Highlights from the Fierce Fitzy Leadership Retreat:
[00:00:00] Penny Fitzgerald: This week, I'm just coming off of my Fitzy leadership retreat. This is my annual retreat for the top leaders of my former traveling vineyard team. If you've been following my podcast episodes, you probably know already that the company changed their business model a week before Christmas last year, so I really no longer have a team or a group of leaders that I work with on the regular, but I've stayed in contact with my top leaders from before.
[00:01:01] We have a group chat where we share questions and ideas and keep up on the important moments in each other's lives. It's another brain trust of brilliant women with experience in many different walks of life and industries that we can draw from and seek advice. The third week of April is, or was, our normal week to gather together at my Sarasota home, which we call Fitzy South.
[00:01:23] Normally, I would plan business building activities, share some inspiration, sometimes hire an outside coach. We'd share our strengths and solve problems together, or set up tools for our group's success. We'd compare notes on what's working and include hands on working sessions to support each other and our downline teams.
[00:01:41] And we'd have fun. Lots of fun, which always includes wine. Sometimes with planned food pairings and sometimes with accidental pairings and snacks. Last year, we went “Good Will Hunting”. You've probably seen this on social media. We went to Goodwill and would start in the skirt or slack section of the store in one person's size.
[00:02:01] That person would close their eyes and walk down the row with their hand on the hangers and someone would yell, “Stop!”, and that would be the bottoms that you would wear. Then we'd repeat that process in the tops until we each had a complete outfit. It was hilarious and we had so much fun.
[00:02:15] I'll look for the video we shot and share it on social media again so you can check out the final product. Jodi was our Methodist church lady. We gave her a covered dish to carry because it just seemed appropriate. Sandy had a nice Amish dress that she wore backwards because that seemed more appropriate.
[00:02:33] Um, Rose loves cats and we added a furry vest to accessorize her outfit. Robin landed on a silver shiny vinyl mini skirt with a non forgiving woven blouse. Remember the days before lycra and spandex? Oh, yuck. We did not, uh, do very well those days. Um, we all found, um, very memorable outfits. And then we went to dinner in those outfits.
[00:02:59] I think some of the other diners “got it” and were in on the joke. Others, not so much. They may have thought we were just special. To which I say, “Damn straight!”, and “It's called team building!”
So once the dust settled on Rick's announcement that the business model changed and we no longer had teams, I took a quick poll of my former leaders.
[00:03:19] Would they want to get together for a retreat in 2024? And the answer was a resounding yes. Not everyone was able to join me this year, but those of us who did gather enjoyed several fun activities. We caught up on what each other is doing the first evening over margaritas. We had salmon Caesar salads, wine, and pool time.
[00:03:38] One of the questions I prompted to everyone was, what does your ideal day look like? I believe the consensus was “A day at the beach!” More on that in a bit, but if I pose that question to you, what would you say? If your ideal day incorporated your career or a way to support your lifestyle, what would you want to do?
[00:03:58] What if your job, your way of creating income, was so fulfilling, so rich, that you didn't need to take a vacation from it? What if you had the flexibility to create wealth from what you love to do? From what lifts others and yourself up? Would you like to work from the beach? Yes, please. Not everyone is wired to seek out that kind of career, and that's okay.
[00:04:21] Some people enjoy the security of working for someone else and feel that it's the low risk option. Some of us feel like that's the high risk option. My entrepreneurial friends feel that security comes from making your own decisions and creating your own opportunities. There are pros and cons to any career choice, but personally I'm excited to offer more women the support and tools they need to make their own choices.
[00:04:43] No matter what career you choose. I know that we're capable of whatever we set our minds to. We sometimes need a reminder, maybe some support, or a little encouragement. I'm excited to continue to offer retreats that re energize you, reconnect you with girlfriends, and introduce you to new experiences, places, and new friends.
[00:05:02] And I'm looking forward to having a ton of fun together. This past weekend, my former leaders and I definitely had fun and reconnected as friends. include a floating tiki bar for a sunset cruise on Sarasota Bay. As a side note about Sarasota, our captain took us past the Ca' d'Zan on the Ringling Museum property.
[00:05:23] Ca' d'Zan means “House of John”, and it was John and Mabel Ringling's winter home. If you've ever been to Sarasota, you'll see the Ringling name in quite a few locations around town. The Ringlings built much of Sarasota and donated many artifacts, properties, and works of art back to the city. Their home is very impressive at 36,000 square feet and built in the Mediterranean Revival style with glazed terracotta, stained glass, and different colored marble.
[00:05:48] It's gorgeous. The arches are gothic in style and to me the mansion has a northern African vibe to it. It was finished in 1926 and I hear it was the place to party in the Roaring 20s in Sarasota, Florida. If the walls could talk, I'd love to hear what cocktails they served. I'll have to do a little research on that and get back to you.
[00:06:09] And I'm sure everyone had a great time dancing on the patio overlooking Sarasota Bay. I'll include links to the museum and Ca' d'Zan in my show notes so you can check it out and see some pictures of it. If you subscribe to my weekly newsletter, I'll include more pics of our retreat there and on my website too.
[00:06:25] In case you missed it, my website is pennyforyourshots. com. And if you get to Sarasota, don't miss the Ringling Museum property. Even to just walk around the grounds is amazing in itself. The banyan trees, orchids, lily ponds, the replica of the Michelangelo David, Mabel's Rose Garden, all just beautiful and so peaceful.
[00:06:45] Schedule extra time to visit the Circus Museum, Art Galleries, and the Ca' d'Zan. So getting back to the day at the beach. Of course we went to Siesta Key Beach and spent the day relaxing, dreaming, people watching. Y'all it's a whole vibe at Siesta Key. This year there was an older gentleman walking up and down the beach throwing a frisbee up and catching it, sort of like a boomerang.
[00:07:07] He would put a spin on it so it would go up in the air and then he would catch it without running toward it. It got a lot of attention and a little later we saw him teaching a boy, maybe about nine or ten years old, how to do it. It was really cute to see. Of course we always see um, interesting people.
[00:07:24] We hear lots of laughter and several different kinds of music. There were gentle waves and many groups in the water cooling off, chatting, and some even throwing a football around. We took some cocktails, snacks, books, lots of sunscreen, and we had the best day ever. I'm so grateful to these rock stars.
[00:07:42] They're brilliant problem solvers, supportive of each other and of me, and are definitely doers. They've all moved on to other things now, but you'll be hearing about all of that and hopefully supporting them in their new endeavors soon. I've asked them to be guests on my podcast and I'm sure their stories will be entertaining and also ignite a spark for you as well.
[00:08:01] If you'd like to be inspired or learn about some new tools or systems that may help you live your best life, reach out to me. You can contact me through my website or on social media. Links to my contact info will be in the show notes and my website is, again, pennyforyourshots. com. Or just search for Penny for your Shots.
[00:08:19] And plan to join me and one of my former leaders in Texas Hill Country in September for Wine Camp. You might have heard me talking about that too. We're so excited, Robin and I are collaborating on this retreat and have lots of fun in store for you. We'll tour wineries and taste wines, we'll visit a distillery and a brewery, make a craft cocktail together.
[00:08:39] and celebrate with a hoedown in an old west town. We'll visit historic Fredericksburg, Texas for a little shopping and see a demo by Pistol Packin Paula. She's a two time world championship pistol twirler. Yes, it's a thing. You can get more info and sign up at pennyforyourshots. com slash wine dash camp.
[00:09:01] There are three levels available, but consider the Thirsty Cowgirl so you don't miss out on any of the fun. Thanks for tuning into my podcast and for your support. Share it with your friends and please give me a review when you have a moment. I truly appreciate it. I hope to see you and share a toast with you soon.
[00:09:18] Cheers!
