๐ How I Won the Star by Logging Off and Leading with Trust
When I landed in Costa Rica, our community sat at #43 in the Money category. I knew we were moving up โ slowly but surely โ and that weโd eventually get that Star. But how incredible would it be to get it while I was in Costa Rica, at a Skool IRL event? To have that moment happen full circle โ surrounded by people who truly understand what it means to build community โ and to celebrate it together in person. Everyone says the Money board moves painfully slow. You need sleepless nights, constant posts, endless โwhatโs-for-dinner?โ threads, and meme wars just to move the needle โ or massive MRR, or giant groups with thousands of members. But that wasnโt going to be my story. I also wasnโt about to fly halfway around the world to Costa Rica โ to be in the same room as some of the most inspiring humans Iโve ever met โ and spend it behind a screen. I only had a few days to be physically present with these people. The ones Iโd watched, learned from, and quietly admired โ people who honestly felt leagues ahead of me. I wasnโt even sure I belonged in that room. But I was there โ and I wasnโt going to waste it. Before I left, my community gave me the best advice I couldโve asked for: โJen, youโve poured everything into us. Youโve shown up. Youโve given your all. Now itโs your turn. Donโt waste this trip glued to your laptop trying to keep serving us. Be present. Soak it in. Serve yourself. Every conversation and connection will come back to us in ways we canโt even see yet.โ They told me to rest. To recalibrate. To allow myself to grow. โYouโve done enough for us,โ they said. โThe community will still be here when you get back. Let us do this for you.โ It was hard to hear โ because my instinct is always to keep showing up, to keep pouring into them. But they were right. So I listened. I set my calls aside. I closed the tabs. I silenced the pings. And I did the one thing most group owners would never dare to do when theyโre that close to earning a Star: I logged off โ fully.