On September 1, we had the privilege of hosting Awakin Call with Kevin Hancock.

Kevin Hancock is the CEO of one of America’s oldest companies, a 6th generation family-run lumber company in Maine founded in 1848. In 2010, at the height of the economic crisis, Hancock was diagnosed with spasmodic dysphonia, a rare neurological disorder that makes speech extremely difficult. So he had to reinvent his leadership style by speaking less and listening more. Hancock Lumber made it through the economic crisis. Kevin then embarked on a Vision Quest and successive trips to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation "where I met an entire community that felt as if it had no voice" and realized "there are lots of ways to lose your voice in this world. The traditional leadership model often quiets the authentic voices of others." He now helps empower the Sioux of Pine Ridge via housing, health, and education projects, and helps organizations and leaders realize that finding one’s own voice means also amplifying the voices of others.

A few wisdom nuggets from the call:

• "We strengthen the world from within, we create socially by creating change within ourselves."
• "In Nature, power lives everywhere. If you went to a forest and tried to find the king of trees, you would not find it."
• "Truth isn't meant to be singular, it's a collage."
• "What's the purpose of work in the modern age? You shouldn't consider this purpose without first considering the purpose of life. Work should advance life. The purpose of work should serve the purpose of self actualization, if that is the purpose of life."
• "There are some critical ingredients for shared leadership and one of them restraint on part of the leaders from judging the perspectives of others."

We've posted the audio recording of the call, and in the coming week, we will be also be posting a transcript on that same page. You can learn more about Kevin's life journey by reading Not for Sale: Finding Center in the Land of Crazy Horse, a memoir that traces his journey deep into Indian country, and even deeper into his own soul. He is also writing the forthcoming The Seventh Power. Some of his lectures and his blog can be found on his website.

Lots of gratitude to all the behind-the-scenes volunteers that made this call happen!