How to Make the Most of Thousand
As it said in the original email welcoming you to the community,
We can’t put into words how much this community means to us, as well as how integral our relationships with fellow members have become to our personal and professional growth.
I hope Thousand will grow to have a special place in your mind and heart as well. I wrote up this guide with a few of the things that I think are key to making the most of Thousand. So without further ado,
How to Make the Most of Thousand
1. Trust Me, You Get What You Give
This community can give you a lot, you will get the most out of Thousand by putting the most in.
Thousand is nothing more than 1,000-ish people around the globe connected by similar values, shared experiences, and a drive to do exceptional things and make a positive impact.
Your experience, and the experience that other members have, is because of people just like you who give some of their time and energy to make this community a little more special.
The more energy you put in, the more Thousand will give back to you.
2. Vibrant Local Hubs Take Participation
It doesn’t take much to make Thousand valuable to yourself and others. It is said that 80% of life is showing up and it’s the same in this community. By actively participating you open yourself up to all that Thousand has to offer.
We ask two things of Thousand/NYC members:
1) Be active: we ask that you come to at least one event every 3 months.
2) Be an active participant: we ask that you host one event a year.
- Hosting events doesn’t have to be a lot of work (hence why we do so many potlucks), but it does take mental energy and thought. By hosting an event it also gives you an appreciation of the difficulty of planning and engaging people, so you become more appreciative when others host events.
3. Go on a Retreat
It might be expensive, inconvenient to get to, not exactly what you planned to use your limited vacation days on, that said, you probably won’t truly GET Thousand Network until you go on your first retreat with people from around the world.
It’s one thing to participate in your local hub or go to events in your region, it takes Thousand to another level when you go to a large retreat and truly grasp how many incredible, inspiring, Loving people there are around the world who are almost instantaneous friends when you meet them that are willing to open up about themselves and their joys, struggles, Loves, and challenges.
Living in NYC you are in luck as we do a yearly retreat in the Poconos, which last year had people come in from London, Paris, Mexico City, Toronto, South Africa, and SF.
If you are interested in other retreats, the retreats that I know of currently are:
April 29 — May 1 — Leman (Geneva/Lausanne) Retreat, Switzerland
May 5–8, 2016 — Dubai Retreat hosted by the Dubai Hub, UAE
May 6–8, 2016 — Thousand Governance Retreat, Athens, Greece
August 2016 — Malibu Beach Retreat hosted by the LA Hub, US
Oct 21–23, 2016 — Poconos Retreat hosted by the NYC Hub
Oct/Nov 2016 — Buenos Aires Retreat hosted by the Buenos Aires and DC Hubs, Argentina.
4. Reach Out Before You Travel
We are lucky living in NYC that so many Thousanders come through here regularly. Unfortunately I only probably meet half of them, I would like to meet more but many people don’t send a note till they are here.
It’s so much easier to have great experiences when you are traveling if you give people a heads up before the day you arrive that you are in town. The process for doing this is going to be made simpler, but if you find yourself traveling to any of the cities where Thousand has a hub and you want to meet some awesome people, let me know and I will be happy to connect you with the Ambassadors there who can put you in touch with members, organize a dinner, meet for coffee, give suggestions, etc.
Thousand has hubs in:
America:
NYC
SF
LA
DC
Philly
Phoenix
Vancouver
Toronto
Boston
Chicago
Chattanooga
Mexico City
Bogota
Buenos Aires
Recife, Brazil
Sao Paulo
Europe:
London
Paris
Berlin
Zurich
Brussels
Amsterdam
Athens
Copenhagen
Dublin
Leman (Geneva/Lausanne)
Lisbon
Madrid
Stockholm
Asia:
Bangalore
Beijing
Singapore
MENA (Middle East n’ Africa):
Dubai
Tel Aviv
Cape Town
Nairobi
Cairo
World
Nomad Hub — there are some specific qualifications to be a member
5. Facebook Takes Some Tweaking to Be Useful as a Community Platform
There is always stuff happening in the Facebook group(s), it can be hard to follow along if you are only using Facebook through the app or on your desktop.
The best way to follow along is to have Facebook send the group posts to your email (create a filter for them or they will overwhelm your inbox). Also note, you can have different settings for every group you are a member of.
You can then see what people are talking about and will only see the follow up discussion if you comment on a post.
To do this (on desktop), on the facebook home page click on the gear that appears if you hover to the left of the group name.
Then Edit Settings, select “Notify me about: All Posts”
Then click on “edit your notifications settings”, Email, and make sure group posts has not been turned off.
6. There Are Some Side Groups That You May Be Interested In
Each of the hubs has its own Facebook group but there are four side Facebook groups that I know of that some may be interested in.
Thousand Women Circle — FB group for the women in Thousand
Thousand/Parents
Thousand/Impact — FB group for Social Entrepreneurship, Impact Investing, Design for Impact, Entrepreneurship Policy, ICT4D, etc.
Thousand/Behavior Change
7. Sign Up for the Thousand Newsletter
Thousand Global has a monthly newsletter to keep you up to date on what’s going on with hubs and people around the world.
It’s IMPORTANT to sign up for this as it’s how Thousand Global keeps track of everyone in the network.
8. Follow Thousand’s other Social Media Accounts
LinkedIn: @ThousandNetwork
Twitter: @ThousandNetwork
Instagram: @ThousandNetwork
9. Don’t Be Afraid to Ask
With 1,000-ish incredible people in the community all over the world, members have gone through everything, know everyone, and have done it all. This means two things:
Life Happens — Thousanders have been through it all. There have been incredible discussions on life transitions, failure, breakups, self-confidence, divorce, death, depression, and on and on. People genuinely care and are happy to pass on the wisdom they have gained through their own life experiences.
Making the Impossible Reality — if you really need something, a connection, or whatever, it can be done. This is an awesome power so it should be used sparingly. That is to say, don’t forget number 1: You Get What You Give.
With that in mind, what can I do to support you?
Love and Hugs,
Dan
