A monthly letter from the desk of Sarah Fejfar

My favorite adventure this past month is a tie. The stars aligned (well actually, months of planning paid off) and we got to take a long-anticipated trip to a magical campground in the San Juan Islands over the 4th of July. It’s a gorgeous area with picturesque harbors; and riding the car ferry through those islands was breathtaking; I look forward to going back.

The 2nd half of the tie must be the hike we took lakeside in Coeur ‘d Alene. It’s our 4th summer taking a road trip from Portland to the Midwest, and we found that spot on our 1st summer road trip and return each year. I LOVE seeing new places AND I love collecting up the ones that we want to continue to return to make more magical family memories at… Coeur ‘d Alene is most certainly on that list.

What did you learn last month? Here’s what has my attention:

1. I’m studying live launches from James Wedmore inside Business by Design, and...

I decided to switch things up today so after my morning walk, I hit up our local coffee shop.  I’m a fan of the smell of coffee, but not the taste.  I’ve trained myself to be an unsweetened iced tea drinker so I can sit here with a drink on the table and not feel awkward. 

Why am I here?

Well, there’s no laundry to fold or dishes to wash so my ADD brain must stay seated and work. 

Anyways, one of the workers came by to wipe the tables around me and made a swipe through a couple of tables. 

Stuff like that makes my blood boil. 

Excellence is wiping the whole freaking table, not just the one spot where there’s a leftover crumb.

Can I get an Amen?! 

Where can you show your event guests that excellence wins in your book?

Really give it some thought.  When were you at an event and you noticed something?  Something that made you go hmm.  This person / brand / business CARES about ME.

Make it an outstanding day.

...

Who knew?  The carpet at the Portland International Airport is a thing.  Google it and you’ll see what I mean.

I guess it’s basically a nighttime picture of the north and south runways meeting.

They say it’s a hipster icon.

Have you seen it?

People take pictures of their feet on it and post to the socials.

They want to show everyone ‘they were there.’

It’s a badge of honor.

That’s how your event guests want to feel.

They want to show off to their friends and family a picture of themselves at YOUR event.

And they’ll do that because of what it will say about who they are or who they’re working to become.

What do you want that to look like at your event?

What do you want them to be ‘saying’ to their community with the selfie they take at your event?

And if you want to level up, what environment will you create at your event for them to take that selfie in?  Will it be a sweet step and repeat backdrop of your iconic...

The first time I read Bo Eason’s Book, There’s No Plan B for Your A Game, I instantly fell in love.

And by read, I mean Bo read it to me, via Audible, my BFF.

I love how it talks about making a ‘declaration’ about who you’re going to be or what you’re going to do.

I love how it talks about being the best.

I love how he translates that drive elite athletes just seem to ‘have’ into tangible and tactical advice I can leverage to go faster and accomplish more.

I instantly sent my husband this text.

Is that weird? I was worried it might have been a little bossy.

Here’s the thing though; he was on a road trip and I knew he had some ‘free time’ in the car and I was being ‘helpful’ by putting that time to good use for him.

But it really boils down to the fact that this book perfectly articulates the drive I feel inside of me to accomplish my dreams and it also perfectly articulates the kind of support I’ll need to...

It’s embarrassing to admit, but I gave up yesterday. I didn’t sleep well (and that’s never a good start to my day.) I woke up with a sore throat (you know the kind you get right before you’re about to get sick.) I didn’t feel like working, like, at all. Of course, I had plenty to do.

I went for a walk. I thought maybe fresh air would help motivate me.
It didn’t.

I sat down at the computer. I figured if I sat there, maybe I’d work.

I didn’t.

After about an hour of sitting there, I realized productivity wasn’t going to come to me.
I switched gears.

If I can’t focus on “real” work, I do “fake” work.

Here’s what that looks like for me:

I grabbed the laundry, turned on an online course I needed to finish and started folding and learning. (Oh, I should mention, the course is about the next big “thing” I need to tackle in my business, a topic I’m totally green on. It’s always helpful...

It was my kiddo’s teacher’s birthday the other day. And at 8:22 p.m. the night before the big day, I realized I’d forgotten to get her a gift.

I’d intended to get a gift. But I forgot.

My kiddo wanted to do something nice for her teacher and while a hand-drawn card would have done the trick, that would have meant bedtime would probably get pushed out another hour.

I was having none of that.

I hopped on Amazon Prime Now, picked a book, and one of their cute gift cards shaped like a bookmark placed the order, and in 45 minutes it was on our doorstep, just as we finished teeth brushing, PJs, and reading Press Here.

Do you love Amazon as much as I do?! I freaking LOVE Amazon.

It’s simple. They deliver what I want when I want it.

The peace of mind that comes with reliability is incredible. It’s why I keep shopping there.

I want to challenge you to think about your live event. Even if you’ve never done an event before. I know there’s one percolating...

There’s glitter all over my kiddo’s flipping room. Like everywhere.

My husband is traveling. It’s been a longer-than-normal trip. My kiddo wanted to make him a welcome home card.

So sweet.

I made the sarcastic remark that “wouldn’t it be funny if you made the entire thing out of glitter? You know how much he loves glitter.”

She got a devilish smile on her face. She knows I’m lying.

She took my challenge seriously and during one of those moments the other day while I thought she was quietly, angelically, playing by herself, she made him a huge welcome home card, entirely out of glue and glitter.

It’s a work of art.



She is SO PROUD OF IT.

And there’s a mess of glitter everywhere.

My husband hates glitter.

In his defense, he has every reason to hate glitter.

Back when my kiddo was probably three years old or so, I was home alone with her and had to take a work call. Well, while I was supposedly “watching” her, she carefully took...

You can say it. It’s ok. I say the same thing to myself.

It’s weird.

When I need to get myself psyched up to do a thing, like a big writing project, I play Let’s Go. You know that one by Trick Daddy?

It’s Dave Hollis’ fault. He kept posting it on his Insta Stories with his latest running statistics from the Runtastic app and I got hooked.

But it does the trick.

And sometimes I forget to take it off repeat and then I realize I’ve been writing for a few hours and it’s still in my earbuds on repeat. Yikes.

Have you ever noticed how when you go to a concert there’s an opening act? Or how when you watch a sporting event on TV there’s a pre-game show?

You know why they’re doing that right?

They’re getting the guests fired up.

They’re getting the crowd in the right headspace to take in or do whatever is next.

The SAME GOES for your live event. You need to get your guests fired up.

What will that look like at your event?

Will it be...

I’m totally serious, what do you like to eat?

If I were to answer that question, my answer would sound super granola. I’m a green smoothie, mostly plants, organic, spring water only thank you very much kinda gal. With heavy doses of dark chocolate, stove-top popcorn, and kombucha, of course.

I want you super clear on what your “brand” of food & drink is.

Here’s why.

When you lead your live events, I want you to serve THAT kind of food & drink.

People are showing up for YOU. They’re showing up for YOUR brand.

It’s a good chance they like what you like, so serve THAT.

Don’t try and be someone you’re not.

If you’re not a sushi kind of dude, then don’t think you’re being fancy and serve sushi at your event.

If you’re not a gal who LOVES green juice, don’t serve it at your event.

Authenticity will win your guests over.

Remember that next time you’re pouring over catering menus wracked with indecision....

I’m holding onto some event lanyards. Do you know the kind that holds your nametag?

I’ve gone to this one influencer’s event a bunch of times. In each event the lanyard has a different saying and is a different color. It’s kind of like a collector’s item.

Well not really, but I’ve made it into one, I guess.

These events I’ve gone to, mean something to me. One event got me over a fear. One event got me a skill I needed. One event gave me a network I didn’t have before (and didn’t even know I existed.)

It didn’t cost much, but the GIFT of that lanyard, gave me something to hold onto, a memento from each of those events.

Whether intended or not, they become something MEANINGFUL to me.

I want you to give that some thought.

What could you give your guests that would be useful and/or meaningful?

I have a love affair with gifting during events. Surprising people with thoughtful items in an event setting is one of my favorite things....