Immediately, the conference psycho in me, from my years at my previous post, kicked into high gear. Among my observations and quejas (inner complaints, mind you) were the following:
-The MC had her baby boy in her arms the whole time she was speaking. Where she tried to pry one of the microphones from his chubby little hands, he screamed BLOODY MURDER. (I couldn't imagine me, giving opening remarks at Prepaid, or any event, with a baby in my arms). Which then set off, somehow, the sound system so it was Squelch City in that joint. The name tags weren't ready. There weren't enough chairs. The audience talked through the entire thing. The moderators came flying in after their session already started. Blah, blah, blah, etc, etc, etc.
Ok, so now you're two paragraphs into this post and you're like, 'get to the point already lady' or 'where are the pictures?'
The point is, just say yes. (Unless it's a request to partake in illegal arms trafficking or do some meth). It's simple advice from a dear friend with kind of a neat blog (see link!). Being here in Argentina, more so than any other time in my life so far, I have learned that there is always a benefit to doing something, saying yes, letting go- a purpose which may not present itself immediately.
However, today, I did sense that immediate purpose. Am I going to get a job in venture capital tomorrow? No, probably not. But the point is, MAYBE I will. There were a couple of other key takeaways:
1. After the initial event planner griping listed above, I got over it quickly and didn't give an F.
While I am grateful for my finance event production roots, today served as a confirmation of sorts. I made the right decision. Ya can't beat that jazz.
2. Dave McClure, keynote interviewee, in response to an audience member's question of "How do you learn from your mistakes and fail less next time?" said, "The most important thing to learn about failure is how to get used to it. It's a part of life and normal." Now that I'm facing the oft-dreaded, "What do I do now?" quandary come August, it is reassuring to hear someone so successful in his own field talk about failure in a completely normal way. Maybe what I do next won't be the perfect thing for me. Maybe it will. Who knows and more importantly, who cares? Bring it, World.
3. The Argentines are quite disorganized.
Picture of the audience at the event...looks who's front and center:
I read this when you posted it, but forgot to tell you how awesome it was :-) Makes me want to sign up for a bunch of random classes and events right now!
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