A Message I Needed to Hear
Keynote speaker Mindee Doney of Juice Box Consulting began her presentation by inviting Disney Social Media Moms attendees to listen for the inspiration they needed. As I shared bits and pieces of the presentations throughout the day on twitter, so many of the messages felt tailored for my life. I’ve been struggling a bit lately with balance in my life between work, family, wants, needs, get tos, and musts. As I listened to Mindee’s story, I found myself sitting up straighter to listen, holding my breath at her refreshingly honest story, and holding back tears.
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| Thanks to Momma Mindy for the photo of the 3 Mindys. |
The conference targeted social influencers, so the messages were geared toward business women, as well as bloggers. The room was primarily filled with bloggers and, while I wish some of the topics were more applicable for blogging, I appreciated all of the presentations. I would love to catch a glimpse of other attendee’s notes and see what inspired them. Here’s what I needed to hear:
* Be Authentic – In life, online, blog posts, videos.
* What goes up must come down. What goes down must be lifted.
* Invite your children to witness you pursuing your dreams.
* Unplug. Be fully present in your work and family life.
* Set time for your family, your work, volunteering, hobbies, etc. When you fully dedicate yourself to one of these at a time, you can do your best.
* Your family will find it easier to honor work time when you work from home if you clearly designate times.
* You won’t be great at everything all the time and that is okay. What you are “best” at will change over time and fluctuate.
* Don’t be afraid to recognize your strengths and weaknesses and ask for help.
* And my favorite from Mindee: A guilt trip is a gut check ignored.
Online Friends to IRL Friends
A huge highlight from this free(!) conference involved carpooling with Cat from Thinking Outside the Sandbox (TOTS) and Bundles and Buzz. Cat and I met online through a blogger group and I always enjoyed interacting with her. When I happened to be in Seattle this summer and Cat presented this conference opportunity, I immediately applied. It only made sense to meet up and carpool with Cat who lives across the border in BC. I loved chatting with Cat, who is an amazing Mompretrenuer, and hearing about her terrific family.
Thank you to Disney for taking their celebration on the road and for hosting my very first blogger conference! I had a fantastic day and took away some much-needed inspiration.
I have a hard time keeping ‘family’ separate from other things. Mostly because parenting is a 24/7 job. I barely sit down during the day when I’m not besieged by 100 requests, even if I say ‘are you sure you don’t need anything’ 30 seconds before that. I wish I had some ‘dedicated time’ but it’s not really afforded to me at this point.
That’s all great advice.
Awesome words of advice. I often put everyone else before myself…especially my children.
Not to sound mean, but they need to realize that they are not the center of the universe. I am more than just “mom”. I have a passion for music and art, and I should not have to dispose of that because of my mommy title.
However, I love to incorporate my passions into their activities so I feel like I am not giving up on what I enjoy 🙂
I’m not sure if I fully agree with “A guilt trip is a gut check ignored.”
We all too often feel guilty for non-legitimate reasons. We aren’t super parents and can’t do everything.
I also loved the opportunity, especially meeting and getting to know you IRL. Hope we get together again soon!
Looks like you had an amazing time! I am so excited for your opportunity! And yes, sounds like great advice too!
You won’t be great at everything all of the time. There’s something I definitely need to remember!
my kids aren’t spoiled, not in the slightest, but at that age, they have no idea that moms have ideals, too. so many projects go on hold until a day when theyre out of the house, maybe once a year! I wish I had more dedicated time.
I think your point about not being perfect at everything is a good one. I try with varying degrees of success to focus on what I am good at and build the skills I lack but that is sometimes hard to do.