I recently attended the Rise Toronto 2020 Women’s Conference, hosted by the Hollis Co (https://www.instagram.com/letsrise.co/) from March 5-7, 2020 (Meridian Hall, Toronto, ON, Canada).
The venue itself was very well done. I knew it was a classier theatre, but the decoration, selfie booths and inspiration decals all over the building were a complete surprise to me! It was definitely a girly venue and I could see that a welcoming feel was a big part of the conference.
I started with pre-registration on Wednesday night, which was a must as it saved so much time on Thursday morning. It was a also a great way to scout out the venue, they were dancing around in the lobby and it got me excited! I picked up my materials which included a beautiful Rise Toronto workbook and notebook.
Day One, Own Your Past, started with 10 minutes of a dancing warm up. The day focussed on themes of changing your perception and perspective, being ‘enough’ and overcoming fear.
Brit Baron gave a passionate keynote. My takeaways were:
- is your life a reflection of who you want to be?
- don’t defend yourself, just bring yourself.
Rachel focussed her Day One session on negative self talk, naming the negative voice inside and defeating her. She suggested using the Ruff Rider’s Anthem (stop, drop, shut ’em down…).
We were also introduced to the power of 5,4,3,2,1 on Day One and moving our body to change our mind. Same You, New Mood!
We ended with a powerful session titled ‘Stand Up for Your Sister’. Sharing our story with our sisters and holding space for theirs. The exercise showed us we are not alone and brought tears to my eyes.
Day Two, Own Your Present, was focused on health and becoming healthy from a place of love. We did a solid 10 minutes of movement with Chris Chandler and Rachel that showed everyone that they can accomplish some movement.
I thought that I was already pretty healthy. I am already doing the Five to Thrive, eating healthy and exercising daily. But, the conversations on negative coping mechanisms and ‘triggers’ definitely uncovered some unhealthy eating habits around emotional eating and eating for reward.
Amy Porterfield and Rachel had a very real conversation about body image. Amy has struggled with her weight since she was eight years old and attended her first Weight Watchers meeting. This is something that I can totally identify with having struggled my whole life and attending Weight Watchers at age 13. The conversation was around setting health goals instead of goal weights and very powerful. One phrase that stuck out for me was “you cannot shame or hate yourself healthy”.
Rachel talked about attaching healthy habits onto other established routines/habits and challenged us to a 30 day challenge. I chose to eat whole foods only for 30 days.
Day Three, Own Your Future (Last Day, Best Day!) began with a warm up and then Dave Hollis. Dave spoke about all of the things that are going to get in our way when we get back home. His goal was to prepare us for those things. Some key takeaways were:
- to love yourself enough to take care of yourself;
- find joy;
- beware of what you consume (media, people);
- be cognizant of your relationship with your calendar – does it reflect the life you want and your values?;
- The cost of the future life that you want is your current life.
Stacey Flowers gave an overview of her struggle to come back from debt and her techniques for resilience. She mentioned the five key people you need in your life: the cheerleader; the mentor; the peer; the coach; and the friend.
Mally Roncal’s talk gave a them of being unapologetically yourself and trusting your whisper.
Rachel ended the day with a focus on visioning for the next 10 years, setting the goals for that, creating an idea soup and a road map to get there. This exercise was similar to the one that she guides listeners through on the Rise Podcast (EP. 72) and in the Start Today Journal.
I also grabbed a few inspirational pictures from the Pop Up Shop, one that said “Same You, New Mood” and another one with a “Made for More” quote. The Shop also had water bottles, journals and planners.
I was exhausted after the event and still have a lot to do! There are sections of my workbook that I didn’t get to complete during the conference and I wasn’t able to roadmap all of my dreams yet. The conference was worth every penny and I am so grateful for the experience!
The dance party on Saturday night was 20’s themed. I didn’t attend as I headed home, but I heard that Rachel and Dave did not attend.
There were so many great speakers at this event, including:
– Rachel Hollis (https://www.instagram.com/msrachelhollis/)
– Dave Hollis (https://www.instagram.com/mrdavehollis/)
– Trent Shelton (https://www.instagram.com/trentshelton/)
– Amy Porterfield (https://www.instagram.com/amyporterfield)
– Jen Hatmaker (https://www.instagram.com/jenhatmaker/)
– Stacey Flowers (https://www.instagram.com/staceyflowers/)
– Mally Roncal (https://www.instagram.com/mallyroncal/)
– Brit Baron (https://www.instagram.com/britbarron/)
– Chris Chandler (https://www.instagram.com/christopherjacobchandler/)
There are a number of photos from the event on my Instagram feed: https://www.instagram.com/saraladygluten/
I also reviewed the event on the ‘Learning to Slay the Beasts’ Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Podbean and Google Play.
Learning to slay the beasts... 