Confessions of a BlogPodium virgin
Categories: Events - Tags: bloggers, blogpodium, conference, Home Depot, Indigo Home, inspiration, miter saw, PARA Paints, recap, Ryobi, Sarah Richardson, Tonic LivingI have a confession to make.
Well a few actually. But the first is I’ve spent the better part of this week in a post-vacation funk. Does that ever happen to you? You spend a week in tropical bliss – away from the stresses of your daily life – only to return & have it all come crashing back down on you?? Surely I’m not alone in this. Well today, I’ve made a decision to pull myself out of the funk. I’m back to blogging today because writing always makes me feel better & I’m choosing to let go of the “everyone else’s recap is already so much better than yours is going to be so why bother” mentality that has been stifling me & keeping me from writing this post.
Let me backtrack…A couple of weeks ago Kes & I attended BlogPodium. Our first blogger conference. And it was amazing.
Photo by: Annawithlove
We had the incredible opportunity to be in a room with 250 like minded, design and lifestyle bloggers, brand representatives & sponsors.
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- PARA Paints at BlogPodium Photo by: Annawithlove
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- Indigo Home at BlogPodium
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- Tonic Living at BlogPodium Photo by: Annawithlove
We got to listen to keynote speaker Sarah Richardson share her amazing and inspiring story.
Sarah Richardson
Photo by: Annawithlove
We took home so many valuable insights from the seminars we attended, not to mention one of the most awesome giveaways (Thanks Home Depot Canada & Ryobi)!
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- Old Media, New Media, Social Media Keynote Panel discussion
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- Keka DasGupta of Precision Marketing Group gave a fantastic presentation on negotiating partnerships with brands Photo by: Annawithlove
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- Blogger Karen Bertelsen definitly won the award for the most entertaining session of the day! So many great tips on how to effectively monetize your blog.
Kes winning the Ryobi 10″ laser miter saw courtesy of Home Depot Canada
I got to finally come face to face with Alex, Becky, Thalita & Danica - just a few of the fantastic ladies that I’ve had the pleasure of sharing the twitterverse with in the weeks leading up to the conference. We also connected with so many new friends that I look forward to sharing our little corner of the internet with in the future.
Me with Thalita & Becky
Photo by: Anaawithlove
Alex & Danica
Photo by: Anaawithlove
But here’s the the thing. As exciting as it was to go to BlogPodium to meet & connect with everyone, there’s a part of me that left the Hyatt even more intimidated than I felt going in.
Funny. I had our business cards all ready & outfits prepared, but I was’t prepared for that. When the ‘high’ subsides & the self doubt sets in. It’s amazing how you can be surrounded by so many inspiring and motivating people, and yet still have that nagging part of you that doesn’t believe you’re really ‘good enough’ to be one of them.
In one of the seminars I attended (From Blog to Business), Lifestyle Blogger Stephanie Sterjovski said something that stuck with me…
Comparison is the thief of joy
Six simple words. But when she said them I found myself mentally screaming “YES” but also internally berating myself because I am the worst offender of it. I often find myself reading other blogs & thinking “Man she’s so funny. I wish I could write like that” or “Wow, that’s incredible! I wish I could take on a project like that” or the absolute worst “Another post today?? How do they find the time to post so often?? I haven’t blogged in over a week. I suck!”
But one of the things attending BlogPodium helped me remember & what I reminded myself of today was that we started this blog to document our journey. To have a chronicle to be able to look back on when all is said & done so we’d remember the good, the bad, the ugly, the blood sweat & tears that went in to us carving out our Dream. And looking back thus far I’ve only really given the Coles Notes, magazine edit, rainbows & puppies & butterflies version of what it’s like to go through a major renovation while trying to juggle being a parent, holding down a successful full time job & living with your parents. We’ve censored a whole lot of the story for fear of ‘how it might look’ to the world or ‘what people might think.’ But this is supposed to be our story. So who am I competing with?!
That stops today.
Building a house is hard. It’s stressful. It’s frustrating. And a lot of the time it moves SLOOW. Like molasses slow. Or in the case of our windows, cold peanut butter slow.
So if I don’t have much to post one week because we’re smack dab in the middle of yet another delay, that’s ok! I shouldn’t have to feel bad about it.
And if I want to write that my parents are driving me crazy I should be able to do so without having to worry about hurting feelings. Because it’s a part of our reality sometimes. And it doesn’t mean we don’t love them or aren’t thankful for all they do. God knows I’m sure there are days that we drive them nuts too. And that’s ok.
And if it takes me 3 days to write one post because I don’t sit down to start writing until after my 4 year old goes to bed and pass out underneath my laptop during the first two days’ attempts, then frig! It doesn’t mean I’m a bad blogger. It just means I’m human.
That’s real life. That’s our narrative.
And that’s what The Dreamhouse Project is really about.
Ish just got real up in here…
Natasha !! You are funny, smart, inspiring, and very HUMAN………..thanks for sharing your impressions and ideas.
Thanks Lisa! That really means a lot coming from you. You are so much more inspiring than you know.
It was so great to meet you!! We are all human…just stay away from the southern bloggers- I swear they SLEEP in heels and perfect dresses. And bake cookies and sew outfits and paint rooms by magic
LOL! Thanks Casey! Duly noted. It was great meeting you too. And you’ll be glad to know we didn’t have any luggage mishaps on our trip.
Hey Natasha ~ Tash !!
I wish I spent more time with you at BlogPodium ! Did you find that the day just WHIZZED by ? I wanted to slow the day down and take in special moments with our twitter pals & Canadian bloggers facebook group, and well…. get to know you both… and so many more.
Maybe we can do that next time ! If you need to put the winning tools to good use.. and if you are bored… hahahahaaa…. pack them in the car and come on over to my place. xx
Lynne
Lynne!!
I know exactly what you mean! I was kind of expecting it to feel like a really long day but everything seemed to go by in a blur! There were so many people that I was hoping to meet but just didn’t happen.
We sort of spoke in passing a few times throughout the day but I don’t think we actually had a chance to officially meet & interact in any real way. So “Hi. Nice to finally ‘meet’ you!”
And we’d DEFINITELY be down for a trip to the tree house! Let’s work on making that happen!
Hey, did you enter my brain waive that day some how???? LOL. These are the best kind of posts – the real ones. Where true feelings are laid out. That day I felt the same way, totally overwhelmed thinking my blog was horrible!!! I had a fear of introducing myself to people strictly because I didn’t want to see that reaction on there face of “what, what’s your blog name” ohhh ya…..
But same as you I brought myself down to reality that I was writing to chronicle my journey the good and the bad.
I am so looking forward to seeing how your dream project comes along and even if you don’t post for 2 weeks I always always come back to see if there are any updates
Thanks Danica! It helps so much when you feel like you’re not alone in all those insecurities – that and knowing you’ve got at least a few loyal followers who will keep coming back regardless of whether you have an emotional meltdown online, lol!
I love the idea that BlogPodium gave you the confidence to be more honest. I left feeling inspired and empowered but also, like you, still overwhelmed and insignifigant. Good on ya for being able to admit it.
Plus the idea that ‘ish just got real’??? I say bring it on baby!
Thanks Becky. It actually feels so much better to just write honestly & from the heart. SO – Ask and you shall receive.
There’s a whole lotta ‘real-ness’ in today’s post. I warn you it’s a long one. I may have gone a tad overboard, lol!
I am so late in the commenting here, but oh my gosh, girl… you nailed it on the head!!!! The comparison thing stuck with me too. I do it a lot. And compare myself to people that blog for a living! How can I possibly do that?!?! I’m trying to figure out my career and working two jobs and still making time to get all of these DIY projects underway at home… It’s not exactly possible for me to do the same thing a full time blogger does. It’s downright stupid for me to even think it is! So be normal, be honest, blog whenever you want and whenever you can. Because this is supposed to be something you enjoy, and hey, even if you only blogged once a month, we’d all be here anxiously waiting to see what’s next in your world because we love you!
Thanks honey! And it’s never too late to comment. But you’re absolutely right about comparing ourselves to full time bloggers. It’s ridiculous how we set ourselves to such insurmountable standards only to be disappointed when we can’t reach them. I’m trying to get better at that. It’s a work in progress.