I didn’t attend my first conference until I met Steve nearly 15 years ago.  He convinced me to attend a Tony Robbins’ seminar where I walked on fire, and got burned actually, but it was still an incredible experience.  What I liked most about it was hearing and seeing Tony in person, and going through the exercises on my own and with other people.  After that experience, I started to see conferences as really valuable.   Here are just a few things that I find valuable about attending conferences and also seminars, workshops, and lectures.

Finding Your Tribe
I absolutely loved attending Hay House’s I Can Do It conference.  I had no idea there were so many other people like me.  The people who to go that conference tend to be highly spiritual, lightworker types who just broadcast love, light, and peace.  Basking in that energy for a few days totally raised my vibration.  I think it really helps to know there are other people out there with similar goals and interests as you.  You can make new friends at a conference because you’re already compatible in at least one major area of your life.

This past weekend I attended the Las Vegas Writer’s Conference.  The other people who attended this conference were soul-brothers and sisters on a different level than those I met at the I Can Do It conference.  They merged with another aspect of me, Erin the Fiction Writer.  I sat down next to an older gentleman and simply said, “Hi, I’m Erin Pavlina.  First time here.  So, what are you writing?”  We became buddies the rest of the conference.  I met other people who live here in town with me that I am sure I will see again because of this conference.

Making Good Contacts
Another great benefit of attending conferences is meeting people who can help you on your path.  At the Writer’s conference I met publishers, agents, and authors who I connected with.  We were all given the go-ahead to follow up via email with everyone.  That’s valuable.  You’re no longer a name without a face, so when you send an email you can start off with, “At the Las Vegas Writer’s Conference this past weekend you mentioned XYZ and I had a follow up question to that…”

Offering Your Service
Most conferences I’ve attended have exhibitors.  These are people with a product or service that they want to sell to conference attendees.  Since they know so many will be in one place, it makes sense for them to shell out the dough to get a booth or table.  Conference attendees will walk by the table or booth many times, giving exhibitors a chance to get their attention.  So think about exhibiting your product or service at a conference in your industry. 

Practicing Your Skills
Many conferences offer training or exercises designed to help you in business or your personal life.  At the I Can Do It conference, I usually attend the pre-conference workshop on Friday where I get to train with an expert like psychic medium John Holland.  Having the expert right there is unparalleled.  Instead of reading a book or listening to an audio program, you get to listen to them directly and ask questions right then and there.  At the Celebrate Your Life conference I got to spend a day honing my medium skills with James Van Praagh.  At the Tony Robbins seminar I got to practice modeling and mirroring techniques with other attendees.

Getting the Latest
When experts present at conferences they usually talk about what’s new in the field.   The last Celebrate Your Life conference I attended in Phoenix, Arizona, saw Gregg Braden asking the audience permission to present brand new material from his book that hadn’t even been published yet.  We all agreed wholeheartedly to his request. 

If you’re going to a conference in your business field, you’ll likely hear experts talking about the latest practices, innovations, products, or services which could give you a leg up on your competition. 

When I ran VegFamily magazine I used to attend the Natural Products Expo every year where companies showcase products they are trying to get in the stores.  Sometimes I got to sample products that NEVER made it onto a store shelf.  I would go back home and write about the products coming to market, which gave me a lot of credibility in my industry.

Becoming a Speaker
Steve and I attended the Hay House I Can Do It conference several times before Steve became one of their authors.  He was asked to speak at two subsequent conferences.  He also spoke at the Game Developer’s Conference back when he had his computer games company, Dexterity Software.  Becoming a speaker at a conference often gives you the opportunity to network with the other speakers.  How would you like to have dinner with people you used to pay money to see?  Becoming a speaker at a conference is a great way to get to the inside track and make valuable connections.

Getting Jazzed Again
Attending a conference is a great way to inject a new energy into your life, whether for business or personal reasons.  Attending the Writer’s conference has me all excited to write fiction again.  When we go to the I Can Do It conference I get jazzed about developing my spirituality.  When I went to the Natural Products Expo I would … well, just gain weight from eating tons of samples, but I’d come home and write about all the cool products coming out to get other people jazzed.

***

Find a conference you want to go to.  Sometimes they last a week and sometimes just a day or two.  Google “conference” and “(your subject)” and see what comes up.   If you’re lucky you can find one in your area.  If you’re serious about a subject, a conference or seminar should be part of your path.  You’ll get a lot out of attending.  I know I have.

Since Steve is a Hay House author now, our experience of this conference is different than when we were just attendees.  For one, Hay House pays Steve’s travel expenses and there was a Carey Limo driver waiting for us at the Tampa airport.  It was funny because while the three of us were waiting for our baggage to arrive, it suddenly dawned on our driver that he was a reader of Steve’s blog and he had listened to my podcasts, so he put two and two together and realized he knew the people he was picking up. 

At the hotel there was a vegan and raw goodie bag waiting for us, which turned out to be a blessing since finding vegan and raw snacks in the area proved challenging.  I thought it was especially thoughtful that whoever put that bag together made sure to put vegan and raw items in there for us.  I saw another author’s goodie bag and they had non-vegan items in theirs, so someone from Hay House is really on the ball!

Our days at the conference were filled with activity.  We attended breakout sessions and keynotes as often as we could.  Steve had a radio interview on Saturday with Eldon Taylor and Michael Neill, two fascinating individuals.  Steve’s presentation on Sunday went beautifully.  Even though I’ve read his book, Personal Development for Smart People, two times already and have heard this presentation before, I still found myself learning so much.  Honestly I think that’s where a big part of my transformation originated.

I also had a transformational moment while listening to Robert Holden, Ph.D. who gave a keynote on Saturday morning.  Not only is he a hilarious speaker, but quite insightful as well.  My mind was working overtime processing the information from his speech.

My third transformational component was spending time with the other psychic mediums from Hay House, specifically, John Holland, Colette Baron-Reid, and Lisa Williams.  John invited Steve and I to a private dinner with several of the other authors: Brian Weiss, Cheryl Richardson, Gary Renard, Darren Weissman, and Sandra Anne Taylor.  I was able to “talk shop” with people I respect and admire and they were all very generous with me in sharing their wisdom and experiences.  I can say that all of these authors are authentic and really walk their talk.  It was a pleasure to get to know them on a personal level.  A special thank you goes out to Sandra and her twin sister Shari for their kindness and connection with me.

We got another chance to spend time with the authors at the author dinner on Saturday night.  It was just so much fun to be ourselves, not our work, and just get to know each other and have a good time.  We met and had a lovely conversation with Dr. Wayne Dyer.  I find him so serene and pleasant.  We sat with Eldon Taylor, Peter Calhoun, and Diane Ray (one of Hay House Radio’s hosts).  Then we moved around the room until we’d met nearly everyone who attended.  My only regret is that I still haven’t met Doreen Virtue.  She is always doing a keynote during the speaker’s dinner so she doesn’t attend that.

On Thursday Steve and I were able to manifest a raw/vegan restaurant just two miles from our hotel!  How lucky is that?  We had to take a cab there and back which cost more than $20 just for that part, but it was well worth it.  The restaurant was Grass Root and they had one of the best veggie burgers I’ve ever had in my life.  It was so good I almost ordered a second one on the spot!  We didn’t get a chance to eat there twice though, more’s the pity.  I wanted to try their key lime vegan cheesecake, but they were out.  If you find yourself in Tampa, check them out.  Sunshine burger.  Good stuff!

It was wonderful meeting fans of our sites.  I introduced Steve on stage and did much better this time than I did last time.  Woo hoo!  One of the Hay House volunteers gave me some reiki to calm my nerves before I did the intro.  My sister, Nicole, also attended the conference, so it was great to hang with her too.  I know we talk about this conference a lot but it really is a great conference.  It takes some time afterward to process all the insightful information that comes through.  If you’re interested in personal growth and spirituality this is really the place for you. 

Below are some photos from the conference.

From left to right: Dr. Darren Weissman, Dr. Brian Weiss, Sandra Taylor, John Holland, Steve Pavlina, Erin Pavlina, Colette Baron-Reid, Lisa Williams, Marc Lindeman (Colette’s husband).

Steve and I before a keynote session

Steve doing his first official book signing after his presentation.

This is exactly what happened.  Steve got a book deal with Hay House shortly after the 2007 I Can Do It conference, and even though his book, Personal Development for Smart People, won’t be released until October 15, they asked him to speak at the Vegas 2008 conference.  I knew Steve was ready.

I was excited to be attending this year as an author’s guest because I knew it would give me the opportunity to meet some of the other Hay House authors and to see what the conference is like from behind the scenes. 

All of the Hay House staff were absolutely fabulous, including all of the volunteers.  Steve and I were treated with great respect and endearment.  Not only are the staff totally professional, they are totally friendly, competent, and authentic.  I think when you have a woman like Louise Hay at the head of a company you can’t help but see a trickling down of the love.  We really weren’t sure what we would see behind the scenes, but all I saw was happy people with strong messages they truly believed in.  It was a real pleasure to meet everyone and get a chance to connect with their energy.

Steve will no doubt go into great detail in his review of the conference so I just want to hit my own personal highlights.

Meeting John Holland
John Holland is one of my favorite psychic mediums.  I read his book, Born Knowing, when I first started developing my own psychic gifts.  His book was very insightful and in many ways mirrored my own life.  I attended John’s pre-conference workshop (I highly recommend the workshops because you really learn a lot and get to actually practice what’s being taught).  John is so humorous and personable that it made the entire workshop just fly by.  During the lunch break I saw John go into the speaker’s lounge for lunch and saw my opportunity to introduce myself and say hello.

John is just as funny and personable off stage as he is on stage.  He is very passionate about his work and very happy to be working with Hay House.  I didn’t get too much of a chance to chat with him as there were a lot of people coming in and out of the lounge, but we connected for a minute or two and that was fine with me.

Later, at the speaker’s dinner on Saturday night, Steve and I got the opportunity to chat at greater length with John and his guest, Vincent who is also a wonderful psychic.  In fact, Vincent did a quickie reading for me and I was impressed with his accuracy and insight.  He bills himself as the Psychic’s Psychic and I can see why.  By the end of the evening I had gotten to know John a little better and he had gotten to know me as well.  Steve and I look forward to seeing him again in Tampa.

On Sunday we watched John do live demonstrations of his mediumistic work.  He was fabulous.  I found John Holland to be extremely caring, compassionate, and a true being of the light.  He is an inspiration to me.

David Hamilton
One of the first people we met in the speaker’s lounge on Friday was David Hamilton, PhD.  He and his girlfriend, Elizabeth, are from Scotland and they’re about the same age as Steve and me, so we hit it off right away.  Plus I’m a real sucker for a Scottish accent.  Steve and I very much enjoyed getting to know David and his work on mind over matter.  With a background in organic chemistry, David began studying the placebo effect and came to the realization that the mind has great power over the body.  His book, It’s The Thought That Counts, will be very high on my list of books to read coming out of this conference.  It was unfortunate that we couldn’t attend his lecture since he was speaking at the same time as Steve, but by all reports he was funny and fabulous.   At the speaker’s dinner on Saturday night we sat with David and Elizabeth.  I was very struck by David’s passion and zest for life.  He’s a real people person.  He also gifted us with a rehashing of the freedom speech from Braveheart.  It was awesome!  Hopefully we’ll get another chance to hang out with our new friends from Scotland.

Steve’s Presentation
A few months prior to this conference Steve asked me if I wanted to introduce him.  “Sure,” I said before I could chicken out.  As the day approached I was feeling just fine about my decision, but as the morning dawned I found I was feeling a bit nervous.  In fact, Steve was picking up on my nervousness which was a bummer because he wasn’t nervous about his presentation at all.  So I left him in the room to practice and went down to the room to check it out.  400 chairs!  Eeep.  The most people I’d ever spoken in front of was probably 20.   So I got up on the empty stage in the empty room and belted out my introduction 5 times.  That helped a lot!  I was ready.  Until the room started filling with people!

They gave me a hand microphone and I had my speech in hand.  About two hundred people present.  My toastmaster friends were there and gave me great encouragement.  And members of our boards were there as well which helped bolster my confidence.  Thanks to everyone who lent me some of their courage.  When I actually started speaking I felt pretty good.  I had some adrenalin going but I wouldn’t say I was nervous.  It was more an excitement.  It took all of maybe 40 seconds though it felt like 20 minutes in my mind.   I am so glad I did it though.  I think I went up a level in courage.

Steve made a fantastic presentation.  You know it’s good when it’s your own husband speaking and you get a lot of information and growth out of it yourself!  I was rapt with attention.  I hadn’t heard the presentation ahead of time, though I have read the book, so I had a good idea of what he was going to talk about.  I felt the energy of the audience was also rapt and intrigued.

After his presentation he went out to a table in the hallway to sign journals, hand outs, and a few auras.   I stayed in the room to meet and greet our board members and some audience members who wanted to chat with me.  After Steve’s presentation he couldn’t go 300 feet without someone stopping him to share their thoughts about his presentation.  It was wonderful to connect with so many new people who are hearing Steve’s work for the first time ever.

The Radio Show
Steve was asked to be on a panel for Hay House Radio with Summer McStravick as host, and fellow guest authors Andrew Harvey and Alan Cohen.  They decided to film it so Steve got some hair and make-up done in advance (so adorable).  Not too many people actually watched the segment since it coincided with sessions, but that was alright because you can probably catch it on Hay House Radio at some point.   With three very different perspectives on self-help and personal development, the show was intriguing and became highly energetic.  It was fun for me to watch.

The Photoshoot
Steve was asked to do a photoshoot so Hay House could get a good photo for the back of his book and promotional materials as well.  So Sunday in the early evening we headed over.  That was a lot of fun for me to watch.  They took nearly 400 photos of him, and asked me to be in a dozen or so just for fun.  That was a kick.  The photos came out great so hopefully we’ll see a new photo on Steve’s About Us page soon.

The Other Authors
We didn’t get a chance to meet every author but we did meet plenty.  Colette Baron-Reid, Dr. Brian Weiss, Andrew Harvey, Alan Cohen, Robert Ohotto, Robert Holden, Louise Hay, Jonathan Ellerby, Loretta LaRoche, and Timothy Freke.  All wonderful people.  I was hoping to meet Doreen Virtue to tell her what an impact she had on me becoming a professional psychic medium, but she was speaking on stage during the speaker’s dinner, though her husband Stephen Farmer came by to say hello to everyone.  I also would have liked to meet Dr. Wayne Dyer but he also was not at the dinner.  The Event Director, Nancy Levin, was amazing.  She and all of her assistants did a wonderful job of taking care of everything!  They were a real pleasure to work with. 

Exhausted
The conference was wonderfully uplifting but by the end I was exhausted.  Meetings, presentations, doing readings for people, and socializing can take a toll.  We had few down moments.  By Monday I was ready for some rest and relaxation.  Hay House gave each of their authors a free spa treatment at the Venetian Canyon Ranch Spa, so we decided to take Tuesday off and just go spa (yeah, as in the verb “to spa”).  I had a Shiatsu massage and Steve got a Double Abyangha.  It was blissfully relaxing.

This year’s I Can Do It conference got me thinking about my future.  Perhaps a stage and a book deal are in my future as well.  We’ll see.   I’ll probably go to Tampa with Steve for the I Can Do It event there this October.  I hope to see as many of you there as possible.  It’s a wonderful conference.  Everyone I know who has gone has come away from it with more purpose, focus, energy, and love.  Don’t miss out.

I sat in the back middle.  John is a dynamic, humorous speaker so I was quite enjoying the workshop.  As I looked around the room I noticed a guy in the left section.  He was young, in his 20′s probably, and he had some interesting tatoos on his body.  I took notice of him a few times; his energy drew me.  About an hour and a half into the session I heard my guides say, “We have a message for that guy.”  I said back to them, “What are you kidding?  Not working here.  Enjoying the workshop.  Leave me alone.”  They backed off.  I went to lunch.

When I got back to the workshop I took the same seat I had before.  And so did the young man.  My guides said, “Get up and go sit near him.  You need to give him a message.”  I replied back, “Fine, I’ll go sit next to him, but you have to do the rest.”  The reason I was resisting this is because I don’t like doing what I call drive-by readings, where I go up to a stranger and tell them I have a message for them from their guides.  I don’t feel it’s right to force unsolicited information on someone, but I did reason that since he was at a psychic medium’s workshop he’d probably be open to it.  So I got up and sat down right in front of him.

John continued the workshop and at one point asked us all to find a partner for a chakra exercise.  I turned to this guy and said, “Wanna be my partner?”  He smiled and said, “Sure.”  We got halfway through the chakra exercise when my guides practically forced me to say, “Listen, I’m actually a professional psychic and I think I have a message for you.”  He looked surprised but said enthusiastically, “Please, go ahead, I’m all ears.”  The message poured out of me at breakneck speed.  I knew we only had a few minutes at best.  The message was related to his life path, his lack of confidence in that path, and about the guides wanting him to know he was more than ready for the path he had chosen and to stop listening to the friends and family who told him he was going to fail.  He seemed relieved to hear this message.  I could see a huge weight lift off his shoulders.

He thanked me for the message, told me how accurate it was to his situation, and we sat down.  I said to the guides, “Happy now?”  They said, “Give him your card.”  I said, “Oh for Heaven’s sake, why?  Let’s just leave him alone now.  What does he need with my card?”  To which they stubbornly replied, “Give him your card now please.”  So I grabbed a card from my purse, turned around and gave it to him and said, “Listen, email me when you get going on your path.  I want to know how you’re doing.”  He said, “Wow, I was just about to ask you if you had a card.  Thank you, I will definitely email you.”  I also found out he was local to Las Vegas.

So then I said to my guides, “Happy now?”  They beamed at me.  “Yes. You did well.  Now hush up and listen to John speak.”

At the end of the really great workshop (I got a lot more out of it than I was expecting), I got up to leave to go meet Steve.  I was racing down a back hallway when the tatooed guy came running after me.  “Erin!  Erin!”  I turned around.  He said, “You’re not going to believe this.  Several months ago I was looking through a magazine here in town and I found an ad for a psychic medium.  I was very drawn to get a reading with her.  So I cut the ad out and taped it to the wall above my computer.  You were that psychic!”

Whoa!  Now I realized why I had to give him my card.  I only advertise in one magazine here in Las Vegas, the Nevada Wellness Directory.  My ad in that magazine is the same image that is on my business card (because I was too lazy to create an ad so I just put my business card in as the ad).  When I handed him my business card he of course recognized that I was the very psychic he’d been wanting to get a reading with for months.  How’s that for Law of Attraction?  If I hadn’t given him my card he would have just thought I was some random psychic from God knows where who had a message for him.  But no, I was the psychic he’d wanted a reading with, and he got one.

See, the way my guides work is they go out and find people who would benefit from having a reading with me, then they find a way to get that person to my site, Steve’s site, or my ad in the Nevada Wellness Directory, or word of mouth, etc.  My guides and his guides decided he would benefit from a reading with me so he found me, but possibly he couldn’t afford the reading or he was just waiting for some reason.  So my guides saw that he was going to be at I Can Do It, knew I was going to be there, and knocked me off course from seeing Sonia Choquette so I could go sit near this guy, notice him, get a message, and finally agree to give it to him.  Mysterious ways huh?  I’m sure both our sets of guides were working overtime to make that one happen!

Notice how this could not have happened if I didn’t follow my intuition.  I was all set to see another author speak and my logic told me to stick with the one I had chosen.  But I’ve learned that my intuition can see around corners and my logic can’t.  Steve was even planning to go with me to John Holland but instead got an intuitive urge to go see Bruce Lipton.  If Steve had been sitting with me at John Holland’s workshop I probably wouldn’t have noticed this young man or I may not have partnered up with him during the exercise, which is what gave me my opportunity to speak with him and pass on the message.

It was a powerful reminder to me that intuition and connection with my guides leads to helping others on their paths which helps the planet as a whole.  Powerful experience for me, and probably him as well.  All in a day’s work right?