Behind the Project…
… are two guys who met in college a long time ago, when we were both teenagers. We were from different regions of the country, different socio-economic backgrounds, different ethnic backgrounds, and different religious traditions. One of us was a Math major bound for a career as an Engineer in the material handling industry and the other an English Literature major bound for a career helping nonprofit organizations with their marketing and fundraising initiatives.
During college days, in addition to attending classes, working out, and going to parties and other events, we would regularly have challenging discussions about every subject under the sun, as well as take an annual road trip. After a while, we began calling our challenging discussions and road trips “life seminars.” Over time, we invited others to join us. Moreover, we continued our “life seminars” for several years after college, until family, work, community and other obligations took precedence.
But we never forgot them. They were invaluable discussions about “the basics”–love and relationships, truth and beauty, adversity and death–and they bonded us for life, through ups and downs of every imaginable type.
Then, a couple years ago, after an epic breakfast (we’re both big eaters), we were reading an unsettling poem together which referenced Jacob from the Old Testament. To make a short story really short, the proverbial “light bulb” went on… and The Jacob Challenge was born! How wonderful would it be, we thought, if there was a national movement of “life seminars”?… a totally open and decentralized movement in which 50+ individuals and some of their younger friends meet regularly to confront their truths and re-direct (and/or reinforce) their futures… for their own sake, for the sake of their families and communities, and for the benefit of American society.
We invite you to employ this most basic form of human communication–an in-person discussion–and powerful medium–poetry–and fashion your Jacob Challenge group as you will, with a nod to the sensible and civil suggestions outlined herein. Thank you!