It was November 2013…a large Orlando hotel conference room was packed with friendly faces. My best customers, students and partners had come from around the world at my invitation for a jam packed weekend of learning and growing together. There was no denying I was visibly nervous and you could tell I had barely slept the night before. In fact, I had never done anything like what I was about to do. Over 350 friendly faces were watching me step into a role I wasn’t yet convinced I was ready for.
Surely there must have been some doubt in the room as we started the event. Would it all be worth it?
I can count on one hand the times I’ve been more nervous in my life. I’ve been on stage in front of audiences before, but never anything quite like my first CES event where every person in the crowd was there because I had asked them to come see what my team and I had planned. Each attendee had decided to spend their money, get on an airplane or drive long distances, leave their families and routines in order to be there.
No pressure, right?
Let’s skip to the end of the story:
You can ask literally ANYONE who was there. It was powerful.
In order to get the true sentiments of those who attended we anonymously asked (via poll) all who attended a couple simple questions.
We asked “Should we do this again?” and, “Would you come back?”
The responses poured in – virtually 100% “YES”.
We listened -and we got a bigger room for our September 2014 CES event. Tickets sold out in under a day months in advance of the event. I didn’t even send the invite to my full mailing list before it was sold out. I’m still in shock.
None of us should be surprised at the power of face to face gatherings though – it’s actually a biblical concept.
I’ve learned recently that ancient Jewish wisdom has a concept that explains the value of live (face to face) interaction as opposed to the alternatives of written, phone calls or even live video chat. I learned of this concept from my favorite Jewish author Rabbi Daniel Lapin. In the Hebrew language, the word for “face” and the word for “inside” are the same word. The significance of these overlapping words is simply this:
You can’t tell what’s really going on inside someone until you see them in person – or face to face. With over 50 facial muscles, we communicate incredible amounts of information very quickly when meeting others. This helps us truly decide who we can and can’t trust, who we want to get to know better and who to avoid.
You can’t duplicate this with a phone call, an email or even an online chat.
Here are just some of the things I saw happen in front of my eyes at CES 2013 that NEVER would have happened otherwise:
And that’s not even listing the incredible content, ideas and strategies that were shared openly by all the entire time – with NO big pitches for products to purchase.
The September 2014 event is sold out, so this isn’t a ploy to sell you a ticket (although you can get the next best thing which is full access to all of CES via online live stream. It’s on sale until Aug 1st here):
http://jimcockrumevents.com/ces-ii-dallas-tx-2014-live-stream/
Instead, I want to reinforce the fact that there’s no replacing face to face – even in our age of virtual meetings, email and live streaming. If you aren’t “getting out” and physically surrounding yourself with real people who encourage and inspire you, then you are missing out on some of the greatest energy boosting opportunities you’ll ever experience. Come see the faces of my partners, students and readers if you get a chance. You’ll see we are on a mission and we want you to join us.
I was one of those attenders – and cannot WAIT to attend the 2nd. I’m one of those people who have made incredible friends and have done business with people I met there also. I was also stretched to try new things… so glad you got over your nervousness, Jim! THANK YOU and your team.
Thanks Diana -can’t wait to see you in Dallas soon!
I’m with Diana! Being an attendee as well as a presenter was a
highlight in my life. The relationships, admiration for others, and
true, heart-felt friendships formed was like none other. Jim, the way I
look at myself and my business changed that weekend in an awesome way.
To be able to talk to many I met there who are now “forever” friends is
such a blessing! You never really really know the true person behind
the face until you talk to them in person, and this event would have
never happened without your own personal step of faith.. That YOU so
much for taking that step!
you blessed us all with your presentation Nancy – Looking forward to Dallas with you!
What a great 2 day Seminar, it really helped propel my brand new business and help me find multiple product lines to sell. I have met fantastic people I still stay in touch with and found multiple networking groups, I can’t say thank you enough, excited to see you guys in September in Dallas !
I was unable to attend in November, but am really looking forward to attending this event in September 2014. So many people that I want to meet in person all at one event. Many that I have only “met” and working with online. Plus some of my students will be there, which will be very exciting! Words cannot describe my excitement and anticipation! So looking forward to meeting and networking with EVERYONE (yeah I know there are only so many hours…) 🙂