The short answer to why you need to go to the World Domination Summit in Portland, OR next year (2012) is simply that:
The people there will change your life.
Not just anyone you might know that happens to be there, but every single person you talk to has an interesting story to share and wants to hear yours too. You can expect genuine compassion from everyone you interact with. To help demonstrate the mood of the weekend more in depth, I have two experiences from “the day after” that demonstrate the feeling of being at the conference.
As I was driving into work this morning I made the normal commute as I drove away from downtown Seattle. Usually, I would be in the zone, listening to a podcast, driving the speed limit, and focused on the road. But as I was driving, I looked at opposing traffic headed towards their 9 to 5 grind just like me.
There was a huge difference between them and me though. All of suburbia was stuck in gridlock traffic, while I had an open road.
I simply smiled and thought, “You don’t have to do what everyone else is doing.”
I’ve known for a while that I need a big change in my life and I’m choosing to work towards it everyday to get there. To me, being “different” is really just about being the real you.
The other thing that has continually happened to me today (probably because I am exhausted and need a nap) is I keep hearing an alarm going off. It’s the same sound that wakes me up each morning, but there is no actual alarm going off. Every time I hear it, it reminds me that its time. Time for action.
When I was at the World Domination Summit, alarms were going off in my head all weekend. I met so many amazing people that are living their lives how they want to live them, not how they are expected to. Immediate feelings of support were shared with me when I told them of my future plans for adventure. They’d ask, “how soon?” and I wanted to say tomorrow. The time for action is now.
Expectations & Inspirations
I had high hopes for the World Domination Summit. I bought the ticket even before I started this site or knew anyone online. Chris Guillebeau’s writing and especially his book have radically changed how I view the world and my place in it. I was really looking forward to meeting people that refused to be “normal” and conform to society.
In every way, my expectations were exceeded. I talked with people that are huge inspirations for major successes and changes in my life like J.D. Roth, Leo Babauta, and Pamela Slim. When I talked with them and told them my story, the genuine interest and care they placed in our discussions warmed me greatly.
To sum up WDS in a single sentence:
The World Domination Summit is where real leaders inspire real people to quit faking it.
Leave what makes you miserable and go do what makes you happy.
If you have done something for ten years and hate it, that doesn’t mean you have to do it for ten more.
The world needs people that slow down and come alive, not rush till they’re dead.
More Questions
Did I get answers to all my questions over the weekend? No. The conference gave me more questions than I could have ever thought up on my own.
Why am I so afraid to follow my dreams?
What am I waiting for?
How long until this conference grows from 500 to 50,000 people?
My generation has always been told they can do anything, but so many of us settle. We do what we think we are supposed to do and build a comfortable life with a mortgage and 2.6 kids. We have the burden of debt, possessions, and obligations that weigh us down. But the truth of it is:
We don’t have to fit in. We have to get out.
Too Hard to Leave
On Sunday night at the after party, I didn’t want to leave. I had to work first thing in the morning Monday and pre-WDS Caleb would have left in plenty of time to make it home for seven hours of sleep and jump right back in to “being normal” again. I didn’t leave early though. Even after two straight days of connecting with great people, I didn’t want to miss out connecting with just one more person.
If I had left at the responsible time of 6pm I would have missed connecting with Jenny Leonard for a discussion on how physical pain affects our deeper psych. I would have missed bro-ing out and destroying two man sized pizzas with Steve Kamb, Joel Runyon, Sean Ogle, Adam Baker, and Grant Pelle. I wouldn’t have realized in person how much confidence and genuine joy Nina Yau carries with her everywhere. I wouldn’t have had so many laughs with Devon Mills. Mikell Sloan and I wouldn’t have started the impromptu dance party at The Woods. And more connections than I have space to write.
Even though I had to take power naps at two rest stops around 1 AM to keep from falling asleep at the wheel on the way back to Seattle, it was worth it.
The five-minute walk from my car into work on the day after the summit felt longer and harder than the four hour, mini nap infused drive coming back to Seattle from Portland in the dead of night. Leaving a place and event filled with people that aren’t content with being normal or simply fitting in, brought a tinge of culture shock upon me.
The walk to my cubicle brought me back to normal, but because of WDS, I had a renewed vigor to be different and make my dreams become a reality.
It further motivated me to continue on the journey towards following my passion of living a life filled with “wants” and not with “shoulds”.
I’m already looking forward to next year’s World Domination Summit (June 2012) and can’t wait to continue to connect with the people I met this year. If you want to make sure you are first to hear about when registration opens up, sign up here.
I know I’ll be there.
***
Ironically, this is the 100th post of Pocket Changed. If you are new, welcome! You can start here, read what I’m all about, or check out the archives. You can also subscribe to receive free updates.
All images by Armosa Studios (image 1) (image 2) (image 3)
{ 52 comments… read them below or add one }
Great post. I have to say WDS may have been one of the most profound moments of thought in my professional life.
Agreed! I am looking forward to next year. Let me know about the post WDS Seattle meet-up you are putting together… right?
I’d join you guys for that… I’m in West Seattle.
Then we should make it happen!
Great post, Caleb! It was a pleasure meeting you Sunday at lunch.
You are an incredible young man. I’m glad WDS was meaningful for you. I wish you all the best.
Thank you Gene! I know we didn’t get to talk long, but it was great meeting you. If your kids ever have money questions, send them my way. I’d be glad to help.
What a great 100th post!
I knew you would have a recap and have been looking forward to reading it. To say you have an amazing time would be an understatement.
Such a powerful post and inspiring to work harder to achieve our goals.
It’s great you can tell people of your goals and they won’t laugh at your, tell you it’s not possible, or blow it off. That has to be such an amazing feeling.
After reading all the updates on Twitter this weekend and now this, it seems like an event I definitely should attend.
Glad you had a blast.
Thanks Benny! The people there were amazing. Everyone I talked to was passionate about what they wanted to do and you could see them come alive when they talked about it.
Great recap!
I came here via The Hustle Project and it looks like I am about 100 posts behind! I’ll have to catchup.
I wanted to go to WDS ever since I first heard about it. Like Benny said, I too had watched the stream of Tweets over the weekend and I agree that it looks like a “must attend” event. It was nearly impossible for me to make it this year since I am currently on the other side of the world but I should be in Southern BC around this time next year. Hopefully I’ll make it next year.
– Matt
Welcome Matt. I don’t know if I’ll be on the other side of the world for the one next year or not, but I’m going to make it a point to be there for it.
Haha, nice – great timing for the 100th post. Did you adjust your posting frequency to make this work, or was a total coincidence?
Caleb, I’ve got to say that reading your post, I really felt bad that I could have been there, and I’m going to definitely try to make it next year. Thanks for sharing your experiences!
It was extremely random that this was my 100th post actually. Just went on wordpress to publish and saw 99 posts were published before this.
Hopefully I’ll see you there next year!
Great post! WDS is indeed life changing. Every person you meet will give you a different perspective and you will have too many ideas floating around your head, each one better than the previous.
Agreed Aggie. There should be a mandatory day after where we all just sit there and do a complete mind dump of all the ideas and inspiration we’ve received.
Great post, Caleb. It was awesome to meet you in person, though it would have been even more awesome if we could sit down and talk with one another more!
“being “different” is really just about being the real you” – this is so true. I believe that we tend to focus too much on being different when we are already different from others by definition, because we’ve got the real, authentic self inside us and what really matters is to show up as that real you.
When we make connections with other people, though, I believe we feel connected by finding similarities that we share with one another. And among many common similarities we share (e.g. being a human), I believe “being different” is a similarity that we all share together. Well, maybe not everyone, because a number of people seem to be afraid of showing up as who they are.
World Domination Summit was amazing – everyone was able to connect with each other on the level of being the real you as well as on the level of being a world dominator
It was great to see you shortly, even if we didn’t get a chance to talk more.
I like the phrase you used, “showing up as who they are.” There was no one I met there that had to fake what they are. The world should be more like that.
Love this, Caleb. Glad I had the brief chance to meet with you at WDS.
“every single person you talk to has an interesting story to share and wants to hear yours too”
That blew my mind, too. Literally everyone was either doing something amazing, or right on the brink of doing so. The energy was contagious.
Was great meeting you too Niall. Contagious is the perfect word to describe the energy. I like it.
Beautiful post Caleb, I am so glad I got to meet you in person!
I had the feeling coming home like I was re-entering orbit after a lunar jaunt. And I am quite happy in my day-to-day life!
It was a very powerful, special space those 3 days, and I know it has kicked my thinking to a whole new level as well. Can’t wait to see what you create!
-Pam
It was great meeting you too Pam! Next to Chris and Leo, you have been one of the biggest inspirations for me to follow my dreams.
To steer a sailboat, it starts with the rudder. To change the world, it starts with a few people.
Great words, Caleb! You spoke my mind
Sorry I didn’t get to meet you, two days really isn’t enough when every single person out of 500 is someone you could talk to for a lifetime. I’ll catch you next year! (already signed up and bought the ticket
)
Thanks Dagmar! I really wanted to meet all 500 people too. It will probably be even harder next year when #WDS grows.
CALEB. This summary is phenomenal: you managed to capture the highs, lows, and thoughts and take the words right out of my mouth. So many good things in here. You are going to do INCREDIBLE things this year. It was such a pleasure to meet you and spend time with you. Enjoy your week and take lots of time to wander, reflect, and enjoy the space of dreaming.
Awww, thanks Sarah. That is my main focus this week: to reflect and dream.
With so many thoughts and ideas flowing through my head this weekend, it is necessary to figure out exactly how I am going to change the world before I start.
Caleb,
I came with a many expectations – what can I say, I’m a guy who expects a lot.
Well, I too had my expectations exceed not just by Chris and his gang, not just by the presenters – but also by the 500 people there! Thank you all.
It is great to hear that I wasn’t the only one with expectations that were exceeded. Thanks for sharing Owen!
I didn’t meet you at WDS Caleb…but wish that I had. I have never been surrounded by so many people who are genuinely interested in meeting me; not because they know who I am but because they didn’t know who I was and were truly interested in hearing my story (and I in theirs). What an amazing feeling. I can’t wait to see where this wave of power takes me in the next year. I’ll see in PDX in 2012? Cheers!
The shear amount of genuine contacts that I made at the conference speak for themselves as well. See you in 2012.
Lovely post, Caleb. I was blown away by the people I met, the lives they’ve lived and all that incredible energy in one museum’s ballroom. Very happy we had a chance to chat, albeit briefly. Best of luck to you and see you next year!
Thank you Jodi. I loved your main speech and your workshop on career transitions was a huge help for me as I plan my extended trip.
It was great meeting you too.
WDS was so fricken epic. Was amazing meeting both those people I was acquainted with, and those that I hadn’t been before. Was awesome meeting you man. Reading this post really felt great. There’s no way to describe the pure awesome that went on. Rock out this year and see you next!
Was great meeting you as well Mark. I expect to book a parking spot someday and brag that I know you.
It was so awesome to meet you at WDS Caleb and this post really sums up many of the same feelings and experiences that I had as well. It was tough to drive into work this morning and as I opened that door, walked those dirtied steps and smelled the musty cubicle smell I could have been depressed. As my eyes adjusted to the fake light and my ears slowly tuned out the mindless office chatter I could have felt sorry for myself. But I didn’t because I remembered what Jonathan Fields said about changing your perspective. I remembered what Neil Pasricha said about finding the awesome things in every day life. But more importantly I remembered all the amazing stories of stepping outside that box of fear that I heard at WDS from incredible people.
Would love to see you again at WDS in 2012 but I’ll be motorbiking across Indonesia. Cheers!
Strong words Matt. As we go back to “the real”, all it takes in our minds to view things different is a pivot. To change gears and realize change happens one day at a time.
Maybe you can attend in 2012 virtually via Skype.
Caleb,
It was nice to sit next to you during the Mondo Beyond activities. I’m sure our paths will cross again.
Mike
It was great meeting you too Mike! I look forward to hearing about your upcoming adventures abroad. Keep me posted.
Beautiful post. This perfectly sums up my feelings on coming back to work. More focused than ever on bringing my dreams to fruition.
So glad that we got to connect at WDS, Caleb. I’m very excited to see where this next year takes you–down the aisle and off on great adventures. We’ll have to compare notes at WDS 2012. And bring on the dance party, of course.
Thank you Mikell. It was really great connecting with you at both the beginning and end of the conference. Meeting people like you at WDS brought focus and determination back to life for me.
Definitely looking forward to comparing notes and continuing to bring the dance next year.
Thanks for the comment on my site! Great wrap-up.
Wish we’d met — maybe next year?
Thanks again,
K.
Of course Karen.
I loved your presentation and stories! I’m particularly impressed by your portraits of speakers and attendees too.
Next year it is!
Wish we’d met. Love your optimism. It was a fantastic event!!
I’ve had the visual of returning “to the cubicle” (or the office, or the normal life) several times — that gives me (and a bet a bunch of others!) even more inspiration to make a change TODAY.
Lisa
I wish we’d have met too Lisa. There was so many great people there it would have been great to connect with them all.
Great to meet you in person after we had connected online! I agree it was an amazing even with amazing people. Hope to see you in Portland again next year.
It was great meeting you to Vic. Can’t wait to rock it this next year and see everyone at WDS in 2012.
One fantastic wrap-up, dear Caleb. Lovely meeting you and what can I say? I resonate with every feeling and emotion you have here – that and everything something goes wrong, now I say “It’s AWESOME.”
Remember the Neil Pasricha video we watched because he couldn’t be there. Awesome. See you next year hopefully!
I’ve always been an optimist, but there are still times when life is frustrating. Now, I’ll I say is “This is awesome.” And re-frame my view.
It was great meeting you too Farnoosh.
Here’s my take on WDS, Caleb. It’s really more of a tribute to Chris. He amazes me.
http://www.questforanewperspective.com/profiles/why-authenticity-matters-wds-chris-guillebeau/
Thanks Gene. I’ve added it to my list of wrap-up posts here.
I don’t think I got to meet you Caleb, but I will look forward to doing so at the next WDS! Thanks for a lovely summation of an amazing weekend.
Thanks Melissa. I don’t think we met, but maybe next year.
Caleb, I just checked the page to see that registration has closed. How much does it cost to attend WDS? Just wanna know the price – Its 1000 tickets now!
Sheyi
It was ~$500 for this year’s conference.
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