The Magical, Happy Days that Make Me Cry

It’s been a bit since my last post, but ‘work’ has been busy. I put quotes around work intentionally, not because I haven’t really been working or because I’m being hyperbolic and making excuses. Rather, I have been doing exactly what I get paid to do. It’s just hard to call it work when it’s so dang fun.

I spent last week in San Francisco at what my colleagues and I have fondly dubbed The GOAT 2.0. It’s the annual Conference we organize where the cybersecurity industry from around the world convenes to talk about everything from policy to cryptography and new and emerging threats.

In organizing this massive event of more than 40,000 global attendees, we recognize that everyone’s schedules are packed from morning til night. Whether they’re speaking, attending sessions, participating in conversations with government officials, or meeting with clients to close deals, everyone is straight out all week long. Calendars are tight. Apple watches are challenged to keep up with the number of steps folks of clocking.

As crazy and chaotic and overwhelming as it is, this is THE week that my team looks forward to year after year. This year was particularly special as our executive team had the honor of ringing in the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange on Monday morning. It’s worth noting that it’s a very rare occurrence for NYSE to bring a remote bell to a location, so it was quite an extraordinary affair. We were all bursting with pride. Some of us (ok, maybe it was just this one gal) even teared up.

Kacy wondering why she wasn’t invited on stage to officially ring the bell.

But the event isn’t about me or my team. Because attendees are cramming a year’s worth of meetings into only four days of Conference, it’s not all unicorns and rainbows. In fact, I suspect there were many more moments of both manopausal and menopausal tears in this largely middle aged crowd.

So, to help ease some of the burden and stress of the week, we incorporate inspirational and entertaining programming into the agenda. The Monday keynotes kicked off with Common rapping about the cybersecurity community. If that weren’t cool enough, Ron Howard and his daughter, Bryce Dallas Howard took to the stage on Tuesday for a beloved stroll down memory lane where we learned about a young Ron’s encounter with a spicy, cigarette weilding Bette Davis in his early days as a director.

Kacy with Bryce Dallas Howard and Ron Howard. Side note, Bryce complimented my dress. I think she wants to be friends.

The Magic of Earvin Johnson

Though best known for his outstanding performance on the basketball court, Earvin Johnson demonstrated that he is not only an accomplished businessman and community leader but he’s also an incredible human being. When introduced, keynote speakers typically enter onto the main stage in a room set for thousands of attendees and stay there through the duration of their time. Magic immediately walked down the stairs and made his way into the crowd so that every section of the room had the chance for a close up photo op. He ran from section to section chanting, “Come on, camera man. Keep up.”

He was delightful, engaging, appreciative, interactive, and above all else, humble. With each person he called upon to come up and chat with him 1:1, he asked their name, invited them to ask questions of him, and made sure they got a picture. And in each picture, he wore that incredibly authentic and infectious smile.

Close up with Magic Johnson

What’s My Name?

As is tradition, the event concludes with a celebration intended to do nothing more than entertain. It’s no secret that many practitioners in the industry suffer from burnout, so it’s incredibly important to take advantage of the opportunities to celebrate together. And celebrate with did with Jamie Foxx who surprised the crowd while DJ Irie rocked the house from his turn tables.

Heads started spinning when suddenly Jamie Foxx, dressed in head-to-toe black leather, popped up onto a chair, microphone in hand and introduced himself.

“My first name’s Jamie…my last name is Foxx,” he said.

“What’s my name?”

The crowd roared. Everyone grabbed their phones to record the moment, but no image could capture the energy that filled the room.

“Why was he at a cybersecurity conference?” my sister asked.

The fact that he is one of the most talented and hysterical comedians of modern time is precisely why Foxx was invited. As he noted, he loves making people laugh, and laugh we did. We laughed, we danced, and we forgot about the risks from cyberthreats for well over an hour.

Credit to my daughter for blurring the background to safeguard the privacy of attendees.

As you can probably guess, dear reader, during all of this excitement and merriment, I wept. Tears of joy sprung from a river of gratitude that runs deep inside my soul, and I swelled up. I cried in awe of what my life has become. In his closing, Jamie Foxx shared with the audience that he had suffered a health crisis that gave him quite a scare. He promised God that if he survived he would live a better life, and so his advice to everyone in the room was to do the same.

“Live your life. Live it all the way…Every once in a while, break out dancing. Every once in a while, break out singing. Every once in a while, break out crying. Whatever it is you do.” And so, I cry. Not because Jamie Foxx told me to, but because it is my body’s way of expressing my deepest joys. I’m lucky to say I don’t remember the last time I cried because I was sad. I do know that I regularly break out crying. It’s my body’s way of expressing huge emotions like love, joy, and gratitude. The feelings for which words just don’t speak honestly enough. What I did learn from Jamie Foxx though, is what my tears mean. It’s like taking a picture on your phone and hitting the first filter. “Everything is bright.”