The power of doing something

It’s the last day of #blogjune and I’m sad to see it end. The month started with a determined flurry of posts, I really created some momentum that was always going to disappear once I left for Canberra and NLS8. However, the response to some of my posts has been fantastic and really made me feel like my words are worth reading. So that’s a win for me! Thanks #blogjune, you rock.

NLS8 is over *insert sad and happy faces*

I always knew that there wouldn’t be much for sitting in on sessions and keynotes and yes, that’s totally correct. Instead I relied on Twitter (mostly after the weekend) to see what people were talking about and which sessions really struck a chord. It has also been really quite wonderful to scroll through #nls8 and read blog posts on experiences, revelations people had during and after the symposium and laugh at all the great memories that are (still) being shared. Conferences and symposiums are really where Twitter shows its value – sharing, connecting, consolidating things we’ve learnt, sharing images, it is so good.

So my reflections? Well, the committee did something really big and important for the LIS community in Australia and beyond. It keeps hitting me in little jolts that we created exactly what we set out to and that people (other than us) loved it. It feels . . . incredible.

Personally, I’m still trying to gather my thoughts and make sense of the last two years. It’s a cliche but I’ve learnt so much about myself and right now, know that I can accomplish a lot. Even the big secret dreams that are in my head. I’ve felt the power of #dosomething and Clare, Alyson and Kate are right, you can make things happen.

Find a friend, a colleague, someone who gets the same glint in their eye that you do when talking about *insert your favourite subject here*. That sounds a little too simple, but actually it is. Talk to that person on Twitter who shares the articles you love. Reach out. If they say no or don’t reply, no-one gets hurt (maybe your ego just a little but you’ll survive).

And if they say yes, let’s try this thing, take the next step and begin. Or go it alone, that’s doable too. I can’t tell you how many attempts I’ve had making a blog/website/book/thing/activity/workshop/experience/thing. So many. And for each flop, I’ve learnt something. It’s like sorting through all the fluff to find the shiny gem.

NLS8 was one of my shiny gems. And now I’m going to start polishing a new gem and see where that takes me.

I’ll finish with this post with a challenge and a tweet. Reach out to someone you met at NLS8 and say hello. If you loved a session, find that speaker and tell them just that. See what happens next. (Remember, action then inspiration then motivation).

And check out this great tweet from Clare Wix. It sums up the spirit of NLS8 for me.

3 thoughts on “The power of doing something”

  1. Wonderful sentiment. Thanks for the motivation and for admitting failed projects at the same time as celebrating your success, so few people do!

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