This weekend, I was gifted tickets to attend the Positivity Charge Conference in Philadelphia’s beautiful Rittenhouse Square neighborhood inside the Warwick Hotel.
The Positivity Charge Conference 2019 was a one-day event and it featured speakers related to self-care, mental health, and creative empowerment.
Working as a blogger in the intuitive, spirituality, and natural health industry, it's so easy to get lost out there in the blogging world somewhere inside the outer internet space.
There's no organized physical world force telling you what to do or exactly how to do it.
And with brand deadlines to meet, tax forms being due, and the constant influx of new SEO best practices getting released, you can get disconnected from your mission, the real reason why you started doing what you do - which is, to spread the light.
When I overthink meeting everyone's needs and making sure each of my thirty-three different service providers has what they need to help us keep the wheels turning over here, self-care and mental health can definitely take a back burner.
You can spend years cranking away to midnight just making sure to get that last email out, or trying to remember if you did remember to turn off that one coupon code.
This is why, when I had the opportunity to attend this event, I said yes, I could definitely use some positivity in my life!
Founded by two wellness powerhouses, Parisha Smith, host of the Positively Social Podcast, and Dr. Rubina Tahir, a certified Chiropractor, the conference started with a healthy breakfast and a group yoga class, led by Gabriella Dondero.
After yoga, the break-out sessions began.
The Positivity Charge 2019 featured three break-out tracks
Wellness Enthusiast
Wellness Entrepreneur
Wellness Elitist
I attended the Wellness Elitist Track. All three concurrent tracks included two speakers giving talks about an hour in length, and then, there was lunch.
In my track, we listened to talks by Danielle Mercurio, confidence coach and astrologer, and Kat Tanita, fashion blogger and wellness advocate.
The Wellness Elitist Track
In Danielle Mercurio's talk, Ignite Your Confidence And Visibility For Lasting Impressions, she spoke about awakening your confidence.
Danielle talked about the ways we hide from our light and the ways the universe helps to show you who you are.
She also went over three takeaways for showing up more authentically, confidently, and lovingly in your life.
The takeaways froM the Danielle Mercurio talk were
Wake up to yourself in the morning. Don't look at your phone before you look at yourself in the mirror, and this will inspire more confidence in your day. I've done this already and it works.
Take a message from the Care Bears. Walk with your heart out and your shoulders back. Use your heart to guide you and ground you as you move throughout the day.
Speak about what you want to be remembered as going forward. Not as where you are. This is especially true if you are launching into a new field. For example, if you are transitioning into a new role at work, talk about your new purpose, not your current one.
Danielle has a degree in early childhood education, and you could definitely tell. I loved her teaching style. She had us up and moving with meditations and participation activities throughout the lecture, and her talk was over before I knew it.
Whenever I go to a talk, and it's over before I know it, I know my soul enjoyed it, because it means I lost a sense of time and space. Whenever I lose a sense of time and space, that's when I know I'm connected.
So I definitely found her talk engaging and energizing, and thought she made an excellent first speaker of the day. I would recommend seeing her speak.
Danielle is Philly-based and regularly does in-person events, including comedy shows.
She also has a free Own Your Confidence Meditation available for those who attended The Positivity Charge this year and is extending it to blog readers here -
Whether or not you attended the conference live, check out this link for your free Own Your Confidence meditation download from Danielle.
In Kat Tanita's talk, From Personal Struggle To Personal Empire, she spoke about her journey as a fashion blogger and the wellness-crisis she went through after discovering she had a histamine intolerance at the peak of her blogging rise.
Kat had a few takeaways from her talk for bloggers
Say yes to everything in the beginning. It helps you get your foot in the door, and it enables you to learn what you like and what you don't like.
Trust your gut on partnerships. If you picked up on something the first time that wasn't right with a new partner, go with it.
Transcendental meditation and meditating is vital to her routine. She has a Vedic practice through Ziva Meditation.
Kat also mentioned
It took about three years to get her platform to where she wanted it to be.
The importance of getting a good accountant.
iPhone photos sometimes do better on Instagram.
Her #1 source of traffic is Pinterest. This is my #2, Google is my #1 source currently.
She also talked about the affiliate programs ShopStyle and rewardStyle that have really worked out for her. This is useful information.
When you're an independent, you often look for affiliate streams, and you never know what is working for someone and what isn't, and what is just a test they did, that they later decided to never do again. So thank you, Kat.
Kat's energy lit up the room. If you ever have the opportunity to hear more about how she monetizes or hear more about the blogger's journey, which can include burnout and healthcare, she was very friendly with this information.
You can read more about Kat's wellness journey on her blog, With Love From Kat.
The Brand Presence
During the mid-morning and after break times, I had the opportunity to shop the booths, and the brand presence was incredible.
If you are a stockist, I'd suggest attending the event for that reason alone. You can see what is currently being stocked out there, from supplements to food to skincare, they had it all.
I talked to the founder of The Indie Shelf, Sabeen Zia, and purchased one of the lipsticks from her new Muskaan Makeup line, which is gluten-free, vegan-friendly, and Halal-certified. Halal-certification is like Kosher, Sabeen told me.
The Indie Shelf was recently named Best of Philly and had a fantastic selection of niche products present. I admit I kept returning to this table throughout the day.
I also had the chance to say hi to the founder of the skincare line Be Well Company (line pictured above), Natalie Shultz. Natalie spoke about her journey of founding the line, from being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis to today.
Today, Natalie is not in a wheelchair, and she is completely glowing. So if you need any testament to the effectiveness of her line, I believe that says it all. Natalie was a really bright, vibrant soul, and I wish we had the opportunity to chat more.
The Afternoon - Lunch, Panel, and Keynote
After the morning break-out sections, there was a VIP-lunch with the Keynote Speaker.
The General Admission guests had to-go lunches and a pretty free-flowing schedule for about an hour and a half. During this time I responded to emails, went for a walk, chatted with other bloggers and models, and checked out brands.
After lunch, all the break-outs got together, and there was a panel featuring Shape Editor, Elizabeth Goodman Artis. She discussed how Shape Magazine has stayed in business for over 40 years (hint: they create content based on their metrics).
To finish out the day, there were mocktails or cocktails ready to serve, and following the panel, was the Keynote Speaker, Piera Gelardi. I loved her. She reminded me of someone I'd want to go get muddy with.
Piera founded Refinery29, a woman's style website, and she talked a lot about how she breaks the ice in meetings, the importance of diversity in stock photos, and embracing your creative spirit.
So to recap
The Positivity Charge was a one-day conference focused on health, wellness, and inspiration.
There were tons of amazing snacks, I had enough to bring home to share.
The brand presence was phenomenal, and I purchased a lipstick.
The speakers were diverse and inspiring, people I'd like to have coffee with some time. (Haha, I know you're never supposed to say this, but I am saying it).
The morning was structured and the afternoon was more free-flowing.
I know this is how it goes with all conferences, but I wish I could've attended all the morning tracks.
If you're a wellness coach, a health advocate, an influencer, in the yoga community, or an independent professional, I would definitely say this event is for you.
For me, I really had a great time meeting other lightworkers spreading the love outside of my field, and I felt like the conference was an opportunity to help you reconnect with your message, and get out of the swirl of forms due and deadlines to meet.
When you're an independent, this is so essential.
Plus it was a one-day conference, and I like those. It was a perfect way for me to get my annual conference requirement in, while still feeling connected.
With the price of $80/$110 a ticket and for the content, I felt what you received was more than worth it.
So from the speakers to the snacks, to product features, to the grab bag you got to take home, I do feel a little more positive this week, and am happy I went!
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A big thank you to Parisha Smith and conference organizers for inviting me to attend this event!