ALT's Greatest Hits
• 26 January 2012
Perhaps you spotted all the buzz on Twitter or Facebook last week about the Altitude Design Summit held in Salt Lake City, Utah (speaking of FB, I finally joined in...come say hi!). Sure, it's a lot of mixing and mingling, but it's also about giving and receiving useful advice and loads of inspiration. In case you weren't able to attend, or you were there but missed out on certain panels, I thought I'd share the tips/advice/words of wisdom I gleaned from the conference. I'm hoping these three points will resonate with you as well:
1. Brooke Reynolds of Inchmark said during the panel on Work/Life Balance, "Decide which balls to put down and which to juggle. Not all balls are created equal and some weigh more than others. And some balls cannot be dropped". I thought this was a clever way of putting perspective on priority maintenance. Brooke also advised us to not be reactive by starting our day answering and checking the "gibber gabber" (i.e. email, twitter, facebook, etc.), but to instead be proactive about achieving your goals. Lots of sage advice from that lady's lips :)
2. My friend Joslyn of the blog Simple Lovely, shared some thought provoking tips as well (as usual!). She said, 'when collaborating (and may I add, not just on blogs), be sure you don't "pair off"; meaning, always talk about everything together and be inclusive. Don't gossip.' And perhaps what is my favorite tidbit from ALT is Joslyn's reminder that there is room for everyone to be successful and that there is no need to be jealous. Everyone can experience success with grace, honesty, kindness and hard work.
3. Our closing keynote speaker was Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project--a book I've started to read little by little (it takes time to process each of her points I think). Gretchen shared loads of wisdom, but I think one of the most interesting points she made was that `happiness is not selfish. In fact, it will actually make you more selfless. Studies show that happy people are more concerned about the problems of other people and are more likely to help out.' Gretchen goes on to say that "one of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy yourself; because we all want to be around happy people!".
I'd love to hear your thoughts too...y'all are always full of great insight yourselves!
image by Justin Hackworth--more images from ALT can be found here.
Wasn't ALT supposed to be about blogging? And then these little pearls of wisdom come out of it!
ReplyDeleteI really love these thoughts, just because I've only recently re-entered the blogging world, and I need to remember that it's supposed to be my creative outlet, not another thing on my to-do list!
Thanks for sharing!
#2 makes me the most happy - great stuff here, thanks!
ReplyDeleteI really liked the happiness project, when I read it. I think real happiness lies in being true to ourselves, whatever that means to you personally. (FYI:I felt like this was the one of the main undercurrents of the whole book, but that is just my personal opinion.) Since I read the book I have really tried to embraced this and I have found that in doing so it makes me profoundly more happy.
ReplyDeleteIt's so nice to read that the people at ALT want to be inclusive--I would love to go someday when I get a little braver, so it's nice to know that the tone will be welcoming, and not exclusive as I'd been fearing!
ReplyDeleteI think you'll especially like getting to the part in Gretchen's book where she writes about "people succeeding in groups." I agree that there is more than enough to go around!
Thanks for the insight girls!
ReplyDeleteAnd happy a few of you are pleasantly surprised!
Stephanie I am feeling that a few minutes passing by in the hall was not enough time to get to know you. Glad to have met you and I meant to tell you that I liked your blue dress..vintage??
ReplyDeleteLoved all of the words Gretchen provided. Very uplifting.
xx - Christina
Christina, I would've loved to talked with you more as well. Next year?
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for the compliment on my dress...I actually wore it to ALT last year too :) I picked it up at Anthro a few seasons ago...
can't believe your bottles are just stamps on plain ol' paper. I was awaiting some complicated answer having to do with software...stamps I can handle!! Thanks a bunch!
ReplyDeleteJennifer
I'm so glad you had an enjoyable time. That is the best part of going to any type of event! I really love the mustard tights, how fun. I've heard so much about "The Happiness Project," I really think I should add it to my amazon wish list.
ReplyDeleteJennifer, yes they were super easy to make. Took maybe 10 or 15 minutes? Used what I had on hand. Nothing fancy.
ReplyDeleteCreole Wisdom/ Katie, I wish I had the fashion prowess to pull off such a color on my legs...I thought they were adorable too. Although I wish I knew who wore them!
Where are you Stephanie? We miss you. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat thoughts - I think I needed to hear each one of them tonight. Thank you so much for sharing. I'm glad you enjoyed Alt. One day I may get up the courage to come. :) I hope all is well with you, Stephanie!
ReplyDeleteIs that the carpet at little america??
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