If you get The Village Dispatch, you may have seen
this story saying that I'm taking a class about community building. One lesson described characteristics of different players involved in that effort, and something went
click! in my head.
Before I say more on that, I'll confess that I started this work to scratch my own itch. That doesn't mean I'm not eager to serve you, but that I'm largely doing it by making things I want to see in the world or would have when I was younger.
The issue is that I've been talking to different parts and ages of Mary-Elizabeth at once. The lesson I mentioned helped me see a distinction between doer Mary-Elizabeth, and connector Mary-Elizabeth. With my newfound clarity, …
I made this page to help my website visitors pick a village-making path. And I'm writing a series of emails to better welcome anyone who signs up.
I love us “doers ‘n’ shapers.” And while I don't need another thing on my plate, my heart is telling me to love on connectors: folks eager to activate community gifts and resources by discovering and connecting them to receptive neighbors.
Here is where I'm gathering people to learn to do that as I learn to myself.
Please bear with me as I course correct.
And on that note, here's a related tiny tip:
Embarrass yourself.
LinkedIn Co-founder Reid Hoffman said, “If you don't feel embarrassed by the first version of your product, you shipped too late.”
Product? Shipping? What?
The way I'm thinking about it, the first version of your product is your first intentional attempt to make a village. The point Reid was making, to my understanding, is don't wait to perfect your offer before putting it out there.
So if you haven't made an offer to your neighbors, don't delay any longer.
Getting started—before you feel like you fully know what you're doing—is how you'll gain clarity and can course correct until you hit a sweet spot. I see that in my
Make a pitch tip, I advised you to start with scratching your own itch too.
Embarrass Enjoy yourself.
My first blog made me cringe when I read it years later. Ditto for the next one, and the next one. In that sense, I didn't wait too late to ship. In fact, I have years of cringe-worthy work in my wake!
But I'm not / wasn't especially embarrassed about it for 2 main reasons:
1. I enjoyed making that cringe-worthy work, and enjoyment is the point of life.
2. I love me this Bible verse: “the LORD rejoices to see the work begin.” (Yay!)
Thank you for engaging with my work as I work to make it better.
Sincerely,
Mary-Elizabeth
P.S. I take June off from “newslettering" to get organized and intentionally daydream. I hope you have a wonderful month and I'll “see” you in July.
