Rise & Shine Conference Recap (Day 1)

This year’s Rise & Shine Conference, put on by The Inspiration Lab, had us dancing with joy. Literally. At one point, the room of 300+ women were participating in a choreographed line dance to, “Can’t Stop the Feeling” – but more on that later.

Designed for nurturing the hearts and souls of working women, The Inspiration Lab’s annual conference provided two days of actionable tools, inspiration and camaraderie. Katherine Daniel of N2 Publishing set the tone of the first day early on with her emcee charisma. Her excitement was palpable and contagious. This energy was maintained throughout the day as each presenter entered the conference hall to an upbeat song of their choice and danced all the way down the aisles towards the stage, grabbing high-fives as they went.

Our first speaker was Stephanie Lair, the Founder of The Inspiration Lab, who gave us a moving introduction about how to be a shining light for others. Her authenticity in sharing her family’s challenges with a special needs son had the room in tears. She reminded us that we all go through periods or rising and shining, and when we’re shining, we must keep our light bright for others who need it. We should not dim our own luminosity in fear of intimating or outshining others; instead, we must be the beacon for those searching for the shore. Just as light reflects light, success breeds success.

Next, Lindsay Harkey of Live Oak Bank and Sheri Shaw of UNCW (after entering to Lizzo’s “Good as Hell” and ending with a dance party onstage) lead an insightful discussion on what it means to be a leader. They stressed that you must take care of yourself first if you want to be able to lead and care for others. I loved that they shared that they both came into their leadership positions before they each felt they were “ready” – but because they had closely followed their mentors and absorbed as much knowledge as possible, they were not only qualified, they were “chosen.”