World IDEA Blogfest almost didn’t happen for me. I was on the verge of quitting my Sweat Pink membership because I had applied for different opportunities and not much had come through yet. Does that ring familiar? How many times in life are we willing to give up when we are on the verge of something happening but because it doesn’t happen right away we want to quit? #Sweatpink
Then it happened. It’s like the universe heard me. In my inbox I was invited to attend Blogfest as one of the World IDEA Bloggers. Heck to the yes! I’m going. I have attended many conferences in 30 years and had always wanted to attend The World IDEA Conference. Pinch me. I was going first class!
I stayed with a friend in Orange County and being the little Midwestern girl that I am, was overwhelmed at first when fighting traffic on the 405 to The LA Convention Center. I felt a ball-bat and a helmet should’ve been included in my blogger accessories.
The first day of the conference was beyond ridiculous in meeting my expectations. I went to the opening ceremony and was so just completely enamored and enthralled by the speaker lineup! All of my favorites were there. I did my first Facebook live with members of the crowd which was highly recommended by our morning Blogfest speakers. I’m an activator as you will see later in this post.
Jack Canfield
I stood in line for Jack Canfield’s book and book signing. Just the networking in the line alone was worth it. Standing next to me I met the founder of Nine Rounds of Boxing, Shannon Hudson, and another fellow Joshua Moke that had opened his own swim gym in Arizona. Needless to say by the the time I made my way through the line to Jack Canfield I had goosebumps as I summoned up the courage to pull out my book The Sisterhood of S.W.E.A.T. I spoke to Jack in length. He then signed my book and took a picture with me and our books side-by-side. I just knew this was a pivotal moment. It was electric! This was just the beginning of an adventure beyond my wildest dreams! #JackCanfield
At the bottom of the escalator came Elaine LaLaine. No way…..Jack LaLane’s “The father of Fitness”! My mentor New York best selling author Ann Louise Gittleman knew them very well. I said hi to Elaine and told her that I knew Ann Louise Gittleman and that Ann said hi then Elaine LaLane told me I have beautiful blue eyes. Elaine LaLane – pinch me – is giving me a compliment? This was just the start of more great things to come. #ElaineLalane
Ryan LEE
The rest of the day we learned about food photography and social media. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the energy dynamo Ryan Lee! When Ryan said that “The School of Greatness” Lewis Howes was going to be speaking I almost fell through my chair. What? I listen to him every day on his podcast. In fact I had just listened to a recent podcast in which Natalie Jill was on. I was so highly impressed by her that it was almost too much for my heart to take when I found out that she was also here as a presenter and I was signed up for a workout with her. #RyanLee
Day two rolled around and it was even more fabulous then the first. We learned more about linking with brands and had a round table discussion and a peer review that was eye opening . Later on we had a kick butt workout with Gunnar Peterson (trainer to the stars) and he was just so personable. He even showed me how to do a few exercises and gave us a bunch of cool Propel swag! My favorite was the Booty (Boo-Tee) Band. It works a part of the body where the thighs meet. If it’s really big, it’s often attractive (lol)!
Then the day of activity rolled around. I was so excited to see if all the hype about Jillian Michaels was true. In fact I worked up my courage to do another Facebook live video and it turned out even better than the first one. Jillian’s workout was my favorite overall – she is beyond fabulous. She kicked it into high gear and I loved every minute of it. There was no downtime to be had. #JillianMichaels.
Next stop, I had two back to back workouts with Tony Horton of P90X. During this work out I made sure to get in the front row as with every other work out. I wanted to be close to the action and I also have a slight hearing loss. There was a fellow in the audience being filmed by Elaine LaLane and I thought wow, that’s awfully nice of her to just be filming this random guy in the audience. Soon the random guy came over to me and asked me if it would be OK by me if I would be in some the footage and he would tag me later. Elaine LaLane took a picture with me after the first workout and then I asked her if she would do a interview with me on Facebook live. She consented and it was amazing, but the first take did not happen. There was a glitch in the system or the learning is a process. So after the second workout began with Tony Horton I asked Elaine if she would try again with me and she was so gracious she did. This time it was sweet success! I ended up staying through two hours of Tony Horton’s P90X. #TonyHorton
Then on my way to the restroom the random guy spoke to me about the footage and began how he was a surfer and this workout with Tony Horton was not his usual work out. He handed me his business card and to my surprise it said John LaLane. Mama doesn’t have to hit this one with the brick twice. Are you related to the Lalane’s? Yes, Elaine is my mother, Jack is my father. Then it hit me beyond the surfer hair, he was the spitting image of Jack and he did hang time pretty well during the P90X workout. What a great connection! Let me ask you, do you think it was worth coming to Blogfest at this point?
Then I took Natalie Jill’s work out. Thank God we weren’t jumping or anything like at this point I thought. She began to fry my arm muscles and legs like toast, all with a smile. I hollered woo-hoo and heard a thud! Natalie’s husband had thrown a video to me. #NatilieJillFit
The workout was amazing as was Natalie Jill. At the end she answered everyone’s questions and I asked her if she would Facebook live with me. She was my best Facebook live interview yet because I knew a little bit about her from #LewisHowespodcast that I had listened to the week before.
I met Laura Mak of Mak Attack Fitness, and Katie Dunlop of Love SWEAT Fitness. I Played on the new Yogafit Indo-boards partnered by my mentor Beth Shaw, and made so many amazing connections new and old. #Makattackfitness #KatieDunlop #LoveSweatFitness #Yogafit #Indoboard
By my last day I was so pumped. I even had the opportunity to take a different and shorter route by 5 minutes! I said “no way bring it on 405!” When I arrived, I went to the Expo which was filled with all of the latest and greatest products for health and fitness on the planet! I’m still pretty darn psyched to have my chocolate almond Nutella by Silk and a scoop of Vital Proteins “Collagen Peptides” everyday in my morning coffee. Today I ran with new RunPhones and my blueberry orange Vega Protein shake in my beyond cool Watermelon Board glass and later I sipped on my Geisler Mineral Water in my Gym-Go Thermos between clients! I feel beyond spoiled.
#Runphones
Ruby Carter Pikes
To top it all off I worked out at Crunch on Sunset Blvd in LA with my friend and 68 year old Fitness Universe Figure Champ Ruby Carter Pikes in my new SWEAT pink hat! Which I did wear with absolute pride! What an awesome organization!
I don’t know how it made it home with all of the fantastic give-aways! When I got to the LA airport my suitcase weighed 100 pounds and the guy said he would let it slide and waived me through. Hallelujah, I had fully expected to pay extra.
I had the best experience EVER and would highly recommend attending Blogfest World IDEA Conference to anyone who gets the opportunity! Well worth it from every angle; business, blogging, workouts, speakers, and products. Most of all it was loads of FUN!