“There are always obstacles and challenges in life and in business,” says Ivy Slater, a business coach from New York City and would-be Camper at our women’s weekend #23, scheduled to begin around the same time the Woolsey Fire destroyed the camp where it was scheduled to take place.
Ivy continues, “If you take the approach of, ‘Oh, this is too overwhelming,’ you’ll never get anything done. Instead, I ask ‘what can I do?’
Ivy was already en route to her first Campowerment retreat when she found out camp had been called off. She’s a friend of Krista Parkinson (they met when Ivy hired Krista and her company to help Ivy’s son find a job after a college), who was getting ready for what would have been her third Campowerment retreat.
As business coach, Ivy knew the Campowerment Crew was in executive decision-making mode, and so, probably too tied up to plan a day activity for those already in town. When Krista reached out to make sure Ivy saw the cancellation email, Ivy suggested they put a post in the Campowerment Facebook group (one that was created for the women who were supposed to be Campers in November 2018) to see if any fellow Campers were in the area who wanted to meet up.
When the two posted to Facebook, Ivy knew the people who responded would be the people who shared the “what can I do” mindset.
“I believe every person can be a leader, and if we keep showing up at 100%, we can make amazing things happen. I thought the people would show up to Campowerment, would be those type of people,” Ivy said.
Shelly Dallmann and Suzanne Leamer were those types of people. They responded to the Facebook post and decided to meet up with Krista and Ivy.
Sitting on the beach in Santa Monica, Krista told first-time Campers that if they were really at Campowerment, they would be sharing stories of why they came. She wanted to take a deep-dive with these women, as she was craving the deep conversations that happen during a typical Campowerment retreat.
“I had an impromptu Circle,” said Krista. “We got to to know each other on the beach in Santa Monica, watching the smoke come in overhead from Malibu.”
Krista said her one goal of this third lap with Campowerment was to make one real friend. And she did just that, without that scheduled retreat even taking place that weekend.
“Campowerment is not a place — it’s a state of mind, the same way a house is not a home, because home is where the heart is. So it can be at Malibu… or it can be on the beach in Santa Monica.”
Ivy believes the immediate bonding— the parallels and differences found in sharing outside the realm of regular, day-to-day chats, the way she and the other three women were; that’s where this Campowerment “magic” must lie. Because you can’t haphazardly put that kind of conversation together.
“[The four of us new, real friends] are still texting each other, and I truly can’t wait to see them again. It was just an amazing, powerful day.”
What can YOU do to be the kind of person who gets done what you hope to in life? How can you foster connections that will enhance the way you live, if even just for today?
Channel Ivy, Krista, Shelly and Suzanne, and reach out to those who are within reach. If that feels blocked, register to re-ignite at Campowerment in 2019. We’re ready for you…and so are your new, real friends 😉
PS: To donate to Campowerment’s efforts to rebuild in the wake of the fire, check out our GoFundMe here.
