Your weekly dose of Alluviance!
Ten days ago, I sat by a creek for about ten minutes before my nervous system started begging me to DO something.
My wife and I were on a hike here in Asheville. Gorgeous little creek, babbling over the rocks. And this restlessness started crawling up my spine.
“Ok, what’s next? Where do we need to be?”
Now I’m spending five days in silence.
(I see the irony 🥴)
As you read this, I’m at a silent meditation retreat in Hot Springs, North Carolina. Phone off. Meditating about 12 hours a day. There are actual natural hot springs here, and the leaves on the trees are on fire. Orange, yellow, red.
What I love about this one is that it’s not super strict like a Vipassana, where all you do is meditate. Everyone does a few chores each day.
Chopping wood.
Cleaning the kitchen.
Helping prepare the food.
I’m SO excited to be here, because there’s a LOT going on right now.
We just announced our first retreat in Canada.
We just got a new corporate client, and we’re throwing their SKO in Barcelona.
Our Utah immersion is coming up soon.
And my wife and I just moved to Asheville, then moved Airbnbs.
All good stuff. And all of it is change.
I’m changing too. I can feel a little bit of a metamorphosis happening, in my being, in who I am. There’s a lot I’m being asked to sit with right now. And to just be with.
(Fun fact: before a caterpillar becomes a butterfly, it basically turns to goo inside the chrysalis. Relatable.)
So I’m going in. Deeper into myself, so I can serve the world deeper.
And this is the same work every salesperson has to do. Just on a smaller scale.
In sales, you live in conversations. And most of us walk into them already full.
Full of the last call.
Full of the number.
Full of whatever’s going on at home.
It’s like driving w/ a windshield covered in bugs. You can still technically see the road. You just can’t see the person in front of you.
And the buyer feels it.
You can only connect with another person as deeply as you’re connected to yourself.
Self first. Then the other person. That order matters.
You don’t need five days in the mountains to practice it. (Although... see the P.S.)
Try the small version this week. Before your next big call, put your phone in another room for five minutes. Let yourself get a little bored, and notice what you’re carrying in.
Then go meet the human on the other end of the line.
I’ll share what I find when I’m back.
P.S. Canada, we’re coming for ya 🇨🇦 This summer we’re hosting our very first Alluviance retreat up north. Spots are limited. If you want in, book a call w/ us here. (I’m offline until next week, but grab a time and we’ll talk when I’m back 🙏)
1. Featured LinkedIn Post:
"Canada, where you at!?"
Over the past 4 years, close to 1,000 people have attended 25 Alluviance retreats.
But I could tell our friends up north were starting to feel a little left out!!
2. Quote to fuel your Alluviance:
"Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water."
– Zen proverb
With Alluviance & In Extreme Gratitude,
Alex Kremer