Won't You Grow With Me? Lessons from a Community That Loves You Just As You Are

The Power of Community

Where love lifts us, and leadership creates more leaders

"The Function of Leadership Is to Create More Leaders, Not More Followers"

These words from Ralph Nader opened the gathering, and they set the tone for everything that followed.

This community doesn't create dependency. It creates possibility. It doesn't ask you to follow, it invites you to lead your own life while walking alongside others doing the same.

As one member beautifully expressed: "We share responsibility... we encourage everyone to be involved and share and give love."

That's the difference between a group and a family.

"All of us, at some time or other, need help. Whether we're giving or receiving help, each one of us has something valuable to bring to this world. That's one of the things that connects us as neighbors, in our own way, each one of us is a giver and a receiver." - Fred Rogers

And isn't that beautiful? We take turns. Some days we carry. Some days we're carried. But we never walk alone.

The Magic of Showing Up

Our host, Jessie, radiating warmth from downstate New York, captured something essential:

"This call keeps going like the Energizer Bunny... it makes us feel like all possibilities are there for us."

Since 2011, this gathering has been a constant, a "morning cup of coffee" that gets people out of bed and into their purpose. The invitation? Give it three months. Maybe six. But most find it becomes embedded in their lives far sooner than that.

Why? Because when you surround yourself with people committed to becoming better than yesterday, transformation isn't optional, it's inevitable.

"Often when you think you're at the end of something, you're at the beginning of something else." - Fred Rogers

So if you're reading this and feeling like you're at the end of something, take heart. Maybe, just maybe, you're standing at the threshold of something new. Something beautiful. Something meant just for you.

A Word About Being Gentle With Yourself

Before we go further, I want to pause and remind you of something important:

"Be gentle with yourself. You're doing the best you can."

This isn't just nice words. It's permission. Permission to be imperfect. Permission to still be learning. Permission to show up even when you don't have it all figured out.

"There is no normal life that is free of pain. It's the very wrestling with our problems that can be the impetus for our growth." - Fred Rogers

Your struggles aren't signs that you're failing. They're signs that you're growing.

Realizing Your Manifestations: A Story of Faith in Action

Jessie shared a powerful testimony about the intersection of intention and surrender.

After eye surgery, she'd been repeating affirmations about her health. But here's the key, she didn't say "I'd like to lose my glasses." She declared: "I have excellent eyesight!"

Then she did something even more powerful: "I leave it to faith. I completely put it in God's hands."

The result? Her eyesight improved ahead of schedule. Her surgeon, someone who had found their purpose, became the vessel through which her manifestation materialized.

"When we allow ourselves to believe in the possibilities... we see the miracles manifest. They don't always show up as we expected, but they do show up."

The lesson? Speak what you want, not what you fear. Then release it to something greater than yourself.

Even finding a parking spot in a crowded garage became a moment of practice: "I have just as much chance of finding the perfect spot as not finding one." Sure enough, four spots in, there it was.

By practicing this, you align your inner state with your desired outer reality, demonstrating the power of intention in an everyday scenario. The ease with which this small thing manifests helps build belief in applying the same principles to larger life goals.

Small faiths build into big ones. The parking spot today. The healed eyesight tomorrow. The dream you've been holding in your heart? It's all the same muscle.

"Wishing doesn't make anything happen, but it certainly can be the start of some important happenings." - Fred Rogers

The Law of Social Heredity: What Are You Planting?

The reading from The Law of Success in 16 Lessons offered a sobering and empowering truth:

The beliefs planted in us during childhood, through family, religion, education, conversation, and experience, become as much a part of us as any organ in our body. And just as hard to change.

But here's the flip side: We have the power to plant new beliefs.

Every affirmation spoken, every possibility entertained, every fearful thought replaced with faith, is re-parenting our own minds, one intentional thought at a time.

The reading challenged us to examine our Six Basic Fears, starting with the fear of poverty. This fear, we learned, doesn't come from scarcity itself. It comes from generations of watching humans "prey upon each other financially."

"A man is considered less than the dust of the earth unless he can display a fat bank account. No wonder man fears poverty."

But awareness is the first step to freedom. When we see where our fears come from, we can finally begin to release them.

"As human beings, our job in life is to help people realize how rare and valuable each one of us really is, that each of us has something that no one else has, or ever will have, something inside that is unique to all time. It's our job to encourage each other to discover that uniqueness." - Fred Rogers

What a beautiful assignment we've been given.

Voices from the Mastermind: Real People, Real Wisdom

Amy: The Call That Carried Her Through Loss

Amy lost her father on Thanksgiving evening. For two weeks, she grieved, traveled, and processed. Yet even when she couldn't fully participate, the call was there.

"The call brought me to life... It carried me through the two weeks I was gone."

In our hardest moments, we don't need advice. We need presence. We need people who show up with their "A game" so we don't have to pretend we have ours.

That's what a real community looks like.

"It always helps to have people we love beside us when we have to do difficult things in life." — Fred Rogers

Wanda: The Wind Beneath My Wings

"This call is the wind beneath my wings... the messages download into my soul, telling me it's okay, this too shall pass."

As babies in our mother's wombs, for nine months, we are "marinating" in thoughts. It is there where passion and purpose are kept alive, where they can grow in positive thoughts. We can begin there, and as we keep our eyes on what matters, we can move forward fulfilling all of our purposes while we're here. This call helps me do that.

Her wisdom on relationships? Put God first. Remember you're on the same team. When you do, you can solve any problem.

"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other." — Mother Teresa

Jenny: Behavior Is an Echo of Your Beliefs

Jenny brought a gem from Graham Cooke: "Behavior is an echo of your beliefs."

She also introduced a powerful reframe: Afformations instead of affirmations.

Instead of declaring "I attract the perfect customer," ask: "Why do I attract the perfect customer?"

The question opens your mind to possibility. It shifts focus from fear to opportunity.

"What you're supposed to do when you don't like a thing is change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it. Don't complain." — Maya Angelou

Brett: Setting Your Day Before It Sets You

"You're either going to set your day, or your day sets you."

Brett uses the call to raise his vibration. He reminded us that love is the highest form of energy.

His version of afformations? Instead of "I can't," try: "It's just like me to figure it out."

It's a small shift with massive implications. Language shapes reality. Both his practice and Jenny's practice work, and we should give them a try!

"Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better." — Maya Angelou

Mama Elizabeth: You've Got to BE Before You Can SEE

Elizabeth shared an adorable story of her two-year-old great-granddaughter, Izzie, politely asking the adults to be quieter so she could watch her show.

The lesson her mother taught Izzie? If you're going to say something, say it in a nice way.

Affirmations start young. Kindness starts young. But it all begins with us modeling what we want to see.

"You've got to BE before you can SEE." That is great parenting advice, like 'show before tell'…

"The underlying message of the Neighborhood is that if somebody cares about you, it's possible that you'll care about others. 'You are special, and so is your neighbor', that part is essential." - Fred Rogers

Bill: Sharing the Responsibility

Bill noticed something unique about this community:

"We share responsibility... In other organizations, there's a hierarchy. Here, we encourage everyone to be involved."

Leadership isn't locked at the top. Everyone is invited to step up, share, and give love.

That's how movements grow.

"There's a world of difference between insisting on someone's doing something and establishing an atmosphere in which that person can grow into wanting to do it." - Fred Rogers

This is the Mr. Rogers way. We don't push, we invite. We don't demand, we model. We create space for people to discover their own desire to grow.

Travis: The Opportunity You Almost Missed

Travis found himself far from home, waiting for an Uber, when he stumbled into a golf simulator spot. The price dropped from $50 to $30. A fraternity showed up. A live band played.

He realized later: That was an opportunity to invite someone new into this community.

His takeaway? The younger generation needs what we have. Someone turns 18 every single day. Who's reaching them?

"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.'" - Fred Rogers

Maybe today, you get to be the helper someone needs.

Pas: When You're Ready, Opportunity Is Ready for You

"We never miss an opportunity, that time just wasn't ours."

Pas reminded us that this community doesn't just talk about growth. We live it. We encourage each other to step up, do more, and make an impact that ripples out to our cities, communities, and families.

"Community means strength that joins our strength to do the work that needs to be done. Arms to hold us when we falter. A circle of healing. A circle of friends. Someplace where we can be free." - Starhawk

Owen: The Burr Under the Saddle Blanket

Owen shared a story from "100 years ago" (his words, with a smile). After losing his right arm in 8th grade, he had to learn to write left-handed. A teacher threw his messy quiz in the trash and told him he'd fail until his writing was legible.

Harsh? Maybe. But a month later, Owen received a penmanship award.

"It's best to tighten the bootstraps and make things better."

Sometimes the people who challenge us most become our greatest teachers.

"Even though no human being is perfect, we always have the chance to bring what's unique about us to life in a redeeming way. Discovering the truth about ourselves is a lifetime's work, but it's worth the effort." - Fred Rogers

Gail: A Loving Place to Be

"No one knows what you look like when you come to this mastermind call. You share your voice, and it's okay. Just keep coming out."

Gail reminded us that this space is safe. It's loving. It's a place where you can show up exactly as you are and be met with encouragement.

"Everyone longs to be loved. And the greatest thing we can do is to let people know that they are loved and capable of loving." - Fred Rogers

Michelle: Staying Connected

Even when life gets busy, connection matters. Michelle popped in simply to say: Merry Christmas. Happy New Year. I love you all.

Sometimes that's enough.

"Imagine what our real neighborhoods would be like if each of us offered, as a matter of course, just one kind word to another person." - Fred Rogers

The Invitation

This community will pause for the holidays, time for rest, family, and reflection. But the work doesn't stop. You can do your own call. Listen to the replays. Each time you read, you pick up something new.

And when the calendar turns, they'll reconvene to start it all over again. Better than before. Closer than before. More committed than before.

"When you get to a place where you understand that love and belonging, your worthiness, is a birthright and not something you have to earn, anything is possible." - Brené Brown

You don't have to earn your place here. You already belong.

What Will You Take With You?

Here are some gentle invitations for the days ahead:

🌟 Speak what you want, not what you fear.

🌟 Leave room for faith to make it better than you imagined.

🌟 Set your day before your day sets you.

🌟 Ask empowering questions: "Why does this work for me?" 🌟 Practice empowering statements: "It's just like me to solve this!"

🌟 You've got to BE before you can SEE.

🌟 Leadership creates more leaders, not followers.

🌟 Things happen FOR you, not TO you.

🌟 Show up! Even when you can't bring your A game. Especially then.

"Some days, doing 'the best we can' may still fall short of what we would like to be able to do, but life isn't perfect on any front and doing what we can with what we have is the most we should expect of ourselves or anyone else." - Fred Rogers

A Final Blessing

To everyone reading this, whether you've been part of a community like this for years or you're just discovering what it means to grow alongside others:

You are not alone.

There is a gathering waiting for you. A call waiting to lift you. A family waiting to welcome you.

Give it three months.

What You Can Do Right Now

🌟 Join a future call

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