In this episode of The Sacred, Elizabeth Oldfield is joined by Jo Colman - great-great-great grandchild of the founder of Colman’s Mustard and now Chief Mint Officer of the family business, Summerdown - to explore a radically different story about generational wealth, power, business and belonging.
Jo reflects on growing up with deep security and love, how that shaped his sense of responsibility, and why privilege doesn’t have to turn inward into status-seeking, but can instead become a platform for risk, generosity and service.
Together, they talk about:
• How power and privilege can be redirected outward rather than hoarded
• Why Jo once rejected signet rings and why he now wears one
• Building ethical, regenerative businesses that add value instead of extracting it
• Adoption, family-making, and the real cost of inclusion
• How to build families, institutions and communities that can truly hold human complexityThis is a conversation about the kind of wealth that doesn’t shrink the soul.
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📖 Follow Elizabeth Oldfield: www.elizabetholdfield.com/
💡 Produced by the @thinktanktheos www.theosthinktank.co.uk/
👉 Check out Summerdown: https://summerdown.com/?srsltid=AfmBOorjZKbSVC3rIhS42z-aqIhQWmr_CuCGtz24hUSKbzOuu8Lh_H-w
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Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:07 What is Sacred to You? Jo Colman answers
03:02 Staying Present in Parenting
05:49 Hope vs. Optimism: Embracing Life’s Paradoxes
12:14 Wealth as Formation: Privilege and Responsibility
15:14 Building a Regenerative, Ethical Business
31:26 Creativity, Purpose, and Social Responsibility
32:22 Our Adoption Journey
35:33 Training and Preparation for Adoptive Parenting
37:44 Parenting Adopted Children: Real Challenges
39:57 Trauma, Healing, and the Power of Love
45:31 Bureaucracy and the Adoption Process
47:35 Understanding the Stories of Biological Families
50:09 Adoption as Plan B: A Broader Perspective
51:53 Small-A Anarchism and Community Engagement
55:31 Listening, Assumptions, and Understanding Adoption
58:02 Slowing down in parenting
Keywords:
Jo Colman, Colman Mustard, Summerdown Mint, generational wealth, inheritance, privilege for good, ethical entrepreneurship, conscious capitalism, regenerative business, sustainable business, business with purpose, using wealth responsibly, family beyond blood, adoption stories, adoptive parenting, building family, radical generosity, love as action, belonging, human complexity, non-anxious presence, prophetic imagination, spiritual formation, formation through faith, stewardship of privilege, power and responsibility, ethical leadership, business for impact, social impact business, purposeful life, vocation and calling, family-making as vocation, living ethically, hope versus optimism, accompaniment, relational leadership, intentional parenting, high-needs adoption, inclusive families, inclusive communities, societal change, moral courage, compassionate leadership, human flourishing, social responsibility, giving back, life of service, risk for good, cultivating resilience, forming community, transformative love, radical hospitality
