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Becky Kueker, Jack's Smack
The Collective Power of Women Manifested at FierceCon
Back in September of 2018, I made note of an event happening in LA that October. I had just launched my start-up, a platform specifically designed for women in midlife, Kuel Life. At the time I was working with a dear friend, Robin. We both had felt like we were living loud, colorful lives and then ‘poof’ we were erased; turned invisible. This event, FierceCon, created by Catherine GraceO, seemed to speak to just that… it billed itself as a ‘connection’ not a ‘conference’. I was intrigued.
I set my sights for 2019. I knew that I’d be ready; that Kuel Life would be more ‘cooked’. By then I’d have something to offer the women in attendance. A year is a long time in the world of a start-up. The Kuel Life that existed in 2018 barely resembled itself one year later. The machinations of the hows and whats it took to show up in LA last month are not important for the sake of this piece.
What is important?
I showed up ready to give, give, give… to showcase my fledgling start-up as THE platform where the collective power of women reside. I was prepared to tout the benefits of a repository of knowledge relevant to us – women in our Second Act. I was excited to share the shopping experience I had personally curated to promote women-owned brands. It’s not that I didn’t feel as if I accomplished this; I did. But, I was gifted so much more than I gave. That was unexpected.
What do I mean?
I walked in to the Crowne Plaza Redondo Beach & Marina on Friday morning, October 25th, a virtual stranger and left Monday night on a red-eye with 80ish new compatriots.
How does that happen?
The experience is unlike any other I’ve had. I’ve done the ‘intense, physical challenges in martial arts, four-day, train 8 hours a day, with your fellow training partners’ thing. Yes; those are bonding experiences. This was different. The challenges facing us all were more esoteric… some of us carry childhood wounds, some health limitations, some grief over the loss of loved ones. All of us have challenges. Each of us brought that with: to unpack it: share it; unburden ourselves; to teach and be taught; to rise stronger together like a phoenix from the ashes.
There was some formal programming; amazing inspiring women. I walked away from Jennifer Dulski’s speech, the first woman to ever sell a business to Google and the founder of Change.org, knowing that I am at the inception of a movement – to re-define midlife for women. And, that the women standing to my left and right, my Kuel Life Party (Becky Kueker, Lori Roach, and Kim Fauquenot) were right there to make sure I don’t give up or mess up.
There was some ‘fun’ and functional programming as well. I think we all learned quite a bit from Jacqueline Depauls’ ‘Projecting Confidence Mastermind’. I apply the lessons received in that session every day.
Where did the magic transformation happen? Was it at breakfast, before the official beginning of the day when various coteries of women gathered for coffee – always making room at the table for another sister? Was it during the BeachSide Chats (nope, not on THE beach so don’t fret about sand or sunscreen) where we sat and listened to real women shed their shields; bare their souls and impart wisdom to an eager, you could hear a pin drop, awaiting gathering of women? Was it the Saturday night gala; replete with photo taking, cocktails, dancing and laughter?
I am unsure.
I wager to bet the magic was woven in between those moments. The moments of being randomly hugged; the moments of one woman telling another woman that ‘they too had a similar experience; that they got it’; the moments of tears upon realizing just how similar we all are… that the ‘woman condition’ can be shared: the joys, the burdens, the tragedies, the triumphs. Where one of us began and the other ended blurred for me over the course of the three days. In a small way I ‘lost’ my individuality, my alone, and melded with the power and strength of my sisters.
I am not telling you that everyone should attend this weekend.
However, if you are curious; if you believe you are on the cusp of greatness (your own personal greatness); if you are willing to be fearful and do it anyway; then please join us. If 80 or so of us changed the gravitational pull of the earth for a moment in time; think about the ride with double, triple that number.
I want to show up again ready to give, give, give and fly home filled with lightness, love, and gratitude resplendent with the collective power of women.
Beautifully stated, Jack! It was a life-changing experience for me, as well! I look forward to continued experiences with you, Kuel Life and FFR!
Thrilled to have met you… and I too look forward to many more experiences with you as well.
Jack, I love this post! So well written and “explained”. So many people ask me what FierceCon is, and it is almost impossible to explain. So thrilled I met you and you are one of us now!
Thanks Loretta!!! I had fun writing it. Thanks for the warm welcome.
What a beautiful and poignant post! You bring me right back to that feeling of “I can’t believe this is real!” I’m so grateful for your friendship and the beautiful key ring that has a permanent home on my bag❤️
So wonderful to hear. I too am grateful for you, my new friend.
A beautiful summary of an experience that is so difficult to put into words. FierceCon truly does “change the gravitational pull of the earth for a moment in time.” So excited to be part of this process, and glad to have found you, Catherine, and the rest of our brilliant tribe!
Thank you for your kind words. More importantly, thank you for joining me in the Kuel Life movement. I cannot do it without you.
You do have a gift with words my new friend. You are a breath of fresh air and can’t wait to see where we are headed together. Thank you for the gift of you!
Thank you Catherine. This was a fun and easy piece to write… it basically wrote itself. I too am excited to see what the future holds for us both. As individuals and together we are quite the force!