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Archive for September, 2011

What Do People Want From a Community?

September 21st, 2011

Earlier today, I posted this question on Twitter and Facebook:

What initially attracts you to a community – online or off? What keeps you there? 

I asked it because I’m hearing a TON of buzz around “building a community around your business” but I’m not sure those who are buzzing have a clue what it is people are actually looking for.

So, I’ve pulled together some of the responses below to begin a conversation about how to build a community from the inside out. That is, building what it is people really want.

 

Diane Yuhas
dyuhas62 Diane Yuhas
@SarahRobinson Acceptance. A group that asks me to be an equal in terms of sharing expertise, not just someone to be ministered to.
Lisa Young
lisarobbinyoung Lisa Young
@SarahRobinson commonalities, smart people, the capacity for me to learn, grow and connect in said community.
Ted Kusio
DigitalWheelie Ted Kusio
@sarahrobinson A warm, open attitude toward all attendees; new, challenging ideas; thick layers of innovation and creativity…
Dana Reeves
DanaReeves Dana Reeves
@sarahrobinson it’s a fit if i make real connections w/ others in the comm – not just surface level, but the underpinnings of relationships.
Business Partners
BusinessPartnrs Business Partners
@SarahRobinson consistency in interaction. mutually mentally stimulating interaction.
Beatriz Alemar
balemar Beatriz Alemar
@SarahRobinson Feeling safe to voice my opinions and being heard are two things I look for in a community. An environment of “I get you”
Beat Schindler an invite. a welcome – from (some) community members. best 2gether.
Julie Vician Sincere friendliness. There’s nothing worse than joining and feeling like you just crashed a party you weren’t invited to.

I would love to continue this conversation in the comments below. 🙂 What attracts you to a community – online or off? What makes you stay there?

Am I Worth It?

September 19th, 2011
(I sent this out to my email subscribers yesterday. The
response was so overwhelming, I though I would post
it here. Not subscribed? Fix that here:
…
Am I Worth It?

I just woke up from a stellar nap and the small turks are all
still asleep. Which makes this the perfect time for me to
think and write.:-)

Two questions are showing up that I would like to share with you.

1) What’s the cost of staying right where I am?

When I get bogged down and can’t seem to get moving
forward on what I want, I feel horrible – lost, drained,
unfocused and grumpy. 

Why would I willingly choose such a miserable place?
Two reasons:

a) I’m getting some sort of payoff by staying right where
I am. It may be safety, or being right, or any number
of other things. But there is ALWAYS a payoff if
I choose to stay someplace I don’t like.

b) I don’t want to admit I need help getting out of
the bog. I like my self-sufficient persona, thank you
very much. I want to solve my own problem. 
The problem is, the more I try to get of out the bog
alone, the more I sink into the quick sand. Bad
plan.

To turn around either of these scenarios, I’ve got to be
willing to 1) admit I don’t have all the answers and 
2) pay for help from people who know more than I do. 
(GULP.)

And pondering how to do that brings me to my
second question:

2) Am I worth investing in?

By that I mean am I , Sarah, and the business ideas
I want to bring to fruition, worth sinking my own
cold hard cash into?

Of course the knee-jerk reaction is “Of course!”.

But when I look at the conversations I have with 
myself, that isn’t exactly true.

“I can’t afford the help I need.”

“That person who holds the expertise I need wants me to 
pay him what?  There’s no way I can afford that.”

“I’ll just figure out a way to use the free stuff that’s out there.”

All of these thoughts add up to the same thing: 
I don’t believe I am worth sinking cold hard cash into.

Not a pretty thing to admit, but there it is.

Mercifully, I am fixing that. I’ve chosen to invest in
myself in a very big way. It’s the only way to get 
where I want to go. And you know what?

It feels great! Not only the work that I am doing,
but the fact that I am declaring to myself and to others,
“Yes! I am absolutely worth investing in!”, is changing
how I move in the world.

I feel bigger, bolder, stronger and even more
purposeful. And I am working my heart out
to make sure I get every single penny’s worth
of value from my investment. 

So, if you are feeling bogged down, stuck,
confused, and dis-heartened, I hope you’ll visit
with these two questions:

1) What’s the cost of staying right where I am?
2) Am I worth investing in?

And, if it feels like the right thing to do, I
hope you will thoughtfully consider joining
me for my live event in just two weeks.

There, you will have a team of expert help
to get you out of the bog ( me, Bob Burg,
Les Mckeown, Elizabeth Marshall, Janet
Goldstein and Jen Louden – just to name
a few).

You can read more about it and reserve
your seat here:

Love,
Sarah

P.S. For the record, I want you to know that I 
deeply believe you are worth investing in. And
I believe you will find the right support to invest
in so that you can stand boldly in the world. 🙂

I Will Never Arrive (thank god!)

September 14th, 2011

Girl on hiking trip

I used to think that if I worked hard enough and excavated enough, I would arrive at a final destination. A place where I would always know what I was doing and always know what I was interested in learning about and talking about – both in business and in life.

Oh the foolishness of such thoughts.

Now that I am (much) older and (not-so-much) wiser, I finally understand that I will never arrive at such a place. Well, unless I’m dead I suppose.

I will always be shifting and changing. Responding to the environment and the community that is around me. I will be impacted by what I see and what I read. My experiences will always be re-shaping me into someone different. Like a stream constantly shifts and changes a rock.

That’s not to say I don’t have anchor points. Those places, those values, those vital parts of me that I know I can count on. Without them, I would just be a pinball in a pinball machine, dependent on bumpers and flippers to determine which way I should go.

I’m actually very glad that I will never arrive. Knowing and accepting that is both comforting and relaxing. Instead of saying “Are we there yet? Are we there yet?”, I can sit back and enjoy the view. I can notice the details that are flashing past me. I can take in the moments that are fleeting at best.

Thank God. 🙂

Rumblings and Shifts

September 12th, 2011

I didn’t intend to watch so much coverage of the anniversary of 9/11. But once I started, I simply could not stop.  I was horror stricken and moved beyond measure over and over again.  When the day was over I was left in much the same place I was left ten years ago: emotionally spent yet incredibly inspired by acts of undaunted courage.

Because of all that I saw yesterday, rumblings and shifts began making themselves known inside of me. I don’t know exactly what they mean or where they are taking me. I do know they are quite large and will ask much of me.

For now, I must focus on my live event which is happening in two and half weeks and I must focus on my clients, whose work inspires me more than I can say.

I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that while I am focusing on where I am most needed at the moment, the place I am most needed in the future will reveal itself.

And I will keep you posted. 🙂