The last seven days have been an incredible journey. For those of you who played along in the guessing game of where I was last week, Amanda guessed it! I was at “The Next Octave” launch retreat with 9 AMAZING WOMEN. What is that exactly? I’ll be filling you in more as the next nine months go by, but here’s a framework. My business coach, Karen Buckley, and her business partner, Fay Freed, decided to start a new program where nine women come together for nine months. This was their first group, and they had invited each woman for different reasons. When I was invited I wasn’t sure if it was the right thing because our schedule is already so busy. The nine months would include a retreat in the beginning, a retreat in the end and then teleconference calls each month and business coaching sessions each month. The purpose of the group is to help each other go to the Next Octave in our businesses, life and love. Did I have time in my schedule to do this? How could I not make time in my schedule? The women were all fifteen plus years older than me, and I was afraid this would throw the dynamic off, but it didn’t at all. I feel like I just made nine new friends who are beautiful women with such incredible wisdom. They are all rich in resources and ideas. They have all led amazing lives and some of their businesses would blow your mind. So to come together for three days and take a close look at our femininity, what feminine wisdom is, how it applies to our businesses, and then to take apart our businesses and look for weaknesses/strengths and identify how to risk a bit more or dream a bit bigger…WOW…the conversations were unreal. Without expecting to, I came back a changed person–or more appropriately, a changed woman. I flew home from San Fran Thursday night. Brian and I repacked the suitcases and got the kids out of bed the next morning at 6am to catch our flight to San Diego. Our San Diego Photography Workshop was about to start, and I was so FILLED up and ready! And wow, what an INCREDIBLE group of thirty women!! Carey, Brian and I had an amazing time!

My time in San Fran was about making the scary choice to climb a little higher and water my soul so my roots can grow a bit deeper. Then to bring all that wonderful energy and passion to a group of thirty woman who have all come to our workshop for similar reasons…the intensity of all our excitement, joy, tears and confrontation of insecurities reminded me of being a little girl and learning to climb trees and then pushing myself to climb just a little higher and then a little higher again.

When was the last time you went tree climbing? When was the last time you gave to yourself? When was the last time you pushed yourself to reach a little higher and felt the fear of falling at any minute? I have to tell you that when we do our workshops women often tell me that they cried the first night. It’s as if their emotions have been on hold, and they have made a step into the unknown and don’t know if this step was a huge mistake, the right thing, safe or unsafe… My first night at the Next Octave was the exact same experience. I showed up the first night at the Wine and Appetizer/Meet and Greet and met this group of women that I would be working with for the next nine months. Just like those of you who come to our photography workshops, I didn’t know any of these women. Would I like them? Would they like me? Would I learn anything? Would I be too far behind and slow everyone else down? That first night I went back to my hotel room and totally cried. I felt like I was either climbing the wrong tree or had made the biggest make to think I could climb this high. It had to be one of the two. But I stuck it out and in the next couple of days decided to stay at their homes instead of the hotel, decided to open myself, risk a little and in the end made friendships that I will have for a lifetime (whether they know that or not :)). And I have a feeling that the thirty women who came to our workshop this weekend have made a handful of their own lifetime friendships. What I forgot in all this that I didn’t remember until the end–tree climbing is also incredibly EXHILARATING!! Not to mention the unexpected view from the tree top! For those of you who want to take a baby step in tree climbing, Karen Buckley is going to be a featured Guest Columnist on our new forum that will be going LIVE in the next week or two. She will be writing wonderful monthly columns on a private thread within the forum. It will be open to all the moms who purchase our Mom’s 101 Survival Kit. Karen is an AMAZING resource, and I’m so excited she wants to share with you! If you check out her and Fay’s website, they have decided to do lead another group of women into their Next Octave. I think they’re going to offer a three month and nine month program, so you can check out their site for more info on that. You’ll find all kinds of yummy things there! And if you are one of my mom’s or a married woman or a single woman who has a passion for photography and you know you want to climb this “photography tree” a bit higher (even though it terrifies you to death!), we have finalized our dates for the November photography workshop in Chicago. We will be releasing early bird registration this week! I’ll let you know what day this will go live so you can plan to tree climb with us in Chicago! Now off to the pool! Today is the first day of our little family vacation in San Diego, and the sun is finally deciding to show her face! Yeah!