Finding your tribe is invaluable. There is something special about finding the group of people who relate to you, who know what challenges you face, and know how to support and strengthen you.For anyone trying to build a career in a non-traditional field, finding your tribe is like being adopted into a supportive and loving family. Sure, it's possible to make it on your own. But having a group of people who know you, support you, and connect you to other like-minded people makes life much easier and much more fun.A tribe, in the sense I am talking about, has nothing to do with social or ethnic homogeneity, but a like-mindedness of passion and purpose.I have found a tribe in multiple places. I first came across this by attending the Outdoor Retailer, where I first began to network with the hundreds of other freelancers and media-types in the Outdoor Industry. Those early relationships opened the doors to the work I am doing now. Those same people I am growing alongside as we each pursue our work.I have found a tribe at the 5Point Film Festival in Carbondale, Colorado. 5Point is a multi-day party in the mountains celebrating creativity and passion through film and cinema. I have met some of the most amazing and inspiring people here, such as Ben Page, who rode his bike across five continents.I just returned from Banff in Alberta, Canada, where I attended Adventure Elevate. Every year the Adventure Travel Trade Association puts on a conference to gather people from literally all over the globe who work in the Adventure Travel industry. Many people who attend are tour operators, such as my new friend Clinton of Ahsante Tours in Tanzania, or Brian who runs a trekking and mountain biking outfit in the Tibetan Plateau of China. And many people are fellow writers and photographers and magazine editors.It's networking, yes. Which is of course very valuable from a business standpoint. But it's also highly inspirational. These events and gatherings encourage us and inspire us in work that, as a freelancer, can occasionally/often feel isolating and lonely. These events are rejuvenating and refreshing, even while we exhaust ourselves with dancing until 3 am. (Ahem, not that I've done that.)You never know what connections will come out of these events. I find them to be sometimes as serendipitous as travel itself. Sometimes we find moments of magic we will remember the rest of our lives, connections and opportunities, inspiration and revelations. It's beautiful and powerful.I am writing this post primarily for my fellow freelancers and entrepreneurs. But I think it applies to anybody. We all need to feel a sense of belonging, to feel understood and supported. If you do not feel like you have that community in some aspect of your life, I encourage you to take the time to investigate the places you could find your tribe.It wasn't that long ago when I had no idea the ATTA was even a thing. And years before that, the Outdoor Retailer sounded like an event that was just for professional shoppers. I didn't know those would end up being the places and gatherings I would mark on my calendar to guard and protect, to ensure I could attend.It's a beautiful thing to find your tribe. Have you found yours?