Have you ever wondered how you could leverage your incredible online professional network to improve your face-to-face business and community? Or what would happen if you built and nurture your online network to benefit your offline life too? These are just a few reasons why Sarah Elkins decided to tear down the barriers between online and offline and connecting beyond the keyboard.

At this year's No Longer Virtual (NLV) event, Sarah Elkins once again revealed that her secret power was getting people to do things they wouldn't usually do. As the world went crazy and travel bans became the norm, I hopped don a plane to travel 3,700 miles to connect beyond the keyboard in Chicago.

NLV enables a group of people from all over the world to connect beyond the keyboard. As someone who is passionate about sharing and learning from the stories of others on my podcast, it was easy to see why I was so attracted to the event.

I wanted to try and capture why so many people traveled far and wide to attend NLV 2020. Listen to this year's attendees who share why they attended and ensured that NLV wouldn't be just another canceled event in 2020.

I learn how Sarah took a significant risk and faced the pressure of planning an event with international attendees in her stride. But, filling a room of people that intimately shared their stories of success and failures to learn from each other is genuinely priceless.

Amy Blaschka, Heather Younger, Melissa Hughes, Kevin Strauss, Arlene Mendoza & Hannah Bratterud also share what NLV means to them.

As someone that covers many tech events and attends conferences all over the world, it was being surrounded by these eclectic, smart, talented, open, and fun people that left me feeling both inspired and empowered.

Maybe, you would like to join me at next year's No Longer Virtual, where I will be the guy with the big beaming smile excited to be once again, sharing and learning from the shared paths, journies, and stories of my online connections.