Video: Retreat 42
August 3, 2010
If you’d like to join us for an upcoming retreat, please feel free to contact me at annie@anniehart.com. We’d love to have you!
Meet – “Ask the Oracle”
July 29, 2010
ancient oracle
In ancient times an oracle was a source of wise counsel or prophetic opinion
who offered predictions or precognition of the future, inspired by the gods.
We need a modern oracle for today’s confusing world.
I have begged, no pleaded, no it’s more like cajoled, well actually it’s that I kicked some you- know-what to get my business partner Ian Waddelow to answer the call to provide wisdom to our confused modern world.
Mystery Oracle Ian
Ian is my collaborator and co-creator in Retreat 42 and that’s where so many people got to partake of Ian’s wonderful wisdom. Every time he would speak it was as if the room would go silent and people’s ears would turn up the volume to listen.
First of all it’s his beautiful British accent. Who can resist that? None of us with an ear for a fine symphony, that’s for sure.
But more than that it is his humorous and practical way to address the modern dilemmas that all of us face as human beings on planet earth. Who am I really and what am I here to do? are just some of the deeper, more philosophical questions that Ian loves to answer for people.
During Retreat 42, several of our participants got to speak to Ian directly and gain insights from his knowledge of Human Design (more about that later).
But I felt that this tiny bit of wisdom, like a precious drop of nectar in honeysuckle, was simply not enough. So I asked him, no cajoled, well actually threatened him, to share his wisdom with the wider world.
I pleaded, screamed, got down on my knees and begged him and I don’t know if it was my dramatic antics or just the fact that he’s worn down by all this, but GREAT NEWS – he finally said YES! So we have begun a fun adventure that is an offshoot of Retreat 42.
It is called, “Ask the Oracle.“
Ask Ian
Now please know that Ian DOES NOT want to be called an oracle. This is where the pleading came in on my part. Ian is very understated. He is classy, elegant and very British, while I am brash, bold and very American. Thus we are the perfect partners.
I love the term oracle. So yes it was my idea to give it this title, but I did so for several reasons:
- Our modern lives are damned confusing and it helps to feel in contact with our deeper selves. An oracle is a source of insight and guidance that helps you know yourself first, thus the phrase, “To Thine Own Self Be True.”
- We need practical wisdom for our modern lives and Ian enjoys sharing it. When you hear him you’ll know what I mean.
- An oracle brings us closer to ourselves and closer to the source. What could be more needed than that?
I just love the word oracle. It comes from the Latin orare, meaning to speak. When we listen to an oracle, what we really hear is ourselves.
I am totally partial to Ian’s wisdom, but I think you’ll love him too. He’s helped so many of us Retreat 42′ers and if you let him, he’ll help you too.
Best of all he’s happy to do it. He enjoys sharing the answers that come and hey it’s completely free, as all of the best oracles are. We would not cheat you on this regard. He is a first class oracle. Money back guaranteed. :>)
So you excited? I am. I’ve got my pad and pen and am getting my questions ready for the oracle.
Would you like to be one of the first to get your questions answered??
All you need to do is just go to our Facebook page and be one of our first fans. ‘Like’ the page and then post a question for Mr. Ian Oracle and he will answer it for you in just a few days.
Don’t delay. Run, don’t walk to our Facebook page and Ask the Oracle right now!
We all need wisdom for our modern lives.
P.S in case it wasn’t obvious how to get to the Facebook page, just click on the words, Facebook page above.
BP or Not BP?
July 1, 2010
New Zealand farm
This is a wonderful, well-written blog post by my business collaborator Ian Waddelow. Ian is a European consultant who works with successful businesses around the world. He is a white knight crusading for a better world.
There are four types of people in the world:
Landowners: who control the world’s assets
Farmers: who are appointed by landowners to tend and maximize their assets
Sheepdogs: the trusted and loyal adjutant of farmers that tear around with tireless energy snapping at the sheep, keeping them under control and bending them to the will of the farmer.
Sheep: who bleat a lot but usually end up following the crowd and doing as they are told.
You can see this play out perfectly in the recent BP oil spill off the coast of America.
The Landowners – for BP: the shareholders -
for USA Inc: voters who own assets affected by spill -
for GB PLC: the voters with assets tied to BP (pension funds etc.)
According to Christopher Helman, a Houston-based editor with Forbes, the Gulf Oil Spill will cost BP more than $60 billion: $20 billion into the BP Trust Fund (recently set up after a lot of arm twisting from the Obama administration) $22bn in clean-up costs (two years at $30.6 million a day) and $20bn in penalties (and lawsuits)
It is clear to any financial analyst that such numbers seriously call into question BP’s ability to remain solvent. Were the company to liquidate, the shareholder – our landowners – would stand to lose $236bn in assets.
Naturally, they will fight to stop this from happening. US asset owners don’t want this to happen either unless it gives them the best chance of the biggest payout in restitution. GB PLC cannot afford for this revenue stream to disappear as it receive $5.6bn a year from BP in income tax, national insurance contributions, fuel duty and VAT.
To see BP go under has long-term far reaching consequences for all the landowners.
The Farmers – for BP: Chairman, Carl-Henric Svanberg and CEO, Tony Hayward
for USA Inc: President Barak Obama
for GB PLC: Prime Minister David Cameron
Whenever there is trouble on the farm, the farmer has to take the flak and all four are under immense pressure from their lords and masters it makes sense to come up with a deal between them.
The additional problem for Obama and Cameron is they are the appointed farmer for many landowners, some with conflicting requirements. Both heads of state are starting to realize they cannot please all their masters all the time. For Obama, he has the local population hit by the disaster desperate for restitution and punishment.
They want to see the company brought to its knees and yet 40% of BP shareholders are members of USA Inc. Pensions, investment funds, and personal savings would all be dramatically hit. Meanwhile, ExxonMobil would love to get their hands on those $236bn in BP assets for a knockdown price.
Cameron, meanwhile, was on the campaign trail when the disaster struck and has to get up to speed quickly and defend his revenue stream and one of the few remaining UK global corporations.
The Sheepdogs – The PR men
This is trial by media and so any good farmer will have some loyal and efficient sheepdogs rounding up the press and controlling public opinion. Obama’s team were the first to coral them, demanding summits and capturing the green moral high ground.
They positioned BP as ‘the evil baddy’ in the story, negligent and uncaring and put a white Stetson firmly onto Obama’s head.
Cameron was yet to walk through the door of Number 10 so could do little without a clear mandate to act.
Unfortunately, Tony Hayward’s sheepdogs watched the sheep wander all over the place and in irritation started snapping at the heels of the flock leaders. Despite spending $50m on PR, his team made a series of gaffes, including:
- initially saying the impact would be ‘very modest’(enraging Gulf coast landowners and US politicians).
- going sailing while the disaster was at its height
- pledging on a nationally broadcast TV advertisement that “We will make this right.”
- posting a public apology for the oil spill on the BP website and promising to clean up every drop of oil and “restore the shoreline to its original state”.
- telling the people in Louisiana, where oil had begun to reach parts of the state’s south-eastern marshes,. “We’re sorry for the massive disruption it’s caused their lives. There’s no one who wants this over more than I do. I would like my life back.” The statement was particularly criticized given that eleven people died in the drilling platform explosion that caused the spill.
- stating in an interview with Sky News that he was not overly concerned by the amount of oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. “I think the environmental impact of this disaster is likely to be very, very modest.”
- insisting to a Guardian reporter that the leaked oil and the dispersant being released into the sea should be put in context: “The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean. The amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total water volume.”
- telling NBC that BP was not at fault for the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon or the subsequent oil spill. “The drilling rig was a Transocean drilling rig. It was their rig and their equipment that failed, run by their people and their processes
- advertising on the web for any ideas on how to stop the oil leak
- spending the $50m on these statements – allowing Obama to cry “What I don’t wanna hear is when they’re spending that kind of money on their shareholders and spending that kind of money on TV advertising that they’re nickel and diming fishermen.” It also allowed Obama’s chief of White House staff and loyal right-hand sheep dog to chime in and say Mr. Hayward “wouldn’t be working for me after any of those statements”.
A sheepdog that doesn’t round up sheep is not a sheepdog.
The Sheep – all the stakeholders living on the farm
Life as a sheep is ultimately one of powerless frustration. Their world is filled with death, suffering and devastation but what to do? The sheep have every right to be incredulous. They are suffering but they are also just playing the game.
The solution is also not simple. You try just tightening a nut with a robot, with no purchase, 1,500 metres below the surface of the ocean. While the sheep make suggestions to stop the leak (ranging from ice plugs to nuclear weapons) they are powerless to act.
The sad thing in all of this is that had BP cut the riser during the first week and installed a second blowout preventer, a massively heavy stack the size of a five story building, then we may have been applauding Hayward for averting an horrific natural disaster.
What pains the sheep the most is it is their lives that are ruined and can do little to avert the problem. Big problems are generated by big entities and in many cases these corporate entities are bigger and more powerful than governments.
They, therefore, are the only ones capable of solving the problems that they make.
The suspicion is that the BP landowners and farmers are in a collusion of greed. They ignored the signs that their golden goose was sick and, instead of paying for a vet, decided to simply shoved their arm inside the bird to pull out whatever gold they could lay their hands on.
Modern day landowners are short term. They want their jam and bread today. They are not interested in handing over the assets to future generations but surely global companies are one day going to realize – no globe, no company.
It is time for shareholders to think bigger and longer and appoint farmers who think the same rather than maximizing their exit after three years of starving the golden goose.
So if you are a landowner or farmer, be wary for being too judgmental of Mr. Hayward. Everyone from railway companies to airlines, from pharmaceutical companies to utilities are cutting corners and the farmers that are appointed are the ones who turn a blind eye.
If you are a head of state like GB Inc you will see that selling off all your land leaves you at their beck and call. You will never be more than their hired hand.
As for the rest of us, the sheep, what to do? We appoint farmers who have sold all our assets to wealthy corporate landowners and plunged us deep into debt. Shall we just bleat?.
Are we just going meekly like lambs to the slaughter or is it time to ensure that the meek truly inherit the earth and build some new assets for us all?
Mike Shares About Retreat 42
May 12, 2010
Here is a wonderful story from one of our first Retreat 42 voyagers, Mike Blackstone of Phoenix, Arizona. Here’s what he says about his experience on the retreat.
I was fortunate enough to be invited on the first Retreat 42. I couldn’t wait because I had a significant life project that had stalled. Retreat 42, the way Annie and Ian described it seemed to be exactly what I needed and the timing was so perfect, as well.
Going on that virtual retreat turned out to be so much more than I expected, and it was simple. All I had to do was carve out a small amount of private time each day to go inside and “stand” face-to-face with my “critic and pessimist” and talk my greatest fears.
Annie and Ian’s support was so important at that point because I could have given up. Sticking with it, I was really surprised that lasted only a few days, when optimism and peace of mind slowly began to show up, and within another few days I easily and effortlessly resurrected my project.
And wonderful things in my life way beyond my project started to happen. If you have never had the experience of getting more than you imagined and hoped for, get ready for a new “first” in your life on Retreat 42.
There were still rough spots before the end of my Retreat, and each one got easier and easier to get past, stronger than ever each time. Annie and Ian had been through theirs and they shared and warned of what we could expect. Knowing what to look for and what I might be up against was just everything. I had such confidence in their care. They are truly “from the heart” people.
If you are determined but just can’t get something going you really want and care about, Retreat 42 will be one of the best decisions you ever make.
Thanks Mike!
If you’re interested in learning about Retreat 42 or how you can join the next one, please email me at annie@anniehart.com.
Or join me and some of our Retreat 42 community on the Radio Show this Friday March 14 at 11 am. The show can also be downloaded later.
Featured Video: Brian Talks About Retreat 42
May 5, 2010
Brian was one of our 24 adventurers who did our pilot program for the Retreat 42. Everyone had a very different outcome of the retreat, Brian’s was to deepen his faith and spiritual life. Beautiful! Thanks Brian and all the adventurers. We will be launching in the fall. Stay tuned!
Retreat 42 – We’ve Launched the Ship!!
April 11, 2010
Wow, who knew that out of the confusion of my life, I would create something as amazing as Retreat 42, my brand new program for retreat in daily life.
Back in December, I was feeling stuck about getting bigger projects off the ground. I had several bodies of work that I never finished and it was really bugging me.
This coincided with meeting my now business partner, the fabulous Ian Waddelow who lives in France, although he’s a Brit by birth. Ian contacted me last fall and we hit it off immediately and began to collaborate.
Ian has amazing creative energy and wisdom in spades. He is a senior consultant to CEO’s and boards dealing with strategy and brand marketing. He’s also an educator at several major business schools in England and a well-known speaker at conferences and events.
Let me tell you, Ian is a wizard at what he does. He transforms businesses in a way that I’m pretty sure, they don’t even know what hit them!
After meeting Ian I was asking myself - What does it take to get bigger projects off the ground?? And I decided to put myself on a retreat in daily life to figure this out.
My premise was this – every great idea came from somewhere. We have this idea that when we need inspiration, that we need to ‘wait on the muses’, but I decided that waiting on the muses wasn’t good enough. Mine are too fickle, they’re always off shopping in Paris!
Waiting on the muses is a phrase we use to infer that inspiration is fickle or out of our control. But is it? If inspiration comes from somewhere else, where is that somewhere else and how can we tap it whenever and wherever we need it?
If you think about it, every great idea, every artistic masterpiece, Eureka moment, life changing work or project comes from a realm that the mystics call the 99%. This is the place of ‘divine inspiration.’ All creative ideas come from a place beyond the ordinary five senses.
That’s why it feels like we can’t tap inspiration when we need to. But I decided that there must be some way to tap it reliably and regularly. This was my quest to find out exactly how.
I took time every day to listen to music that would take my brain to another state. No, not New Jersey, but another brain state that’s called the theta wave. I tried not to work or think too hard, but just let ideas and inspiration come easily.
Each day when I woke up, I spent time writing, journalling and jotting. During the day, I would just allow inspiration to come and I would jot that down as well.
At first I didn’t even know exactly what I was going or how I was going to figure any of this out and it was pretty scary to commit to something that you don’t know exactly what it is! I decided that it needed to be 42 days.
Why 42?
- the mystics went into the desert for 40 days. I figured in our modern life, we need a day to get in and a day to get out = 42!
- it takes ’6 weeks to get a change into the bones’ – 6 weeks equals 42 days.
- the first lines of creation in the ancient Aramaic equal exactly 42 letters.
This all seemed to line up perfectly and so 42 days was set in my mind. I gave myself a few guidelines upfront. I agreed that I had to finish the retreat no matter what. I told myself that even if up with absolutely nothing, it would be ok and I committed to giving it my all and trusting the power of inspiration to guide me.
I did the same thing for 42 days and by the end of it, believe it or not, I had created an entire body of work – I had written a whole book and created an entire process that I didn’t even know I was creating.
How’s that for pure magic!
Once I was finished, I decided to take a risk and invite my new partner Ian onboard as a collaborator.
I’m sure Ian won’t mind me saying that he was pretty skeptical at first. I’m sure he thought my idea was pretty wacky, but he trusts me so he agreed to go on the Retreat 42 himself.
At first I was a little worried. Ian’s results seemed mixed. I wasn’t sure it was working and being British, he didn’t tell me much :>)
But then somewhere near the middle of the retreat, things started to happen – the ground started to quake and something new started pouring forth. After he finished, he suggested we try it out with a group and so we launched a Pilot program of 24 brave adventurer’s who agreed to try out our program for free.
I’m happy and proud to say that they did it! Their last day is today and they made it through the desert and have come out with gifts. I’ll let some of them share their stories in upcoming blog posts.
It was amazing to watch an entire group go through this process. They are extraordinary people from all over the world – England, Germany, Spain, Belgium and the US. They helped us to see that Retreat 42 really works, anytime, anywhere. 
Thanks to them, Ian and I are proud and delighted to announce:
Retreat 42 is officially launched!
We will be starting our first programs in the Fall, with an amazing line-up of goodies – from self-guided retreats, to themed programs and even (get this) wonderful in-person retreats in amazing locations around the world.
We have made the package and the pricing incredibly attractive. You just won’t be able to resist trying this out for yourself!
And I guarantee 100% that it is the most life changing thing you can do.
It was for me. I wrote a whole book and created an entire body of work in only 42 days – something that I never thought possible. If you’d like to know more about Retreat 42 or join one of our upcoming programs, please email me or Ian. We’d be happy to chat to you.
You can connect with us at annie@anniehart.com and ian@ianwaddelow.com. I encourage you to get to know Ian. He’s someone really worth knowing.
POP! Here comes the champagne – Retreat 42 is officially launched.
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