‘Unique People Tribe’ Awesomeness Fest 2011 attendees made lasting connections on a sunset cruise outside Maui, Hawaii.
Frequency, Change Your Reality,” in which “intuitive medium, healer, and facilitator for con- sciousness” Christie Marie Sheldon described to attendees how to create positive change by adjust- ing their inner energy; and “Go Big or Go Home,” during which entrepreneur and surfing aficionado Joe Walsh told the story of following his vision and founding a surf camp in Costa Rica. And, instead of getting on a plane and moving on to motivate another group of delegates at another conference, Sheldon and Walsh stayed for the duration of Awesomeness Fest, participating in team-building activities like sunrise yoga and surf lessons, and attending theme parties and beach bonfires — cre- ating genuine, elevated networking opportunities. Those connections are key to the Awesomeness
Fest experience. Once you attend, you become part of the official “Unique People tribe” — which continues on past the conference via communica- tion through a private Facebook group, accessible only to past attendees. “It’s the whole experience of belonging to the tribe that aims to change the world,” Lakhiani said. “A big evolution in the event since its inception three years ago is that it has become a movement.” He added: “Movements need to be owned
by their tribe, so starting from last year, Awe- someness Fest is a nonprofit event.” The event raised $30,000 in 2011 for charities of the tribe’s choice, including the Pachamama Alliance, an
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indigenous-rights organization; AIESEC, the world’s largest youth-run organization; and Shine on Sierra Leone. And the movement is spread- ing. “We’re finding that as the event and brand become more recognized,” Lakhiani said, “we have a larger pool of people who would like to get invited and attend. Our hope is to eventually expand Awesomeness Fest and host a second annual event in Asia.” As the tribe begins to grow, Awesomeness Fest
organizers continue to innovate. “We’re placing a greater focus on experiential and interactive pre- sentations this year,” Lakhiani said, “and working in more time for networking and mingling among the attendees.” Location will also be important, as this year’s conference was slated for the Mayan Riviera; according to the Mayan calendar, the world will enter into a new age in 2012. “We want to focus on the overarching theme of entering into this new era as the best possible version of yourself,” said Lakhiani, who plans to focus on “creating break- throughs at this critical transition period.” He added: “Many people have come up with
epic business ideas, found business partners or clients, and made lifelong friendships at the event. We want to make sure to create a space for these incredible connections to happen.”
. Sarah Beauchamp is an assistant editor of Convene. PCMA.ORG