Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Attend a Conference--Nurture Your Talents!!



Last May as soon as school was out, I took off for Tennessee to attend Dan Miller's Coaching With Excellence Conference.  You can see me with this rowdy, encouraging wonderful group above.  It was a great conference which you can read about here.



As I was driving back from the conference I saw this sign:



I just had to stop. I met Linda, who has a delightful story and great homegrown produce.  While I shopped, I listened to her story.  For a number of years she worked for a hotel chain, which was a good job but not her passion.  Gardening is her passion. During that time, her daughter was in a terrible accident and spent some time in a coma. Luckily she recovered and is currently doing very well. However, that incident created a crisis of focus in her own life. Linda decided it was "her time" and she quit her job to do what she loves. She has been gardening and selling the produce for a couple of years and has never looked back. In fact when I pulled up to check out her vegetable stand she was working with the 30+ tomatoes that she planted.  You can check out her Willow Creek Gardens facebook page here:  https://www.facebook.com/WillowCreekGardens

One of the gardening tips she shared with me was how she used coffee grounds and egg shells to fertilize her tomato plants. She said she collected the grounds and shells, crushed them in her blender and then spread it around her plants. It was a great tip and I’ve started doing that myself around my tomatoes. 


I got to thinking about her story and how she had reinvented her lifestyle. She left a safe comfortable job to do what she really loved doing. Much like she fertilized her tomatoes, she had decided to nurture her spirit with work that mattered. Not only did I get some delicious strawberries, strawberry preserves and honey, I got an important life lesson as well. We all need to take time to ask ourselves, "Am I nurturing my talents?" "Am I working in my strengths?" "Is it my time to shine?"


One of the ways we can nurture our talents is through attending conferences, reading books, networking with others and attending webinars.  Thanks to the internet there are more opportunities than anyone can take advantage of and you don't have to spend a fortune to enrich your life.  I am always planning the next conference, webinar or book that I will read to improve my writing and speaking ability.  The next conference that I will be attending is Kent Julian and Andy Traub's Write It Forward Conference.  You can sign up for Dan Miller's Conferences or Kent Julian's conferences through my affiliate links on this page:  Upcoming Conferences

What about you?  Are you taking time for yourself and following your passion? Are you enriching and nurturing yourself on a regular basis?

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Join me for a free webinar on setting and accomplishing goals... even if you hate to set goals!  Read about it and register for it here.


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