On Community
Listen. I get it. We're in a time when the word community tends to get a workout. But I think it's with good reason and I, for one, have been feeling as though something is brewing.
We all have community—whether you belong to a mastermind group, a neighborhood group, or a church group. We live in a time when a sense of community can be found online, offline, or some combination both. Perhaps we meet up with our community once a month or once a week. Maybe we feel connected to a community full of those who don't live nearby, so online connection is the most obvious answer.
Whatever the case may be, I've been talking and sharing about how incredible the CYOP Community is since the show first started gaining a loyal following. And yet? That community was primarily a community of listeners. To be clear: there have been deeper connections made over the years. I've heard stories of listeners connecting with past guests in real life, noting CYOP as the driving force. I lived a sense of connectivity in 2015 when I devoted a great deal of time, money, and energy to interviewing my guests in person. I also felt connected when I asked my community questions for 100 days that same year.
However, CYOP has never had a true community—a group of people who commit to being there for one another through the good and the bad, a group of people who will reach out with a solution to someone else's problem, or a group of people who will offer up resources to the community with a "Hey me too. Here's what worked for me." It's never really been that type of community—until now.
As of last week, CYOP listeners who subscribe to the Creative Digest have access to a private community group. It lives on Slack, which is a messaging platform I've grown to love. It's the perfect place for focused (and fun) conversation, without the distraction (and algorithms) of social media. It's just pure connectivity and it's now open.