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Our Values

Retreat as Sabbatical

Meaningful work can’t flourish and thrive when squeezed into the margins of over-scheduled busy lives. Our retreats and residencies take inspiration from academic sabbatical to provide an extended but bounded time to do your deepest, most creative work.

stencil lettering for spray paint: LET GO OF THE BUSYNESS

In order to create space, we must pause and set aside our normal lifestyle. Guests at FRC are given a rest from…

Mike taking a moment to be mindful

Intrinsic Motivation

A creator's innate motivation is the most powerful force. We value this above external forces like top-down curricula, cookie-cutter courses, micromanagement, and achievement based on comparison to others.

Megan laughs while sketching in a notebook during a hike

See also: Unschooling, but carried through into adulthood.

Focused Work

We value deep work and believe it should be provided with ample time and focus so it can fully flourish. We believe in single-tasking for long periods. We reject multitasking as a harmful and counterproductive time management hack. We reject “busyness” culture and by-the-minute accounting and over-scheduling. We curate our environment to reduce distractions and irritants that hinder access to a flow state.

We value systems and habits over specific goals and deliverables. Put in the time and trust the process. The results will appear.

George working on his Inktober illustrations

See also writing by Cal Newport, Derek Sivers, and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Next: The Recipe…

Read about how we live these values with The Retreat Recipe.