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Shanel Anderson's avatar

Hi Katie-such a good and timely read for me! The compassion for yourself piece is huge. It’s really good to know we are not alone. I have been nervous to try to join a group but this helped!

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Katie Bean's avatar

So glad to hear this was helpful Shanel! That's always my hope and it makes my heart crack wide open to hear when something hits. Thank you so much for being here and commenting 😊

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Janine Agoglia's avatar

I love this idea, please count me in!

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Katie Bean's avatar

Fun!! I'll message you the zoom link - excited to have you join!

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Michael Simmons's avatar

Hi Katie - Wonderful post! And thanks for the shout out! Very cool to learn more about your journey via the article. Your learning circle looks really cool, and I just bought your book.

I particularly love this paragraph on the advice you got from your publishing company:

"They encouraged me to find support, through individuals or communities, and seek out not just accountabilabuddies, but also people who would help to inspire me, motivate me, and encourage me when things got hard. They knew the tough road to publishing and that people get further along on that journey when they have support."

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Out of curiosity, what is the biggest counterintuitive and amazing lesson you've had about what it takes to run a great Learning Circle event?

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Katie Bean's avatar

And thank you so much for buying my book!! I hope you find it as healing as I did when writing it 🙏❤️

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Katie Bean's avatar

Thanks Michael! I'd say the best lesson I've learned as the facilitator is to talk less. Asking good questions (like you are doing here!) and allowing the group to discuss is key. In the beginning, I prepared too much. I'd have questions ready but also my own thoughts on things, but really, it's about the group opening up to each other. I still prepare of course but often the discussion will go down an unexpected and necessary path. And those are the times that people afterward reach out to say how inspiring or powerful the discussion was for them. How they talked about this they never said out loud before and it was healing for them. So as Hamilton was told, "Talk less... Smile more." 🎶

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