Thursday, September 3, 2015

GATHER / yellow conference


Last week, I was an early riser, the sun hit my window and I rose to take on the day. I took the metro into downtown Los Angeles and walked into some new and undiscovered neighborhoods by foot. There is nothing like starting your day with thousands of other people moving on the street next to you. It felt so good to start my day with my feet connected to the pavement, surrounded by new faces, breathing the same air, and making the same commute without a car. For two whole days I felt like a New Yorker and oh i loved it so.

I was downtown attending The Yellow Conference. Yellow is a conference for female entrepreneurs seeking to do good in the world; one action, one movement, and one brand at a time. It was two days packed full of inspiring men and women speaking their truth and owning their value. Most took an idea, the willingness to pour their heart and soul into, and now it's blooming, generating, vibe-ing, creating movements, and becoming bigger and more impactful then they could have ever imagined. It was community in it's truest form; a fellowship of women all seeking to use their unique gifts to support their communities, families, neighborhoods, and world at large.

My biggest take-aways from YELLOW.

1. FIND YOUR TRIBE, YOUR SAFE PEOPLE, YOUR BOARDROOM OF ADVISORS (Jeff Shinabarger & Eryn Eddy) - This was a universal theme at this year's conference, but Jeff and Eryn shouted this from the rooftop. We need our people! We need those humans who are willing to look us in the eye when we feel so far from our truth, our mission, and our craft and sweetly urge us to continue offering our gifts to the world. These people hold us, keep us accountable, and help us change the world. Who's in your tribe?

2. YOUR TRUTH IS PARAMOUNT - It has the power to alter, assist others, break down blocks, move mountains, create change, rise above fears; all it takes is YOU listening to YOU!

3. PERFECT IS THE ENEMY OF THE GOOD - (Liz Forkin-Bohannon) - yes, yes, and yes! Waiting for things to align with the stars, for someone to bankroll that project, for something magical to drop out of the sky; these things will only STALL you from starting. Sometimes we think that in order to start, things have to be perfect. I am still leaning into this, but starting the journey and fumbling through it only yields learning your craft that much more. Those lessons are teachers, not mistakes. START. NOW. You have everything you need, everything else will come with time.

4. VULNERABILITY - (Ruthie Lindsey & Jeremy Cowart) - Oh these two humans. BRAVE, WILD-HEARTED, SPEAKING THIER TRUTH, OWNING THIER PAIN, RADICALLY ALTERING THE ROOM, kind of humans. Vulnerability is the door to everything; it opens us up, empties us of our deepest loneliness, and is the most radical form of self-love. These two taught me again that sharing who you are with the world is a gift that keeps on giving.

5. LIFE IS MADE UP OF SEASONS (Krysta Masicale) - Krysta's talk was all powerhouse wisdom. It was refreshing to talk about goals with a mission to take on less - to find MORE. I cannot wait to dive into her START booklet and take on my big goals one quarter at a time. I love this idea about looking at our lives in terms of shifting seasons; we are growing, defining, loving, and changing all the time. Seasons help give me the perception that change is always around the corner and by embracing that ebb and flow, I can live more fully in the present and tackle those big goals one day at a time.

6. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF CREATIVELY (Lindsey Sherbondy) - Lindsey was hands-down my favorite speaker of the conference. She was SO raw, real, and honest about her life as a creative and what she feels we need to nurture our creativity. She spoke fiercely about defining our personal style and creative muse and hold onto it for dear life. All we need is to own what we know to be our gifts and roll with them! My favorite question that she posed to us was "Are you creatively nourished?". What a big question....are we leaving and devoting time to wander, to learn, to play, to daydream, to create without boundaries? YES, I want more of all of this!

7. STORYTELLING MATTERS (Vik Harrison & Jessie Simonson) - it can LITERALLY change the world. Your story connects, deeply and irrevocably to others when shared authentically. By sharing your story, your mission, your cause; you can enlist a team, start a movement, shift the perspective, alter the universe. By simply sharing your story you encourage others to care about their own.

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