A Snowy Retreat, A Bold New Vision, And The Team That Made It All Happen.
After nearly 7 years of teaching Frank Natale’s material, we decided it was time to create our own original material.
That’s how The Discovery Training was born.
In September 2005, we launched the pilot training, and it was a success.
However, we wanted to expand and knew our current space wasn’t big enough.
We’d outgrown it and decided to take a risk and host workshops in larger venues.
To achieve this, we needed to grow as a company.
Before we even announced our plans, Rani, one of our most dedicated students, approached us about joining our team.
Rani was the perfect fit.
She knew our material inside and out, had a business background, especially in communication.
She was fully committed to our vision of ‘Creating a Better World by Empowering People to Fulfill their Greatest Potential.’
With Rani on board, we knew we could take our company to the next level.
A new team member meant we needed a new office. But our budget was close to zero.
Luckily, serendipity stepped in.
Our accountant offered us a spare room in his office, which was the perfect solution.
We shared the kitchen and dining space with our accountant, and he received extra income.
One of our first steps was to take a weekend off to focus on our company’s vision.
We rented a bungalow for the weekend at the end of November. As we left Amsterdam, snow started falling.
At first, we enjoyed the beautiful winter wonderland. But we quickly realized we were driving into a snowstorm.
Visibility was near zero, and the roads became slippery and dangerous. Traffic slowed to a crawl and eventually came to a complete standstill.
We couldn’t turn back. We were stuck on the highway with thousands of others.
I was concerned about Thom and contacted my ‘weekend angel,’ Mercedes, to check on her.
Thankfully, they were safe.
We were stuck in the traffic jam for seven hours.
With so many people stranded, the army had to be called in to distribute coffee and blankets to the shivering masses.
It was an unexpected team-building experience in a confined space, and we all passed with flying colors.
After nearly 11 hours, we finally reached our bungalow.
The next day, the storm had passed, but the area was covered in snow.
Between brainstorming sessions, setting goals, and assigning tasks, we had a lot of fun playing in the snow.
This unique experience led to a tradition of Vision Days at the end of each year, which continued until the last year of OCA in 2016.
