Conferences. You might attend one because you have to for employment, business, and/or educational reasons. Sometimes you’re lucky enough to want to attend one for more reasons than just a day or two away from work.

For me and many in the personal finance community, FinCon is a conference we wholeheartedly want to attend.

It provides us with a real-time opportunity to connect with others, contribute to the community, conduct business-related blogging activities (or other types of media activities), learn, and celebrate a bit too.

Vicki and me taking a photo op on the ‘Green Carpet’ heading into the Plutus Awards event.

I started this blog post with the intention of recapping my FinCon18 experience…it morphed into something a bit different…

Last year I experienced FinCon as a newbie, and I loved it. From the people I met to the sessions I attended, FinCon17 was awesome. I had so much fun I bought my ticket for FinCon18 as soon as I got home from 2017’s event.

2018’s event is now well in the books, and I can indeed say it was awesome too (so much so that I’ve bought my ticket for 2019). I spent time connecting with new friends and those I met last year, contributing to the community through meet-ups and volunteering, and conducting some business at the expo and in arranged meetings.

Me, Laurie from TheThreeYearExperiment.com, and Vicki from MakeSmarterDecisions.com and my partner at WomenWhoMoney.com and WomensMoneyTalk.com

Me and Steve from ThinkSaveRetire.com

Yes, I was truly shocked to win a Plutus Award!

With the many FinCon18 recaps circulating on the Internet, you could gather it’s excellent for all the connecting, contributing, and conducting. But you might be a little confused too by some of the headlines:

• FinCon is Like High School
• Five #FinCon18 Takeaways That Won’t 10x Anything
• The One Main Thing I Learned at #FinCon18
• Why I’m Not Buying a Ticket to FinCon19 (& FinCon18 Recap)
• FinCon… It’s Really All About the People
• How to Know When You Need a Break at a Professional Conference
• Chief Mom Officer Goes to FinCon 2018, Wins An Award, And Rounds Up 50+ Recaps

via GIPHY

As you’ll see from the few posts I listed above, or the 50 plus one’s Liz has linked to in her post, there is no one right way (or wrong way) to do FinCon. But you don’t need me to tell you it will be different for everyone.

Hell, it will be different for you year-to-year even. Not because it will be in a new location, or because there will be different attendees, speakers, vendors, sessions, or activities. But because you will be different.

If You Choose to Be.

But first, you’ve got to choose to go. To FinCon or any other conference, event, party, job, etc.

In 2016 I didn’t know there was a FinCon, Plutus Award, nor did I have a blog or have any experience at blogging let alone know what a plugin or SEO was.

In February 2017, I launched this blog, and a few months later I won my way to FinCon17.

In March of 2018, I co-launched another blog, followed by another in May 2018, and at FinCon18 won a Plutus Award! Every day I still find it all hard to believe.

All that to say, I made choices instead of just wanting.

I stopped just wanting to be a blogger and chose to be a blogger. I stopped just wanting to go to FinCon and chose to go to FinCon. I stopped just wanting to meet Mr. Money Mustache (Mr. MMM) and chose to meet Mr. Money Mustache! (And ask for a selfie!)

Pete aka Mr. MMM and Me at FinCon18

So What’s My Point?

Life goes fast. Wanting doesn’t help us live it. Choosing does.

Whether it’s FinCon, a new career, a new city, or even a new habit we think we want. We get to make a choice. We need to make a choice. Or life just goes by.

We don’t know what next year or even tomorrow will bring. It could be just as thrilling as this one, more so, or it could not. Chances are if we choose to live it instead of just dreaming about it we won’t be disappointed.

Does everything work out as we imagine? Hell no. I’ve had many failures, embarrassments, and tears, to prove it. I’m just glad I made choices and tried though. Because just wanting doesn’t get us anywhere.

So, get over your big but, make a choice and see what you can accomplish today, tomorrow and this next year.

If you’d really like a recap of my FinCon18 experience, let me know by email – amy@lifezemplified.com

Cheers!

FinCon18 friends toasting Fritz, from TheRetirementManifesto.com, on his Plutus Award win