Letting Others Dream For You
As Summer begins to wind down, I've been reflecting on how I gave myself space these past few months. I truly didn't intentionally plan to take time away from writing to you, but I found myself deep in play, creativity, and dreaming, which is exactly what Summer calls us into.
I wanted to share a story with you today, from several summers ago, that has to do with a haircut and a dream!
One day, back in August 2018, I was on vacation in Martha's Vineyard and realized I was in desperate need of a haircut. So I booked one with the only person available at the time, a stylist named Bob. Sitting in his chair with wet hair and him snip snipping away, I made the usual small talk. I shared with him that I was a Creative Director living in NYC, wanting to one day be an executive and life coach, but that the dream felt incredibly far in the distance I wasn't sure how or when it would even happen.
Now Bob happened to be quite a chatty guy, which I appreciated. He started telling me about his wife. How they met, how talented she was, and especially how in awe he was of her. His love was truly palpable and he even showed me a picture of her. I could tell why he was smitten, she was radiant!
Then he casually mentioned that she was an executive coach who owned her own business and ran private 1:1 retreats out of their home on the island. He said her clients flew in from all over the country, to meet with her on their property.
My ears perked even more, and in that moment, I wasn't just listening to the story about his wife anymore, I was imagining something even more for my life too!
I could suddenly see it, even if it was just a little nugget of a dream.
A business and life where clients flew in for a few days, coaching sessions happened on adventures, and conversations flowed over beautiful dinners. And before I even thought it through, I said out loud to Bob, “Wow, that's exactly what I'm going to do!”
What struck me much much later was this: sometimes we need someone else to help us dream on our behalf.
Bob’s wife had created a vision that, up to that point, I didn't even know existed. And in hearing about what she was creating, a big, huge lightbulb went off inside me! Her dream gave shape to mine!
Looking back now, years later, it's hard to believe there was ever a time when I didn't run retreats. Because they happen to be some of the most powerful and beautiful experiences that I design for my clients.
Since starting my business 4.5 years ago, I've led 23+ private 1:1 Retreats + Intensives in Martha’s Vineyard, Florida, Upstate New York, and NYC. And I can honestly say each one has been its own portal into something really powerful.
Even weeks after, my clients have shared with me, “that was the most transformational experience of my life!” and, “I truly feel reborn and actually need to now reintroduce myself to people.”
Retreats are not just a getaway or a girls trip, they are a threshold between who you have been and who you are becoming.
When people ask what people really "get out of" retreats, here's just a few to name:
One client 4Xed her income, only a few months after our retreat, after claiming what and why she wanted to uplevel her income, during one of our hikes.
Another client started the outline to her book, which was once a far off "someday" dream of hers, on a bike ride.
Another client got precise clarity on the new career she wanted and the romantic relationship she was ready for, while adventuring around the island. Only a day after our retreat, she got the job offer she was not expecting and a year later is now in that relationship she "never could have dreamed of before!" Her words, not mine.
Another client let herself "go there" and shifted generational patterns around her family dynamics, leading to her having a whole new profound relationship with her mom.
There's many more, but I'll leave it at that for now.
The one thing these clients all have in common is that they all shifted the most important things to them, changed the course of their lives and impacted their relationships!
And to think, all of this began because of one spontaneous haircut and the story of a woman I still have never met. Bob's wife (we'll keep calling her this for now) dreamed her dream, and for a moment, she actually dreamed it for me too!
So here is the life lesson I took from that day: sometimes the fastest way to your path, is letting other people dream for you.
If there's a dream of yours that you're waiting on. This is your invitation to notice what lights you up in other people’s stories and successes. Their dreams might be showing you a path toward your own!
With ♡ and gratitude,
Jennifer
P.S. - If you're curious about what a retreat could massively shift in your world...email me and let's connect. I am booking now for Fall and Winter retreats!