Robert Palmer is literate. Smoetimes.

The SEED Conference, and being in Chicago for the SEED Conference, was phenomenal. A new city, with a new group of people was the perfect place to learn. I was expecting to learn a little more about the business side of being a freelance, but the overall tenor of the conference was something I didn’t expect.

Most — if not all — the speakers in one form or another said that people shouldn’t be afraid to quit their job, and do what they love. One speaker slightly disagreed, saying to put up with your crap job for as long as it takes to get your ducks in a row, and then quit and do what you love.

This essential validation of how I decided to live my life, starting last November, was unexpected yet made me feel exceptionally good about myself. I don’t come to conferences to feel good about myself, but that singular moment of clarity for me was worth the cost of flying to, staying near, and attending the conference.

The speaker I was least excited to see, Gary Vaynerchuk, turned out to be the most entertaining and inspiring speaker at the conference. If you’ve seen his video podcast at Wine Library TV (which I hadn’t really), you’d know already that he’s an energetic, entertaining guy. But his insight into his thought processes behind turning himself into his own personal brand really hit home for me.

The silly sentences I write at the top of my web pages, business cards and correspondence were my way of avoiding having to file a permit to name my business. I just wanted to be Robert Palmer. Without realizing it, I was following Vaynerchuk’s advice of turning my name into the brand of me. I was associating my work and attitude with my name, not even realizing that it made good business sense (besides the filing and lawyer’s fees).

Vaynerchuk also mentioned a trait that I share: we both answer every email. He admits (and I do too) that it’s completely unscalable, and many people advise against it. But he says it’s part of the idea that if you build a community around you — the community that supports you both intellectually and financially — you have a responsibility to that community. You have to have that relationship with them in order to even have a community.

There are a million other thoughts and ideas I wrote down, photographed, and sketched during the conference in a sketchbook and a Field Notes book, but I have to organize them before I can share them with you. I hope to do that over the next few days. I also have photos that I’ll post to Flickr, too.

And before I leave for the flight home, a story.

You might have noticed a tweet from last night about a little CTA adventure that I had. Well, here’s what happened.

I realized that I couldn’t go visit Threadless’ retail store this morning, because they open at 11, and I’d have to be on my way to the airport by then. So, I went last night, around 8. They were having a gallery opening upstairs, and were going to be open until 9. I got some fabulous t-shirts for my friends and family (and me).

As I was on the red line train back to the hotel, the conductor came on and said that all of the red line subway stations were closed due to construction. Turns out, had I been on the train just five minutes earlier, I would have made it. Anyway, the train I was on became a purple line train, and was going to the Loop, and places I had no idea how to get back from.

I got off at a station that would normally connect with the red line, but (of course) that part of the station was closed. I asked a ticket agent how best to get to the station near my hotel, Clark/Division, and he suggested a bus, and gave me a few numbers to try.

I went and waited at the bus stop, and two buses passed before the 22 arrived. 22 was not one of the numbers the station agent gave me, but I asked the driver how close he was going to get to Clark/Division, and I would hoof it from there.

“Man, I’m going to Clark and Division! Get up here!” he said. I got on, and went straight to the stop nearest the station. I thanked him on my way out.

The whole trip back took about an hour. Had I taken the 36 bus straight from the Threadless store, the trip would have taken about 20 minutes.

I got back to my room around 10. I ordered a burger from room service, a whiskey sour, and watched It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia on hulu.com. Then, I slept. Wonderful, wonderful sleep.

1 year ago