Gathering is hard
Why connecting online or in real life is so hard
We launched our new “community-first” experience called The Pond, a place for Ripplers to gather, engage and connect. I was super excited to create this new environment for a whole new audience of people who are learning about the power of Rippling through my videos, podcasts, and speaking engagements.
The irony of launching this new experience wasn’t lost on me when we decided to launch it in June of 2023. Our theme for our Connect + Grow Coaching Members was the topic of “Gathering.” So it seemed like perfect timing.
So many people said they wanted a free way to dip their toes into the Ripple Experience. This made sense to me. If you aren’t familiar with me or my work but something you’ve heard of or experienced (seen me speak perhaps?), you be inclined to want to know more. But paying for our coaching membership might not be the best first step to take. So The Pond is the perfect place to start.
I still believe this.
But gathering in this way has proven to be a bigger challenge. One that might not be as automatic as I hoped.
For example, here are a few lessons I’ve learned so far.
People are distracted. There is so much information and online fodder thrown at us daily. We can easily feel like one more thing we must keep up with might be too much. But is it really? I hope not.
Despite what people say they need they won’t always take action to solve that need. For example, people always hit me up for a better way to connect and grow their network. People say they are tired of all the negativity online and want encouraging and motivational content. People say they’re looking for a better group of people to network and engage with, other than on Facebook or Twitter.
Human behavior is a hard thing to change. People are like water. They take the path of least resistance, meaning they don’t fully engage despite our best efforts. We’ve launched free spaces for people in career change or transition (Career Ripple), people in or approaching retirement (Beyond Ripple), a women’s only group called Women Optimizing Women (WOW Ripple), and of course a space for all people wanting to Ripple just with other Ripplers (Open Ripple). They sign up but don’t engage in any of these amazing offerings, and no amount of encouragement will change whether they will show up.
Turns out the message shared in the Field of Dreams was wrong. “If you build it, they will come.” They won’t. At least not yet. If they are going to come, they will have to come at their own pace and only when and if they decide it’s worth the time or effort.
I was speaking to what I’ve perceived as a fantastic community builder. This person is all over social media with an amazing online presence. She proclaims many successful membership sites she’s launched for her own business and how she is paid tens of thousands of dollars to launch communities for others. This conversation was illuminating as it turns out, despite what is posted online, her launches haven’t been quite as successful as she might lead you to believe.
When she and I went through my approach, she said she was “Impressed.” She said I have all the foundational pieces and have set them up well. The challenge is building the audience who will be, “1,000% committed” to help me co-create this experience. People who believe wholeheartedly in what I am all about and what I am trying to Ripple here. “You’ve got to get beyond the head nodders and find the grassroots builders. People who are so passionate about what you do that they’d talk about you to a complete stranger today, tomorrow. Every day.”
This brought up images of Tony Robbins and his legion of loyal followers and disciples. Find one of these people, probably sitting in a coffee shop near you, and they will talk passionately about what Tony is all about and how his work has absolutely changed their life. I used to be one of these people because I’m a fan myself, but what she was telling me was I where the fundamental problem I was facing. I was a fan but not a fanatic. I didn’t go out of my way to evangelize Tony and his work. Sure I benefited from it and if it did happen to come up in conversation, I’d share a few stories of what it did for me at a difficult time. But I won’t go out of my way to promote it.
So as I reflected on this conversation, I realized that just launching The Pond with an invitation to gather. Come one, come all isn’t going to necessarily work. And that’s okay. The people who get what I am about, who want to support me and have directly benefited from me, my book, my talks, my trainings, or simply from the Ripple concept in some way, are here. More will come. More will get what we do.
I’m not sure I want fans that turn fanatics. I’d rather have loyal Ripplers who want to make a difference in the world somehow. They do that through positive contributions to their relationships, hope to have, and recognize the opportunities that life throws in each of our daily paths to make a difference.
One thing is certain: gathering in this new online space is challenging. But if it were easy, would it be worth it? Probably not.
Ripple On!!!