Welcome! This page will tell you more about turtles and the mafia, so you can decide if you’re interested in joining.

<aside> 🗣️ turtlemafia.org redirects here.

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Here’s a list of challenges most turtles face. Do you recognize some in your own life?

The Turtle Mafia exists to find ways to support and encourage turtles, including younger ones just starting out: to find challenges common to turtles and help when possible. This includes: helping turtles find the right guidance and advisors, own their turtle-ness, navigate the complexities of academia and creative pursuits, get past personal challenges like lack of confidence, etc.

<aside> 🗣️ For more, see List of Challenges Turtles Face

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Wondering if you’re really a turtle?

• Turtles aren’t ideological. Turtles pursue an inquiry (a “turtle question”) rather than spreading an answer they’re already sure of.

• Turtles aren’t just alternative. Following your passion can lead you to quit management consulting and become a yoga teacher or life coach. That’s cool, but it doesn’t make you a turtle. Sure, you switched from a mainstream career to a more niche one, but the new path is still somewhat paved. Turtles go off-road.

• Turtles versus rabbits and birds.

  • You’re not a turtle if you’re an “idea guy” whose ideas go in various directions without a unifying question.
  • You’re also not a turtle if you’re an expert in something, more than someone with a question. If you teach a course, for instance, that puts you in bird territory rather than on turtle turf.

What you’ll get

• Help finding mentors. See Turtles Need Four Kinds of Supporters
• A turtle sponsor. One of us will meet with you and be personally responsible to make sure the mafia helps you navigate whatever challenges are listed above.
• Mafia activities. We do various things together. See Some Activities of the Turtle Mafia

<aside> 🗣️ Note, the turtle mafia will exist in multiple cities, but the first city is Berlin.

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How to join

You need a senior turtle in the mafia to sponsor you. There are currently four such turtles, Ana B, Joe E, Anne-Lorraine S, and Roland B.

• If you know one of us, you can write us directly.
• Otherwise, you can fill out this form. We’ll get an email, and one of us can offer to sponsor you.