Laurie Scheepers 🚀, betting on the human spirit 示, recently shared something that made me pause because of how much it implies with so few words: "Looking forward to joining again!"

That single sentence (and the upbeat intent behind it) captures a truth many of us forget about professional growth, communities, and learning: the biggest gains often come not from discovering a new room, but from returning to the same room with more context, stronger relationships, and a clearer sense of what you are there to build.

In this post, I want to expand on what Laurie hinted at. Not just the logistics of attending another session, but the deeper strategy of rejoining: why it works, how to do it intentionally, and how it can become a quiet advantage for your career and your content.

Rejoining is not repetition, it is compounding

If you have ever attended a great event, roundtable, meetup, or cohort session, you know the feeling: you leave energized, you take a few notes, and then real life returns. The next session invitation arrives and you think, "Should I go again? I already went once."

Laurie"s "joining again" is a reminder that returning is where compounding starts.

Key idea: The first time you attend, you learn the room. The second time, you start contributing to it.

When you rejoin a recurring event, you bring prior knowledge of:

The format (so you can participate faster)
The people (so conversations go deeper)
The vocabulary and context (so insights land better)
The norms (so you take social risks with more confidence)

That means the second, third, and fourth time can deliver more value than the first, even if the agenda looks similar.

Why "showing up again" is a professional advantage

There is a difference between being visible and being familiar. Most people optimize for visibility, but familiarity is what creates trust.

Rejoining creates familiarity in a way that one-off attendance rarely can. Over time, people stop thinking of you as "someone who showed up" and start thinking of you as "part of the group." That shift changes what you get invited into.

1) Trust forms in small repeated interactions

Trust is rarely built in a single conversation. It is built through a pattern: you show up, you listen, you contribute, and you follow through.

If you have ever wondered why some professionals seem to get opportunities without constantly pitching themselves, this is often why. They are present repeatedly in the same circles, and that presence becomes a signal.

2) Your learning becomes layered

At the first session, you may spend 30 percent of your attention just orienting yourself: Who is speaking? What is the goal? What level is this conversation?

When you rejoin, that overhead drops. You can ask better questions. You can connect today"s discussion to last session"s thread. You can test an idea you tried in the real world since you last attended.

3) You start getting feedback, not just information

The highest value rooms are not the ones where you collect new ideas. They are the ones where you can stress-test your existing ideas with smart people who remember what you said last time.

Rejoining increases your chance of getting that kind of feedback because continuity makes your progress visible.

A simple framework for rejoining with intention

Laurie"s line is simple. The execution can be simple too, but it helps to be deliberate. Here is a lightweight framework I use when I decide to attend something again.

Step 1: Set a single outcome (not a vague hope)

Before you rejoin, decide what "a good session" means this time. Examples:

Meet 1 person who works on a problem adjacent to mine
Ask 1 question that clarifies a decision I am stuck on
Share 1 lesson learned since the last session
Leave with 1 experiment to run in the next 7 days

This prevents passive attendance and makes repeat sessions feel fresh.

Try this prompt: "If I could only take one thing from this session, what would make it worth it?"

Step 2: Do a 10-minute pre-read

If the event has a theme, speaker, or discussion prompt, spend 10 minutes preparing one thought or one question.

The difference is outsized. Prepared participants get more engagement, and the room tends to remember them.

Step 3: Reconnect with one person from last time

Rejoining creates a rare opportunity: you can follow up naturally without it feeling forced.

A short message works:

"Good seeing you again. Curious how that project progressed since last time."
"Last session you mentioned X. Did you end up trying it?"

This is how relationships move from polite to real.

Step 4: Contribute one specific thing

You do not need to dominate the conversation. But do offer something concrete:

A metric
A story
A resource
A counterexample
A question that sharpens the discussion

Consistency in small contributions is more powerful than occasional big performances.

Step 5: Close the loop within 24 hours

After the session, do one follow-through action:

Send the resource you mentioned
Thank the host
Message the person you met
Write down your next experiment

This is where "joining again" turns into momentum instead of just attendance.

For event organizers: rejoining is the signal to design for

Laurie"s enthusiasm also hints at something organizers should pay attention to: repeat attendance is the most honest form of event feedback.

If people come back, the event is doing something right, even if the like count is small.

Organizers can increase rejoining by building continuity:

Start with a 2-minute recap of last session
Invite returning attendees to share a quick update
Keep a running list of open questions across sessions
Offer a simple way to stay in touch between sessions

A community becomes durable when it remembers what happened last time.

Turning "joining again" into a content strategy (without being spammy)

Because this began as a LinkedIn post, it is worth naming the content angle too. Recurring events are a content engine if you treat them as learning, not as promotion.

Here is a simple approach that aligns with Laurie"s understated tone:

Before: post the question you are bringing

A short post works best:

What you are hoping to learn
The one question you plan to ask
The theme you are wrestling with

This invites conversation and can improve your participation because you have already clarified your intent.

After: post one insight and one action

Avoid vague recaps. Share:

One specific insight (not five)
One concrete action you will take
Optional: a thank you to the host or someone who contributed

This style of post is often more "viral" than you think because it is useful and human. It also builds a recognizable narrative over time: you are someone who learns in public and follows through.

The deeper message in Laurie"s sentence

When someone says, "Looking forward to joining again!" they are doing more than confirming attendance. They are signaling a mindset:

I value the room
I believe repetition can lead to growth
I am willing to invest in relationships
I expect to contribute, not just consume

If you apply that mindset consistently, the results are not dramatic in a week. They are dramatic in a year.

Showing up again is one of the most underrated forms of strategy.

A quick checklist for your next rejoin

If you want to put this into practice immediately, use this list:

One outcome I want from the session: ______
One question I will ask: ______
One person I will reconnect with: ______
One contribution I will make: ______
One follow-up action within 24 hours: ______

If Laurie"s short post resonated with you, consider this your nudge. Pick one recurring room that is worth your time and show up again, but do it with intention.

This blog post expands on a viral LinkedIn post by Laurie Scheepers 🚀, betting on the human spirit 示. View the original LinkedIn post →