Andrea Liebross: Welcome to the Time to Level Up Podcast. I'm your host, Andrea Liebross. Each week, I focus on the systems, strategy, and big thinking you need to CEO your business and life to the next level. Are you ready? Let's go.
Hello, my friends, and welcome back to the Time to Level Up Podcast. We are talking today about our retreat, the retreat that the Runway to Freedom Mastermind clients took part in at the end of October. We meet at least twice a year for a live retreat, usually in October and April. This year, we’re also meeting in January as part of She Thinks Big Live workshop and conference. Attendance or a ticket to that, registration to that is part of their package.
If you haven't purchased your ticket to She Thinks Big Live workshop and conference happening on January 19th in Indianapolis, then you need to go right now to andrealiebross.com/events and get your ticket. You can access that too at andreaslinks.com. But time is running out.
When you are listening to this episode, I think this episode is going to drop around December 5th, beginning of December, you need to quickly go, grab your ticket if there are any left. There may not be any left but head over to andrealiebross.com/events and get your ticket to She Thinks Big Live. You'll want to be there.
These eight women, they're all going to be in the room. The energy in that room, just like the energy at this retreat, is palpable and it is something that you need to feel and experience by sitting next to these women, by listening to the amazing speakers we're going to have, by experiencing the ambiance that we are going to create at VisionLoft in Indianapolis for this event so that you can start your year off with big thinking and knowing how to turn that big thinking into big results.
These women in my mastermind meet for a live retreat twice a year, sometimes three times a year, this time it's going to be three times and I wanted to share with you what happens at the retreat and hopefully, too, I'm going to be able to link some footage of the retreat in the show notes as well. We're working on that. Hopefully, that will be ready by the time this episode airs.
But just listening to their voices, they're going to tell you in their own words, in just a couple of seconds, what they experienced. This isn't just me blabbing on about it, this is them in their own words, but let me just kind of set the scene for you in terms of the physical location, again, at New Hampshire, award-winning beautiful house in the Lake’s Region right on Lake Winnipesaukee, breathtaking views looms in the background.
You could hear these looms. We did yoga on the talk. We did yoga and breath work at the top of a mountain one morning, people canoed and kayaked. But also, some of their best thinking took place over these three days. Everybody arrived on Wednesday night, and they all departed Saturday morning so we had two solid days, almost three days together.
Now I don't know about you, but I always have the best ideas for my business when I am not actually working within it. It is usually when I'm out on a walk, when I'm on vacation, when I'm in the shower, or when I'm on a retreat. It's when we switch off a little, we switch our brains off a little, or turn the dial that our creativity really flows and we find a lot of the answers to our problems that we've been looking for.
In the last episode, I talked about “What problems have you solved as a result of being part of the mastermind?” I think when we're in a mastermind, and we're in these sorts of spaces, that's when we find the answers. That's why I include this in my mastermind package. That's why I include retreats. That's why I include ways to hold space.
These retreats really allow us to intentionally slow down, to escape the chaos of your household. Believe me, some of my women here, their households are chaotic. They've got four or five kids, dogs, cats, and husbands that travel. But when we escape the chaos and really think about what we could do in our business, what could we do? What's possible? Rather than just checking things off our to-do list or thinking about what we should be doing, that's the magic.
Giving ourselves the headspace at a retreat, you have way more headspace at a retreat to think and be creative, it really does help us think or become more strategic intuitively just by giving ourselves that space.
Why do I include this retreat? Because the best thinking happens when we take a step back. When I asked the participants before they left on Saturday morning, they all sat down and they answered some questions on video for me. What I found through those questions, and their answers were exactly what I was looking for. What I was hoping would happen was happening.
Here are some examples. Number one, several of them mentioned that it was exactly the right combo of work and play. We do a lot of work, but we do a lot of play as well. We had an improv, an expert in improv come in and we played one night. We did improv as a group. Another night, we had an acapella singing group come in and we participated in that experience with them, which was hilarious. There was plenty of play but there also was plenty of work.
When you give yourself a few days out of your busy life to really focus on the more strategic parts of your business, you will come back to your desk with clarity, with intention, with motivation to make the things that you want to happen happen. Let's listen to a couple of the women talk about this combo of work and play.
Aileen: It was so peaceful, and Andrea made us at ease immediately. There was just the right amount of work and play. It gave all of us as leaders time to really reflect, plan, and take the striving out of what we're hoping to do with our businesses. It was an absolutely wonderful experience.
Andrea Liebross: Okay, here's something else that occurred at the retreat. Number one, it was a great combo of work and play, number two, it gave them permission to take a strategic pause, to pause long enough to get back in touch with themselves, with what they love.
Taking care of yourself, pausing is not selfish. I know sometimes it's hard to take a few days out of your busy schedule, believe me. You've got kids to organize, you've got pets to take care of, you've got clients to rearrange, you've got instruction manuals to write when you take these days out of your busy schedule and leave your norm. It can feel really easy to just say it's not worth it and not bother.
But taking time for yourself, taking the strategic pause is essential to be able to help others. I think it's a pretty good testament that eight out of eight women made the trek to New Hampshire, which involved at least one, sometimes two flights for them, plus another two-hour drive, but they did it. They took the time for themselves.
As a result of that, they had the space and time to reflect and to grow. When we do that, our friends, our families, our clients, they can all then experience the best version of ourselves when we return. I know this isn't news to you that taking care of yourself isn't selfish. I know this isn't news to you that when you take time away from the norm, great things happen. But I want to ask you, are you actually doing it?
I want you to imagine how refreshed you would feel if you took a few days out of your busy life and business just for you and had that balance of work and play. Let's listen to a couple of the participants as they explain what occurred to them when they took this pause.
Cynde: The biggest thing is pausing, pausing and realizing how much I like being in nature and not just on the ocean, but actually out here and on the lake and hiking. All of that has been amazing and just being in touch of being in awe of nature and really having that be incorporated into my life a little bit more because I can bring my family in, that can be a time that we're together, that has probably been the biggest thing for me.
Rebecca: Good reminders that I had started to slowly incorporate of like mindfulness, meditation, pausing, slowing down and having this environment to do it, the freedom to take a nap if I need to, walk if I need to, participate in different fun things, a whole variety of things. Somewhat outside comfort zone but you have the choice to do it or not. One-on-ones, just even short ones were really helpful to like, “Okay, this. Okay, now let me apply it. I have another question.” Lots of conversations with Andrea, but also with the other people in the group and the mastermind to bounce ideas off of each other for life emphasis stuff.
Andrea Liebross: Alright, here's the next thing I want to share, the next benefit of being part of the retreat. Number one, the first benefit we discussed was that your best thinking happens when you take a step back. Number two, it gives you time to pause and take care of yourself so that you come back refreshed. Number three, being part of a retreat like this is an opportunity to connect with others. It's a relationship builder to help with the loneliness of entrepreneurism.
I am sure you are aware, again, how important that social connection is. If you're an entrepreneur, you probably crave that. There have been studies that have shown that connection lowers depression, it lowers anxiety, it leads to higher esteem, confidence, empathy, and actually helps us live longer.
Yes, as entrepreneurs, we benefit from the freedom that allows us to do, but we often don't have a team of people surrounding us on a daily basis either. That's why these retreats, I have built them into Runway to Freedom. They provide us with opportunities to connect with other people who understand what it's like to run a business.
I know that my friends don't always want to listen to me rambling on about what's happening in my business so a retreat gives me that perfect opportunity to chat with other like-minded people who don't get bored of the business chat. Alright, so here is one of our participants sharing with you her experience in connecting with others.
Jeani: The other women, we're all busy, we have other lives, we're spread out across places. All the sudden, you're brought together in a room with women that you kind of felt isolated and alone just because nobody understood what you were going through, what you were doing, what you were trying to build at that level, so to suddenly have that group around you is really incredible and really freeing. It really gives you a peace that even though it's your business, they're not necessarily in it with you, you're still not alone as you keep growing.
Andrea Liebross: And here, my friends, is the last thing I want to tell you about how amazing retreats are and what happens on a retreat. You leave with increased confidence, because you've just experienced an example of how you want to continue, everybody wants that mix of work and play. We want to do life with confidence.
If you attend a well-run retreat, you should leave feeling full of confidence and renewed inspiration. At my retreat, the whole three days are lovingly planned so they are building on your confidence one step at a time. There was a reason I had improv the first night. There was a reason that we had the acapella group the second night.
There was a reason we walked to the top of a mountain that overlooked a beautiful expansive lake view. There was a reason that every day we had two work sessions. All of those are confidence builders. I want you to listen to this last response about stepping away in a very intentional way.
Rebecca: You're stepping away in a very intentional way to really, I mean, going back to the previous question, pause, reflect, have fun, work so you're not just overworked and like, “I'm working all the time,” or “Do I even have time to have fun?” You're kind of practicing it, I guess you could say, of like, “What is that like?” I'm going to work a little bit, chunk it, and then I'm just going to go on a little walk and check in with myself, reset. There's always good food, snacks, drinks, and fun conversations to have, you can get away, I mean, it's just like a really good mix of life.
Andrea Liebross: Okay, my friends. I hope you've loved this retreat recap. If you want the opportunity to access some of your best thinking, if you want the right combo of work and play, if you want permission to take a strategic pause, to take care of yourself, if you want to connect with other entrepreneurs, if you desire that increased confidence, then come join us, come join us inside Runway to Freedom Mastermind.
You need to be at our next retreat which is going to be in April. You need to be at She Thinks Big Live to meet these amazing women. What's the next step? The next step is scheduling a call, a complimentary call. You and I will talk about where you're at in your business, we’ll decide if this is the right thing for you.
I will tell you that all of these women have profitable, successful businesses and they're all making, at least, six figures, some seven but yet they still need the support that the mastermind provides. No one is beyond this.
If you desire confidence, if you desire a balance of work and play, if you desire connection, if you desire time to think big, come join us. Schedule your call at andreaslinks.com. There's a link there to schedule a call or you can head to andrealiebross.com. They all lead to the same place. Book a call. Book a call with me. Let's chat, let's find out what's for you.
If it's not for you, that's okay. We'll figure out what is and I will point you in the right direction. Retreats are life-changing. You need to experience it. Let's go. I will see you next week. Remember to grab your ticket for She Thinks Big Live, remember to schedule your call for the mastermind because doors are open and you want to be there before the first of the year. I will see you next week. It is always time to level up.
Hey, listening to podcasts is great. But you also have to do something to kick your business up a notch. You need to take some action, right? Go to andreaslinks.com and take the quiz. I guarantee you'll walk away knowing exactly what your next best step is to level up.