The Breakfast Club of LinkedIn

At one time or another in my life, I was The Rebel, The Jock, The Basket Case, The Princess and The Brain. Depending on the day and the situation, I might still be.

For anyone who is a fan of the late great John Hughes, like I am, The Breakfast Club is a classic, one of my favorite movies of all time. It explores the lives of five high school students from different walks of life who are forced to endure a Saturday detention together. They belong to different cliques, never thinking or wanting to co-exist together, but each with a chance to tell their story, and at the end of detention, form bonds with one another they never thought possible. And their lives quickly change.

Having been a member of LinkedIn for quite some time, I never truly embraced it until this year. I wasn't sure how to start, I mean sure, I'm in marketing, I'm a communicator, I'm a people person, so what exactly was I waiting for?

Did I have something of value to share? What should I share if anything at all? What would people care about reading? Should I only talk about work-related stuff? Should I talk a little about myself? Should I share life experiences? What do I bring to the table? What can I say that is relevant, if anything at all?

When I finally started engaging, I started to meet people from different parts of the world, from different walks of life, who have different crafts and careers, who live in different time zones, who are on different paths, but, the one thing they all have in common - they have a story. They started to share their story with me, and in turn I started to share mine. We started to build a friendship, but instead of the library during detention, we developed it through a social media platform that has always been known primarily as a place to find a job or sell a product or service.

I started to articulate my thoughts and express my experiences through my posts and comments, and with that, came engagement, then more engagement, then something much much more.

I became part of something bigger. A tribe, as many have called it, of people who are moms and dads, who are brothers and sisters, who are sons and daughters, who work in their chosen field or have decided to go back to school, who are in career transition or thinking about it, who are job seekers and struggling, they have hobbies and interests, they have varying personalities, they have a sense of humor, they are professional and playful, they have trials and tribulations, they have seen hard times and good times, they have opinions and they absolutely love to write, and finally, they have an affinity to stay connected with people every day that they may never meet in person.

When I walked into LI world that one day, I would never have expected what would in fact transpire, how it has allowed me to discover and become a part of something special, sometimes I don't even want to leave, but when I do, I can't wait to come back, every day, to connect with people I never knew before but am so happy that I know now.

#realpeople #trueconnections #staytruetoyourself