A few Tuesdays ago, I was at Grimaldi's Pizza in Brooklyn with my sweetie eating great pizza and listening to Frank Sinatra, when I saw this sign.
I was hoping it was true because I was about to get up in front of people who I thought were brilliant and discuss my business and my brand in a packed room.
So I looked at that sign, and thought, "Mike loves me". So if love is all I need, I have it. Plus, I have a brand I am passionate about and a pocket full of nerve.
And instinct. Which is what led me to Brooklyn that day to begin with.
Lately I have had these very strong feelings compelling me to do something or be somewhere.
And this time I was compelled to be in Brooklyn.
Tens days before, I was sending an email and saw a tweet in the corner of my screen on my tweetdeck. Tara Gentile was announcing she was speaking at a branding seminar hosted by UncommonGoods at Rabbit Hole studio in Brooklyn.
I looked at the link, bolted off my chair and felt the immediate pull to drive to this seminar. Really immediate, as in "turn off the oven first" immediate. After a second to think, I realized it couldn't be that night. I looked again and saw it was over a week away. Perfect.
Now I had time to sign up and enter to be one of two people to present their brand in front of the panel for feedback. And what a great panel. It was moderated by Thomas Epting, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer for UncommonGoods, Laura Ann Young, the Creative Director at Areaware, and Tara Gentile, whose words are like water to me. Simply vital.
I was so excited to be one of the people selected to present my brand! Funny, both my daughter and a dear friend said "of course you were" when I told them.
That made me smile. Even people I see everyday have no idea how often I raise my hand and put myself out there. And most of the time it makes me a little uncomfortable.
But I am giving "uncomfortable" a big hug. Embracing it. Because I know amazing things happen when I leave my comfort zone. And I was running out of it quickly.
I had to put together a tiny power point presenting my brand and who I was. I didn't have a bunch of time, which was really good. I think more clearly with less time.
Good friends with great graphic skills are a plus too.
My talented friend, Andrew Cantor, publisher of BUCKS Life Magazine, put together my power point.
My amazing web designer, Eleanor Grosch, of Just Eleanor, helped me with a photo that showed my vision perfectly: my flowers made from recycled signs hanging from a Brooklyn brownstone, providing color and artistry in an eco-friendly way. I love this photo!
The enthusiasm in the room pushed me closer to every dream I have.
The feedback from the panel was very helpful. Here are some of the ideas the panel had for me:
Pictures of me on my site that show me "joyful", not so serious. Done.
A video of me on my website. In the works.
New York Gift Show. Okay...that is big!
A Kickstarter campaign to install these windows boxes on city buildings in neighborhoods that need some hope and color. Brilliant...working on that.
Talk with UncommonGoods about these flowers. Talking with Katie from UncommonGoods on Thursday.
You can watch the 40-minutes of wisdom the panel had to share here.
It was a great night. A really eye opening night for me.
I love Brooklyn.
I love when my instinct leads me to the right place.
And I love when I show up there.