What’s The ROI Of …

Karol Gajda from Ridiculously Extraordinary and Sid
Photo credit goes to Farnoosh Brock of Prolific Living.

“When making your choice in life, do not neglect to live.”
–Samuel Johnson

Brrrriiinnnngggggg!!!

Turn off the alarm clock, jump in the shower and it’s off to the races: time to map out the day ahead

Goal setting, visualizing,
Life hacking, prioritizing,
Time managing, optimizing,
Preparing and affirm-atizing.

Quick quick – turn off the shower, towel dry, brush, comb my hair, GO GO GO and….

STOP.

Life Is Not A Race

“All of the animals except for man know that the principle business of life is to enjoy it.”
– Samuel Butler

We’re so often rushing to get from one place to the next that we forget to take a moment and just enjoy where we are.

We’re counting minutes. We’re watching our bank accounts.

We’re constantly measuring how far we’ve come by any number of yardsticks – hours, dollars, pounds and twitter followers.

When I prepared for heading out to Blog World Expo 2010, I had a lot of goals in mind. I wanted to absorb information from all the great speakers, network with people, and spend some time with the many bloggers who I’ve met and spoken with online.

I was spending cash to get there and time to be there – so I wanted to make sure I got a good return on my investment (ROI).

The very first morning I was there however, I registered, got my badge and started chatting. And you know what I realized?

I didn’t come to Blog World to learn – I thought I did, but I really got so much more value out of just meeting people.

And what’s the ROI of that?

What’s The ROI Of …

What’s the ROI of laughing?

What’s the ROI of spending time on a hobby you love?

What’s the ROI of being content with where you are?

What’s the ROI of a new friendship?

What’s the ROI of loving your life?

What’s the ROI of finding your people? (see below)

And I got to thinking – maybe instead of constantly measuring and trying to optimize everything, sometimes it can pay to just let that all go. Maybe some of the best moments or your life can’t be quantified or analyzed or maximized – and are meant to simply be enjoyed.

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Find Your People

“I’ve found my people and nothing else matters”
– Third Eye Blind, Danger

There are a ton of pictures that people took at BlogWorld – standing around, posing with each other, or perhaps of learning in sessions. The great picture Farnoosh took that’s at the top of this post though really captures what BlogWorld was to me – it was fun. I spent most of my time with my people – I was amazed at how many of my readers I met there, and I was flattered and blown away that Jonathan Fields, one of my favorite bloggers and authors recognized me.

In the end, I know that I could have picked up many of the ideas I learned at BlogWorld by reading books, taking courses, or experimenting on my own – but the people I met and the experience I had there was far and away the highlight of the trip for me, and the amount of enjoyment I got out of my time in Vegas with them is priceless.

I don’t often like long lists of names, and in the coming weeks I’ll talk about some of the people I met and perhaps do them more justice – but for now, I want to give shoutouts to the people who made this one of the best weekends of my year.

Some Of Sid’s Awesome People

Not in any particular order as I have a mix of business cards and tweets I’m using as reminders!

Leo Babauta (Zen Habits) – Always fun to chat with, kind and gracious. I really enjoyed seeing him again, after meeting him in Hawaii a while ago. I am amazed he is still as kind and humble as always.
Karol Gajda (Ridiculously Extraordinary) – Much taller than you would expect, and a great all around guy. Even more picky an eater than me! And as you can tell by the pic, funny as hell.
Benny The Irish Polyglot (Fluent In 3 Months) – Benny is fun, friendly and one of the coolest guys I met. He blew my mind at lunch with some email and online reading tips that will save me weeks of my life. I owe him a debt of gratitude. I will share with you the wise teachings of this productivity jedi master soon.
Srinivas Rao (BlogcastFM) – As difficult to deal with as ever. Kidding man! Whatever it was fun seeing Srini again, he’s a master at working the room – the friendly half of BlogcastFM.
Chris Garrett (ChrisG.com) – The single biggest influence on my blogging, and teaching me how to write properly. Chris is as gracious and generous in person as he is online – very thoughtful, intelligent, and funny in that British way (so he’s not really funny at all, unless you’re willing to think a little).
Ali Hale (Aliventures) – The best writer there is. You should sign up for her coaching. She is even more like herself in person than she is online. Even more British in person than online!
Thursday Bram (ThursdayBram.com) – Super funny and awesome, way more extroverted than I originally expected. I had tons of fun hanging out with her.
Jade Craven (JadeCraven.com) – An awesome networker and very generous with her time. She gives constantly and really stole the show by introducing everyone to well…everyone! Snorts – it’s awesome.
Dave Navarro (The Launch Coach) – We only chatted for a few minutes, but Dave is one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. He was working hard at the show, and you can tell that he really works hard and deserves all the success he’s had.
Eric Hamm (Frugal Theme) – Eric is the man, fun to talk to, smart, and a genuine, sincere guy. Also his buddy Seth was kind, gracious and has a great sense of humor.
Chris Ducker (Virtual Business Lifestyle) – Chris is completely ridiculous. It is unfathomable that a guy this funny, crazy and friendly is also a CEO who manages 250 people and gets the job done. A masterful storyteller and networker, and one of the friendliest guys you’ll ever meet.
Sean Platt (Writer Dad) – Sean is even larger than life in person than he is online – really friendly, sincere guy. Wish I saw him more often, but always fun when I ran into him!
Farnoosh Brock (Prolific Living) – Farnoosh is intense! She was everywhere – networking, chatting, learning. Another great person that I’m very happy I got to see at BlogWorld
Vik Tantry (There’s Money Everywhere) – Super smart, super laid back, very down to earth guy, but driven and with clear goals – I think I am going to learn a lot from Vik as we get to know each other.
Cindy King (CindyKing.biz) – After seeing her face online and knowing her for a couple years, it was great to finally meet her! Cindy is warm, outgoing and very generous – always willing to lend a hand and help.
Darren Rowse (Problogger) – A great guy, very down to earth, kind and gracious. Even when he was red eyed and exhausted, continued to be a great host and really made sure everyone was having a good time.
Lara Kulpa (Problogger Community) – Absolutely bubbling over with energy, kind, and introduced me to Darren Rowse when I didn’t want to pull him away from other guests at a party.
John Chow (JohnChow.com)– If you thought his online persona was big, you should see him in real life. Towers over people! But very smart, kind, frank and a great guy to hang out with. I am jealous he met Rick Moonen!
Chris Guthrie (Make Money On The Internet)– Awesome guy, really smart – hung out with him the hallway and chatted a lot and we randomly ran into each other everywhere. Great guy.
David Risley (DavidRisley.com)– David is an incredibly smart guy. It’s very clear that David gets what is going on, but he doesn’t take any of it for granted. He spends time sharpening his knowledge and his skills. One of the best because he really works hard at it.
Jonathan Fields (JonathanFields.com) – One of my favorite bloggers, and just as nice in person as he is online. Incredibly smart, and a great speaker. I was blown away at his presentation. Jonathan *really* gets it.
Pat Flynn (Smart Passive Income) – Another great, genuine guy – Pat was welcoming and friendly to anyone who wanted to chat with him. He put his family first while at the conference, and I really like that he has his priorities in order.
Leni Mayo and Kevin Yank (Learnable) – Leni was an incredibly gracious host while I was at the Problogger party. Leni and Kevin are two smart guys who really understand online education, about how people learn best and how content producers are going to get their content out there. I am really looking forward to working with them.
Jordan Cooper (Not a Pro Blog) – Only an ass online! Funny, sharp and a great guy – very down to earth, and is really committed to serving others in his own unique way.
Matthew Kimberley (How To Get A Grip) – So I discovered his blog a while ago, and loved it. Met him in person, had no idea who he was – and once I learned that HE was the blogger behind Hot To Get a Grip, was shocked. Here was a guy who ran a blog I loved, and I had no idea it was him! Incredibly smart, sharp guy – very friendly, and someone who I’m very fortunate to have run into completely out of the blue.
Johnny B Truant (JohnnyBTruant) – Johnny is smart, friendly and the center of attention at the bar we met up at. It’s too bad we couldn’t chat more, but I really enjoyed getting to meet him, and he was very friendly and made sure everyone had a good time.
Adam Baker (Man Vs Debt) – Baker is the man – friendly, driven, 100% genuine. What you see is what you get – he really has strong opinions about serving his readers and building a brand based on trust, which is something I respect immensely.
Amy Parmenter (The Parm Farm) – Amy was really kind and helpful when I chatted with her, but BlogWorld was so big we only met for a brief moment! I am sure we’ll run into each other and work together in the future.
David Spinks (Scribnia) – David and his business partner (who sadly I have forgotten the name of) were two sharp guys working on products to make bloggers’ lives easier. We’ll definitely have to bring them on BlogcastFM sometime to chat.
Annabel Candy (Get In The Hot Spot) – Annabel is just as positive and frank in real life as she is on her blog! A joy to meet and be around!
Traci Love (180 Journey) – Traci was kind and funny, and I am glad we got to meet – though we didn’t get a chance to sit down and really chat! We’ll have her on BlogcastFM as a guest soon as well.
Jennifer Gresham (Everyday Bright) – Jennifer totally lives up to the name of her blog! It was great chatting with her over dinner amongst the band in a Mexican bar singing (screaming?) “Tequila!” .
Matthew N. Kepnes (Nomadic Matt) – I finally met up with Matt the last day of Blogworld to chat for a bit before I headed out – he’s a fun, friendly guy and someone whose blog I wish I read more of.
Scott Stratten (Un-Marketing) – Scott is totally genuine, intense and very smart. And amazingly friendly – I was standing in the hallway for 2 seconds looking for Srini, and Scott just came up to me and started chatting. No agenda, I think he just wanted to make sure I was having a good time. Really great guy.
Barrie B. Davenport (Live Bold and Bloom) – We’ve known each other online, but never met in person – Coach Barrie was kind and gracious in person, even if we only met for a few moments. I’d love to get the chance to talk with her more in the future.
Mig Pascual (MigPascual.com) – Mig is sharp and insightful – I met him briefly and chatted for a bit, and then he disappeared, our paths never to cross at Blogworld again =). He was fun to talk to.
Mark Thompson (Stay On Search) – Mark is smart and passionate about what he does. What’s funny is we were chatting on Twitter, and met in real life – and then it wasn’t until later I realized it was him!
Kristi Hines (Kikolani) – Kristi was fun, friendly and just as genuine and thoughtful in real life as she is online. Running into her was a pleasant surprise!
Sonia Simone and Brian Clark (Copyblogger) – These guys have tons of readers and make money for a reason – they are on the pulse of what’s going on, and they genuinely love what they do. We met and chatted for only a moment, but it was great to hear them speak.
Matt Gartland (Healthy Lifestyle Design) -Matt’s funny, friendly – and a little intense. A caveman, I like that he also takes his health seriously.
Maren Kate (Escaping The 9 To 5) – Driven and has a clear idea of where she’s going, definitely wants to create something that’s sustained. And doesn’t like me calling entrepreneurship lifestyle design. Hehe.
Jonathan Mead (Illuminated Mind) and Ev`Yan N. (Apricot Tea)– After missing each other in Los Angeles, it was great to finally meet up in person. We didn’t get to chat as much as I’d like as the weekend was so crazy, but it was great to at least a get moments to meet up. Jonathan is truly passionate about his message and helping people.
Nathalie Lussier (Raw Foods Witch)– Nathalie was fun, friendly and had a session that was standing room only! The very first day when I met her she was warm and welcoming – she’s very sincere and came to BlogWorld open to helping people.
Corbett Barr (Think Traffic) – Corbett is friendly, knowledge and really down to earth. He was very gracious and welcomed me as soon as he saw me – definitely someone I’d love to see again!
Catherine Caine (Be Awesome Online) – Catherine is smart, friendly and very generous with business advice. Chatting with her over lunch gave me some great ideas for life and for things to write about on this blog. She is the real deal!
Pace Smith (Connection Revolution) – Pace was very friendly and welcoming towards me, and also very smart. Loved her sense of humor!
Erica Douglass (Erica.biz) – Erica is kind, generous with information and really understands how to run a consulting business.
Nathan Hangen and Oleg Mokhov (bluerize) – Nathan and Oleg were both really smart guys who gave me some fantastic advice. Nathan also is hard for me to recognize with his beard.
Becky McCray (BeckyMcCray.com) – I met Becky for a few moments towards the end of BlogWorld – she was kind and gracious, but we didn’t get a chance to speak much – I did see she was a speaker though =)
Jeanie Witcraft (@jwitcraft) – Jeanie was a kind, genuine person – funny and a joy to talk to. I had a great time with her and her husband at lunch and dinner!
Andy Hayes (AndyHayes.com) – Fun, funny and all round nice guy. Very gracious, often spotted with Ali Hale and Thursday Bram =)
Bobby Hagstrom (Art of Woodshop Design) – A nice guy who I met and chatted with briefly at the closing keynote, very gracious – showed us that Pat Flynn turned him on to BlogcastFM!
Shawn Christenson (More Than a Webmaster) – Shawn and I chatted a ton at BlogWorld, though it escapes me at the moment exactly what we talked about. Shawn is gracious and friendly, and a good guy. I think he was pretty funny too.
Shane Mac (ShaneMac.me) – Accosted me the last day I was in Vegas standing in line. It was 11 a.m. and he was just getting back to the hotel – talk about a crazy weekend in Vegas! Really nice friendly guy.
Daniel Scocco (Daily Blog Tips) – Daniel was a great guy to meet. He had to rush off after lunch to make a session, but he was very gracious and shared a ton of great knowledge with me, and is a big supporter of BlogcastFM. He is friendly, and very generous with both his time and expertise.
Mary Jaksch (Good Life Zen) – I met Mary only briefly, but she was warm, friendly and genuinely enthusiastic to meet new people. I wish we could have spent more time chatting, but I’m sure I’ll run into her again!
Jimi Jones (JimiJones.com) – Jimi was warm and friendly, another guy that I got to chat with for just a few minutes, but I know he’s sincere and genuine.

I’m sure I’ve missed someone, but my business cards are a mess (and I didn’t get everyone’s card so a lot of this is from memory!). The whole weekend was a total blur. If I met you but haven’t mentioned you in this list, forgive me! A lot of you I met and I never got your last name, card or Twitter handle – please feel free to email me contact@sidsavara.com and lets link up =)

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