What a Retreat in Whistler Reminded Me About Purpose

Sometimes the greatest clarity comes when we stop trying to move forward.

"Life has an inner Purpose and an outer Purpose." — Eckhart Tolle

Vacounver island, BC, Canada

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I disappeared for ten days.

My husband and I traveled to British Columbia and attended an Eckhart Tolle’s retreat in Whistler. I stepped away from my business, social media, email, and the constant urge to produce. I wasn't trying to escape my life. I was trying to see it more clearly.

I didn't realize how desperately I needed that distance until I gave myself permission to take it.

Like many entrepreneurs, I spend most of my days coaching, speaking, writing, creating programs, and thinking about what's next. I genuinely love what I do. But the business keeps moving, the calendar keeps filling, and somewhere in that motion, it becomes easy to confuse momentum with direction. We get so busy building our lives that we forget to step back and look at them.

That distance was the greatest gift of those days in Whistler. Not distance from my Purpose, distance from the noise that keeps me from seeing it.

There were 800 of us there, representing more than 32 countries, and one distinction Eckhart made stopped me cold. He said our life has an inner Purpose and an outer Purpose. The inner Purpose is universal: our state of consciousness, our presence, our capacity to be fully awake to this moment. The outer Purpose is personal: our unique gifts, our contribution, the impact only we can make in the lives of others. It changes over time, and it varies from person to person.

I actually stood in line to ask him about this because it initially raised doubts in me. Was he saying we all have the same Purpose? I've spent years helping leaders discover their unique WHY, the contribution only they can make.

Then I found the answer in his own words: living in alignment with your inner Purpose is the foundation for fulfilling your outer one. He wasn't contradicting what I teach. He was pointing at what has to come first.

Because here's the uncomfortable part. Most of us spend our lives improving our doing. We become more productive, more efficient, more accomplished. Yet Tolle argues that consciousness, not action, is the primary factor in creating our reality, and if nothing changes at that level, we simply recreate the same patterns with new goals. Our fears remain, our insecurities remain, and our ego does not stop; it just finds new projects to hide behind.

I witness this every week in my coaching practice. Leaders come to me convinced they need better communication skills, more confidence, or a new strategy. Sometimes they do. But just as often, what looks like a leadership challenge is something deeper: fear of conflict, need for control, perfectionism, an ego protecting itself. The outer block is a mirror of the inner one. Who we are being will always shape what we are doing.

Purpose is not what you do. Purpose is how the world experiences who you are.

It shows up in how you listen, how you respond under pressure, how you show up, and how you make people feel when no one is watching. Tolle would say the test is simple: whatever you're doing, are you doing it with acceptance, enjoyment, or enthusiasm? If none of the three is present, look more closely; you're creating suffering for yourself and, probably, for others.

For the first time in a long time, I wasn’t thinking about what I needed to produce next. I was simply present.

During those days in Whistler, my husband and I had conversations we hadn't had in a long time. About our life, about my business, about what success means now compared to ten years ago. We didn't find better answers. We finally created enough space to ask better questions to challenge our thinking.

So I'll leave you with three questions I brought home:

When was the last time you created enough space to hear yourself think?

And who are you becoming while you pursue everything you want to achieve?

If someone experienced you today, would they recognize the Purpose you say you want to live?

Each year, as I celebrate another Independence Day in the country that has become my home, I feel deeply grateful not only for the opportunities it has given me but also for the person I've become because of them.

Purpose isn't measured by where we live or what we accomplish. It's revealed by who we choose to be, and by how we place our gifts in service of others.

May you find the space to slow down and discover that your Purpose may already be present in the way you live each ordinary day.

If these questions stirred something in you, if your WHY feels blurry, or you're not sure your daily work reflects it, that's exactly the work I do with leaders. I invite you to have a free coaching conversation with me.

With love,

Íñigo.