By Tim Chermak
Why I Drove 2500 Miles to Attend Voice & Exit
Voice & Exit 2016 is this November. Tickets are on sale now but will sell out fast!
This year, I’ll probably fly.
Don’t get me wrong — the road trip was awesome, but 2500 miles of solo driving makes a Spirit Airlines flight seem luxurious.
But it was worth it.
The Voice & Exit experience is unlike any other conference, festival, or event I have ever attended. It’s hard to put it all into words, especially when I’m confined to a single post. But here goes.
Even though I left several days early, I still managed to arrive at the last minute. I call this “efficiency.” You see, during my road trip from Minnesota to Texas, I had been surviving on fast food drive thru’s, gas station snacks, and cheap hotels (I’m in my twenties…I can get away with terrible lifestyle choices for at least a few more years).
After finding a parking spot near the Austin Music Hall, I experienced a bit of cognitive dissonance.
Did I really belong here? Are these people too cool for me? I silently wondered.
When I checked in at the entrance, there were a wide variety of organic juices, superfoods, and “biohacking” supplements from innovative companies like Bulletproof and Natural Stacks.
Most events feature fast food style concession stands, vending machines, or overpriced hotel buffets.
Not Voice & Exit.
This caught me off guard, and I soon realized that this conference was unlike any other I had ever experienced.
“It was a culture shock, to be sure, but in the best way possible.” http://t.co/zZBdnVVChh #Exit #flourish pic.twitter.com/3MIlZ3QCJ1
— Voice & Exit (@VoiceAndExit) March 13, 2015
Contrary to popular belief, gas station hot dogs and fast food burgers do not represent the zenith of human accomplishment. Regardless, I suppose the end justified the means of my road trip. Like I said…I’m going back next year. On an airplane.
Voice & Exit was a wake up call that my life could be so much more. It gave me permission to pursue happiness and abundance as an ideal. And it inspired me to work toward human flourishing because it is possible, right now.
Many people aimlessly drift through life, thinking they have to apologize for experiencing joy, or even wanting to flourish.
Voice & Exit ideas were new to me.
Being born and raised in the rural Midwest, I had never been exposed to many of the ideas and perspectives celebrated at this festival. It was a culture shock, to be sure, but in the best way possible.
I’d never had Bulletproof coffee, nor did I eat a paleo diet (or whatever the cool kids are doing these days). The word “biohacking” sounded really badass, but I had no idea what it meant.
I also learned about digital currencies, experimental startup cities, and why “aquapreneurs” want to build floating cities on the ocean. Someday, Voice & Exit may host its annual event on one of these seasteads.
This really is the “festival of the future.”
Voice & Exit 2016 is this November. Tickets are on sale now but will sell out fast!