Another Great Convention and this Time I was a Speaker

Several months ago I got it into my head that being a speaker at the next SWPP Convention would be a good idea. Why I could possibly think that I don't know. The pressure, stress, worry and anxiety leading up to this event was immense. I spent many hours thinking what an idiot I was for agreeing to do such a thing. What good could possibly come of it? This is work I didn't need and stress I didn't want.

But still I did it. I made the commitment, I would follow through. Although the snow of the preceeding days did bring me to the occasional day dream of severe storms that stopped the convention from going ahead.

No such luck however. So as I sat in the room awaiting the attendees with my biggest fear being that I would be one of the unlucky ones who had no attendees. At 7:20 the first person arrived to put his bag down before getting a coffee. 'Damn', I thought. Now I am going to have to do my talk to one person and I won't get to go to breakfast after all. But at least I could say I had someone turn up. Then a few minutes later one more turned up. And then another. Before I knew it the room was nearly full and it was still only 7:45. Where were all these people coming from and why did they want to see me?

Now a whole new worry came over me. What if I had nothing new to tell these people? What if they thought 'I just wasted 2 hours of my life listening to what I already knew'?

As it turns out, five minutes into my talk and all my worries disappeared. Apparently I do have something worth saying. I'm no different to these people. I am just a few years ahead of the game. In fact, just 5 years ago I was them, attending the very same convention and looking for inspiration and confirmation that this was indeed a profession worth getting into. I've not regretted it for a minute. And I most certainly do not regret the decision to be a speaker at this event. In fact, I see this as being a moment that is going to change my life drastically.

The overwhelming feeling of pride and accomplishment when I received several compliments and much thanks was incredible and worth every minute of stress. I really appreciate all the comments and the friendliness from both the groups. They put me at ease straight away and contributed to the success by asking great questions and offering some of their experiences as well.

So thanks to all those who attended. This experience has meant so much to me. I see this as only the beginning of something new and wonderful. 2010 is going to be a good year. And I am going to be a speaker again next year so I can tell everyone all about it. Well so long as they'll have me anyway.

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21 January 2010 at 15:45

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