I went to my first “business” conference when I was thirteen years old. Soon after, I found myself at The “Big Seminar” at the Marriott by the San Francisco airport. Armand Morin hosted what was the largest event I could even imagine. Hundreds of attendees, dozens of speakers. My Dad had invited me to join him and I’d readily agreed.
I wanted a different life, I wanted freedom. I wanted safety.
I listened to every speaker and took pages of notes on my yellow legal pads. Frank Kern spoke with a Southern drawl, and introduced the idea of selling ebooks on niche topics. John Reese teased what would eventually become Traffic Secrets, and Alex Mandossian shared a revolutionary idea… The Socratic marketing method.
Ask people what they want, make it, and sell it to them.
My senses were overwhelmed. The music, the lights, the bigger than real life personalities and perfect diction shared from stage was more than enough to make me shift my reality, my desires, and my beliefs in what was possible.
That event deeply changed my trajectory forever. Alex became my mentor (I followed him around like a puppy and practically begged to help him). He opened so many doors over the next years, I look back with a sense of awe and appreciation.
Today, I attended Giovanni Marsico’s Destiny Fest 2025 just five minutes from my home in Austin. I’ve changed a lot since I was 13. I no longer find being spoken at by gurus to be the most valuable use of my time, and yet I sat in the audience for hours listening to old friends from 20+ years ago, as well as new friends sharing their experiences in incredibly polished poise.
Having only an 18 minute slot really dials speakers in.
The heart of what I came away with though, was the speakers were in front of an audience split by one concept.
Those that have, and those who hope.
Many of my friends in the audience have all they need. They live lives of service, presence, and peace. They’ve climbed the first, and for many, even the second mountain. They observe the next mountain as a partner, rather than one to triumph over through strength, grit, or striving.
The others in the audience listened with baited breath as I once did 26 years ago. They’re hoping to find the answer to success, happiness, self love, and accomplishment. They were the target market for the pitches that came from the stage and the metric by which the event will feel like a success to the organizers if they’re converted.
I have no judgement for either camp. I am so deeply grateful to have experienced both sides of the experience… Or all three sides, if you count being a speaker at such events, working hard to sell my story to those who wanted it.
But the observation was palpable. How we show up to the world and each interaction deeply matters.
The deepest value for me today? Hallway conversations.
Conferences are incredible for those in need of hope. The hallways are magic for those who have it already.
I arrived 20 minutes early, as is my way.
It is always fun to see who is there, and who arrives, when. Beautiful conversations with FRD staff alum Sarah Pevehouse and her daughters reminded me I should bring my children to events such as these. To witness them with their own sensory overwhelm, their own new connection to thoughts, ideas, and possibility.
Seeing new and old friends who’ve felt like family from first contact like Garrain and Blair Jones, Preston and Alexi Panos- Smiles, Alex Pursglove, Jesse Elder, Ryan Deiss, Tamar Hermes, Joe Polish, Corey Boutwell, Brian Sanders, and so many others, reminded me just how important my family of choice is to me. When we moved our family of five here two years, fifteen days ago, I never could have imagined the breadth of community we would have today. The people we get to do life with are truly incredible.
All in all, I am grateful for all the invitations to this event and the invitation to reexamine parts of my life I’d long laid to the parts of memory rarely explored.
What is a part of your story you haven’t thought about in a long time that helped make you who you are?