A Liz Gilbert Thrive Factor Moment

Shannon B Liz Gilbert Thrive Factor Moment

Visioning Becomes Reality

What a way to launch a new website for your life’s work than with its very first Thrive Factor story being about an experience you have only ever dreamed of!

I’m currently in Fiji after being invited by my dear friend Liesel Albrecht, CEO of the Ultimate Girls Week Away Retreats, to be the opening keynote presenter for her inaugural event.

I met Liesel around 5 years ago in a Facebook group. We immediately connected and began chatting and getting to know each other in the online world. With our shared love of retreats we were bound to have plenty to talk about with our numerous stories and personal life changing experiences.

Four years ago this month Liesel came to my home town of Perth, Western Australia to deliver retreat training and she reached out to me to support her promotion via my Facebook group, The Thrive Factor Circle.

Long story short Liesel invited me to attend the training. I went. It was amazing. She was amazing. There were lots of hugs and laughter and a lifelong friendship was cemented.

Thrive Factor Heart 1

As a thank you to Liesel I offered to profile her and introduce her to her Thrive Factor Archetypes. I remember excitedly preparing her Thrive Factor Profile summary and sending it off in an email to her ahead of our debrief session. Unsure of what she’d think about her combination of four Archetypes I had an almost instant reply to my email with the opening line…

“Thank goodness someone has finally realised!”

Queen Ruler Liesel was ecstatic to have had someone affirm something she had known her entire life – she was here to create something big, impactful and life changing. In true Queen Ruler, Inspirer Believer, Mentor Teacher, Shapeshifter Alchemist style, she was going to build an empire where women felt genuinely connected, intensely magical, felt expansively inspired, were transformed and able to become Queens of their own lives.

Fast forward to this week, four years after we met in person and this amazing woman has held true to her dream and is in the middle of leading the first annual Ultimate Girls Week Away retreats, at Plantation Island Resort in Fiji with hundreds of women attending from all over the world AND with her dream headlining keynote speaker Elizabeth Gilbert – yep that one! Author of Eat, Pray, Love, the divine Big Magic and most recently City of Girls.

Relax...

Yesterday we – the couple of hundred women here nervously waiting to hear from a woman they had only dreamed of seeing one day – maybe from a distance – maybe in another of her glorious interviews – maybe up close but not in real life “yes you can have a hug” Liz style up close – sat together in awe of a woman of our times who is genuinely changing the way women relate to themselves and each other.

Liz’s biggest message to us?

The one thing she said she hoped for all women was to know true relaxation. To understand what it means to fully and completely relax. It was like the entire room let out a gentle sigh and sunk into a state of deeper peace.

A truly Big Magical moment!

We collectively sat enthralled, hanging off every word as Liz shared her wisdom and effervescent practical guidance, stories and experiences around so many things so relevant to every single woman in the room.

At the end of her presentation there was time for questions. I’ve used to be someone who would sit there in q&a time listening to the brave people who would think up smart questions, stand and ask them. Shannon pre Thrive Factor would say “I couldn’t do that. Why would I?”.

Not anymore.

Ultimate Girls Week Away meets Thrive Factor Shannon says “I have a question and I am going to keep putting my hand up until I get to ask it,”

It is my fav question to ask in these opportunities. I’ve asked it of many women I admire. Women who have been my teachers, often without knowing it.

When my turn came to ask the question I stood. Introduced myself and said to Liz “I am interested in legacy, so I’m intrigued to know, many years into the future, perhaps beyond our lifetimes, what three words you’d like women in that future time to use when they talk about you and why?”

Standing there, the room having listened to my question, I looked to Liz on the stage and she looked me directly in the eye in a way that made the rest of the room fade into the distance and she answered…

“There’s actually just one thing I would want people to say about me. I’d want them to say I had been generous”

Liz went on to explain why and I listened like it were just the two of us in the room.

As with every single guest who’s attended this life changing event I metaphorically had to pinch myself at the enormity of such a moment.

My heart is filled with gratitude and abundance. I am living my Thrive Factor in the best way possible and this week has inspired me to take bigger action to bring more thriving to the women of the world.

presents_teal_col
The Thrive Factor Ultimate Girls Week Away Fiji 2020 Plantation Island Resort

From me to you here’s to big love and a whole lotta thriving

Shannon xx

Join in with The Thrive Factor conversation on Facebook by joining the free community for women determined to thrive!

You will be able to connect with Shannon and the Thrive Factor Coaches.

Comments are closed.