Why, Mr. Pulver, I hardly know you...

So, wow, yeah.

#140ConfOnt - You blew my mind.

I laughed, I cried, I fulfilled my dream of one day skipping out of a building with the Kitestring team.

I also will never be the same.

I had the privilege of speaking at the Ontario 140 conference in Kitchener yesterday. For 10 minutes. For 10 minutes they said - you own that stage. "You will be great!" "You will rock!" -- I was more worried about throwing up on some ones shoes.

For 10 minutes I told my story. Not the whole story, not even a fraction of my story, but I told the part that mattered in that moment. I'll be honest, I have NO idea what I said. Something about Oprah and pillows I'm told, makes sense, sounds like something I would do. What I said truly wasn't as important as what happened when I walked off that stage.

I fell in love.

I walked off the stage into a sea of open arms ready to hold me and tell me I was amazing and strong and brave. That I was funny and heart-warming. That I was ok. I managed to hold it together on stage, but off stage the release of this weight from my shoulders was followed by many many tears.

I went outside, I took deep breaths, I looked back at the hundreds of people who had just held my hand through something so hard and I fell in love with each and every single one of them. I fell in love with the human race again. My switch was flicked and I saw the world not as something I was going to be battling against forever, but as something I would be battling for.

I was ready to take on the world in that moment.

Walking back into the conference my phone was vibrating almost non-stop. I had to turn off the vibration because it was so distracting. My twitter timeline was blowing up. People at the conference, people at home, in offices, in parks were tweeting about me. I can only assume that this is the social media equivalent of a rockstar having their name chanted at a concert. I couldn't keep up, hell twitter couldn't keep up.

Then I saw it... "KarmicEvolution is top trending now in Canada."

In Canada.

Me.

Trending.

I turned to Laurel Crossley and handed her my phone. Then... its a blur of tears and sobs and hugs. I sent that phone all over the damn conference. Shock, glee, amazement - 11 am I started dreaming and apparently wasn't waking up any time soon. To quote the Record "Immediately following her 10-minute talk she was trending higher than pop sensation Justin Bieber on Twitter".

#TrendingHigherThenBieber

Can we take a minute and just digest how HUGE that is?!

Justin Goddamn Fucking Bieber!

Wandering in a teary daze around the lobby of the conference, I was super thankful for Jeff Pulvers hug policy. The hugs and love and positivity were coming in fast and furious. People I look up to like Jeff Pulver and Alexandria Durrell and Craig and Wendy Silva were using words like "proud" and "rockstar" and I was in a fog of joy and disbelief.

Then I had another moment of realisation... Jeff Pulver - this icon of social media. A man with brilliance and inspiration to spare - cared. He wasn't just a figure head. He wasn't someone to be intimidated by. He was a guy who genuinely loved watching people succeed and be inspired. Money, fame, position meant nothing, he was one of us. We were all just people. In a room full of entrepreneurs, home makers, business people, dads, sisters, uncles, wives... we had more in common then we knew. Status meant nothing. We were there to just be, we had actually entered the state of now.

I also realised I wanted to work for Jeff Pulver and feel what he gets to feel every day. I actually may have wanted to BE Jeff Pulver but I was willing to settle for living vicariously through him.

Which leads me to McCabes. Most of McCabes was a blur too. The people, the food, the lights, the booze. The whole room was radiating light and for once I felt completely comfortable standing in this crowd. After all, we were just people.

Standing outside with Jacki Yovanoff and Chris Farias, two of my closest friends, someone must have dropped some magic dust. Jeff walks out with Stephanie Montreuil and I say something along the lines of "I think my new dream is to work for you Jeff". As my friends are pimping me as the perfect employee, it happened.

It.

Huge.

I can't even remember at this point what was said, how it was said, or if I stayed upright.

And now my big news.

I will be speaking at the 140 Conference in New York in June.

Me.

Little Ol' 10th grade educated, unemployed, solo mom me.

Me.

I think my name is Jodi, but honestly I also think I'm still asleep.

To see the record article click here.

To see the stream of the conference (I am at roughly minute 21) click here.

And please take the time to watch the other amazing speakers! Especially my friends Chris Farias and the Kitestring Crew, Craig Silva, Heather Hamilton, Laurel Crossley, Chris Eh Young, Alexandria Durrell, Taylor Jones, Dee Brun and of course Jeff Pulver.

Tweetstock V - Part 1: Chris Farias

Yesterday I went to my second Tweetstock, and no it's not just me in the bushes stalking people I follow on twitter. (Though Jason Dykstra *may* be taking out a restraining order - I LOVE YOU JASON!) It's a gathering of like minded people to listen to speakers, network, meet new friends, hang out with old friends and listen and learn. Yes, we talk about twitter, but we also talk about how twitter is bringing us back together as communities and people. We come together to grow and inspire and also have a damn good time.

So the event itself? Pretty friggen fabulous... The fact that the after party was a place called "Therapy"? Even more awesome... The people? Blew my mind. Its actually a couple of those people I want to talk to you about. Starting with Mr. Kitestring himself, Chris Farais. Until Tweetstock 5 Chris and I hadn't met. We tweeted, we facebooked and I found him absolutely hilarious and charming. I also knew Chris was smart and creative but he was so much more then I expected.

Immediately upon meeting there were hugs and giggling, it was like getting together with an old friend. We just meshed. More yapping, more giggling and a trip back to 1952 with blow pops in hand. It was kind of almost exactly how I figured it would be, but better. The man just exudes easy charm, has a room lightening smile and is wonderfully quick witted. It's what happened at the after party that made me gain a whole new respect for him.

Watching him interact so seamlessly with people, talking business without being pushy or even seeming like he was talking a business. Listening to him I realised how brilliant he actually was. How he was a true example of actually being able to take what seemed like crazy ideas and make them real - and not only real but useful. Shaking off things that are HUGE deals with a laugh. Barely 30 and understanding people better then most people ever will and understanding how to really get into peoples minds and explain and educate in ways people understand. He actually has communication down to an art.

Self-proclaimed bitch (which Im sure he totally could be, Im not blind and deaf, just in awe lol). He was also funny, warm, inviting, easy going, put people at ease and an absolute joy to be around. Such a joy I apparently have to write my tweetstock blog in parts because I've now rambled on about the length of time I can hold your attention for. Still awake out there?

Moral of the story for part 1? Tweetstock 5 brings people together. Ill tell you about more of them in part 2.

Yes, this is a horrible picture of Chris eating a piece of pepper with the sticker still on it. I'm sure he will appreciate me showing it off. Right Chris?

You're So Vain...

... ok so maybe not since this post actually might be about you. I'm not actually going to tell you who this post is about Some of you might figure it out all on your own and good on ya, but this post is for me, not you so whatev y'all!

I'm a big believer that everyone needs someone to look up to. Someone who inspires you to be a better you every day. Not someone to compare yourself to but someone who can show you how to open the windows when the doors slam shut.

I like to think of that person as a Mental Mentor (little double meaning there, can you find it?). Its not someone you fawn over or demand from, just someone who when you need it you can look at them and their life and be inspired.

My Mental Mentor i've never met. I observed her from a far for a long time on "the twitter", I read things she wrote, I watched her interact, I actually silently thought I wasn't good enough to be her friend. She has a beautiful family, talent, poise, intelligence and humour. People seemed naturally drawn to her. She also was flawed, and beautifully so. Slightly self-deprecating and vulnerable showed me that perfection lies in the imperfect.

I remember the day she started following me on Twitter. I remember getting the notification email and just about falling out of my chair. It was like a celebrity suddenly was taking an interest. I was a little overwhelmed and suddenly a whole lot shy. I didn't want to post somethings in fear that I would be unfollowed. I know, how silly right? Yeah shut up like you've never done it. Luckily for me I am completely unable not to make an ass out of myself, and I throughly enjoy doing it, turned out she enjoyed it most of the time too.

I learned over time she too dealt with body image issues, made some serious mistakes growing up and still isn't always what people expect her to be. She swears and flails and goes against the norms. Shes also passionate and caring and a fierce fighter I wouldn't want to meet in a back alley debate (or behind a dumpster, Im fairly certain she'd kick my ass in a heartbeat. Well maybe not, but why take that risk?). She tries new things, cherishes old things and doesn't miss an opportunity to help other people.

I know what you're thinking, "Ok Jodi, once again you've rambled on and on this time about some fucking weird girl crush you seem to have (which, by the way, may earn you a restraining order and a talking to from some nice men in blue). Are you going to bring us to some kind of point or just keep gushing like a teeny bopper at a Bieber concert?"

So I bring you, My Point. You never know who you're going to inspire or why. You also never know who is going to inspire you. My Mental Mentor Im sure has no idea I think so highly of her and I don't want our dynamic to change so chances of me telling her are probably slim, (unless you know she reads this and figures it out... Umm HI! Ha, yeah... soooo sup? Me? Nothin... Im cool (For the love of god be cool Jodi) (Parenthesis inside parenthesis inside parenthesis? Did I just break the english language?)).

The people we look up to don't have to be rich or famous, they just have to be able to inspire us to be better then we were the day before.