The No Longer Virtual Story

After more than two years of interacting on LinkedIn, Karthik Rajan and I finally scheduled a phone call.

It was a Friday afternoon when my caller ID showed Karthik's name and number. Just seeing the name on my phone put a huge grin on my face. I felt my heart pound a bit harder, and my face flushed. As I answered my phone: "This is Sarah," I felt a rush of adrenaline, like a celebrity was on the line. That's how it felt, like one of my favorite musicians or actors had just picked up the phone and called me. I realized I was holding my breath.

"Hi Sarah, it's Karthik!" In his melodic voice, I could imagine his face, the smile in his picture on LinkedIn came right through the phone, exactly as I had imagined he would sound.

After only a few minutes, I found myself falling into conversation as if we had known each other for years. You've been there, right? When you speak with someone for the first time, but you feel a strong connection, as if you've been friends forever?

An hour later, I realized I needed to go. My family was waiting for me for dinner and to start our weekend. It was hard to say goodbye, the conversation had been so encouraging, so full of positive energy and warmth. I couldn't wait to find another opportunity to call.

All weekend I found myself grinning and full of optimism. When I woke up on Sunday morning, I was on fire. I hadn't known something so true, so compelling in a long time. It was time to hire myself. It was time to meet Karthik and the others with whom I felt such strong connections. I wanted a chance to see them face-to-face, to learn from them, to grow with them, and to brainstorm ways to help others.

That week, I reached out to a handful of my close connections, the ones I knew had experience and topics to share that would complement my love for coaching people in storytelling. Every one of them responded with enthusiasm; thrilled with the idea and purpose. A few weeks later, a draft agenda was distributed and all confirmed participation.

Each of the facilitators agreed to forego their speaker fee for the first No Longer Virtual Summit.

On February 16, 2017, 23 of us gathered in Atlanta, Georgia to learn together, share knowledge and experience, and support each other as professionals, entrepreneurs, and innovators.

At the end of the first day, I asked if anyone would want to join my husband and me for dinner at a nearby restaurant. I intentionally left the evening open so the introverts of the group would feel comfortable making plans to be alone or join a smaller group.

“Bob & I will be going to the Chinese restaurant a couple of blocks away. Please raise your hand if you’d like to join us so I can call them if we’re going to have a larger group?”

I was expecting maybe 6 or 8 of us, but nearly every hand went up in the room.

21 of us were graciously hosted at two long tables in the restaurant. Only two opted out - and only because they had made other plans ahead of time. 💛

As I tried to relax in my seat at the end of one long table, I heard these comments:

“Next year maybe we could…”

“This is so amazing, next year I’d like to…”

And in my head I thought: “Oh shit. They want me to do this again?”

Here we are, leading into our 7th No Longer Virtual Summit. Each year has been different, and a few things haven’t changed:

• Registration fees simply cover costs of meeting venues, catering, and materials. It is a break-even event - it exists for its participants.

• Facilitators of sessions receive a discount on registration. They do not receive payment because they are participants, too.

• The event is limited to 25 guests so we have opportunities to truly connect with every person in attendance.

• Every session is an active, engaging workshop, these are not presentations.

• No keynotes - we leverage the experience in the room because every person has the potential to add value to each session. This is how those priceless side-conversations become part of the magic in the room.

• These relationships are sustained year after year, creating and growing the community of generous, wicked-smart professionals who are valuable resources for every aspect of our careers, our businesses, and our lives.

Register today, I can't wait to meet you!

Warmly,
Sarah