaborative shift takes hold, it does not stay contained. It ripples. It travels between friends, families, schools, towns, and entire ecosystems. It shows that talent is not scarce. Opportunity to grow talent together is what has been scarce. And when a community chooses to open opportunity intentionally, the results scale far beyond what any single leader or institution could architect.

Co-creating CoderDojo taught me that innovation is not necessarily the product of competition for limited advantage. Instead it can more easily grow from shared encouragement, shared tools, and shared belief. We also saw that when young people feel supported to explore what they can do with tech, they do more than learn to code. They learn that they can change the world around them.

Mutual actualization is in part that moment when a community stops waiting for permission to become capable together. It is powerful, it has durability and it’s full of joy amongst the hard work.

There is always a moment in any of my more ambitious projects where, looking around, the realisation hits me again that I have hit a familiar ceiling where my willpower and effort alone is simply not enough to get the job done. That familiar ceiling is isolation.

Hollywood loves a loner, Deckard in Blade Runner, Jamal in Slumdog Millionaire. We resonate with stories of lone geniuses and heroic founders. We yearn to be them, we want to be special. We want to be celebrated as the single visionary who steps away from the crowd, returning with fire in our hands.

The reality of most true progress is the opposite of that. Every truly meaningful leap forward I have witnessed, especially in entrepreneurship, sustainability, or community development has come from something far more grounded and far more powerful than storybook self actualization… it’s always been mutual actualization.

When people talk about self-actualization, they usually mean the moment a person begins to live in alignment with their fullest potential – not potential defined by others, only the potential that feels true from the inside out.

It can be argued that this is a subtle trap as it over emphasises the self and devalues the collective and can spiral into selfish actualization a toxic form of narcissism. The trap feels good and may produce results. It likely won’t produce truly satisfying scalable outcomes.

Even if you reach a personal state of internal clarity and drive with your talents, values, and daily actions aligned it can still be hollow in isolation. Only some rare creators are truly exceptional in isolation: consider a painter like Rembrandt whose tortured isolation did produce amazing art… that he never got to see flourish and that he never got to sell enough of to make a good living.

For the rest of us it is more fruitful and more satisfying to work to build as a team. To figure out how to get that team to gel. To figure out how to get that team to achieve mutual actualization and thereby mutually satisfying achievements.

When two or more people reach a shared resonance and ambition, shifting from “How do I win?” to “How do we all win together?” doesn’t just change the energy in the room, that shift can change anything and everything.

Having been so lucky to be part of the building of multiple global successes and having witnessed how much easier it is to build momentum, trust, a sense of shared authorship and ultimately success at scale when people resonate together and get things done, I commend you to seek your tribe and uplift them to inspiring purpose.

Time and again I have seen individuals contributing and as they transformed into resonant team members, acting in ways that surprised themselves. Often have I found myself swept up into such powerfully, mutually actualising teams and it’s always been uplifting.

For years CoderDojo has empowered families in the most powerful digital literacy through learning to code. The early meetings were slow and often confusing. Everyone arrived with different agendas, anxieties, and scepticisms. As we worked together we listened and learned.

We created a shared context within which miracles started to happen. Over time, kids started working together to create wistful and wonderful games, websites and apps. Parents stopped asking what they personally would get out of CoderDojo and began asking what the community could become.

There was no single thing that triggered the community to form and as people recognised the value of each others contributions, they each felt they began to matter and that the dojo mattered to everyone else there and it gelled.

Invention thrives in these environments as when the responsibility for progress is shared, the emotional cost of experimentation decreases. People feel safer asking naïve questions. They volunteer bolder ideas. The pace of iteration accelerates because knowledge flows horizontally rather than waiting for approval to trickle down.

The group that begins to self-organize, not through hierarchy, rather through a shared commitment to the purpose is one where individual strengths are visibly contributed and celebrated, not as status markers, rather as gifts that lift the whole.

This matters deeply for the very sustainability of our global civilisation. Our era’s challenges are system-level challenges. Climate resilience, food security, digital equity, mental health infrastructure – none of these can be solved by solo brilliance alone. They require networks of trust, collaboration across unexpected boundaries, patience paired with urgency, and the kind of humility that invites others into the solution.

Mutual actualization is not just a poetic ideal. It is a practical prerequisite for purposely and sustainably solving any problem worth solving.

Mutual actualization does not require unanimity of opinion just generous resonant alignment in purpose and actions. The group does not need to think the same way. In fact, diversity of perspective strengthens the system. Mutual respect regardless of station is also a hallmark of true mutual actualization.

What truly matters is shared action towards creating something meaningful, resilient, and beneficial beyond the status quo. That shared orientation becomes a multiplier of creativity, courage, and stamina.

If there is a call to action embedded here, it is simple. Stop optimizing solely for personal excellence. Ask yourself where your gifts are most catalytic when you generously apply them together. Seek those collaborators who challenge you, the communities who expand your horizons, the environments where your contribution brings team momentum rather than just individual recognition.

Progress is almost never about who is the smartest in the room. It is about what happens when the room itself becomes smarter. That said we continually overvalue chief executive officers the world over as if they are those storybook lone heroes. No one person is really good enough to be a multi-billionaire, especially when they selfishly actualize at the expense of their teams and at the expense of civilisation as a whole. That’s not greatness that’s a kind of creepy sickness of the soul.

Mutual actualization is the uplifting shift from a story of one to a story of many. It is where growth becomes generative, where ambition becomes shared responsibility, and where impact scales not through force, rather through resonance. Its hallmarks are collaboration, generosity, kindness, compassion, pulling together in hard work, mutual respect and simply joy!

In comparison selfish-actualisation leaves little room for true joy and compassion. Under its banner, narcissists, psychopaths and multi-billionaires metastasise and the negative side effects of such are all too often straight up creepy. The selfishly actualized are frequently never satisfied and rarely joyful and often exploit those around and worse… beneth them.

Please instead be invited to choose mutual actualization over self and most especially… selfish-actualisation and I promise you both a better life and a better world.

Jane had been doing this for as long as she could remember — selling hot dogs. But not just any hot dogs. Her stand was a last relic of an era no one talked about anymore, when work meant something different, when people bustled through cities with purpose, their eyes set on destinations beyond their screens. She was, as far as anyone knew, the last hot dog vendor in existence.

It was a strange thing to consider. A world where no one worked, where everything was automated, and life’s essential tasks were done by drones and bots. Even food, if you could call it that, came packaged in neat, nutrient-dense cubes, tasty and convenient.

There was no need for hot dogs or for the smoky, tantalizing scent of grilled onions wafting down a busy street. Yet Jane, stubborn as she was, kept at it. Each morning, she’d wheel her battered cart to the corner of 12th and Maple, the corner where her father once sold dogs before her, where she had grown up watching the world race by in a frenzy of meetings and deadlines. Now, the street was quiet.

The first day after the “Great Vacation”, people had rushed to her, frantic and confused. Their jobs had vanished, systems failed, and for a brief moment, chaos returned to the streets. They stood in line for hours, just to feel something familiar — a hot dog, something greasy, messy, imperfect. It was a reminder that they were still human. She’d served them with a quiet smile, listening to the frantic conversations about what would come next, about how long the outage would last.

But it hadn’t been tempora. It was permanent. The age of work was over.

For many, it had felt like freedom. No more alarms at 6 a.m., no more crowded subway cars or sleepless nights preparing for a presentation that no one would remember. Utopia, they’d called it. The Workless Society. Every person would be provided for, every task managed by the invisible hand of technology. There would be time for art, for leisure, for self-exploration.

Yet something gnawed at people’s core, something Jane saw in the eyes of those who still wandered past her stand, confused, disoriented. Time stretched out in strange, uncomfortable ways. Weeks blended into months, and people grew restless. They’d lost something vital, something they couldn’t quite name. Purpose, maybe. Or perhaps just the comforting chaos of a life driven by work, as flawed as it had been.

Jane knew it, felt it in her bones as she flipped a sausage on the griddle. This wasn’t freedom. Not really. It was a strange kind of prison, where the bars were made of convenience, and the inmates no longer knew what to do with themselves.

It was a Tuesday, or maybe a Thursday — days didn’t hold much meaning anymore — when a young man approached her stand. He looked to be in his early twenties, dressed in that sterile, featureless clothing everyone wore now. His eyes, though, were sharp, full of questions.

“Why do you still do this?” he asked, gesturing to the cart.

Jane wiped her hands on a towel and shrugged. “Why not?”

“You could be at home, you know, doing… whatever people do now. You don’t have to stand out here in the cold, selling something no one needs anymore.”

“No one needs anything anymore,” Jane replied, sliding a perfectly grilled dog into a bun. “But that doesn’t mean they don’t want something real. Something with soul.”

The young man frowned, considering this. He wasn’t old enough to remember the days before the collapse, before work had become obsolete, so the idea of something being “real” in that sense was foreign to him. “Soul,” he repeated. “Like, something more than…?”

Jane handed him the hot dog. He didn’t ask for it, didn’t pay for it. No one did anymore. She just gave it to him, like her father had given them to her, like the city had given her space to sell them in exchange for nothing more than being there. The only thing left was the act itself.

“More than,” she confirmed. “You see, once you have everything, once all your needs are taken care of, you start to realize that life was never about that. It was about what you did with your time, about the little things that made it feel… worthwhile. And right now, I think a hot dog still matters.”

He took a bite, hesitantly at first, and then with more enthusiasm. For a moment, a flicker of something passed across his face — satisfaction, joy, maybe even nostalgia, though he was too young to feel it himself. It was a sensation he hadn’t known he missed.

The next day, there were two more like him. Then four. By the end of the week, Jane had a line again, just like the old days. Not for the hot dogs themselves, though they were still delicious, but for the act of standing in line, of waiting for something, of doing anything that felt real.

People would talk while they waited — about the weather, about memories of work, about nothing in particular. It was the simplest form of rebellion, a quiet resistance against the sterile, workless utopia they had been promised.

As the days passed, Jane’s corner became something of a gathering place, a place where people came not just to eat, but to remember. To feel the grit of life, the imperfections that had been smoothed over by the machines that now ran the world. They weren’t looking for the past, exactly. They didn’t want to return to the grind and the exhaustion, to the endless meetings and deadlines. They just wanted something that felt like life, something they could hold onto.

And in the end, that’s what Jane had been selling all along — not just hot dogs, but the reminder that even in a world where everything is provided for, some things still have to be earned. Even if all you’re earning is a moment of connection, a taste of something messy and imperfect.

In the world that had forgotten how to work, Jane — the last hot dog vendor — had again found a way to remind them how to live. She knew the lives wouldn’t last, it hadn’t before, and yet every time the queue grew Jane allowed herself to enjoy it a little bit more.

This was generated by AI

(Delosperma cooperi – Source Wikipedia)

Why There Is So Much to Learn from Psychedelic Medicines if Administered in the Right Way!

Also why we urgently need more knowledge about what the right ways are!

Australia has recently legalized psilocybin, and having been an adviser to Maria Florencia Bollini’s (Flor to her friends) startup NANA heals for some time, I figured I would put my money where my mouth is, follow the NANA heals progressive dosing and integration protocol, and safely see for myself what the fuss is all about.

As a serious tech entrepreneur and investor, I brought a healthy dose of skepticism to this journey, conducting extensive research and consuming papers on a variety of topics and substances before consuming any of the substances themselves. There are some pretty terrible stories out there of people frankly abusing psychedelic substances and even some deaths (usually due to crazy practices or co-morbidities, it’s not a good idea to try something that can induce strong fear if you have a heart condition!)

The preponderance of evidence is clear: administered with precision and within an appropriate setting, these medicines have huge potential benefits in areas where other medicines and treatments are failing our civilization, such as countering addiction and reversing depression.

What is sadly also apparent in the research is the emergence of a new, almost macho, tech bro culture seeking “heroic” dose experiences, along with a pervasive “party” drug scene. There are also anarchic practitioners who are clearly bad actors just randomly dosing people. None of that is helping these therapeutic compounds to be taken seriously as mainstream treatments.

Further, from speaking with a variety of influential folks, it is clear that many people of high stature are already benefiting from these therapies but are not sharing their experiences. Many, it appears, are simply embarrassed to admit that they have been covertly benefiting for quite some time.

Nearly all the major compounds of interest occur in nature and are perfectly fit for purpose in their natural state if handled with great care. Consequently, there is little motivation in the pharmaceutical industry to support research that might make several very profitable classes of drugs, such as SSRIs, irrelevant. It would be a big hit to Pfizer to lose all its Xanax revenue to something that grows naturally in autumnal fields worldwide.

What is crystal clear to me is that treating these compounds with great care and respect is absolutely critical, and the best way to do that I have found is to use progressive dosing, which is part of an ancient, feminine, African tradition. Progressive dosing is the sine qua non of Flor’s NANA heals startup, and as an advisor to the company, this regime makes the most sense to follow. Who better to guide me on the journey than the founder herself? In fact another problem in this nascent industry is that truly experienced practitioners are few and far-between and frankly working with these medicines without a super experienced guide is plain nuts!

As background to what follows, it’s important for you to know that while I wholeheartedly endorse NANA heals’ progressive dose and integration protocols, I am primarily concerned with safety rather than efficacy. That said, it should also be clear to everyone that any carefully administered therapeutic is undoubtedly going to be more efficacious than randomly downing a handful of, who knows what, at any given party.

Having literally spent decades practicing mindfulness, meditation, and letting go, it felt right that when Flor and I happened to, literally coincidentally, be in the same city, that it would be an auspicious time to go into some natural wilderness and deepen my personal understanding of the benefits of this class of therapies using the NANA heals protocols. Perhaps counterintuitively, we chose 5-MeO-DMT (which is as hardcore as it gets according to the tech bros) to work with. It does though have a major advantage in that its half life is roughly 5 minutes even at a large dose.

What actually happened was one of the gentlest, most serene, and joy-filled experiences of my entire life. After some discussion and a brief yet meaningful and respectful ceremony, including selecting some tarot cards as guides for the intention of the journey, I was given a microdose to settle into the experience. Then, a significant dose. Let’s eschew the word “heroic” as that has the wrong grounding for the truly amazing experience that followed.

As a card-carrying atheist, it is with no small irony that I describe what happened next as dying and seeing the face of God’s love in a most genuine and feminine aspect. Not, mind you, as any form of vulgar hallucination. After the deep inhalation and hold, there was a second of terror in which I could see my ego wanting to hang on (which I am sure would have led to something traumatic as it was terrifying). This is where my years of mindfulness training paid off in spades.

I let go of… me.

Now without the mindfulness grounding I shudder to think what could have been and so I do not recommend this experience to the unprepared and unguided at all.

What followed my letting go was 15 minutes of really pure love, fully lucid and with full faculties. Every petty fear that might have dogged me for 56 years dissolved. All my posturing and flawed nature evaporated, leaving only love. A vastness of love in such quantities that it is literally impossible to adequately describe.

Then it was gone, and I watched as my ego and mind returned to their usual places. That might have been it, except that it wasn’t. Since that moment, the pure love has not left me. I have it now as a resource so simple yet profound that I could describe it as a new faculty. Every single hour of every single day since the ceremony, while being exactly the same as I have always been, I am also something a bit more. I can now draw on that love experience at will and my life is thereby upgraded. I am less stressed, more effective and more creative.

Frankly, my days since are now filled with more productivity and joy than ever before. The irritants of life have lost their edge, the saboteurs of my anxieties are all blunted, and every interaction I have with other people is all the better for it. My life is undeniably better.

This is what has made me resolute in sharing my journey despite the possible blowback. Now, more than ever, it is clear to me that there is a potential new dawn for psychedelic therapies, and that future is only accessible through the gentle progressive dosing and integration protocols that NANA heals is championing. So too NANA must be supported thus I am also calling on the many others who have benefited from what Flor does to join and give voice in support of what is right for I am also convinced that if we do not bring these therapies into the mainstream we will lose access to safely using them at all.

Now as the title of this piece suggests, I am still the flawed human I have always been and expect to be. The concerns of life have not disappeared. And, with this gentle wellspring of love and bonhomie unveiled within me, I am much better placed to deal with the everyday vicissitudes while being kinder to everyone whose life intersects with my own.

Again this is not advocating for anything less than awareness for both knowledge and ultimately safety. My journey would definitely have not been as it was had I not had, long established, mental disciplines and more importantly one of the most experienced guides on the planet in Flor!

Lastly, in the vein of the all pervasive American advertising, for the vast array of drug ads that appear to infest their every TV channel;

Side effects may include:

Authentic joy, smiling more, singing a bit, not taking things too seriously, considerable additional productivity, befriending new people, and overall just having a much nicer time!

Humour aside, unguided, unprepared people not using progressive dosing and proper integration may experience harsh side effects that could include and are not limited to:

PTSD, palpitations, elevated blood pressure, nausea, night terrors, psychosis and with co-morbidities or mixing other drugs, even (albeit rarely) death.

None the less, with the scale of the potential benefits to our civilisation, in my considered view it is actually urgent we move now to bring progressive dosing and state of the art integration, and the safety they bring, into the mainstream of clinical research.

Note – as of this writing 5-MeO-DMT is legal for personal use in Canada.

My, oddly helpful, small tarot card guide selection;

The Power of Covenants in Shaping Your World

In our intricate and interconnected world, the concept of a covenant holds immense power. Yet you may have never heard of the idea and may not realise that your life and indeed your very actions day to day are subject to the covenants you are a part of. The human world occurs in conversations and those conversations are often tacit agreements. Those agreements have a hierarchy. Many of the biggest features of our global civilization are actually master agreements, called covenants, that are sometimes hidden from us and hidden or not actually control our behavior and when a covenant is not respected the results are frequently detrimental.

Whether in science, religion, business, or public service, covenants are all noble in their pure form and are the bedrock of our commitments and actions. They are the silent agreements that bind us together, driving progress and maintaining harmony. These covenants manifest across different realms and the profound impact they have is even more interesting because they transcend cultures and languages and there are created features of civilization. While there are many let’s focus on some of the most powerful.

The Scientific Covenant is Convened Around Doubt

Without doubt there is no scientific method and without scientific method it’s not science. Scientists thrives on doubt. It is this relentless questioning and the insatiable curiosity that fuel discoveries and innovations. It also allows those discoveries and ideas to be tested and retested with right such that they can be relied upon to make predictions. Scientists enter into a covenant of doubt, a commitment to challenge the status quo and seek truth.

This covenant propels humanity forward, unraveling the mysteries of the universe and improving our understanding of the world. Doubt is the best way we have to predict the future because we understand through science the outcomes we will get from a given set of starting conditions. The science of ballistics for instance can predict with incredible accuracy where an object will land. No other covenant has this incredible power.

The Religious Covenant is Convened Around Faith

In contrast, the religious covenant is convened around faith. It is a deep-seated belief in the eternal, the unseen and the divine. Faith can provide a sense of purpose and direction both in calm and chaotic times. This covenant fosters a sense of community and shared values, guiding individuals through the moral and spiritual dimensions of life. Faith, in this context, can be a cornerstone of human resilience and hope and a salve against even the death of a loved one. Faith is unique in its capacity to convene us.

The Entrepreneurial Covenant is Convened Around Conviction

Entrepreneurs (and investors) operate under the covenant of conviction. It is an often unwavering (sometimes to the point of irrationality) belief in their purpose and vision that field their determination to bring it to fruition that new thing that has not been done before. The act of creating drives them. This covenant of conviction is what transforms ideas into reality, fuels invention, makes fit innovation, and creates economic growth. Entrepreneurs commit to navigating the uncertain waters of commerce with an often single minded resolve, making sacrifices and taking risks that others would not and their conviction allows others to be swept up into their endeavors which often reshape industries and societies with their fruits. This covenant turns discovery into progress more than any other.

The Corporate Covenant is Convened Around Trust

Stay with me here; Yes that might appear counter intuitive and there are plenty of cases where corporations have broken trust and at their best, to people in the corporate world, trust is paramount. The corporate covenant is convened around the trust that binds employees, management, and stakeholders together. Trust fosters collaboration, drives efficiency, and sustains a positive organizational culture. It is the glue that holds companies together, ensuring that they operate smoothly and ethically, delivering value to both shareholders and society. It is also why customers choose to buy from corporations they trust more than any other single reason. In fact trust is so crucial to corporations that it’s incredible to me that so many of them don’t protect and protect it better. Corporations are the largest engines of change we have ever created and they need to come back to their covenant so that we can have them engage to global grand challenges our civilization faces. Nothing we have built has more actual might and so, if directed with trust, these engines of commerce could be changing civilization unsustainable ways for the betterment of all. In fact they are the most likely tool to actually be of utility in healing our world.

The Political Covenant is Convened Around Consent

Again stay with me here; Politics, particularly in democratic systems, hinges on the covenant of consent. The legitimacy of governance stems from the consent of the governed. This covenant ensures that political power is exercised with the approval of the populace, maintaining social order and stability. Consent is expressed through voting and participation in the political process, reflecting the will of the people. Yes this is actually hour it’s supposed to work and it took us thousands of years with of blood, tears and treasure to claw our way to this kind of governance. Is fragile though and can easily be made to slide into anarchy on one side and totalitarianism on the other. We must fan not the flames of dissent, instead it falls to all of us who can to nurture the embers consent. Consent is the sin-qua-non of empowerment and it has proven to be worth our sacrifices.

The Public Service Covenant is Convened Around Duty

Public service is fundamentally about duty. All forms of public service contain a commitment to serve community and the greater good. This sense of duty encompasses responsibility, accountability, and a dedication to providing essential services with integrity and fairness. Public servants prioritize the needs of the public above personal or political interests, ensuring the welfare and well-being of society. Often public service is conflated with bureaucracy. Bureaucracy may appear negative or even oppressive and it is simply a tool to organize the delivery of service en-mass in a proper way. Public service takes many forms and those always involve some sacrifice and dedication whether it’s in medicine or law enforcement or education or journalism, the public service covenant is the place to find true every day heroes. It is a crisis that the fabric that public service provides is often unappreciated and underpaid. The wheels of civilization rely on public service more than any other single covenant. We should honor our every day heroes with cash not just claps.

The academic covenant is convened around wisdom.

While knowledge refers to the accumulation of facts and information, wisdom encompasses the deeper understanding and judicious application of that knowledge. Academia not only seeks to uncover new information, it also works to interpret, contextualize, and apply know in ways that promote understanding and solve real-world problems. This commitment to wisdom ensures that education and research lead to meaningful insights and informed decision-making, ultimately contributing to the betterment of individuals and society as a whole. Academic truth and wisdom often takes an extended period of time to be refined and so a willingness to support academia and research for research sake is a sign of a healthy civilization.

The artistic covenant is convened around expression.

In the realm of art, the commitment to authentic, creative, and personal expression is paramount. This covenant involves the dedication to exploring and conveying the depths of human experience, emotions, and imagination. It allows artists to push boundaries, challenge norms, and communicate profound truths and beauty through their work. The covenant of expression fosters innovation and cultural enrichment, connecting people across diverse backgrounds through the universal and eternal language of art. Without at present civilization loses its way and also the finest, sharpest point to its purpose.

The Binding Force of Covenants

Covenants, in their various forms, are the binding forces that shape our world. They define our relationships, drive our actions, and uphold our values. From the doubt that fuels scientific discovery to the artistic expression that enriches our very souls, each covenant plays a crucial role in advancing humanity. As we navigate the complexities of modern life, recognizing and honoring these covenants can lead to a more harmonious and prosperous world.

Embracing these covenants means acknowledging our interconnectedness and our collective responsibilities. It is through these silent agreements that we can foster curiosity, build trust, uphold faith, fulfill our duties, share our wisdom and express our truths.

Beware though that for every concerning word there are disrupters. The infections all to easily permeate a covenant and lead to more harm than good; when consent is infected by popularity the results in politics can be disastrous. So too when doubt is replaced by denial in the sciences progress grinds to a halt. When trust is tainted by greed the corporate world fails us and its self. When duty is replaced by dominance public service ceases to be of service. When conviction is replaced by con artistry both entrepreneurialism and the investment world steal our livelihoods. When faith is polluted by cultism nothing is sacred. When academic wisdom is replaced by rampant bureaucracy we get dumber. Artistic expression can easily be ruined by the pursuit of fame instead of the pursuit of excellence.

So let’s double down on honoring these covenants, by recognizing their profound impact on our lives and the world around us, let’s commit to defending their values. In doing so, we can create a legacy of trust, conviction, duty, wisdom, expression, doubt and faith that will both inspire and underpin generations to come. The power of covenants lies, after all in all of us together. When you realise the covenants you bring to and also develop the facility to walk in other covenants you extend your abilities and your covenant’s abilities to unite us in our shared pursuits, this had a massive multiplying effect that drives true progress, ensuring a better future for our civilization and all of us who comprise it.

Dealing with one or more narcissists on your board of directors will be an immensely challenging, yet ultimately manageable, endeavor that demands a blend of strategic foresight, diplomatic finesse, and steadfast adherence to established processes. Here’s how to navigate this intricate situation effectively.

First and foremost, setting clear boundaries is crucial. Establishing and enforcing boundaries regarding behavior and responsibilities ensures that all board members, including the narcissist, understand and adhere to the board’s code of conduct and policies. This foundation helps mitigate any attempts by the narcissist to overstep or dominate discussions. It’s not just about rules; it’s about creating a culture of respect and professionalism that everyone is accountable to. You actually honor the contributions and positions of other board members and the executive members by upholding these standards consistently.

Focusing on the organization’s purpose and values is another vital strategy. By keeping discussions centered on objectives, you can minimize the narcissist’s attempts to redirect attention to themselves. This approach helps maintain the board’s focus on what truly matters for the organization’s success. It’s about steering the conversation back to the shared values and collective purpose, rather than allowing it to veer off into personal agendas. Protecting the executive’s vision and the teams collective mission is paramount.

Limiting the narcissist’s influence is essential. Distributing power and responsibilities among all board members and sub-committees prevents any single individual from dominating decision-making processes. Note that a narcissistic board member will seek to dominate sub committees if they see these as powerful. So while this egalitarian approach can ensure that all voices are heard, thus reducing the narcissist’s ability to control outcomes it can also be abused if careful attention is not paid to committee composition. By fostering a more distributed work load, you can ensure that decisions are made through a more balanced and inclusive process, which is useful for the health of the organization. Honoring the diversity of thought and experience within your board ensures more equitable participation.

Formal processes and procedures for decision-making are your allies in this situation. Relying on these structures reduces opportunities for manipulation and ensures transparency. Decisions made through established protocols are harder for a narcissist to contest or undermine. It’s about having a clear, documented process that everyone understands and follows, which leaves little room for individual manipulation. Narcissists will use your strengths against you or claim them for themselves so document your and their track record and you can show the truth by the formal evidence. Protect the integrity of the board’s decisions and the executive’s initiatives by adhering strictly to these processes. There is a great deal of utility in formality.

Documentation and measurement are also critical tools. Keeping detailed records of agreed upon measures and written minutes that reflect the true records of decisions of meetings, protects the organization and other board members from potential misrepresentation or disputes. This practice provides a clear account of proceedings and helps resolve conflicts with factual evidence. In contentious situations, having well-maintained records can be invaluable in clarifying what was discussed and decided, reducing the likelihood of disputes based on faulty memories or intentional distortions. Honor the contributions of all members by ensuring their inputs are accurately recorded and acknowledged. Do not use video or audio recordings as your records as these often do not truly reflect the agreed intent of a board meeting or sub committee meeting. Legally the minutes of the meeting are the true record. When video or audio recording of meetings is done and participants know they are being kept then counterintuitively you give the narcissist an opportunity to manipulate outcomes by using the added pressure of the recording.

Encouraging team collaboration can dilute the narcissist’s influence. Promoting a culture of mutual respect and collective input among board members fosters a more balanced dynamic. When everyone is encouraged to contribute, the narcissist’s voice becomes one among many rather than the dominating force. By valuing diverse perspectives and encouraging open dialogue, you create an environment where collaboration and mutual respect are the norms. Protect the collaborative spirit of the board and honor each member’s voice by actively fostering inclusivity.

Private conversations with the narcissist can also be effective as long as they are not one-on-one. Narcissists thrive by manipulating people one at a time and they will falsely report what is said one-on-one if such false reports can advantage them. Addressing disruptive behaviors directly and respectfully in smaller groups allows you to express concerns and expectations without overly public confrontation. Clear communication in these semi private discussions can sometimes lead to improved behavior. It’s about finding the right moment and approach to have a candid conversation, where you can address specific issues without the defensiveness that might arise in a larger group setting. Protect the board’s harmony by resolving conflicts discreetly and honorably even when the narcissist generally has no honor.

In cases where conflicts persist, seeking external support might be necessary. Involving a mediator or consultant provides an unbiased perspective and facilitates conflict resolution. An external party can assist in navigating complex dynamics and offer solutions that internal members might overlook. Professional mediators bring a level of expertise and neutrality that can be crucial in resolving entrenched conflicts. Protect the board’s functionality and honor everyone’s efforts by utilizing professional conflict resolution resources when needed.

Regular performance reviews for all board members ensure accountability. These reviews provide an opportunity to address any issues constructively and set expectations for behavior and contributions. This process keeps everyone, including the narcissist, aligned with the board’s goals and standards. By regularly evaluating performance and giving feedback, you create a culture of continuous improvement and accountability. Protect the board’s standards and honor each member’s development by implementing thorough performance assessments.

Finally, if the narcissist’s behavior is severely detrimental and other strategies fail, you may need to consider replacing them. Follow the organization’s bylaws and legal procedures for board member removal to ensure a smooth transition and protect the board’s integrity. An effective tool in this process is conducting deep background research into the narcissist looking at previous behaviors and positions. A n narcissist didn’t just wake up one day and decide to be the way they are. There will be ample evidence of toxic behavior in their post so collecting that data will be useful in gaining the necessary support to have a unified decision to effect the necessary change. Protect the board’s cohesion and honor its mission by making this difficult decisions when necessary for the greater good.

By implementing these strategies, it is possible to manage the impact of a narcissist on your board of directors and maintain a productive, harmonious working environment. This approach not only safeguards the organization’s mission, it also fosters a culture of respect and collaboration among all board members. Through clear boundaries, focused discussions, clear processes, thorough documentation, team collaboration, direct communication, external support, regular reviews, and, if necessary, decisive action, you can navigate the challenges posed by one or more narcissists on your board effectively and constructively. Protect the integrity of the board, honor the contributions of every member, and ensure the organization’s success through these deliberate and thoughtful approaches.

In the high-stakes world of startups, securing a high valuation is often seen as a crowning achievement, a validation of the founders’ vision and hard work.

Nope! It’s crucial to grok that a valuation is not a reward for past accomplishments; it is a promise of future performance. This promise typically spans the next 18-months, a period during which the startup must transform lofty expectations into tangible traction.

A valuation, especially in the early stages of a startup, is a forward-looking metric. Investors don’t just assess where the company stands today; they place a bet on its potential to scale, achieve significant milestones, and generate returns that justify their investment. In essence, the valuation is a promissory note: it sets expectations that the company will reach specific goals within a given timeframe, usually around 18 months as that’s usually the runway raised in the round.

During these next critical four quarters (two quarters will likely be lost to raising the next round), the startup must demonstrate growth in various dimensions. Targets need to be met or exceeded, customer acquisition should show a strong upward trajectory, and any product development or market expansion plans should be on track. The company’s ability to execute its plan effectively and efficiently is going to be scrutinized, serving as a litmus test for its potential to succeed in the long run.

Yet, startup is inherently volatile, and numerous factors can derail even the best-laid plans. Market conditions may shift, competition may intensify, and internal dynamics might face unexpected challenges. If the startup fails to meet the expectations tied to its valuation, the repercussions are swift and significant. One of the most visible and impactful consequences is the occurrence of a down round.

A down round happens when a company raises capital at a lower valuation than in its previous funding round. This situation starkly indicates that the market’s confidence in the startup has diminished. Investors, both new and existing, reassess the company’s worth based on its inability to deliver on promised growth and performance metrics. The implications of a down round are manifold and often painful.

First, a down round can severely dilute the equity of existing shareholders. Founders and early employees, whose equity stakes are critical both financially and psychologically, see their ownership percentages reduced. This dilution can lead to demoralization, affecting the morale and motivation of the team, which is crucial for ongoing operations and future growth.

Second, a down round can tarnish the startup’s reputation. In the tightly knit startup and venture capital community, news of a down round travels fast and signals to the market that the company is struggling. This perception can hinder the startup’s ability to attract top talent, secure favorable partnerships, and maintain customer confidence. It creates a challenging environment where every subsequent move is scrutinized more intensely.

Lastly, a down round can strain relationships with investors. While venture capitalists understand the inherent risks of investing in startups, they also expect founders to execute their vision and meet agreed-upon milestones. A down round reflects a breach of this implicit contract, potentially leading to more stringent oversight, altered terms in future financing rounds, and even changes in leadership.

Understanding the dynamic nature of valuation is vital for startup founders. Valuation is not a static number; it is a fluid representation of potential and expectation. It embodies a commitment to growth and success that must be delivered at pace. Failure to meet these expectations can be financial and reputational doom that serves as a stark reminder of the unforgiving nature of the startup ecosystem.

For startups, navigating this period, even with strategic acumen, operational excellence, an unwavering focus on execution watching the runway to the next v positive value inflection point is critical rendering the last valuation’s promise to be true and delivering on this is crucial for sustaining the very essence of the companies entrepreneurial journey.

Values, are essential heuristics for making any company or organization function at peak performance. This is also true for personal values. This is a values workshop that can be done as an individual, as a remote part of a group or in person.

Introduction

In this self-guided workshop, you will explore and articulate a unique set of values for you and / or your organization.

Our values are critical in all aspects of our lives. When we live our values we are often living our best life. If we compromise our values it becomes a source of misery and it will always be a compromise of our integrity.

Values act as guiding principles to aid in everything from marketing to personal job satisfaction, conflict resolution, brand identity, and daily practices.

By aligning personal and organizational values, you create a cohesive and effective organizational culture. Teams who share resonant values amplify their efforts whereas dissonant values tend to cancel each other’s efforts out.

An environment where values are discordant, compromised or simply not identified is not one that is likely sustainable.

Despite how critical values are most people don’t spend time clarifying their own and most companies have value statements that don’t reflect or resonate with the values of their people.

To be useful articulating our values should be done as simply and understandably as possible. The easier the values are to articulate the easier they are to live.

Preparation

Before starting the workshop, prepare the following:

1. List of Personal Values: Reflect on your personal values and make a list of at least three core values. You can use the list at the end of this article as a guide. To test your assumptions ask your friends and family what they consider your lived values to be and compare. Discussion and iteration is of great benefit in this task.
2. List of Organizational Values: Consider the values you believe your company currently embodies or aspires to. List at least three values.

Please scroll down to the end and scan the long list of 128 values to assist in inspiring you. You are free to select from these and / or create your own unique value words and phrases. Pick things that call to you and then ask; “can I live without this?” And if the answer is “no I can’t” then it’s likely you have hit on a core value or one that resonates deeply with one of your core values! Again ask others if they see you valuing the same things.

Workshop Steps

Step 1: Reflect on Personal Values

Take a few minutes to reflect on your personal values. Consider what you do if one of these values is compromised. Consider which of your values might take precedence over another and in what circumstances.

Step 2: Identify Organizational Values

Reflect on the values you believe your organization embodies and or aspires to. Write down at least three to five values that you feel represent the company’s ethos.

Step 3: Combine and Refine Values

1. List The Values: Write down your personal values and the perceived organizational values side by side.
2. Find Common Themes: Look for common themes or resonant values between your personal and organizational lists. Note these down.
3. Combine Values: If any values can be combined into a phrase or more comprehensive value, do so. For example, if you have “kindness” and “compassion,” you might combine them into “compassionate kindness.” Or you might just choose kindness.

Step 4: Weighing Values

As an individual exercise, simulate a voting process by ranking your combined list of values. Assign a score to each value based on its importance to you and the organization. Use a scale of 1–5, where 1 is least important and 5 is most important.

If you can share the results and discuss with others.

Step 5: Create a Values Statement

Using the top values from your ranked list, craft a concise and compelling values statement for your organization. (You can also do the same for your personal values.) Aim to use as many of the top-ranked values as possible while keeping the statement clear and powerful. Note having too many values is like having too many masters and will end up as word salad. Less is often more!

Example:

“Our company values compassion, decisiveness, and relentless productivity, striving to always lead with compassion while achieving outsized results.”

Step 6: Review and Finalize

1. Review Your Statement: Ensure your values statement is aligned with both personal and organizational values.
2. Test the Statement: Reflect on how this statement can be applied in daily practices, decision-making, and interactions within your life and the organization.
3. Refine as Necessary: Make any necessary adjustments to ensure the statement is both aspirational and practical. Iterate until the language gets you and you and others immediately get it!

Step 7: Implementation

1. Adopt and Live the Values: Begin integrating these values into your daily work life. Reflect on how you can embody these values in your role.
2. Share! Present your values statement to others including senior leadership for consideration and potential adoption as your organization’s official values statement.
3. Don’t settle: Too often great values are diluted into meaningless gibberish by attempting to reach a consensus. Getting people to put aside their egos and desire to be the one to provide the “right” words is critical. You are reaching for resonance rather than consensus. Also if some people are left out then that actually may be a sign they need to find a team to work with that has values that resonate with their own rather than stay. Or it may be a huge opportunity for their own personal growth!

Conclusion

By following this workshop, you have taken a significant step toward aligning your personal values with those of your organization. This alignment can lead to greater job satisfaction, a stronger organizational culture, and a more unified approach to achieving the organization’s goals and purpose.

Next work on a purpose that touches, moves and inspires!

Example Values to Reflect Upon

• Accountability
• - Accuracy
• - Achievement
• - Adventurousness
• - Altruism
• - Ambition
• - Assertiveness
• - Audacity
• - Balance
• - Being best
• - Belonging
• - Boldness
• - Calmness
• - Carefulness
• - Cheerfulness
• - Clear-mindedness
• - Commitment
• - Community
• - Compassion
• - Competitiveness
• - Contentment
• - Continuous Improvement
• - Contribution
• - Cooperation
• - Courtesy
• - Creativity
• - Curiosity
• - Decisiveness
• - Dependability
• - Determination
• - Diligence
• - Discipline
• - Discretion
• - Diversity
• - Dynamism
• - Economy
• - Effectiveness
• - Efficiency
• - Elegance
• - Empathy
• - Enjoyment
• - Enthusiasm
• - Equality
• - Excellence
• - Excitement
• - Expertise
• - Exploration
• - Expressiveness
• - Family-orientedness
• - Fidelity
• - Focus
• - Freedom
• - Fun
• - Generosity
• - Getting shit done
• - Goodness
• - Grace
• - Gratitude
• - Growth
• - Happiness
• - Hard Work
• - Health
• - Honesty
• - Honor
• - Humility
• - Independence
• - Ingenuity
• - Inner Harmony
• - Inquisitiveness
• - Insightfulness
• - Intelligence
• - Joy
• - Kindness
• - Leadership
• - Love
• - Loyalty
• - Making a difference
• - Mastery
• - Openness
• - Originality
• - Positivity
• - Practicality
• - Preparedness
• - Professionalism
• - Prudence
• - Reliability
• - Resourcefulness
• - Results
• - Rigor
• - Security
• - Self-actualization
• - Selflessness
• - Self-reliance
• - Self-sovereignty
• - Sensitivity
• - Serenity
• - Service
• - Shrewdness
• - Simplicity
• - Soundness
• - Speed
• - Spontaneity
• - Structure
• - Success
• - Support
• - Tenacity
• - Teamwork
• - Temperance
• - Thoroughness
• - Thoughtfulness
• - Timeliness
• - Tolerance
• - Trustworthiness
• - Truth-seeking
• - Understanding
• - Uniqueness
• - Unity
• - Usefulness
• - Vision
• - Veracity
• - Vitality

please have someone read this slowly and gently to you while you practice. If you want me to record an audio track of it leave a request in the comments.

Welcome

Welcome! We are embarking on a journey to identify and calm our inner voice by being our true observer self.

Find a comfortable position, whether seated or lying down. Close your eyes and take a deep breath in, feeling the air fill your lungs. Slowly exhale, letting go of any tension.

Let’s focus on our breath. Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose, hold for a moment, and then exhale slowly and comfortably through your nose or mouth.

With each breath, allow yourself to sink deeper into relaxation. Inhale, hold, and exhale. Feel the rhythm of your breathing, letting it ground you in this present moment.

Now, as you breath, gently shift become aware of your body. Starting from the top of your head, slowly move your awareness down, relaxing each part as you go. Notice your forehead, your eyes, your jaw. Allow any tension to melt away.

Continue down to your neck, shoulders, arms, and hands. Feel your chest rise and fall with each breath. Move your focus to your heart, abdomen, hips, legs, and finally feet. Feel your entire body relaxed and at ease.

As you continue to breathe deeply and steadily, become aware of your thoughts. Notice any thoughts, feelings and sensations that arise. Without judging or opposing simply observe them, as if you were watching clouds drift by in the sky. These thoughts and feelings are not you; they are just passing phenomena. Allow them to come and go freely.

As you observe embrace what comes gently even though it may be the voice that often narrates your lives, offering commentary, opinions and criticism or feelings of concern and worry. Listen for your inner voice now without engaging with it. Notice its tone, its patterns. Is it critical? Anxious? Encouraging? Just observe its flow and if you get caught up in the content that’s ok just let go and observe again.

Imagine that you are sitting by a calm river. Your inner voice, feelings and sensations are like leaves floating on the water. Watch as each leaf passes by. You don’t need to pick up the leaves or analyze them; just watch them float. Be the calm observer, separate from the leaves, grounded and at peace.

With each gentle breath, create space between you and the leaves. Inhale, feel the space expand. Exhale, let go of any attachment to the thoughts. Repeat this process, cultivating a sense of spaciousness and freedom from inner noise. Feel yourself slowly and gently unfolding as the observer let go and allow yourself to be, if love is there gently wrap yourself in it for as long as you wish.

<take time in silence>

When you are ready slowly bring your awareness back to your breath. Notice the rise and fall of your chest. Feel the ground beneath you. Gently wiggle your fingers and toes, bringing small movements back to your body. Take one final deep breath in, hold it, and exhale slowly.

Gently open your eyes. Carry your sense of calm and observation with you throughout your day. Remember, you are the observer of your thoughts and feelings, not the thoughts and feelings themselves. Thank your inner voice and feelings for taking this journey with you.

As you go though your day observe others and give them the gift of your full attention. Let them also feel heard.

Namaste.

Some people have no inner voice. (lucky them!) Their thoughts don’t occur as a narrative. For the majority of us, we have one or more, and it may even feel like we don’t as we usually do not even realize that our inner voice is not, in fact, the bigger or best part of us.

Have you ever paused to just observe and listen to the incessant chatter of the voice inside your head? You know the one: the relentless commentator, the ever-present critic, the narrator that seems to have an opinion on everything you do. The inner storm of turmoil that can be triggered instantaneously.

We may make the mistake of believing this voice is us, assuming it reflects our true selves. What if the voice isn’t really you? Let’s explore why the voice in your head is only a small part of your true self and how recognizing this can lead to a more peaceful, authentic life.

When I am mediating conflict between people, I can often see their inner voices going at it hammer and tongs, and those inner voices spilling out argumentatively into emotional and even irrational talking. At that point, it’s pretty hard to even call the talking a dialogue.

The inner voice, often referred to as the “ego” or “id” in psychological and spiritual contexts, is a product of our personal history. It’s shaped mostly by our negative past experiences, some societal norms, and the myriad of other influences we encounter day by day.

This voice tends to form around ages 3–5 when we develop a theory of mind (the ability to recognize that others have different perspectives from us). It usually forms as a response to something negative that happens to us and, as a result, tends to be reactive, often driven by fear, insecurity, and the need for control or comfort.

It can get so loud with its comments on everything from our actions to our appearance, and it often does so in a judgmental and critical manner. So loud that we don’t do anything without consulting it. So loud and noisy that by default, we can believe that it is all of us.

Here’s the thing: We are not our thoughts. Your true essence is the awareness that observes these thoughts.

Consider this: if you can observe the voice in your head, then there must be a part of you that is separate from it.

This observing self is your true self, the quiet presence that exists beyond the incessant chatter of the mind.

When we identify with the voice in our head, we allow it to dictate our actions and reactions. This can lead to a host of issues, including rumination, anxiety, depression, and a sense of disconnection from our true selves. The inner voice often reinforces limiting beliefs with negative self-talk, which can hinder our personal growth and achievements.

If the inner monologue is so bad, why on earth would we evolve to have such a thing or things in most of our heads? The reason is comfort. No matter how negative the voice may be, it can often feels better in the moment than what we are afraid of right then. It can justify our fear or anger or sadness, and we feel momentarily more in control. It can allow us to feel right even sometimes when we are, in fact, very wrong.

The first step to taking back our calm power from the noisy inner voice is to cultivate awareness. Mindfulness practices, such as meditation or just learning to let go, can assist you in developing the ability to observe your inner thoughts without becoming entangled in them. By regularly practicing mindfulness, you begin to see the voice in your head for what it is: a stream of conditioned thoughts that do not define you.

As you become more adept at observing your thoughts, you’ll start to experience moments of stillness and peace. These moments are glimpses of your true self, the part of you that is calmer, centered, and intuitive. By giving the silent majority of you more space you can begin to live more authentically, growing free from the constraints of the inner critic.

With practice, whenever you notice the inner voice speaking, you can simply observe it without judgment. Acknowledge its presence and even offer it gratitude, love, and comfort. Once the urgency drains from the comforted inner voice (inner child), you can gently let go of the thoughts the inner voice presents. Apply some actual critical thinking to the situation rather than argument or self-criticism.

Always be kind to yourself, others and your inner voice. Understand that nearly everyone has an inner critic that comes out during crisis and that we are not alone in this experience. Engage in activities that ground you, such as yoga, gratitude journaling, spending time in nature, and most importantly, spending time with family and friends you love. Sometimes, talking to a therapist or joining a mindfulness group can provide additional support in navigating the ongoing journey of not misidentifying yourself as your inner voice.

The voice in your head isn’t you, it is a small part of you, and it’s important to accept and love every part of yourself to reach your full potential. You are more than just a product of your mind’s conditioning. By cultivating awareness and practicing mindfulness, you can begin to discern quickly the knee-jerk reactions and responses of your inner narrator and instead allow your true self to be fully expressed.

This journey of self-discovery takes effort and practice and it can really lead you to a more peaceful, authentic, and fulfilling life trough the full awareness of your true being, and with that awareness your true power manifesting, and not just for you; for our world and our civilization.

So as a foodie and a type two diabetic, with decent blood sugar control, I find the keto diet is pretty fine except I missed ice cream.

I am also a super taster and allergic to sugar alcohols so all the substitutes have caused me nightmares of different kinds.

Enter two companies that have helped enormously;

• Choc Zero - makers of exquisitely good chocolate sweetened with fibre and monk fruit extract. www.choczero.com

And

• Ninja - makers of kitchen gadgets especially the excellent ice cream maker the Creami. https://a.co/d/0vJ8PJi

Together they have unknowingly solved my ice cream woes!

This is possibly also the easiest ice cream recipe I have yet done.

Makes 1 pint and serves up to 5 (Depending on level of heartbreak at the time.)

Ingredients:

• Pouring cream
• Whole milk
• Choc Zero dark hot chocolate mix
• Protein powder (Organic, fine, whey, and the least bitter tasting you can find)

Directions: (10 mins + 24 hours)

• Take the Ninja Creami tub and fill it one third with pouring cream.
• Add in two heaped table spoons of protein powder and two packets of the hot chocolate mix.
• A add in as much whole milk as you did cream.
• Put the lid on and shake like crazy until Ingredients are combined (hold the lid tight while you shake it like you mean it!)
• Use spoon to break up any clumps of dry ingredients and the top up with more milk until half way between the “max fill” line and the top of the tub. (Yes break the max fill line law)
• Put it in the Creami and run the milkshake program to ensure a nice smooth mix.
• Pour out some of the mix into one of the spare Creami tubs until your main tub contents are back at the “max fill” line. Reserve the small amount of mix in the spare tub in the refrigerator with the lid on.
• Put the main batch of mix in the first Creami tub into a normal freezer and make sure it’s as flat as possible so the mix freezes with an even top.
• Freeze the main batch for 24 whole hours! (Yes you will need patience!!!)

To serve: (5 mins)

• Take the main batch from the freezer and put it in the Ninja Creami then run the “Light Iceream” program.
• Take the reserved part of the mix out of the refrigerator and pour it into the tub you just ran through the Ninja Creami.
• Run the “re-spin” program.

Scoop immediately and eat!

In the extremely unlikely case that there are leftovers use a spoon to make them level in the Ninja Creami tub and the re-Freeze.

When you want to eat the leftovers run them through the lite icecream program again and then “re-spin” with a splash of milk. (Won’t be as good the second time around but still very tasty)

Variations:

• After the re-spin scoop a hole in the ice-cream and add in chopped almonds or crashed frozen berries or any other chopped nuts or crushed froze fruits or ChocZero mini mallows of mini ChocZero choc chips and or any number of small delicious add ons and hit the “mix-ins” program and enjoy anything from rocky road, to mint choc chip to raspberry swirl chocolate ice-cream (make sure you follow the instructions on the Ninja Creami)

Trouble shooting;

• Make sure your freezer is not colder than -18c -0.4f
• Make sure all the ingredients are fully combined!
• Switch protein powder type till you find one that both works and you like the taste of.
• For a lighter taste use the “milk chocolate” hot chocolate mix from ChozZero
• Don’t use heavy cream you will end up with frozen butter instead of ice-cream.
• After the first spin it might actually be perfect in which case don’t bother adding the reserve and then the re-spin (I find that ambient temperature can make quite a difference in the results)
• I do not recommend dairy alternatives in this recipe, nor lactose free milk. This is on the edge of the the Ninja Creami can tolerate any more watery and you end up with solid ice that can break your machine!

This is all done at your own risk!

That all said I have been loving the results and if I wear out my Ninja Creami early I will get it repaired!

Here is a short video of the first batch that worked (yes there were quite a few flails getting here)

https://youtube.com/shorts/6eiA1mrmwWA?feature=share

Enjoy!!!