Best Life Retreat: Why You Deserve a Weekend Away | Monica Sowders

Have you noticed the photos and videos on social media of women attending retreats? Doesn't it look like they're having the BEST time? Honestly, it's because they are. They're away from all of the obligations of work and family life, and focusing on themselves for once. At a luxury resort. Eating incredible food, getting massages, taking hikes. Sounds pretty good; doesn't it?!

In this replay episode, Laurie is talking with Monica Sowders, a Texan who traveled all the way to Idaho last fall to attend the BEST LIFE Retreat in Sun Valley, Idaho. Together, they're discussing the magic that can happen in just 4 days away at a women's retreat: the personal insights learned, new friendships formed, and a chance to focus on creating the life you want to live.

Registration for this year's BEST LIFE Retreat is now open! There are just a handful of spots left, and when they're gone, they're gone. This will sell out, so grab your spot now!

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Transcript

0:00

What do you get when you bring incredible women together for a transformational weekend retreat in world-famous Sun Valley,, Idaho. Well, you get a life-changing weekend. On today's episode of the School of Midlife podcast. I'm talking with Monica, Souders a Texan who traveled all the way to Idaho. To attend last falls retreat. Together, we're discussing the magic that can happen when you take some time away from the daily grind to focus on yourself. You may show up by yourself, but you leave four days later knowing a little bit more about who you are. And with deep connections with some amazing new friends. Who are also interested in creating their best life in midlife. Welcome to the School of Midlife podcast. I'm your host, Laurie Reynoldson. This is the podcast for the midlife woman who starting to ask herself big life questions. Like, what do I want? Is it too late for me? And what's my legacy beyond my family and my work. Each week we're answering these questions and more. At the School of Midlife, we're learning all of the life lessons they didn't teach us in school and we're figuring out finally what it is we want to be when we grow up. Let's make midlife your best life

Laurie: 1:22

Well, hey friends, welcome back to the School of Midlife podcast. I am so excited to have you here today to listen in on this discussion with Monica Sowders I had the pleasure of meeting Monica at the Best Life Retreat I hosted last fall in October in Sun Valley, she's a business owner, mother, wife, just all around incredible person with the warmest smile. And I am so excited to welcome her to the School of Midlife podcast. So thanks so much for being here,

Monica: 1:52

Monica. Hi, Laurie. I'm happy to be here.

Laurie: 1:56

So it's nice to see your smiling face. And for those of you, uh, listening on the podcast, you, you can't see her warm, beautiful smile, but, um, trust me, it's there. first things first, I want to ask a couple of kind of lightning round, just quick questions to set the stage, kind of a mini lightning round, if you will, um, had we met before October? No, we

Monica: 2:22

had

Laurie: 2:22

not. Had you been to Sun Valley before?

Monica: 2:26

No. Had you been to Idaho before? No. I actually had never even traveled alone before.

Laurie: 2:35

Yay. Okay. had you been to a woman's retreat before? No. Did you know anyone else going to the retreat? I did not. No. Right. Right. Okay. So with all of that foundation, I want to talk about how you found out about the retreat and why you decided to go.

Monica: 2:56

So I found out about the retreat through your podcast. I had started listening, I think I Googled something about midlife and it came up. Uh, so I started listening and I heard you talk about it in one of the episodes and. I don't think I even gave it a second thought. And then I heard you kind of mention it a couple more times. And I thought, you know, I've wanted to visit Idaho. I don't know where Sun Valley is or anything about it. Um, maybe I should look into this. And so I did. And of course, I continue listening to your podcast. That's what I do when I'm on my daily walks or working out or whatever is listen to podcasts. So I love to hear that. Yeah. and I don't know, I just started thinking about it more and I thought, man, this, this could be a really. Amazing opportunity. I get to visit this new place. I get to kind of dig into all of these things that are going on with me as I'm entering midlife. and I would say the biggest reason I finally signed up is I asked myself, okay, whenever October rolls around. Am I going to regret that I didn't sign up and go, or am I, you know, am I going to be okay with it? And I realized that I was going to regret it. And so I told my husband and he was very supportive and I signed up.

Laurie: 4:28

That is such an incredible way to look at any sort of decision, which isn't, you know, what kind of benefit am I going to get potentially, but am I going to regret not doing it? is that something. Is that a frame that you typically use when making big decisions or was that just, is, is that new midlife Monica putting herself first and, and making sure that she's doing everything she can to make midlife her best life?

Monica: 4:56

Yeah, I would say that's definitely new. Um, you know, as I talked about on the retreat, I spent the last several years, just a hundred percent dedicated to our business and. I mean, it was to the point that going to the grocery store was like a big outing for me because I was just in the office all the time. And, yeah, once I finally got to a place where I had a little bit of breathing room, I started to think about all of the things that I've, Probably missed out on during that time. Um, not that it's a terrible thing to go through periods of life where, you know, you're kind of unbalanced in some ways. I think that's even necessary, you know, at times, but yeah, I, I just started to think I don't take a lot of chances. I'm just. I'm just this very regimented rule follower. so yeah. And I started thinking about the end of life and once I reached the end and I looked back, you know, what am I going to regret missing out on? So yeah, it's definitely new.

Laurie: 6:11

you said a couple of things that I just want to highlight. Um, it's so interesting how when we get to a certain age, we start Looking at how much time do I have left and we start thinking about those kind of end of life issues. Not not from a macabre way or a depressing way, but like, I want to make the most of the time that I have left. And how can I do that? walk me through all of the emotions leading up to the retreat. Um, I mean, we kicked off at 6 PM on a Thursday. I know I've attended several retreats and conferences before where I didn't know anyone. and for sure, for me, there was a lot of excitement, but. Also some anxiety, like, what if I don't like anyone? What if I don't get along with them? What if I'm the only one who doesn't know other people? Um, so I'd be curious to hear from you. Especially, I mean, you said that this was the first time that you had traveled, uh, you might've picked up listeners that Monica is not from the, the Northwest or even the Midwest. She is a Texas girl. kind of talk me through even what were you feeling leading up to the kickoff at the retreat? And when I, when I first met you and you met everyone else on Thursday, In October, 6 p. m. in a hotel lobby.

Monica: 7:42

Yeah, I was really nervous, obviously. Um, although I must say, flying into Sun Valley was so amazing. I felt like a little kid. It's so beautiful. Um, And just getting to the airport, getting picked up, everything went so smoothly that I will say it relieved a lot of my anxiety right there in the beginning. Um, yeah, when we first went down was the first moment that I thought, okay, I've seen Laurie's face before, but she's never seen mine. And am I going to even know who to look for? Um, but it was completely fine. We all met. Um, I think most people there knew at least one other person. Um, I may have been the only one there that had never met a single person that was there, but it was completely fine. Everybody was amazing and welcoming and I never felt out of place or like I didn't belong or like I was missing something because I didn't have a friend there with me. It was, it was really great.

Laurie: 9:00

I think that there are certainly there were people who knew other people, not all of them actually knew that the other person was coming though. Um, so that was, that was kind of interesting. Um, I also think that sometimes. It's almost better to not know someone in these kinds of situations where you're going to, um, I mean, don't get me wrong. We have a ton of fun at retreat weekend, but we also go pretty deep and there are some, there are some things that, that you can talk about with people who start the weekend as strangers that might be a little more difficult to talk to your close friends about. Did you experience any of that?

Monica: 9:48

Absolutely 100 percent and I think that may have even been something I mentioned when we were there was I felt like I could talk about things that I wouldn't talk about at home with people who knew me or, um. You know, people who, you know, know my kids or know me through the school or, you know, whatever you just, I did feel like I was able to open up so much more and that was great. And I think when you first reached out to me with a message kind of, you know, welcoming me, to the retreat, you had asked if I was bringing a friend and I said, no, and I thought, I'm really glad that I'm not because. I know that this is just going to be a great opportunity to be fully open and transparent and not have to worry about being judged, you know, whenever I go to the grocery store or whatever, and I run into somebody that that was definitely a perk to not knowing anybody before going. Well,

Laurie: 10:53

and there's, there, there's potentially some responsibility too, right? If you bring somebody and they have a terrible time or like, they just don't jive with the, the people, you know, they don't know me, they haven't listened to the podcast, they, they have no idea. And so there's a lot of potential pressure on you too, to. Make sure that that person is enjoying themselves and having a good time. And, you know, they, they were, they're there because you recommended it. And when you just go and do it on your own, then some of that pressure is alleviated.

Monica: 11:31

Yeah, I agree. And that's something that I also thought about, uh, when I was reading about the retreat and you know, you had mentioned how often do you get to go somewhere that you don't have to do all the planning and everything. And it was really nice to. I'm going to be a little selfish and indulgent for the weekend. You had everything planned out just perfectly and you know, we all just got to sit back and experience it and enjoy it.

Laurie: 12:01

Well, thank you. I'm glad that you noticed that. I, I personally, I feel like we spend so much time. Trying to figure out the logistics for not only our life, but everyone else's life around us. So, um, the retreat is by design, you sign up, you get yourself to Sun Valley and I'll take care of the rest. And I. I love retreat weekend. I mean, we've got these incredible discussions there, uh, spa afternoon, um, morning and afternoon walks. There are great dinners. We, we added a paint and sip happy hour this year, which is fun. and a book club discussion, which we hadn't done previously. I'm curious though, what was your favorite part of the retreat?

Monica: 12:46

I guess I had to, yeah. Um, obviously I like to be Active like to be outside. So I did. I really enjoyed the walks. I enjoyed being able to walk with different people, have different conversations, and there really is something different about a conversation you have with somebody side by side. Like, I've always heard it's best to have, like, those deep conversations, like, riding in a car with somebody, um, and you kind of get that same feel when you're on a walk, um. And I did enjoy the times that we were all together and just going through all of the, um. I don't want to say assignments, but, um, yeah, all, all of the parts of the retreat, um, the, the conversations, the, the conversations that we had, I would say were even deeper than I expected. Um, some of us revealed some very private, intimate details of our lives. And I think we all benefited from that. I mentioned something about judgment and me having concerns about bringing somebody with me. I don't think a single one of us there cast any judgment on anything that was revealed or said. If anything, we all had the opportunity to learn from one another and yeah, I really enjoyed that.

Laurie: 14:21

Do you think that you would have felt differently if you would have known? If like, if you would have brought somebody else, you know, and I'm specifically getting at because I, I think that there are probably some people that are listening that are like, Oh, this would be so fun to do with my friend. I mean, do you think that that would have held you back or with the right person would that have been a, it would have still been a great experience. Um, with

Monica: 14:47

the right person, it would have still been a great experience, but I don't regret that I went alone.

Laurie: 14:55

I am, and you touched on this a little bit, but I am always amazed at how quickly you can bond with other women over just a weekend, especially. Because I personally sometimes feel like it's a little hard to go deep with some people. I mean, it's, it's a really interesting balance I find when you're in a new situation with new people. And there's this interesting balance between getting bogged down in the small talk, which I find exhausting and, and also being willing to go deep right away. Um, what, what contributed to. Your willingness to open yourself up to the experience and have those deep and candid conversations with the other women.

Monica: 15:44

So I think I mentioned this on the retreat. Um, maybe I'm considered a little young to be going into midlife. I'm 42. But my mom passed away when she was 42. So I feel like I'm in this weird place where I'm experiencing life that she never did. I wanted to go and spend time with women who. I had the opportunity to share as much of myself with as they shared of their self. So it was kind of this give and take, I wanted to learn from them and I wanted to give them the opportunity to learn from me. We all have different life experiences, different pasts, and I think that's what makes it all work.

Laurie: 16:36

What surprised you most about the experience?

Monica: 16:40

talking about getting into deep conversations, I think that surprised me the most was how quickly we all bonded and felt comfortable enough to share all of these intimate details of our lives. That was, I really thought that there was going to be like this long kind of drawn out, getting to know you phase. Um, but we got through that pretty quickly. I don't know if it was. The paint and sip that you kind of allowed us to do there at the very beginning, um, because it's, our minds were kind of a little focused on our painting. So it kind of helped conversation to flow much more easily. We weren't all like sitting in a circle, staring at each other, thinking of, you know, well, what am I going to say next? Or it made it much, much easier.

Laurie: 17:31

Yeah. Um, I was really struck. I mean, I'm always interested in how vulnerable everyone gets over the course of a retreat weekend, but I was really struck by the willingness of this group in particular to open up quickly. And I think that, I think the evening, the first night with the paint and sip and just kind of a social, you know, get to know you on a, On a different level, allowed us to then really get to know you on a different level, to allow people to be open and honest and authentic. And I think that that's, definitely one of the magical things about a retreat. it's. I've also been really interested to watch the conversation that has continued in this group since the retreat, um, you know, when, when women hear a great podcast episode or a, um, Or they're reading a good book that they want, that they think the group would recommend, or they know that somebody in particular is dealing with an issue at home, they are, they've been really quick to make sure that they continue to reach out. And it's, it's been really, fantastic to watch.

Monica: 18:48

Yeah. I mean, you know, the retreat was in October. Right after that, you know, we were right in the middle of all the holidays and you know, with the holidays, you know, there's a lot of excitement, but there can also be a lot of pain. Um, and I think there were ladies in our group who experienced both sides of that, some to more extremes than the other. So it, it was nice that we were all able to kind of check in on each other and say, you know, I'm here to support you. So, yeah.

Laurie: 19:25

well, since you touched on it, so it's been three months since the retreat and then, you know, of course, we had the craziness of the holidays and crazy good, but also just a lot of the holidays. I'm wondering, was there anything that you discovered about yourself at the retreat that has changed how you approach? Your life and that could have been the holidays. It could be your job. It could be relationships. It could be making moves to set yourself up for the, for retirement and beyond. But have you noticed anything different about the way you're approaching life since you left the retreat in October?

Monica: 20:03

Yeah, so through several of the exercises. It was revealed to me that I have not been very courageous, um, and I've maybe held back on saying things that I should have said, I've, uh, you know, just sat on things and until I would become resentful. About them. Um, that was, I guess that was another surprising thing at the retreat. I, I didn't realize, like, how much that was impacting so many aspects of my life. Just keeping quiet, I guess. And I won't say I've done a complete 180 yet. But since I haven't had that revelation, I, I will say I have taken steps to do better to speak up instead of being quiet. Or at least consider why am I not speaking up about this, um, and kind of getting into that

Laurie: 21:08

a little more. I think a lot of times we think that we are doing a service by keeping quiet by, you know, not rocking the boat, just kind of going along with everything. And there comes a time and usually it's in midlife where we're finally able to take a step back and look at it and say. While that approach might be helping other people in my life, you know, they, they seem to be enjoying it. I'm, I'm being very good for them. I am taking care of all of their needs, but it hasn't really been serving me. And, um, I, I love that. That is. Something that you realized during the retreat and something that you are more mindful of moving forward.

Monica: 21:59

Yeah, I think I've changed my perspective on it a little bit. Um, because yes, on one hand, like you said, I've always thought, you know, it's easier for everybody else if I don't say anything, if I don't mention things, but I guess my new perspective is. How would I feel if I knew that somebody else in my life was, withholding information or not saying something to protect me? I wouldn't want that. I would want them to speak up and give me the opportunity to make a change or at least know how they feel. Um, I think that's really

Laurie: 22:44

important. Absolutely. Absolutely. for a lot of women, we get so caught up in the daily grind of our, our lives between work and family obligations and, um, that we're mostly kind of reacting to life. So whether that is. Saying the things that we want to say, to be perfectly honest, but it can also be just there's so much coming at us all the time. You know, those, do you have a minute kind of questions at work or what's for dinner at night where it feels like somebody always wants a piece of us? Um. I, I'm curious, because I do think that's one of the best things about the retreat is, is you can then change the focus a bit so that you are more looking out for number one first, instead of kind of picking up the scraps and being happy with, with, you know, the end of the day you've, you've served everyone else, but maybe haven't served yourself so much. I, I'm curious, Are you finding it easier to focus on yourself because of the time that you went away?

Monica: 23:56

I think so, yes, I guess it revealed to me the importance of that, I mean, I do things for myself, like I said, I work out, I read, I do, I do things like that, but yeah, there is definitely something to be said about being a little selfish. Fulfilling your own needs. it doesn't mean that you're not going to come back and be there for everybody else. In fact, you're going to be better for everybody else because of the time that you spent kind of focused on yourself for a little while. So, yeah, I mean, like I mentioned. Traveling to the retreat was the first time I had traveled alone, and that was kind of my first step of opening up and, um, just exploring different things. So, I've already planned a trip with my daughter in March. We're going to go to Park City, Utah. Yeah, I would have never done that before. Um, so yeah, just, I guess, taking that first step to kind of get out there and just the fact that, Like I said before, you made it so easy, um, that I now have the confidence to say, okay, I can do something like this myself. It's not a big deal.

Laurie: 25:15

And if I remember correctly, you also, not only this was the first time traveling by yourself, but was there a special something that related to the flight that you hadn't done before?

Monica: 25:27

Yes, I flew first class and it was life changing,

Laurie: 25:34

right?

Monica: 25:35

Yeah. Yes. It was amazing. Yeah. Um, in fact, uh, whenever you went over the morning 5, 10, 5 with us and you had expressed that that was one of the things on your list of dreams you achieved. I was like, Oh yes, I've experienced it now. I have to add that to my list.

Laurie: 25:57

So what Monica is talking about is as part of the, the best life planner and in my morning routine every day, I, I write down, uh, the morning five, 10, five, five things I'm grateful for 10 dreams I achieved and five things I'm looking forward to during the day. And number, let's see, it's number seven on my list is I only fly first class or private. Now, again, these are not. These are things I'm working towards in my life. I don't always do that yet, but I will get to the point where I only fly first class or private because as Monica said, it's a game changer. It's much, much better. Um, Yeah, especially, especially for the long flights. I mean, if you're going to go to Europe or something, or, or, um, Asia, you might as well arrive having had a good experience getting there instead of the, the neck ache and the, the back because you couldn't sleep and anyway, I highly recommend it. But good for you for deciding, you know what, not only am I going to go have this experience by myself and I'm going to travel by myself, but I'm going to book myself a first class ticket. So well done. Um, we spent a lot of time at the retreat talking and through the exercises and the activities that we did, the conversations, you know, a lot of time was spent trying to figure out. What, what it is that you actually want in life, not what you've been conditioned to want, how you define your success and, and if you were to wave a magic wand and just start living your best life, do you know what that looks like? And I, I, I'd love to know, do you feel like you're better equipped to move in the direction of your best life? I mean, had you thought about it before, what that looked like? And if not, do you feel like going to the retreat, now you understand where you're moving to in life?

Monica: 28:07

Yeah, I mean, I had thought about it before, but I am terrible at thinking outside the box. So I've. I guess always focus more on things that have been going on in my life recently or that I had recently been exposed to. So going to the retreat, you know, we all had the opportunity to share different, you know, dreams that we've had or things we want to do, things that we enjoy. And that was. So perfect for me, the person who can't think outside the box, because I got to hear, you know, all these other people's dreams. And even if maybe that wasn't outside the box for them, it was for me. And so, yeah, I was able to, to think back on. Oh, yeah. I used to enjoy doing that, you know, a long time ago, but it's been so long that it's just not been at the forefront of my mind. So, yes, that was Hearing everybody else's dreams, having the opportunity to share that, um, helped to open up my mind a lot more to what I want to see in the future since, you know, kind of all I can see is what's right in front of my face right now. Um, so just things like. Traveling and seeing different places and learning a musical instrument and things like that, that, you know, you would typically think, okay, I'm in my 40s, you know, what's the use in learning how to play the piano or something right now? Well, You know, it's never too late to improve yourself or grow or change and I don't know, I guess maybe I'm getting a little bit into your book club, um, speaking about Alzheimer's and like how good things like that are for your brain, learning all these new things. And so we, we should always be learning new things. It's never too late.

Laurie: 30:14

Monica is doing a great job of talking about things that the School of Midlife has coming down the pipeline, or that there are resources that are available for you. We talked about the Best Life Planner. She also just mentioned the Your Next Chapter Book Club, which is a new book club that the School of Midlife has started this year. If you would like to join us for that, it's free to sign up. We'd love to have you join us and add your voice to the conversation. Given now that you have gone through the retreat. would you recommend it to your friends?

Monica: 30:52

Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Um, a hundred percent. Um, if I had it to do over again, I would do it over and over. Yeah, it was. It was such a wonderful experience and yeah, I, I think that, I think everybody should have the opportunity to experience something like that. Um, you know, again, whether they go alone or with a friend, I think either way it can be incredible.

Laurie: 31:24

That's great. Great. Um, I want to just also reflect back when you were talking about, um, The things you want to do in your life, and I just have to say, I think that that is a beautiful Legacy for your mom. I, you know, because she got 42 years only 42 years and Not that, you know, you need to live your life for her, but I think You making yourself a priority and figuring out how you want to build this big, full life in the future. Um, I think that that's a really lovely legacy for your mom. Anything else you would like to add, anything about the retreat that we didn't talk about that you think would be helpful for women who might be thinking about going to something like this, having an experience like this that, that we just didn't talk about?

Monica: 32:25

I think that you can come away from the retreat in, in any way that you choose to. I think that you can go and make connections with the women and stay in touch if you so choose to do so. I think it's also perfectly fine if you want to just Go and enjoy the experience and then move on afterward. I mean, either way, there's, there's something to gain. Um, I can't say there was. I had anything to lose by going there for sure. And that was the one of the things that I thought about was even if I don't have some, you know, life changing revelation, I'm going to get to go to this amazing place and, you know, spend time with, these amazing people and gosh, go to the spa and just be pampered. Um, I mean. You know, you can't go wrong with that, but I will say I, I left with so much more, but. No matter what, um, the experience is yours to have and, you know, you can make it your, your own. It can be, like I said, something that you stay in touch with everybody or something that you get what you get from it and you go home and, you know, I would say your life will be. All the better for

Laurie: 33:52

it. Yeah. I mean, you don't have to go and make, find a bunch of new best friends, but it could be, it could just be that you go and you have this great experience. And then the way you approach life after you get back home, whether, whether you take those friendships back with you or not, um, it's set up so that. You're just a little more intentional, a little bit more deliberate, and you're living more authentically and honestly to what's important to you. So I'm, I'm glad that that that's completely by design. I'm glad that you picked up on that and, um, I'm, I'm thrilled to hear that that was the type of experience that you had. I'm going to end with two questions we ask all guests on the School of Midlife podcast. And because you, uh, have listened to all the podcast episodes, I think, um, you know what these two questions are, so they won't be a surprise to you. But number one, if you could go back with all of the information that you know, all the skills, the wisdom, the knowledge, what would you go back and tell your 30 year old self? And I know from you're a little younger than most, so it's a little closer to you than, than some of the people that we've talked with on the podcast, but what would be important to tell your 30 year old self?

Monica: 35:18

To be less apologetic about what I want, um, and that kind of goes along with, you know, how I learned that I just don't speak up enough and most of the time, I mean, I would have things all worked up in my head that, you know, all these terrible things that could go wrong, but at the end of the day, most of the time people. are very understanding and people want to help you to achieve the things that you want. I would say most of the time the universe is conspiring for you rather than against you, even though sometimes it doesn't feel that way. So yeah, definitely to be unapologetic, to be just more

Laurie: 36:08

open. I love that. Thank you for sharing that. The second question is What have you loved most about midlife so far?

Monica: 36:19

I would say it's having the opportunity and the experience. To pass along to my kids, especially my daughter. my mom and I were close, but I wouldn't say we had very many, like, deep conversations and that's something that I have the opportunity now to share with my daughter. She's in her early twenties. And yeah, I have. All of these experiences that I've collected over the years that I get to pass along to, to her. And, you know, even though. Just like any young person, she's going to learn things the hard way. Um, I love having, again, all these experiences that I can share with her and, you know, either she can learn from them or she can at least go back and say, you know, you told me this.

Laurie: 37:18

I love that. What is your trip with her?

Monica: 37:22

Um, it's. It's the third week in March, we're going to Park City, a place that we've never been. Yeah. Um, yeah, but we're really excited, looking forward

Laurie: 37:33

to it. That's great. Monica's in Houston, so, um, the terrain in Houston is much different than Sun Valley, Idaho or Park City, Utah. I feel like we've kind of, we're, we're starting to. Maybe change her mind about, or at least exposing her to new, new places in, in the U. S. that are much different than where she currently lives.

Monica: 37:58

Yeah. So if you would have asked me before where I wanted to go for vacation. 100 percent of the time, I would say the beach. I love going to the beach, but yes, I definitely have developed, um, I don't know, I guess, uh, a love and appreciation for the mountains. And I guess that would be the one thing I would say about Sun Valley. And one of the things that I felt so childlike about was noticing all the colors of the trees and just how beautiful it was, because we don't have that here in Texas, especially in Southeast Texas, we have green or brown. There is no in between.

Laurie: 38:47

Well, good. I, Sun Valley is one of my favorite places in the world. So I love sharing it with, with people who. I haven't been there and, um, because I do think it's a pretty special place. So, thank you so much for being here, Monica. I have loved this conversation.

39:04

Hey friends. It's Laurie. I hope you enjoyed this replay of my discussion with Monica. Sowders uh, I hope you were able to. Feel some of the magic that happens at the best life retreat. And I am super excited to let you know that we have opened registration for the 20, 24 best life retreat. We're heading back to sun valley, Idaho, October 17th, through the 20th. Real quick here is what you can expect. A weekend full of group coaching, focused on living your best life and keeping that reset glow. When you go back to real life, I mean, how many times have you gone to a talk or a conference or sometimes even a retreat and, and you leave just buzzing with excitement and then you get back to real life and it's like, oh, wow. Uh, it just, it all wears off quickly. Well, because. You will leave with an actual plan to figure out how to live your best life. So you'll be equipped to keep that. Reset glow going, even when real life kind of tries to smack you up against the head. Um, so lots of coaching and entire weekend full of group coaching to help you figure out what you want, what success means to you, what your best life looks like. And then, like I said, a plan to make that a reality. Uh, because I believe that self care is not an option. It's actually, it's not, it's not a nice to have. It's a must have. So your choice of a massage or facial at the world, famous sun valley resort. There are group hikes, um, morning sunrise hikes, and these are not like kill yourself, super technical hikes, but they are. Let's watch the sunrise together and lovely ways to start your morning. Um, on the morning that we don't do the sunrise hike, there are daily morning walks and runs. So if you are someone who likes to. Get out, stretch your legs a little bit in the morning. Plenty of that. It's beautiful. Love it. Love it. Love it. Um, And then in the afternoons and evenings, happy hour paint and sips, which are a super fun way to kick off the retreat. There is a book discussion, which we did for the first time this last year. And it was super well received. Everybody said, please do that again because just the deep and meaningful discussions that came out of it. What I think is incredible though, are just. How you can bring. Eight to 10 women together who have no, they've never met each other. And. In, just. A couple of days, they leave. With this new set of friends and cheerleaders and confidence. So it's, it's fantastic. It's a great, great experience. There's plenty of time built into the schedule too, so that you have some free time to explore. Downtown Ketchum, you can shop, you can nap. Maybe you want to go soak in the hot tub? It's it's kind of free time to choose your own adventure. So however you want to spend the free time it is built into the schedule. And the beautiful part about this is. It it's, it's like the ultimate all inclusive. And if you are somebody who has gone on an all-inclusive trip before you might be thinking, oh, okay, watered down drinks and marginal food and okay. Yeah, I get it. This is not that at all, it is high-end luxury all-inclusive. So if you get yourself to sun valley, everything else will be taken care of for you. So, you know, you're not going to have to figure out like what's for dinner tonight, and you're not going to have to go to the grocery store to buy the things, to make the meal. That's all taken care of for you. Um, so you will have four days, three nights at the limelight hotel, which is the newest, modern luxury hotel in sun valley. It is fantastic. Right. Downtown walkable to everything. Beautiful views. all of your food and drink is included. So, if you want to have a cocktail before dinner, that's included. Um, the limelight hotel where we're staying, they have this famous. Breakfast every morning. So, um, get what you want to eat at their breakfast. Um, gourmet lunches, dinners, like I said, your favorite snacks cocktails. We will go out for a celebration dinner on the town on Saturday night. handpicked swag bag. The stuff that is packed in it. Smoothie. I mean, when I know that the word obsessed is kind of overused, but obsessed. The items that are in the swag bag. Or better. W we're not talking like that oversized t-shirt that you might decide to sleep in sometime. Beautiful. Beautiful. Things, I don't want to ruin it, but the swag bag is, is well worth it. So a couple of frequently asked questions. I get. You know, Is this something that you can go to on your own. And I think you probably could tell from Monica's discussion. Absolutely. This is something you can go to on your own. she, she didn't know anybody. She traveled from Texas to Idaho. Not knowing anybody there. She hadn't even met me yet. And had a fantastic experience. So. If you are worried about coming by yourself, you absolutely shouldn't be. We will. Do a, kind of a pre-retreat zoom call. So everyone gets to meet each other and there are a couple of. Activities planned, right? When we get there to break the ice. So, um, come by yourself or bring a girlfriend Or bring your girlfriend or a couple of girlfriends and And you can make it this fantastic girls weekend away. Meet some other incredible people and leave just with. Everything you need to set the world on fire. Um, other questions. How do you get to sun valley? There are a couple of options. One, there is an airport, about 10 miles south of sun valley. It's just the sun valley airport. And if you fly in there, um, I know United Delta. Alaska. I think. Uh, I think those are the only airlines, but. Almost everywhere can get you to sun valley from wherever you are. And there is a. Free car service from the hotel. So as soon as you book your. Airline reservation, just let me know. And I will schedule that with the hotel so that the car service will pick you up and drop you back off. if the schedule doesn't work, because there are limited flights going in and out of sun valley, you can also fly in and out of Boise. But we see is about two and a half hours away from sun valley. So you'd have to rent a car. Pretty easy drive though. Um, probably about 45 miles on the interstate and then another. Um, about two hours, a little more than two hours through some mountain terrain, which is beautiful. It's a really lovely. Very easy drive. So those are two ways that you can get there. You can also fly into salt lake. Uh, and that's about a, I think it's about a four, four and a half hour drive. So it really just depends on how much time that you have that you can get away. as far as schedule goes, we start on Thursday night around 6:00 PM. And we'll be wrapped up on Sunday by 11 o'clock in the morning. So plenty of time to travel. To sun valley on Thursday, and then we should be done early enough so that you can get back home. Wherever home is. Let's see what other. There is a. Clothing and packing lists that is sent out, um, kind of late September. Once we have an idea of what the weather should look like, it's, you know, it's mostly kind of. Low to mid sixties during the day it cools off at night. So any sort of layering pieces it's, it's comfortable. It's a juror. It's. It's the playground first celebrities. There are. Sometimes you even run into them in the grocery store, but it's a very unpretentious. Place to be. So, if you're comfortable in jeans and a flannel wear that if you're more comfortable in. Leggings and a half sip where that it pretty much anything goes. So whatever you're comfortable in will be just fine. If you have any other questions, let me know the. There are handful of spots left. And once they're gone, they're gone. Um, you can always, you know, get on the retreat list, the priority list for next year. But if you'd like to come this year, make sure to click the link in the show notes. there are a couple of options. One you can choose to have a single room. Or a shared room. And if you are coming with a friend, then obviously we will put you together. Um, if you want to share room and you want us to hook you up with a roommate, then let us know that too. But, um, single room or shared room is what we need to know. And then, one or two payments. So there are several options that should work with your budgeting. And if for some reason you really want to come and. You need to set up a payment plan, then let me know that too. I think. That is all I have, as far as FAQ's go. But if anything else comes up, shoot me a DM, find me on Instagram. You know how to get ahold of me, but let's answer any questions that you have. And let's. Figure out a way to get you to some valley. I would love to spend the weekend with you. Thanks so much for being here today. I will see you right back here next week when the school of midlife is back in session. Until then take good care. I have a question for you. When was the last time you spent a day focused completely on yourself. Away from the daily grind, the constant emails and text messages. The never ending question of what is for dinner. Well, if a day sounds good to you. What about an entire weekend away? And before you start thinking that sounds a little too indulgent. Let me remind you that you can't take care of everyone else in your life. If you don't take care of yourself first. I am thrilled to personally invite you to join me at the next best life retreat and world famous sun valley, Idaho. With more than 15 hours of group coaching to figure out what you actually want in life, how you define success and help you lay the groundwork for you to create a life that not only makes you happy. But also makes you feel personally fulfilled. There will be incredible group activities like happy hour paint and sips morning walks a sunrise hike, your choice of spa appointments and an award winning spa. All of this wrapped up in luxury accommodations, gourmet meals, premium drinks, and the best gift bag you have ever seen. I'm telling you this will be one of the very best weekends of your entire life. To keep their retreat intimate. There are only 10 spots available and when they're gone, they're gone. So go right now click the link in the show notes and get yourself on the priority list so that you'll be the first to know when we open up registration I cannot wait to see you in sun valley