As the winds of change are blowing in…I’m introducing 31 Notes from Nature to help beat back the crazies. Here’s a bit of back-story first…
I’m reflecting on the mid-October ‘unplugged” retreat my husband Nelson and I hosted for nine business professionals here in the mountains of North Carolina.
Participants were successful entrepreneurs, corporate warriors, and employees in small businesses.
Over a 24 hour period, they turned off their phones and computers, grabbed journals, and hiked through the woods with us. They crunched through leaves, sat in the dirt, and took time to sit by with ponds and waterfall.
The goal? Pause and ponder.
Together, they deliberately paused from the whirlwind of life and pondered deep questions around a roaring campfire. This 24 hours was their opportunity to reflect on how their lives (personally and professionally) were serving them.
You can read about one participant’s experience at the bottom of this note.
And I’ll go there with what you might be thinking: Yes, this whole idea may sound “unproductive.” Or it may sound “hippy-dippy.”
BUT – the results were powerful because they speak to us not as professionals or business owners or even as partners, spouses, or mothers or fathers. This process speaks to us as PEOPLE. As humans who have desires and feelings and needs and wants that aren’t only satisfied through work.
I’d like to give YOU an opportunity to connect with yourself through nature. Starting December 1, 2016, I’m hosting 31 Notes from Nature. You can read all about it here. I invite you to join me!
December can be a very stressful time for you, can’t it? With 31 Notes from Nature, I want to offer you a moment of peace. An opportunity to consciously reconnect with your breath. A chance to slow down and ask, “What do I need right now (professionally or personally)?”
31 Notes from Nature is a break from the whirlwind of life. I hope you’ll join me. Plus, it’s FREE!
Make some room,
Angie
“I went to [Angie and Nelson’s] retreat expecting I would learn a few valuable insights into my career path, and also make a few new connections. What I left the retreat with was so much more valuable that I ever imagined. I’m one of those people who is very driven, professionally. Somewhere along my career journey, though, I lost myself. I had turned into a workaholic who rarely made time to do anything other than work, sleep, and eat. Work consumed my life – not because it HAD to – but because work became the “default” activity when I had free time.
During the retreat, an exercise we did around a campfire led me to ask, “What DO I desire?” I didn’t know in that moment, really – I was a mumbling mess. The next day during our hike, though, I had a huge breakthrough. I realized somewhere along the the way, I had lost myself. My desire had NOTHING to do with work. I didn’t desire a new project, a new client, or a new business endeavor. I realized my desire was to reconnect with myself, and find that fun, independent, sassy, and silly side of me that I had lost while being a workaholic. Once I had that realization, I wrote down activities I used to greatly enjoy, and a few ideas for new activities to explore. I am now actively exploring these activities and hobbies, and not allowing work to fill most of my hours just because it can. The retreat helped me see that I needed to get back to myself – to enjoy life outside of work. It has already impacted my career – I find it easier to set boundaries and say no to projects at work, because I have something outside of work to do. I know, over time, this will pay huge dividends because it forces me to use my work time for only the highest, and best uses, of my time.” Julie Bee, BeeSmart Social Media