Illumination Welcome

My Personal Welcome to Those New to ILLUMINATION

And to those not-so-new that I haven’t met yet

Welcome to the ILLUMINATION Publication! It is a great place to be, for a variety of reasons.

From a very shallow and objective perspective, ILLUMINATION is growing quickly and attracting engaged readers. Simply by writing under the publication banner one is likely to get a boost in reads of their pieces.

But that is not really what ILLUMINATION is about.

From a diversity perspective, ILLUMINATION brings together seasoned writers, new writers, tenured and established Medium writers and those that are brand new to the platform. The publication also represents writers from around the globe. The wide perspectives and varied approaches provide us with insights we might not get elsewhere.

That is cool. But that is not exactly what ILLUMINATION is about either.

From a collaboration and support perspective, the writers and editors on ILLUMINATION are engaged with one another. In this publication you are much more likely to see folks participating in writing challenges and serial storytelling, commenting thoughtfully on others’ stories and generally being encouraging.

This is super cool, and it is a lot of what ILLUMINATION is about. But it isn’t everything and it isn’t really the best part at all.

The best part of ILLUMINATION is the writers and followers here have come to understand that it isn’t all about them. This publication is the only place I have found on Medium where you will find that other writers are just as interested in promoting and celebrating your writing as they are their own.

That is unique. That is amazingly cool. That is synergy and serendipity in action. And, that is ILLUMINATION!

So, welcome! We are very glad to have you as part of the publication!

Now that you are here, I have a bit of a favor to ask of you. As either a writer, or even as a follower of ILLUMINATION, I ask that you do whatever you can to perpetuate the unique and serendipitous atmosphere at ILLUMINATION.

How can you do that? I am glad you asked!

First, if you aren’t a writer here, consider becoming one. Simply follow the information in this link.

Second, once you are a writer, please join our ILLUMINATION Slack Channel. Be sure to add a picture and your Medium handle (mine is: @timothykey) to your profile. Slack is a great place to connect with, support, and get support from other writers in the publication. If you need some tips and pointers, here is how to get started on Slack.

Third, read the daily updates, and the curated list of stories article posted by Dr Mehmet Yildiz each day. They are featured at the top of the publication page and updated daily. This is your connection to all the great stories published by our writers, plus updates on the publication itself. Here are links to today’s pieces:

Fourth, make a point of finding new authors and reading some of their stories. They don’t have to be new writers or new to the Medium platform. Just new to you.

Fifth, consider following ILLUMINATION on Twitter and Facebook and LinkedIn.

Sixth, write a bio and submit it as a story to ILLUMINATION. Dr Mehmet Yildiz will add it to our writer profile article; you can read other bios there for inspiration and to meet more of your fellow writers!

Finally, once you have done all of those things, please consider writing a positive story about one or more of the other writers in the publication. A “Here are the best stories I read on ILLUMINATION this week” type article is a great way to do that. Or, just use your imagination.

This last piece is where the synergy and serendipity of ILLUMINATION will grab you and propel you to new heights. I promise that you will be amazed and overwhelmed by the amount of goodwill that comes flowing back in your direction when you take time to hold up others.

That is my promise to you, and I will absolutely guarantee positive results!

And, one other “Finally” to this article that I am coming back and editing to add. Right after I published this, I read a piece by Julia E Hubbel that says all of what I just said; except better. I had to come back and include it. Read her article here, you will be happy you did:

But there is one caveat. You can’t just do it once. You have to keep doing it for continued results.

Welcome aboard! Now, get out there and start illuminating!

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Timothy Key spent over 26 years in the fire service as a firefighter/paramedic and various fire chief management roles. He firmly believes that bad managers destroy more than companies, and good managers create a passion that is contagious. Compassion, grace and gratitude drive the world; or at least they should. Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and join the mail list.