The Importance of Community

You’re a part of forums, and online communities and local communities like the gym that you belong to. And so the question is, how are you participating in those groups and which ones are serving you; and which ones are you serving?

Look at the groups that you’re in and look for ways that you can add value to those communities. So an example for me is that I’m a part of a mastermind group. And we didn’t have a Skype chat group or an email list serve for this mastermind group. And so I created those asset and everyone joined and everyone loved them. It’s kind of like the kid in class who raises her hand and asks the question that everyone else is thinking about.

Well everyone appreciates that, because they were all thinking about it too. So whatever comes to you that you think would be a valuable addition to any group that you’re in, probably would be a valuable addition because if you think that, other people think it too. So look at
the groups that you’re in and look for ways that you can participate in those groups and add value.

Look at also the groups that you’re in that are not serving you. It’s okay to leave groups. For example, my wife and I met in a Bikram yoga room. And Bikram yoga is like this really intense yoga that’s done in a hot room and it’s like the same thing every time. It’s like very sort of militant intense type of yoga. And I love Bikram yoga and it would like served me very well for the time of my life that I did it.

We were really into this Bikram yoga stuff, and one day we realized that we had no friends that didn’t come from this Bikram yoga community. Every friend we had was a Bikram yoga person. And that’s when we realized that maybe it was time to take a step back out of that group. Maybe that group was consuming us and so it’s okay to leave groups too, but, it’s really important to be aware of what groups you’re in and what role’s you’re playing in those groups.

So social equity is a really powerful thing. And your groups give you that by knowing different groups of people and different individuals, what they’re doing, and what they need, it allows you to better serve everyone you know. So if you know someone who is looking for search engine optimization services, and you know someone who provides that and you connect the two of them, you get the benefit. They end up doing business together, they’re having a good time and they hold you responsible for that interaction.

So being a highly networked and highly connected individual is a really powerful position to play, it’s like the Oprah thing, you know? Oprah interviews everyone so she knows everyone; and that’s a very powerful position to be in. So take part in the groups you’re in. Know where you are in those groups. Know which groups are not serving and get out of them. And thank you for being a part of this group. Thank you for watching the videos on my blog and following me. I appreciate it, so, I hope to see you in the next one and let me know what you think in the comments.