One Week Can Change Your Whole Life

Recently, I was asked to reflect on the first time I attended Inman Connect New York. "Sure, not a problem," was my response. But my first time at that one was in January 2009, and that's been a while ago, so I needed to refresh my memory. I dialed up the wayback machine, which took me to a ton of photos I was tagged in on Facebook. And I figured out how to look up my tweets from that week. (Side note, Twitter was a completely different place in 2009!) And that lead me to my blip.fm account, which I haven't used in five years, at least. There were links to some qik videos (those are gone now) and some seesmic posts too, and I think that was even before Foursquare existed. But I digress.

I had a chance, through all of these footprints in the digital sands, to remember who and where I was, nearly nine years ago. A completely different world compared to the now-me. And yet, it was still so familiar--especially aided by the soundtrack helpfully supplied by blip.fm. Looking back on it, it was easy to trace the impact of that one conference that started that year for me: 2009 was the first time I took a speaking slot on stage. I was terrified, but not so much that I didn't take another one. And another. By October of 2009 I was on stage holding my own at BlogWorld. It grew into what was my best year in real estate, up to that point.

So how does one week create that much change in a life? Well, I went to a conference seeking growth, change, and opportunity, and I embraced it. It's really that simple. I had no preconceived notion of what I would find when I got there, and I had no agenda for what I wanted to discover.

With a completely clean calendar and an open mind, I listened to a lot of speakers, met a lot of new people, and had some really intriguing conversations. While the sessions got the wheels turning in my mind, what transpired after in the hallways and at the cocktail parties helped me create a laundry list of executable ideas to take back to 'real life' and apply to my business. And those ideas, combined with my renewed enthusiasm, certainly helped take my business to the next level.

But the real benefit for me--the long term takeaway-- was my tribe. I had found MY PEOPLE. The ones that wanted to learn, debate, share ideas, and grow with me. The ones I could count on to help me think through a strategy, to talk me over, around, or through a roadblock, or to lift my spirits when I felt like my business was off track. That tribe is who I turn to almost every single day, even now, almost 10 years later. I don't make a major decision without bouncing it off of my people first. I honestly don't know where my career, and my life, would be if I hadn't made those connections at an Inman Connect conference.

(That's some, but not all, of my tribe. Incredibly thankful for them.)

So if you are looking at attending a conference in the next few months, whether to grow your business or grow personally, think about why you are going and what you want to bring out of it. Do you need to kickstart your enthusiasm? Do you need actionable advice for growing your business? Or are you looking for ways to expand your skills and professionalism? Most of all, do you have your tribe yet, or are you seeking them out?

My next conference experience will be in New York City at the end of January, back in the mix with great content and fantastic people. I'm sure I'll have more to share after that. Which conference or event are you looking forward to for 2018?

~Heather