I have recently returned from Chapel Hill, North Carolina where I was fortunate enough to spend 2 days among 90+ remarkable women from all across the country. Making Things Happen is an intensive workshop led by Lara Casey and based on the belief that we have the choice to change our lives and the direction we’re headed by practicing self discipline, living with intention and having faith. We journaled, shared, encouraged, listened, and grew. I met women I know will stay in my heart for a lifetime: we shared meals, wiped tears, laughed till it hurt, exchanged hugs, and indulged in late night chats….What I thought was a workshop that would enhance my photography business actually changed my life.
March 2014 : Making Things Happen
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My feet stepped outside their comfort zone from the minute I left my mom’s vehicle at the Minneapolis Airport at 5am on March 30th.
I had done some traveling & flying in recent years but NEVER completely on my own. I gave myself every opportunity I could to handle the airport like a boss. Part of that was packing just a carry-on bag. I’m no high-maintenance gal so my bag had room for so much more! (I know some well-seasoned travelers won’t understand what a big deal this is, but buying the ticket, driving to the airport, navigating security, and boarding the plane ALONE was the equivalent to climbing a mountain for me.) Boom!
The TSA Agent called me: “very organized”. Well, thank you very much, sir! I had planned on it. Waiting at my gate I fielded a handful of text messages from my best friends and siblings. Even at 6am on a Sunday morning they were rootin’ for me and excited for the adventure I was about to start… I watched the sunrise from the air and had the best seat in the house. I was reminded that my life is pretty great:
I caught my connecting flight in Atlanta…checked on my baby girl through a text message and settled in for the last leg of my trip. For a lover of maps and geography, there’s nothing better than a window seat on an airplane…
I landed in Raleigh, North Carolina and BRAVERY 101 was about to start. I had made arrangements to be picked up at the airport by another attendee. She’s a local Raleighan so she made herself available to pick up out-of-towners at the airport. People are amazing and selfless. I called her to let her know I had landed and within minutes I was in a stranger’s friend’s car with another new friend in the backseat on our way to Chapel Hill, NC and The Carolina Inn.
I checked into my room…my beautiful, beautiful room, and I enjoyed the warm chocolate chip cookie from the front desk. Where the heck am I? I thought to myself. Heaven?
I unpacked a few things and met another gal in the lobby and we headed out to find something for lunch. Over burritos from Qdoba, we introduced ourselves, shared bits about our businesses and the hopes and dreams we have for our lives. I wanted to pinch myself. Just a few hours earlier I was in snowy Minnesota and now I was having lunch under the North Carolina sunshine with a gal from Kansas City.
I have an infatuation with college campuses. Maybe it’s because my college experience was a little outside the box (lots of night classes at the local Tech College…) and I often look back and wonder what it would have been like to be a college student with a backpack who eats lunch on the grass in the center of a prestigious campus. Do people really do that? In my head they do. Regardless, I ventured over to the University of North Carolina campus and took it all in. Spring blossoms covered the trees and I wandered my way around one of the Nation’s prettiest campuses….a selfie here, and a selfie there:
When I got back to the room, I met my awesome roommate, Loren. She greeted me with a warm hug and I was so thankful to finally be meeting her. She graciously invited me to room with her months ago, and all we had done was trade a few emails. Meeting this new friend from Hawaii was a highlight of my trip. Want to know what kindness is? Kindness is a box of Hawaiian Host Chocolate and a children’s Hawaiian decorated waterbottle: gifts from Loren to my daughter and me. I was overwhelmed.
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The first morning of the workshop, it was very easy to slip into my old, introverted ways: standing quietly in line at the breakfast buffet, I intended to fill my plate with fruit and a roll, keep my eyes down, and sit on a bench in the morning sun while waiting for the conference to start. God had other plans. Along came a beautiful, confident, and friendly woman named, Heather from Sacramento. I venture to guess God hand-picked her & placed her on the bench beside me. He knew he sent me on this conference to test my courage but he intended for Heather to be the little familiar face over the next 2 days that would provide just a droplet of comfort and sense of belonging to the girl who just flew alone, across the country.
The conference began by being introduced to 7 amazingly talented, creative, faith-filled and supportive speakers. Each had a beautiful story of personal success sprinkled with self-doubt, hardships, and lessons learned along the way. They were quick to remind us that life is a journey of ups and downs and the amount of contentment we find in our relationships and businesses ultimately lies within ourselves. We journaled relentlessly on the things that fire us up, the things that scare us, as well as our biggest distractions. We had to ask ourselves: what are we saying YES to in our lives? What are we saying NO to? I learned how better to set goals and how to clear the clutter (figuratively and literally) from my life. Hours and hours and hours of self study, introspection, learning, listening and speaking. It was draining and amazing.
That evening, my girl, Heather waved me over to join her and her friends for dinner. We walked the streets of Chapel Hill and came upon The Lantern. We dined outside. A tiny miracle for me, knowing my home state was getting pummeled by another spring snowstorm at that very time. I have a tendancy to get a little too lovey dovey when it comes to reminiscing, but I can confidently say: I felt a kinship with these women (whom I had only met hours earlier) :
After dining on delicious spring rolls and other foods I couldn’t pronouce, we made our way to a place a little more our style: Ben & Jerry’s:
Before heading to my room, I sat with Heather in the lobby discussing our work, women in transitional periods of their lives, and having faith in Jesus Christ. I would say there’s a grand possibility that I was meant to fly across the country just to meet her.
The next morning I went out and about looking for a delicious cup of coffee. I fell in love with the South:
Day #2 of the conference was filled with positivity, goal sharing and laying the foundation necessary to make things happen in our lives. We talked about personal and business finances and my passion for Dave Ramsey’s financial philosophy was reignited. We broke into small groups to encourage and support one another in our goals: Spend less time on social media? Quit a corporate job? Spend more quality time with your spouse? Get published? Commit to phone-free weekends? Start a family? Everyone’s hearts were filled with different yearnings but each of us could find a common thread in all that was shared. By the end of the day our minds were filled with real plans, self-worth, enthusiasm and pride. Each of us, in our own way was about to embark on a journey back to our real lives with fresh new outlooks, goal setting tools, and determination to live our lives with intention. We were reminded that in the busyness of our lives and the complexity of our businesses and personal relationships we would be required to have grace for ourselves: setbacks would be inevitable, financial freedom doesn’t happen over night, and hardwork is hardwork.
I imagine it’s easy for me and other attendee’s to get wrapped up in the comraderie and all that is experienced at MTH and live on a cloud for a few weeks, but I truly feel in my heart that the women I met will remain in my life. In fact, I spent an hour texting my roommate today and it felt like we were old friends. Furthermore, I plan on saving my pennies and making my way to Sacramento to visit my California friends next year. THAT’S what I wanted from this conference: Relationships and connections along with a dash of inspiration & learning. When I signed up, I had every intention of staying at a cheap hotel, getting a rental car so I wouldn’t have to hail a cab, and sitting in the back row taking notes and keeping to myself. If I had done that I wouldn’t have written this blog post, as I would have experienced nothing. I thank God for this life I live: For the struggles of this past year, the family and friends surrounding me, my precious baby girl, my intentions for my future and the life-changing experience of attending Making Things Happen:
