As entrepreneurs, we can easily get caught up in the day-to-day hustle of our businesses. There’s a lot to do and time goes fast, but sometimes – no matter how much we have to hustle – we have to get away from our desks and get out there.

This past weekend the Change Creator team went to represent at the Survive and Thrive 2017 conference. This conference, set in the gorgeous town of Kent, Connecticut was the backdrop for a lot of fun, a lot of learning, and a lot of personal growth for our team! While we are busy scrambling to pull together the top lessons, strategies, growth hacks we learned from leading experts, I thought I’d share my personal top lessons from this weekend.

Here are the top 5 things I (personally) learned at Survive and Thrive 2017:

Your net worth is determined by your self-worth.

Powerhouse and motivational speaker Susie Carder brought the house down with her speech at Survive and Thrive. One of the big lessons that hit home for me in particular over the course of the weekend was the importance of raising the bar on how we see ourselves first, especially if we want to make more money. At Survive and Thrive, we got to know a lot of really amazing people – it is no accident why these people are happy, successful, and confident.

What’s holding you back from the life you deserve? Successful people aren’t lucky – they are determined.

They believe in their abilities and manifest that mindset into all areas of their lives. Susie taught us that money is everywhere. This shouldn’t be a new idea, but for some of us, it is.

You can find the money if you have the mindset to do so. If you haven’t determined in your own mind that you are worthy of that investment, how is someone else going to invest in you?

Mindset is key. Change your mindset, change your destiny.

We are all more capable than we believe.

Don’t let disbelief hold you back!

Yes, I’m talking about personal growth again at this point, but pay attention. The great thing about conferences is that it forces you to immediately go out of your comfort zone.

For me, I get pretty comfy in front of my laptop every day. I am pretty content to talk content strategies all the live long day, in my happy world behind my computer screen. While that makes a great freelancer, or employee – the entrepreneur – and more importantly, the social entrepreneur has to shake their world up first.

We need to get away from our desks, from the day-to-day grind of whatever we are doing if we are going to disrupt the systems of the world.

And you know what? We can do that. We are all much more capable than we think, you just have to get yourself out there. For me, this lesson became crystal clear when I was pushed completely out of my comfort zone into an aerial ropes course designed by the great people at Club Getaway.

You see, we didn’t just go to any run-of-the-mill conference this past weekend. The people at Survive and Thrive created activities that not only pushed our limits but taught us a lot about business and the kind of mindset you need to have if you are going to succeed. For me, I learned that most on the aerial course.

You see, 50 or 60 feet in the air, you have to believe that you are capable. For me, stepping a couple of feet down, onto a thin, wobbly wire was tough. Okay, I admit it. I was terrified.

In my day-to-day life, as all of my friends and family know, I’m clumsy. (At least, that’s what I have always believed.)

But, here I was facing a challenge that disrupted that belief. I had to just step down onto the wire. What made me decide to take that risk? I stood there for 20 minutes hesitating until I realized that I was the one telling myself I couldn’t do it, that I was clumsy, uncoordinated, that I would fall and make a fool of myself. Nobody else thought that.

The people around me had more confidence in me – at that moment – than I had in myself. I did not like that feeling. So I thought, “What if I’m more capable than I tell myself? What if I just told myself I could do this, easy peasy, right?” And, so I did. Then I cruised through the aerial course. It wasn’t physical. It was all mental.

Why do we doubt our abilities? In business, we have to be willing to take those risks and trust that we are capable. By the way, I did the 60-foot zip-line jump too. I knew I could do it. I just had to do it.

You’ve got to find your tribe.

We got to meet some amazing people at Survive and Thrive. Many of them came with monetization master, Maryanne Morrow who brought her tribe. You couldn’t miss their energy. It was as if they were all cut from the same cloth of awesomeness.

Finding good people can make or break a business. You need to surround yourself with people that are adding to your life, your mission, your goals. That’s what Maryanne does. What are the two requirements to be in her tribe?

You’ve got to have a positive attitude.
You have to do what you say you are going to do.

That’s it. That’s how I’m filtering people into my life and my business from now on.

Let’s face it. Life is short. Business is even shorter. As people who want to change the world and make money, we cannot afford to surround ourselves with negative, unreliable people – ever!

Look around. Who’s in your inner circle? Who do you rely on? If they aren’t positive and capable, find a new tribe.

Investors are people first.

We got to know and learn from some of the top investors out there! On the last day of the conference, we even had a pitch contest, where real entrepreneurs got to pitch their companies to a panel of investors.

Once the pitch was done, there was an opportunity for feedback. Now listen up. We know how much your business means to you. It’s your passion. It’s your mission. It’s what keeps you up late at night, what wakes you up early in the morning.

Pitching your business, and trying to get investments is serious. I’m not saying that it isn’t, but, my friends, remember that the people behind the investments are still people. Yes, they want to know how they are going to make money (and when) but they also don’t want to die from boredom!

Don’t be afraid to pitch your personality, as well as your business.

Investors don’t just want to see numbers. They want to get to know you too. The great thing about Survive and Thrive was that we got to know the investors as people first. We hung out with them. We had dinner with them. There were plenty of fun, goofy times had by all.

People invest in people. Yes, you need to have a lot more than a good sense of humor to get an investor, but it doesn’t hurt to make someone smile when they are learning about what you do.

Business building should be fun!

The Change Creator team had a lot of fun this past weekend. We also made a lot of strides with our brand and company.

Who says building a business can’t be fun? For me, it’s the most fun.

If you are not having a great timing disrupting the systems of the world, growing your company, scaling – what are you in this for?

Life is short.

We need to get away from our desks. To push ourselves. To grow. And, to have fun. That’s how we’re going to change the world. I encourage all of you to find a conference, an experience to get you out of your comfort zone. Your business and your life will thank you for it.