Purpose

a question generator with two distinct elements—an unlocking phrase and a topic. An unlocking phrase is what your question starts with—it’s the frame and helps you focus in on one aspect of a broad topic. There are thousands of options, but here are my Top 10. 1. What is your favorite . . . 2. If you could . . . 3. What do you value most in a . . .

It turns out people pay attention to what they pay for. Therefore, the fastest way to build a loyal, tightly knit set of early adopters or brand loyalists was by making the community paid, charging for events, or offering paid course communities. Perhaps counterintuitively, the easiest way to move people off social media was to charge for access to

Then, you’ll want to explore the opposite dynamic. Who depletes your energy? Who is quick to cut you down? Who makes you question your worth?

In modern life, the work on purpose tends to stop at self-actualization. But in my experience, it’s transcendence that I’ve seen revolutionize people’s lives the most—and do so the most quickly. We are meant to take on enormous challenges to reach our fullest potential. We can’t do it alone.

The most successful communities online and in the real world started with a clear purpose. They not only had a clear intention, but the way they stated that intention followed a specific formula that worked time and time again to draw the right people to a new idea, join a community, or sign up for a course or membership, and then contribute in way

be specific. You want someone to read or hear about this Big Purpose and be transported to a year from now, to a new future, where they can do or be something that feels out of reach today. Be ambitious. I have seen it many times. There are results achievable through community that simply aren’t achievable, especially not on the same timeframe when

it keeps both you and me consuming new content and wondering if we’ve got everything we need to act on our purpose. We think we’re taking action, when, in reality, we’re running in place. The toxic brilliance of late-stage social media is that it’s convinced us action means consumption and creativity means producing content for their platforms. Whi

the single most important role any of us can play in this moment is to move from a person who passively consumes content to one who has the confidence and skills to host a community of their own.

the more explicit you are with the positive cultural norms you want to bring to your digital community, the more likely you and your members will make them a reality. This is where you don’t want to leave things to chance. The people who want to join your community are attracted to something clear and exciting, and they want to know exactly how to