In an earlier post, I laid out the tangible benefits (and real costs) of belonging to a Tribe.The Tribe, in a sense, is kinda like a port on a small island. Normally, all of us are venturing out into the sea of life, carving out a living, raising kids, creating cool adventures... stuff like that. Our modern world is filled with amazing opportunities, and we should spend as much time as we possibly can exploring those opportunities.
But it gets a lot easier to really explore our world if we know we have a reliable "home base" to use as a foundation. A place to return to when needed. The Tribe is essentially a port. When the journey of life gets hectic, the Tribe is there to provide for us and protect us. It's a safe place to refuel, fix broken stuff, and most importantly, have fun.
All those benefits I outline in that post I linked to in the first sentence align with some aspect of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, which is intentional and the reason I love the Tribe model of social organization. The very organization of the Tribe puts the individual members in an excellent position to do great things because they're routinely getting all their needs met. Let's walk through each need, starting at the bottom of the pyramid.
Physiological Needs: Under normal circumstances, the Tribe isn't going to be providing these things, but the Tribe WILL be an important safety net if a Member of the Tribe isn't getting these needs met for whatever reason. Knowing you'll always have something to eat and drink and a warm place to sleep alleviates a nagging concern many of us have floating around in the backs of our heads, and hopefully gives us a baseline of security to allow us to take bigger risks.
Safety Needs: By virtue of modern society and our effective law enforcement infrastructure, safety and security is one of those needs we frequently take for granted... until we're in a situation where we're not safe and secure. But there are times when we can't call the police for a variety of reasons. In that case, it helps having a Tribe who'll have your back. There's power and safety in numbers, especially when the Tribe trains all the time.
Belongingness and Love Needs: Socializing with friends is one of the reasons I was deeply interested in this project in the first place. Once you reach adulthood and start having kids, friendships get logistically difficult. A major aspect of the Tribe are the social connections among the members. Given our vetting process, the Tribe itself is filled with kind, friendly, socially-intelligent, funny people who don't take themselves too seriously. In short, the Tribe is pretty decent at making friends and having fun. As you navigate life, casual friends come and go, but the Tribe offers a foundation of lasting friendships.
Esteem Needs: The Tribe is, by design, a group of people who care for each other. These connections provide a powerful feedback loop where all of your significant accomplishments get recognized and celebrated by a group of people who respect you and admire you. No matter how good you are at internal validation, this kind of love and support is incredibly powerful and a prerequisite to taking that next step to...
Self-Fulfillment Needs: This is that motivation for personal growth and to reach your full potential. The Tribe's explicit goal is to make our world a better place by making our individual members the best people they can be. In a perfect world, all of us would be doing this all of the time. But you really do need every one of the other lower needs to be met first. This is where the purpose of the Tribe really shines. By providing a basis for each of the four lower needs, our Tribe Members can spend significantly more time becoming the best version of themselves possible.
There you have it. The Tribe is a Port of sorts, providing our Members with everything they need to survive and thrive.
~Jason
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