Let's dive into some of what we learned from our recent survey. It surprised our team - and wasn't what we were hoping for. But it revealed critical insights for the future of our work and the needs in front of us.

“Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life… Perfectionism is a mean, frozen form of idealism, while messes are the [community builder’s] true friend.”

We are now entering what I've come to think of as prime "burnout season." Over the last few years, I've observed countless community builders grow exhausted and overwhelmed during the summer months. Here’s a free guide and resource to taking time off.

When you are tired, you lose inspiration, and then you cannot serve anyone. For us, it often takes a walk, music, a deep breath. You need that before you snap back to the work. And you will snap back.

If you build communities, you're bound to push yourself a little too hard sometimes. You do it because you care. There is so much good in that.

Perfect. What an irrelevant word for the kind of work we do. Community building demands imperfect work. What an irrelevant word, in fact, in any world where equality and justice matter.

Lessons on community building from the catastrophe of the Fyre Festival

This week, I don't want to invite you to ponder anything or do anything extra. I just want to invite you to breathe deeply.

We may need a mindset shift: If you show up and do the work, you will not get every opportunity or acknowledgment, but this is not a zero-sum game. We share our triumph. Scarcity is a reality, but it’s not the only reality.

We cannot create rigid, homogeneous spaces where everyone believes the same thing. That's not a community; that's a cult. But we do have to put a stake in the ground: For which issues do we need to raise our voice and take a stand?

You can follow how-to posts all day, but you also need to answer these larger questions about your community work.

We need a framework for self-care in this profession. Here are 7 steps to take each day to take better care of #1.

We burn out because we lose all sense of ourselves. The shouts and demands and the subtle persuasion of our community members drowns out our voice. The business goals ignore what brought us to our work in the first place. We forget who we are.