My journey east and back

[Patrysha]

Got home last night from my incredible trip away...kicked off with the FIERCE Gala on Tuesday night. I was a nominee in the 2010 Woman of the Year contest. I didn't win, but the experience was an adventure out of my comfort zone.

I left on Tuesday at 4pm and returned home at 8:30pm Saturday night. I was a trip of the lowest of low points and some of my most incredible highs. I've blogged about it, but due to the fact that some of the information the post contains being sensitive and would reflect badly on my professionalism, the post is password protected. I'll be happy to share the link and password with those I know well enough here that would like to read it, but I don't want to release it to the world wide public...PM me or email me for the info if you want to read a long, long post. You'll want to fuel up with coffee and maybe a snack though...it's over 4000 words and ran on for nearly 8 pages when I typed it up in Word (well OpenOffice really, but same thing).

[Blessed]

Welcome home!

What were a couple of the lowest lows and the highest highs? Is it a trip you would do again? Has it stretched your comfort zone and expanded possibilities for you? What have you learned that will help you continue to grow professionally, personally? In short - if you summed up that 4000+ word blog post into a sentence or two what would those sentences be?

I hope that overall the trip was a good experience!

[Patrysha]

I'll share the highs...cuz the lows are the reason the post is password protected.

The highest high...watching the keynote speakers at the final presentation and hearing them reinforce everything I had said and shared that morning as they talked about their journey from two high school friends to the Ben and Jerry of Canadian Chocolate. Chris & Larry's Clodhoppers grew from a dream into a multi-million dollar venture and they shared their story. On it's own they were funny, inspiring and just gave me a feeling of "Yeah, I can do this thang!", coupled with the reinforcement of my message...it was just WOW.

Other highs...experiencing my husband's consistent support as he kept me sane and calm through the toughest moments and kept reminding me that things would be okay.

Other than three people I encountered, everyone I met was amazing. I made some great connections, learned that I may not be up for the travelling style of speaking. After I have time to recover and put things in perspective to be sure it's not a knee jerk reaction, I will be considering sticking to Alberta, BC and Saskatchewan or limiting to a day's driving range so I don't have to be away from my babies and dogs for sooooo long. It was only four nights, but I was in imminent danger of hugging the stuffing out of my boys and my dog.

I don't know exactly what will happen next. This was as much a personal journey as it was a business. I've got work to do on both while I'm figuring it all out. Ah the thrills of home based business...lol.

[Patrysha]

A friend on another forum (Business coaching by moms, for moms - MomMasterminds (http://mommasterminds.com)) said this about the entry though...

"Patrysha - you should write a book - you have great skill in making it all "come alive"

My heart was racing, I was feeling pretty stressed reading everything, and wanted to learn more, I could not stop reading!!!"

[Blessed]

I do enjoy hearing other people's success stories - especially when their story reinforces the messages and lessons I've learned and tried to pass on to others - that would be a Wow moment - hearing your points reinforced by the keynote speakers!

I hear you on the traveling part - I'm not ready to be away from my babies either.

You do write well, a book might be in your future!