I spent the weekend in the surreal environs of Las Vegas, supporting Yolilife, Mindbloom's private label version of our application. This was at the Yoli Blastoff convention, and boy - they put on quite the show for a 90-day-old company. Dave Nash, the company's ops guru, deserves a class A-1 medal for both bravado AND execution. It went off flawlessly.
It was great to see so many people all interested in and committed to a common purpose. If there was one takeaway for me, it was "passion sells." It really doesn't matter what the passion is about - but if you feel strongly enough about ANYTHING - you speak from the heart, and people listen.
As a supporter of the cause through our software, I found it heartening to hear the personal stories people would tell about how Yolilife (aka Mindbloom) has changed the way they act towards their families, their communities, and especially their professional networks. There is great satisfaction in crafting something that you think should work a certain way, and lo and behold - it actually works even more remarkably than intended. I was delighted.
I'm in virgin territory with direct sales organizations and while I respect people's choices on how they make their living, it is not an environment that I could ever see myself getting into, unless there was some product that I thought was going to change the world. But I already made that selection by choosing to align myself with my Mindbloom brethren - and we will change the world, one tree at a time. All to the good regardless.
Speaking of trees and changing the world, Yoli supports the work of one truly amazing gentleman, David Deppner, founder of Trees for the Future. Since 1989, Trees for the Future has been helping communities around the world plant trees. Through seed distribution, agroforestry training, and their country programs, they have empowered rural groups to restore tree cover to their lands. Planting trees protects the environment and helps to preserve traditional livelihoods and cultures for generations. Since their inception, Trees for the Future has helped thousands of communities in Central America, Africa, and Asia improve their livelihoods and their environment by planting nearly 50 million trees. They calculate that these trees remove approximately one million tons of CO2 from the atmosphere each year.
Wow! Our booth was right next door to Trees for the Future. David Deppner is the most self-effacing man I have ever met. It's all about the mission. He is good buds with half of the developing worlds' top leadership, stays in their palaces and has, as he termed it "good eats" at the royal table. And he gets things done. They're currently in process trying to help Haiti reforest their devastated country. The current disaster makes it harder, but not impossible, to continue their mission. I was proud to get to know him and his life work.
All in all, it was a hard but good weekend. I got to speak directly to 1,200 of what are now great acquaintances, and in some cases, good friends. You know who you are! And, quite honestly, it was fun. Fun to be footloose and fancy free enough to go to a piano bar at midnight, or dance to Corey and Sky at one. I wouldn't give up normal Sophia-centric life to save my soul, but a weekend remembering "before baby" was really kind of a hoot.
So there you go. 3 days, lots of people, a great response to Yolilife and scotch and cigars (for David and Alex) and "Hotel California" at the piano bar. Good job guys. Get the instantly-formulated baby stuff going, and you might just have a devotee. Upward and onward!
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