Ten Things I Learned From DFWcon 2013
1. There are more terrific people in the world than you can handle knowing.
2. David Corbett can bring new meaning to your life, and Michael Capuzzo has friends who can end it.
3. Quality floats. Quality makes heads turn. Your audience can smell laziness, ignorance, and slapdashery like sun-ripened mayonnaise.
4. Entropy has a net positive effect on tres leches cake.
5. Until we can be in literally seven places at once, there will never be enough time to do everything we want to do.
6. Heaven is other people. Hell is figuring out how to talk to them.
7. On Loop 820, as in life, the road to success is choked with traffic and permanently under construction, and it takes f***ing forever to get somewhere. Perseverance is essential.
8. High school never ends.
9. Being complimented is good, but being helpful is GREAT.
10. Anonymous friends are everywhere. Even in the toilet.
And actually, if I can loop the Blogging A to Z Challenge in here for a second, just one more:
11. It's not all about you. And that is indisputably a good thing.
That's the big one for me personally. My own headspace is full of insecurities and inadequacies and the nasty nibbling brain-hamsters of doubt. I freaking know this (I've lived in it for three decades now!) And yet I'm always surprised at how fun and interesting and and alive and powerful I feel when I link up with other people - especially ones who are all pulling in the same general direction I am - and take the time to say, "gosh, you sure are neat - what's big in your world right now?"
To recap: I spent the entire month of April beating myself into the ground to produce daily blog content, and the first week of May punching myself in the face to get ready for a writing conference. There are plenty of things I did poorly or not at all. There is a veritable pantload of things I want to do differently next time. But I've never had less sleep or more fun, and I am so, so excited to set my sights on the next round of self-inflicted accomplishments.
In the meantime: bed, chores, friends. I got old ones to catch up with and new ones to study up on, and that is a GREAT problem to have.
I got 99 problems, but a pitch ain't one.
2. David Corbett can bring new meaning to your life, and Michael Capuzzo has friends who can end it.
3. Quality floats. Quality makes heads turn. Your audience can smell laziness, ignorance, and slapdashery like sun-ripened mayonnaise.
4. Entropy has a net positive effect on tres leches cake.
5. Until we can be in literally seven places at once, there will never be enough time to do everything we want to do.
6. Heaven is other people. Hell is figuring out how to talk to them.
7. On Loop 820, as in life, the road to success is choked with traffic and permanently under construction, and it takes f***ing forever to get somewhere. Perseverance is essential.
8. High school never ends.
9. Being complimented is good, but being helpful is GREAT.
10. Anonymous friends are everywhere. Even in the toilet.
And actually, if I can loop the Blogging A to Z Challenge in here for a second, just one more:
11. It's not all about you. And that is indisputably a good thing.
That's the big one for me personally. My own headspace is full of insecurities and inadequacies and the nasty nibbling brain-hamsters of doubt. I freaking know this (I've lived in it for three decades now!) And yet I'm always surprised at how fun and interesting and and alive and powerful I feel when I link up with other people - especially ones who are all pulling in the same general direction I am - and take the time to say, "gosh, you sure are neat - what's big in your world right now?"
To recap: I spent the entire month of April beating myself into the ground to produce daily blog content, and the first week of May punching myself in the face to get ready for a writing conference. There are plenty of things I did poorly or not at all. There is a veritable pantload of things I want to do differently next time. But I've never had less sleep or more fun, and I am so, so excited to set my sights on the next round of self-inflicted accomplishments.
In the meantime: bed, chores, friends. I got old ones to catch up with and new ones to study up on, and that is a GREAT problem to have.
I got 99 problems, but a pitch ain't one.