Transformation in Paradise

A warm hello to my amazing family and friends or more appropriately Bula a word used here in Fiji to welcome and greet both family members as well as strangers with love and respect. It has already been about two weeks and each day has been filled with excitement and adventure. Starting with delayed flights and barely making it through immigration each moment is proving to be a learning experience. After landing in Fiji I learned that you are actually not allowed to enter this and many other countries without having a return or continued flight out of the country, but with some charm, confidence and maybe a few white lies I am writing to you from these beautiful islands with no plans to leave anytime soon! 

After landing on the main island of Viti Levu I only had a few hours before getting on the tiny island hopper plane to meet up with the rest the seminar group as my delayed flight set me back a few hours. The flight provided a breathtaking view of the many beautiful green islands and the majestic blue oceans that surround them. Also as if that wasn't enough, with no doors to the cockpit the pilot gave the three other passengers and I an introductory flying lesson, scenic tour from 7000 feet and history lesson of Fiji all within the 1.5 hr flight time! Definitely one of the more interesting lectures I have listened to in a while! I had finally arrived on the island of Vanua Levu the second largest island with a population of about 3,300 in the town of Savusavu, the airport consisting of a short concrete runway with a small hanger and two workers who check your name off in a notebook during departures and arrivals. Airport travel has never been so easy and convenient! Soon after arriving at the resort I met with the rest of the group, made up of entrepreneurs and respected professionals from all walks of life that I would be spending the next week with and led by Matt Brauning an inspiring, confident and wise soul who I am honored to call a great friend. During the week we explored the remarkable Fijian culture and its beauty and simplicity of living in harmony with the land, while diving into our own personal growth and transformation, enabling each of us to access the infinite potential and incredible abundance that lies dormant inside each and every human being. Using concepts such as Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) we learned to understand our own thought processes and their origins. Basically, the way we think and why we think that way. From our earliest childhood interactions we are conditioned to react and think in certain ways whether this is from our parents, teachers, friends, society or media. These thought patterns are ingrained into our way of thinking and follow us throughout our lives and are the reason we all react differently to situations. After understanding our own thought patters and their origins we are able to alter the “thinking habits” that no longer serve us and actually keep us from achieving our dreams. Once we change the way we think and what we believe to be truth, there are no limits to what we can achieve and  accomplish! 

Another concept we explored was Spiral Dynamics, an absolutely fascinating way to analyze and understand human nature, the world around you and how you fit into it all. This concept and model was actually used by Nelson Mandela in the creation of reconciliation strategies in the post-apartheid South Africa. It has been especially remarkable to be able experience and live in the different levels of the spiral firsthand within the Fijian culture which is separated into villages and function within a tribal hierarchy with the chief having the final say. If spiral dynamics was taught to and truly understood by world leaders, many conflicts all around the world would be able to be resolved with all parties having their needs met. However what makes this material so amazing is that anyone looking to improve their own life, make their dreams a reality and positively impact the world can benefit from these teachings. Out of our amazing group there was one person who I really connected with and was inspired by. She is a physician living in California who went to medical school at the age of 34 and has since dedicated her life to medical missionary trips serving in war torn and poverty stricken areas all over the world. She is an amazing soul who had so much wisdom and love to share with the world. She wakes up each morning grateful for where her life has taken her and for everything she has, while serving and helping those who aren't as fortunate. And this makes her happy, something people, especially in our privileged society often confuse with wealth and monetary gain. She is truly passionate about what she does and through this finds purpose and meaning in her own life.   It is people like her that inspire me to find passion and purpose in my life while staying true to my souls journey. Overall the week was full of transformational thinking with powerful insights into personal development, leadership, achieving dreams, happiness and success and this is only the start of my adventure! 

"Beauty awakens the soul to act" 

~Dante Alighieri