Renee:
As this blog goes out, we will be in the middle of our MetaMind retreat with twenty-five of our clients gathered together in two rented VRBO houses.
Over the course of several days, there will be masterminding sessions, shared meals, poolside conversations, late-night talks in the kitchen, laughter, breakthroughs, bowling (we have two lanes in each house), and one very entertaining group trip to Medieval Times simply because it sounded fun.
And experiences like this have started feeling more important to us than ever before.
The “love seats” are always one of the most meaningful parts of the retreat.
In many entrepreneurial circles, they are called “hot seats,” kind of like Shark Tank for business owners looking for support or feedback.
But there are no sharks in this room.
When someone sits down to share what they are struggling with or dreaming about, the group pours insight, encouragement, resources, perspective, honesty, and genuine care into them.
And every single retreat, someone eventually says:
“I had no idea how much I needed this.”
That sentence alone tells me a lot about the season we are living in right now because I think people are carrying far more than they let others see.
Mark:
We have spent years building businesses in a world that has become increasingly virtual.
Zoom meetings became normal, online masterminds became normal, and texting instead of calling became normal.
Even friendships and business relationships slowly shifted into something that mostly existed through screens, and there is incredible value in all of that.
We are grateful for the freedom technology has created. We have clients and friends all over the world because of it.
But I think many people are quietly realizing that being constantly connected is not always the same thing as actually feeling connected. You can be visible online all day long and still feel deeply unseen as a human being, and I think a lot of entrepreneurs quietly struggle with that.
Renee:
So many entrepreneurs spend their days alone behind screens. They are building businesses from home offices, creating content, replying to messages, hopping on Zoom calls, serving clients, and constantly “showing up” online without physically being around people very often.
There is freedom in that life, but there can also be a surprising amount of isolation.
What we have noticed at these retreats is that people often arrive carrying more exhaustion, pressure, loneliness, and emotional weight than they even realized they were holding.
One of my favorite parts of every retreat is watching people as they first arrive and how they are by the end of the weekend.
At first, everyone is still carrying on with their normal lives. Phones are out, brains are moving fast, and conversations can stay fairly surface-level. Then, something shifts.
People start lingering longer after conversations. They stay up late talking in pajamas around the kitchen island. They sit outside by the pool for hours talking about things far deeper than business strategy. And by the end of the retreat, almost nobody wants to leave.
Mark:
I think part of what makes these spaces so powerful is that community used to happen naturally.
People lived closer together, families gathered more often, neighbors talked, people belonged to churches, clubs, organizations, and communities where connection happened almost automatically.
Now, the connection has to be created intentionally, and if we are not careful, it becomes very easy to spend years being productive while simultaneously becoming disconnected from other human beings.
That is part of why in-person experiences are becoming more valuable again.
Not because online spaces are bad, but because there are certain things technology simply cannot replicate.
Energy in a room, shared laughter, eye contact, someone putting their hand on your shoulder during a difficult conversation, the feeling of being fully seen by people who genuinely understand you.
Renee:
It’s interesting because we have spent the last few weeks writing about AI, authenticity, and how younger generations seem increasingly sensitive to anything that feels overly manufactured.
I think this conversation is connected to that.
The more artificial and digital the world becomes, the more people seem to crave things that feel real.
Not polished, not optimized, not perfectly curated...Just real.
Real conversations, friendships, experiences, and community.
And there is also something healing about grown entrepreneurs fully embracing childlike fun together.
For this MetaMInd retreat, one member announced she was excited to go to Medieval Times and finally eat a turkey leg, since she had never done so before.
Another offered to bring extra tiaras for everyone to wear.
Someone else declared they would be packing their own jousting stick. And the bowling tournament is on!!!
That kind of joy matters too.
What fascinates me most is how quickly people stop talking about metrics once they feel emotionally safe.
The conversations become about fulfillment, marriage, health, burnout, loneliness, purpose, and the parts of life underneath the business.
And maybe that is why these retreats matter so much to us.
Yes, there is business strategy, there are masterminds, collaborations, and breakthroughs, but underneath all of that, what people are really craving is human connection.
They want spaces where they can stop performing for a little while and can fully exhale. Spaces where they can remember that they are not building life entirely alone.
Mark:
Technology will continue to evolve, and AI will continue to change the way we work, communicate, and build businesses, but I think that evolution is only making human connection more valuable.
Because the more digital the world becomes, the more meaningful real presence starts to feel, the entrepreneurs who will thrive long-term are not just the ones who know how to use technology well.
They are the ones who know how to create trust, belonging, and genuine connection in a world where many people are quietly starving for exactly that.
Mark and Renee:
We do not believe the future is about choosing between technology and humanity.
We believe it is about remembering that no matter how advanced the world becomes, people will always need people, and maybe now more than ever, they are searching for places where they can truly feel connected again.
