This will be my last post for 2023

With all the hustle and bustle of the year-end holidays, I realized that I never posted about a trip I went on during the second week of November.

The trip was a small exclusive retreat to Dove Mountain, Arizona with one of the world’s most recognized coaches for women entrepreneurs, Ali Brown, her wonderful assistant Erika and eight other awesome, successful, smart, beautiful, creative, loving, and spirtual women.

All of us have built wildly successful businesses, and wondering ‘what next?’. For some of us the ‘what next’ stage might be retirement but none of us are ready for that. We still have a need to do more but in a different way. All of us have a desire to make a difference, an impact, and to finish stronger than before. We may slow down a bit but we all have a desire to create something new or different, something that fills us up spiritually, that continues to give back and leave a legacy.

The retreat was to help us figure out what that was.

Our days started with prayer and meditation outside in front of the beautiful Dove Mountain. Then we took a hike on that mountain – a place were I was attacked by a ‘jumping cactus!’

Yes, there is such a thing!! If you get too close, a piece of the cactus will ‘jump’ onto you! Yes, it hurts! The strangest thing is, that you can’t just pick it off with your finger because it will just keep attaching to whatever it touches. It’s like velcro’ haha. Instead you have to use a stick or a rock to push it off. Once off, you are left with prickly needles that you have to pull off your skin. It was crazy!! Haha

In case you don’t believe me, check out this video https://youtu.be/dJzTse9Dsaw?si=tVLar1zldULyEV49

On to my story….

After everyone cleaned up and changed, we all got to work helping each other figure out our ‘what next’, guided by Ali.

Good thing the room had a large amount of Kleenex boxes because when you are digging down into your soul to figure out what God has next for you, the tears will come! Good, bad and in between! Those tears need to come so you can see a clear picture or vision of where you need to be and how to get there.

We all finished the final day with ‘first steps’ towards our vision. The hard work starts after you get home. More soul searching, planning and all the things that go into making a dream a reality.

This was the best retreat I have ever been on and I made life long friends that in just a short amount of time became vested in helping support each other in their ‘what next’ in some way.

Now as I am leaving 2023 behind and stepping into 2024, I feel fearless and alive! Ready to make more of my dreams happen! So, look out world here I come! . Happy New Year Everyone!

PS. It was Veterans Day when I arrived back home, and these wreaths were up all around the airport.