Since most of us don’t have the option of living in self-contained incubators, we’ll need to figure out how to replicate the environment and benefits in a different setting.
Today, we’ll see two examples and a framework for doing just that.
After you read the section, I’d love to know if this sparks any ideas about ways you might build your hive. What could you do?
Best,
kk
Finding Your Hive
For solo artists looking to join a hive, understanding the currents and ethics that fuel the particular community is very important:
– Is it cutthroat or competitive?
– Is it laid back and collaborative?
– Is it social or segregated?
– Is it more about relationship building or getting work done?
– Are the creators who populate it productive?
– Is it cooperative, or is it pay to play, with no sense of service to the community?
– Will it leave you feeling pushed yet supported, or exposed and defeated?
– Is it more about judgment leveling or feeling judged and leveled?
Before commttting to any hive, you need to do your research and tap into its creative zeitgeist. Otherwise you may discover that the experience you’d hoped would bolster your efforts ends up crushing them instead.
If you can’t do it live, do it online. We saw an example of that in Scott Belsky’s creation of Behance.net and The99Percent.com. These are both huge creative communities catering to the broader set of “creatives who like to get stuff done.”
But what if you’re just one person with a much more specific interest in finding a group of people to trade ideas with and who will offer support around your passion or craft? This is exactly the position Adam King, a furniture maker and woodworker based in Olney, Illinois, found himself at the start of 2010.
After years of slipping in and out of depression and struggling with both his craft and career, King turned to the internet as a way to connect with people and potentially find like-minded, supportive friends and woodworkers. What he discovered and then built exceeded his every expectation.
King wondered if he could assemble a worldwide creative community that would share ideas and insights on woodworking and support one another through the vehicle of a weekly Twitter chat. With that, #woodchat came to life.
Today’s Quote:
“Find THE STEP AHEAD MENTOR. Someone who recently went through challenges
that you are currently experiencing and may not be so swamped in their
career that they can’t give back and understand the importance of
helping out.”
– Bert Gervais
Today’s Affirmation:
Today, I will practice feeling the fear and choosing to move forward anyway. I will do one thing that scares me.
Today’s Verse:
The wise prevail through great power, and those who have knowledge muster their strength. Surely you need guidance to wage war, and victory is won through many advisers.
Proverbs 24: 5-6
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