A few weekends ago, I was given the opportunity to attend an event called Arkansas Women Bloggers University. I had attended the event the previous year, and it was a highly enjoyable and intense experience, so I was thoroughly looking forward to being able to attend this year. However, my finances were not cooperating (the stubborn thing that it is, lol). I was hoping that I would get a last minute freelance project that would cover the costs. I remained optimistic that perhaps I would be able to attend. However, I also understood that I may not be able to make it that year. That way, I would not be disappointed if I didn’t. I think that’s pretty much how I approach everything – with realistic optimism.
About three days before the event, I was given the opportunity to go. Someone who had planned on attending from out-of-state was suddenly unable to make it (I never did find out who this mystery person was) and had kindly decided to offer her ticket to someone else. My friend, Sarah suggested that I go for it and (as luck would have it), I was approved to be able to attend. Yay!
I had to scramble around a bit to find someone to watch Christian for the three days that I would be gone. Fortunately, my youngest brother and my mom agreed to take over. I had transportation and lodging covered by Sarah and my friend Kayla. I was all set!
The event was everything that I had expected it to be and more. I had been looking forward to reconnecting with some of my blogger friends as well as forging new relationships. I was also excited about the workshops they had planned for us to attend. If you don’t know anything about blogging conferences, they are a fantastic way to not only network with other bloggers, but to learn more about the craft. I came prepared to take plenty of notes on how to build my blog and brand to new heights. I was excited to see that a lot of the workshops dealt with writing (just in case you’re new to the blog, I am a freelance writer). It was sort of like having the chance to “kill three birds with one stone”. (P.S. I have no idea why we even use that phrase. Who walks around throwing rocks at birds? I vote that we come up with a less violent phrase, lol).
Image Source: http://leladavidson.com/bio/
The opening speaker was author, Lela Davidson. She talked about the work/family balance that we all struggle to achieve (side note: if you can relate to this, you might want to check out her book, Faking Balance). In her presentation, Lela comically and deftly talked about the realities of striking a balance between work and family. She spent a good deal of time talking about the power of positivity – even (or especially) in the midst of negativity. At one point, she quoted Jack Kerouac:
I remember copying down the quote automatically as she said it but disagreeing with it. Is it possible to love EVERY minute of your life? If so, there must be something wrong with me! There have been minutes that I HATED. I was relieved when she went on to laugh at the quote. She said what I had been thinking – you won’t love everything that happens to you. However, that doesn’t mean that you have to let those less loveable moments become your life’s defining moments. Instead, you have the ability to choose the things that you dwell on. I agree with that 100%. There have been some events in my life that were completely sucky. That made me want to crawl into a corner, curl up into a fetal position, and cry until I had no more tears to shed.
I think that we all have those moments. But the key is to recognize that they are just that – moments. They will pass. While you can’t always control what happens in your life, you CAN control how you perceive and react to them. Your reaction to life events can often have more of an impact than the actual events. That is why I try my best to DEAL with the negative things that come my way and DWELL on the positive things.
Image Source: https://www.rhealana.com/about-rhea-lana
The keynote speaker was entrepreneur, Rhea Lana Riner. If you are a parent (or know a lot of parents), you might be familiar with Rhea Lana. She is the CEO of a very popular children’s consignment sale with franchises all across the United States. These consignment sales are something that I have frequented (ever since Christian was born) to stock up on clothes, toys, and accessories without breaking the bank (have I mentioned that I am cheap frugal?). Rhea Lana’s story was inspiring to me because she started her business based on her passion to provide for her family and help other moms to do the same. But what stood out to me the most was her personal motto:
This statement resonated with me so much! There have been times when I have been so focused on paying the bills that I felt like I forgot the whole reason that I wanted to work from home. Those times made me feel like I was not present in my family life. They served as a reminder that sometimes I need to pull back and take a fresh look at my priorities. While it is important to my family that I have a successful business, I don’t want to look back at this business-building phase of my life and feel like I put my family on the back burner.
I admit, balancing my life as a single WAHM and homeschooler is not the easiest thing in the world. And I would be lying if I said that there aren’t times when I have to say no to something fun so that I could get work done. However, I am always happiest when I am spending my time with my son. So I respected Rhea Lana’s refusal to sacrifice time with her family to build her business. Instead, she treated them both as passions. Though the balance is not always even between work and family, I always strive to give both of them my attention.
In addition to these takeaways, this conference also reminded me how important it is to network and connect with others. The time that I was able to spend getting to know my fellow bloggers, moms, and women was much-needed. It was also refreshing. I honestly don’t get a great deal of downtime, so it was nice to have the evenings to relax and hang out with my friends. I also felt as though I were doing something important when we took a portion of our time to volunteer for The Pack Shack (we packed over 10,000 meals!).
These reminders of sisterhood and community were something that I needed to experience. They have renewed my thirst for getting out there and living life more intentionally.
All in all, I am so thankful that I was able to attend Arkansas Women Bloggers University 2015. In addition to the many amazing workshops on writing, blogging, and branding, I also learned (or relearned) a few valuable life lessons.
Leaving the conference, I also had a new game plan for my blog and my brand. So keep an eye out for future posts on living your life by design rather than by default. I have spent the past three and a half years on a personal mission to pursue my passions rather than simply doing something that pays the bills. Yes, I want to provide for my family. But I also want to do things that I love. This is what I have been able to do. Now I would like to devote time and energy to helping others do the same. After conversations with a few friends, I realized that now is the BEST time to set out on that path. So in addition to sharing stories about my life as a single WAHM, I will also be creating content that I hope will motivate and inspire others to pursue their passions rather than just pursuing a paycheck.
Until then, I hope that your days are filled with family, passion, and purpose (with a heaping helping of humor).
Take care,
Tiffany
