Commusings: A Company with Purpose

Dear Commune Community,

We huddled around the conference table in a small office in Hollywood. There were just five of us then. I stood up, walked to the whiteboard, and scrawled in barely legible penmanship:

“To bring well-being to a billion people.” 

It seemed outlandish, but that was our mission. Wellness had long been cubby-holed for the affluent. Could we democratize access to information that could help people live healthier and happier lives? Could we bring the teaching of world-renowned doctors, health experts, coaches, and therapists to the people who need it the most, but often get it the least? 

These were the questions that formed the compost from which the seed of Commune sprouted. 

Fast-forward seven years. We remain about 993 million people away from our goal. Still, almost 7 million people have registered for a Commune course. The podcast has been downloaded tens of millions of times. This very missive is being read by over a million people in 100 different countries.

I often get asked questions about entrepreneurship, such as “How do you build a company with purpose?”

Here are a few of my key principles:

Align Your Mission with Financial Sustainability

I simultaneously chuckle and eye-roll when I read a mission statement like that of British Petroleum. BP’s mission includes “lowering carbon” and “reaching net zero.” While these are admirable goals, they are at odds with their core business. Inevitably, there will be misalignment when the stated mission undercuts your financial sustainability. 

In contrast, if Commune can bring well-being to a billion people, then chances are we can be financially sound. When the mission and the business are aligned, decision-making becomes much simpler.

Lead Like the Ocean

The ocean is the most powerful body of water. However, it is also the lowest. A great leader is humble and allows all the rivers and tributaries to feed into her. This concept of leading from the lowest place has its origin in Taoism. 

The 17th verse of the Tao Te Ching says this: 

“When the Master governs, the people
are hardly aware that he exists.
Next best is a leader who is loved.
Next, one who is feared.
The worst is one who is despised.

If you don't trust people,
you make them untrustworthy.

The Master doesn't talk, he acts.
When his work is done,
the people say, "Amazing:
we did it, all by ourselves!”

Translated into how to manage a purpose-driven company: Create fluency around the mission such that there is a shared lens through which to make decisions. I then let go. Decentralize. Empower. Allow for mistakes. 

I know that everyone who works at Commune knows that our goal is to bring the healing wisdom of the world’s greatest teachers to a billion people. Knowing that they know, I don’t micromanage. 

Make Your Dream the Dream of Others

Define your mission, vision, and goals. Then articulate your message clearly, thoughtfully, and with so much exuberance that your dream becomes the dream of everyone you meet. This includes our team, but it also encompasses the teachers we work with and the students of our courses who can’t wait to share what they’ve learned with friends and family.

Over the course of this journey, we have had the opportunity to work closely with some of the most successful teachers in health and wellness, from Deepak Chopra and Marianne Williamson to Dr. Mark Hyman and Dr. Gabor Maté.

One thing they all share in common is the willingness to passionately articulate and re-articulate their core beliefs over and over (and over) again. 

Wim Hof and his family came and stayed at Commune for two weeks. Every morning over breakfast he gave the same speech to the same Commune production crew, thundering on about the mighty benefits of breath and mind control even though the cameras weren’t rolling yet. 

But you know what, it sunk in. And sometimes, when I’ve had a few espressos and the air is particularly brisk, I find myself slipping into a slight Norse accent, raising my voice a few decibels, and getting on the same soap box.

The messages that are truly worth saying are worth repeating. 

Which brings me to this week’s Lifetime Membership sale:

Commune fulfills its mission by providing a lot of high-value content for free. But, of course, we need a sustainable financial model to exist and continue to help people. For better or worse, I’m not the car salesman type. 

So, my ask is simple: If you find our content helpful (or think it might be) and you can afford it, then please consider buying Commune’s Lifetime membership. 

Consider what it costs to see your primary care physician. For a fraction of that expense, you can access the best integrative and functional medicine doctors in the world. AND … avail yourself of thousands of practices and classes on one platform.

At Commune, you learn the mechanism and get the modalities.

If you get into Membership and decide it’s not worth it, email us within a week and we’ll give you a refund, no questions asked.

Thank you. I deeply appreciate your support. 

In love, include me,
Jeff