Two Birds, One Stone

Two Birds, One Stone

We all know the phrase, “Kill two birds with one stone.”

(Also, don’t throw stones at birds, that’s really a jerk thing to do.)

But in general, efficiency is a good thing and we can all look for ways to accomplish multiple goals with one action in various aspects of our lives.

The rewards from certain tasks and activities are often naturally twofold. For example, when our family of four makes 100 bags of cotton candy together, that’s definitely a bonding experience and can qualify as “family time,” but it’s also a lesson in business (and an exercise in willpower for our youngest – how not to eat all of your own product).

But I cringe when I see the “two birds, one stone” concept abused, when people shortchange the relationships in their lives because they’re too focused on that other bird that they’re also aiming for.

Grocery shopping isn’t date night. (Unless you do some SERIOUS flirting in the produce section).

And buying something you really want, then pretending it’s a gift for your spouse – lame.

As parents, we’re guilty of this too. Taking your kid to the playground but then staring at your phone the whole time – you may tell yourself you’re killing two birds with one stone, but I’d bet anything that your kid would rather you put the phone down and be present.

CJ, the GRIT trainer, encounters this a lot in the fitness world. Thinking that you’ve exercised because you walked to the post office, instead of truly working the body. While every step and movement is good, that’s not getting two birds with one stone, no matter how we might try to convince ourselves.

I used to do this by reading a book while on the bike at the gym. I told myself it was two birds with one stone. Now I see that I would never make any real physical gains by continuing along with that routine. (But did I get the reading done? Check!)

I believe, for the most part, that it comes down to being honest with ourselves. If it’s been in the back of my mind, bugging me, there’s probably a reason.

On the other hand, I feel like the way I’ve structured my morning routines is a good example of this principle. Not only do I accomplish my workout and other things that are important to me, but I set myself up mentally and emotionally for a good day to come.

Efficiency is great… as long as we’re honest about our actions and their impact. When all is said and done, the relationships in my life are more important than the number of items I cross off my to-do list.

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The Sweet Life Retreats

The Sweet Life Retreats

When we decided to organize killer retreats, one for couples and one for writers (but both designed for positive, growth mindset-type people), we knew what we were getting into.

Sort of.

We know how to exceed expectations.
We know the town of Todos Santos and how best to experience it.
We know what makes a great itinerary – just the right balance of awesome & downtime.

What we didn’t know was if people would sign up.

I’ve written before about how “If you build it, they will come” is not a good business strategy. We’d do well to remember that it’s really just a cheesy line from a Kevin Costner movie.

When it comes to what we’re building, in the first iteration of The Sweet Life retreats, we have Couples Camp and Writers Camp coming up in June.

Within 24 hours of emailing our contacts that registration was live, we had a couple sign up for Couples Camp. These are long-time friends of ours and I couldn’t imagine better people to spend a getaway with. But they weren’t prospects by any means. We never tried to sell them or even contacted them directly about it. But they receive our emails and they raised their hands. It came out of the blue.

Having one couple sign up might not seem like much, but it is when you consider that at this retreat we can only accommodate a max of 7 couples. So now we’re down to 6 spots.

Within 48 hours of that email that went out to our contacts, we had two writers commit to Writers Camp. One was unexpected, but a very good friend. The other was someone I approached directly as I knew she was looking for this very thing (an acquaintance and client whom I’ve never met in person).

We haven’t started running ad campaigns yet or really even announced publicly – beyond that one email – that registration is open (by the way, registration is open), though I’ve sent the link to a few who’ve expressed interest.

It is both exciting and nerve-wracking to see how this plays out. We know we have killer retreats lined up and again, we know we’ll exceed expectations. Now we just have to focus on filling registration to be sure we at least break even.

Advertising has never been my strong suit. I can create (books, presentations, retreats, you name it), but dear lord don’t ask me to sell it! In the coming months I’m going to have to change that – interact with people I don’t know (gasp!), and communicate the value of what we’ve created: an off-the-beaten-path, unique, luxury experience of a lifetime. This may not be my comfort zone, but I’ve also never been one to shy away from a challenge.

Wish us luck. And if you’re interested in checking out an off-the-beaten-path, unique, luxury experience of a lifetime before we take this out into the world, I’m posting the link here.