Chasing Joy

#Blogalicious5 Recap Part 2: Blogalicious Lessons Not Just for Bloggers

|

I Love Blogalicious and you will too!  Come next year!  The end.

LOL, Just joking. Well I’m serious about loving Blogalicious and you comming next year. I’m joking about the “the end” part.

Obviously Blogalicious is for bloggers.  I mean it has the word blog right in the name.  However, there are always non-bloggers, representatives from sponsor brands in attendance as well.  The great thing about the conference is, mixed in with all of the blog talk, is a whole lot of inspiration and lessons for life.  In addition to blogging I also have a full time job.  I’ve attended 3 Blogalicious conferences and come away each time with life lessons and inspiration that help me be a better person (not just blogger) and have more Joy.

Here are some of my takeaways from #Blogalicious5.

One of the Keynote Speakers was Ms. Amy D Barnett (@AmyDBarnett).  She delivered an inspiring message encouraging us to reclaim our lives.  No one is coming to save you she said, No one can live your life for you.  Many of us are consciously or unconsciously waiting for someone to save us or give us step by step directions on life. We have to realize no one is coming.  We have to stand up except that our happiness and success is up to us. Own your life,  it is yours and yours alone, Amy advised.

Ms. Barnett also shared with us the 7 rules she lives by.

  1. Embrace fear as growth -You will never be all that you can if you don’t’ feel fear and get out of your comfort zone. Go somewhere unfamiliar.  Do something scary.   Embrace fear as evidence you are growing
  2. Be true to yourself. You know yourself best.  
  3. Realize your value and command the best at all times. -No one will give you opportunities that you don’t believe you deserve.  Expect happiness and success
  4. Put into the universe what you expect to get back – I you put out negative energy people will treat you in a negative way. This one kid of reminded me of the Golden rule, do unto others as you’d have them do unto you. 
  5. Have integrity – Do what you say you are going to do.
  6. Stay independent – Always be in a position to take care of yourself.
  7. Do something meaningful every day. – Don’t wait to live. Life is happening right now!  This is my favorite of her rules.  I spent a lot of years waiting to live.  Waiting until I graduated school, waiting until I had a house, waiting to get married, etc…  But no more of that!
I really enjoyed Ms. Barnett’s rules.  I think I will come up with my own rules for a joyful life.  
The life lessons did not stop there.  Throughout the entire conference I jotted down tips that applied to not just my blogging life but also my work life and other areas where I may take on a leadership role.
Here are a few tips that I will use when working with others.
  • Be poised and set the tone.  If you are calm your team will be calm.  If you are stressed and freaking out your team will lose confidence and follow suit. 
  • Play to your teammates strengths. Figure out what they are good at and focus on those talents. Don’t waste time trying to turn weaknesses into strengths
  • Keep things positive by praising 3 positive actions for every 1 criticism given.
  • Avoid “I” and embrace “we”.  People like to feel included.  You also get a better response when people feel they are working with you as opposed to working for you.
  • Give credit for successes and take credit for failures.  I thought this was a great tip.  One of my biggest pet peeves at work is people in leadership positions who shift blame onto their teams when things don’t go as planned.  
  • Take genuine interests in your teammates.  You don’t have to get overly personal. But we are people with complicated lives and not machines.  A little interest can go a long way.
  • Give feedback and accept feedback.  It is important to let people on your team know how they are doing.  But it is also important that the feedback goes both ways.  Find out from your team how you are doing and be open to the criticism.  
Similar to the messages of PowerUp Weekend a lot of these life lessons and tips have to do with changing your mindset.  I think all of us often feel overwhelmed.  One of the best tips I heard at Blogalicious regarding changing our mindset was to change the way we viewed feeling overwhelmed.  When feeling overwhelmed think of it as God blessing you to the point of burst! 
Which of the above life lessons or tips can you apply to your life?  Which ones are most helpful? Are there any that you disagree with? 
I hope you enjoyed these non-blogging takeaways from Blogalicious.  Stay tuned to the blog for Part 3 of my recap where I will share lots and lots of tips all about blogging. 
 If you missed it check out #Blogalicious5 Recap Part 1
(Visited 24 times, 1 visits today)

Comments

  1. I always look forward to your posts about Blogalicious! It is definitely on my calendar for next year. I love her overall message about living a meaningful life NOW, not when you find a new job, or lose weight, etc. I also can relate to lesson #7 doing something meaningful every day. Thanks for sharing!

  2. Wow! These are such great reminders on how to approach life and all the bumps in the road along the way. I especially loved the leadership tips – such a good reminder on what is really important when it comes to leading. Just the other day I a friend of mine was telling me how she constantly asks for feedback from her team about her job performance, but they don't really want to be bothered providing it. It seems feedback comes when we least expect it which is what makes it hard to receive with an open mind. But I agree it's important and necessary. I love that saying about being "overwhelmed" – that God is blessing us to the point of burst 🙂

Paste your AdWords Remarketing code here