What if.. By Cory Miller

Below is a guest post from one of our sponsors, AND speaker Cory Miller. Enjoy.

What If Next Week at PressNomics 4 …

maxresdefaultAt the first two PressNomics, I recently confessed to Josh and Sally, I had left each time somewhat down in spirit and extremely anxious.

My problem was simple: I got wrapped up in things I shouldn’t have, particularly jealousy and envy seeing so many younger, more talented, more energetic people entering the WP scene.

But last year, I was determined to make my experience better.

And I’m happy to say I had an amazing time and came home refreshed, energized and looking forward to next year (which is this year).

If you haven’t noticed, PressNomics 4 is NEXT week … and I’m excited, again.

And I wanted to share a couple of thoughts about how we can make it so much better for each other.

Here are four things that made the difference for me:

  1. I packed, prepared and came with a positive attitude — I said to myself, “I am going to have a good time this year, dangit, in fact, I’m going to have an epic time, and I’m going to leave excited!”
  2. I sought to spend time with quality people — deepening existing friendships as well as making new ones. By far the most memorable experience was walking in late and a moment after Josh had told everyone to go out the door I was standing next to to get your free hoodie.
  3. I sought to connect and introduce good people to each other — by far some of my favorite times were seeing friends make friends with each other. Several times when I would meet someone I would ask them what they were wanting to get out of PN and they would say, “To meet [insert someone’s name]” and if I knew them, I could go introduce them.
  4. I told jealousy and anxiety to take a vacation for a couple of days — Meaning, I sought to keep my focus on what matters most to me, to remind myself that I’m striving for my own definition of success and happiness, and to simply be happy for others in the pursuit of their own versions of that.

As a result, PressNomics is NOW so much than a conference or our annual industry event to me. It definitely is not just a couple of days in beautiful Tempe, although every year I fall more in love with the area.

It’s also not PrideNomics either. If you’re coming to show off, I just don’t think you’ll enjoy it much. The great thing about PN is that we all have awesome stuff going on.

PN is our time to “collaborate, learn and relax.” It’s our set aside time, with no other distractions (mostly) to just be around each other.

But I think it is even more and want to make the most of what PN is and can be.

I believe we have an opportunity to truly become a vibrant, authentic community that celebrates and encourages each other, every year at PN … AND throughout the year.

SO … WHAT IF … this year, 2016, for PressNomics 4, we took the next step, a big step from hanging out at a conference to being a real, vibrant, authentic community?

WHAT IF ….

  • We took one step in the direction of authenticity and were a little more honest about our struggles, pains, obstacles as well as successes?
  • We stop pretending everything was perfect, and got to the marrow of life as WP entrepreneurs?
  • We first sought to celebrate each other’s successes and encouraged each other with our struggles?
  • We let our guard down just enough to gauge and pursue authentic relationships with each other?
  • We asked these questions of each other, “What are you most thankful for?” and “How are YOU doing?”
  • We posed another question: “How has WordPress changed your life?”
  • We purposefully talked and made plans on how to keep the conversations going between PN’s?

AND, perhaps most important, at a bare minimum, what if we agreed NO ONE eats alone (breakfast, lunch and dinner)?

So how about it …. What if we made 2016 the year to compare all years to … and that the end of PN4 it only marks the beginning of the next level of our tribe?

P.S. — And finally, really, this is the end …. what if we got a headstart on all of this and started talking via the Post Status #pressnomics Slack channel? (And if you’re not a PS member, you join PS today!)

 

5 thoughts on “What if.. By Cory Miller

  1. It’s my first PressNomics too, and I think a lot of these sentiments ring true with a lot of developers who spend their day being a screen. Can’t wait to get together, meet everyone, and learn about how other people are running their businesses! Thanks for the great post.

    Dave
    @davekiss

  2. Corey,

    Awesome post! I feel the same way as you and can’t wait to learn and share our successes and failures. This is my first Pressnomics and I’m excited to attend. I’ve been at this for 20 years but being part of this community makes me feel like I’m starting over again (in a good way).

  3. Great post, Cory. Jealousy is a hard one to defeat. I try to remember that everyone’s path is their own. They have theirs, I have mine. Our paths cannot be “stolen” by anyone else – the person that stands in our way is usually ourselves. Internalizing this has helped me focus on the good things that are happening in my own business, instead of becoming depressed that I’m not where “the superstars” are yet. This has made a world of difference, and a lot of comes from seeing how you’ve handled it in your own path.

    Great points about community, pride, authenticity, and the facades we try to put on. Building a business is never easy. And once you get there, keeping it going is no picnic either.

    Trust is built on honesty, and letting our guard down to others. Though I won’t be a Pressnomics this year, I’m thankful this event exists, and I hope it continues to benefit the people who attend, so they can do more great things in their businesses and communities.

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