Showing posts with label national. Show all posts
Showing posts with label national. Show all posts

June 18, 2008

Leading the Life I Want to Live

The past couple of months I've been reconnecting with friends and family here in the States. I'd call it a sabbatical of sorts. How often in your life do you get to visit with friends and family, take a break, think about where you're going, what you've done, choose where to live and what you want to do? I keep joking that if I could only live my life this way. But then I realized the most obvious thing on my morning bike ride today - I am living the life I want to lead.

Consulting nationally and internationally
Spending quality time with friends and family
Traveling and adventuring
Writing
Teaching
Coaching
Being a photographer

I'm doing all of it! Now to pump up the volume and make some excellent money and I can keep living this lifestyle. I return to San Francisco on June 28 and I know that living in my beloved city I will have the proper base to keep it going.

April 18, 2008

The Farm Dream Evolves

The more I imagine (envisage as they say in the UK) the farm and tell friends about it the more real it becomes. When I talk about it people say, "I can see it". It is very visible to me too.

Simone and I were chatting and we started going off on a riff, as we usually do, about how this farm could be something more and we both had the epiphany of a retreat center. It would be a place where people come from around the country and the world to reflect, explore, create, connect...

As I mentioned in an earlier post I'm launching a business called Leading-Together which is crystallizing into "Inspiring community leadership". The farm is the next step in the business plan. It is a place where people come together to forge partnerships and develop leadership for building peaceful and sustainable communities.

The farm is as self-sustaining as possible - providing its own food, using solar energy, composting, and using well water. It has organic gardens - flower, herb and vegetable, that the visitors help maintain. There is a huge kitchen with lots of windows and plenty of counter tops so that meals can be cooked by groups. I am continuously inspired by the internship I had at the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce where Liz Lerma, the former director of the community arts and education program, started every meeting by breaking bread. Sharing a meal is the best way to start a partnership.

There are several renovated barns that provide housing, meeting rooms, artist studios and plenty of fireplaces and cozy nooks for chatting, reading and relaxing. The property is filled with hiking trails for exploring and streams for gazing. With the help of Rachel, Anna and Dee-Dee there are horses, mules and ponies for riding. As my mom says there will be lots of kids around - perhaps school groups, community groups, children who may have never been outside of a city. I see people of all ages and generations seamlessly blending.

I know I can make it happen.