Why YOU Need to be In the Room at Powerhouse Women 2020
once upon a time, there was a woman who liked to do it all on her own.
Hi! I’m talking about this girl. Me, at Powerhouse Women 2018.
She believed that she had to do everything on her own; how could she trust others to do things the way she wanted?
She had a belief that it was easier to do it all.
She also hid a big secret: that she was intimidated by other women. That if she let people help, they might realize she didn’t really have it all figured out. That if she asked for help, she may get hurt/laughed at/or babied. Worse, she may rely on someone and they would let her down.
I’ll tell you a secret: living this way was exhausting.
If it’s okay with you, I’m going to stop referring to myself in the third person because that is exhausting too.
My lovely crew from Powerhouse Women 2018. Little did they know I was fighting a terrible migraine. I was seeing double. I couldn’t drive myself to the event from nausea, and I had spent the entire previous day and evening in the ER.
In september 2018, I had this fairy tale idea of how my first powerhouse women event would go.
I would put on my most fabulous lululemon outfit. I would get my hair & makeup done. I would have a glowing spray tan thanks to Bronzed + Boujee (check them out and thank me later). I would attend with an incredible group of women from lululemon, where I had just become an ambassador. I would make connections with other business women; and not be in my own head all day. I would walk out with a plan to decide what in the world I wanted to do with my business/life: I’d recently realized I had too many interests and needed to focus.
spoiler alert: it didn’t go that way.
Instead, I spent the prior day in the emergency room with a raging migraine I’d had since I was rear-ended 2.5 weeks prior. I had tried to see a neurologist for over a week and was terrified something was extremely wrong. When I couldn’t get up off my bedroom floor from the nausea and pain, I finally agreed to go to the hospital. Hence, I missed my hair appointment, my professional photos, and cancelled my makeup appointment in case I couldn’t attend the event.
I agonized for hours whether to attend or stay home: I felt shame for missing my photoshoot. I felt obligation to go support my angelic friend Lindsey. I felt self-conscious of not having hair/makeup perfect. I felt FOMO over potentially ruining my idyllic day. I felt extreme sensitivity to noise, movement, textures on my skin, etc…the adorable outfit I planned did not make the cut that day. I waffled back and forth over whether to put myself in the room at Powerhouse Women.
Eventually, I decided to shove down my pain, uncertainty, insecurities, hesitations, doubts, fears, sadness, shame, and just go.
I’m so glad I did.
Because something even better than my “perfect plan” happened.
I met women who had no idea how a simple conversation inspired me, months later.
I met women who bravely shared their stories with me. Even though I wasn’t ready to say it aloud, I thought to myself, “Me too.”
I met women who gave me the permission to be my weird, silly self, by being themselves.
I had no idea at the time that these connections would save my life.
If you’re familiar with my journey through traumatic brain injury, losing my eyesight in my left eye, and dealing with post concussion syndrome, you may know that the past 18 months have been incredibly challenging. What you may not know is that at a point I was so broken I didn’t want to continue on if my situation didn’t improve.
I had a moment of clarity where I realized I couldn’t survive this on my own.
Everything that had worked so well for me in life up to this point suddenly worked against me. I had to change.
Fortunately, the women I met at Powerhouse Women 2018 provided inspiration, hope, a safe space to be authentic, and a network of women who willingly accepted me as the hot mess I (as I believed myself to be) was while I navigated unfamiliar territory. Even more incredibly, these women saw the best in me. They believed I could, so I did.
My powerhouse moment 2019
When a speaker contest was announced for 2019, I had a feeling in my gut that I should apply. What on earth would I talk about? I wondered.
I finally landed on how perfectionism keeps me stuck in my own way.
A couple short months later, I found myself standing at the back of the room with 300 passionate women seated in front of me. I was about to take the longest walk down the aisle of my life…literally and figuratively. I wanted to run the other way (I could have; I was wearing comfortable shoes and lululemon dress.). Instead I took several deep breaths, and allowed the strength, energy, and support of the women in the room to remind me of who I am.
For the first time ever, I was myself in front of hundreds of people.
Unscripted, unrehearsed, I was committed to showing up and sharing my experience from the prior year. How I want from being a woman who did it all on her own, to someone who thrived by being a part of the Powerhouse Women community.
I don’t remember what I said. I still haven’t watched my video of my talk. I do remember how I felt: Free.
I had told myself if ONE person resonated with what I shared, it would be worth what I went through. I was shocked and humbled to have my message so emphatically, lovingly, and enthusiastically received.
i grew by leaps and bounds that day.
I learned that I could be myself. I learned I didn’t have to be a one-woman show. I learned that there are hundreds, thousands, maybe millions of women just like me.
I am not alone.
standing on this stage, surrounding by strong, powerful, kind, compassionate, badass women was incredible.
Seeing the faces of so many strong, powerful, kind, compassionate, badass women filing the room was incredible.
There is so much I could say to encourage you to experience powerhouse women 2020. I’ll leave it to this: who do you want to be in 2020? who do you want to be in 2021? For the rest of your life?
If you at all want to learn how to get out of your own way, meet like-minded women, get inspired, learn, connect, and grow, then just show up. We got you.
Here is the video of my talk from powerhouse women 2019. I’m sharing it because you may see yourself in some part of me. because you are not meant to do this alone.
Now that you’ve seen the video, read my story, and are so pumped…you May have questions!
So who is this event for? It's for you if..
You're hungry to expand & grow in your career, business, or life
You're craving genuine connections with like-minded women who will support you
You're ready to ditch self-doubt and fear, and confidently go after your big ideas, dreams, and goals
When and where is it?
Event dates are September 11-12, 2020 in Scottsdale, AZ
how do I get tickets?
Early bird ticket prices expire March 31st!
You can also check out more about it on Lindsey's Instagram or Powerhouse Women 2020 Instagram.
Be kind to yourself, and reach out if I can answer any questions about Powerhouse Women 2020! I can’t wait to see you there!
xoxo
of course I have to share one of my all-time favorite lululemon dresses. This is the Here to There Dress, part of the Office Travel Commute capsule! So comfortable and I get so many compliments when I wear it.