Apothékary™ reposted this
Founder & CEO at Apothékary | Entrepreneur Of The Year® Winner | ex-Goldman Sachs & World Bank Group
Wow. After 10+ months of behind the scenes planning, we hosted Apothékary™'s very first 'Journey East' to Japan! From what was a "no way" dream to a "ok, we doing this!" green light forward, we invited 7 of our close media friends Hallie Gould, Faith Xue, Lauren Valenti, Cary Georges, Ariana Yaptangco, Ariana Marsh, Zoe Weiner on a weeklong nervous system reset in beautiful Kyoto for a change of pace, space and place. In partnership with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Kyoto, we experienced chadō, the way of tea, served with beautiful wagashi or Japanese handcrafted sweets adorned with landscapes of nature. As Ryo Iwamoto so beautifully explained, there’s beauty all around us but it’s up to us to shift our attention to intention. In the morning, we chose a more intentional pace of stillness through zazen meditation with zen monk, Toryo Ito. He taught us that the intention is not to run away from our thoughts, the intention is to stay with them. Over time, we realize that like the passing clouds, our thoughts pass us by. Presence is the ultimate present. Later in the week, we shifted space to a private onsen, Japanese hot springs to welcome the element of water to cleanse and detoxify the body. We also spent time forest bathing also known as Shinrin-Yoku, where we consumed the fresh oxygen of the tall cedar and bamboo trees all around. We closed out the week celebrating with our friends DAMDAM Tokyo at the beautiful Shimonzen with The Honest Youth mocktails and a Japanese matcha-infused brunch. Thank you to SolComms and their incredible team Bruno Solari Kylee Kaetzel Peyton Weaver for the incredbile planning and always being a sound of reason. Remember, there's only one cat per person! Incredibly grateful for our entire team Theresa Bischof Leah Jereb Allison Caves Charlene Tsang Mikey T. Krieger Ellen Kang Jennifer Lewis for keeping me grounded while abroad. A trip like this was not inexpensive and as a finance person by wiring, I too would look at the direct numbers and think "this is not a good idea". But in building three companies, I now take a distinct view between operating expenses and capital investments in building an enduring company for the long-term. It can be so easy to default to just direct response paid ads with but real businesses are not built overnight, they are built over time and storytelling your authentic voice. This was a journey of a lifetime. Interested in joining one of our journeys next year? Comment below, I'd love to hear more about your experience and what you'd be looking for. We can't wait to share more about our upcoming journeys opening up to the public in 2025, where Apothékary™ was born at the intersection of East meets West 🇯🇵🇺🇸 #japan #kyoto #meditation #chado #wellness