Have you ever been to a dinner party where you didn’t know anyone? That was where we started around this time last year. Half a dozen folks from all over the country gathered around my dinner table in Helena, Montana. Most of us were strangers to each other. And we began planning what we wanted to build together– something important, necessary, and real. 

We had many fierce debates and arguments. At one point, I remember thinking how fragile it all is. How easily any organization or endeavor can fail before it even gets off the ground. It’s hard to do good work, even harder to make it last. It’s much easier to throw in the towel, especially when facing seemingly intractable problems. The critics have far less stressful jobs than builders or storytellers. Or, as Teddy Roosevelt would say, the people “in the arena…