When you least expect it, that is when it happens.

When you stop looking for something, what you are looking for finds you.

At least that is what happened to me the past two days as I attend a couple of amazing events produced by Powerteam International.

48 hours ago I was in a bit of a funk.

Maybe more than a bit of funk. It was actually about fourteen months ago when I came to the conclusion that I needed a new mountain to climb.

I am one of those people who live for the journey, not the destination. When I check off all of the boxes I wanted to check off in a certain pursuit, I need to move on to something different.

So when I pretty much achieved all I had set out to do in the Philippines, I started looking for something new to do back in the U.S. My absolute favorite thing to do is talk about analytics in front of an audience hungry to level up with their ability to optimize data. It took 8 years, but I had pretty much become the biggest name in analytics training in the Philippines. So what is my follow up to that?

I spent the past year plus exploring how to get more involved in using analytics for civic responsibility and advocating for a more data-driven electorate. However, I just couldn’t find a place where I could pour my passion into.

Long story short, that brought me to the Small Business Expo in Orlando two days ago.

Having just spent a day exploring Disney’s Animal Kingdom, I was mentally well rested and ready to get out there and network as I was planning to basically rebuild my training advocacy that I had built in the Philippines, but now in North Central Florida.

One more point, before talking in depth about my Game Changing Day.

I took this private tour safari at the animal park. I was setting out on the deck overlooking the savannah section of the park watching giraffes, spring buck and really, really big horned cows as the sun started to set.

It was a beautiful moment. And honestly it was not cheap. It cost like $180. But man was it worth it.

I said to myself, I love this. I want to keep doing this kind of stuff. But I’m gonna need to make a lot more money if I want to really have the lifestyle I want.., to travel, to explore, to experience. In short, I need to be rich to get to the top of my next mountain.

Unsure how I would get there, but ready to start a new chapter I entered the Expo.

At first glance it was like any number of similar expos that I have been to over the years. A bunch of workshops, an exhibitor area, a main stage with a bunch of speakers I hadn’t heard of before. So I got into networking mode.

Attending a couple of workshops and walked half the exhibitor area, picking up a few ideas and 1–2 good leads. And then it all changed.

I attended a workshop by a guy named Bill Walsh. Yeah being a lifelong 49ers fan, that was the main reason I picked this workshop.

Before I knew it, I had filled up several pages of notes. Like how to use your book to build your business without even finishing the book. I mean Bill was giving me a lot of really good small business ideas that make a ton of sense. Another that stuck out was the idea of selling from stage. Honestly, the fact that I was getting all this for free was quite remarkable.

And then the sales pitch came. Like most speakers Bill had something to offer us. In this case a Public Speakers Camp. Five days of intense training to up your game as a speaker to really optimize your time on stage. Sounds awesome. The kicker, the price tag was kinda high… probably too high for 90% of the attendees.

So at the end, I hung around. Fired up by the pages of notes I had taken and seeing the potential that abounds in what Bill said. I really could focus more on my passion (public speaking) to offer what I am good at (analytics training) that will enable more of my prime motivator in life (travel).

I got a deeper understanding on the offer and started to sense it could be a game changer. It’s a significant investment, but if it pans out this could shave two years off of my business development plan. I could easily be making 7 figures in the near future.

The Platinum Speaker Program, five days with 20 like-minded individuals being taught by Bill. All kinds of help with refining your offer, polishing you message and picking up best practices. With a promise to be put in stage within 60 days. Sounds kinda too could to be true right?

That’s what most of us would think. And we would never stop thinking.

But I get it. I see exactly how this would benefit someone like me.

So I signed up.

But I still didn’t appreciate the scope of what I had signed up for.

After talking with Bill, I went back to the exhibitor area. And started to fit the pieces together.

Several of the speakers had done what I was doing. And one after another, as I spoke to them, Deann, Merri-Jo, Tina, Sheridan, Angel… validated my thoughts that this is something I should be part of.

The Small Business Expo is THE stage that the graduates of the program are put on. They get to talk about their area of expertise and offer their services while also sharing what Powerteam does for its speakers.

It’s brilliant.

I’ve been a speaker at many, many events where part of the speaker lineup (including myself) is working closely with the event organizers to develop additional post workshop activities to partner on.

But this one, the Small Business Expo series… it’s the best I have ever seen.

It will get me on stage, to build my advocacy, to grow my business and take me all around the world.

For me it is that game changer I had been looking for, but did not expect to find it here.

Boom! I got my mojo back.

Now off to climb a new mountain.

Dan Meyer heads Sonic Analytics, an analytics advocacy with offices in Manila, the San Francisco Bay Area and as of February 2019, Ocala, FL. With over 20 years in Big Data, Dan is one of the most sought-after public speakers in Asia and has recently begun offering public training seminars in the United States. Dan has also recently joined the Powerteam International family as a small business analytics resource speaker.

Sonic Analytics(www.sonicanalytics.com) brings big data analytics solutions like business intelligence, business dashboards and data storytelling to small and medium sized organizations looking to enhance their data-driven decision-making capabilities. We also advocate the use of analytics for civic responsibility through training, consulting and education.

As citizens of this great democracy, we need to look at the data (analytics), plan a course of action (strategy) and share our data-driven viewpoints (presentation). This approach to a data savvy work force starts in school. So, we started an internship program to empower our youth to use Analytics, plan Strategy and Present their insights… ASP!

When not training current and future analysts, you can find Dan championing the use of analytics to empower data-driven citizenship by volunteering his expertise with schools and non-profits dedicated to evidence-based social progress like Saint Leo University’s Women in Data + Science Program and the Data + Women of Tampa Meet Up Group.