This past weekend I had the opportunity to Emcee the National Business and Technology Conference 2014. It was an incredibly challenging, but rewarding experience.

In the spirit of growth, I’d like to share 3 lessons I learned about myself this past weekend.

1. Control = Comfort

I consider myself an Ops guy, an executor and a very detail-oriented planner. Throughout this weekend I quickly learned how very uncomfortable I feel when I identify *potential* gaps in the planning process. Most importantly, as MC I could only anticipate and advise the current team but had very little ability to directly help. Lacking the control necessary to produce a desired outcome can be an incredible factor to stress and uncomfort.

2. Impact = Drive

I’m the guy that likes to take big roles. Occasionally, I’ll take the smaller support roles and enjoy giving the more challenging opportunities to my team members. But as Emcee of the NBTC 2014, one of the things I sincerely enjoyed the most was having a lot of weight on my shoulders and being impactful for the team. As MC I played a huge role creating a kick-ass experience for the delegates. Knowing that I was such an integral part of the team’s success, and being able to deliver, was my strongest motivator throughout the event.

3. Crawl, Walk, Run, Fly!

Whenever I tackle a challenge, new or old, I always begin the day incredibly nervous and stressed. I can’t sleep, can’t eat in the morning, and pace back-and-forth with an uneasy look in my face. It’s not until the event actually begins that I start to feel comfortable in my own 2 shoes. As MC, I saw myself become more confident, engaging, and better able to think on my feet as as the weekend progressed. I need to work on becoming comfortable with hitting the ground running and jumping straight into rock-star mode.

 In the End

I had a great time Emceeing the NBTC 2014 and being able to contribute in such a meaningful way to the success of the event. It felt incredible receiving such great feedback from delegates and speakers and hearing how much they enjoyed the event!