She started by saying: “Every day I look at myself in the mirror and think that I am not capable of achieving the things I would like to do, there is this voice in my head that tells me I can’t”. I was so shocked, how can this person that I just met be this honest and open up like that to a complete stranger? That was my first introduction to what would be the best conference I’ve ever attended, but how did I get here?
They had already mentioned it a couple of times during the last 2 podcast episodes. A 3-day conference that would change your life, which would set you to have your best year ever. Those were very big claims, and obviously, I was skeptical. I decided to do some research about it and found out it was $1,500 for two people. Wow! So expensive, but then again for such big claims I was not expecting it to be cheap. I kept listening to the podcast since its one of my favorites (Achieve Your Goals Podcast), and again they kept mentioning how everyone should go and the many benefits of attending. I did more research and found some very good reviews. Now I was intrigued and was really considering it, but could I really spend that much for 3 days?? I’ve been to countries where I can spend that much in one month, and to spend it here in a weekend seemed crazy. But I kept thinking about it. During that time I was lost in life since I knew my career path was not the correct one, but at the same time, I didn’t know what to do about it. All of a sudden $1,500 didn’t seem like such a bad deal if it could help me figure that out. I texted my brother Alan and asked him if he would be interested in attending the conference with me. He said: yes! So that was that; I grabbed my phone and bought the tickets. The conference was still 2 months away and I was excited and nervous at the same time. I had my doubts but kept reminding myself that I was going to learn something there, I just didn’t know what.
The conference came and went, and I can surely say it has been the best conference I’ve ever attended. The speakers I listened to, the conversations I had, the many times I had to get out of my comfort zone. It was years of learning and experiences all crammed into 3 days. Never in my life did I have such deep and meaningful conversations with complete strangers, people that would just be themselves and tell me about their problems, goals, and desires, without pretending to be something they are not and without hiding any details. I had deeper conversations with people I had just meet than with most of the people I’ve known for years (or even all my life). At that conference, I realized a lot of things about myself and obtained valuable advice from people that really wanted to help me and wanted me to succeed. The stories, experiences, and conversations I had are too many to write about here, but I can truly say I am grateful I went for it and didn’t let my fear of the unknown get the best of me.
Lesson: always invest in yourself, follow your gut. This quote says it best: “Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.”
