Photo Credit: Leandra Blei
I am writing this blog on January 22, 2020, only 5 days after my third in-person Ellivate Alliance event. Every single time I return from one of our entrepreneurial, deep-work retreats, I am filled with awe and wonderment. Let me take you back to 2018, so you can relive the Ellivate experience through my heart.
In January 2018, I experienced my first Ellivate Alliance event – the official launch of the Ellivate Immersion. This immersive experience is designed to provide the practical know-how and holistic support to build a strong foundation for your entrepreneurial journey. Think of it as everything you wish you knew before you took the leap into entrepreneurship.
This was a 3-day deep dive into the 4 core aspects of a strong business:
- Looking within to identify your strengths and uniqueness
- Finding your dream clients
- Building operational excellence
- Finding harmony within your personal and professional life
Needless to say, we were completely exhilarated, exhausted and incredibly inspired after this first weekend together. We were a group of entrepreneurial women from all walks of life that had come together, AS IF BY MAGIC (AIBM), to support and ignite one another to build a business and life that would serve our dreams and desires. This was truly the beginning of the most impactful and purpose-driven holistic journey I have ever taken in my 20+ years as a working mom.
Fast forward to January 2019 – We were one full year into the #EllivateWay, and our founder, Sarah Elliott, wanted to reconnect the members in person so we could share with one another how we had evolved in our businesses, both on our own and collectively, as a sisterhood. AS IF BY MAGIC (AIBM), the first official Ellivate Alliance EVOLVE member retreat was born. This was a 2-day event that provided a safe space for us to share personally and profoundly with one another. It was also the catalyst to define our deepest collective mission as an #EllivateSister – to build heart-based businesses from the “inside-out.” I will allow our founder to share what this means for our Ellivate sisterhood in her powerful February 2019 blog titled, Building Heart-Based Businesses from the Inside Out.
Relive this second year through this spectacular highlight reel from our Ellivate sister, Leandra Blei:
And now, I come back to today. We are over 60 members strong, and over half of these Ellivate sisters attended #EVOLVE2020 in Austin, Texas last weekend.
This 2nd EVOLVE was the most intense, entrepreneurial, soul-searching retreat of my entire life. I have been asking myself, “Why am I so overcome by this particular weekend?” and, AS IF BY MAGIC (during my morning intention setting, which I have learned to embrace from my Ellivate sisters), the answer came to me like an awakening voice that brought tears to my eyes and warmed my heart:
“You are blessed to surround yourself with ordinary women who do EXTRAORDINARY things.”
YES! This is exactly what I experienced last weekend. We are a collaborative of heart-based women entrepreneurs who believe that by intentionally supporting, uplifting and sharing with one another, we can live the best life we can imagine and create purposeful prosperity around the world. We are ordinary women who do extraordinary things! Let me end with this powerful quote that is one our founder’s favorites and truly exemplifies the #EllivateWay:
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
