Natalie Franke.
Photographer and Founder of the Rising Tide Society. Natalie is a creative entrepreneur building businesses and mobilising tens of thousands in the spirit of community over competition. Left brain meets right, and east coast meets west, she runs on equal parts coffee, brains, & heart. She's an educator, writer, and community builder who helps entrepreneurs create businesses that thrive.

For seven years, Natalie had the privilege of building a photography business from the ground up and capturing love stories that would make me tear up with joy at the drop of a hat. Seeing couples in love and documenting the power of relationships sparked an interest to better understand the power of connection and danger of isolation. Along Natalie’s journey, she asked herself: “how can we spend every day surrounded by constant chatter, likes, and comments… but feel so unbelievably alone?” Through technology, we are connected to one another like never before, however, we are also deeply disconnected in a way that our parents and grandparents couldn’t fathom.

Her passion for the idea of community over competition led to her co-founding the rising tide society,  which focuses on building community locally and transforming not only the creative industry but also the world.

In this episode, Natalie and I explore just how important finding the right community is to your creative entrepreneurial journey and that we as humans crave in-person connection.

Why it's important to find the right community.

How to find the right community and not just validation from other's you may see as 'successful'.

Dive deep into thinking about what sort of voices you're surrounding yourself with and how this is shaping your world view.

Uncover the book that allowed Natalie to create a global tribe of creatives looking to make a change in the world.

• It's very natural to compare the field and look at what's out there to compare yourself. It's very human.
   
• It takes 10 years to become an 'overnight success'.
   
• Every day that you show up and work hard, you're adding to your toolbelt. You're gaining knowledge.
   
• You're going to have great days. Other days, you won't even remember to shower, everything will fall apart and you might fall into the trap of comparing yourself to others.
   
• Embrace the messy moments and embrace the struggle of it all. Be willing to have perseverance, have a little bit of grit and don't let it truly affect the deepest most layers of yourself.
   
• The minute I was willing to say that I'm not perfect it changes everything. There is so much powerful in acknowledging we aren't perfect.
   
• Where ever your head is focused, that is the direction of your journey going. What are you spending your time thinking about?
   
• It's energy, either way,  energy if your struggle or energy if your striving.
    
• Be intentional in following through with personal relationships.
   
• You are a combination of the people you spend the most time with. It becomes your world view. 
   
• Finding the right community comes down to your core values. To ask your purpose, to identify who you are, what you need.
   
• We are all imperfect, we all have the same struggles. We are human. We can't look for validation from other's responses. It has to come from within us.
   
• What makes a community. Connecting people to a leader, to an idea and to one another.
   
• You don't have to do this alone. You need to surround yourself with people in your life that lift you up. Find people that remind you of your value and worth.
   

What are your core values and do you have (or are hoping to find) a community that uplifts and empowers you? Leave me a comment below.

Quote: Gratitude sets us free, perseverance pushes us forward, and comparison cannot hold us down when we strive to celebrate the accomplishments of others from a place of genuine community.

Book:  Tribes. We Need You To Lead Us ~ Seth Godin