Travelling the road to freedom
Retreat in Tarifa to transform from 'busy busy busy' to 'free free free'
5 day retreat with a small group of women
in Tarifa (Spain): the ultimate place of freedom with sun, sea and nice people
Spring 2024
Do you recognize yourself in this?
Many women are tired and even experience burnout symptoms. Women hold a hoop ball in the air. Moreover, we always have to work that little bit harder to achieve our goals.
Another reason we are tired is because we are in a constant battle with our dragons: our fears, doubts and insecurities. Some dragons push you forward you, such as perfectionism, fear of lack and control. Other dragons hold you back, such as the fear of standing up for yourself, doubt, and procrastination.
We get so tired of it mainly because we don't want to see these dragons. We want to get rid of the stress, the fear of failure, the fear of rejection, the fear of being exposed, etc. It takes a lot of energy to avoid these dragons.
This is the biggest misunderstanding.
We think we should ignore, push away, or fight the dragons, when the opposite strategy is much more effective. Put your dragons in the spotlight! Have a good conversation with them. Even throw a party for them.
The main reason to face your dragons?
You achieve freedom when you learn to deal with your dragons. It's that simple. And that complicated. Because your dragons do everything they can to avoid you, and to encourage you instead to look for solutions in the outside world. We think we want more money, or another job, or a trip in a campervan. We work hard to achieve these goals, and move further away from the freedom, not closer.
These are the results if we embrace our dragons,
- We have a better connection with our inner compass, and so we are less bothered by the dragons that chase us or hold us back.
- Behind our dragons we find our contact with our creativity and intuition, which are a much better guide to freedom than our rational thinking.
- We stop performing based on willpower, and we start creating from desire. This ensures more fun and fewer fatigue complaints.
- Ironically, this makes it easier for us to achieve the goals we want to achieve, or to make our wishes and dreams come true.
- Moreover, we enjoy the journey to freedom more, because now the dragons are no longer in our way. We feel free!
Are you ready for transformation?
Are you ready to struggle less and be creative again, trusting your intuition, having more fun, and with freedom as a beckoning perspective?
Then it is high time for a retreat, in which you take steps towards more freedom, happiness, creativity, intuition, and fun.
This is what we're going to do
Together with a small group of other female entrepreneurs you:
- Determine what freedom is for you, which dragons stand in your path, and how you can build a good relationship with them.
- Discover the greatest treasure behind your biggest dragon: your unique dream, wish or mission, which you can bring into the world in your own way.
- Connect with your creativity and your intuition as the GPS on the way to freedom,
- Do you help each other to carry out creative plans, not as a new burden on your shoulders, but as a project that will give you a lot of pleasure,
- You suddenly have a special network of women who give you the strength, self-confidence and impact that you have not yet allowed to blossom because there were dragons in the way.
Rest assured, we're not going to talk about the dragons of the past. This is not therapy. We remain in the present. The best results can be achieved here.
During the retreat you take the first steps. At the end you can decide whether you want to continue together as a group in a community. You don't have to decide that yet. When the moment comes, your intuition will know what the best answer is for you.
Welcome in Tarifa
We meet in Tarifa: the southernmost tip of Europe.
Here you will find:
Sun, sea, beach, and beautiful nature for walks, whale watching, swimming, surfing, watching bird migration, or just lazing around.
Great restaurants and nice terraces where you can eat your fill of tapas and other delicacies for little money.
People from all over the world who have chosen to leave the beaten track, on their way to freedom.
An abundance of activities that take you out of your head and into your body: live concerts, flamenco, yoga, meditation, dancing and much more.
Near famous cities such as Málaga, Seville, Granada and Córdoba, which you can visit (together) before or after the retreat.
Also consider a crossing to Morocco, just 14 km away: the country you can see on the horizon, on the other side of the Strait of Gibraltar.
Imagine….….
You come together in the morning to start the day. You discuss your latest insights and plans and receive support from the rest of the group. Then we start the program for the day. The rest of the day you spend experimenting on how you can gain more freedom, creativity, intuition and fun in your life. We stay together some parts of the day. During some parts of the day you will do your own research, or you will undertake fun activities with another women from the group.
You can decide what you are going to do per meal: whether you want to eat with the group, or whether you prefer to look for a restaurant alone or with someone else. Some evenings there is still a program. Who knows, you might even get a flamenco workshop. Maybe you get a Shiatsu massage, or a yoga class, or go dancing. Or you can return to your overnight stay in time for a quiet evening to process everything. What you want. What you need at that moment. That too is freedom.
Who is Ellen?
I have been an entrepreneur since I was 25. In 2014 I was a successful business coach and had a company with a 6-figure business. I didn't feel happy. I felt empty and exhausted. I felt like I was in a machine that had to keep going and that I could never even rest for a moment. I had no idea what to do to change it.
Then I took the radical step of getting into an old Volkswagen campervan and continuing my business while traveling. At the age of 48 I was suddenly a digital nomad. Pretty soon I ended up in Tarifa. Of all the places I've visited, this is the place where I feel most at home, because it's where I feel the most free.
This step to leave was the beginning of a long search for freedom. I knew financial freedom, and now I was driving around in a van that seems to be the symbol of freedom. However, I didn't feel free yet. I may have lived in sunny places in nature, but my head was full of dragons.
Instead of running from my dragons, I face them every day. I find freedom by always doing what causes me the most fear, because I know: "behind my greatest dragon is my greatest treasure."
The road map to freedom
I didn't start reading books about freedom. Instead, I started experiencing a lot, and I wrote those experiences down in my diary every day. Every day I thought about what freedom is, and how you can get more of it. By writing daily I have learned to recognize and embrace my dragons.
This resulted in a road map to freedom. It is not a step-by-step model for finding freedom, because that is not freedom. The road map is a reflection tool. If you ask the right questions in each circle, your intuition will answer the question of how you find freedom, as well as creativity, a good connection with your intuition, pleasure, and wealth.
Practical details
The program
In 5 days we travel along the 5 circles of the road map to freedom. We work partly outside in nature, and partly indoors near nature. For example, you can draw the circles in the sand on the beach, so that you can then walk through them to gain even more insights.
Part of the program has been filled in. You can determine part of the program yourself. This way you have a good mix of fun and support from the group, and time to relax and make your own plans. At no time are you obliged to participate in anything if you do not want to.
The journey and the overnight stay
The retreat is about freedom, so you get the freedom to determine your own journey and choose your own favorite place to stay. I will of course help you make the best choice and with the bookings. I speak Spanish and know the area well, so during the trip I will help you through any bumps in your journey that you may encounter.
You will receive help with all the logistical parts of the trip: to book your flight, to get from the airport or train station to Tarifa, to find the perfect place to stay, and then to find out about the best restaurants to to eat, and places to enjoy. If you can drive in the Netherlands and understand public transport, then Spain is a piece of cake, because here everything is simpler, quieter, and above all, much more relaxed.
The participants
The group consists of 4-12 women, so there is more than enough time for everyone's individual questions. There is always something magical about a live meeting, because you will see that these women are exactly the people you were meant to meet. They give you valuable insights into the conversations you have together, and they help you take steps.
Before the retreat starts, you can get to know each other in a Zoom session. Here you can also discuss whether you want to travel together, rent an apartment together, and whether you want to go on excursions together before or after the retreats. Tarifa is not a big city, so even if you stay in different places, it is easy to meet up or meet each other spontaneously.
Why only women?
Women have different fears than men. Women also deal with it differently. Where St. George sticks his sword in the dragon's mouth, women would rather stick the sword in their own bellies than harm others.
We share some special dragons. For centuries, women were forbidden to be free and wealthy. We carry this history with us. Unknowingly, our dragons put the handbrake on our freedom, while we keep the other foot on the gas to fulfill our dreams. That exhausts us as long as we don't have the courage to face the dragons.
Together we can overcome our dragons. For the first time in history we can experience freedom as a creative woman who shares her own truth with the world.
I hear you thinking: "yes, but...."
I always say: if there are dragons on the road (if you have a lot of 'yes, but...' in your head and you mainly think of objections) then that is the best invitation to do it. Then it matters. Then the transformation is important. Otherwise, your dragons who want to keep you safe wouldn't have had to shout so loudly to stop you. Dragons are a green light.
“Yes, but I don't want to talk about my fears, doubts and insecurities at all.”
I hear you. Who would want to do that?
I have a comforting thought for you. Do you know what are the best tools to hug your dragons? Humor and creativity. We're going to have a lot of fun with them. Then you will suddenly see that running away from your dragons costs you much more time, money and energy than just standing still and starting a conversation.
Go figure. Women sometimes invest thousands of euros in training, yet they do not take action. Isn't that a waste of money and energy? Isn't that the path to disappointment and burn out? Then it's better to be brave and have a party with your dragons. That makes life much more fun, really, I promise you.
“Yes, but a retreat and a trip cost money and I don't want to spend it.”
I get that. Life is expensive, and we always have to make choices.
Turn it around. What if you pass up this opportunity? You might actually miss out on a lot if you stay at home. You miss the valuable opportunity to do things differently and keep going around in the same circles for longer than necessary. Moreover, you miss the support and encouragement of a group of like-minded entrepreneurs who can help you move forward.
“Yes, but I don't have time...”
I understand this too. The life of an entrepreneur is busy, especially if you are a woman and you also have other responsibilities.
We can also reverse this. You know the joke about the woman with the saw? Her saw was blunt, and yet she continued to saw trees. She thought she didn't have time to sharpen her saw.
“Yes, but I can do it alone.”
I know this objection inside and out. It took me a long time to see that my difficulty in receiving help is due to survival mechanisms from my youth, that are not helping me. On the contrary. They're holding me back.
You cannot dismantle the blocks in your own head and embrace your dragons on your own, because you are way too close to your own thoughts and feelings. You need others to create clarity and break new ground. Especially to stay on those paths, without falling back into old patterns at the slightest thing.
It's more fun together
Transformation and freedom don't start when you think about what you want to do. It only starts when you actually start doing it. If you want to do that on your own, it will cost you an incredible amount of time, strength and energy. Together it goes much faster. It's also much more fun together.
“Yes, but I don't want to travel on an airplane.”
I also understand that very well. A number of answers are possible. Firstly, you can see if there are alternatives to the plane. Secondly, you can see if you can compensate for the aircraft's pollution in another way. Thirdly, you can see if you can think of something during this retreat to make the world a better place. There are many more problems than climate that require an urgent response, and together we are stronger.
There are also good reasons to travel to Tarifa. You can see what you're in much better if you step out of it for a moment. Creativity and intuition need peace and time to mature. That will work better if you let go of the normal routine. If you also get the help of like-minded entrepreneurs to take steps today, your week can't be ruined.
Moreover, it is good for everyone to work in a relaxed way outdoors and have fun. The rest of the year is sometimes hard enough. We need the change. We are worth it.
This is how you register
Contact me for a conversation. You can ask all your questions. If you decide to come (which I really hope!), we will start the process right away. I will give you a preparatory assignment that you can complete before you travel. In addition, we discuss all practical details surrounding the trip.
The small print
You pay for the retreat as soon as you decide to come. This is how you reserve your spot. What if you have paid and the retreat is cancelled? Then there are different options. In all cases it is advisable to take out cancellation insurance.
If there are less than four participants, I may decide to cancel the retreat. We will discuss together when the retreat can take place. You will get back the money you paid me for the program, or you will wait until the next opportunity. You can wait to book a flight and accommodation until you know there are four participants.
In the event that I have to cancel a retreat due to force majeure, you will also receive the money you paid to me back. You are responsible for contacting your insurance for the cancellation of the flight and your overnight stay. Or you can rebook your flight and accommodation to the dates that the retreat will take place. Of course you can come at the agreed time and make a holiday of it.
If you have urgent reasons that prevent you from coming, we will look for a good solution together. There may still be time to find a replacement. Perhaps you can join us another time. I'm sure we will find a solution together. However, if you cancel within two weeks of the start of the retreat, I cannot refund the money you paid me. You can arrange this with your insurance.
© Copyright 2023 Ellen de Dreu. Alle rechten voorbehouden.