Unexpected Benefits of a NAPFA Conference

By Susan Weiner

As I look forward to the NAPFA Fall Conference next month, I consider the conference’s many benefits. It’s a welcome opportunity to visit an interesting city, meet with colleagues old and new, learn about important topics, and find new authors for this magazine. The conference also sometimes brings unexpected benefits. That’s what happened for me at the fall conference in Denver in 2022.

Train Your Brain

At that 2022 conference, in her session on “The Breakthrough Mindset: Train Your Brain for Extraordinary Results,” speaker Ellen Rogin CPA, CFP^®, called on audience members to start focusing their attention on things that will make them more successful. That means activities such as meditating, journaling, recording what we’re grateful for, and visualizing what we want to achieve. Then, she said, “Gain traction thru action,” and she challenged all of us to make one resolution. I was skeptical. However, inspired by my tablemate’s commitment to start meditating three days a week, I decided to practice meditative breathing exercises more regularly.

Surprisingly, that session became the start of my more-regular participation in my meditation group’s breathing-focused practice that persists to the present. I went from participating once or twice a week to participating three to six days a week, either with my group, with an online app, or in another meditation group. My group meets at 7:15 most mornings, which helps me start my day on a positive note.

Incidentally, the early start prevents me from consuming as much news as I otherwise would in the morning. Rogin said that people who start the day with news are significantly less happy than their peers—and I believe her!

Another big positive is that my sleep seemed to improve after two or three months of my new routine. That session has been a gift with multiple facets. Thanks, NAPFA!

Your Takeaway from the Upcoming Fall Conference

I hope that you come away from the next NAPFA conference with a similarly positive result!

By the way, if a speaker or topic impresses you so much that you think they’d be a great contributor to the NAPFA Advisor, please let me know. I’m always on the lookout for talented authors.