Episode 90: Beneath the Surface- Bonaire Coaching Retreat Announcement

Hey, there are times in your life when, when just playing it safe becomes the greatest risk that you can take. Not because your life is falling apart, but because it isn't. You've built something, you've accomplished some things, you carry responsibility, and you've proven that you can perform. But eventually, Achievement alone, that's just not enough. And you reach this point where you need to get above the noise, get outside of the routine, and ask a much bigger question. You need to ask that question of, what am I going to do with this next chapter of my life? And it's not about having another goal or another promotion. Another bucket list item. I'm talking about strategy, life strategy, who you still want to become, what, what deserves your time, what you're no longer willing to give your life to, maybe where you're getting called next. And what would happen if you took those questions somewhere that made you feel completely alive? Someplace Someplace that's challenging, someplace that's wild, someplace that is beneath the surface. I'm going to tell you straight up, I had a complete other podcast set up, diagrammed, that I was going to do. And I turned on the mic and I decided to go a complete different direction because this is something I've been passionate about for about 10 or 15 years. And I'm finally going to pull it together now. Hey, welcome to the Stand Sure Coaching Podcast. I'm Rob Anderson, and I think of my life in 3 chapters. The first one, my service in the military and some of the most challenging environments of my entire life. The second chapter, 25 years of designing and delivering leadership development in both Fortune 500 and mid-sized companies. And now I'm in my third chapter as a I'm a full-time life and leadership coach where I help people who feel stuck to rediscover who they are, transform how they live, and move forward with purpose. And that's what this podcast is all about. Welcome to StandSure Coaching. So, like I said, I, I had a totally different podcast all teed up. I was going to talk about Leveraging adventure and living life more abundantly. And I got out here and I started working through the notes and I thought, you know, there, there's this, there's this opportunity that 10, maybe even 15 years now that I've wanted to create. I sat out here in the seat, the front seat of my truck, and built the whole thing out. And, and I want to say I built it out about 30 minutes, and that's not true because I've been building out for 15 years. Went back through my notes, pulled it all together, made a couple of phone calls. So today I'm going to give you an early look at the most exclusive coaching experience that I've developed. Now, by the way, not that it's the stuff I'm pulling out of this is based upon all those experiences. So it's not anything new. I'm not just inventing something that's fresh. It's taken from years and years of coaching and leadership development and working with others. So I'm You know, this thing wasn't created in a silo. I mean, there's a lot of work that's been behind it. But today, I want to give you that early glimpse, give you that sneak peek. It's called Beneath the Surface. This is an elite coaching expedition that we're going to do in Bonaire. It's built around adventure and scuba diving. And intentional life strategy. Now, I'm still finalizing. I'm going to let you know straight up, still finalizing some of the logistics, but it will be an application-based only opportunity, but it is going to happen. And today I want to explain why I'm creating it because it's It's not simply about going somewhere beautiful and having some great conversations, doing some fun activities. There's a reason we're going to Bonaire. And there's a reason we're going scuba diving. And there's a reason that we're stepping completely outside of normal life. And there's a reason that this is an elite-level coaching investment. So I did a trip last year. I've actually been down to Bonaire several times. I did a trip last year and I had the opportunity to work with some very elite people, some very top-end people, people who have been successful in business. But at the same time, they're wondering what that next step is. And man, just out of those conversations that we had and the breakthroughs that we had and the lives that have been changed, and I keep sitting here looking back, I'm looking at my journal entries, I'm looking at the pictures, I'm looking at what, what I want to do, right? And how I can best serve people. But why are we using adventure? And that's because adventure does something to us. Think about the times that you felt most alive. You know, it could have been standing on, on a hilltop. Maybe for some, it's standing on top of a summit. It might be moving through the backcountry. It could be rafting a river or hunting or dropping beneath the surface of the ocean. Maybe it's jumping out of a plane. There's a challenge. There's uncertainty. There's curiosity. One time I was coaching an individual that would— him and his best friend would take home-built airplanes, kit planes that they had built in hangars, and they fly them down the coast of Mexico. And just having those conversations about the transformation that took place and it's all based upon adventure. You know, there's that— again, it's that challenge, it's uncertainty, it's curiosity. There's risk that needs to be managed, but managed from an intelligent aspect. You know, psychology has studied some of these mechanisms. We know that challenging activities can create conditions for flow. And that flows, that state where skill and challenge, they meet and they become deeply engaged into what we're doing. And research into nature experience of where you have this experience and you have this awe, it points toward changes into perspective, your attention, wellbeing, You know, our own perception of ourselves in relation to something larger. That's the power of adventure. And adventure disrupts the things that are familiar. I spent years doing experiential education in nature settings and high ropes courses, low ropes courses, when I was teaching bushcraft, when I was teaching survival. And when you remove yourself from the normal environment, You remove a lot of the cues that keep you operating automatically. Because let's face it, a lot of us, same office, same commute, same conversation, same expectations, same identity. Adventure interrupts all of that. Suddenly, you're somewhere unfamiliar. You're paying attention again. You're making decisions again. You're curious again. You're alive again. And that's the extraordinary environment to coach. It's an incredibly extraordinary environment to coach. But why scuba diving? You know, I've spent a significant portion of my life underwater. And scuba's taught me something. And that's the ocean doesn't care about your resume. The title doesn't matter down there. Your bank account doesn't matter, although it may matter for the equipment that you're using. How many people are reporting into you? How many people work for you? All that doesn't matter. Your accomplishments, you know, the accomplishments that you have, those don't change the environment. You breathe, you think, you manage yourself, you remain aware, you adapt. If problems come up or challenges come up, you solve them and you're present. And that's why scuba diving becomes such a powerful metaphor for the coaching that we're going to get, that, you know, that we're going to do down there. So I already run, I run a master scuba diver program that is a 1-year transformation program. And first of all, from a master scuba diver standpoint, It surpasses anything else that's out there. My Master Scuba Diver program is like getting a PhD in diving. And then we're going to put someone into the aspects of faith, family, fitness, and finance and coach them twice a month around that and do weekly check-ins. That's a fantastic program. That's a 1-year transformation program. But this, you know, this is an opportunity to get away, to go someplace beautiful, to go someplace wild. Scuba diving just becomes this powerful metaphor. I mean, think about buoyancy. Small adjustments, they create major changes over time. And that's life. You know, when we look at a skill like navigation, I'm going out this afternoon to work with one of my clients around navigation. You know, in navigation, you can be moving efficiently and still be headed in the wrong direction. And that's life. We look at how we manage the air in our tanks. You've just got a finite resource. That time, energy, attention, that's all about life. Situational awareness, because you need to know where you are before you can really determine where you're going. And that's life strategy. So we're going to use the dives not as gimmicks, not as forced metaphors, not as just something to occupy your time. We're going to pay attention to what actually happens, and then we're going to coach around it. This is about life strategy. And by the way, it's not about fixing you. No. And that's an important point. You don't come to this because your life is broken. You come because your life matters enough to design it intentionally. Now, you may have some brokenness in your life. I've taken people on trips that have just gone through horrible things. I had a client that I took to Cozumel a few years ago on a trip very similar to what we're organizing here. Who was battling stage 4 cancer, and we did diving, and we coached it afterwards. But you don't have to have cancer or huge brokenness to do this. I mean, if you do, that's fine. We're going to work with that, right? And we're going to help that into building who you want to become. We're just going to look at the whole thing. Your purpose, your relationships, your work, your finances, your fitness, your values, your legacy. You know what, what you do on this trip could have an impact on the next 3 to 5 years. What are you building? What do you have in your life that needs to end? What needs to begin? Maybe you got something you've been postponing. This is the week to figure it out. It's time to take a look at where you're investing enormous amounts of energy and resources and time for little return. And, and one of the most important things that's going to come out of this Is what do you need to become for the next chapter of your life? And that's a much different conversation from what goal do you want to accomplish? We're designing a strategy. We're just doing it underneath the surface. So what's going to happen when we get to Bonaire? So let me just lay this out again. I've already been working the logistics on this. I got the game plan. I just got a few minor details. But hey, this is out. We're ready. We're ready to do this. But basically, you're going to come into Bonaire. You're going to land on Saturday. You're going to get settled in Sunday morning. We're going to get checked into the dive operation, make sure your gear is squared away. We're going to start diving. We're going to dive Sunday a couple of times, 2 or 3 times. We're going to dive Monday 2 or 3 times. We're going to dive Tuesday 2 or 3 times. We're going to debrief and we're going to talk about you and clarity, direction. All those days are going to combine adventure with coaching and reflection. You're going to have a lot of time to get really comfortable with who you are and wrestle with some tough questions. Some of those conversations are going to happen before we dive, some happen afterwards. There's going to be journaling, there's going to be strategic work. There'll also be this deliberate space Where you're just spending some time on your own. We're going to take a day break in there where we don't dive because you're— one, your ears are going to need a break, but two, that just gives us a chance to start integrating things because we're going to take what surfaced during those first couple of days of diving and start going deeper with it. Okay. And that's where we're going to do serious life strategy work, looking at where you are right now, where you're going, what needs to change, what needs to stay, what deserves more of you. We're going to make sure that on Friday, that, that morning, We do a sunrise dive. There's nothing more amazing than watching the transition from the animals at night to the animals of day. We're going to enter the water at dark and we're going to emerge with the sunrise. We're going to be bringing attention to every single one of those dives. And when we surface, We're going to start moving towards execution because insight without action, guys, that doesn't change much. By the time you leave Bonaire the following Saturday, I don't want you to walk out and just say, hey, that was incredible. I want you to come out and know exactly what you're doing next. Again, this is elite level. This isn't mass marketing coaching. Straight up, beneath the surface, this is a $15,000 coaching experience. The investment reflects the level of access, environment, preparation, coaching, personalization, And strategic work that's involved. You're not buying a dive trip. You're not purchasing scuba dives. You're not purchasing a Caribbean vacation. And you're not paying $15,000 for somebody to sit beside you and just ask a few questions. You're creating something incredibly difficult to find. And that's dedicated space to To strategically examine your life with a coach while immersed in an environment specifically chosen to challenge, engage, and make you feel alive. So again, working on some finalization with it. I'm making sure we've got the remaining details around dates, accommodations, diving, And logistics, all that settled before I officially release it. Now, by the way, if you want to, if you're interested, you want to start talking about this, set up a discovery call. Let's get this thing figured out. But again, when it opens up, this is a $15,000 investment. It's going to be by application only. And you have to be a certified scuba diver. And if you're not, We're going to figure out a way to get you in where you can get certified. And then I'm going to be the one personally guiding you on those trips. 30 years of diving experience. Ooh, maybe 35 years of diving experience. 32 years of diving experience at this point. And a majority of that leading and guiding others in environments just like this. Hey, I'm looking for someone Who wants to do serious work. Someone that is successful enough to understand the value of the investment, but hungry enough to know there is still this whole other level. Someone who wants adventure, they want challenge, they want strategy, they want this opportunity to deliberately determine what comes next. Your investment's going to cover the coaching experience, the accommodations, The planned online— or not online, the planned island transportation. Now, you are going to be responsible for airfare. I'm going to just put that out there right now, to and from Bonaire. If you want to bring your own dive gear, that's great. But let's talk about this. If you really want that challenge, if this is for you, again, this is elite level, an elite level week, Saturday to Saturday, from the time that you land to the time we take off, you know, you know, through our island stay. Once you land on Bonaire, stay a week. And then you take off. This is not about escaping your life. It's about getting far enough outside of it though, to see the whole thing clearly. Adventure creates the environment, scuba demands your presence, coaching creates the awareness. And strategy determines what happens next. Hey, if today's episode helped you think differently, do me a quick favor. Give it a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts or whatever app that you are using To listen to the show. Share this episode with a friend. And if you're ready to go beyond listening and into real transformation, visit me out on stanshirtcoaching.com to explore my current offerings. Would love to book a discovery call with you and see how we can work together.