On a recent trip to the desert, where we had been promised (a strong word, I suppose) inspiration, empowerment and next-level networking, some friends and I encountered quite the opposite. There was the three of us, sauntering around the pool at our beautiful hipster hotel, mystified as to how we had ended up in this bizarro gong show of a ‘retreat’ that we had spent thousands of dollars to attend. And while I am sure there were people who walked away from the experience feeling excited and inspired, until we took things into our own hands there was perpetual yawns plastered on our faces.
Instead of dwelling on this and retreating out of the beautiful hot sun, we decided to make our time there AMAZING. Since we all live in the same city, it worked out like gangbusters that the three of us ended up spending our days together. It meant we could actually go home and do something groundbreaking with what we had learned – from each other. The power of pals is an incredible thing, my friends. Not only can a good pal inspire you to achieve your dreams but they also make you smile, laugh, cry and learn how to be a better person. I relished in the power of my pals that weekend. We brainstormed and laughed and met people from all over. We made it completely worth our while.
My lesson learned from this? Never do anything you don’t want to do. Especially, if you know it is not going to help you in any sort of way. Abandon it and feel good about your decision. Find something new that inspires you and lifts you up. In our case, it just happened to be the decor, the cocktails and the people of the Parker Hotel in Palm Springs. Cin-cin to that!
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