Tomorrow morning I’ll be keynoting #CMWorld, the annual @CMIContent conference that gathers content marketers from around the world.

It’s a dream and an honor.

But it has been YEARS in the making, and it almost didn’t happen.

Here’s the story.

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I first applied to speak at #CMWorld in 2016. I was hopeful but had crippling imposter syndrome too.

My proposed session wasn’t chosen.

But I decided to go anyway, as an attendee, and study what sessions ~were~ picked, to increase my chances the following year.

I didn’t know anyone there. As an introvert, that was terrifying.

(Yes, I’m a speaker and also an introvert. I thrive with one-to-many vs one-on-one!)

But it didn’t take long to realize that the #CMWorld community was filled with ~my people~

So I tried again.

I applied to speak at #CMWorld again in 2017.

This time, I was accepted!

But... I was asked to speak on a different topic, to fill a gap on the Mobile track.

Mobile wasn’t my expertise, but I knew this was my chance to break in.

I worked my butt off to learn about mobile native content so I could teach it to #cmworld attendees.

And then I delivered the talk on the noisy exhibit hall stage, surrounded on three sides by exhibitors.

The seats were 60-75% empty.

I can’t say I wasn’t bummed.

But I figured I had done the best I could do, I had taught all I could teach, and that hopefully the people who needed that information were there.

I took this before I walked on stage:

Undeterred, I applied again in 2018, and was accepted for my proposed topic!

I knew my stuff.
I was in a track I could thrive in.
I was ready to rock my session!

But when I saw the schedule, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy...

I got the very last regular session slot of the conference: early on Friday morning.

The only other thing that day was the VIP workshops. The closing party was the night before.

They were breaking down the event as I headed to my room. I braced for an empty quiet session.

I decided once again that all I could do was give the best presentation I could, teach as much as I knew, & hope that I reached the people I needed to.

To my surprise, my room was filled to capacity, and people had to wait in the hall!

I took this before I walked up to begin:

I knew from the moment I started that I was going to kill it. I could feel it.

I told jokes. I engaged the audience in playful banter. I shared all I knew about how to create more credible content, and I delivered my best examples with lots of detail.

A few months later, I got THE CALL.

I had been the top rated speaker at #CMWorld 2018, from amongst hundreds of speakers and I was being offered the keynote slot at CMW19!

I was so fired up for my double-header of talks that day in Pittsburg.

There was only one problem...

Though I hadn’t announced it yet, I was pregnant.

And my daughter was due ON THE SAME DAY AS THE #CMWORLD KEYNOTE.

There was no way I could make it to Cleveland, safely for #cmworld 2019.

And it could have been the pregnancy hormones, but I definitely cried.

I had worked so hard and now I felt like I was going to miss out on my “big break,” even if it was for the very best reason.

Leyla was born on August 28th, a week early.

I tweeted photos of her to my #cmworld friends from afar and tried not to think about the alternate timeline where I was on the big stage!

Maybe some day I’d get the chance again...

I applied again for 2020, figuring if I did a killer job this year, I might earn the 2021 keynote, as I had before.

Then earlier this year, I got the wonderful news that the #CMWorld Team had loved my proposal, and was offering me the keynote THIS year!

I couldn’t believe it!

So while I may not have imagined delivering my #CMWorld Keynote in my office instead of the big stage, I’m going to do what I’ve done every year:

Give the best talk I can, teach as much as possible & know that I’ll reach who I’m meant to reach.

See you tomorrow, #CMWorld!

It’s happeningggg!! #CMWorld