Day 1 at #INBOUND18: Slow Down and Reflect

Day 1 at #INBOUND18: Slow Down and Reflect

Big Ideas

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September 5 2018
Big Ideas

If Day 1 at INBOUND 2018 (#INBOUND18) had a theme, it’s “Slow Down and Reflect.” We’re drinking from a firehose of information and it’s no wonder that a large number of marketers are burning out and/or leaving the industry all together.

 

I was fortunate to be able to take a well-needed vacation back home to Nova Scotia to spend time with family and celebrate the marriage of my best friend in PEI before arriving in Boston for INBOUND18. It was a perfect time to reflect on what’s important to me and my personal well-being and going straight to INBOUND was, in my opinion, a great transition back into work.

Inbound Conference 2018 - Day 1 - Outside

 

Orientation Session

The first day wasn’t necessarily jam packed with sessions, but it was full of valuable insights. I kicked off the day with the INBOUND Orientation Session which, for a newbie like me, was insanely valuable. I’ll be honest, I didn’t do a lot of research going into INBOUND, so I didn’t really know what to expect. Turns out that a place filled with 24,000 people is insanely overwhelming.

 

Club Inbound

Once I got my bearings, I went straight to Club Inbound and took in the sights and sounds of what I can only explain as an episode of Silicon Valley. Tech companies (most of which I never heard of) promoting their products, crazy installations, a small store promoting books and swag of speakers and brands, and even free massages.

 

Main Stage: Deepak Chopra

After walking around, I went straight into the main stage which looked just like an Apple presentation stage that can fit all 24,000 people. Not wanting to miss anything, I went right in to find a seat and waited for Deepak Chopra to take the stage.

Inbound Conference 2018 - Day 1 - Main Stage

 

Deepak’s talk at first was a little… out there. It kicked off with a video of contraception to birth and a very graphic process of the miracle of birth. I’ll be honest, I had no idea in which direction this talk was going to go. I was pleasantly surprised when he started kicking off numbers and logic to bring his point to the forefront – the body, mind, and spirit is an ever-changing process. As a medical doctor, he’s identified that almost, if not all (which he corrected himself), of all illnesses are related to “inflammation” in the body. Of course, I’ve been suffering from massive back pain my entire vacation and could use some ice on my back at that exact moment.

 

He continued to rattle off numbers as it relates to business. For example, research shows that about 20% of the American workforce is “fully engaged” in their jobs / careers. The other 80% are dissatisfied in some aspect, resulting in $3 billion in lost revenue due to disengaged workers. Managers who ignore a subordinate’s idea decreases their engagement with an organization by 40% ! That’s an insane amount to drop by ignoring only ONE idea.

 

6 Focus Areas

Of course, most work managers and places (including Sherpa) is completely open to new ideas and a lot of the disengagement falls on the individual. Deepak listed six areas to focus on to harmonize the process that is the body. I’m simply paraphrasing here, so bare with me:

 

1. Sleep – arguably the most important we all need is sleep. It flushes toxins out of the body and improper lack of sleep can cause obesity and cardiovascular disease.

2. Meditation and Stress Management – Take time to reflect and revive the mind. We throw so much at it that it needs time to reset just like our muscles after a hard workout.

3. Movement (e.g. Yoga) – Moving the body gets the blood flowing. Deepak suggest yoga because it stretches an important nerve called the Vagus Nerve.

4. Emotions – Express your emotions and feel what you need to.

5.Nutrition / Nourishment – Our gut flora (something like two million microbes) helps with the balance of our bodies, which is major part of the body process.

6. Biological Rhythm / Grounding – You know that feeling of walking in grass with bare feet or touching a tree? Apparently, the Earth has negative ions that help offset inflammation. Other rhythms include circadian (e.g. jet lag), seasonal, lunar, and tidal. It makes sense that all the crazy people come out on a full moon.

 

Spiritual Well-Being

After a bit of further discussion, there was also a major point made regarding “Spiritual Well-Being” which, according to Deepak, our society is only beginning to get into and understanding that all human suffering boils down to five aspects (although I was only quick enough to write down a few):

 

1. Not knowing the true nature of reality

2. Grasping or clinging onto something that you cannot grasp (e.g. words coming out of your mouth)

3. Fear of death

 

He then led all 24,000 attendees into a 7-8 minute guided meditation in which he asked very existential questions such as: Who am I? What are my greatest desires? Who is First Last name? What are the most joyous memories? After a few minutes, he told us to open our eyes and thank the audience for listening.

 

Ready for Day 2!

After a questionable start, I was completely enthralled with the talk at the end and the back pain that was plaguing me the last two weeks subsided greatly. After that, Club Inbound was ready for partying and free drinks, but after a fun and alcohol-heavy vacation, I needed some rest and therefore I headed back to the hotel, ready to greet day two of INBOUND 2018.

 

Inbound Conference - Day 1 - Dan

 

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