Are you in the rooms where opportunities unfold, decisions are made, and inspiration flows? This question is more pertinent than ever in our dynamic professional landscape. In a recent episode of “Own Your Awesome,” host Miranda von Frickin explored the crucial concept of “being in the room” and how it plays a key role in shaping our professional journeys. In this blog post, we’ll dive deeper into this topic, highlighting personal experiences, the benefits of showing up, and how you can make the most of the opportunities presented in these rooms.

The Power of Presence

Understanding the Importance of Being There

Often, we underestimate the transformative power of simply being present in a room where influential conversations and decisions occur. Whether these are physical spaces or virtual meetings, being in the room where your ideal clients, potential collaborators, and thought leaders gather can significantly impact your career and business. As Miranda highlighted, being in the room means actively participating in environments that challenge you, expand your network, and create opportunities for growth.

Real-Life Examples of Positive Outcomes

Miranda shared compelling stories from her experiences and those of her friends. For instance, she was invited to a mastermind event despite initial hesitations due to her busy schedule. This mastermind was facilitated by someone she deeply respected, so she decided to give it a chance. Little did she know, this decision would lead her to speak at a significant conference in Manhattan, an opportunity that aligned perfectly with her vision board goals. Likewise, another friend attended a networking event and found a referral partner and ideal client, demonstrating how showing up can yield substantial business gains.

Overcoming Hesitation

Addressing Common Reasons for Avoidance

Saying no to opportunities often stems from a place of comfort or fear. We might fear judgment, feel overwhelmed by our current commitments, or simply prefer the solitude of our familiar environment. Miranda confessed to retreating to her living room after experiencing a personal loss, a natural response to grief. However, she realized that continually saying no was preventing her from seizing valuable opportunities and being remembered in important circles.

Strategies to Say Yes More Often

Overcoming this avoidance requires a shift in mindset. Start by recognizing the fear or discomfort and rationalize its impact on your goals. Miranda’s advice? Push past the discomfort and say yes to invitations that could lead to transformative experiences. Understand that it’s okay to prioritize mental health, but distinguish between genuine need for rest and opportunities missed due to self-imposed limits.

Making the Most Out of the Room

Setting the Stage for Success

Once you decide to show up, how do you ensure you make the most of the experience? Preparation is key. Research the attendees, the agenda, and have clear objectives for what you want to accomplish. Perhaps it’s making one meaningful connection or learning about a new industry trend. Miranda suggested that being intentional and proactive will help you maximize the benefits of being in the room.

Networking and Building Relationships

Building relationships is one of the main benefits of being present at these events. Miranda recounted another friend’s success, who attended a multi-day conference out-of-state. There, she connected with a speaker who later became her highest paying client to date. This connection wouldn’t have happened without the willingness to invest time and effort into attending the event and networking effectively.

Realizing the Ripple Effect

Long-Term Benefits of Participation

Saying yes and being present doesn’t just yield immediate rewards; it sets up a ripple effect. Whether you land new clients, gain speaking opportunities, or build lasting professional relationships, the benefits often compound over time. Miranda emphasized how consistently showing up can position you as a thought leader and go-to expert in your field.

Creating Your Own Opportunities

Don’t wait for invitations; create rooms and invite others. Hosting events, whether virtual or in-person, can position you at the center of valuable networks and open doors for collaborations. Miranda herself hosts virtual networking calls and local events, ensuring she’s always in the loop and bringing people together.

Conclusion

Embrace the Power of Presence

The next time an opportunity comes your way, ask yourself: will this room lead me to my next significant milestone? Remember Miranda’s journey—from saying yes to a mastermind invite to speaking at a Manhattan conference. Embrace the power of presence, overcome your hesitation, and make every room count. Whether you’re expanding your network, sharing your expertise, or finding new inspiration, being in the right room can be a game changer. Until next time, continue to own your awesome and step confidently into rooms where your future success awaits.

Transcript:

Miranda [00:00:01]:
Hello. Hello. And welcome to another episode of own your awesome. I’m your host, Miranda von Frickin. Today, I wanna talk to you about something that I have learned lately. And although I knew it, this isn’t an old this isn’t a new concept. This is very well spoken about. I just wonder how often we’re following through on it.

Miranda [00:00:25]:
Today, I want to talk about being in the room. Being in the room where decisions are happening, being in the room where the people are your ideal clients are, the ones who are going to inspire your next big idea. Are you getting in the room or are you avoiding it? I ask this question because it’s one I asked myself lately. Most recently after, you know, going through a rough couple of months with the loss of my brother and just not wanting to be in any other room other than my living room, other than sitting on the couch and avoiding people, which is totally understandable when we go through, a grieving process or a big trauma, you don’t often wanna be in any room other than one where it’s just yourself or a few close people. But as time passed, I realized I was saying no to getting in the room. And then once the more I said no, the less I was being invited. And that, of course, made me feel some type of way. Not just because my name maybe wasn’t being said in rooms, because that happens often.

Miranda [00:01:40]:
I’ll hear people say, oh, I actually mentioned you on a podcast the other day. My personal brand and the work I’ve done have left a lasting impact on my community and the people I work with. So I’m very grateful for that. And that is definitely something I’m gonna bring to you soon because the value I’ve seen from creating this personal brand and the connections with the people in my community have been in the rooms when I wasn’t able to be. So very grateful for that. It’s something I definitely recommend you start to think about if you haven’t already. But back to the topic of physically being in the room or in the Zoom room, if you will, from these days. So many opportunities have come my way in the last, I’ll say, 2 to 3 weeks because I have avoided avoiding.

Miranda [00:02:31]:
Right? It’s something that we do often when we get into either a rut or into a routine that makes us kind of hermit like. Right? If we’re entrepreneurs and we’re solopreneurs, we work with a small team, maybe we have a VA or maybe we have a medium sized team and they’re just virtual. So we’re always on Zoom calls connecting with our team. That’s a room that we carefully curated, and it feels safe. We trust everybody in that room. We know everybody in the room, and it feels very safe. But what about those rooms that are new to us or rooms we haven’t been in in a while? Are you going to events when you’re invited, whether they’re virtual or in person? Are you creating rooms and inviting people to rooms that are brand new to you? Recently, I was invited to a room, and at first, I thought, no. You know, I’m I’m already a part of a few different groups, and I don’t wanna put myself in too many more because it gets overwhelming, which that’s a whole different episode.

Miranda [00:03:33]:
But I was invited to a room. There’s actually 2 separate rooms that I’ll talk to you today about. 1 was a virtual room via mastermind. A friend of mine in California invited me to a mastermind, and I thought, you know what? I run my own. I’m a part of 2 other ones. Can I really afford the time? Because you all know time is a currency. Can I really afford the time to get into this room with people I don’t know? Are they going where I’m going? I don’t really know them. It’s kind of like open door.

Miranda [00:04:07]:
Some weeks, it’s one group. Some week, it’s a potential different group. And I said yes for a couple of reasons. 1, because I really trust the woman holding the space. I knew she would bring the right people. She rolls with the right people, and I was just pumped to be in her world. And so I said yes. First couple of calls were nice.

Miranda [00:04:31]:
We’re all getting to know each other. And then as time progressed, only about maybe 3 calls, 4 calls in tops, one of the woman one of the women partners with another one of the women, 2 different sides of the United States, 1 in New York, 1 in California. And they they’re partnering on this huge conference in Manhattan for women. And I’m like, wow, I would love to go to that conference. I’m only a few hours away from the city. I definitely would love to get in that room. So not only did I mention that I need to start getting out, getting in the room, one of the women were like, wow. You’re you’re available.

Miranda [00:05:11]:
Like, you’re able to come because not only would I like you to be in the room, I’d like you to actually speak in the room. And I thought, oh, I’m in. I am totally in. And then as I said yes and the time started to progress, I got a little nervous. Right? This is a Manhattan conference for women, big power players. Am I even ready for this? Of course, the ego side of me is like, heck, yeah. Get your pink tutu. Shine up those shoes and let’s go, girl.

Miranda [00:05:41]:
But the the version of me that has been sitting in a smaller room for months now was a little nervous about what I’d be walking into, what I’d be seen as the leader, seen as an expert in the topic I’m speaking about. And that version of me started to overpower the the version of me that knew she was meant to be in that room. So, obviously, I’m still going. I said, yes. Heck, yeah. December 1st, I’m speaking in Manhattan at a SheLeads media conference, and I’m just ridiculously pumped to be a part of this experience. I actually had it on my vision board, which is funny. If you listen to, 2 episodes ago, I talked about vision boards, and me having an event in Manhattan in a penthouse was literally on my vision board.

Miranda [00:06:30]:
Now this isn’t my event, but it is an event I’ll be speaking at, so it definitely works. It’s a close. I will check that box. But I am just so pumped that I said yes to being in the room that I was kind of afraid to be in. So I ask you, when you get emails from chamber events, you know, different events here locally in my area, which is upstate New York, of course, anyone locally getting invites to their events from either chambers or different organizations. Are you saying yes, or are you saying I don’t have time to be in the room? Because when you say yes to being in the room, a lot can happen. Not just like my example speaking at a a humongous conference, but also meeting the women. I think of the ripple effects are gonna happen because I was brave enough to say yes when I felt nervous to being in this room.

Miranda [00:07:29]:
I’m gonna speak in front of 100 of people. There’s gonna be tons of female entrepreneurs who absolutely wanna talk visibility, LinkedIn, personal branding, and I will be there to have that conversation and to lead it. We lead it with them. I’ll be with them individually, so I’ll absolutely get clients. Maybe I’ll get other offers to speak. Maybe more people will listen to this these podcasts that I’m putting out there. You know, like, who knows what can come of me just being in the room? Now, even if I didn’t didn’t get asked to speak, showing up in that room, saying hello to people that are outside of my area in my comfort zone still has a tremendous ripple effect. And I just want to really invite you to say yes to getting in the room.

Miranda [00:08:14]:
I want you to get out of your head, get out of your own way, get in the room. Another example is one of my biz besties. She recently went to a networking event, that she did not think she was going to go to. It’s she’s not a part of the organization, but a friend invited her, and she was a little nervous. She still went to the networking event, ended up swapping business cards with legit the ideal client and referral partner. And it was just I mean, I think she paid $75 for the ticket, and she’ll end up making 1,000 upon 1,000 of dollars in revenue based on this one conversation of getting in the room. Now, would she have maybe eventually met this person? I don’t know. Maybe.

Miranda [00:08:58]:
But it was the right timing. You were invited for a reason. You are asked to be in this specific room for a reason because your person or people are also in that room. So I like to look at it as a sign now when I get invitations. Now, of course, I can’t say yes to everything. Timing doesn’t permit. You know, of course, I’m being realistic here. But there are definitely times when you know you should be in a room and you say no for whatever reason, excuses or, you know, perhaps you’re like me and just camp people all the time.

Miranda [00:09:32]:
As extroverted as I am, I definitely have introverted qualities where I like to just fuel and recharge by myself, and sometimes that takes weeks. So sometimes I say no for that reason, for my own mental health, which I’m a 100% here for. But if you’re saying no for any other reason other than it feels right to say no, I need you to kind of pep up and say yes. Put on your heels. Put on your flats. Whatever works for you and get in the room. Because you don’t even know who you’ll be sitting with at the table that can catapult your business, get you that promotion where you currently are because they’re friends with the your boss. You know, who knows what could happen when you’re in the room? And then one more amazing example is another friend of mine recently went to a multi day conference out of her state.

Miranda [00:10:23]:
She felt very nervous, of course, leaving the littles home, but she’s got the hubby, so they’re fine. She left her state, left her home, went to a multi day conference, ended up leaving with one of the speakers. She was just an audience member. 1 of the speakers that she ended up networking with that evening having some cocktails, She ended up making her her client, and she is her highest paying client currently. So, friends, honestly, it was that story that inspired me to do the show, not only because she has her highest client now from this conference, but because there’s so many different ideas that come from getting in the room, meeting the people, getting referrals because they can introduce you to somebody else. One of my recent clients who I do life and business coaching with went to a conference, which she goes to conferences all the time. It’s literally her job to go to conferences. But I put it in her head to think differently about the rooms she’s walking into and then finding out what room can lead her to the next room.

Miranda [00:11:29]:
Right? The room you’re in now, where can it lead you to? And it it ended up resulting in my suggestion of her writing a book about conferences and how to prepare for them, how to network when you’re in them, and what to do after them. It was such such a vibe of having this conversation with her. I cannot wait. When that book comes out, I’m a I’m a be in there somewhere. I will I will tell you all about it when her book comes out because just being in the room is a game changer. So the next time you’re invited to be in the room, whether it’s in person or virtually, like, honestly, I host many virtual networking calls through the Palette community, through LinkedIn Local, which is my own event. I I please DM me on Instagram. Find me Miranda Von Frickett.

Miranda [00:12:17]:
Find me on LinkedIn, and ask me what rooms will I be in this month that I can bring you to and introduce you to people. There’s so many different ways for you to be in the room virtually and in person. And even seeing those small squares in our Zoom calls can really work to our favor. Right? Networking with new people is amazing, but you don’t know what rooms they’re going into also. So this could be a whole another episode of how to how to get in the room and do it right once you’re in there. Maybe that’ll be next week’s part 2. But for this week, I want you to really start to consider getting in the room. And then next week, we’ll talk about how you can own it.

Miranda [00:12:57]:
Alright, friends. If you’ve got any questions or thoughts or you’ve got events that you host and want me to talk about or show up to, I’m a 100% here for it. Shoot me a DM. I’d love to connect. Thank you so much for spending your last 13 or 14 minutes with me. It has been a complete honor and pleasure to talk to you about how you can own your awesome by getting in more rooms. Until next week, continue to be your awesome self and have a fabulous day.