I’m a member of Amazon’s tribe. I literally get hundreds of emails each and every day, and yet, the one I scan looking for is the Daily Free Kindle Books email. I simply love free Kindle books. I love getting the email from my tribal partner.
If the email hasn’t arrived by 10:00am, I feel an emptiness… a concern that maybe Amazon’s server crashed. Wouldn’t that be terrible?! I utter a silent prayer and wait. If I don’t get it by noon, my concern mounts. I wonder if Amazon is angry at me for not buying all those books on my wish list. I bet that’s what crashed their server. I immediately log into my account and order books, lights, pots and pans, mosquito netting… literally anything I think Amazon will like. I wave my credit card as a peace offering.
Ok, so that’s a dramatization. Well, almost. The point is, when your tribe is connected to you, they look forward to connecting. You have secured a piece of their heart reserved for you and you alone. If you’re not there, that space is empty and your tribe is sad and lonely.
So they wait. They wait for the emptiness to be filled. For you to arrive and make them feel great. Your tribe has grown to depend on connecting with you. No, you won’t always meet that need. I believe they call that being human. But in those times when you don’t connect, they’ll be like me waiting for my Daily Kindle book email.
You really do fill a void in the lives of others. I point that out not to add more to your list of things you simply must accomplish, but rather to help you realize how much people care about you. They are inspired by you, nourished by your words, and enriched by your connection with them.
Doesn’t that ignite the fire of passion within you? You really do make a difference. All you have to do is “be” you. That magnificent person God created you to be. Your tribe wants you just the way you are.
Why do you think people stand in line for days to get tickets to a concert? Because they’ve always had a career dream of being a line stander? Umm… no. Because they know that when they go inside, they will connect with thousands of other members of the tribe, not to mention the tribal leader—the band.
Building a tribe is not difficult. It takes time and some work, but it’s really not hard. I encourage you to continue to grow your tribe. If you haven’t stared yet, do that today. You can build on it every day. You have something to contribute to the world… to your world. They’ll wait for you. You just wait and see.
***
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.