Twelve Days of Adventures #6, A Day with Seth Godin

In 2012, instead of a 52 project, I did a 40+12 project, 40 Days of 40 Favorite Things for my 40^th birthday plus 12 Adventures.  This post is one such adventure.  While it does not  include a gluten-free or healthy recipe, it is part of my healthy approach to life lived well.  I hope you’ll read along when I write about my adventures, they are an important part of the journey to health!

For almost as long as I’ve been a business owner, I’ve been an avid reader of Seth Godin’s books and blog.

And often, when I have a business conundrum, I re-read his books or his blog posts.

On more than one occasion, I’ve said aloud that if I could only spend a day with Seth Godin, I would find the solutions to the questions I have about business, about blogging, about helping more folks find healthy food that actually tastes good, about how to encourage others to eat a cupcake with good ingredients and not feel guilty about it.

So I went to NYC for 36 hours to attend a Seth Godin conference.  I had the opportunity to ask my question, which essentially was, “How do I connect with more people who need the knowledge I have to share?”  Yes, I was asking Seth Godin how to build a tribe. A tribe of healthy eaters who appreciate a slice of pie, a tribe of people who have dietary restrictions, medically necessary or by choice.  A tribe of people not afraid to make a ruckus when it comes to the food they share at the dinner table.

His answer was helpful, but also left me feeling a bit deflated.  I need to define the scale of what I am doing, I need to realize many people are untrusting of someone suggesting they can eat differently and still eat well, I need to understand not everyone wants to eat better.    I need to know that many people pursuing this line of work fail.

Ouch.

I’d like to say the opportunity to ask my one question was the big take-away of the day.  It wasn’t.  I learned so much listening to the other 80 attendees questions and hearing Seth’s suggestions to them.  I had a great conversation at lunch that opened my eyes to a different way of thinking about balancing my two businesses, about spending more time sharing my food knowledge while still pursuing my other passion as a balloon sculptor.  And there was that fabulous dinner with strangers that I mentioned here.  I learned much at that dinner, had my faith in dining out gluten-free bolstered, talked with people who have challenged me with ideas I had never considered, made great connections with people who are in very different lines of work but have similar goals.

I have to tell you about my nametag.  We were asked to write our names and a fact about ourselves or the best job we’ve ever had or our favorite Girl Scout cookie.  My nametag announced my love of kale. At day’s end, I stopped for a photo opportunity with Seth Godin.  We exchanged a few words about my commitment to succeeding in my food blogging-culinary coaching-changing how the world looks at food project.  And then Seth said, “I have an Eat More Kale” bumper sticker on my car.

So maybe I didn’t need to feel so deflated after all.  If Seth Godin eats kale, if I eat kale, maybe we can get a few more folks to eat kale.  And healthy cupcakes.

I’m still putting into action what I learned that day.  You’ve probably already noticed changes around here.  I’m taking risks, I’m making a ruckus and I’m so glad you are along for the journey.  What a great adventure it is going to continue to be!