AWBU - grace grits and gardening

I returned home from Arkansas Women Blogger University (AWBU) with thoughts enough to fill ten blog posts. I scribbled ideas in my journal and attempted to reduce the weekend down to one key conference takeaway. Beyond the connections made and information absorbed and enjoyable time spent with like-minded bloggers, what was the primary benefit for me?

Everyone arrived at The Arlington Resort Hotel with different goals, different experience levels, different expectations. We attended the same educational classes, heard inspirational speakers and packed over 10,000 rice meals for the hungry (a definite highlight facilitated by The Pack Shack and Wells Fargo Advisors which you can read about HERE and HERE). We each left with more swag than anyone could imagine—thank you generous sponsors!

After spending a weekend together, I imagine we all took something slightly different home.Continue Reading

I recently attended my second Arkansas Women Blogger conference (AWBU). As soon as I unloaded all the swag from my car (more on this later), I flopped on the bed and began to think about all the things I had learned, the items I want to follow up on, the magic of the weekend. Really, it was a magical blogger weekend. I jumped in, held on, absorbed as much as possible, hoped I took enough pictures and notes to remember everything later, then returned back to real life while everything percolated.

And ideas do percolate.

There are ideas still swimming around in my brain from last year’s conference.

After spilling thoughts onto my journal for later reference, I came away with these top five reasons to attend a blogger conference. (These reasons apply not only to bloggers but any profession, any interest, every person.)

Get out of your comfort zone! This is a big one for me. I’m an introvert. I prefer quiet. A group of bloggers is NOT quiet. Attending last year’s conference was a big step for me. Returning a second year and agreeing to speak on a panel about writing was huge. If you stop and think about it, the things we truly want probably are outside our comfort zone, otherwise we’d already have them.
Educate yourself. Technology constantly changes. While I write this, new widgets are being designed and introduced. There is much to learn in any field and people ready and excited to teach. You’ll be surprised to realize you have things to share too. If you don’t learn and evolve, your skills will quickly become stale and irrelevant. You may become irrelevant…
Become inspired. Life will thumb its nose. You’ll second guess yourself. Why the heck would anyone want to read anything I have to write? You’ll run out of ideas. Your ideas will become same ole, same ole. Conferences will motive you, remind you of the reasons you love writing (or whatever your skill, hobby, business, etc.). You will leave excited to do your job better.
Make connections. Writing is solitary. Sitting behind a computer all day, talking only to yourself and your pet can make a person crazy. Know what I mean? Meeting other people who can talk non-stop for an entire weekend about a mutual passion is beneficial. You will make friends and have people to bounce ideas off. Your world will expand.

5. The swag and food! This is certainly not a reason to blog, but a definite bonus for being an Arkansas Women Blogger. AWBU has supportive sponsors including Riceland, Arkansas Farm Bureau, Great Day Farms, Alliance Rubber Products, Visit Rogers, Petit Jean Meats, Acorn, Arkansas Grown, WetNap and Kendal King Group. Just look at the goodies I hauled home. And this wasn’t all of it.