My Takeaways from Mom 2.0 Summit 2017

May 2017 will go down in the history books … at least for me.  I feel as though my life and thought processes have been changed after attending the Mom 2.0 Summit 2017!

At the beginning of the year I took a leap of faith and spent a crap-ton of money on a ticket to (what was supposed to be) my first blogging conference.  Mom 2.0 is expensive, but I was ready to turn my hobby blogging into a legitimate business.  I spend a lot of time and energy on SAHM, plus and I wanted to see a return on my investments.

Having decided on Mom 2.0 wasn’t easy for me.  I nearly had a panic attack thinking about the price of the ticket and proceeded to almost having a heart attack when I factored in the potential cost of the discounted hotel room.

You see, I didn’t know anyone personally who was able to commit to going.  As an introvert, going to a conference at all is overwhelming.  Going alone was terrifying.

Then there was the fact it would cost more to stay at the onsite hotel than the entrance to the event for the 3 days would be.

A few weeks before the event, I secured a room with some ladies to help me reduce expenses.  But, I ended up backing out.  Apparently my introversion beat out my complete and utter cheapness.  Then, I was at it again looking for a new roommate.

When I posted that I was searching, I had a few groups try to take me in.  For that, I’ll be forever grateful.  I was overwhelmed again, but this time, by the sheer openness and friendliness these ladies were extending to me.  I finally accepted a roommate offer with one woman from Oregon.

This is where my life has been changed (hopefully) forever!

My short drive to Orlando was a breeze and I arrived eager to register and rush into the jumpstart programming.  And, after briefly meeting my roommate, I rushed to my first session with one major goal in mind – learn how to make my blog my business.  This is my year!  I keep telling myself that anyway.

My Takeaways from Mom 2.0 Summit 2017

I learned so much from Mom 2.0.  While the educational value from the Mom 2.0 conference sessions was immensely useful, I came home from the summit with unexpected takeaways.

Be Yourself

The one thing I keep hearing this year is to “be yourself.”  Write what you’re passionate about and stop being so vanilla.

I attended the “Viral Victories” session with BuzzFeed Parents and Today Parents.  Forgive me for forgetting the particular speaker’s name who said this, but it drove home what I’ve been hearing all year.

“Write what’s in your heart – what you know.  Should I really go there?  YES!”

In another session (and again, I didn’t include in my notes who said this) “passion makes complacency uncomfortable.”

My takeaway: Stop trying to please everyone, because your writing becomes dull and lacks passion.

“Choose Again”

In the keynote from Gabrielle Bernstein she described the pain and disappointment when her life wasn’t “going as planned” and her friend told her to “choose again.”  I felt similar feelings in my life … she was speaking to me through her own experiences!

Choose again!

You can’t plan everything in your life.  Choose to honor your pain and see everything as an opportunity.  “Thank you for being an opportunity to lean into progress” she said.

“Painful moments are an opportunity for growth” and “proactively choose better thoughts” were two things that stand out from her speech.

Not just for blogging, but life in general, I need to remind myself of the good things I have in my life instead of focusing on what’s going wrong.

Women are really this encouraging?

Without digging into the details of my life and sharing a lengthy story of my childhood, I just want to get to now.  I had no freaking clue women were as encouraging and non-competitive.

It didn’t matter what I said to anyone over the course of the conference days, I was constantly inspired, encouraged, and empowered by women I didn’t know.

I had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with Sheinelle Jones from the Today show.  I’d been struggling with the fact that the Monday immediately following my return from Mom 2.0, I  was to make my first appearance on my local news channel.  It was a last minute request that I’d desperately wanted to say “no” to.  My husband and a couple blogging friends urged me to do it, regardless of how I felt as an introvert just wanting to stay out of the public eye.

When I told Sheinelle I’d never considered being on TV, she questioned “Why not?”  Her tone insinuated that not doing it was absurd!  I had to relay just how introverted I was and that the thought of it made me extremely uncomfortable.  She just met me and told me “Do it.  Be yourself … no one wants an expert these days.”  People want real, I guess.  And then she finished with “Take it off yourself.  Your purpose is to help people.”

She was right.  Although I wasn’t at all comfortable with being on television, it did kind of help when I thought of it that way.  It’s not about me … take it off myself.

Hey!  Did you want to see my appearance on TV?  Don’t judge me too harshly … I had less than 2 full days to focus on the call sheet and ZERO idea of how they were going to handle the segment (no questions were provided ahead of time).  I’m simply proud of facing my fear and doing something I wasn’t comfortable with.

Healthy Food Swaps on WJXT4 with Ivy Boyter

Because of how friendly people were, I found it very easy to talk to just about everyone.

I left the conference inspired, encouraged, and having made new friends.  Additionally, I also left realizing that I need to stop being upset with the people in my life who aren’t encouraging or who are jealous.  Instead, I am sorry for them.  And, I won’t give them my energy.  I plan to surround myself, beginning immediately, with confident and empowering women as I work to be that woman myself.

Mom 2.0 Summit 2017 was exactly where I was supposed to be in 2017.  There was a ton of information that I needed, but I got so much more out of my experience than I bargained for!  I feel as though my life has been changed for the better having attended the summit.

In my eyes, all the ladies who made me feel perfect, just as I am … you deserve an Iris Award too!

Did you attend the Mom 2.0 Summit 2017?

Were you there?  I’d love it if you’d share your Mom 2.0 takeaways!