Being a small business owner slash consultant has the perk of me being able to dictate how I spend my time.
My business partner and I also can choose how we spend our money rather than staying hard and true to our pre-planned budget. (We didn’t plan to buy a Minion or Sylvie Loki costume for Halloween, but duty called.)
These two factors, my love of innovation and my insatiable desire to learn new things, had me and Jack sign up for VIP tickets to Synapse Orlando this year.
Synapse Orlando is an annual technology and innovation conference focusing on the metacenter to which Orlando is evolving. The VIP access granted us a private pre-party, a place to hang out, drink free coffee, and receive special programming with key speakers.
The two key speakers and their Ask Me Anything sessions were worth the price of the entire VIP ticket.
(Side note – Sadly, Jack caught a cold during his travels the week prior, and bronchitis and his deep-sounding yet munchkin-like voice prevented him from attending. Based on the content I was primarily interested in, I invited my friend and future co-conspirator, Joshua Washington, with Lee Malveaux, to take Jack’s spot.)
The keynote speaker, Jeff Hoffman, was thought-provoking and personally inspiring. He focused his presentation on entrepreneurship, hiring future leaders, and the philanthropic nature of his success. The Ask Me Anything section had us deep-diving into his origin story, with my most significant takeaway being a personal one.
I’ve always known that your attitude and outlook are the averages of the five people you spend the most time with. But the advice you accept from others should be based on relevancy, not proximity. How you live your life and run your business should be influenced by the mentors you choose. And you choose them based on whether they are the person you want to be when you grow up. So don’t ask for advice from those who have not done what you need to do.
There is so much more I could write about my experience, but I have a dual purpose in only sharing some of it here. Will you visit my company’s LinkedIn page, Facebook page, or Instagram profile and follow me there, too? Over the next couple of weeks, I plan on posting more of my learnings and fun pictures from my experience, and it would be great for you to see those, too. There’s also other great content we post that you might find worthwhile, too!
Namaste, and keep learning,
Patti
Patti is still learning 