On October 2, 2014, I sat in the back of the Rose Theatre in New York City for the Business Gets Personal Conference. Seth Godin stepped to the stage to do his opening keynote and shared the story of the 5th Annual Solvay Conference in October 1927. Physicists such as Marie Curie, Niels Bohr, Max Plank, and Albert Einstein attended and were relatively unknown. Of the 29 in attendance, 17 went on to later receive the Nobel Prize. Seth explained that it wasn't the conference that caused them to be world-changers. It was the simple fact that 29 of the brightest minds in the world were together in one room, making new lifelong connections that could spark something after the conference. Seth said "Make this your Solvay Conference". After hearing this, I texted my new friend and said, "I'm glad you interrupted us. Let's make this our Solvay."
At this time in my life, I was cleaning houses solo like a madman nearly every day of the week. I was tired and demotivated. I needed a change. I was working with my landlord and friend, Tom Cronin of Success Public Relations to scale my cleaning company so I could finally get out of the field and see my family more. He was so generous to offer his help and to allow me to leverage his network of small business owners in the Capital Region. However, I was still unsettled. Was this the right move? Circumstances aligned so that I could purchase a ticket for the Business Gets Personal Conference with Dave Ramsey, Seth Godin, and Gary Vaynerchuk. I needed answers and a change. I was there by the thinnest of threads. Before the event even started, Vincent Pugliese interrupted a conversation I was having with two friends. We hit it off immediately, exchanged numbers, and texted throughout the conference.
There wasn't anything about the conference itself that changed my life, but meeting Vincent did. This episode shares my side of the story from what Vincent shares in his Total Life Freedom Podcast episode, "Crossroads".
Have you ever come to a fork in the road and you chose the road less taken? I made that choice in late 2014 and it has made all the difference.
Book Recommendation: Get the free audio book download "Freelance to Freedom" by Vincent Pugliese.