GET ENERGIZED FOR THE USPTA WORLD CONFERENCE IN NEW ORLEANS

Hopefully you are either at the USPTA World Conference in New Orleans or you are on your way.

This is my 19th conference in row dating back to the World Conference in Cancun.  My favorite part of coming to the conference is meeting old friends and also getting a chance to meet new people like I did last night.

With the Conference being in New Orleans you have the opportunity to see some great speakers, enjoy some music and food, and reconnect with old and new friends.

So the typical day you will have four, five or six sessions on your agenda.  You will have meetings and drinks with friends, colleagues, and clients scheduled starting at 8:00 a.m. and ending at 6:00.  Then at night you go out and catch up with your friends. 

You probably even came straight from the airport, passing up the chance to chill for a minute in the hotel room. Hopefully, you won’t see the hotel room much this week.

This upcoming week will give a new definition to the word “busy”, you will put some nice mileage on your Fitbit or iWatch, gain some new wisdom, meet old friends and new ones, and get some new motivation to boot!

So much to do. So many things to participate in and so much to show up for. . 

Realize while you are here that you need to take care of yourself.  Eat healthy and try to get some sleep. 

While you are in the sessions it’g going to be cold so make sure you wear a long sleeve shirt or some type of coverup.

After coming to 19 conventions in a row here are 10 things you can do this week to make this week a huge success

So, are you with me?  Are you ready to attack the conference?

1. PLAN YOUR SCHEDULE UPFRONT
Go ahead, knock yourself out. Overbook yourself this week. Be a machine. But be prepared for it. It's all about how you attack it.  Be prepared and be ready mentally.  This is going to be a great week so just go for it but you have to be mentally prepared for each day to make this week a success.  Don’t wing it this week.  It’s too expensive to just go through your days without a plan.

2. BE PRESENT — RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW
So you are here in the great city of New Orleans and at the greatest tennis conference in the world. One of the best ways to manage your energy this week is to be present for all of the events. Tune in and most of all show up. Turn off your phone and watch and listen this week.  I know you are leaving your facility for the week but realize that your staff can take care of the problems back home.  Don’t call in every hour and worry about the Ladies 3.0 team.

3. REBOOT AS NEEDED
After a couple of days you may think that you are starting to lose it and you will probably start to feel fatigued. It may be because you’re not getting enough sleep or you are not eating right. So get some sleep and eat a couple of good meals. Take care of whatever you need to take care of to get back to normal. Maybe you need to grab a cup of coffee or grab a piece of fruit and some water.  Just walk away and reboot.  This is a long week so you may have to do this a couple of times this week.

4. BE PURPOSEFUL
What do you want to get out of today and this week.  Have a plan for each day.  Break your day into three parts.  Your morning, afternoon, and then evening.  There are so many different things to do but you need to have a schedule to achieve all that you want to accomplish.  Write it out and use your notebook to figure out what you want to get out of your day and your week.

5. DECIDE THAT YOU ARE GOING TO KILL IT THIS WEEK
Before you even head out to listen to a speaker decide what you want to get out of the session. Make the decision that you are hear to learn. You have made the decision that you want to hear this speaker so listen…yes listen, take off the earphones and turn off your phone and listen to what the speaker is saying.

6. YES, IT’S OK TO TAKE A TIMEOUT
Find a quiet spot to just relax, take a quick nap, and just relax.  It’s a long week so take the time to reboot if you have to.  Go to the pool, workout center, or just walk down to the French Quarter.

7. YES, YOU CAN SAY NO
You have to realize that you don’t have to do everything. And if you’re feeling like a time out or skipping a couple of sessions then go ahead and do it and don’t feel bad about it. There is a lot to do at a conference but you may need to just take a break.

8. YOU ARE IN NEW ORLEANS SO SAY “HELL YES!”
Remember that you are in New Orleans so have some fun! Go listen to some Jazz or grab a great meal with some friends. Just go and don’t feel bad about it. Let the energy of the “Hell Yes!” drive you to a great week.

9. REMEMBER WHY YOU’RE HERE THIS WEEK
You are here to learn, have fun, network, connect, share, contribute, and so much more. 

Remember why you are here. You are hear for your team, your staff, your family, and your clients.  If you remember why you are hear it will help you get through the week.

10. LAST…. AT THE END OF THE DAY AND THE WEEK, RECAP AND BE GRATEFUL
The day is done, you head back to your room, and you are tired. Don’t go to bed before you “capture your day.” I know that you are tired and you just want to crash but you have to look back at the day and ask: Did you get what you envisioned? Did you show for everything? What do you want to remember and forget? Would you change anything?  What are you thankful for?

At the end of the conference recap the week as to what you have learned and bring it back to your team and your clients.

Now go out and kill it this week!