Happy Monday from foggy rural Virginia!

I’m entering week four of my stint on the East Coast. While I miss my bed and living walking distance from good espresso, there are many things about rural life that really speak to me, like…

 Waking up to birdsong instead of blaring car horns
​🪾 Being surrounded by trees instead of buildings
​ Driving through rolling hills instead of traffic jams

And in a spark of synchronicity, it’s provided the perfect landscape for me to finally start the new series I’ve been dreaming about for months…

Let’s Go Outside is a video series for entrepreneurs who are tired of sourcing all their wisdom from Google searches and endless Instagram scrolling. Instead of looking to the internet for answers, we’re going outside to learn directly from nature.

After all, nature has been running sustainable, resilient systems for millions of years. I think it’s time we paid attention!

I’m sharing my first video down below, plus companion ritual and reflection questions you can use this week to ground your business and your spirit.

Without further ado, let’s go outside!

Let’s Go Outside!

OFFLINE WISDOM FROM THE NATURAL WORLD

What if slowing down is exactly what your business needs right now?

In this debut episode of Let’s Go Outside, I’m taking you into the Winter woods to explore one of the most misunderstood dynamics in business ownership: the difference between contraction and constriction.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why a slow season in your business might be exactly what you need
• How to tell whether you’re in a healthy contraction or a fear-based state of constriction (← VERY IMPORTANT!)
• How to nurture the stirrings of new growth as you move into Spring

Ritual & Reflection

SPIRITUAL STRATEGIES TO GROUND YOUR WORK

Anyone else feeling like this lately?

We’re getting pummeled from all directions.

Business revenue down, illnesses that won’t quit, unpredictable winter storms, rising costs of everything, fascist takeovers and horrific attacks…

You know that feeling when you’re swimming in the ocean, and you go out just a smidge too far? You can’t touch the bottom. The waves are getting bigger. Each time you come up for air, bam, another wave drags you under.

That’s exactly how I’m feeling.

Now, before I continue, let me just say:

Dear reader, I hope this email doesn’t apply to you!

I hope your business is solid, your heart is open, and you’re feeling so hopeful about the future. If that’s true, please, take your light and shine it as far and wide as possible. We need you.

Buuut…

If being pummeled by dodgeballs and drowning under ocean waves resonates with you on a somatic level, this is for you.

Yes, the waves are relentless right now.

Each time you think you’re standing on solid ground — which is when you do things like make plans, start new projects and collaborations, put energy into growing your business — you get dragged under by more bad news.

I am right there with you, friend.

There’s a part of me that wants to crawl under my blankets and hide. But I’m not going to do that. Life is calling me forward. She is calling us all forward — towards a better world, a brighter future.

I want to share how I’m moving forward in ways that honor my physical and emotional capacity in the hopes that it helps you move forward, too.

How to Keep Moving Forward
​(without bypassing what is hard)

Step 1. Release the need to know the answer.

Questions I’ve asked myself in the past 48 hours:

• Why is this happening?
• What can I do about it?
• What is going to happen next?
• When will things get better?

My default coping mechanism is to try to make it all make sense. If I just have the right story, told in the right way, I’ll see the thruline and know exactly what to do next.

That strategy has worked out for me approximately zero times.

I’m exhausting myself trying to answer unanswerable questions in an attempt to feel safe. Why? Because uncertainty is scary! Especially when you’re a business owner carrying the financial burden for your family. Our survival instincts are kicking in, for better or for worse.

But the reality is, we don’t know the answers to these questions.

Instead of stress-spiraling into a pit of existential doom, I suggest we let go of the need to know the answers and redirect our energy toward something more helpful…

Step 2. Regulate yourself and find your steady center.

Ahh, yes. Nervous system regulation, my old friend.

You can’t control what’s happening in the world, but you can tend to your personal nervous system. You can calm yourself down. Pull yourself out of fight-or-flight. Root down into the earth.

The best thing we can do right now (as business owners and people on the planet) is to stay regulated, rooted, and centered.

When’s the last time you felt connected to your center?

You know you’ve found your center when you feel an internal steadiness that makes you unshakeable. You’re calm, clear, and capable of responding (not reacting) to whatever life throws your way.

 I listen to this Aretha song when I need help connecting to my center.​

We can’t stop the world from spinning, but we can stop ourselves from spinning. That’s what the world needs right now — more adults with rock steady centers leading with love and kindness.

Once you’re back in your steady center, you can…

Step 3. Clarify and commit to sharing ONE thing.

When life gets chaotic, I default to one of these coping mechanisms:

1. Go into overdrive and try to solve every problem
2. Collapse into bed to reread the Sarah J Maas catalogue

These are my “Hey, you’re not in your steady center!” red flag behaviors.

They might feel good in the moment, but neither behavior is sustainable in the long term. What I really need is to align my physical and energetic capacity with the ways I’m feeling called to be of service in the moment.

Here’s an example:

When life threw me a major curveball in January, I knew I needed to end the Sabbatical School launch early (while celebrating the 11 incredible students who enrolled during the early-bird period!) and refocus my energy on offering my free Clear Your Cache workshop instead.

I didn’t have the capacity to see the launch through to the end, but that didn’t mean I needed to crawl under my blankets and hide. I found my steady center and asked for guidance on what I could offer now. Voila!

This is what I want to invite you to do now.

After you shake off the need to know the answers to any/all questions on your mind, regulate your nervous system, and reconnect to your steady center, ask yourself:

• What is one thing I feel called to share right now?
• Who do I feel called to share it with?
• How can I honor my capacity in the process?

It’s best to keep this one thing very, very simple.

Here are some options:

• I feel called to share love and peace.
• I feel called to share trust and patience.
• I feel called to share energy for action.
• I feel called to share space to rage and grieve.
• I feel called to share kindness and compassion.

Clear Your Cache was created from my clarity that I felt called to share regulation and energy for action. This email was created from my clarity to share trust and love.

Once you know the frequency you’re holding in your body, you can use your mind to think of a way to share it with ease.

We can trust this moment.

We can trust each other.

We can continue sharing what we’re meant to share — even if we have to scale back our offerings, adjust our well-intentioned business plans, or put a pin in the big dreams we don’t have the capacity to bring forward just yet.

So tell me, what do YOU feel called to share right now?

Hit reply and share it with me. I would be honored to receive it.

5 Concrete Changes You’ll See in Your Life and Business After Your Mini-Sabbatical

(Listen Time: 12 Minutes)

Listen Here.

Let’s get down to brass tacks.

Your brain has you convinced that YOU cannot take a sabbatical.

Other people, maybe, but not you. You don’t have the time, the money, the privilege, or the (insert your reason here) needed to take time for yourself.

I get it. I told myself all of those stories, too. For years. Until a frightening encounter with burnout left me no other choice but to do it.

(Sometimes we leap and sometimes we’re pushed, you know?)

I didn’t even know it was a sabbatical at the time. It just felt like survival. My husband wasn’t working, my business was struggling, and my body felt like it was one strong breeze away from disintegrating in the wind.

On the other side of my four-week emergency break, I felt totally transformed. And I realized, “Whoa — I think I just took a sabbatical.”

Here’s what I’ve learned:

Sabbaticals initiate change.

More specifically, sabbaticals initiate the right kind of change — the kind that pays off long after you return to work.

It’s a strategy to help you clarify what you really want and how to get it.

And with my help, your sabbatical will create the conditions for real, tangible transformation in your life and business.

I see these same results time and again in my own sabbatical practice and in the many clients I have guided and coached through the process.

And when you commit to taking a sabbatical in 2026, I fully expect you to see these results too:

We’re starting with inner changes and moving to external changes.

Regulate Your Nervous System

​(and make better business decisions)

With a month away, you’ll finally have the space to fully downshift out of the near-constant activated state you currently exist in.

A sabbatical gives you a chance to reset your system and feel calm, grounded, present — even after you return to work.

And from this place of steadiness, you’ll reenter your business with the gifts of clearer thinking, more effective communication, and better decision-making at your side.

Recharge Your Batteries

​(so work stops feeling so hard)

Depending on how depleted your energy levels are as you begin your sabbatical, you may spend the first couple of weeks in deep rest mode.

But once you’ve returned to a solid baseline state, you can begin recharging in more meaningful ways.

You’ll surprise yourself with what pops into your head. With what you really want to spend your time on. There will be moments of delight, and rabbit holes of curiosity, and maybe even long stretches of time when all you do is admire the trees as they dance in the wind.

You might even start to feel excitement about your work again — and see this energy ripple into everything that comes next.

Discover Your Alignment

​(and stop leaking energy)

When you step away from your to-do list — like really, truly step away — you start to notice what feels life-giving and what feels draining.

You discover who you are at this moment in your life and are able to start defining what alignment looks like for this season of your life and work.

After your sabbatical, we’ll work together to help you turn that alignment into actionable changes, so that the life and business you step into upon your return feel transformed.

Cultivate Your Next Big Idea

​(and start creating space for what’s next)

Maybe something new is trying to come through for you, right at this very moment, but your life feels too noisy to hear what it is.

Big ideas need space to emerge, and your sabbatical gives you that space.

And while I can’t promise you’ll end this short sabbatical with a fully fleshed out idea for a new book, offer, or direction for your business during your sabbatical, I do feel confident that something will become clear during that time — and it will unlock the door to the next chapter of your life.

These combined changes will lead to financial return on investment.

Now, let’s be realistic, you’re not going to come back from time away and immediately make more money.

But you will come back recharged, focused, and clear about what you want to do next in your business.

You’ll have a new plan and the energy to implement it. That’s magic.

If this feels like the exhale you’ve been needing — but also like something you want to do responsibly — Sabbatical School will show you how.​

This is where we turn the idea of time off into an actual plan that supports your nervous system and your bottom line.

I want to help you design time off that pays you back — not just emotionally, but practically and financially, too.

Early bird discounts expire at midnight on Monday.

Let’s start planning your sabbatical.

Yesterday, I received this message from a subscriber:

“I would LOVE a sabbatical and the idea of taking one thrills me. But I don’t have a rich husband. The only thing holding me back is money.”

Honestly?

It confirms what I already know to be true:

The #1 reason people don’t take a sabbatical isn’t lack of desire — it’s the assumption they can’t afford it.

You know you need a break.

But a month-long sabbatical feels like a fantasy reserved for other people — tenured professors, trust fund kids, CEOs with rockstar teams…

…or, apparently, solopreneurs with rich husbands.

If you don’t fit into one of those categories, you’ve probably assumed a sabbatical just isn’t in the cards for you.

But you know what they say about assuming.

The truth is: you need a sabbatical — and it’s more financially doable than you think.

Over the next few days, I’m going to prove it to you.

How I’m breaking this down:

I know money stuff can be overwhelming — so I’m going to make this as easy and digestible as possible.

Instead of cramming everything into one long email, I’m walking you through this in three short, focused steps over the next few days:

• Today: Free resources to help you discern whether you can afford a sabbatical (please don’t skip these — they’re foundational)
  ​
• Tomorrow: A behind-the-scenes look at how Sabbatical School supports your financial planning with practical, easy-to-use tools
  ​
• The following day: My personal financial story — because I want to fully dismantle the myth that you need a rich husband (or some other magical safety net) to make this possible

Today’s focus is simply this:

Is a sabbatical financially possible for you?

Before I tell you more about Sabbatical School, I want you to explore this question for yourself — with real numbers, not fear-based assumptions.

That’s exactly what these resources are designed to help you do.

Let’s get to it…

“Can I even afford it?”​

5 Creative Ways to Fund Your Sabbatical as a Solopreneur

Click here to listen. ​(18-minute audio lesson)

In this Sabbatical School podcast episode, I walk you through a grounded, no-fluff way to look at your actual financial reality — so you can discern if a sabbatical could be possible for you with the right planning and support.

You’ll learn how to:

• Get honest about where you fall on the financial spectrum (without shame or magical thinking) so you know if this is something you should consider or not
• Calculate your bare minimum funding number — the amount of money you need to save to pay yourself while you’re on sabbatical
• Explore five creative ways solopreneurs actually fund sabbaticals (spoiler: it’s rarely “having a rich husband”)
• Understand why your first sabbatical doesn’t have to be perfectly funded to be deeply worthwhile

I also share the story of my first emergency sabbatical — the messy, imperfect one that taught me why financial clarity turns a sabbatical from a risky fantasy into a sustainable practice.

If money is the thing standing between you and the break you need, this episode is for you.

Click here to listen to 5 Creative Ways to Fund Your Sabbatical.​

When you finish listening…

Because I really want you to see how doable this can be, I recommend spending a few minutes with the Find Your Sabbatical Funds: Financial Strategy Worksheet.

I made this worksheet as a companion to the podcast episode to help you move from conceptual understanding to personal, practical application.

Several people have asked why I’m giving so much away for free.

The answer is simple:

I know you can’t consent to joining me for this sabbatical journey unless you trust that this is possible for you.

So I’m giving you the resources to move beyond scarcity fears and limiting beliefs about what you can afford — and what you deserve — so you can decide whether this is a leap you’re willing to take.

Listen to this episode
Use this worksheet

And if you feel the door of possibility opening for you…

Join me in Sabbatical School!

Who doesn’t like a well-organized plan?

Knowing what to do next without having to think about it is a gift in a world that is constantly demanding more of your attention.

Having a plan also makes it easier to complete really big projects.

For example, creating Sabbatical School and designing the Press Pause workshop simultaneously has been a gargantuan amount of work in a short amount of time. The vision was clarified in October; we started working earnestly on the project in November; and now, in mid-January, we’re prepping next week’s workshops and preparing to open enrollment for Sabbatical School on Monday!

We did it with ease (for the most part) because we had a step-by-step plan to follow. Without it, there’s no way we’d be where we are today.

But here’s my big secret…

The plan was only effective because my vision was crystal clear.

I’ve been holding the seed of this idea since 2021 — just waiting for the timing to feel aligned to bring it to life. The waiting can be excruciating!

But every time I started to work on the project, it felt forced. I had more questions than answers. There was zero ease. It felt like chopping vegetables with fogged-up glasses. Truly a recipe for disaster.

The vision was not clear enough to proceed. Full stop.

When we feel pressure to do something meaningful now, it’s easy to bypass the visioning phase and jump straight into logical planning — especially in the business world.

As entrepreneurs, we’re taught that having a plan is the ticket to success.
​
>> Build it, and they will come.
>> Decide what you want to do, and do it well.
>> Make an annual plan, and you will reach your goals.

But are the goals you’re working towards actually meant for you?

Or are you following instructions — doing the logical thing you’re supposed to be doing, or making a plan based on what someone else told you was a good idea?

If the vision isn’t coming from inside of you, don’t waste your time.

Otherwise, your big plan will go…

.. right in your face. (Speaking from experience here.)

Here’s the truth:

A plan without a vision is just someone else’s to-do list.

Do you want to spend the rest of the year checking boxes off of somebody else’s to-do list? No! Of course you don’t!

You want to nurture your vision — the ideas, offerings, and projects that want to come through you. You want to spend your time doing work that feels aligned, exciting, and so meaningful you shed tears of happiness just thinking about getting to do it.

But cultivating a soul-level vision is hard to do when you’re running the rat race inside of our capitalist system. Like, really hard.

​That’s why I’m hosting the Press Pause workshop.​

During the workshop, I’ll guide you through a journey to illuminate your vision. The amazing thing about being human is that we always have a vision that’s ready to bloom.

You just need to press pause on the busyness of life long enough to see it, feel it, and let it know that, yes, you’re ready to bring it forward.

​You can read all about the workshop here.

And then, join me on Monday at 3pm PT or next Friday, 1/23 at 9am PT.

I am so excited to do this work together.

Do you ever feel confused about what to do next in your business?

It might sound like this:

>> Something needs to change, but I don’t know what to do next.
>> I feel so stuck right now. I don’t know what to do to get unstuck.
>> Everything feels fuzzy, and I don’t know how to find clarity.
>> I know what I want to do, but I don’t know how to do it.
>> Everyone else is doing (insert thing), so I think I should do it too.

Almost every client I work with comes to me feeling stuck and confused about something — and it’s usually business-related.

I feel like I’m listening to “I don’t know” on repeat, echoed by dozens of entrepreneurs who have a proven track record of being extremely competent and capable of figuring shit out.

Take yourself, for example.

You might be confused about something right now. (Who isn’t?) But you also have a looong list of receipts proving that you are amongst the most accomplished people on the planet.

Advanced professional training? Check. Strong reputation? Check. Escaped the drudgery of 9-5 employment by creating a business from scratch that helps other people and pays your bills? Check and check.

You might feel squirmy admitting it, but you are a very accomplished and capable human. Why then is it so easy for you to get lost in a swirl of confusion and self-doubt?!

It’s because the smarter and more capable you are, the more uncomfortable you feel when you don’t know what you’re doing.

Let’s look at two different scenarios:

Scenario #1 → You know exactly what you’re doing.

When you can say, “ I have a successful business helping (this type of client) get (this kind of result),” and really mean it and love it with your whole body…

That is the best feeling!

That’s when you know you’re firing on all cylinders. The work you’re doing feels clear, how you’re doing it feels clear, the way you’re doing it feels clear — and it’s working. Celebrate, you have reached peak competency status!

And then…

Something changes.

You heal an old wound. You end a relationship. You lose a loved one. You get an amazing idea. You learn something new.

And before you know it, you’ve become someone new.

It’s the cycle of personal growth, and you’re here for it.

… until you realize it means you’ve kind of outgrown your business.

Again.

Reality is, when you’re a person committed to healing and growth, it’s hard for your business to keep pace with your personal evolution.

That’s because internal change happens faster than external change.

In other words, I can have a huge psychological ah-ha in an hour, but translating that ah-ha into a new offering in my business takes months.

And the time between the hour of realization and the day your business finally feels aligned with your new self? That’s Scenario #2.

Scenario #2 → You have no freaking idea what you’re doing.

Now we’re back at where we started.

The seasons of confusion and self-doubt that come when we’re navigating the space between personal growth and business evolution.

You can think of these periods as liminal spaces — thresholds between the past and the future, the old and the new.

Have you ever been outside when a thick fog rolls in? You blink, and suddenly, you can’t see six inches in front of your face. The air feels dense. It’s eerily quiet. You start to worry you’re going to walk straight into a tree.

That’s what it feels like when you’re in a liminal space.

And the part of you that loves feeling competent?

Oooh-weee, she’s gonna throw a tantrum.

“Get me OUT OF HERE,” your mind will scream.

And then, “I’ll do anything. Please! Just tell me what to do!”

Feels a bit like you’re being tortured, honestly. The discomfort of not knowing is all-consuming. Your ego panics. You become desperate for answers, for solutions, for someone to tell you how get rid of all of this goddamn fog so you can see again.

This is when you forget that you always know exactly what to do.

You know the answer to your question — you just can’t hear it because your tortured ego won’t stop screaming!

Whenever I notice a client is caught in an “I don’t know” loop, I like to give them this suggestion:

I know you think you don’t know what to do here, but what if that’s just a story your ego is telling you because this in-between place feels super uncomfortable? And because it’s confusing and scary to be creating something new?

Instead of saying, “I don’t know,” try saying, “I can’t hear the answer yet.”

Let’s try it right now:

Think about the thing you feel confused about. Notice how it makes you feel and how desperate you are to get out of the discomfort.

When you’re ready, speak this sentence out loud:

“I know everything I need to know, but I can’t hear the answer yet.”

Now, say it three more times.

What do you notice now?

Hopefully, immediate relief.

Like you’ve been riding an old wooden rollercoaster that just came to a screeching stop at the end of the track. You’re a bit rattled, heart pumping, legs wobbly. But you made it back safely. You can exhale.

Now that your ego has stopped freaking out, we can finally talk about how to listen for the answers when you’re lost in the fog of “I don’t know.”

The WORST thing you can do when you’re in this liminal space is ask for other people’s opinions, thoughts, ideas, and solutions. Please, resist the urge! Every time they open their mouth to give you an answer (no matter how logical or well-meaning), it becomes harder for you to hear the truth.

And that includes asking the voice of your ego!

Because, remember, your ego is panicking right now. She’ll tell you whatever you want to hear to get you moving again, just so she can go back to feeling capable and competent. Your ego is not wise. She’s desperate.

The best thing to do right now is create space to listen to your intuition.

To press pause on external input so you can journey deep inside of yourself — to the place where all of the truest answers are waiting to be excavated.

Instead of rushing forward, trying to claw your way out of the “I don’t know” discomfort, can you slow down and try going deeper into it instead?

Oof. That’s hard. I know.

Here’s the good news → You don’t have to do it alone.

Yes, this work is deeply personal. But that doesn’t mean you should do it alone. I’m saying you should stop asking people what to do, not exile yourself until you’ve figured it all out!

This work is most effective when done in the company of others.

That’s exactly why I created the Press Pause workshop.

This is my alternative to annual planning.

Instead of using your intellect to map out a safe, logical, probably arbitrary, and definitely comfortable plan for the new year, what if you used your intuition to clarify your vision for this season of your life?

Once your vision is clear (or at least clearer than it is right now), you can begin mapping out an intentional implementation plan that moves you forward at a sustainable pace that pleases your ego and your spirit.

Sound cool?

Honestly, it’s the best.

I’m excited to guide you through the process live next week — for free.

​Pause Press is a live, 2-hour guided workshop.

Because this work is so deep and personal, I will not be recording it. That means there will be no replay. I don’t want you holding back because you know you’re being recorded, anxious about what kind of internet voyeurs might be spying on your personal process later. Nobody likes that.

Plus, part of the magic is experiencing this journey with others!

That means if you want to join, you have to attend live.

Here are the options:

→ Monday, January 19th at 3pm PT / 6pm ET
→ Friday, January 23rd at 9am PT / 12pm ET

​Click here to read all of the details (there’s lots more!) and register.​

Nobody likes feeling confused. Myself included. To be clear, I’m not promising easy solutions to your problems. But I am promising a grounded, deep, meaningful workshop experience that will guide you through the fog safely, getting you one step closer to the answers you’re seeking.

Will you press pause with me next week?

I hope so.

I’m hosting TWO live workshops next week — for free!

This time of year, my inbox is full to the brim with messages about my greatest nemesis… ANNUAL PLANNING.

*cue dramatic villain music*

The pressure to create a plan for the next twelve months makes me feel like I’m trapped under a weighted blanket — struggling to breathe and covered in sweat. Not the conditions under which I do my best work.

I know it’s important to have a plan for your business, but I believe the pressure to map out your entire year in the dead of winter is doing way more harm than good.

Here’s why:

1. I’m not a fortune teller! I don’t know what’s going to happen in my life next week, much less in six months. Pretending otherwise feels like laughing in the face of the Universe.
   ​
2. Conventional annual planning relies on intellect. You map out a logical plan for the future using the power of your mind instead of the wisdom of your intuition. Your mind has no idea what’s really possible for your life and business this year. Pretending otherwise significantly limits the magic available to you right now.
   ​
3. When you jump into planning without examining the patterns, habits, and beliefs that are holding you back, you’re almost guaranteeing you’ll spend another year running on the same hamsterwheel that’s keeping you stressed, overwhelmed, overworked, and quite likely, under-resourced.

BUT here’s the rub!

As annoyed as I am by the pressure to plan Your Best Year Ever, I know that under-planning can cause huge issues in your business, too.

I know! It’s so frustrating! Ahh!

*deep breath*

If you feel the tension between over-planning and under-planning, you might be a Planning Goldilocks like me. We sound like this:

→ Planning out the entire year in advance feels too rigid. ​
→ Relying entirely on intuition with no plan feels too loosey-goosey.
​→ Using a system that balances intuition with intentional implementation feels juuust right.

If this resonates, I think you’ll love next week’s workshop.

Here are the deets:

​Press Pause is a live workshop for business owners who want to do things differently in 2026, including:

Say Goodbye to Overwhelm

First, I’ll help you identify personal patterns of stress, overwhelm, and overwork. You’ll get clear on what’s not working for you — and learn how you can release those patterns going into 2026.

Clarify Your 2026 Priority Intuitively

Next, I’ll guide you through a journey to help clarify the intentions and practices you’re truly ready to bring forward this year using intuition instead of intellect — guaranteeing a year of ease.

Plan Your Time Off For The Year Ahead

Finally, we’ll lay the groundwork for a more restful 2026 by proactively planning your time off for the next 12 months, so you don’t end another year wondering, “Where did all the time go?”

Please note: this workshop will be live only.

That means there will be no replay. Why? Because we’re going deep, things are going to get personal, and I don’t want you holding back because you know you’re being recorded.

I want to do this work with you in real time. So, be sure to join live on Monday, January 19th at 3pm PT or Friday, January 23rd at 9am PT.

Review the details and register here.

Have any questions? Hit reply and send ’em to me!

My Winter break was dark, quiet, and full of unexpected magic.

I intentionally opted out of holiday plans this year. 2025 earned a solid Needs Improvement in my grade book, and I needed some cozy time at home with my family to recoup.

I assumed I’d sit on the couch binge read holiday romance novels for two weeks while eating ridiculous amounts of gingerbread cookies.

But that’s not what happened…

Instead of the couch rot I was anticipating, the quiet, cozy, uninterrupted time at home tapped me into a current of creative flow.

Each morning, I woke up hours before the sun, made a cup of Morning Light holiday tea, plopped down next to the fireplace, and let the ideas pour through me.

The last two months of the year were busy.

Between selling the Spring retreat, creating Sabbatical School, and leading a full documentation overhaul at my group practice, my plate was full.

Even though my physical body was at capacity, my creative energy was pumping full force. So when I paused all the busyness, wrapped up the year, and closed my laptop on December 20th, that creativity started flowing through me like a firehose.

I was being gifted a flurry of clarity, direction, and new ideas. Things I’ve been struggling so hard to access for the past two years. And now, they were knocking on my door. All I needed to do was step out of the way and invite them inside.

The flow was effortless.

(Yep. Two years of efforting led to nothing but headaches and frustration. This is the lesson that keeps coming for me again and again — stop trying so freaking hard and wait for ease. More on that later.)

Here’s what came through over the two week break:

Finally clarified my new business messaging (omgggggg!) ​
Created TWO new free workshops to share with you (stay tuned!) ​
Mapped out my vision for the future of this newsletter (SO EXCITED!)
Outlined a sustainable content + offer ecosystem (sweet relief!)

I also identified some old money scarcity beliefs that are holding me back in frustrating, uncomfortable ways. Oof. I took my tender feelings to my therapist today and asked her to please fix me ASAP.

Yesterday, during our first team meeting of the year, I dumped all of my new ah-ha’s and ideas on the table like a bag full of goodies. Actually, I made a very nerdy Canva slide presentation that outlined all of my insights in a dignified and organized fashion.

Here’s my title slide for context:

As you can see, I’m very professional.

Okay, I digress. HERE’S MY POINT…

As I was sharing these downloads with my team, I had a sudden and striking realization — I just took a two week Project Sabbatical! All of my focus on Sabbatical School had seeped into my subconscious. I used my two weeks of solitude to be fully present with my ideas, and like magic, they showed up for me too. Whoa! Cool! I LOVE THIS!

(If you’re curious, a Project Sabbatical is one of four types of sabbatical I’ll be teaching inside of Sabbatical School. You can listen to this podcast episode to learn about all four types and see which style resonates for you.)

Y’all, I am so passionate about sabbaticals. I truly believe they have the potential to change your life and business for the better — and by extension, the world. It’s a big claim. And I stand by it 100%.

I want you to know that it is SO TOTALLY POSSIBLE for you to do this.

Even if you’re convinced you cannot possibly do it.

Especially if you’re convinced you cannot possibly do it.

I’m sure you have questions, so let’s get started with some answers…

A few weeks ago, my business bestie Linzy Bonham invited me onto her podcast to ask me some hard hitting questions about sabbaticals. You can listen to the episode here.​

​I recommend listening even if you’re not a therapist. The conversation applies to any small business owner who needs a break. Which is *ahem* all small business owners.

Also, FUN FACT, Linzy is going to be a Sabbatical School guest teacher! She’ll be teaching how to build a financial safety net for your month-long sabbatical by calculating your bare minimum funding goal and creating your personal funding strategy. Yes, there will be spreadsheets.

Later this week, I’m going to unveil the new Sabbatical School podcast, logo, and more behind-the-scenes shares about what exactly it takes to bring a project like this to life (hint: it’s a lot).

If you’re curious about sabbaticals, stay tuned for the content.

If you’re not curious about sabbaticals, stay tuned for the business lessons.

If you’re not curious about either… well… why are you here?!

(Probably my killer jokes, amiright?)

As always, thank you for being part of this journey. There is so much magic coming this year. I cannot wait to share it all with you.

“Hey Maegan, what do you do on your retreats?”

For years, it’s been hard for me to answer that question because these retreats don’t fit neatly into a clearly defined box.

I used to work inside clearly defined boxes, and it was awesome!

When you’re using a method or model that people know about, there’s ease in communicating what you do in a way that others understand.

For me, that used to sound like, “I’m an EFT and AASECT certified couples and sex therapist.” Bam. If you were in the therapy field or were a discerning client who knew what you were looking for, that sentence immediately communicated what I did and how I did it. That was convenient AF.

But sometimes, we outgrow other people’s models.

Sometimes, we feel a deep yearning to create something new.

That’s what’s been happening with my retreats.

I have a huge toolbox of trainings, methods, and experiences that inform how I show up as a facilitator. Years of experience as a therapist, years of spiritual study and apprenticeship, years of training as a business coach. But the threads that weave those skills together come straight from my soul. They are unique to me and cannot be easily described in someone else’s language.

My retreat process began emerging in 2021, and only recently has it started to click in my thinking brain what is actually happening in these spaces.

Which means that for the past five years, the best answer I could give to people who asked me what I did on my retreats was:

“Umm… It’s complicated. But awesome.”

(Truly the most unhelpful response when someone is trying to discern if your offering is right for them, but we’re all doing our best. )

Imagine my delight when I received this card in the mail from Emily, a guest on my recent Fall retreat.

She said that this card perfectly captured her experience at the retreat.

It’s complicated because there are so few spaces we can go as business owners that can hold the depth of our inner work (personal) with the complexity of our outer work (professional).

And that’s what these retreats are all about—giving you space for both.

Personally, I’m less interested in helping you sort out the mechanics of your business and more interested in helping you dive deep into yourself—into the places inside of you that know what you’re meant to do next and how you’re meant to do it.

Yes, I promise you those places exist!

Here’s what that looks like in reality:

• Before the retreat, during your preparation sessions, we’ll explore what’s happening in your business—what’s going well, where you’re feeling challenged or dissatisfied. I’ll help you clarify what big questions you have about your work and set intentions for the retreat that support you in finding the answers in unconventional ways.
• During the retreat, we don’t talk about your business at all. There are no laptops, mastermind sessions, or strategy workshops. The retreat space is for you. Not just the part of you that owns a business, but the whole of you. We trust that clarity and vision will emerge when we tend to our full selves.
• After the retreat, during your integration sessions, we’ll bring your business back to the forefront. We’ll explore what you discovered on retreat and create an action plan for integrating that soul wisdom back into your life and business.

It’s like when you get a song stuck in your head and you can’t remember the name of it to save your life. Eventually, you give up and stop trying to think of it. Then, a few hours later, usually when you’re in the shower, the title miraculously pops into your head.

Your retreat experience is like that miraculous shower!

When you pause working on your business, when you make space to tend to your full self, the deepest ah-ha’s about your work bubble to the surface of your consciousness.

So, if we’re not talking about your business during the retreat, what are we doing? How are we spending all of our time?

Great question!

This is where things get juicy—and a little witchy.

If you’d like to learn more about the Spring Equinox retreat, including what happens while you’re there, click “Respond to Maegan” at the bottom of this post and I’ll send you all of the information via email.​

Here are the highlights:

• Spring Equinox Retreat: March 19–23, 2026
• A deeply evolved experience—five years of refinement have transformed this into a psycho-spiritual, transformational visioning retreat for business owners.
• Past guests describe it as “five years of therapy and five years of business coaching in five days.”
• Our signature three-phase journey:
  • Preparation — two group calls + a private session with Maegan to set intentions.
  • Immersion — five days on sacred land with nourishing food and deep transformation.
  • Integration — two post-retreat circles + a private session to ground your insights into action.
• Small, curated group—only 12 mission-driven healers and leaders.
• Early Bird Rate: $3,500 (save $1,000) available until Friday, 12/5!

Just so you don’t miss this information…

This is your final opportunity to join the retreat at the $3,500 rate.

Next year, these retreats are getting a glow-up, and the price will increase accordingly. If you know you want this, now’s the time to say yes!

• Want to learn more about the Spring Retreat or
   book a call to see if we’re a good fit?
  Reply to this email, and we’ll get it scheduled ASAP!

I’ll bring this email to a close with the last sentence Emily wrote in her card:

“I didn’t come with a lot of expectations, but I think even if I had, you would have shattered all of them.”

Thank you, Emily. I am so honored.

In my next email, I’m going to pull back the curtain and share more about what happens during the retreat. I’m a little nervous to share this publicly, but it’s time. Stay tuned!

P.S. Shout out to Emily Crookston, the sender of this amazing card! Emily is an editor and ghostwriter who has an incredible newsletter for high-achieving experts and business owners who are ready to write a book that sells. Click here to subscribe!

People ask me all the time, “What actually happens on your retreats?”

And honestly, it’s a hard question to answer.

Not because I don’t know, but because the kind of transformation that happens on retreat doesn’t come from the part of you that’s asking the question.

Let me explain.

As business owners, we spend an enormous amount of time in our thinking minds. We rely on our executive functioning, our problem-solving brains, our endless ability to analyze, anticipate, and strategize.

Your mind is operating on overdrive, and yet, you live in a world that constantly tells you you don’t know enough.

Take one look at the newsletters in your inbox or the ads in your Instagram feed. You’re being inundated with ads that speak directly to your mind’s fear that you don’t know enough.

Maybe I need to be using a different sales strategy…

Maybe a new marketing system would solve my problems…

Maybe I’m a big fraud and actually have no idea what I’m doing…

And then, your mind comes alive, offering up solid rationale for buying the helpful courses and programs, like a drooling Labrador proudly offering up a soggy tennis ball in the world’s longest game of fetch.

Our minds are exhausted.

And when we hear the word “retreat,” your mind immediately tries to make sense of it: What will I learn? What are the objectives and outcomes? What exactly am I going to get?

That’s how our minds operate. The mind wants data and logical reasoning. The mind wants a clear return on investment. The mind wants to keep you safe. That’s its whole job!

But all of this thinking doesn’t keep us safe.

In this case, the mind’s attempt to keep us safe is actually keeping us stuck in a state of burnout. The medicine we need isn’t to know more or do more—it’s to practice knowing and doing less.

What most of us need to heal, transform, and grow in our lives and businesses isn’t more information.

What we need are more embodied experiences.

Space to feel, to remember, to reconnect with our own wisdom.

That’s what makes retreats magical—not the learning or the doing, but the being with yourself, in your body, with absolutely no need to use your mind!

The ​Spring Equinox Retreat​ is designed to give you exactly that: five days away from the noise of your mind and the constant demand to perform so you can return to the wisdom that lives in your body.

During this retreat, I will guide you through a series of experiences designed to quiet your mind and bring you back into your body.

No teaching, no coaching. Just experiencing.

Each moment of this journey is built around five core experiences—five medicines for the parts of you that have been overworked and overlooked.

Restoration

In our daily lives, we exploit our own energy—constantly drawing from an empty well to keep things running. On retreat, you get to stop pushing and start replenishing. You’ll experience what deep rest actually feels like in your body.

Connection

Modern entrepreneurship thrives on toxic individualism—the illusion that you have to do everything alone. On retreat, we remember that we’re not meant to do this alone. You’ll experience genuine, authentic connection in a non-hierarchical community, where leadership and vulnerability are shared.

Alignment

Misalignment manifests as stress, resentment, and a dull sense that you’re living slightly off your true path. Through reflection, movement, and ritual, you’ll reconnect to what’s true—what you want, what you’re ready to release, and what wants to emerge next. You’ll experience alignment as an embodied sensation, not just an idea.

Self-Trust

Most of us have been conditioned to outsource our wisdom to other people. We spend thousands of dollars each year paying coaches and experts to tell us what to do. This retreat is an invitation to rebuild your own inner authority. Every choice you make here is a practice in listening to yourself and trusting that what you hear is enough.

Sovereignty

When you’ve rested, reconnected, realigned, and remembered your self-trust, something powerful emerges: sovereignty. This is the felt experience of being in your full power by standing in clear, grounded authority over your life and business. Once you tap into your sovereignty, everything transforms for the better.

I’m not here to teach you anything you don’t already know. I’m here to help you experience the truth you’ve been too busy to feel.

That’s what my transformational wellness retreats are all about.

If your body is whispering yes — trust that.

Here’s an order of operations you can try on for size:

1. Acknowledge your curiosity.
2. Let your soul know you’re listening.
3. Ask your thinking mind if she has any questions you should ask me about the experience. I’m sure she will, and that’s great! I welcome all of your questions here in my inbox.

The retreat will take place from March 19-26, 2026, near Portland, OR.

Early bird registration for the Spring Retreat is open now, with $1,000 off tuition through Friday, December 5th.

If you want the details, click respond to Maegan at the bottom of this post and I’ll send you everything you need to know.​

I trust that I’ll hear from you if the time is right.

Either way, I hope this email gives your mind permission to rest, and reminds you that your body already knows the way forward.