Between your vision and our reality sits a critical step most pioneers miss: YOU go first. Your story isn't just what you say or even the experiences you might create—it's how you show up and walk the path before asking others to follow.

The path to any real dream is never clean or linear. It’s tangled, thorny, and unpredictable. But an imperfect path is still a path. When you meet the mess, don’t fight it. Get curious, get creative, and take heart. The chaos itself is your initiation, and the joy you find within it the medicine you’re looking for.

After 30 years of chasing my ‘purpose,’ I let it go. I stopped believing a meaningful life depended on finding purpose and embraced the idea of ‘joy and medicine’ instead. Joy is alive, playful, adaptable where purpose is brittle. This kind of joy can flow into medicine, and medicine is what you are here to give back to the world.

When I first stepped into an improv class more than 15 years ago, I thought I was simply learning how to play on stage. What I learned was that improv isn’t just about comedy or performance. It’s about listening deeply, saying yes to what’s in front of you, and daring to step into the unknown. Along the way, you discover who you are and who you’re becoming.

Getting lost is crucial to finding your way. The Groan Zone is where you’ll discover what you don’t want, where your medicine lies, and the gateway to what’s next.