The details behind the panel discussion “Making Yourself Uncomfortable” at TribeCon 2009 last week in New Orleans, LA.

Last week at the inaugural TribeCon, a conference about the power of communities, I got the chance to participate on a panel called “Make Yourself Uncomfortable: How to Rawk a New Community” with Sloane Berrent, Shannon Lane and Carl Nelson:

You want to expand your professional circle, transition into a new career, learn something new, or go to a new city and meet the locals. But how? By introducing yourself to new online and offline communities to meet new people and open up opportunities. In order to do that you’re going to have to make yourself uncomfortable.

Making yourself uncomfortable is a powerful way to identify and take advantage of current and new opportunities. In this panel, we’ll share personal stories, hard-earned lessons and practical advice on how to find and explore the edges and cores of new-to-you communities. We’ll provide tips on how to break through being uncomfortable and transitioning to a whole new outlook in order to use communities for personal and professional growth. (details)

But TribeCon was about a lot, lot more.

Recapping TribeCon
To understand what TribeCon 2009 was about, start by reading Matt Catrett’s solid summary about Tribecon and viewing my pictures from the day.

But while it’s easy to read about the event and see what happened, the spirit of TribeCon is a little more difficult to absorb without having been there.

To me, TribeCon wasn’t just a conference, but a celebration, a shared experience, a family get-together between people with evil plans for how to create, build, lead and contribute to meaningful change in their communities. Yes, it’s a business conference, complete with talks and panel discussions about serious issues in business and government, but TribeCon was guided by a vibe and a sense of “realness” that allowed us to talk serious business without an overbearing sense of seriousness.

And for that, here’s my personal thank you to Chris Schultz, Tiffany Starnes and the crew of volunteers, attendees and speakers that made it happen.

Thank you. Already looking forward to TribeCon 2010 and to the next time I’m in New Orleans.

And to provide a great example of how and why making yourself uncomfortable is powerful, I’ll soon share a great story about a recent journey…

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The slides for the panel discussion “Making Yourself Uncomfortable”: