What happens when you get some of the best minds in the online marketing and platform building world together in one room? I’ll tell you…50+ pages of notes, lasting friendships, and tons of great ideas. That’s the power of a great event, like Jeff Goins’ Tribe Conference earlier this year.
This is part one of my 11 lessons from Tribe Conference. Read part two here.
Better late than never, right?
Tribe Conference was nearly two months ago and I’m just now writing a recap post. I guess that’s what happens when you come back and focus on implementing the ideas you got rather than writing about them.
I left the conference with more than fifty pages of notes (typed) and I’m definitely not sharing all of them, but here are the first six of my top eleven takeaways from Jeff’s conference.
1. The Power of Meeting In-Person
By my best count, I met 41 people at Tribe Conference that I already knew in the online world. I had four people from mastermind groups, two clients, and dozens of people with whom I interact on at least a monthly basis online.
And I’d only met one of them in person. That’s right. One.
That’s kind of sad actually.
Yes, the internet is great. Yes, our networks are now social. Yes, people from around the world can be face-to-face with me (on video) in less than 10 seconds.
But nothing replaces meeting with people in person. The relationships I had before the conference are exponentially better now.
Some of the finest online marketers and people I know.
2. The Power of Showing Up
OK, true confession time. I wasn’t planning on attending that much of the conference.
The #1 reason I was going to was to connect with a few people, host a breakfast with some of the top online entrepreneurs in the world (that’s where the picture above is from), and maybe attend a session or two.
Then at that breakfast, I learned a powerful lesson: The best business minds in the world are showing up at these events and continuing to learn.
And not just to speak or be seen. They are showing up to learn.
At that breakfast, three people I admire greatly (Dan Miller, Ray Edwards, and Chris Ducker) all said they planned to attend the entire time. Dan wasn’t even speaking and yet he was attending.
The man has built an online empire and he was showing up.
Needless to say, our plans changed and my wife, Tara, and I attended every session. Thus the 50+ pages of notes!
The best business minds in the world are learning every day. You should be, too.
3. The Power of Greatness
From Chris Marlow I was reminded of the need to make sure my content is GREAT.
Not good. Not really good. Definitely not hastily put together mediocrity. GREAT.
When I shoot videos, they must be great. That doesn’t mean I have to spend $10,000 on one, but they quality should be exceptional.
My emails must be great. My blog posts must be great (I sure hope this one is!).
Declare this out loud and get it deep inside your soul:
4. The Power of Connection
From Asha Dornfest, I was reminded of why I got into blogging in the first place:
To connect.
To connect with other like-minded (or different-minded) people.
Here’s a quote from her really stood out:
People come to the internet looking to CONNECT. How are you connecting with your audience?
She shared three ways we can connect better with our audience:
Humanity
You are not a company.
You are not a brand.
You are not your content.
You are you.
Be you.
Honesty
There is value in sharing your struggles. This requires vulnerability but it also makes you relatable, believable and likeable…three winning traits.
It also means sharing about topics that you DON’T know the answers to and asking for other’s opinions.
Generosity
The more you share, the more they care.
Be generous with others and they’ll be generous with you.
Lastly, from Asha, remember you have a voice. What you have to say probably has been said before, but not by you.
Not in your tone.
Not with your language.
Not with your backstory.
Mike Berry shared a great quote from Stu McLaren that summed up Asha’s message:
People come for the content. They stay for the community.
5. The Power of Belief
Mike Berry said something else that really stood out to me. He encouraged the attendees to stop believing that what worked for someone else won’t work for them. In other words, the people in success stories are NOT that special.
If you believe that what worked for someone else won’t work for you, guess what? It won’t.
But if you believe that it could happen to you, it just might.
Get your hopes up.
Believe for good things to happen to you.
Study, work your butt off, and dream big.
Stop believing that what worked for someone else won’t work for you. Success stories are NOT that special.
6. The Power of Teaching
Nathan Barry, the founder of ConvertKit made a very powerful point about history that applies to us all today:
Marco Polo wasn’t the first to discover the things he is credited for. He was the first to WRITE about it.
In other words, like Mike Berry would point out, he wasn’t all that special. He was just bold enough to share what he’d discovered.
That’s why ConvertKit is known for their t-shirts that say, “Teach Everything You Know.”
Today, we know Marco Polo (and play a game named after him) because he shared what he’d found with the rest of the world.
What have you discovered that you aren’t sharing? What would it do for you if you did share it?
Common Knowledge?
One of the things that often holds us back from sharing what we know is that we think it’s “common knowledge.” I know I’ve fallen prey to this. I just assume that everyone knows the things that I know.
But that is not true. There are three things that make this fear irrational.
- You have a unique voice, as Asha reminded us.
- Most people actually don’t know the things you know.
- Probably no one else is sharing it on any mass scale. In other words, they might know what you know, but like everyone before Marco Polo, they aren’t sharing it.
Those who teach become the authorities, at least in the minds of others.
Nathan made a great point about the scalability of doing vs. teaching.
Do something ==> Get Paid
Do something, then teach it ==> Get paid infinitely more
Think about it. If you discover a great way to write a blog post faster, that’s great. You will make a little bit more money as a result.
But if you share that method with others, thousands and thousands of people will pay you to learn it. That is infinitely scalable.
Remember, teach everything you know.
Coming Up
We still have FIVE more huge takeaways from Tribe Conference. The next five are particularly compelling. Click Here to read the next five takeaways.
If you aren’t already convinced, make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss the upcoming post. I’ll also send you a free video training to help you rock your next affiliate promotion.
What is the most powerful lesson you’ve learned from a live event?