You're Part of a Community, Not an Audience
Join the Book Club
You are part of a community here. The Superpowers for Good newsletter and podcast here on Substack is built to foster the growth of a global group of changemakers of all sorts. You are lucky to be a part of this community. I know this because I feel most fortunate of all.
Every week, I get to speak with new, amazing people who are changing the world. Not only do I (and you, that is, we) get to hear about the incredible work they’re doing to solve problems, we’re also learning about their superpowers. We can copy those skills, traits, characteristics and strengths. We can learn to be more like the world’s great changemakers.
The reality is, listening to a podcast or reading a newsletter generally feels like a passive activity. If you like it that way, please continue. But, if you really want to get the most from this experience, I want to encourage you to really be a part of the community.
On October 7 at 8:30 PM Eastern/5:30 PM Pacific, we’re holding our first-ever book club session. This time, we’re going to talk about my new book, Superpowers for Good. I know that sounds shamelessly self-promotional. You can get the ebook version free of charge from Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and Smashwords (among others).
I get it. I can’t be objective about these things. Still, the book is an inspiring and impressive collection of insights from people like Bill Gates, Gail McGovern, CEO of the American Red Cross, Bill Drayton, founder of Ashoka (who coined the term changemaker), and dozens of others.
Toward the end of the first book club meeting, we’ll choose a book for next month and announce the time for the meeting to discuss it. Come prepared to make a recommendation for a book that changemakers should be reading in 2021.
You are unequivocally invited to participate in the first Superpowers for Good book club meeting. You personally are encouraged to join by Zoom in this inaugural session. Yes, I’m talking to you!
But, from now on, the only way to get the deets for the next meeting will be to be a paid subscriber to the newsletter or attend all the book club meetings. This way, we will grandfather in all those who participate in the first meeting, whether they are paying subscribers or not.
As a quick tangent, let me make a further plug or two for becoming a paid subscriber. This is my full-time job. My primary source of income is the money I get is from subscribers and book royalties, which are more modest than you imagine—I promise. If you think it is a good idea for someone to share the work of inspiring people and help you be more like them, then please consider becoming a paying subscriber (if you haven’t already). Right now, expiring soon, we’re offering a 20 percent lifetime discount on subscriptions. It really is cheap to subscribe.
If we’re going to make this into a vibrant community, I need your best ideas, not just mine. Would you mind giving some thought to what you would like to see us do to build the community? What content do you want to see? What activities should we organize for subscribers? Who should be a guest on the show? Please leave your suggestions and ideas in the comments. (If you have a specific guest suggestion or want to volunteer to be on the show, please visit tell.devin.today.)