Last week, I participated in a global leaders conference called Be. Choose. Cause. 2020 is the inaugural year of the conference which was supposed to take place, not too far from me, in Miami, Florida. Obviously, due to Covid-19, it took place virtually. The leader said that this conference had been an idea of hers for a decade and in 2020, it was born into reality.
At this three-day virtual conference, the participants learned from the global leaders about topics ranging from racial equity, climate change, human trafficking, and healthy communities. We learned how coaches can specifically facilitate these changes in our communities. We also grew our leadership skills and learned lead with humanity, have a growth mindset, think independently, and be resilient. We also received continuing education credits, and anyone who knows me, knows that I love learning. If being a forever student was a viable career, that would be my dream career.
There were so many panels and presentations to choose from. I chose to attend the ones that spoke to me and got my interest. As the days went on, I noticed that the same people showed up on the Zoom calls, in each of the meetings I attended. I had found a like-minded tribe. Connections were made, as well as LinkedIn contacts with presenters and participants alike. I haven’t attended a conference virtual, or otherwise, in years, so this was very exciting to me, especially since I decided to attend last minute. While I had to shift my calendar around to make it possible, it was a very, very, very good decision on my part to attend.
My biggest take away from the conference is that there are many issues and problems in our world and we all can do our part to make a difference. We don’t need to do much. We don’t need to devote our lives to a cause or many causes. But we do need to be good stewards of our planet and helpful towards the rest of humanity. There are things going on that we don’t even know about and that no one is talking about. It is time to get talking and get started making a difference in our world.
As I stated earlier, the conference focused on racial equity, climate change, human trafficking, and healthy communities. The topic that resonated most with me was human trafficking. The rest are very important and wonderful topics that need addressing, but I think that my talents and skill set would be best suited for getting involved to end human trafficking.
I feel that as a coach, who specializes in working with people who have experienced grief, loss, and other life transformations and who are looking to come back from that and be resilient, I am a great resource for people, especially woman, who have experienced trafficking.
In the presentation, I was shocked to learn that human trafficking is a $150 billion industry. The most likely targets are homeless or runaway children, members of the LGBTQ community, and children in foster care.
Already, I have researched different organizations to get involved with and have signed up for webinars to get more education on the subject. I really want to do my part to end this horror. No human deserves to be sold or denied their freedom.
The Be. Choose. Cause conference really made a great impact on me and opened my eyes wider than they ever have been. We can and must all do our part to make our world a better place. If not us, then who?
I challenge you to make a commitment and contribute. Helping people is one of the greatest gifts we can give each other as humans. Let’s all do our part. The conference is supposed to take place again in 2022 in Miami, and hopefully, it will be live.
I’m looking forward to seeing how the world changes in two years.
I’m very optimistic that things will improve because I’ve seen the driving forces behind the change. I know that we will be on the victorious side…humanity and the planet will be grateful.
