Tuesday
Jul282009
An Introvert's Guide to Blogher
Photo: Stephanie Roberts, Tracey Clark and Jen Lemen, Diana Instant Back+
I can feel many of you just waiting, some more patiently than others, for the low-down on the Blogher '09 Conference. Here is the Jen Lee recipe for a good time:
- Go as yourself. Don't buy any new clothes. Style your hair the way you would at home (read: pigtails on lazy days), even if you feel 8 years old. Everyone would much rather meet the real version of you, instead of you in conference costume.
- Speaking of your real version, skip the elevator speech and offer people your real story. Be as brief or long as they want, but your true story is more compelling than any spiel.
- Go on your own program. Only attend sessions and events that are truly calling you, even if that means you only attend one conference session a day (or less). Instead of going where you feel you ought to be, go where you want to be. And trust yourself, because if you do so, it is likely that:
- You will meet your right people without really even trying. They like the people you like, and they gravitate toward the same places you will. If your friends run the Shutter Suite and this is the place you most want to call home for the weekend, you will feel like Charlie finding the golden ticket, this will all be so true.
- Go outside. When you wake up early and the sliver of Lake Michigan that's visible out your hotel room is calling you, grab your shoes and camera and go. Walk until you find it. Walk in the sand and put your bare feet in the licking lapping water. Fresh air and sunshine, any little bit of nature, will help balance all those hours of artificial lighting and recycled indoor air.
- Skip the loud parties and high heels if it's just not your scene. The conversations over quieter dinners or going out with a new friend for a drink may be 100 times more satisfying. If you're like me.
- Surrender to the way in which meeting kindred spirits and soulsisters makes your present future shift beneath your feet. It's true, you don't know where you're going (if it's any consolation, you never did), but the company is getting better all the time.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at 8:33AM | Share Article 23 Comments | Email Article Print Article | Permalink
Reader Comments (23)
Yes! Yes! Yes to morning walks and no heels and finding your tribe.
It was nice to meet you in the Shutter Suite.
Lovely post...
The thought you stirred in me:
Live. Today. Do what you have been wanting to do - let the dishes stack up a little while and use the time to breathe in the fresh air - leaving all the chickens that peck at your feet in the chicken coop. Stretch. Read. Paint, Write. Walk. Run. Play. For, only you, live your life and it would be particularly GREAT if you enjoyed it.
living on your own terms is the only way to go! :)
Thanks, Jen. I'm learning such interesting things from you these days.
Oh, I wish I'd been there. But I love this...especially the part about only going where you feel called to go. (The Shutter Suite sounds totally fantastic.) I'm so glad you had a fabulous time.
Did I happen to mention how much I like you? Meeting you felt like home. And, this introverted extrovert thinks your list is super fly and dead on for having the most authentic time at BlogHer.
I am bookmarking this as my BlogHer bible for next year ;-) It's all about authenticity, isn't it? The closer we can come to operating from our own dead center, absolute truth, the better every.single.thing becomes. Thanks for the reminder!
Paige is right, this is advice not only for the conference weekend—for life!
Isn't it funny how it can take half a lifetime to realize the point is just to be you? Then everything gets easier. I'm still learning.
Truer words were never spoken. I made some mistakes this year, trying to be someone I'm not and enjoy loud parties and frenetic pace, but as the weekend wore on, I calmed down, and everything started to seem like it was happening the way it should. Hopefully I can take your advice and start out with that in mind next year.
It was wonderful to meet you.
If only (a) you had put out this list before the conference and (b) I met you before the last session (Storytelling) on the last day. Then I might have (a) had a different outlook on the whole weekend and (b) gotten to know you a bit better over a walk through Chicago's hidden treasures or a glass of wine! Glad to see you made the most of your time in my home-city!
Oh, if only I had known before! This was a new way to play the conference game for me, and it will be my plan for events to come.
I loved meeting each and every one of you so much and I'm excited to journey together from here on out.
I didn't go to BlogHer this year, but your post pretty much sums up my experience of last year's BlogHer. The best part was brunch outside BlogHer with about 14 like-minded blogging friends.
Love the photo of you, Jen and Tracy!
Sorry, the photo of you, Jen and Stephanie. I saw some great photos of you at Shutter Sisters on someone else's site!
I so loved spending time with you at BlogHer, and especially our deep dive at the airport. Your wise words, poems, beautiful images and soulful stories will keep Jen and me company en route to Rwanda. Love you, girl.
what a wonderful post (and guide to attending next year!) Definitely a wonderful reminder to come as you are!
Oh I live so close. I wish I was there. This is the way to live it up! : )
:)
you forgot one thing, find a friend like jen lee who feels like your favorite blanket and keep her close..
xo
jen gray
Jen Lee, Jen Lee, Jen Lee. From the second I met you I knew you would be the best. I didn't mind that you were in an introvert because the Shutter Suite was introvert central and it was just so nice and beautiful up there. I almost didn't want to leave.
But you my dear, my God you have a sense of humor that makes me weep. You're great. The end.
I ditto what Jen Gray said two comments before me! I've read this post several times since you first published it, and each time, I'm thankful I had my time with you at BlogHer.
All true (except for this comment).
sounds like a wonderful way to do it....i'm hoping to come as i actually am ...to squam in a little over a month! xoxo
I have read this post regarding attending conferences several times and I am such an Introvert yet people believeI am an extrovert. I am going to remember to not wear a costume next time I attend a big conference and only go to what pulls me to a certain session. I don't need to attend all! Thanks Jen Lee. I am a regullar reader of your blog and wish you a wonderful rest of the summer!
I met you briefly in the Shutter Sisters Suite. Thank you for this, because next year, if I go to Blogher, I will bring this list with me. I had a great time, but left feeling unfulfilled, I think because I tried to do too much and didn't follow my heart.