I Was Asked To Co-Facilitate The Creator Retreat — Here's Why I Said Yes

On stepping away from the noise to find the voice that was always there.

Last month, I got an email that changed my trajectory: "Would you consider co-facilitating The Creator Retreat?"

I was standing in my kitchen, coffee mug halfway to my lips, when the question landed. The previous co-facilitator had stepped away. An opening had appeared. And suddenly, I was faced with a choice that felt both obvious and terrifying.

The answer was yes before I'd even finished reading.

(Well, it was a soft yes… I was in the middle of recovering from the flu. I said yes, but I wanted to finish getting better first before I said “yes yes”).

But here's what nobody tells you about saying yes to opportunities that scare you: they don't wait for you to feel qualified. They show up on ordinary Wednesdays and ask if you want to leap before you're ready.

This particular opportunity felt different, though. It felt like coming home to work I didn't even know I was meant to do. 🩵

Here is why I said yes. Here is why I believe, with all my heart, that the Creator Retreat is a special place.

The Brutal Truth About Finding Your Voice

Most writing programs are built on what I believe is a fundamental lie: that voice is something you can manufacture through technique.

Follow our prompts. Complete our exercises. Repeat our formulas. And voilà—authentic voice achieved. Check that box. Move on to building your platform.

I've watched hundreds of creators tie themselves in knots trying to sound like everyone else while desperately hoping to stand out. They collect frameworks like talismans, convinced that the right system will finally unlock their "unique" voice. Meanwhile, their actual voice—the one that's been there all along—sits in the corner, waiting to be noticed.

The Creator Retreat operates from a completely different premise, one that's either obvious or revolutionary depending on where you're standing: your voice isn't something you create. It's something you reveal.

It's already there, buried under years of trying to please everyone, under the weight of "shoulds" and market expectations and the persistent, nagging fear that who you really are isn't interesting enough for anyone to care.

The retreat helps people find a home within themselves. That inner place where their truest thoughts live, where their clearest message is waiting to be expressed. This isn't about writing prompts and productivity hacks. This is about inner archaeology—carefully excavating the parts of yourself that have been buried under other people's ideas of what you should sound like.

I've watched participants stop mid-sentence during the retreat and say, "Oh. The words just began to spill out." A moment where pretense fell away and something real emerged. Organically.

You can't teach that. You can only create the conditions for it to happen.

Why Most Programs Get It Backwards

Here's what drives me slightly insane about the creator education space: the obsession with separating "inner work" from "business strategy," as if they're different species that can't survive in the same ecosystem.

Most programs choose a lane. Either you're engaging in deep personal development or you're learning about marketing funnels. Inner work over here, business strategy over there. But life doesn't work in neat categories, and neither does sustainable creative success.

The Creator Retreat understands something that feels quietly revolutionary: as you discover things within yourself and integrate these inner findings, you can apply them to your writing and business. The two processes don't just coexist—they feed each other.

Your inner clarity becomes your outer message. Your authentic voice becomes your competitive advantage. Your personal growth becomes your professional differentiator.

I don't know many programs that actually do this integration. Most treat business strategy and personal development like distant cousins who nod politely at family gatherings but never really talk.

I've watched participants take what they've learned about themselves and translate it into writing that feels genuinely theirs. And then—this is the part that gets me every time—they watch their audience respond. Not because they've followed some viral content formula, but because they've finally started showing up as themselves.

The people who resonate with your authentic voice? They don't just follow you. They become part of your world.

The Antidote to Hustle Culture

I think many of us are quietly and secretly obsessed with overnight success and exponential growth.

But the Creator Retreat moves at the speed of actual human development.

This isn't about getting ten thousand subscribers by Thursday. This isn't about hacking the algorithm or optimizing your way to influence. This is about building the right foundation for you, then applying slow and steady growth so that the right people find and fall in love with the real you.

I love this pacing because it's honest about how real change actually happens. Meaningful creative work unfolds on its own timeline. We can't rush the process of becoming ourselves.

What use are thousands of subscribers who scroll past your content without engaging? What good is a massive following that doesn't actually connect with what you're saying? The retreat focuses on creating genuine engagement—the kind that comes from speaking your truth clearly enough that the right people can't help but connect with.

Quality over quantity isn't just a nice philosophy. It's a practical strategy for building something that lasts.

The Community That Actually Matters

The cohort is just so dang cool, and I don't mean that in a "look how amazing our community is" marketing way. I mean it in a "these people genuinely add richness to my life" way.

They challenge me. They make me think differently about my own work. They share perspectives that shift how I see creativity, business, and the beautiful intersection of the two.

The closed cohort model creates something increasingly rare: a container where people can be vulnerable about their creative struggles without performing for an invisible audience. No one's trying to build their personal brand in our workshops. They're trying to figure out what they actually want to say.

And the paid subscriber option means you can learn at your own pace, accessing all the previous workshops, guest presentations, and bonus content, plus everything we create going forward. It's not a typical online course where you consume content and hope for transformation. It's a living, breathing community where the work happens in relationship with others who understand the journey.

Working with Teri (And Why It Matters)

Teri is my friend, but she's also someone who consistently teaches me things I didn't know I needed to learn. She's the author of five substacks, an incredible yogi, a chakra whisperer, and someone who understands the intersection of creativity and spiritual practice in ways that constantly surprise (and enrich) me.

Our weekly one-to-ones for the retreat are a treat, but not in the way you might expect. We plan workshops, sure, but we also end up talking about life, creativity, and the weird challenges of putting your work into the world. She brings a perspective I don't have, and together we create something I believe is beautiful.

Working with someone you genuinely respect changes everything. It's not just about dividing responsibilities—it's about creating something that's stronger than the sum of its parts.

The Yes That Chose Me

So when that email came asking if I'd co-facilitate, the yes was immediate. Not because I felt “ready,” but because the work itself felt like a continuation of conversations I'd been having with myself for years.

Here's what I've learned about opportunities that matter: they don't wait for perfect timing. They show up in the middle of ordinary moments.

The Creator Retreat helps people discover that their voice has been there all along, waiting to be uncovered. It blends inner work with practical action because that's how real change happens. It moves at the pace of genuine growth because anything faster is just performance. It creates community that actually matters because isolation is the enemy of creativity.

And now I get to be part of that process, helping other creators find their way home to themselves.

The opening appeared. I stepped through.

What opening is waiting for your yes?

-Alex 🩵

If you've been feeling the pull to step away from all the noise—the growth hacks and viral formulas and endless optimization—and come home to your own voice, we'd love to have you join us.

The Creator Retreat isn't about becoming someone else's version of successful. It's about uncovering who you already are beneath all the shoulds and strategies. It's about finding that inner place where your truest thoughts live and learning to trust what you discover there.

We move slowly. We dig deep. We create space for the kind of growth that actually lasts.

If that sounds like the kind of work you're ready to do, I invite you to join us as a paid subscriber. You'll get access to all our workshops, guest presentations, and the ongoing community of creators who are committed to this journey of coming home to themselves.

The voice you're looking for? It's already there, waiting.

-Alex 🩵 and Teri 💜