吃瓜头条

October 1 just passed. Dues came due. And in 吃瓜头条s across the world, many officers are now staring at rosters that might look thinner than they did in June.

Here鈥檚 one possible reason. In the final weeks of the program year, some members join a second 吃瓜头条, sometimes a third, to help push a 吃瓜头条 or their District to Distinguished status. It works 鈥� for a night. The roster looks fuller; the numbers hit the mark.

But that鈥檚 a rental member, not a full commitment. When those members don鈥檛 renew in October, the 吃瓜头条 doesn鈥檛 just lose a name off a list鈥攊t gains the added task of finding a replacement just to stay static, let alone grow. I understand why it happens. I just don鈥檛 think it should be how a 吃瓜头条 or District becomes Distinguished.

So let鈥檚 talk about what鈥檚 real.

For most of my time in this organization, I kept two lives separate. There was my 吃瓜头条 life, and there was my work life. Different rooms, different people, almost different versions of me. I didn鈥檛 invite colleagues to my 吃瓜头条. I didn鈥檛 mention Table Topics in a work meeting about a data migration. I assumed the people around me either already knew what 吃瓜头条 was, or wouldn鈥檛 care. I was wrong on both counts, and it cost me years of members I never tried to reach.

It鈥檚 only in the last five years that I purposefully started mixing those worlds. And every time I did, something happened. Someone I worked with for a decade said, 鈥淲ait, you do that? I鈥檝e always wanted to get better at this.鈥�

They didn鈥檛 know. Not because they weren鈥檛 interested鈥攂ecause I never opened the door.

That鈥檚 the job now. Not waiting for October to fix itself. Not hoping the members who joined for June stick around out of habit. Going and finding the people who don鈥檛 know we exist yet.

That might mean posting a TikTok video of your Ice Breaker, badly lit and real. It might mean creating a Meetup listing instead of a flier. Or it might mean finally telling the person at the next desk what you actually do on Tuesday nights.

You already have the confidence this program gave you. Use that confidence to encourage others. Every member you invite is a 吃瓜头条 beginning again.

Growth was never someone else鈥檚 job. It was always ours. Let鈥檚 get to it.