The Power of the Group: Sharing Tips, Tools, and Info Is an Invaluable Benefit

The Power of the Group: Sharing Tips, Tools, and Info Is an Invaluable Benefit

by Laura Orsini

OK – some of you know this already, but I came down with pneumonia in early January and it has knocked me on my ass for the last 3 weeks. Literally. Moving between the couch, the restroom, and the bedroom is about all I have managed. I’ve been out of the house just a handful of times: twice to visit my holistic healing practitioner, and a couple others to go to the grocery and/or drug store. I’ve done perhaps 3 loads of laundry, and managed to get a couple blog posts up on this group blog. It’s been a humbling experience – forced rest and time off. I could not be more grateful for my fabulous husband who has been an utter angel.

So what does this have to do with the Power of the Group? Well, there’s a new publishing-themed Meetup group in Phoenix that had a meeting scheduled for Jan 15^th. I had RSVP’d that I’d attend weeks before I got sick. When the time came to attend, I obviously could not make it. After the meeting, the organizer sent me a personal note (I had cancelled in advance – was not just a no-show) telling me she hoped I’d be able to make a future meeting. In my response to her, I mentioned that I’d been sick with pneumonia. It was the sort of offhand comment that was unnecessary, but just became part of my end of the conversation.

It turns out that this gal is also a Chinese Medicine practitioner – and she recommended an herbal product called ClearLungs to me to help alleviate the congestion and coughing symptoms. I sent my husband to GNC (I understand Sprouts also carries it) for a bottle and began taking it on Monday. Today is Tuesday, and I feel so much better in just the 36 hours I’ve been taking this stuff. I cannot fathom how long it would have taken me to heal to this point without this supplement.

All because of a toss-off comment.

Full disclosure – I hate doctors and have very little respect for the allopathic medical industry. Nevertheless, I knew that I was really sick, so I went to urgent care – which is how I received the pneumonia diagnosis in the first place. They had me come back two days later for a checkup – I was getting worse instead of better, so they put me in the hospital. For one day – because I wouldn’t stay any longer. So I had one day of a strong IV antibiotic which probably helped me turn the corner.

But upon my release, I was prescribed two short-course antibiotics in pill form. When my husband took the prescriptions to the pharmacy to get them filled, the pharmacist alerted us that they were contraindicated together because they are known to cause heart issues. So they called the doctor (a pulmonologist – a “specialist”), who told them this was a non-issue. This man is not a GP. He had done no workup on my heart nor asked any questions about my general health other than whether I had ever been a smoker. (I have never smoked.) Meaning he had no freaking idea whether the two antibiotics together were a non-issue for me. In spite of this, I took the damn medicine for the first day, and it made me nauseous. So we cut the dosage back to ½ what was recommended – it still made me nauseous. So I quit taking it altogether.

I am NOT a medical practitioner – so don’t take this as advice. All I can say is that I know that listening to my body was the very best thing I could have done for my health. I am so glad I quit taking that crap and learned about the ClearLungs herbal supplement instead.

Again – what does this have to do with the Power of the Group? My main point here is that when you have a group, you have access to the power of the shared knowledge of every member of the group. It’s astonishing to me that we don’t all have immediate access to this information – that it has to be learned through secret channels because you say the right thing to the right person at the right moment. And yet this is the world in which we live. Pretty much all the information we need is out there – but some of it is hidden (BTW, occult means hidden, not sinister), and we have to get lucky in terms of unearthing it.

So I would encourage you to do whatever you can to share your knowledge. Whether it’s via your blog, a group blog, your social media networks, your email list. SHARE. WHAT. YOU. KNOW. It will come back to you in spades.

___________________
LAURA ORSINI is a self-publishing consultant who works with authors who want to change the world. From concept to publication to the first-time author’s book launch, her expertise will help you make a better book and find more readers. Laura is the organizer of the Phoenix Publishing and Book Promotion Meetup, creator of the Author Blog Challenge, and conjuror of many other author opportunities. She will explore the power of the group in her posts for this group blog. In the meantime, read her regular posts at Marcie Brock – Book Marketing Maven. Friend her on Facebook, follow her on Twitter, and check out her pins on Pinterest.