WE.aRe – Women Entrepreneurship Retreat

CHICKS ROCK! welcomes Kelly back as a guest blogger this week:

Kelly launched her growing online/business services company, Owl’s Head Business Services, in 2011. She lives in Brooklyn with her boyfriend, baby Jack, and their dog, Pearl.

Several months ago, I was targeted by a Facebook ad for the Women Entrepreneur Retreat in Monterey, CA. I think that’s funny since I ended up speaking at the retreat on online presence, but before I knew that leading a workshop was possible, I had to decide if attending was worth the time, effort, and money.

I’m a veteran of TWM’s Visioning Workshops and I attended February's workshop. Kristina asked us to focus on our blockages. What was stopping me? And stopping me from what?

I focused on what was stopping me from losing weight and wrote down four words: health, garden, roots, and (in all caps) WHERE? For some years now, my family has been planning to move to the west coast, but we haven’t made the leap. That last word that I wrote down – WHERE? – is part of our dilemma. We have different reasons for wanting to live in two or three cities and haven't made a final decision.

Through my collage, it became clear that San Francisco (where I am ostensibly “from”) is where I want to be. The headline, “Discover your natural state” was pasted over a huge picture of the Golden Gate Bridge. This was obvious!

Turning back to my decision about the women’s retreat … I decided to ask some questions. This could be a lot of effort for naught or a way to start expanding my business into the Bay Area. When I explained my work to the woman on the other end of the line, she asked if I'd be willing to lead a workshop. WOW! Yes, absolutely!

I went to the retreat and met a lot of amazing women. When I returned home, I tried to see if there was anything related to the event on my collage. One of the things I had been looking forward to was a bonfire on the beach. Right in the middle of my collage was a hand holding a fire - an image that absolutely HAD to be there, although I didn’t know why.

Sometimes obvious things pop up on my collage; other times there are images that evoke a memory or emotion and it means something to me even if no one else would get it. I think that fire may have been a subconscious motivator for me. In any case, I’m glad I went and I'm looking forward to the next Visioning Workshop!