Almost 2 weeks ago I left for Ali Brown’s Shine event in Las Vegas.  The event was billed as “an unprecedented three-day event [that] will establish a new standard for entrepreneurs, uniting purpose, passion, and self-discovery along with a strategic plan to build a successful and secure business model that can provide for years to come.”

I’ve been following Ali for about two years—she started as someone who taught internet marketing to small business owners.  She has since evolved into more of “brand Ali,” with a her own magazine, high-end coaching programs and aspirations for a TV show in the near future.  It’s been interesting to watch her change and grow.

The Idea of Being “Worth it”

While at the event and since I’ve returned there’s been a lot of talk about topics such as whether the event was “worth it,” whether it was just an elaborate pitch for her coaching programs, or whether the content was disappointing or just on “the light side.”

Personally, I went to Shine with the expectation that it was going to be a great opportunity for me to network face-to-face with a lot of influential people I “know” or interact with online.  I expected Ali to spotlight her programs and knew that it wasn’t the type of event where we would be getting step-by-step how-to like her previous live events (the Online Success Blueprint Workshops).

I’ve seen several clever, thoughtful and downright entertaining blog posts since the event ended devoted to people’s experiences at Shine.  They were great to read.  My aim with this post is not to give a play-by-play rundown or a clever or witty essay on whether it was “worth it” for me. (In a word, yes—I felt that it was.)

My Take

What I wanted to do instead was just share some some thoughts I brought home with me—some of which are a-ha’s, some that are nuggets of wisdom I learned previously (from Ali, Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich, etc.) but was reminded of at Shine, and some that are just inspirational gems I felt were worth repeating here.  From my notes:

Make decisions from where you want to be, not where you are.

Clarity attracts money.

Why would the universe give you more if you aren’t taking care of what you already have?

If you are being your authentic self, you really can’t have competition.

You don’t have to know it all, you just need to know more than they do.

There are so many people out there who need the very problem solved that you can solve for them.

How to really empower people: Just be (authentic).

The hole you invest in yourself through is the same one you receive through.

People won’t invest in you beyond what you’ve invested in yourself.

The marketing is more important than the mastery.

Always be marketing.

We have more than enough and we need to stay in that abundant mentality always.

Willpower and desire are an irresistible pair.

Successful people understand that you don’t need make things complicated.

Think BIG: Use giant post-it notes and flip charts and sharpies…do things in a tiny way, you get tiny results.

You need to map things out—or else you’ll be spinning forever.

For a business to thrive, you’ve got to brand.

People are impatient and want to pay to work with you how they want to—so have choices to offer them!

As I have been going over all of the notes I took at the event, these are some of the things that stood out.  But what stands out even more in my mind were the great people I finally got to meet “in real life.”  That alone was worth a last-minute trip, by myself, to a city I have never been.