YOU'RE INVITED! Come banana map with me in a new monthly mini-workshop series! 🍌✍️

Bring a banana, a ballpoint pen, and yourself on the first Sunday of each month to reflect, connect, and take action in community.

Want to change the world with me? (Or at least try?) I’m hosting a free, monthly OVERRIDE! banana mapping workshop—join me on the first Sunday of each month! 🍌✨

Earlier this month I announced an experiment (see here) hosting a mini workshop inspired by the exercises in my book, OVERRIDE! What if there was another way? I didn’t know if anyone would show, but they did! All 9 of them :)

We had participants from three countries, first-time banana mappers, and even a surprise guest my dad met on a train! Some mapped from their cars, others from home, and one participant swapped a banana for a grapefruit (it happens!). One banana map was instantly devoured—they do make great snacks!

A page from OVERRIDE! What if there was another way? which helped set us up for the workshop.

The first workshop took place on March 2, 2025 after what felt like a particularly intense week in the US. Now that it’s our “new normal” for the time being, I was reminded that it’s so important that we need to gather in these times and not feel powerless.

In Priya Parker’s recent newsletter “Apathy to Action” she wrote about how essential gathering is for the exchange of information. It’s also how we inspire each other. In heavy times, we need spaces to gather, connect, and do something unexpected—like mapping on a banana!

Image via @priyaparker’s Instagram.

In the world we live in it can feel like there’s no point to do anything. “It won’t matter or make a difference.” That is just a story we’re telling ourselves (see part 2 of OVERRIDE! on mindset). We must gather to inspire. I want to leave people feeling hope and empowered, to leave the hour with an action they want to take. Over and over the workshops I’ve run remind me of the importance of the invisible forces that link up in community.

My 2025 word is CONNECTIVITY to serve as my own reminder of why this is how I want to show up for the world. (My 2025 map is another reminder.)

Priya’s work is all about The Art of Gathering: How we meet and why it matters (the title of her first book). The day before I ran my first workshop/experiment, as I was putting my slides together I was inspired by the concept of the Town Hall I’d seen in the news where everyone is welcome to share their concerns, and we learn from different perspectives and how others see the world. Sharing is part of the equation. We don’t just passively listen to leaders—everyone can become part of the conversation. As with everything I do, I wanted to give this concept my own twist.

Each month, we’ll begin with the same prompt—the first banana map exercise in OVERRIDE!—so we can track change over time. The conversations, insights, and connections will always be new. This is not to dwell on the hard, but over time we’ll both be able to see the evolution of the world and how we show up in it. I want people to keep retuning month after month. You also never know how you’ll inspire or be inspired by others who join! That’s where the magic lies. ✨

During the first workshop I realized I need to identify my own bias and lens of influence (I’m American by birth, and have lived in France for over 15 years), which is something I address in the book. It was interesting being in an international room and being reminded we’re all coming into these gatherings from different vantage points. Participants have agency to take the prompt in different directions.

I’m also an active participant in all my workshops. I never know what may come up on my banana map. This day was more words than doodles.

My banana map definitely had recency bias. I was highly influenced by just having watched British filmmaker Adam Curtis’s “HyperNormalisation” documentary (available to watch on YouTube and Vimeo), listening to the Meidas Touch podcast (which had just surpassed Joe Rogan for the #1 spot), and being reminded of Robert Putnam’s work Bowling Alone: The collapse and revival of the American community (most recently featured in the Netflix documentary “Join or Die: A film about why you should join a club”). (All three I had featured in my Connect the Dots newsletter that day.)

On any given day or any moment, something very different or unexpected may come up on your banana map. Banana maps can be highly cathartic at a most basic level, or they may help reveal new connections, wisdom, or intel to help you keep going forward. You never know until you try… Stay open!

I recorded the March workshop for my own records but won’t be sharing the replay. Since this series is an experiment, I want to keep it live-only for now—people tend to share more openly when they know it’s just for those in the room. My Mapping Your Path workshops are always recorded for those who can’t join live, but for now, I’m keeping this free series simple and sustainable. If I launch a paid private Substack community, I will introduce recordings—but we’re not there yet!

So without further ado….

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! 📆
Join me for a free OVERRIDE! banana mapping workshop / Town Hall on the first Sunday of every month at 7pm CET/ Paris (1pm EST/NYC, 10am PST/SF). The next one is Sunday, April 6th—I'll send a reminder + Zoom link to all subscribers an hour before we start!

This is a BYOB [Bring Your Own Banana] 🍌 event. Note: Bananas and ballpoint pens make for the ideal mapping experience (come see why for yourself!). However, “banana maps” are an all inclusive term which can also be applied to anything with a peel or something non-traditional to map on that you grab from a recycling bin. The joy of banana maps comes from letting go of perfectionism.

This monthly series is free to join. There’s no pressure to have read or purchased OVERRIDE! 📓 to participate in a workshop. If you are interested in picking up a copy, you can support me directly by purchasing a copy at override-book.com. The book is available worldwide (it’s printed and shipped locally to be more sustainable). It is available in print and e-book.

Friends are invited too! Encourage them to sign up for my Substack so they get notified as well (and get the link to the Zoom!)

I hope to see you the first Sunday in April (April 6th)!