A Peek Inside My Upcoming Mastermind Retreat in Tuscany

I put in an inquiry into a 900-year old single family castle in Chianti in July of 2022. Before I even had a group to bring to it.

And now we are 46 days out from my Mastermind group's retreat in Tuscany.

A travel operator once asked me, "Why are you so hell bent on doing retreats in other countries? Why not host it in, say ---Colorado?"

My 3 reasons why:

?? Sure, we could do your strategy in a boardroom in Manhattan. But, you gain a whole new perspective when I eject you out of your comfort zone. When you are away from the demands of work, kids, daily life, THERE IS SPACE. Space to think. Space to dream. During an Istanbul strategy day, you are experiencing a different custom. During a Barcelona strategy day, you are experiencing a culture that doesn't eat until 10pm. You are experiencing a different way of life. It helps to broaden your understanding of the world. It builds what Dr. Ben Hardy calls "psychological flexibility." This can be applied to your leadership style. It can make you more adaptable and open-minded.

?? I hope to have taken care of every variable, BUT Travel can pose new challenges and unfamiliar situations, which help to build your resilience and problem solving skills as a leader. You are getting immediate feedback when you, for instance, lost. I remember being in Japan, motioning to a cab driver that I needed to get to the airport. This was before the age of Google Translate. It stripped me down to hand motions for him to understand that I had a flight to catch.

?? I will say this again and again. When I take groups to any country for an immersive, they never return the same people who boarded the plane 7 days ago at JFK. They are indelibly changes. Their relationship to each other is changed. Travel provides space, time, experience for deeper relationship building, even for people from different industries and different backgrounds. One attendee of my Croatia trip last year admitted: He isn't the best at connecting with people. Rather than try to insert himself into the group dynamic, he elected to spend time with each of the 20 adults on board the MS Riva, one by one. At the end, he learned that while everyone had a different approach to business, the hunger was a constant.

My Mastermind group of women are building a personal brand in 2023. It culminates in them delivering an 11 minute TedTalk on a NYC stage November 16th. We will be doing a series of writing exercises while in Tuscany to drill down on the message each will be delivering.

I'm a firm believer that our best ideas don't happen behind a computer. We will be doing a cooking class with Chef Antonella. We will be doing a wine and bike. Italy has worked in the last few years to pave more roads for biking to wineries, so cyclists aren't competing for road with trucks and cars. We will be visiting an olive oil mill. Afterwards, I'm taking a few days on my own in Florence and looking forward to yoga overlooking the Duomo at sunset!

One Public Speaking Tip        

I recorded this private podcast episode for you. It shares how I come up with event ideas, how I get clients to them and how I add value at the event.

If you are looking to get clients, think about recording a similar 'behind the scenes' look at how you do, what you do.

One Adventure Tip        

My upcoming strategy day in Instabul.