We all have a network. We have friends who have different strengths. We know people to refer for certain projects. “I have a great plumber I’ll give you their number!” The network is the web. Who you can reach, your 6 degrees of separation. Your community is different. The people in your community are in your network, but not everyone in your network is in your community. Your community is who you go to when you really need help. Sure they all have your strengths and weaknesses, but these are the people you know you can trust with anything. The ones that have your back but perhaps most importantly, are willing to call you out if you need it.
The first time I mentioned your community is here: Trust Yo Self. I call them barometers because (while they are whole, likely brilliant, people) they are able and willing to listen to you, and to give you feedback that might be hard to hear. It is so important to have people you can trust for that. Not just in business, in anything. Sometimes these people are older and more experienced. Sometimes they’re peers who know you well and can look at things with a little distance. Sometimes they might be younger people with a different perspective. You’ll need different community members for different challenges in your life. The biggest challenge is choosing to ask the ones that will give you a real answer, and not the one you want to hear.
Your community will work best when you can be open and honest with the people supporting you (and those that you’re supporting of course). Asking for advice is different from needing to vent. If you need one of these things, be clear. Don’t go off on a rant and then get mad at your friends for trying to help you out of the problem. Tell them you need to rant! Have the type of friends who will let you rant, maybe even go off with you, but will gently call you out if you’re out of line. Have the type of friends who give amazing advice, and also know when that’s not what you need (because you told them, and they listened). These people should be the ones you can go to with anything, for any reason. The ones you know you’re safe with. That they’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and help you no matter what.
A community is a powerful force. With the right people by your side, you’ll be amazed at what you can do, and what you can survive.