Troy and I were so excited to be able to go to the New Media Expo 2008 in Las Vegas this past Thursday, Aug. 14-Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008. Podcasters, Bloggers, Vidcasters, you name it… New Media had it and in 111 degree temperature! Wowee!
I’m a little bleary eyed still from the trip and making sure Tropical Storm Fay is not turning into hurricane status here in Florida . It’s Tuesday and I just now unpacked my bags… It was also the children’s first week of school this week. Unfortunately, they only had one day and stayed home today. Bad Weather Day #1 down and taken up.
Okay, back to the New Media Expo. Our first day opened up with the keynote from Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV. He has been on Conan O’Brian, Ellen, and several other national media outlets sharing his loud and unique way of tasting /viewing wine. He’s a bit abrasive, very opinionated and strong willed. His family is from Russia and his story is rather interesting. He is a very animated and energetic speaker. You could definitely feel his passion as he spoke and was rather entertaining as well. All elements of an influential speaker, don’t you think? He most certainly is a hard worker and has been all of his life. Ever since he was in 4th grade he knew what he wanted and pursued it relentlessly.
Gary Vaynerchuk told us many things during his speech that I totally agreed with. He emphasized time and time again that patience is one of the keys. You have to be authentic and do “what is in your DNA”. He kept saying that you have to do what you love, what YOU are capable of doing.. .what is in your DNA. You can try and try all you want, but if singing is not in your DNA, you’re never going to be a fantastic singer. Basically, you have to really know who you are in order to truly succeed. I agreed.
Gary is everywhere. This is where I discovered how important being a part of the community really is. Twitter. Tweet. Blogging. Facebook. My Space. The list goes on and on. WE have to be a part of the conversations that are occurring in our world, our space. Be everywhere. Be on for hours a day. The more you put in, the more you put out. (I really need a twitter account. But, who would ever follow me?! Do I have anything anyone would really be interested in?!? And sure I want to follow some pretty famous people… but I don’t have time! I have enough problems of my own keeping up with my three little ones, and my hubby and making sure I made the right appointment with the right child at the right time!!! But, it looks like Twitter is IT… so, I guess I must tweet.)
We have to be in the community and leave a solid response. No URL, Gary admonishes. Have as many vehicles as possible to get your message across. Right on, Gary! (I felt a little overwhelmed as I listened to him and began adding more “to-do’s” on my already growing to do list.) His favorite t-shirt is “Legacy is greater than currency…”Think of your legacy. Build it right. The more customers you have every week, that is good. (Yes, I literally jump up and down when our number of listeners goes up even by one!)
Your brand is everything when you are starting a business.You can be found. ” You have to hustle your freakin’ face off.” ( I believe it.) And Gary continues to say that we are in a “Gold Rush right now.”
Embrace who you are. Pay attention. Be on the next platform.
He works so hard to give his wife, Lizzy 4-5 vacations a year. That is one of the dreams I have. To go on an incredible, money is not an issue vacation every 3 months for a week. Ahhh!!! Dreams are good… Gary strongly advises that you have to balance your family life with your work/business. For him, he wanted more fabulous vacations for his wife. (No children yet.) Lucky wife… 
I also think the reason why Gary has and continues to reach success is because he is grateful. He told us to be thankful. You have to give back to those around you to win. I found that I was rather charmed by this loud, somewhat obnoxious, and sometimes-know-it-all attitude of a guy. Some people are turned off by people like him. However, I admired his undeterred passion, his incessant dedication, his love for his family and wife and his authenticity. His transparency. Not too many people who really embrace who they are nowadays… these are the characteristics we as parents try to instill and teach our own children. Be who you are. When you do, happiness will follow…
He has achieved what we podcasters/new media pioneers are dreaming to achieve. He may be the exact opposite of me in personality and manner, but it is exactly that quality that I found appealing. I want to be more assertive, more out there to get exactly what I want so I can do what Gary does… give back to his community. He is thankful for us because without us, there would be no Gary.
We did meet him afterwards and I complimented him on his keynote. I also honestly with all my heart told him that he would be a great father. I really think he would. He would love his child with all his heart and teach him how to be himself and love life!
Will I get on Twitter and follow Gary? Probably not. Will I listen to his show, Wine Library TV? Probably only a few times. Will I admire Gary? Certainly. He is proud of his DNA and he knows who he is. He is also not one bit afraid to pursue what he wants with a fire comparable to molten lava. I want that for me. I want that for my children. Thank you, Gary for giving us exacly what we needed to hear to start off our conference on the right note…
( I have a picture of Gary and me, but being as technology-challenged as I am, I have to figure out how to post it later this week… apologies…)
Stay tuned for Day 2 of the New Media Expo… we learned more about blogging and also met an interesting “lady at the bar”…
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