How Would You Sign Your Day

I recently had the pleasure of speaking at and participating in the Incentive Research Foundation meeting, and met many wonderful people who are supporting the important work of the foundation, and I will share more of these experiences from an Event perspective later.  This post however is about Impact Points, and is about a serendipitous meeting over breakfast with the lovely Michele Sarkisian, who shared two stories with me, that with her permission I am sharing here. There are two parts to this story, the first being the work that she has been doing in Atlanta to help educate people about human trafficking, particularly related to children, taking place around the world, and in the cities and suburbs of, well everywhere. 

This is an issue it is easy to ignore, as it is hidden from most of us, but one that those of us in the hospitality industry can make a positive impact on, by noticing and reporting things that are out of the ordinary, such as a youth arriving at a hotel with no baggage, alone or accompanied. For Michele, one of the people who has inspired her around this work is Marilyn Carlson Nelson, a force in the industry who early recognized the contribution the industry could make.  She is not alone as you will read in the link above and also in this article by Keith Johnston who shared the work that Kimberly Ritter and Nix Conference and Event Management of St. Louis are doing to raise awareness - also worth a read. 

There are many successes and industry innovations this woman and this family have brought to our industry, but this is a story of a great loss and the thoughtful approach to life that came from this that Michele shared with me the next time we met.  While it is documented that the Nelsons lost one of their  daughters just shortly after she graduated from high school as valedictorian in a tragic auto accident, the impact of this is so personal that even having lost a sibling, I cannot imagine their pain.  The next part that Michele shared was as something that inspired her and which I asked if I could share.  Although it is neither her story to tell or mine, it moved me to consider the power this could have on our lives, and I believe Marylin Carlson Nelson will understand the spirit in which we are sharing it, because it is moving, inspiring, and something we can all aspire to. As one of our most recognized women leaders, her belief in sharing knowledge that inspires positive change is world renowned and has had a global reach.  

The story continues that shortly after this tragedy, they went back and read their daughter's valedictory speech, full of youthful optimism, hope for the future and a pledge to live every day to the fullest. From this her and her husband came up with a strategy to view their life as if it was a masterpiece, and do what they could to live up to this, which I share here.  At the end of every day, they would ask, "would you put your signature on this day?"  If you imagined your life as a great masterpiece, and today was a painting, would you put your signature on it?  Did you do your best with every interaction?  Did you put in your best effort at work?  In your relationship?  With that program at work or the challenge you faced that day? 

We should finish each day with a sense of pride in what we have accomplished, whether it is producing a spectacular event, fairly negotiating a contract, truly taking the time to play with a child, cooking and appreciating a meal with your family or friends, planting a garden space, or finishing your own masterpiece.  Whatever it is you do in a day, take pride in how you do it, endeavor to succeed in the challenges. savor the victories, and  add your signature.

Celebrate Every Day

Some of you know that "Brain-friendly" food for meetings is a particular passion of mine and a subject I speak about at industry conferences. It is critical to provide nutrious food when you want people to engage and learn at your events.

BUT...Food and beverage should add to a celebration and when we add something festive to the event from blue martinis to ice luges and food that is artfully designed, it adds to the experience and adds to a sense of celebration.

But, imagine if we treated every day and every interaction as something special. How would our lives change?  This weekend I was at the store purchasing wine for a dinner we were going to - one bottle of bubbles for the friend how had achieved her black belt in TKD, and a beaujolais nouveau, because you can only get these once a year - now - and it seemed like the right choice. 

In front of me a woman struggled to lift her six pack of beer and three trio packs of champagne piccolo bottles to the counter. I assisted her with this as she was quite elderly and it was difficult, and assisted again as she put them into her roller bag. Here is what she told me "I can't drink coffee anymore, so now when guests come over I offer them champagne."

You can bet that as I enter my 8th decade, you too will be served champagne when you visit!

Step Into Your Life - Lessons learned from Aron Ralston

Live with Joy

Today we had the opportunity to see Aron Ralston speak, and even if you have not seen the film 127 Hours (I have not) this is an incredible story, and an ongoing journey to a richer life with many lessons and inspirations that came out of this. These are the things that stuck with me.

1. When you get into trouble, STOP
1. Stop
2. Think
3. Observe, Consider your Options
4. Plan
2. "I am in the situation I created".  Take ownership of your decisions.
3.  Keep hope, even when you need to give up control.  That sounds complicated but there are times when you have to simply trust that it will work out as it was meant to be.  This might seem slightly contradictory to the above, but if along the way you have made the best decisions you can make then you can trust.
4.  It is not what you do that matters the most. It is who you are. Who you are is about how you love and how you connect with people.  Seek connections that enrich your life and ideally enrich others also.
5. Moms rule.  We bring you into the world and we will care for you, love you and support you like no-one else.  Appreciate your mothers for who they are too.  Maybe Aron didn't say it exactly like that - but that was the mom message this mother heard.
6. Live with passion and joy and pure commitment to what you believe in and want to do.  Learn what you are capable of one experience at a time.

The night before he spoke, Aron joined this conference for the gala dinner and evening at the request of the chair.  He was not in a requisite suit and tie and there were one or two people who asked "who is that?" as if this man who was not in the gala uniform had perhaps intruded.  How quickly we judge on exteriors.

What I saw on our packed dance floor filled with energy, people  dancing in couples, in groups, with friends new and old, was a man who had pure joy in the music and movement - his own and those of all around who were fully participating in this experience, his face lit up from within. I was attracted to the spirit of this person, and to others who were enjoying this time just as much, for their unadulterated joy in the freedom and the fun.  Although Aron as the keynote speaker closing three days of conference shared an amazing story with us, what I will remember is how he looked the night before dancing among strangers.  Live with spirit. 

Step into your life and be present for whatever is happening now and be richer for every experience.

Serendipity

ser·en·dip·i·ty  - noun


1. an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident.


2. good fortune; luck: the serendipity of getting the first job she applied for.

"I like serendipity" tweeted back Liz Strauss yesterday when she asked the question about "how much of life should we plan?" and I responded, and believe, not all of it, because we need to leave room for the surprises, the ones that usually create the memories.

We are fortunate to live the lives we have, where we live them. This week there has been much discussion, as we move forward planning international meetings and incentives for others at least as hard working and fortunate as we are, about those who are not as fortunate. 

@debmorello had posted a haunting picture this week of a child prostitute, so wrong and still happening every day in the world. While this is very uncomfortable for us, I applaud her courage to make us uncomfortable. My 12 year old has been reading the book he received at Me to We  Global Voices, haunting stories of children hunted and living unimaginably, again every day. As his wise voice said "It's not easy to read mom, but it is important that we don't close our eyes just because we can." wow.

Last year I had the opportunity to see Patrick Henry Hughes speak at a conference we were supporting. What an incredible young man and an incredible family, for seeing past his challenges and instead focusing on what he could do. He has some words he lives by, that spell out the first letters of his name

1. passion
2. patience
3. perserverance
4. abilities
5. attitude
6. trust

Read his story and you will understand why I was inspired by his story, his virtuoso piano playing and singing, and what his father shares as well. We would all be blessed to have a family unit this strong.

Then there is the ongoing saga that began with Greg Mortenson and his three cups of tea. What one man can do with determination, and the earned support of many is truly incredible. 

Speaking of positive momentum, who has been touched by Love Drop in a postive (and only) way. What a great idea - stand up, applaud, support. It is simple.

At the end of our discussion, my friend Lisa and I determined that rather than feeling inadequate that we were not leading as many of the above are, we can and do choose to  live each day with good intent and positive, if smaller, actions, as every bit of positive momentum helps.  We will also try to not have every moment so planned that we can't take a path that might lead  us to surprising, magical, haunting, friendly, fun places where we can create connections and memories that might not have happened if we would have stayed in cleaning the house rather than enjoying a sunset at the beach... for example. This year is about continuing to embrace the experiences as they come at us.

I would leave just asking, what has been serendipitous for you?

Egonomics - What do YOU need?

As some of you know, I have worked across various sectors of the industry. I have been a PCO/Meeting Planner, an Event Producer at a DMC, a Sr. Event Producer (hey that's what happens when you change jobs right...) at an Incentive House, and now a Director of Creative and Production back at a DMC.

In any job we have had to answer this question, "What VALUE do you bring?" Whether asked by a meeting host (often in a profession completely unrelated to what we do and senior in their world), or a seasoned planner, my answer is consistent, “We will give you back time and use our expertise to create a memorable experience for your guests".

Anyone who is working in meetings and events is busy, working on mutliple projects for multiple stakeholders, who all work to their own time schedules, usually engaging less than three weeks before a program, and of course wanting us to adapt to their input. This is not even stressful, it is an anticipated reality.  The reality is, in any job or position I have had in this industry, our teams have always risen to the challenge and made it happen. We don't do this alone, we do this with our highly engaged and professional supplier / vendor partners - who also understand that we are all always only as good as our last event. 

Our last event is also very specific - very specific to meeting the individual needs of each and every guest who has participated, as everyone has an opinion.  Now I have been doing this long enough that in the olden days, we collected thousands of paper evaluations and spent a lot of time collating these results, which were shared with one or two people.  Then we moved into online surveys, an amazing tool for the instant results you can obtain, and again, reviewed by a handful of people.  Now as meeting and event professionals, we have the added challenge of social media, a great tool for marketing, and a tool where now, in nano seconds, any spectacular moments can be shared, and any flaws can be exploited for all the world to share, with words, pictures, video all able to be streamed instantly. As if there wasn't already enough pressure on us!  Are we ready to work tirelessly (or with a lot of 'insert energy beverage of choice') to create an end-to-end memorable experience for our participants - HECK YEAH!

This week I participated as a virtual participant in Event Camp Twin Cities  twitter #ectc10 and it was phenomonal to hear the same messages from a room and a virtual room of people who CARE about making events more meaningful - and how we will continue to do that now and into the future.
This is what I will continue to love about what we do - everyone who is part of our extended team, does what they do with passion, energy and a true expertise and we are so lucky to wake up every day not knowing exactly what the day will bring, but knowing what we do makes a difference to the people we touch.