Real connection

zipper-connect

Last week I went to my organization’s home office for a business meeting. After the meeting, friends of almost twenty years took me to the airport for my flight back to Denver. We haven’t seen each other much since we parted, nearly 18 years ago. But our bond is still deep enough that we were able to cut right to the heart of our current joys and struggles. No discussions of what sports our kids play or what schools they attend. By the end we had some real solid material on which to pray for each other.

Who do you know like that? I hope there are similar friends in your current circle. Takeaway: how can you deepen your present-day relationships? I’d suggest opening up to those people in a deeper way than you have before. Be risky.

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What I learned from community

sobcon-table

Over the weekend of May 1st, I attended SOBCon, a social media conference in Chicago. The highlight by far was “mastermind sessions” with the group at my table.

Becky, NEENZ, Sheila and Jon (not shown) were amazing people to bounce ideas off of and learn from.

One presentation covered our image and how important that is in our personal and organizational lives. We came to the concensus that it is important that others help you with any changes you need to make in that area. So we’re holding each other accountable – by Twitter!

NEENZ shared that in her native Hawaii, the attitude is so laid back that it’s hard to change. People accept you so much that they often prevent you from making any positive change. (“Awww – you don’t need to change! You’re fine!”) We agreed that true friends (and true community) tell each other tough things – as well as affirming things… “Speak the truth in love,” is what it says in Ephesians 4:15 (from the Bible).

A special thanks to Robert, who I also met at the conference, for this wonderful post idea.

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