@Virgel Nel surprised us by creating a magazine cover for Skoolology. So, of course, I had to return the favor. 😂 But while I was creating his, something interesting happened. I realized a magazine cover is actually a pretty good branding test. You don't have much room to explain yourself. You have to communicate quickly: 💙 Who is this for? 💙 What do they care about? 💙 What do you want to be known for? 💙 What should this community feel like? And here's the part that really got me thinking. Virgel had to decide what stood out about Skoolology. I had to decide what stood out about Singular Vision. That's different from writing your own About page. Your brand isn't only what you say about yourself. It's also what people have come to associate with you. So here's a little experiment if you want to play with us. Upload a photo of yourself, your community name, and your community description to ChatGPT and give it this prompt: Create a magazine cover for my community using the photo and information I've provided. Treat the cover as a branding exercise. Capture who the community is for, what they care about, the change they want, and the personality of the community. Make it look like a real lifestyle or business magazine, with a strong masthead, feature headlines, smaller cover lines, and visual details that reinforce the brand. Don't just repeat my description. Interpret what this community should feel like to the right person. Then don't just look at whether you like the design. Look at what it reflects back to you. 💚 Does this feel like us? 💚 What did it pick up that we're communicating clearly? 💚 What did it get wrong or overemphasize? 💚 What's missing that you thought was obvious? And maybe the biggest question: 💚💙 If someone else created your magazine cover based on what you're putting into the world right now, would it match what you want to be known for? If you try it, bring your cover back here. But also tell us what you noticed. 🐼

There are things we do today that once took a whole lot more out of us. A conversation we used to rehearse 14 times. 😂 A decision that would have kept us awake. Hitting publish. Saying no. Asking for money. Changing our minds. Trying again after something didn’t work. And then somewhere along the way, it got a little easier. Not necessarily because the thing changed. Maybe we did. The funny part is, our brains aren't always very good at keeping track of that kind of progress. We notice what’s still hard. What still needs work. How far there is to go. Meanwhile, something that once required a small committee meeting in our head 😂 has quietly become...something we can do. So this morning... What feels a little easier for you today than it did six months ago? And maybe the bigger question... What does that tell you about how you’ve changed? ❤️🐼🎋

@Sybil Hall @Todd Thornton and I just wrapped our conversation, and we went all over the community-building map. 😂 Free vs. paid. How you show up as the community owner. What you do when building gets HARD. Affiliate links and whether they actually make sense for your community. And quite a bit more that I wasn’t expecting us to get into. What I loved most, though, was how much of Sybil’s experience applies whether you’re just opening the doors or you’ve been building for a while. There’s a little something in this one for everybody. ❤️ I’m going back through the conversation now because there are definitely a few pieces I want to pull out and make sure we don’t lose. Sybil’s Behind the Build is coming soon. 🎙️ And Sybil...thank you again for letting us into the REAL build. ❤️

Today’s research question: Exactly how much cake is required to properly celebrate Sara's birthday? We’re going to need a LARGE sample size. 😂 Happy Birthday, @Sara Fredrick !! 🥳 I hope your day includes good people, lots of laughter, something delicious, and at least a little bit of doing exactly what YOU want to do. We’re awfully glad you’re here. 💛 Everybody help us wish Sara a VERY Happy Birthday! 🎉🎈

Well, this makes me happy. ❤️ Welcome to Skoolology, @Kathryn Zabinski! Kathryn and I have known each other for a long time, so seeing her walk through this particular door feels pretty special. I’m really glad you’re here, my friend. Now I’m curious...what made you decide to come hang out with us over here? 😊