TLDR: 15 years ago, I started volunteering at Mom 2.0 Summit, because it was in my backyard and some of the people I love most in the world were putting it on. Through that, I met some of the most amazing humans in the world, and it’s how I was adopted by a pack of the OG creators. It’s also how I met MMI Agency. Fast forward a decade, a pandemic and a major job change… and I got a call to attend, this time not as a volunteer, but as a speaker. It was an easy “yes.” Spend three days in deep conversation about the creator economy with creatives and brands from all walks? Sign me up. I am more than glad I went, despite it being a busy season of my life.
Here is why. I learned just as much as I taught. When you follow what you love, it’s always the right thing. When you put good into the world, it will come back to you. When you find your people, you stick with them. When you are called to a need, you fill it. When you have an opportunity to connect, you do it. You say yes. That is what makes us so breathtakingly human.
While the lessons are simple, the story is actually a lot longer. So here’s the long version.
Cracks knuckles, opens notebook, and leans back to write… for herself. For the first time, in a long time.
In 2009, I was working at a tech startup in Houston, and I had the opportunity to volunteer for the first ever Mom 2.0 summit. That event – when Facebook was still relatively innocent, when we were tweeting from the TwitterBerry app on our BlackBerrys and blogs were the damn thing – was instrumental in my life. The purpose was to create a conversation between moms and marketers. Carrie, Laura, Marla, John and the rest of the crew had something special. It was one of the first events like this ever, and it really paved the way for an unwritten future of content creators. (Bonus reading: My recap of year one.)
Laura is actually my Glenda, but more on that in a thousand words or so.
Mom 2.0: the early years…
During the first few years, I met so many people I call friends and mentors. People who have cheered me on from near and afar. People like Katherine Center, who taught me that love stories are always worth telling. People like Karen Walrond who reminded me how fucking BIG AND BEAUTIFUL this world is. People like Guy Kawasaki (I had no idea who he was at the time) who laughed with me about my Texas- sized truck and taught me that you are NEVER too important to be kind. People like Gabrielle Blair, who showed me that having faith can be a beautiful thing. People like Rachel Matthews, who continues to show me every single day what it means to be a warrior for your family. I could go on and on.
There are a million conferences. What made this one so special? Laura, Carrie, they did something different. They captured lightning in a bottle. Yes, some people HAPPENED to be speakers. And some of us HAPPENED to be picking people up at the airport. But we will all there for a conversation to propel women creators forward. Everyone was equal. Everyone was on team mom.
What started out as something I did to spend time with some people I liked a whole lot, soon turned into something greater. You see, behind the scenes, there was a girl (me) who was deeply unhappy in her life. I have always been a person who is called to be a part of something bigger. It’s why I loved being a part of the military. I love service. At that time, I was searching so hard for my something bigger. Mom 2.0 gave me a taste of that.
A few years into Mom 2.0 Summit, I decided to leave my job. Some of you may remember my happiness project and closet cleaning party. Right when I was leaving my job, Laura was also leaving hers to run Mom 2.0 full time. And guess where Laura worked? MMI Agency. And guess who was hiring? Cindy Marion was looking for someone with a passion for social storytelling. I started as an account director on the PR team and found what I was looking for.
I could not be more thankful for Laura, Carrie, john, Marla, Laurie and Gabby for dreaming us this event and for Monica and Amber for asking me to help them the first year. Mom 2.0 is how I met MMI. These early days of social are the reason I’m so passionate about the world of Influencer and creator. Mom 2.0 made me fall more deeply in love with my city and the magic that was born here (after all, we had to sample 100 restaurants to decide where to host all the events).
Mom 2.0 gave me friends, cheerleaders, champions and warriors. Women can move mountains.
Fast forward about a decade.
That lightning that was bottled in Houston didn’t stay bottled for long. It lit a spark that would travel. Now that spark is a flame.
15 years after the original, Laura called to invite me to attend and to speak. I immediately said yes. Can we talk about how it’s moments like these that remind me I’m living my dream life? Come talk to amazing women who just want to create amazing things and help them do that? Yes, yes and yes please.
After I said yes, I let Laura know I needed to tell her some big news. She was one of the very first people I got to tell about MMI joining forces with renowned shop Crispin Porter + Bogusky and that I would be taking on the role of North America President charged with building this creative powerhouse. I told her how excited I was to be leaning into creativity and how magical all of the agencies were that we would be bringing together. I told her how our work is so good that sometimes it takes my breath away. I told her that I get up every day thinking about people and how we can better together and how we can do better work and that THIS was going to amazing. I talked so fast in my enthusiasm, I was tripping over myself. Before I even had time to let imposter syndrome sneak in, Laura said what I didn’t know I needed to hear, from someone who has loved me through so many versions of this life.
“You have got this. This job was made for you.”
And with that, I was lighter.
Scottsdale, Arizona
I decided to bring my mom to Mom 2.0 Summit. Something in me just said this weekend was going to be special, and I wanted her here for it. Because remember, the magic of Mom 2.0 is that while some of us HAPPEN to be speakers, everyone is there for the community.
When we walked in on night one, it was like coming home. I felt safe, I felt loved, I felt like I could let go. This community was exactly what I needed in the middle of a major career transition and everything that comes along with that. My mom and I spent the evening meeting women who are mental health advocates, women with fertility struggles, women who love fashion, women who write, women battling loneliness, single moms, married parents, everything in between.
Women who LIVE… Which is the most beautiful part of the human condition.
It wouldn’t be a conference blog post about a few lessons learned, would it? I mentioned some at the top. But here is a bulleted list because we love those.
Here is the big secret. Everyone is a little damaged. Everyone is a little alone. Everyone is a little broken and bruised. Everyone has a story worth listening to.
As I listened to story after story, both individually and the speakers on stage, some simple things kept popping up over and over.
- Truth telling, even when it is a MESS, is an invitation out of loneliness. Invite people in. And tell them your truth.
- Connection is one of life’s great pleasures. It can dull the sharpest of edges.
- Be relentless when it comes to protecting yourself
- Just because you put something down, doesn’t mean it is gone forever.
- However, sometimes, you need to set something (or someone) down to protect yourself. The courage it takes to leave something is that same courage that will help you find your way to where you need to be.
- Where you see a need, fill it. – Tembi and Attica Locke (their keynote is playing on repeat in my head)
And finally…
Turn toward hope. – Jen Hatmaker
Something that was a common theme was the idea of embracing how you feel, and finding community for it.
We aren’t talking about toxic positivity. We aren’t talking about acting like everything is perfect when it just isn’t. It’s okay to feel scared, lonely, or afraid. Bad things happen that that is just how it is. Just because you are scared, doesn’t mean you can’t get through it. Hope is a guidepost. The only thing that gets you past being scared is the DOING IT. And hope can be the light you follow home.