{#MotivationMonday} Recap of Day One of @Cosmopolitan @funfearlesslife #FunFearlessLife Weekend!

This past month has been filled with 20 hour days clear through the weekend. They have been exhausting, over-whelming and incredibly transformative all at once.

But on my only day off in a very long time I couldn't help but question despite doing so much, expelling so much energy and going to so many events, what have I accomplished? How much closer am I to my goals (both personal and professional)? Some weeks I feel much like a hamster on a wheel, burning energy but not moving forward. (OK, technically I am moving forward, but I am not sure it's as fast as I would like it to be.)

In early November in New York City, the leaves began to change color and The David Koch Theatre at Lincoln Center is where 1,700 'change seekers' spent an intense weekend that offered 'crash courses on life' and how to live it bigger and better via a series of inspirational and practical panels by speakers across a wide range of industries (and quite a few 'celebs' too!). Cosmopolitan Magazine hosted Fun Fearless Life Weekend, a two-day empowerment event sponsored by Express and Maybelline and I had the chance to be a part of it, which certainly falls under my weekly gratitude category as well as Motivation Monday for sure!

I thought I'd share photos, most re-tweeted quotes from each panelist and some of my takeaways from Day One and next week for Motivational Monday I will share what went down on Day Two:

Center: Joanna Coles, Editor-in-Chief  of US Cosmopolitan Magazine onstage with Male Models at Cosmo's Fun Fearless Life Weeekend powered by WME Live at The David Koch Theatre at Lincoln Center

Spanx’s Sara Blakely onstage at Cosmo's Fun Fearless Life Weeekend powered by WME Live at The David Koch Theatre at Lincoln Center (Photo Credit: Craig Barritt/Getty Images)

“Real change doesn’t happen when you just do things the way other people told you to do them.” –Sara Blakely, CEO of  @SPANX

“I didn’t have the most experience, I didn’t have the most money, but I cared the most.” –Sara Blakely

"Put Your Ass on the Line" was an incredibly informative panel led by Spanx Founder Sara Blakely, on everything from her inspiration for starting the line (which was literally her own butt!) to how she selected the name, Sara held nothing back! She was raw, straight-forward and honest. This is actually the second time this year I got to hear her speak (the first was at the Activate2K Conference). Her quest to find something that would help her body look better under her new white jeans literally led her to build an empire! They always say something that solves a problem and fills a need is always worth pursuing, obviously she wasn't the only person who wanted to look better and feel better in her clothing, BINGO! And butterflies before you say , 'It isn't always that easy', I will say you are right, it isn't, but the persistence to follow your passion and dreams will always steer you in the right direction. There are enough successful people out there that are willing to share how they got there and dollars to donuts persistence and drive for their passion was a HUGE part of their success!

From Left to Right : Leslie Yazel (Moderator), Sallie Krawcheck, Julie Greenwald, Megyn Kelly

“If you work in a male-dominated industry, don’t waste time worrying about the fact that you work in a male-dominated industry.” –Fox News anchor @MegynKelly

“Your next business connection is much more likely to come from a loose connection than a friend.” – @SallieKrawcheck

The "Find Your Power" panel moderated by Leslie Yazel, Executive Editor, Cosmo Magazine included powerhouses Sallie Krawcheck, Financial Services Industry Expert (with Ellevate Network and Ellevate Asset Management), Julie Greenwald, Atlantic Records and Megyn Kelly of FOX News Channel's The Kelly Files. This YouTube Video of News Anchor Megyn Kelly telling off Erick Erickson was shown during the panel and it definitely got the room fired up!

Dr. Meg Jay onstage at Cosmo's Fun Fearless Life Weeekend powered by WME Live at The David Koch Theatre at Lincoln Center (Photo Credit: Craig Barritt/Getty Images)

Dr. Meg Jay led the panel "Weak Ties Matter". Her 2013 TED talk "Why 30 is Not the New 20" has been viewed over 6 million times to date, she is also the author of "The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter and How to Make the Most of Them Now" (which you can purchase directly at Amazon using the link below);

“Your best friends can’t open new doors for you, because you’re all in the same room.” –@DrMegJay, author of The Defining Decade

She discussed utilizing your 'weak ties' which are NOT your friends but for the most part are people you may never have met who can open those doors for you, doors you can't seem to open yourself. She ended with us making stickers with our spirit animals on multi-colored post its, and during the break out session for us to find someone with the same color post it, interesting way for 1,700 people to find a 'weak tie' that could potentially change your life!

"Don't fake it until you make it; fake it until you become it." ~ @AmyJCCuddy

Amy Cuddy, Body Language Expert, led the "Power Poses" session and taught us all the importance of Power Posing. Power Poses are known to increase testosterone and decrease cortisol. These poses help us optimize our brain before situations that make us feel powerless or stressed out like job interviews! (BTW, 85% of yoga is high power poses!) Stand with your legs slightly wider than shoulder width apart with hands on hips (kind of like 'wonder woman'), with both arms in the air and hold it for two minutes, this actually changes our brain chemistry and causes us to feel confident and relaxed! I plan to 'power pose' before every conference call from now on!

Left: Bella Weems, Founder of Origami Owl Right: Joanna Coles, Editor-in-Chief, Cosmopolitan Magazine, US

Bella Weems, co-Founder of Origami Owl, shared a story much like Sara's from Spanx. While Sara wanted to look confident in her new white jeans and founded the empire we all know now as Spanx, Bella wanted a car and her parents told her 'no', her desire for her own wheels is what eventually led her to create Origami Owl, a company she co-founded at age 14! Proof that desire, drive and determination can help us to overcome any obstacle!

Dick Costolo - CEO of Twitter at Cosmo's Fun Fearless Life Weeekend powered by WME Live at The David Koch Theatre at Lincoln Center (Photo Credit: Craig Barritt/Getty Images)

The "Building Your Brand" panel included Amy Odell (moderator) - Editor of Cosmopolitan.com, Grace Helbig, Comedian, Actress and Vlogger, and Dick Costolo - CEO of Twitter. (You all know Twitter is my all time favorite Social Media Channel, I was a pretty early adopter and can't wait to see what the future brings! Hosting Twitter Parties and Tweet chats are two of my favorite things.)

“You do a disservice to yourself when you start apologizing for things. Utilize your imperfections to build your brand.” –@GraceHelbig, vlogger and author of Grace’s Guide: The Art of Pretending To Be A Grown Up

Sophia Amoruso - Founder and CEO of Nasty Gal

The "Create Your Future" panel was moderated by Elizabeth Holmes - Senior Style Reporter for The Wall Street Journal, and included Sophia Amoruso - Founder and CEO of Nasty Gal and author of the book #GIRLBOSS, Christina Tosi - Chef, Owner and Founder of Milk Bar, and Windsor Hanger, Co-Founder, President and Publisher of Her Campus Media.

"Bad Bitches are Taking Over the World" ~ Sophia Amoruso

"There are a lot of opportunities out there, but they're not going to fall into your lap. Be relentless." ~ Windsor Hanger

Model Chrissy Teigen at Cosmo's Fun Fearless Life Weeekend powered by WME Live at The David Koch Theatre at Lincoln Center

From Left to Right: Chrissy Teigen, Logan Hill, Matthew Hussey and Jordan Carlos

The "Manthropology" panel was moderated by Chrissy Teigen (needless to say her super short shorts in Fall in NYC definitely caused a stir! LOL) and included Matthew Hussey Author and founder of how to get the guy who teaches women how to find the guy, attract the guy and keep the guy, Logan Hill - he launched Vulture and is now the Senior Editor at GQ, (he also writes the monthly "Ask Him Anything" print and weekly online "Ask Logan" columns for Cosmopolitan and Jordan Carlos, Comedian who is currently appearing on MTV's Girl Code and Guy Code series. A no holds barred discussion on the inner workings of men's minds including 'Dick pics' (While Chrissy finds them fascinating, I for one wish men would NEVER send those!), 'defining the relationship' and how it differs for men and women, 'validation' (how to use it and to remember to make men still feel like the protector), and 'women making the first move'. Let's just say in a room full of 1,700 twenty somethings, mostly female, many still looking for love and single and ready to mingle, this panel could have gone on for way longer because it definitely got things perked up!

Cosmo and Maybelline presented Kisses for the Troops for each kiss collected, Cosmo and Maybelline New York will donate $1 to the USO! #kissesforthetroops

From Left to Right: Aliza Licht - SVP Global Communications of Donna Karan, Alicia Quarles - E! News Correspondent, Shay Mitchell - Actress/Blogger, Anne Marie Nelson-Bogle - VP Marketing, Maybelline New York

"Make Your Mark" was another heavily tweeted panel moderated by Aliza Licht - SVP Global Communications, Donna Karan, and included Anne Marie Nelson-Bogle - Vice President of Marketing for Maybelline New York, Shay Mitchell - portrays Emily Fields on ABC Family's Hit Show 'Pretty Little Liars', and Alicia Quarles - New York Based Correspondent for E! News.

You can find more inspirational quotes from Fun Fearless Life on Cosmopolitan's Career Channel.

We ended Day one with Tara Mohr's session "Lesson: Visualize Your Mentor" which was a guided visualization excercise to help introduce yourself to the person you want to be in 20 years, we were asked to envision ourselves approaching a home and having ourself in 20 years open that door and to take notice of the details, and then coming out of it, to then figure out the steps you need to take to get yourself there. I personally haven't been very successful with visualization so I use Vision Boards instead. There is a great piece on Cosmo's website with Tara Mohr's 10 Tips for Success and Confidence that you should definitely check out! And you can purchase her book Playing Big directly by pressing the banner below:

MY TAKE:

We were greeted by Maybelline reps handing out free lipsticks, I am not sure life gets much better! There were also makeover stations, an Express Pop up Shop, Photo Station (you know I avoid those!) although I will admit I thought it was a cute idea to put yourself on the cover of Cosmo at this station and there were great gifts too like a charging clutch from Express that I am in LOVE with! (Pictures of my clutch to come!) Between the amazing speakers, the super charged energy in the room, and great sponsors this spa weekend for the spirit offered a wealth of information, inspiration and empowerment tools and resources, it was definitely motivating and I came away with some concrete ideas that I have already begun to implement. Stay tuned for the highlights from Day Two on next week's Motivation Monday post.

Which speaker would you most like to have heard for yourself butterfly?

˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙

FTC Disclosure: I was provided Press Access to Fun Fearless Life Weekend as Digital Press. I received 'swag'. All opinions are 100% my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR, Part 255 - Guides Concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising, you may visit our full giveaway and disclosure page for complete policy information.