Why being the icon of Clubhouse app means so much to me

My favorite thing by far about the audio social network Clubhouse has been the quality of friendships I’ve made and in such a rapid period of time. It wows me. They’re all so genuine. There’s not enough space in a tweet to @ mention all the beautiful humans in my life now, thanks to this incredible app. A couple weeks ago I became the icon of Clubhouse and I was blown away. Here’s audio of my genuine reaction when I found out.

When I was first asked if I’d like to be the icon I hesitated. I have always been afraid of being big. As some of you know I recently lost my friend Tony Hsieh, a friend and mentor who did his best to elevate me so many times and I resisted. Staying small felt safe. And in classic habitual nature I almost resisted when Clubhouse wanted to elevate me by being their icon, but for the first time, maybe ever, I didn’t resist. I accepted and was I scared. So scared to ‘step into my big’ as I have called it lately. With stepping into my big for me that means upping my game as a community unifier, upping my game to elevate others…. elevate others the way Tony always tried to elevate me. I reflected on how I could use this rare and wonderful opportunity being the icon of one of the most influential apps in 2020 to champion others along side me. Before Tony passed I was already thinking about creating a “Giving Room” on the app, a place where the community can share Gives and share Needs so we can support one another. Last week I did two test rooms to see how it would flow. The demo experiences were absolute magic. I was ready…Then, this past weekend, Tony passed. Experiencing grief comes in many forms, the thing that instantly mattered to me most was carrying on his legacy, to Deliver Happiness, so on Monday after a very difficult weekend trying to make sense of a lost friend where there’s no sense to be made, I turned what was to be called “The Giving Room” into “The Delivering Happiness Room” to reoccur on Clubhouse and honor Tony’s legacy. For me, being the icon of Clubhouse is not hype, it’s an opportunity to love and celebrate others. I am so deeply grateful.

Here are some of the tweets after the first “Delivering Happiness” room this week. I genuinely felt Tony was speaking through me to share light, love and Wow to delight everyone in the room with his beautiful energy.