getting it done (mightily)

Almost two weeks ago, I wrote this post from a plane while en-route to Sonoma County for Mighty Summit. Billed as a gathering of women in media, the summit is an annual event that brings together a group of super-cool ladies who run companies, generate innovative ideas, have incredible blogs, and create fantastic work. The weekend was dedicated to three important things: getting to know each other, cultivating a concrete list of life goals called the life list (and supporting and facilitating the goals of the attendees), and having the best time ever.

At a picnic table in the Armstrong Redwoods State National Reserve, I committed to five important goals for the year and supported my newfound friends in their goals. It turns out, that kind of thing is important. There is power in sharing your goals, in being vulnerable, and frankly, in being willing to fail. To really live out our dreams, we need to be prepared for the possibility that we won’t achieve them. It’s easy to make a list of things we can easily do (and there’s a need for that too), but to get to the heart of the matter, we need to dive in, leave fear behind, and say what we really, really want. I told these great women I was going to do some major stuff, and now I have to do it. I reconnected with myself, and established some tangible, measurable pursuits that will make me happier, and possibly even make the world a better place.

Besides big-time goal setting, I connected with a group of incredible women. There were those I already knew, like Maggie, Sarah, Amber, Laura, and Kristin, but I also developed crazy friend crushes on Meg, Kathleen, Dana, Kelly, Fiona, Lily, Rena, Catie,Tiffani, Jordan, Maggie, Jessica, Stephanie, Kate, Christine, and Willow, among others. Each of these lovely women were so accomplished and cool, and from the professional to the personal, they are now part of my inner circle.

Through the creativity, hostessing prowess, and all-around mightiness of the Go Mighty team, Maggie, Sarah, Laura, Susan, Amber, and Willow, and the incredible generosity of the event sponsors, we were put up in the modern, cozy Boon Hotel + Spa, and treated to a weekend of blessedly strong coffee, incredible food, and endless (seriously) wine.  Our lovely and brilliant hosts made me feel like the luckiest lady in the world, and I had the best, best time.

All images taken with my trusty, if totally beat up, Droid phone.