My Biggest Takeaway from Social Media Marketing World 2018

Earlier this month I attended Social Media Marketing World 2018, one of the oldest conferences dedicated to social media marketing.

Now, this post isn’t going to be about how to survive a conference as an introvert, but you’re welcome to contact me for pointers around that because I’m pretty proud of myself that I wasn’t totally brain dead by Day 3.

Instead, I want to talk about my biggest takeaway from the conference.

And no, my biggest takeaway isn’t some new Instagram marketing tactic, though I did learn that, and a lot more. My biggest takeaway from Social Media Marketing World 2018 was about entrepreneurship and thought leadership in general. It was about what most of us are striving for when we create a business – it’s about being influential, helping people, and making money while doing something you enjoy.

Ok. Ready?
My biggest takeaway is…
The people on that stage were just like the people in the audience.

Ok, so that was a simple statement, but stay with me here because it’s huge. I’ve heard so many people say that Gary Vaynerchuk was able to make it big because his dad was well off (not true), or that Marie Forleo made it big because her husband is an actor (I think that has very little to do with her monumental successful brand).

There’s so many people who think they’ve lost already because of their circumstances, but I don’t agree. Yes, circumstances matter, but after listening to successful person after successful person describe their early career and how they got there, I’m convinced that the people on those stages were just like everyone else in the audience.

The difference is that the people on the stage chose to be there. They found a topic they loved and they worked hard, speaking about it to the people who would listen.

I actually emailed those last two sentences to Chris Brogan, one of the influencers I had seen at the conference, and he wrote back: “You’re spot on. You and I are the same […] go for it. :)”

Fellow introvert – you and I are just like the people standing up on those stages.

The people on those stages took inspired and consistent action, demonstrated resiliency, became flexible and pivoted when they saw something was working and other things were not, and were totally dedicated to helping others.

All things you and I are capable of.

“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but a lack of will.” – Vince Lombardi

So instead of wasting time wondering if you are capable, know this – you are. Now work on your resiliency, work on understanding what your audience wants solved, work on delighting your fans, and work on speaking to everyone who will listen even if imposter syndrome rears its head.

You can do this my fellow introvert.

Hopefully this enough to motivate you to speak to everyone who listens. But if you need an outside perspective, someone to guide you or to bounce ideas off of, let’s have a complimentary chat and see if my coaching is right for you.