This weekend I’m attending the World Domination Summitin Portland, OR. It’s a gathering of bloggers, life coaches, inspirers and unconventional business folks. It feels like I’m going away to summer camp. There are going to be great workshops, meet-ups and more. But you know what? I almost didn’t go.

The voices of fear almost talked me out of it. Fear said things like:

• It’s going to cost too much money
• You won’t know anyone there
• You’ve gained weight and you don’t want people to see you
• Wouldn’t you rather go somewhere you’d be more comfortable?
• …blah, blah, blah

Fear is a crafty S.O.B. and wears many masks. In the case of World Domination Summit it trotted out “Laurel’s Personal Best Of…” reasons not to do something new. Thankfully, during a meditation with the angels, this message came through:

Make alive choices. Make choices that evoke beauty and joy. Do not subdue your experience of life in response to fear. Your dreams are not delivered in this way. Your dreams come cloaked in leaps of faith.  Say “yes” and follow the wisdom of your heart not the fear of your ego nature. Make choices that allow you to blossom and thrive.

..and in that moment, I committed to attending the conference. Ever since then miracles and inspiration have sparkled on my path. It’s as if I walked through a portal into a new set of experiences that only came to pass because I stepped through the fear to see what lived beyond its shadow.

In the instant I decided to go, things started shifting to accommodate my new reality.

• Registration for classes, angel readings & design started picking up bringing in the cash flow to fund the adventure
• As soon as I joined the WDS Facebook group I found that I knew a lot of people attending (so much for the “I won’t know anyone” drama)
• I decided to go and buy new clothes to dress up my now-heavier body. So instead of feeling out of sorts, I’ll feel all sparkly and light.
• The whole being-uncomfortable-thing vanished and has been replaced by unbridled excitement.

…and one of the coolest things of all? I have connected with two amazing women, Jess & Sammi, who are partners in Badass Biz. They’re social media coaches & more. They’re both going to WDS, too. And we’re collaborating on a fabulous new class, Social Media Bootcamp with Soul, a 12-week intensive to help soul-inspired entrepreneurs learn to use social media to grow their tribe and share their authentic message. (I’ll update this post with the link as soon as the site is live – we’re putting the finishing touches on it.)

This experience has been a great reminder to me that sometimes fear is the gateway to a grand adventure.

I share this with you in case, perhaps, fear is keeping you from doing something that delights you. C’mon we can cross the line together and celebrate our place in the sun.  🙂