Work will wait. Life will not. I learned that the hard way, on a plane to Berlin, when I stopped breathing in my sleep and woke up terrified, wondering if I was going to make it home. My second article is about what that trip cost me, what it taught me, and why I believe that building the right operational structure around events is not just good for business. It’s imperative for a good life.

Great events don’t just happen. You either spend sleepless nights worrying about them, or, you build a system to support them. I learned this the hard way, starting with a tradeshow in Guam. My boss had great expectations. I had absolutely no clue what I was doing. In this article I explore the "accidental event planner" syndrome, why it happens, and what actually fixes it.