Ciao from Italy!

One of my favorite things about Italians — and a big reason I am drawn to this country — is their insistence on the value of beauty in all aspects of life. Two examples:

1) At a dinner party I attended, a woman (not Italian) and man (Italian) were toasting. They weren’t romantically connected or flirting or anything. The woman said, “To the future.” The man responded, “To beauty.”

2) Walking past a gorgeous hilltop villa, complete with its own chapel, my friends and I stopped to talk to the owner. Upon learning that I’m from California, near San Francisco, he blurted out, “Eh, San Francisco, FINALLY a beautiful city in America.”

We all know about the beautiful art and architecture that draws tourists to Italy, but when you live like a local here, you see the thousands of details of daily life that demonstrate how lodged in the Italian soul is this value around beauty. I love that. I believe it enriches life. And that’s also why I prize good design in business. It adds value to the experience of your clients.

The participants at my “Portable, Profitable & Playful” retreat last week certainly experienced a lot of beauty! The 11th-century castle we stayed at, the display of appetizers before dinner, the peacocks that roam the grounds. We also experienced AMAZING customer service! I mean truly amazing.

Make sure you inform yourself about the live, virtual workshop I’m hosting from Italy THIS THURSDAY. Details can be found here, but in short, you should know that it’s not like any event I’ve ever done and it’s one-time-only. If you can’t be there, it will be recorded; but you’ll need to register to receive it.

And it’s not in Italian! (My head would seriously hurt trying to pull THAT off!)

Ciao for now!

Today is Memorial Day here in the United States, a day when we remember fallen soldiers.

My father died in the month of May, and he was a military man. My ex-husband, the father of my son, also died this time of year, and he had been a soldier earlier in his life.

So I’m remembering them both. And if you’re remembering someone from your life today, my thoughts are with you.

The day also has me thinking about fallen dreams.

The ones that “life” got in the way of…

Like those “travel freedom dreams” — living in Paris for 6 months, wintering in Costa Rica, etc.

You know what I mean, right?

Those places that still call you, that have a strange claim on your heart, that whisper to you when you’re still and quiet.

I remember my first time back to Europe after a 21-year hiatus. “Life” had gotten in the way and I didn’t know if I’d ever get back.

My son’s father had died without a cent of life insurance, leaving me the sole parent and the sole provider for our son. So for years, I didn’t think I could afford the kind of BIG travel I craved…the kind where you go and stay a while.

Finally, one summer I couldn’t stand it any more. I HAD to revive that dream or something in me would wither away.

So I rented out my house, grabbed my son and my laptop and headed “across the pond” for the whole summer.

I would do my work while I traveled, I decided.

And back then, Internet was not as readily available as it is now, so I had to do things like carefully hold my laptop out the window over a canal in Venice to get a good wifi signal!

It was a trip my son and I will remember FOREVER.

And it cemented what is now a life filled as much travel as I crave — BIG travel!

If there’s a travel freedom dream still residing in your heart, still calling to you…

If you want to create a business that’s both PORTABLE and PROFITABLE…

If you want to create memories that will last a lifetime…

Then you’ll want to join my Portable Profits Club…today, not someday. We start June 11.

It’s YOUR turn.

We’re just about ready to enroll a new group of Portable Profits Club members that will start June 11, so stay tuned for more info on that.

And I am super-excited to announce that our fall retreat for active Portable Profits Club members will be in Italy!!

Save the last week of October to join us. I can’t wait to have club members experience the Italy that I know and love!

 More to come in the next few weeks…