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Some experiences in life change who you are as a person. The event creates a rippling effect in your being, rolling inwards and outwards, affecting everything from how you think to what you believe. If you’re not sure what we’re talking about, maybe you haven’t had one of these life-changing experiences quite yet—but you can. Contrary to common belief, it doesn’t take becoming a father or a losing a friend to change your perception of the world.
Here are five events we believe every man should attend in their life at least once in order to grow and evolve.
1. A Leadership Conference
You don’t need to be a business-savvy entrepreneur to attend a leadership conference. These speakers can ignite a fire in you that you were never even aware of. From best-selling authors to Nobel Peace Prize winners, from immigrant millionaires to war heroes, the keynote conference speakers have some serious stories to tell—stories that will almost certainly change your perception of life.
You’ll need to invest a lot of time, attention, and most likely, money, to attend one of these conferences. But if you listen to what they say and actually apply their lessons to how you plan your life, the payoff will be worth it.
Here are some of the top summits:
- Forbes Under 30 Summit
- Startup Grind
- Unleash the Power Within: Tony Robbins Live
2. A Networking Event
Leverage everything you learned at your leadership conference and take your elevated entrepreneurial game to a networking event. There, you can use your new skills to acquire business, close deals, network with peers in your industry, meet mentors, and learn how to achieve success. You can even push yourself outside of your comfort zone and publicly speak at the event to share your wisdom and inspire others!
Depending on your sector of work, here are some networking events you should consider attending at least once in your life:
- Business Network International Convention
- South by Southwest (SXSW)
- The World Domination Summit
3. A Music Festival
Life is about more than profits and connections, though. Men need to find a work-life balance and be sure to not let the stress of the business world overcome the core of their being. A music festival is one of the best ways to shake off the weight of responsibility you carry around every day! Say goodbye to the real world—and all of its demands—for a weekend, pick up some festival clothing for men to get in the spirit, and explore a sense of freedom that will make you feel rejuvenated when you return on Monday.
These are a few of the top-rated festivals in the U.S.:
- Coachella
- Lollapalooza
- Life is Beautiful
- Outsidelands
If you can’t afford a ticket, you can always look into volunteering or working as event security.
4. A Sporting Pilgrimage
Seeing your team take the championship is an experience you’ll tell your grandchildren about over and over again, remembering in fine detail the weather of that momentous day, the umpire’s call that almost blew it all, and the superstition that finally lifted the curse. No matter how close the TV brings you to the action on the field, there are some things cameras and microphones simply can’t capture.
The top life-changing sporting events include:
- NFL Superbowl
- MLB World Series
- FIFA World Cup
- S. Open
Not into sports? In that case, we encourage you to push yourself and press your limits by signing up for a half-marathon or marathon. Training and accomplishing the goal you set out for will make you feel empowered.
5. A Global Phenomena
Diversity is the spice of life and it takes exploring a different culture to understand our own. Traveling is one of the most rewarding experiences people can have—and what better excuse to travel than to attend an incredible event outside of the country?
Read up on some of these global experiences that are definitely worth planning a vacation around:
- Running of the Bulls, Spain
- A calcio storico match, Italy
- Oktoberfest, Germany
- The peak period of the Northern Lights, Alaska
When you look back at your life, any of these five events are guaranteed to stand out and shape who you’ve become. Don’t let time just pass you by—get out there, see the world, and share your story.
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This content is sponsored by Suhail Ajamal.
Photo: Shutterstock