Pendulum Summit NYC: You Know Who Can Change Your Life? You.

The Pendulum Summit calls itself the World’s Leading Business & Self-Empowerment Summit. For the first time, the one-day event was held in New York City and the S2 team attended on September 13, 2018. The entire day boiled down to a single principle – you can do anything you want to, and Pendulum supplies the tools for you to do it.

The lineup was filled with world-class speakers Deepak Chopra, Jack Canfield, Suzy Welch, Steve Forbes, Walter O’Brien, Nataly Kogan, and Nick Santonastasso. They touched on topics such as self-empowerment, leadership, business, authenticity, happiness, and decision-making. It was interesting to look at something as broad and emotional as “happiness” and learn about the tactical ways we can improve our own happiness, but also the ways in which being a happier person can improve many facets of our lives. Often people disregard the intersectionality of emotional wellbeing and career well-being.

Happiness

One thing that nearly every speaker said is that they practice gratitude. And what exactly does that look like? Well, if you are a leader, that means telling your team that you are grateful for them. Spoiler Alert: telling your employees that you are grateful for them not only makes them happier, but it also aids in their feelings of importance, which leads to more productive employees. If you are a solopreneur, this might mean keeping a gratitude journal or sending one email each day, telling someone why you are grateful for them. Nataly Kogan, founder of the app, Happier, told us that, “There are more than 11,000 scientific studies that have shown that there are benefits to gratitude, including higher productivity and better health.”

Nataly was full of advice on how to be, well, happier. Happier people are more trustworthy, more productive, and better at problem-solving. They are also 50% less likely to have a heart attack or stroke. She also made one thing very clear, “happiness is not a feeling or a state of mind, it is a skill,” and, just like any skill, practice makes perfect!

When it comes to practice, no one knows what that means better than Nick Santonastasso who was born missing both legs and one arm. He has defied odds his entire life as a wrestler and entrepreneur. Nick is focused on his personal success and gratitude – he doesn’t focus on what others are doing. “We see the successes of our idols, but not their journeys or challenges,” which often leads to comparison and negativity.

Comparison

As entrepreneurs and freelancers, we so often compare ourselves to others and worry that they have more, but what’s easy to forget is that our success and happiness are within our control. Jack Canfield has a simple equation:

E(vent) + R(esponse) = O(utcome)

“It’s not about the event, it’s how you respond to it,” he says. Things happen all day, every day and our future depends on how we react. We need goals (write them down, Jack says this way you’re 9x more likely to achieve them!), focus and confidence, but, “We have to get out of our comfort zone if we want to be successful.”

Who knew? All along, you had everything you needed to succeed within yourself.

Not only was the Pendulum Summit inspiring, but it was also great food for thought with many actionable items about how to be more gracious, successful and fulfilled. Visual artist Heather Willems brought her talents and took live visual notes during the talks. For more insight into the event, take a look at the gallery of her work here!

If you have ever tried any of these tactics, let us know in the comments!

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