By Anthony Dream Johnson

This is an announcement I’ve had on my mind for many months now. As much as I’ve thought about making it, it is no easier to write than I originally anticipated.

As clear as this decision is to me, it impacts me unavoidably deep, and is difficult to write – every letter.

The announcement is as follows and is final :

There will be no 2013 conferences held by The 21 Convention. Anywhere, at any time, of any length, or for any reason.

This is not a ploy to sell tickets to The 21 Convention 2012 of Melbourne Australia. That event will be the last of this year, and the last event until 2014.

(The timing of that event and this announcement are incidental, and do not intentionally overlap).

Now, is The 21 Convention coming to an end? In the fashion you’re probably thinking, no, but in another way, yes.

The 21 Convention to date has been a continual series of events. There has never been a lapse where an event was “meant” or “supposed” to be held (and was not). To the contrary, I have increased the physical scope of the conference by hosting it all over the world, multiple times a year.

The fact that the third conference of 2012 will be held in Melbourne Australia, of all places, speaks volumes to this.

Yes, The 21 Convention will continue in 2014. But, my vision is not to merely duplicate the events of the past. My vision for this conference is to continue succeeding where no success is said to be possible.

The last thing I want to do is take a year off from hosting the events, and merely repeat what has already happened – as magnificent as that history has been.

My vision is to build off of the foundation I created, and produce a sequel event. Not a different event. But a “round two”. All of the benefits of 10 international conferences [2007-2012] fueling future events, and none of the draw backs.

For those of you that have been around long enough, you may remember that something like this has already happened once before. This happened when “the Under 21 Convention” became “The 21 Convention”.

This was the beginning of a “conference for college guys”, transforming into “a panorama event for life on earth”. The difference between then and now however, is that the organization then was small. It was in its infancy.

Contrasted to today, The 21 Convention is hundreds of times more complex, popular, well known, and valuable.

Most of you just see a few videos. A few of you see the events. And fewer still see the intricate web consisting of hundreds of videos, millions of hits, logistics, networking, relationships, speakers, agreements, shareholders, finances, downloads, DVDs, contracts, volunteers, flights, hotels … and you name it.

The 21 Convention is more massive than I ever thought possible, and the great irony is, I’ve never actually taken the time to sit down and focus on growing and fortifying the business.

Everything you have seen as a viewer or attendee up to this point has been “off the cuff” and running full sprint. There has never been a downtime to recover, recuperate, and plan for the future.

Considering how fast this conference has grown, how smooth the events are run, and how professional the videos come out, I realize this may be hard to believe. Humble, I know, but it’s true.

The 21 Convention as of the publishing of this post is, by my judgment, barely past 10% of it’s potential.

It can grow and achieve much, much more than it has, and to best make that goal a reality, I’ve determined that a break year is needed.

If not only for the event, but for the sake of my own sanity as well.

Only a few of you know this, but I’ve worked myself to the brink of death these past 6 years. Quite literally, to the point of tears, selling everything I own, and even hosting a conference with my best friend on his death bed.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t exhausted to the extreme.

Which brings up a good closing point.

A number of years ago I exercised every day (for the preceding 2+ years).

It was only when I learned that I wasn’t getting enough rest and recovery, that I packed on 10lbs of muscle, and was a lot happier with my workouts from then on out.

~~~

In summary, there will be no conferences held by The 21 Convention in 2013. Some of you may suggest that I could push through, and host events in 2013 (if not 3, at least 1).

You would be correct, I can.

And I won’t.

To put this into context … I think people are consistently confused as to why I run The 21 Convention. They seem to think it is about helping people for me.

While I’m glad when my work helps other people – perhaps even more than the average person – that has nothing to do with why I get up and work 15 hours a day, 6-7 days a week, 52 weeks a year.

I run this convention because it is what I love to do, more than anything else in the world.

I’ve never had a big interest in helping people. And by the same token, I’ve never had an interest in indiscriminately hosting events till my eyes bleed out.

These events, and this organization, are the world to me, and I will do whatever it takes to see them through, to the best and highest of their, and my own potential.

Right now, what makes more sense than anything, is taking a year off from the events, and focusing on the rest of the organization. And I intend to do just that.

Thanks for the support through all the years. I look forward to seeing many of you in the future at The 21 Convention, and right here on The21Convention.com.

- Anthony Dream Johnson

Founder, Architect, CEO : The 21 Convention

P.S.

For those of you who were planning to attend a conference in 2013, I am sorry there are no 21 Convention events for you to attend. You may wonder why I did not make this announcement earlier.

Truth is, I did not want it affecting your decision to attend a 2012 event. If you are one of these people, let this be a lesson to you going forward in life : take action, and take it now, because that opportunity might not be around later.