Did you know there are conferences for just about any niche these days? I get asked all the time why do I go to conferences? The answer should be simple. I go to conferences for many reasons that I cannot narrow it down to just one. You see every conference is different. But yet they are so much the same. This past weekend I spent at Word Camp a conference for WordPress users and developers. This coming weekend I will be in Atlanta for a conference for dreamers. One I was an attendee the other I will also have the opportunity to speak at during a panel discussion. Both conferences I am attending for many of the same reasons as I am always seeking to learn from others. For me, conferences are like little mental vacations: a chance to go visit an interesting place for a couple of days, and come back rested and refreshed with new ideas and perspectives. ~Erin McKean Here are a few reasons you should go to conferences, even if you know nothing about the conference. 5 Reasons Why You Should go to Conferences 1. You will learn –  If you want to be a leader in your industry you must always be learning new skills. Even if you think you are a master of your trade, there is always someone else that knows more. What better way to learn than from those who know first hand. Perhaps it is not your business idol that is the main speaker at the […]

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We all have dreams burning deep within our souls. A Fire we smother with the plight of our daily lives. What great wonders there are for the dreamer that can dream their dream and make it come alive. Someone else will do it, we say. What if you were that someone today? A couple of years ago I started participating in my life more fully. I stumbled across a group of dreamers on Facebook of all places. These dreamers were full of all kinds of creative ideas and fantasies, or so I thought. As I have said many times, don’t believe everything you read on the Internet. This usually includes people you call friends but never met in real life, right?. Last summer, after graduating college and feeling lost in my cloud of dreams, I somehow convinced my wife to travel to Franklin, Tennessee to spend the weekend with a bunch of online strangers. A bit apprehensive, she agreed to attend this conference of dreamers called Launch Out. It was an opportunity to put faces to the names of the dreamers, or perhaps end up in a cult, or some sort of kidnapping or massacre, we were not sure. We spent a few days with dozens of people from all over the country that had one thing in common. They were dreamers. They were budding entrepreneurs; others were writers, coffee beans roasters, or popsicle makers. They were people of passion that shared their dreams. Some traveled the world helping orphans while others gathered neighbors around […]

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The face that launched a thousand ships had nothing on those that love ships in Franklin. TN.

Everyone loves maritime themes right? Well besides those that get sea sick or are scared of the water. Ship wheel with a blank editable center area boat and ship steering wheel as a nautical control design element and symbol of direction and guidance by a boating captain or director on a yacht or ocean water vessel leading the vessel to safe waters, love ships

This past weekend I personally found out the difference between dipping your toe in the water and launching out into the wild blue yonder. Spending the weekend with around a hundred and fifty other dreamers and builders launching many dreams out to sea. There were authors, bloggers, pop makers and coloring book creators. From perfectly brewed Liquid Hustle to Moon-pies galore. So many entrepreneurs with dreams and aspirations and big hairy audacious goals.

Now I have been to many conferences in the past so I thought I knew what to expect. I mean how awkward could it be to shake hands, or better yet hug a hundred or so people you never met in person right?

What I should have done is tossed my presumptions out to sea with the empty barrels of coffee beans. Like a ship without a rudder I was welcomed into a fleet of skilled sailors.

What better way to open up the event with a picnic in the vineyards of the local winery. Over tables of food and Red and

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