So many of you followed my journey to BEECH via Instgram, Facebook, and Twitter.
You kept saying:
I hope you'll share what you learned.
Others said,
Just a wee bit jealous!
A lot of you said,
What an awesome place to have a blogging conference!
An Amazing Venue
Having a blogging retreat at a first class island resort was genius!
This was the view from my balcony.
Session rooms had a view of the water. Breaks were spent in the sunshine - occasionally spotting a manatee or dolphins. Meals were eaten outside. We had a Luau on the beach.
My mind was taken away to a place so UNLIKE my normal place. It was perfect for clearing my head so I could focus on my goals, dreams, and plans.
Intimate Conferences Lead To More Connections
My roommate was Jen, from Forever, For Always, No Matter What. She and I have known each other through our blogs for the past three years.
I have made a lifelong friend in Jen. We already have the date for BEECH 2014 on our calendars!
I was blessed to get to know Lori Lane, from Heart of The Matter, much better.
Lori is a fellow musician and was a great encouragement to me. She is also the owner of Artios Academies.
As a mom a bit further down the homeschool road, I found it helpful to talk with her. Again, we LAUGHED and shared.
Connecting with Kendra Fletcher was so much fun!
Kendra, who blogs at Preschoolers and Peace, is my "Squarespace Buddy".
Squarespace is the blog platform we use. We are NOT on Wordpress, so we are bucking the trend.
I have long learned so much from Tricia, at Hodgepodge Mom. She is also a fellow Atlanta area blogger, but I had not met her in person.
We drove back to Atlanta together and the 11 hour drive FLEW!
You will not meet a more gracious, gentle, and wise spirit than Tricia.
Three more friends I met:
1. Jimmie, from Jimmie's Collage and The Notebooking Fairy. Jimmie has been such an encouragement and cheerleader for the past few years. I didn't expect her to be so tall! (She's just 5' 8", but that's taller than me!)
2. Kelli, from Adventurez in Child 'Rearing was such fun to meet! I have long admired all of the fun activities she does with her boys.
3. Melissa, from The Joys of Home Educating, is a friend I have met before in New York City. Her love of life inspires me. Our boys are also good friends and have a LEGO challenge each Friday.
Professional Speakers
I was drawn to BEECH because of the caliber of speakers and professional slant on blogging.
The big things I took away:
- Set goals in line with your purpose. Set specific and measureable goals. Start small. (Crystal Paine)
- Promote others and do not compare! (Crystal Paine)
- Am I serving the "This is neat!" crowd (meaning Pinterest) - Thank you, Dan Morris.
- I need to be better about time budgeting -- learned lots from Jolanthe Erb.
- Will someone care about the post I am writing in three months? (Jimmie Lanely)
- A knowledge of SEO - thank you Dan Morris and Jimmie Lanely.
- Lots of information about monetizing your blog. The panel of speakers was very helpful.
- "Great blessings can sometimes be heaped upon us when we say nothing." (John Miller)
- "So much of success is continuing to show up. Failure is never final unless you quit. (Michael Hyatt)
- I also learned about iPhone photo/video apps. (Thank you, Amanda Padgett)
I'm proud to call myself a BLOGGER. I'm proud to call myself a WRITER.
Most of all, I learned at BEECH that I can be a DREAMER and a CHANGER.
In the words of Michael Hyatt,
"God gave you a voice, no go out and use it!"
Keychain courtesy of Singing Bird Studios. Cute!
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