Hopefully by now you understand why you need a tribe. I trust you’ve made the decision to begin building one, or to grow the one you already have. But there is one little gnat buzzing around in the back of your head. It’s the time thing… Again.

You say you don’t have time to devote to constructing a successful tribe. You schedule tweets and update Facebook. You sit and wait because you know you’ll soon have to respond or retweet. After all, tribal dynamics require reciprocation. Right?

It’s NOT about the thing. Or the task, or the 2×4’s. It’s about the members. You know, those people who just love you and want the best for you? Tribes are relationships, not a hard hat zone with a fence around it.

Building a tribe happens naturally as you engage in relationships with your tribe but you have to focus on the people, not hammering the nails. Remember how you met your spouse and your blind date grew into a life-long marriage? You didn’t consider each date as something you just had to do in order to eventually espouse them, did you? Of course not. You just enjoyed their company, how you felt when you were around them, the way they looked at you, their cologne. The marriage was a natural result of engagement in the relationship. You built that tribe and didn’t have to lay a single brick.

People are the greatest thing God ever created. No surprise there since we’re created in His image. If you’re in the desert, water is viewed as precious. If you were in jail, freedom would feel expansive. As a writer, tribes are your greatest resource. You love the idea of people. After all, you write about them in your books, right? Imagine your books without those lovely characters and evil villains.

Don’t fret over building your tribe. Put down the hammer and spit out the nails. Learn to relax and enjoy your tribe. You’ll show up authentic and your tribe will not only love you, they will want to share you with everyone!

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Reba J. Hoffman is a natural encourager and Member Care Coach at My Book Therapy. She holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Counseling and is the founder of Magellan Life Coaching (www.magellanlifecoaching.com). She is the author of Dare to Dream, a Writer’s Journal published by My Book Therapy. She also publishes a motivational and encouraging blog, FindingTrue North. Contact Reba at reba@magellanlifecoaching.com.