Paying To Play – The Payoff of Live Events

There I was, sitting in the back corner of this big conference room trying to hide from everyone.

“What the heck did I get myself into”, I murmured out loud.

“I don’t belong here. Maybe I should leave and ask for my money back. Nobody will even know I am missing.”

These were the thoughts racing through my mind several years ago when I attended my first live seminar. Without question it was one of the most nervous moments of my life.

I had just graduated college, living back at home working a part time personal training job.

Several months earlier I decided to take an online certification that was brand new. It was called Turbulence Training, and I’d been following the creator Craig Ballantyne for a couple years online mostly through email newsletters and Facebook.

While I earned a degree from the University of South Carolina in sports management, I wanted to follow my passion of health and fitness, making a difference in the community.

After taking the certification online I received an email invitation to attend the first annual TT Summit out in San Diego, California.

I spent the next two weeks going back and forth debating whether I should go or not.

Shockingly, my final decision was to attend the live event. Although I wouldn’t consider myself an introvert, there’s this nervousness that overcomes me anytime a big crowd is around…particularly when it’s complete strangers.

On the cross country flight I started playing out scenarios of what might happen. Every worst case scenario came to mind, and I quickly got butterflies in my stomach.

As I sat in the back corner of the conference room that first day, something suddenly came over me.  “You know what Daniel, put on your big boy pants and go talk to people.”

Suddenly, I got this surge of confidence that I’d never felt before.

That first day of the event was filled with energy and excitement. I must have made at least a dozen contacts that weekend, and met one of the most important people in my life today, Craig Ballantyne.

That initial face to face meeting was the beginning of an ongoing friendship and partnership that has changed my life forever.

Since then, I’ve attended over 20 live events all over the country. I can’t even begin to tell you the value and networks I’ve accumulated over the years from attending these live events.

Have you ever heard the saying, “your network is your net worth”?

I’m living proof of that statement. At least 75% of my close inner circle developed from attending live events. There simply is no better way to meet positive like minded people in your field.

As I look back to that first live event I attend several years ago, I can’t help but think about my ROI.

In total, I spent about $800 that event weekend (admission, travel, hotel, food, etc). From that initial event and the business relationships I developed that weekend (particularly with Craig) I will have made hundreds of thousands of dollars over the next 3-5 years.

Spending a couple thousand dollars to attend a live event is minuscule compared to the ROI you’ll obtain from enhancing your network and being surrounded by amazing people.

You have to pay to play. And there’s no better playing field than being at live events.

Playing up a level,

Dani Woodrum

Get The Daily Brief sent straight to your inbox every weekday. Click here to sign up for The Daily Brief.