And I Love the Way She Pronounces the Word 'Pithy'
I shall preface this post by saying this:
I paid the charming Sophie Uliano of Gorgeously Greento write this post.
And for those who don't like sarcasm, I shall say this:
I did NOT pay the charming Sophie Uliano of Gorgeously Green to write this post.
But what I did do--after I met her at the Casual Bloggers Conference--was agree to a blog switch.
You write for me, I will write for you.
That sort of a thing.
So here is her post.
It may sound like I paid her to write it.
And maybe I did . . .
But maybe I didn't . . .
Courtney Kendrick – hellooooooo!
by Sophie Uliano
I arrive in Salt Lake City to speak at the Casual Blogger’s Conference in a bit of a state. Not being a good flyer, our initial descent into the airport was pretty hairy, but nothing prepared me for the final descent, where our plane, (which suddenly felt like a tiny plastic toy in the sky), was bashed side-to-side and up and down by some very unpleasant head/tail winds. Thinking my last moment was coming up, I turned to the man beside me for comfort, only to find him violently barfing into a paper bag, which clearly was too small for the job!
I then had to leg it to my hotel and the conference. Sweaty, out of breath and visibly rattled, I quietly took my reserved front row seat just in time to hear the top-billed keynote speaker Courtney Kendrick.
Have to back up a bit: a gorgeous lady, Veronica, had picked me up from the airport and had talked about Courtney all the way to the hotel. Admittedly I had asked her who Courtney was (already feeling a little nervous about the her buzz in Utah), and Veronica got fired up – Courtney was amazing, has this incredible following etc – she even told me her family’s incredible story, which had me totally hooked in. The short trip was better than a good Oprah episode, however, it left me feeling a little inadequate. I was to speak after Courtney, and I’m not even an official blogger. OMG, what was I going to say? I had never spoken at a blogger’s conference before. I’d spouted forth at Green Conferences galore about my Green thing – hmmmmmmm – this was going to be an on-the-fly situation.
Back in my front row seat, I look across the row and Courtney’s entire family (very large), are there to support her. The crowd is hanging on her every word. Now I really want to crawl into a cave. What had possessed me to come to Utah and speak for these professional bloggers???
As I listened to Courtney all my anxiety began to dissolve – not because she wasn’t brilliant, but more because the skill and ease with which she captivated the audience, had me totally drawn in. Courtney is such a beautiful writer – edgy, pithy, everything that my book editor said I needed to me in my blogs (and am clearly not!). More than anything, she’s inspirational and I luuuuuuuuuve to be inspired. Courtney tapped into the deep part of me that needs to express myself on the page. She showed me how moving people to laugh and cry with words, is perhaps more important than giving tips and “expert” advice on green living.
Okay mystery solved – I’ve spent months wondering why some bloggers get a mega-following? The answer is 2 words: good writing, and boy or boy does our Courtney have the knack.
I took my place behind the podium, feeling strangely connected to a crowd of total strangers. Courtney had bought us all together and leveled the playing field. Her vulnerability and humor made it possible for me to just be authentic and as all my favorite spiritual gurus have said: The greatest gift you can ever give is your true self.
I left Utah with a renewed passion for writing, ignited in large part, by the radiant Courtney Kendrick.
Thank you Sophie.
You can read my post about Sophie on the Gorgeously Green blog. It's called Gorgeously Green (with Envy).
Please note, she paid me for this post with organic bath salts.
Just kidding. She DIDN'T pay me in organic bath salts.
I am c jane and I pay people to write posts like this about me.
I DON'T pay people to write posts like this about me.
contact me:
cjanemail@gmail.com