A Cancelled Retreat Turned Into 4 Stages In Banff

One thing I’ve said for years is, “My voice and I stay ready.”

And my recent trip to Banff for The Gathering was one hell of an opportunity to demonstrate exactly what I mean.

A few months ago, Mandy Balak, president of The Gathering, invited me to participate in this year’s festival. Unfortunately, I had to decline because I was already committed to hosting Your Vocal Reset Retreat that same week.

Well, the venue unexpectedly had to cancel the retreat, and I was incredibly disappointed.

Then, while scrolling Instagram, I came across a post reminding everyone that The Gathering was just days away. And I remember thinking, DAMN! If only I’d known about the cancellation sooner, maybe I could’ve made it work.

So, I decided to message Mandy anyway and let her know that my schedule had unexpectedly opened up.

Her response?

“It’s not too late. Get on the plane!”

And just like that, I was headed to Banff with very little time to prepare and no idea how much work my voice was about to put in. 😂

WELCOME TO MY SPEAKING TOUR!

My moderator brief arrived the morning of my flight, so my in-flight entertainment was homework.

I was up at 5am in Toronto, landed in Calgary at 11:20am, made it to Banff around 1:20pm, and by 3:45pm I was moderating a conversation in front of 250 people.

My first panel, The One-Person Empire: What It Costs to Be the Face, brought me together with Hafu Go, Case Kenny and Arielle Estoria to discuss what it really takes to build a business when you’re also the face of it. We talked about the teams, the systems, the demands of content creation and what people don’t always see behind the brands they’re following.

The following day, I started on the WestJet Main Stage moderating a Q&A with Phil Cook, CMO of the WNBA. We talked about the league’s growth, fandom and the incredible women whose talents, personalities and stories are giving people so many reasons to connect with the sport. I genuinely wish we’d had more time for that conversation.

Later that afternoon, I joined Holly Hayes for a conversation about content creation, automation and what brands risk losing when they become so obsessed with optimizing everything.

Then, just an hour later, it was MY turn to deliver my keynote, Open Your Mouth. Open Some Doors.

I shared how I’ve spent the last decade using my voice to create opportunities without having an agent or talent bureau representing me. From accidentally launching my own television show to securing brand collaborations and pitching myself onto national television, so much of my career has been built because I’ve been willing to open my mouth.

And there I was, standing on another stage, encouraging people to consider what their own voices could make possible.

By the time it was all over, I felt like I’d completed an event triathlon!

But here’s what I found particularly rewarding about the whole experience: getting to witness my own vocal range.

And I’m not referring to how high or low I can go.

I’m talking about my ability to move between different audiences, conversations, subjects and stages, knowing that each one requires something different from me. Listening, thinking on my feet, asking questions that lead somewhere, bringing the right energy, making space for someone else’s voice and then turning around to deliver a keynote of my own.

I was in my ELEMENT. And what made it even more special was getting to show other people that range, too.

I’m accustomed to speaking in front of predominantly female audiences, so hearing from so many men throughout the festival who stopped me to compliment my sharpness, energy and charisma was something I hadn’t experienced quite like that before. I was grateful for every conversation.

But the experience also brought me right back to that first panel about being the face of a one-person empire.

Because sometimes, when you’re so busy doing the work, you forget to remind people of everything you’re actually capable of doing.

Between my coaching, keynotes, event hosting, moderating, television appearances and collaborations, I wear a lot of hats. And even though I’ve spent years doing this work, I don’t always do the best job of showing people the full scope of it.

The Gathering reminded me how important that is.

People can’t consider you for opportunities they don’t know you’re capable of taking on.

And isn’t that something?

I had just delivered an entire keynote about opening your mouth to open doors, and I was being reminded that I needed to continue doing exactly that for myself.

But here’s the other thing I want you to consider.

Had I never messaged Mandy to let her know my circumstances had changed, none of this would have happened. I could have easily assumed that the opportunity was gone and left it at that.

Instead, I opened my mouth.

And that one message led to four stage appearances, new connections, some incredibly meaningful conversations and an opportunity to show people what my voice can do.

So, as you head into this week, I want you to think about the opportunities you’ve been wanting to create for yourself.

Who needs to hear from you? Who needs to know what you’re capable of? Is there a conversation you’ve been putting off because you’ve already decided how the other person might respond?

And I hope my experience encourages you to do a little more of that. I’m not suggesting that every message you send will lead to a plane ticket to Banff. But I do know how easy it is to miss opportunities simply because we haven’t made our interests, abilities or availability known.​