I've been deep in studying what makes some communities thrive while others die a slow, painful death. And I discovered something controversial: The most successful groups aren't the ones with the strictest rules. ..... They're the ones where people feel safe being weird. Let me explain... Everyone talks about "staying focused" and "keeping things on topic" in online communities. But here's what I've noticed: The groups where everyone puts on their "professional mask" and only shares the "right" stuff? ....they become boring. Sterile. Transactional. ...People show up less. Engagement drops. The magic dies. But the groups where people feel free to share their quirks? Their random thoughts? Their authentic selves? Those groups become magnetic. Because here's the truth most people miss: We're not just looking for information or advice. We're looking to BELONG. To be seen. To be accepted. To drop the performance. When someone shares a "weird" hobby, admits they're struggling, or cracks a joke that has nothing to do with "the topic" ...That's when real connection happens. So here's my controversial take: Maybe we've been building communities wrong. Maybe the goal isn't to eliminate the "off-topic" stuff. Maybe the goal is to CREATE SPACE for people to be fully human first. And then the valuable business stuff follows naturally. When people feel like they truly belong, they contribute more. They engage deeper. They stay longer. Question for you: In the groups you're part of (or the ones you run) ...Do you encourage people to show their full personality? Their quirks? Their "off-brand" moments? ....Or are you trying to keep everything "professional and focused"? ...I'm genuinely curious what others think about this. Drop a comment below - especially if you think I'm completely wrong about this.

...so I found this exercise "What's Cool About YOU" that's going to make you WAY more interesting to talk to here in our Skool Communities. Seriously. I got this from Sean Stephenson (the three-foot-tall giant, may he rest in peace)... ....and, again, it's called "What's Cool About You?" Here's the deal... ...when we meet people in Skool communities, we do the boring stuff: "I'm a course creator" or "I run a marketing agency" or whatever. YAWN. 🥱 But what if you could share the WEIRD, COOL, RANDOM stuff about yourself that actually makes people go "Wait, WHAT? Tell me more about that!" That's what this exercise does. It helps you remember (and share) the stuff you've done or experienced that you normally wouldn't mention... but which opens the door to WAY deeper, more fun, and more intellectual conversations. ...because let's be honest... nobody remembers the person who said "I do Facebook ads." But they DEFINITELY remember the person who said "I once trained myself to become #3 in the world at footbag" or "I have a street dog in India named Scooby who's in charge of 12th Road." 😂 HERE'S THE EXERCISE: Write down everything that's COOL, WEIRD, INTERESTING, or UNIQUE about YOU. Not your business accomplishments (boring). YOUR life accomplishments. YOUR quirks. YOUR stories. Some examples to get you started: - "I was a vegetarian for 25 years" (then went back to eating meat like a savage) - "At twelve years old, I won a silver medal in sailing in the Norwegian championship" - "I became one of the biggest party promoters in San Francisco" - "I pet or talk to ALL dogs I meet on the street... because I know they need love" - "I was in the Army and became the second-best dog handler... with a BRAND NEW dog that had never been trained" (the winner had a dog that had been there for 6 years... just saying 😏) Or maybe you've got stuff like: - "I can solve a Rubik's cube in under 2 minutes" (okay, that's not impressive, but if it's under 30 seconds, NOW we're talking) - "I once ate 47 tacos in one sitting" (don't judge me) - "I taught myself to play ukulele during lockdown and now I annoy everyone at parties" - "I lived in a van for 6 months and loved every second of it" - "I can name every country in the world in under 5 minutes" (nerd alert)

Hey guys, How do you bring your audience form outside of Skool? A lot of Skoolers say to focus on this platform, but if you already have a big following on social media, that is a valid concern. I have a client that is on Mighty Networks and he strugles with it, as he has hundreds of thousands of Youtube followers, but not even 100 paid supporters. But this is also a concern for people on Skool, who have following outside. Here are some tips I found: 1. Email marketing, if you have their emails 2. Give freebies for them to download inside your community. Add the link to your BIO or at the post descriptions 3. Call to action at the end of your videos for people to join 4. Paid traffic from social media Are those tips good? What else can you do?