Early this year, I had a BIG IDEA that came to me as I was meditating. These insights usually lead me down interesting paths which is why I tend to trust them.
My big idea: to gather a bunch of amazing women I know into a room and let them share their stories and teach the lessons they’ve learned. I’ve always felt that one of the biggest gifts of my life was to know admirable women and I wanted to share this experience with others.
When I say that I wanted to gather these into a room, I meant a BIG ROOM. I wanted a conference.
I got started on the work—researched on venues and studied the big conferences in the US to understand how they were done. Friends/potential speakers all told me to DO IT! I asked a former colleague to work on the costings.
When she finally gave me the final costs and told me that the venue needed the downpayment within the week, I paused. (The costs weren’t a surprise, they were actually aligned with my initial budget.) The idea of putting money down meant that I was making a commitment to this big idea and now that it was real, I wasn’t sure if it was something I really wanted.
It made me realize what I wanted (and what I didn’t want):
I want to sit with you, not in front of you.
I’m interested want in your stories, in discovering your unsaid dreams and journeying along with you on this courageous path.
I want to give you my full attention, instead of running around and thinking of press or sponsors or all the details that go into a big conference.
I’m interested in knowing your struggles and celebrating your joys.
I want to be one of your co-creators, your co-writer in the novel of your life, not a blip or an Instagram story that disappears after 24 hours.
I want everything I do to feel like a giant YES in my body, not just in my mind.
And that doesn’t come from doing a big conference, of standing in front of a room full of people, sharing my expertise, when I’m a big believer that you are your own experts, if you’re willing to be open to the whispers of your own inner wisdom.
I was a speaker at a big marketing conference at the start of April and my instincts were correct. The experience, while fun and interesting, was not how I wanted to connect with people. I felt so far away from the audience, literally standing above them, and not with them, beside them.
What I want to let you know this:
It might be your time to play big, to take your ideas to a bigger stage.
Or you can stay where you are and understand why you do what you do.
Even if everyone says to take the next step, check with your heart and your intuition (and not just your brain) if this is a YES!
Now might not be the right time. There might be a better time for your BIG IDEA.
Or this moment might be the perfect one.
Wherever you are, ask yourself: Knowing where you are in your life, what is it that you truly need right now? What do you want to create that will provide meaning and purpose today?
