The Hearst Tower was filled with ambitious and stylish women of all ages and industries last Saturday. The occasion? Fun Fearless Life, a conference presented by Cosmopolitan magazine, where the staff of the magazine and a fabulous lineup of guest speakers come together to inspire and celebrate one another.
This year’s theme, “Power Up,” got everyone in the audience excited to start making positive lifestyle changes, while building new friendships along the way. I was honored to attend the luxurious event in New York City, so let me give you a recap. Since there was such a large number of speakers and performers, I’ll just give you the highlights.
First of, the space was beautiful. The view from the 44th floor isn’t half bad, right?
While on the elevator up to the room where the main event took place, I ran into former Her Campus national writer, Christina Madsen! #HCXO
The Editor-in-Chief of Cosmopolitan, Joanna Coles, took the stage in a Cosmo-pink blazer. Throughout the day, she offered witty remarks that kept all of us laughing and live-tweeting. She hoped the conference would give attendees insight into her “kale and cake” strategy to life. Count us in, girlfriend!
The first keynote speaker was Chelsea Handler, comedy goddess. She told us a little more about her decision to leave E! and about her new Netflix documentary series. Her main lessons included asking for help when you need it, getting up and moving more, using vodka to celebrate rather than to drown out sadness, and to be confident with yourself. Chelsea didn’t leave without reminding us, “Don’t ever say yes to anything for the paycheck.”
As motivated collegiettes, we know all about stress. Dr. Kelly McGonigal understands this, so when she spoke about how to “make stress work for you” and how to take control of your body, it was such an encouragement. She spoke about how we can view anxiety as energy and a way to fuel performance. The rush of adrenaline we experience when we’re excited can be compared to the flight or fight response according to Dr. Kelly, so we should use it to our advantage.
“Stress is giving you access to your heart and what matters” she said.
The “Power Up Your Voice” panel with Laverne Cox, Bethany Mota and Maria Teresa Kumar was such a treat. Laverne spoke extensively about her activism for minorities and the LGBTQ+ community, so there wasn’t a dry eye in the place and we all tried to get #TransIsBeautiful trending on Twitter. Bethany discussed how she overcame bullying and how her YouTube videos have allowed her to inspire others. Finally, Maria spoke about her organization Voto Latino and how she has made strides for the Latino community when it comes to gathering millennials together to promote community activism.
Another highlight from the morning sessions was when former DKNY PR girl Aliza Licht took the stage; I totally went into fangirl mode. I had devoured her book Leave Your Mark in two days over the summer, and I was so looking forward to hearing her speak. During her presentation, she summed up some of the main points from her book related to networking, establishing your personal brand and curating the best version of yourself.
The second half of the event started with a burst of energy, courtesy of personal trainer Adam Rosante. He gave us two key elements to success: make sure you are crystal clear about your core values and big picture goals, and learn how to master the art of saying no.
“If it’s not important, it’s nothing more than a distraction. Distraction destroys dreams,” he said.
Before we knew it, Adam had all of us on our feet and sprinting in place towards our goals for thirty seconds. Joanna Coles was running so hard, she broke her heel!
Adam, I ran so hard in ur sesh @funfearlesslife @Cosmopolitan yesty I broke the heel off my @Gianvito_Rossi boots! https://t.co/5g9xdtYtFG
— joanna coles (@JoannaColes) November 15, 2015
The day wouldn’t be complete with a little love advice. British hunk Matthew Hussey brought his A-game to the stage, and all of the ladies were swooning as soon as he said “Hello!”
Just like Adam, Matthew had a few key strategies when it comes to succeeding in love. “First, to be approachable, you have to approach. Next, you have to be hot in more than one way. Finally, it’s not enough to have standards; you have to practice them with guys” he said.
He had everyone laughing when he said, “If a hot man sneezes in your presence, you be the one to say bless you! Don’t let another b*tch steal your bless you!” when it comes to having an easy path to conversation with a guy.
The day concluded with a breathtaking performance by “Fight Song” singer-songwriter Rachel Platten. She inspired all of us when talking about her career journey and how she has paved a beautiful road to success. You go, girl!
.@RachelPlatten just KILLLED IT at @Cosmopolitan‘s #FunFearlessLife!pic.twitter.com/yZU481IVW3
— Maybelline New York (@Maybelline) November 14, 2015
I couldn’t leave without stopping by the #ActuallySheCan booth to make a gif with my friend Grace and to receive a custom fashion illustration. Dang, illustrated Jen has more style than I do!
Thanks, Cosmo, and see you at Fun Fearless Life 2016!