Where to begin?
If you haven't already, read more about what BeingTribal means. In just a few short steps you'll be on your way to sharing who you are with other empowering tribe members in meaningful ways. But there are steps you'll need to take. Read the guide below to get started.
If you are ready to cultivate your tribe, think about what you want your life to look like, feel like, and what your perspective in life is. If you need to work on being a more positive and optimistic person, than work on that first. You will attract what you think and feel about yourself. So even if you are not where you want to be, stay focused on where you are going and stay positive in your journey. into that. That is your intuition’s way of saying you are not energetically a match with this person.
Take a piece of paper and fold it in half. On the left side write a list of people in your life that lift you up and make you feel good when you are around them. On the right side, you guessed it, make a list of individuals that you feel judged by or occasionally leave you feeling exhausted. Those are people you will not invite to your tribe. What if you don’t have many positive folks in your life? Get out of your comfort zone and begin to find people that you don’t really know but have met once or twice. Reach out to folks that you normally don’t talk to but were impressed by. I will begin hosting “Find Your Tribe” online meetings to help you. You will find your tribe and it will all fall together. The tribe you are about to create is an intimate process and it will all work out. It’s important to take time in cultivating your tribe
When you have a list of your potential tribal members it is time to invite them to create a tribe with you. Take a day or two for this process. I connect with each person and say, “I am creating a BeingTribal group and it is all about empowerment and making small one-degree shifts in life to be my best self. I would love for you to be a part of it. Come to our first meeting and if it feels good, then you can decide to join. Some people will say yes, and some will say no, and that is great! The individuals who show up in your tribe are the ones that are supposed to be there. So, if your tribe is three people instead of six people, that is perfect for this moment. Check out pages 53 and 54 in my book for more information.
Your first meeting should have a simple agenda with lots of interaction. Introduce why you wanted to be in a tribe and what you hope to accomplish in the tribe. Second, before anyone else has shared, you must ask for everyone to agree to keep these conversations confidential. Even if someone decides not to join, they must promise to keep everything confidential. If they can’t commit to that, they should be asked to leave. Seriously, ask them to leave. The rest of the group can then be asked to introduce themselves, and if they could make a one-degree shift in any part of their life, what would it be? Once you have your tribal members set, schedule your first official Commitment Meeting. This is where you will set your ground rules and sign a Commitment document, see an example here. After your first meeting you set up a monthly meeting for up to 12 months. You will decide on what topics you want to cover first. I have a list of suggested topic orders here.
Set up a one-hour private virtual monthly meeting for a Skype, Zoom, or conference call. It is best to see their faces if you can make it work. Each month, you will have a new topic to focus on. The tribe will decide on the topics to cover whether it be meditation, journaling, finances, fitness, vision boards, relationships, etc. Tribal members can also reach out during the week if they are struggling with a situation or just need to connect. Some tribes have a daily huddle just to stay connected. It is completely up to you and your tribe.
Some tribal members will be stronger in one area and they can then share their wisdom on a topic. The flow of a meeting goes something like this: Welcome wisdom from an outside source on the topic (brought by the monthly tribal leader), then one by one each member shares what they are working on. What their biggest win was, what their biggest Challenge was, and how both related to their goal in this area. Each tribal member should only speak for about five minutes (and yes, there should be a time keeper). Everyone needs to have their time to share. Finally, at the end of the meeting, the monthly tribal leader asks each person, “What can the tribe do for you?”.
Depending on the topic, tribal members bring wisdom in the form of an article or a video posted for the group to watch prior to the meeting. They will discuss it, how it informed their own journey, what one-degree shift they have made, and other shifts they are going to make in this area.
Each month, select a tribal member to lead the group, find resources online, and to run the show. This is super important because it allows all the voices to be heard and it builds our skills sets in leadership. Not everyone will lead the same way and that makes for such a wonderful experience to walk through, because we learn from each other. I am both an introvert and an extrovert. I am extroverted at work and introverted at home. Quiet and Calm are my safe words. When we allow those around us to lead (still following the process and schedule) we empower the group by tuning into each other in a sacred way.
Tools that have worked for me over many years in my journey are Meditation, Journaling, Affirmations, Vision Boards, and a personal Vision Statement. So, I naturally included these tools in my book. Remember that perfection is not the end goal, you just need to keep moving forward. If you don’t normally journal, then start slow and only journal a paragraph in the morning, at night, or in the middle of the day. If you don’t meditate, start slow and do a five-minute guided meditation until you are ready to freestyle. There are many resources online to choose from. I have affirmations all over my office, my bedroom, also on and next to my vision board. I have links on my website on how create your own vision board. Finally, I create a personal vision statement each year about what I am becoming. Again, you don’t have to do this, but it is inspiring and keeps my mindset focused and I think you will find it helpful. I have examples of all these tools on my website and you can of course find many examples online as well.
If you are creating this tribe, you may feel like you need to lead every meeting and sacrifice your own journey to enable the success of others. This is absolutely the exact opposite of what works. When you put your own journey first and COLLABORATE with your tribe, it allows for everyone to grow and learn. Do your work. Work your tools. Slowly, in one-degree shifts, everything will fall into place.
A few parting thoughts. Remember to be gentle with yourself. This process takes time and there is no timeline that is right or wrong. Be honest with your tribe about what you are struggling with. Celebrate wins and losses. When you get off course, it is a good thing because that is where we learn; we learn when we make mistakes or fail. Find the wisdom in it and celebrate that too. Keep your shifts small. This is not a ‘lose 20 pounds in a month’ kind of practice. It is a culmination of slow and steady shifts. The magic is in the practice! I’m always here if you have questions.
Blessings, love and light,
Rena