by Chris Martenson, Peak Prosperity:

The Peak Prosperity tribe is gathering.

Members from all over the country (including a few from Europe and Asia) are arriving in northern California today for our annual weekend seminar.

Chris and I are really looking forward to this. We’re introducing a host of upgrades this year: a better location, a better venue, new content and exercises, and guest appearances by many of the experts who appear on PeakProsperity.com (including Charles Hugh Smith, Richard Heinberg, Axel Merk, Wolf Richter, David Pare, Mark Rees, the New Harbor team, the folks from Farmland LP, as well as several others).

But as anyone who has attended one of our past seminars (or city Summits) knows, it’s the PP members themselves who are the heart of the experience. Having so many like-minded folks in one place at the same time is a refreshing and energizing rarity.

The community that has developed here at Peak Prosperity is truly special. It attracts members who are smart, curious, open-minded, open-hearted — and share a drive to create a better future for themselves, their loved ones, and the world around them.

Of all the elements of the movement Chris and I have worked hard to build over the years, connecting such amazing individuals together into this community is our proudest achievement. Given our mission of “Creating a World Worth Inheriting”, we know that the path to success depends on the collective action of many than on the efforts of just we two.

Which is why we take community-building so seriously.

As we write about often, Social Capital is very important for each of us to build in order to live a resilient life. And whether you’re building it on an individual level in your local neighborhood, or on a global scale as PeakProsperity.com does, there are several science-based factors that are key to success.

Chris and I keep these success factors at the forefront of our efforts to grow and nurture our community. You may want to, too, in order to improve the efficacy of your own social outreach.

The Science Of Community
In 1986, social psychologists David McMillan and David Chavis published a study into the drivers of what they termed the “sense of community”. Their research addressed the questions: Why do communities exist? And why do people participate in them?

After all, all throughout human existence, people have banded together (initially in small tribal groups). They haven’t done so randomly or for no reason. What benefits are members of a community receiving that compel them to participate?

McMillan & Chavis summarized their core conclusion thusly:

Sense of community is a feeling that members have of belonging, a feeling that members matter to one another and to the group, and a shared faith that members’ needs will be met through their commitment to be together (McMillan, 1976).

And they identified four success factors that are critical to creating this ‘sense of community’. By applying these to your social endeavors, you’ll increase the health and strength of the communities you participate in.

Read More @ PeakProsperity.com