Wisdom Weekend Retreats for early 2025. About 10 years ago, I did a number of retreats on Wrightsville Beach here near my home bringing to the beach great people who had read one or more of my books or heard me speak to a corporate group or big convention and wanted a weekend rather than just an hour or two to ponder the insights of the ages on things that matter to us all. The retreats we held were really super experiences for everyone involved. Those who came from around the country got along great, loved meeting fellow philosophers, and enlightened each another with amazing perspectives on the life wisdom we all need in our time.
It's been a while but I’m feeling the urge to start up those retreats again. If you love philosophy, or the path of practical wisdom, hearing new perspectives on life, and enjoy a great beach, I can now officially announce some retreat dates that will restart this experience in 2025, on the weekends of:
January 31-February 2,
March 14-16, and
April 4-6.
The first two weekends are scheduled to be new versions of “The Extraordinary Life Retreat,” the range of topics I did a decade ago focused on true success, real happiness, and the challenge of change in our lives, among other issues of personal wisdom and the role of virtue in our endeavors. The April Retreat will be EITHER a second personal topic retreat, likely on issues of courage, faith, hope, and love as they appear in a new book I’m writing called “The Gift of Uncertainty,” or it will be a focused leadership and life retreat based in some classics like Gilgamesh, Beowulf, and Frankenstein, and one or two others, soon to be chosen.
Each year, we hope to have a cycle of retreats for those wanting to come back, as happened ten years ago when we last hosted these amazing experiences. At the peak of his popularity Stephen Covey (The Seven Habits guy) and I co-hosted a weekend retreat at Notre Dame for 50 CEOs and their spouses. He insisted I start doing retreats of my own at the beach in North Carolina. And he was right. They’re needed and they’re immensely enriching for all of us. I hope you can come!
For more information, email me any interest ASAP, as there will typically be only 15-20 spaces in each retreat, give or take, and we’re setting the retreat fee well below the norm this year. Our great resort hotel, recently renovated to have the aura of a high end beach house, Lumina on Wrightsville Beach, is offering crazy low water view room prices for all retreat participants, and is a place you’ll love. We’re working to see if a couple of partial fellowships can be offered this year, so if that might be desired, let me know. Retreat fees will be $975 per person, rooms at the resort will be $129-149 a night, depending on sound view or ocean view (2 nights usually needed for those coming from afar) and food is reasonably priced and good. When the group is complete for each weekend, I’ll send you a link for hotel discounts and our registration, along with other details.
Retreats will start on the respective Friday evening at 6 or 6:30, will go to 8 or 9PM and will continue in sessions on Saturday 9AM to 12 Noon, and 2 PM to 5 PM, then reconvene for more informal conversations Saturday evening. And We’ll conclude with a session Sunday morning 9 AM to Noon or a bit earlier, then we all exchange contact information with our new favorite people, hug, and depart.
Wilmington International Airport (ILM) is about 10 miles from the hotel and there should be hotel van service available. We have direct flights many times a day with American, Delta, and United, among other domestic airlines. And of course, Myrtle Beach and RDU have airports within a 2-hour drive.
Come meet amazing people, enjoy deep dives into wisdom, and expand your community across space and time in a way that will support your growth for years to come. I’ll lead most sessions, joined by friends like my near neighbor Dr. Gary Bradt (global spokesman years ago for the famous book by his friend Spencer Johnson, Who Moved my Cheese?), and other luminaries on occasion like the great executive coach and all-round good guy, Jay Forte (The Greatness Zone), and one of my favorite fellow philosophers in the world, the Furman professor and still able rock drummer Aaron Simmons (Camping with Kierkegaard). Shoot me an email through the contact page on my website, listed above, or just reply at the world’s oldest email address, TomVMorris@aol.com with subject RETREATS. I look forward to philosophizing together if your schedule allows!
And if I can’t entice you down here now, keep this in mind for the future! In any case, whether here or on social media (links on my “about” page), let’s keep philosophizing! All Best! Tom
