Nobody’s Perfect: The Inspirational Theme of Blogfest 2018

It’s hard for me to believe that it’s already been a full week since Blogfest and the IDEA Convention! Every moment is still so clear in my mind. As I wrote in Blogfest 2018 Snapshots last week, it was a whirlwind of information, inspiration, and friendship, that I will remember forever. Today I want to share what I think of as the Inspirational Theme of Blogfest.

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Nobody’s Perfect: The Inspirational Theme of Blogfest

Our very first session on Thursday was called The Perfection Detox (which I will talk about in detail in a moment), and from that point on, that concept kept coming up. It got to a point that every time a statement was made about not striving for perfection, Christiana, with whom I was sitting, and I would just look at each other and nod.

Nobody's perfect. Messages from @petrakolber, @realheidipowell, @nataliejillfit, and @sadienardini reinforced this inspirational theme at #Blogfest. Inspire just one person and you've done your job. #sweatpink Click To Tweet

Petra Kolber: The Perfection Detox: Tame Your Inner Critic, Live Bravely, and Unleash Your Joy

As I said, Petra Kolber was the first speaker and she set off the inspirational theme. In our social media driven lives, we are surrounded by people that seem like they’re perfect. From their perfect bodies and perfect children to their perfect husbands and perfect lives, this is what we are confronted with. It can be stifling! Petra asked us, “When you think of striving to be perfect does it add more joy to your life or does it suck the joy out of you?”

First of all, nobody relates to perfect. Yes, it’s pretty, but what do we really get out of all those pretty pictures? Do they help us live better lives?

Of course, nobody is perfect, even the models with the huge following on Instagram. They are showing us perfect, and we feel how are we ever going to keep up? Well, we can’t! If you strive for perfection, you will never do anything.

Another point that Petra made that made a deep impression on me was to ask me to think about how many people need your (my) help. What do I have to share that can make a difference? Stop worrying about how many “likes” I get, care about how the people who read my posts feel. Can I make the difference in just one person’s life? Then I’ve done my job.

Petra also asked, “what is your -er that needs CPR? How do you think you can be better? Do you need to be young-er? Pretti-er? Smart-er? Our brains were designed to focus on the negative. It’s how our ancestors stayed alive. That negative part of our brain is where our inner critic lives.

Ask yourself, “If I knew it did not need to be perfect, I would…” What is it that you can say “yes” to? Remember that mistakes are proof that you are trying. They provide data for future attempts.

The number one type of perfectionism these days is Social Prescribed. It’s at an all-time high. Do we live up to what we see every day?

And my new favorite anagram: FAIL = First Attempts In Learning. Don’t worry if you need a few chances to get it right!

There was so much more that Petra shared that made a deep impression on me. She made me realize that my striving for perfection has been holding me back for years! Long before I was a blogger.

I am so excited that she has a new book coming in August, called, appropriately, The Perfection Detox: Tame Your Inner Critic, Live Bravely, and Unleash Your Joy. I’ve already pre-ordered the book. If you feel like striving for perfection has been holding you back and you need some help to tame your inner critic, I sincerely recommend that you purchase Petra’s book.

Sadie Nardini: Make 6 Figures Online While You Sleep

While Sadie Nardini didn’t discuss perfectionism, she made several of the same points in her great talk on how to create online courses. In addition to giving us excellent ideas on what topics are hot right now, how to get started, pricing and some specific details on how to structure a course, Sadie also talked about social media best practices. One of her big points was that bigger isn’t better. One tribe follow is better than 1,000 paid for followers.

Also, stop waiting! The time to do it is now. Remember that there isn’t any competition for your path. It’s just a matter of getting out of your own way. Get behind yourself or get out. People have been waiting for you!

I think it’s super appropriate that one of Sadies’ courses is called Road Trip Guide to the Soul: A 9 Step Guide to Reaching Your Inner Self and Revolutionizing your Life. Perfect, right?

Keynote Speaker Heidi Powell

Not being much of a television watcher, I had never heard of Heidi Powell or her husband Chris Powell before I saw the couple, who were the hosts of the show Extreme Weight Loss, receive the Jack LaLanne Award at the IDEA Opening Ceremonies. During their acceptance speech, Heidi stated something that rang a bell with me, almost exactly what Petra had said earlier that morning. Talking about fitness professionals, she stated that if you can make a difference in just one person’s life, you’ve done your job.

After that introduction, I was really excited that Heidi Powell was the Blogfest Keynote Speaker. In keeping with the inspirational theme of Blogfest, Heidi shared some of her rules for life and they were right on point. Here are a few of my favorites.

Rule #1: They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. If your heart is in it, they will listen.

Rule #2: Be unapologetically YOU. We’re always trying to fit in, be accepted, be loved. The byproduct of this is we tend to try to be someone we are not on social media or our blog because we’re afraid of what people would think if they knew who we really were.

Rule #3 Comparison is the thief of joy. The grass might be greener on the other side because it’s fake. Life isn’t perfect for anyone.

Rule #5: Zig when others zag. Stop trying to fit in. Don’t be afraid of being different.

Rule #6: Embrace failure. It’s not a failure, it’s a fall and you get up.

Rule #8: Write, share, and act as if a million people are reading your work. If you want your work to be something amazing, treat it like it is. At the end of the day, if one person was positively impacted, you have done your job.

Rule #9: Never get too big for your people. Be grateful.

Rule #14: Hustle. You have to grind, but don’t grind yourself into the ground. Self-care is so important.

Rule #16: Always remember that you’re just three feet from gold. If you give up, you’ll never reach your goal. When you feel you want to give up is when you’re closest to success.

Natalie Jill: Branding and Selling via Social Media

Natalie Jill spoke as a representative of sponsor Trigger Point, but her story of rags to riches and her positive, self-motivating attitude fit right in with the inspirational theme of Blogfest. In addition to encouraging us to be authentic, she told us that we needed to accept a few things first, including:

1. You can’t be anyone else.
2. Things don’t just happen, you make them happen
3. You are accountable for your own successes and failures.
4. You are 100% responsible 100% of the time.
5. Nobody cares about you unless they know you care.
6. You better get some mentors.

She also shared a lot about how we should figure out our brand, and how important it is to make sure that what we do fits that brand. Your brand is what makes you special and what attracts your target audience. And you need to know who that target audience is, where they hang out and what problems they have that you can solve.

And finally: Be who you are, not who you think you should be.

 

You can imagine why I came back from Blogfest ready to conquer the world. The inspirational theme of don’t worry about being perfect, be yourself, don’t wait, earn trust, and making a difference spoke to me in the voices of all these women.

There were more awesome speakers that I will share in a future post. In the meantime, another shoutout to the women of Fit Approach for creating this event that is so welcoming and inspirational to the women and men who participated. And of course, thanks to the sponsors, because without them, it just wouldn’t happen.

Almond Board of California
Being Better Matters
Fit Bodies, Inc.
Frog Fitness
General Mills (Bell Institute)
Great Lakes Gelatin
Haiku Bags
JiMMYBAR
Kettle Gryp
LaCroix
National Dairy Council
REDSYNC
TriggerPoint

Check out some of these great Blogfest recaps!

Blogfest: The Best Kept Secret at the IDEA Convention (Lea @ Lea Genders Fitness)
Blogfest 2018: Be Unapologetically You (Christine @ Run Out of the Box)
Blogfest 2018 Recap (Beth @ Sublimely Fit)
Superwomen Know: Perfection is Dangerous. Blogfest 2018 (Elizabeth @ Train with Bain)
10 Takeaways from Blogfest (Nicole @ Foodie Loves Fitness)
IDEA World Blogfest 2018 Recap (De at Faith Fueled Moms)
Day 1 of Blogfest (Christiane of Spilling Coffee)
Blogfest (Shannon @ Meraki Event Planning)
How Blogfest 2018 Filled My Cup (Shanique @ Fab Fit Friends)

 

More to come soon about the other Blogfest speakers and what I learned at the IDEA Convention!

Do you feel that need to be perfect? How do you talk yourself down? Could you use a Perfection Detox?

 

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Weekly Linkups

My weekly linkups! Please stop by and check out all of the great recipes, workouts, and information that all these awesome bloggers share every week!

Meatless Monday with Sarah and Deborah
Meatless Monday with Annmarie  and Dixya
Tuesdays on the Run with Marcia, Erika, and Patty
Inspire Me Monday with Janice
Wild Workout Wednesday with Annmarie, Jen, and Nicole
The Plant-Based Potluck Party with Deborah
The Running Coaches’ Corner with Rachel, Lora Marie, and Me!
Friday 5 2.0 with Rachel and Lacey and Meranda
Weekly Wrap with Wendy and Holly