Well, this was a rare delight.
Photo courtesy of Kate
Last year’s Chautauqua was so much fun, attracted such cool people and was just so damn epic it seemed unlikely to repeat. But it did, and this year we got coffee! Let’s start with that.
Our hosts: Coffee grower Cheryl and her husband Rich
Photo courtesy of Gouri
Cheryl, who owns and operates Above the Clouds Retreats, splits her time between Texas and her finca (farm) in Ecuador. On that finca she grows coffee and this year’s Chautauqua convened just after the coffee harvest. Lucky timing! At our opening session each attendee found a small burlap sack in front of them filled with coffee beans from her land, and a coffee mug emblazoned with: Ecuador!
I love coffee. I’ve been drinking it now for over half a century. I’ve had none better and, for a couple of short weeks after my return, I enjoyed a rich aroma and robust flavor that briefly returned me each morning to this year’s magical week. But now it’s gone. One more reason I’m already dreaming of next year!
Hacienda Cusin
Photo courtesy of Nick
As before, and hopefully again for 2015, this year’s Chautauqua was held at Hacienda Cusin, a gorgeous old estate and monastery built in the Andes mountains in 1602. It is about 2 hours north of Quito and near the famous market town of Otavalo. It is built of stone and wood and many of the rooms, including mine this year, have fireplaces. It can get chill in the evenings up in those mountains and it is a warm pleasure to return to your room to find the fire the staff has got roaring. Not to mention the hot water bottle they’ve placed in your bed, toasting the sheets.
As before, the speakers’ presentations were the center piece of the week.
Photo courtesy of Geraint
Cheryl, one of the most relentlessly happy people I’ve ever met, had the group hanging on her every word as she described her sometimes difficult journey and the techniques of happiness she’s acquired along the way. Mr. Money Mustache focused on how developing a ruggedness in your approach to life creates greater satisfaction and less need for money.
This, in turn, allows you to live on less than you earn, freeing up the capital to invest in building your financial freedom. My role was then to discuss exactly how to invest this money. Our new speaker this year, Jesse Mecham, wrapped up the week with his engaging talk on the sheer joy of starting something entrepreneurial and the pursuit of knowledge with reckless abandon.
In short we talked about:
- How to bring happiness into your life.
- How to develop the courage to be free and to live life on your own terms.
- How to arrange your life in such a way as to have an abundance of what is important, while shedding what is not.
- How to invest your excess funds so that they grow to support you, allowing you to turn your full attention to Happiness, Freedom and Abundance.
- How to strike out on your own.
Of course the conversation didn’t end with the presentations
Photo courtesy of Kate
As with last year, each speaker had a schedule of one-on-one sessions with those attendees who had chosen them. In my case, the original seven scheduled grew to twenty by week’s end as more people asked for time after my talk. It was exhausting, but exhilarating. These sessions are my favorite part of the week.
We also created an extra two-hour financial Q&A session one morning. It was a lively discussion and about 18 or 20 chose to attend. The rest went on the optional hike in the mountains. Both were great successes and we’ll offer each again next year.
Financial Q&A in the Monastery courtyard
Photo courtesy of Geraint
When we weren’t engaged in presentations, conversations and general hanging about, we were off exploring a bit of Ecuador. Everything from Otavalo and its famous markets to the Equator to the stunning beautiful Lake Cuicocha where we had lunch and a boat ride in the crater of a volcano.
Sometimes Ecuador came in to visit us:
This year’s kinder and gentler shaman.
Dancing on the Hacienda lawn
Photos courtesy of Kate
There was also our now traditional day of community service:
Construction was done…
Photo courtesy of Gouri
Kids were played with…
Photo courtesy of Susan
Pinatas were broken..
Photo courtesy of Mr. Money Mustache
Treats were gathered…
Photo courtesy of Kate
…and rides were given in Cheryl’s “Ecu-truck”
Photo courtesy of Nick
The cost of this building project was funded from the Chautauqua revenues, and the commitment to help improve local lives continues long after our departure. 10% of the profits go back into Project One, Cheryl’s local Ecuadorian charity. Thanks to those who have attended, she is no longer funding it alone.
All thru the week participants continued the discussions, sharing their hopes, dreams and plans. Encouraging and reinforcing each-others efforts and commitment. As one person said, “I have found my tribe.”
And what an amazingly diverse tribe it was. Not just in race, religion (and lack of the same) and sexual orientation, although we enjoyed all three. But in:
- Age – Ranging from geezers like me to folks in their twenties.
- Occupations – Crossing the spectrum from high tech to international aid. People working for organizations ranging from the Canadian Red Cross to Google to USAid to FranklinCovey to Trout Unlimited; to name but a few. Entrepreneurs, engineers, sales people, a fellow blogger and a woman now back in war-torn Sudan doing her part to make life there a little better. Even a finance professor. To my surprise and great honor, she teaches my Stock Series in her class. Kinda blows me away.
- Wealth – Ranging from multi-millionaires to people who’ve heroically shattered the grip of debt. Some already FI, some on their way.
- Geography – They came from all over the US and Canada, Europe and Australia. A German, two Brits, a Scot and an Argentinian. The two Aussies get the award for furtherest distance traveled, but then, don’t they always? Coming in from the Sudan, by way of Canada, was only good for second place. Although, for spiritual distance, it gets my vote.
You might think such a wide-ranging group would be a recipe for conflict. You would be wrong.
Indeed, just as with last year, the single thing folks enjoyed most from their experience in Ecuador, was the chance to be with like minded people. The path of freedom, independence and financial security is surpassingly rare. Most of us are surrounded by family, friends and co-workers who not only don’t get it, they don’t believe it is possible. The chance to spend a week with people who do is the greatest, and most unexpected, value attendees take away.
If this sounds like your tribe too, maybe you’ll join us in 2015.
Finally, those of you who have read my post on how to travel know I don’t carry a camera. I lack the skill and interest. Fortunately, it doesn’t matter. There were attendees present who take far better pictures than I ever could, and I’ve been pleased to have already scattered this post with their work. Let’s end it with sharing still more:
Photos courtesy of Kate, Susan, Gouri, Nick, Mr. Money Mustache and Pamela.
Another take:
Chautauqua 2014: Higher elevation and new insights
A comic that captures the ethic:
Here’s an interview with the author.
