What does it mean to be a man today?
I was recently in a coaching circle where one of the members of the group posed this question. He went on to share that this topic has been keeping him up at night – as an entrepreneur, as a father, as a husband. He was grappling with this and unsure about how to show up in his work and his life.
We were drawn to this question as a group because many others in the circle felt this way, and we explored it together. At the end, he was brought to tears and shared that never in his life has he felt more safe and seen than during this conversation.
In that moment, I realized that I've been fortunate to have a women's group where we talk about everything from our professional goals to our identities as women and more. But many men do not have a safe space for discussion like this.
At The Grand, we believe it's important for everyone to have a community for intentional conversation, so we've designed a special session to explore modern masculinity and what it means to be a man today.
I'm excited to have this session led by Grand Guide Anthony Ware. He is the Principal of AWare Catalysts, with a focus on helping startup founders create mental wealth to impact their lives and businesses. He shared with me that his journey has been a long one, but one that he’s proud of.
"I've evolved over the past 10 years to redefine what masculinity means to me in the new context of society and business, deepened my understanding of emotional intelligence and creating space for other people, and learned to be my whole self including the full range of emotions from crying to fear or joy.”
If you're interested in this topic, you may also enjoy the round table conversation series, Man Enough. Each episode gathers a group of men to discuss how traditional masculine norms have influenced them throughout their lives, the impact they have on society, and how they're working to write a new narrative.
Upcoming Sessions
Reinventing Your Professional Self – Career Shifts Later in Life 11/12: Our increasing autonomy to craft our careers offers a window into greater professional fulfillment. Yet, for many of us, making career transitions often feels daunting. It doesn't have to be. Our Grand Guide Caroline Anzur has made a number of career transitions in her 30s and 60s, and is excited to answer your questions about this topic. Join us for this Session if you're making a career transition or thinking about one.
Exploring Adoption as an Option 11/19: Have you ever thought about building your family through adoption and wondered what the experience is like? Join us for this Session with Gigi and John Orta to hear about how they made the decision to adopt their daughter, navigated an international adoption, and built a wonderful family with both adopted and biological children.
Grand Insight
Traditions are some of the most meaningful ways to deepen our relationships and weave the fabric of our communities. The importance of creating them is one of the takeaways you shared from your Keys to a Successful Marriage Grand Session and inspired us to start a conversation about them as a community.
What are your most special traditions?
Let us know by replying to this email! We'd love to share your traditions in our upcoming newsletters so we may all support each other in creating more meaningful memories.
Here's one to start from Grand Member, Jenna.
Holiday Letters: Every Christmas Eve my immediate family gathers to write each member of our family a letter reflecting on the past year (i.e. I write each my mom, brother, and dad an individual letter). The letters span everything from that person's achievements to our gratitude for experiences we shared or times they showed up for us. We then read them out loud. We've been doing them for almost a decade and the tradition continues to create a special space for reflection and deep connection as we share what we admire in each other and are proud of, as well as openly give and receive our love.
Warmly,
Anita