I recently heard about a 5-day festival called “A-fest” where people meet up in foreign locations every six months for what was described as “ted talks + tony robbins + burning man”. I was skeptical. I thought, “Who has time for something like that? Not successful people, they’re too busy. It’s probably a bunch of self-help groupies and free-love hippies.”
There was only one problem with my theory. I knew a guy, Dominick Quartuccio, that had been to three a-fests in a row, and he’s CRUSHING life. Then I met Alexa Martinez, who is unabashedly tackling taboo subjects in sex, and also attended the last three a-fests. Finally, I met this magnetic guy, Ashok Thakur,, who I saw demonstrate selflessness with friends and strangers alike. I connected with him immediately, and learned he’d been to the last TEN a-fests. Each of these people were powerful, caring, successful, AND booked for the next a-fest in Jamaica from Nov 8-13. My curiosity was peaked, so I bought a ticket.
Upon my return, I took a day to reflect, and in summary, “Now I get it”.
A-fest is not something I need to make time for, it’s something I don’t have time to not be part of. It’s an accelerator for human capacity. It’s a human being upgrade. My perspective on what’s possible is forever changed.
Capacity to Love
I met hundreds of people at a-fest who are passion driven, and changing the world. Each of them I connected with so quickly and at such a level where the quote “did we just become best friends” is actually true. We call this group of best friends the “Tribe”.
Warning: Tribe members hug people long and hard. It starts off awkward, but feels great after a few reps.
Capacity for Success
World class speakers gave us what they’ve found to accelerate success, THEN answered our questions and partied with us afterwards. The speakers are part of the Tribe. How cool is that?! I’ve been working on how to quickly describe what biem is for over a year.Lisa Nichols walked me through it in 5 mins. That’s acceleration.
Capacity for Compassion
To have compassion for others, I had to start with myself. Mindvalley CEO Vishen Lakhiani walked us through a process called 6 Phase that he does every day. Then Nichol Bradford showed us the latest in technology that can rewire our brains. Together, these tools have the ability to surface unconscious beliefs/rules that drive daily habits and actions, and turn them into accelerators to serve our larger purposes.
Capacity to Party
I went to the University of Iowa, often ranked as one of the best party schools in the US. Then I moved to NYC, which has the best party scene in the US. I THOUGHT I knew how to party.
But when a tribe of loving, compassionate, driven people are plunged into a finely curated environment, MAGIC HAPPENS.
I need to apply everything I felt and learned at my first a-fest NOW, because in six months, I’m going to get more at my second (ITALY!)
Who’s ready for a human being upgrade?
PS: There was a giant ICE BATH experience led by the Iceman Wim Hof. EPIC