Day 9
Today’s Takeaway: Community comes in all different shapes and sizes.
I just finished a fabulous book called “You’re Invited.” The author, Jon Levy is a behavioral scientist who specializes in building connections and community. He is most famous for creating The Influencers Dinner. An invite only, secret event where global, industry and community leaders from all walks of life gather to cook HIM dinner and then they clean his kitchen together! 😂
Sounds insane right?! That’s because it is! Insanely BRILLIANT! ❤️
What started out as just a curious kid wanting to grow his community and meet some of his idols, quickly turned into a cultural phenomenon! And now I’m a total freaking fan girl! (If you see this Jon Levy, 🤙. 😂)
This book spoke to me on a whole other level. Suddenly my dream of someday being one of the worlds leading “super connectors,” became that much more attainable. My biggest takeaway from his stories was that there is a need for community for every interest. He recounts how ComicCon was started by a college grad publishing a magazine that united nerds all over the world. (I can use “nerds” because I am one and I hold the title proudly. 🤓) Or how a suburban housewife trying to lose weight found her strength in numbers. Just a few meetings with friends turned into what we know today as Weight Watchers. 🤯
It started me thinking about the communities that bring me the most joy. What does my Influencers Dinner look like?
For instance tonight is my bowling league. My best friend of 25 years has been in this league in our hometown bowling alley since we were teenagers. I’ve always subbed in over the years, but never made a team of my own. A few years ago my husband and I decided to finally do it.
BEST. DECISION. EVER.
We have found such a strong community in this league. Twice a month an extremely diverse group of people from all different backgrounds, lifestyles, age groups, genders, ethnicities, skill levels, leave all those differences at the door and come together for one common purpose - drink, socialize and bowl. It’s such a low maintenance, causal time yet if you took a poll of the participants I bet you would find it’s one of the most important communities in their lives. You’d probably get a story about how this league saved a marriage, or how it started one. How some people were having a really rough time but they knew they could always escape for that night. Hell, for all we know this group, that feeling of belonging, saved a life.
Do you have a community in your life that holds that kind of power? I bet you do.
And if you don’t, I strongly encourage you to start looking or start building one for yourself. Community comes in all different shapes and sizes, start searching for the one that fits you.
(Just so ya know, Gather with LL will always have a place for you. 😉❤️)
