A huge thanks to the amazing TRENDSCAPING for featuring a condensed version of this post on their site HERE.
Many of you have likely never heard of The Yellow Conference, and that’s okay.
I was in the same boat until earlier this year when in the midst of questioning everything about myself and my nearly decade of experience in an industry that I might not even like anymore, a friend said, “You should check out this group I just found out about called The Yellow Collective. They have some great online articles and I think they do a conference thingy every year too. It could be a great resource for you!” Given the event description, I was intrigued enough to attend. For me, the conference was life changing.
The Yellow Conference is an annual two-day event for creative, entrepreneurial women who want to do good through their business and make a change in the world. This conference is for the women who want to ignite their passion and bring goodness to the world we live in. At the end of August, 500+ creative, ambitious female entrepreneurs, designers, and creators gathered at 440 Seaton in the L.A Arts District to immerse themselves in an inspiring and Insta-worthy world of the Yellow Collective community for two amazing jam-packed days. The Arts District itself has plenty of photogenic art murals, street art and great cafés, let alone the conference venue which is transformed from a hip, brick wall industrial canvas into an inspirational posters filled, café lights, flowers, greenery, macramé art and pop of yellow paradise. There was also a self-guided art Installation and a “Do Good” marketplace with over 20 vendors who all give back to charities both worldwide and also make a direct impact on the Los Angeles area.
While this was my first year attending, this was the third year of the conference being put on. Each year has its own theme and ours was “The Present Journey”. The founder of Yellow Co, Joanna Waterfall, shared that “the hard truth is, there’s no such thing as the arrival. You’ll never arrive because life doesn’t work that way. So what do we do with that? We embrace the journey.”
That theme carried through the following 48 hours with each speaker and panel sharing various aspects of their own journeys and what brought them to where they are now. There was only one “track” for the conference, so there weren’t separate break-out sessions. I loved it because everyone got to hear the same speakers and panels, and I wouldn’t have wanted to miss any of them! There were a few clear themes within embracing our present journey that consistently emerged as each speaker shared their own experience: become self-aware, prioritize self-care, and start now.
We’re conditioned to believe that there is a certain way to be, some future time and place where we’ll be who we want to be. Where somehow, a switch is flipped and we’re somehow this version of ourselves that’s better, that’s finally… accomplished, published, successful, married, running our own company, the perfect weight… whatever it is we tell ourselves that we feel is somehow better than we are right now. We’re so focused on a time that isn’t right now that we get discontent with where we are by focusing on where we’re not.
The conference opened with a spoken word piece by the emcee during which she said something that’s become my new mantra and I repeat multiple times daily: “Where you are is exactly where you’re supposed to be”. I still get goosebumps as I write it and repeat it to myself. The entire tone of the conference was introspectively understanding where you are in your journey, and learning from the experiences that the speakers and panels shared with us, how to embrace they journey and be present. Letting go of the pressure to be somewhere or be someone. Our society is so focused on arriving, accomplishment and success that we often overlook the most time-consuming, hard and rewarding part: the journey to get there.
There were a few clear topics that consistently emerged as each speaker or panel shared their own experience: become self-aware, prioritize self-care, and start now. It can seem overwhelming at first but, when you realize that YOU can make a difference in the world and the time to do that is NOW, you can embrace the journey by donating time, money, or resources to those groups or companies that align with your values. Or, purchase with purpose! Below are my favorite quotes from each of the speakers as well as my favorite merchant from the Do Good Marketplace!
Become Self Aware
- “Where you are is exactly where you’re supposed to be.” Arielle Estoria, writer, speaker and conference emcee
- “You have to exist fully and freely in all that you are. All those moving parts, your values, your beliefs – that’s who you are. It informs what you are about and what you’ll contribute.” Holley Murchison, Founder and CEO of Oratory Glory
- “Anyone can be equipped with skills, knowledge, and resources, but if you don’t believe in yourself you’ll go nowhere.” And “Find what you’re good at and make an impact with those skill sets. – Kohl Greyson, co-founder of Krochet Kids
- Ashley LeMieux, Founder ofThe Shine Project, started her talk with, “we’ve heard from a lot of amazing people so far, and I have to be honest as I stand up here that, I’m in the middle of my story. I don’t know how this story will end.” Talk about an unbelievable
- “You are the most fascinating book to read. And as you study yourself, you will unlock incredible wisdom, love, confidence, and peace that you never knew you had before.” Moorea Seal, author of The 52 Lists Project
Prioritize Self Care
- “Society wants us to think that doing too much makes us a good business owner or mom, but that’s not true.” – Moorea Seal, author of The 52 Lists Project
- “Work harder on yourself than you do your job.” -Eryn Eddy, founder of So Worth Loving
- “Check your negative self-talk. If you wouldn’t say it to your friends don’t say it to yourself.” Alex Michael May, Body Positivity Influencer & Entrepreneur
Start now
- “If we [Krochet Kids] can do this with crochet hooks, what can YOU do!” Kohl Greyson, co-founder of Krochet Kids
- “Good stories create change, and the world needs your story. Now.” Holley Murchison, Founder and CEO of Oratory Glory (also one of my favorite speakers!)
- “The best ideas sometimes start out as the weirdest ideas, but you need to have to courage to voice them and pursue them.” – Golriz Lucina, SVP and Content and Creative at Soul Pancake
- “Dream it up, write it down, phone a friend, decide what’s feasible, make a plan, get to work.” Holley Murchison, Founder and CEO of Oratory Glory
It became clear over those two wonderful days that each woman (and Kohl!) that stood up on that stage and bravely shared her story, was using her unique gift or gifts to create and spread goodness. They not only embraced who they were, but embraced the journey of becoming that person. The words of Holley Murchison continue to ring in my ears, “If we aren’t adding, we are subtracting… We don’t live in a time or space where we have the luxury of subtraction… So, become who you are.”
As you may have gathered, this isn’t the conference where you put on the proper attire, grab a stack of business cards and expect to network between an array of mostly interesting speakers and panels. No, this is a conference where you go to have your life changed and ugly cry with 500 of your now closest friends. It’s a conference that reminds you that you’re not alone in your journey. You are 100% unique, but you’re not alone!
My favorite Vendor: Makers & Goods
One of the companies that stood out to me was Makers & Goods because they design and curate thoughtful gifts that give back. I’m OBSESSED with the Escape bag and apothecary matchstick bottle …. aaannnddd plenty of other items. Their stuff is so cute AND they have a give back component… score! As I was writing this post I learned (via Instagram) that they had been evacuated from the Thomas Fire in Santa Barbara, CA. Luckily it seems that everyone is ok -phew! Take a moment to check them out!
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