A few months ago I was on the phone having a very intense conversation with my friend Monique Melton about the goals I had set for my business, where I stood as far as pushing myself towards meeting those goals, and what my bigger-then-life dreams were. She and I talked a lot about my dreams for stepping into a leadership role or teaching format and what I felt our community needed to help bring creatives together. You see, Monique tends to bring out the passion in me that my brain is telling me I can’t achieve. Even while talking to her I was saying things like, “But WHO am I to do something like this? I haven’t lived here as long as most of the people here! I can’t do that. No one will take me seriously.” Then reality…a.k.a. Monique…spoke up and pointed out how mean I was being to myself.
She was totally right. I needed to recognize how hard I was being on myself and start to make changes. (Added that to the list of goals!)
Well, within days of speaking with Monique I saw The Rising Tide Society move out into the spotlight and I certainly took notice. I started to watch how people from all over the world were reaching out and figuring out ways to get involved. People, just like me were taking on a leadership role in their respective areas with a simple email saying they wanted to lead. I wanted to lead. So I pulled up The Rising Tide Society’s website and did a little research. Everything I was reading was exactly what my heart wanted for our area. I filled out the contact form and doubt crept in. That little “x” box to close out the window was clicked, and I walked away from the computer without submitting anything.
Again…WHO am I to step forward and get involved? Someone else will do it, I know.
A few more days passed and I couldn’t shake it. I was seeing social media blow up with the buzz and excitement surrounding these groups and I kept getting pulled back into the website, reading more. I filled out the contact form again – this time with intentions of actually submitting it. Then I waited.
The email response I received was a welcomed one, letting me know I was granted permission to lead the Southern Maryland TuesdaysTogether group. Not only that, but I was delighted to see that two other leaders in my area have applied as well and I had co-leaders!
That’s how our little group got started.
In June we had 42 local creative entrepreneurs show up to our very first meeting! Never in my dreams would I have thought our area would show so much interest. That first meeting proved to me that we craved something like this, we needed it in order to feel accepted and understood, and we all now had a safe place to network and learn from each other. We were buzzing around so quickly in June that we never stopped to take any pictures, save the one cell phone shot I have of us gathered together as a group. This month we were extremely blessed to have the chance to hold our meeting at Running Hare Vineyard. It was quiet, serene, peaceful, and allowed us all the perfect opportunity to speak and feel like we were heard.
My co-leaders (Amanda McMahon and Laura Moore) and I decided this would be a great opportunity to gift our attendees with brand new head shots. As a business owner, I know how important it is to have an updated, relevant head shot of yourself – so this was a no-brainer and something I was beyond excited to provide them! Since Laura was traveling and missed our July meeting, Amanda and I split the attendees into two groups. Wine glasses in hand we started to snap portraits for everyone. Here are the results from my group! (They’re a beautiful bunch, aren’t they?!)
When our group was started two months ago I never dreamed that these guys would have such a positive impact on me. I knew that I wanted to lead in some fashion, I knew that the educational content provided from The Rising Tide Society would be valid and helpful, but I never once thought about what I might walk away with. And every month I’m shocked and gifted the chance to celebrate with them over their accomplishments and I can feel genuine friendships forming. When I stepped back at the end of this month’s meeting and watched everyone hug each other and pack their bags to leave I started to hear common words being tossed around. Refreshing. Helpful. Fun. Exciting.
Now, THIS is exactly what our group was meant to be. And, THIS was exactly what we all needed.
