The thing about these stickers…
If you’ve been active in this community or if you ever attended any event whatsoever regarding Office 365, Microsoft, Dynamics 365 or the Power Platform you’ve probably noticed that stickers are a thing right?
Personally I like them a lot. It brings an individual touch to my surface and I use these as icebreakers with customers. But when flying home from the Scottish Summit 2020 I was looking at my surface and reviewing this amazing event, it started to grow on me.
These stickers aren’t just some bright and colorful things to cover my laptop. They are far more than that. I realized, that every sticker I have on my device has a unique story behind it. It’s loaded up with memories, persons and situations that mean a lot to me. Those stickers are an actual picture of what this community does and what it stands for.
You may have noticed the hashtag #communityrocks but just now I’m getting what’s really behind this.
I would like to share my experiences with you.
I was admiring this community for quite a time. There are so many experts and people who know awesome stuff. There some community rockstars whose work I really like. And you get the opportunity to learn new things every day. I was admiring the connection those people had.
Since I’ve become a consultant for one reason, to help people enjoying their job, I too wanted to share my knowledge and be part of this community. I wrote a few blog posts, had a couple of sessions and yet I had a sentence in my mind “Someday I will be a speaker and part of this community”. Without even knowing when “someday” will be or what that even meant.
Then suddenly somebody told me “dude, you are a speaker. You’re having a session on a SPS event, you’re a speaker. Period. You are part of the community.” And yet it didn’t fully realized it until now. As I was meeting a few community members for the second or third time, it began to grow on me: Those people really like you and maybe you are a part of this.
Then I’ve meet a few of those rockstars I was admiring for a while and guess what?
As you start to talk to people you begin to realize that those community rockstars are just regular people. They have their doubts, their insecurities and are just like you and me. And as soon as you realize that, you start seeing them from a different angle. They become real people and less of a anonymous rockstar without any background. And that makes you realize the power of this community.
This community is not about showing how much you know or how good you are with certain tools. It’s not about rockstars doing awesome things. It’s about caring for each other
- It’s about lifting each other up!
- It’s about helping others to become the best version of themselves!
- It’s about encouragement!
- It’s more than a community. This is family!
And damn, that feels so good I barely find words for it. Never in my life have I felt so welcomed. I’m still overwhelmed by this.
You may have come for the nerdy tech stuff, cool apps and awesome Microsoft gear, but you will stay for the heartwarming, encouraging people. These people welcome you with open arms, cheer you up, help you out and take so much care. It’s breathtaking. In fact, those people recognize you as the person you are and make you feel warm, welcome and loved, regardless your background or what luggage you carry around.
So, the next time you see a device covered in stickers, you know what these stand for. This is our picture album showing a few of our family members.
And it’s not about the number of stickers you’ve gathered. It’s not about how covered your device is. It’s about what they mean to you.
Community is the family you choose ♥
What do those stickers mean to you? What does this community mean to you?Do you agree? Do you think it’s completely different?
I would love to hear your ideas. Let’s chat 🤩
You’ll reach me on Twitter and LinkedIn (but I prefer twitter 😁)