The start of Norton Juster’s classic children’s book The Phantom Tollbooth finds the protagonist, Milo, bored and uninspired. He doesn’t want to do anything at all and yet he is constantly rushing from home to school and back, all the while wishing he was somewhere else. 

That is until he comes home to find a mysterious toy tollbooth. When he drives through the toll on a whim, he is transported to a world of learning and knowledge (literally called The Kingdom of Wisdom!), of new perspectives, friendships, and challenges that unleash a newfound love of adventure and learning in Milo. He rescues Princesses, accidentally jumps to the Island of Conclusions, and outsmarts demons in the Mountains of Ignorance. The book is clever and engaging because it challenges readers to look at things from different perspectives. Like that of the mystery tollbooth itself, the story's value lies in how it asks us to question our initial assumptions about how things are.

The Empowered Cultivator Lab is a Phantom Tollbooth. A portal to a new way of thinking, an invitation into new worlds of possibility, curiosity, and connection right in your inbox. Because the truth is, no matter how much we love our work, sometimes we all wind up like Milo: uninspired, a little hopeless, rushing from one thing to the next with minimal attention. When that happens, we need an excuse to shake things up and get our creative wheels turning, and some friendly guidance on just where to start. 

The Empowered Cultivator Lab  is a 10-day email course full of prompts, tools, and stories that encourage exploration. Framed as a set of experiments, the lab uses research-backed methods to inspire you to challenge the status quo and create change in your organization, whether you’re a senior leader or an entry-level employee. Kris Benefield, Head of Research at Cultivate, guides learners through exercises that focus on the four Elements of Empowerment: Autonomy, Competence, Community, and Fulfillment, leaving participants inspired to start where they are and turn their idea into action.

As my own Empowered Cultivator Lab experience comes to a close (for now– version 2.0 is coming in January 2022), I wanted to share 6 ways the lab inspired and challenged me (and why you might want to try it for yourself!):

1. Start your day with intention

   By starting each workday with an email that invited my curiosity and creativity, I found myself more inspired and attuned to opportunities in my work. I loved this so much that once the Lab ended, I still set aside time each morning for seeking inspiration (via a podcast, video, or article) and intention setting. 

2. Get curious

   I completed the Lab as I began a new role, and realized that I am so focused on learning how things have been done, that I don’t always make space to ask “Why are things done this way? How might we change processes and practices to better suit the needs of ourselves and our roles?” The Empowered Cultivator Lab invited me to see my own resistance, and get curious (and brave!) about the big questions. 

3. Team up

   While most email courses can feel isolating, the Empowered Cultivator Lab encourages you to seek out your fellow Cultivators, both within your organization and beyond through our private Cultivators Community on Slack. I hope you’ll come join us and let us support you in your own Lab experience!

4. Get inspired

   When I face a challenge and I can’t see the other side of it, I seek perspective in how others have faced their own obstacles. The Lab is full of real stories, reminding me of the existing lineage of Cultivators past and present who have accomplished paradigm-shifting things. And if I needed bonus inspiration, each email ended with resources to help me continue on my learning path. A broad range of leaders from gathering expert, Priya Parker, to the founders of Black Lives Matter, to vulnerability researcher, Brené Brown exposed me to perspectives and experiences beyond my own.

5. Combat perfectionism

   Full disclosure, this took me 13 days to do (rather than the designated 10). Personal commitments and a work trip meant that I needed a little extra time to complete the assignments. Instead of seeing this as a failure because I didn’t do it “correctly”, I reframed it as a lesson in overcoming perfectionism. It’s okay to finish at your own pace, as long as you keep going. The Lab is a gentle reminder that I don’t need endless time to make a change, 10 minutes a day is all you need to make a ripple turn into a wave. 

6. Empower yourself

   We tend to think of power as a top-down structure, and while that is definitely one truth, it’s not the only truth. The framework of Power To, Power Within, Power With reminded me that when I act with integrity and in solidarity with my peers, we are more powerful than we can imagine. 
   

I am an Empowered Cultivator. And I have a feeling that if you’re reading this, you are too. Just clicking the link to this article is an example of following your curiosity, a key trait of an Empowered Cultivator. It indicates that you’re open to new perspectives and ways of thinking. Like our friend Milo, and all of us at times, maybe you just need a little help getting started. Why not start right in your own inbox? 

Start experimenting! Sign up for the free Empowered Cultivator Lab.

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