Community First

I used to hate the idea of community.

It reminded me of group projects back in college. The ones where you’d do all the work and others would sign their names at the top.

It reminded me of lousy employees who wouldn’t bring their best to work without constant realignment and 1-on-1 interventions.

But then, all of a sudden, I loved community.

A group that naturally emerged around my creative work or a product or service I’d created.

A group that I enjoyed being a part of, that rallied around a project I started, to support their peer.

These aren’t people who sign your work or come to just get what they want.

These are people who come to belong. To contribute. To bring themselves to make the party better.

In the future, this is likely what the marketplace will look like. People who choose to show up because they belong, not just because they were told to. People who love their community first, and the products they build for it second.

I call those people “narrators” today, but I look forward to the day where we’d just call them “normal”.