Why the TBD Retreat for Business Owners & Creatives Chooses Hidden Iceland Over Tourist Traps (And What That Means for Your Breakthrough)
Why the TBD Retreat for Business Owners & Creatives Chooses Hidden Iceland Over Tourist Traps (And What That Means for Your Breakthrough)
Most business retreats take you to the same crowded waterfalls every tourist sees. The TBD Retreat takes you to where transformation actually happens.
The Problem with Tourist Iceland Business Retreats
You've seen them on Instagram—business retreats posed in front of Skógafoss, groups of entrepreneurs doing yoga at a hotel in Selfoss, or a day chock full of workshops inside a building before getting on big tour buses to crowded hotspots.
Here's what those photos don't show: the noise, the distractions, the constant interruptions from selfie-stick wielding tourists, and the complete impossibility of having a breakthrough moment when you're surrounded by chaos.
The harsh truth? Most Iceland business retreats are run by people who've never lived here.
Thus following the same generic tourist routes that every travel blogger recommends. They're essentially expensive business workshops that happen to have pretty backdrops.
What a Business Retreat in Hidden Iceland Actually Looks Like
As someone who's lived in Iceland for almost 7 years, I can tell you that the real magic happens in places most visitors never see (and most retreat leaders don't even know exist).
The Secluded Iceland Locations
While everyone else is fighting for space at crowded locations like Seljalandsfoss, The TBD Retreat participants find themselves in lesser traveled areas tucked into remote valleys, where the only sounds are wind and water.
These aren't Instagram-famous spots, they're places I personally love to get away in to think, reflect, and make important life decisions. And, places that don't have a line to wait in to see.
Why This Matters for Your Business or Career Breakthrough
True clarity requires silence so you can hear yourself without any external influences or sensory overwhelm.
When you're immersed in the landscapes there’s nowhere to hide from your thoughts, that's when the real conversations with yourself begin— especially as a creative or multi-hyphenate.
You need to get clear on what your future looks like first, before you let go of the past, to then build your bridge to it. And that clarity comes only when you're no longer distracted.
The Waterfalls That Escort in Your Next Storyline
Iceland has tens of thousands of waterfalls. The famous ones—Skógafoss, Seljalandsfoss, Gullfoss—are stunning, but they're also packed with tour groups and parking lots.
The TBD Retreat takes you to waterfalls that don't have their own social media hashtags, cascading down cliffs in valleys that the glaciers carved a millennia ago.
Why this matters for your business, career, or creative breakthrough:
These waterfalls become your waterfalls. Years later, when you're facing a tough business decision, you won't think of "that waterfall from the tour"—you'll remember how you felt at that waterfall, where you first got clarity on your next chapter.
And this goes for all of the hand-picked, completely curated location adventures you'll go on all 3 days of the retreat. Not just waterfalls but everything.
The Hidden Psychology of Hidden Places for Your Business or Career Breakthrough
There's actual science behind why secluded locations create better business and career (and even life) breakthroughs than tourist destinations that are truly life-changing.
The Neuroscience of Awe— The "Awe Response" Amplification
Research shows that experiencing awe—the feeling you get when encountering something vast and beautiful—literally changes your brain chemistry and makes you more open to new perspectives. But here's the key: the awe response is diminished by crowds and commercial activity.
When you're at the Blue Lagoon with 500 other people, your brain is processing social dynamics, not accessing awe.
When you're alone with four other creative entrepreneurs hiking on a secluded trail, your brain can fully access the transformational power of the experience.
The Psychological Safety of Seclusion (Especially for Introverts and Creatives)
Creative professionals and entrepreneurs are used to performing for clients, for employees, for social media. In hidden Iceland locations, there's literally no one to perform for except yourself and your small retreat group who are in the same business or career position you're in.
This psychological safety is where real breakthroughs happen. When you're sitting in silence overlooking jaw dropping nature, feeling supported and understood, your brain can bring to the surface the answers you've been needing.
The "Memory Palace" Effect
Neuroscience shows that we remember experiences more vividly when they happen in unique, non-routine environments. The more unique the environment, the stronger the memory encoding.
When your business or career breakthrough happens at a hidden location that only you and four other people have experienced, that memory becomes permanently linked to your transformation.
What "Hidden" Actually Means in Iceland: Not Secret—Just Not Commercialized
These aren't "secret" locations that no one knows exists. Iceland has been settled for over 1,000 years. The nature-loving locals know every nook of this island, every mountain peak, and every epic route.
They require local knowledge to access safely, and they're not on the standard tour company routes. And, as part of an effort to protect Iceland's nature, these are also places I don't geotag or allow my clients to, either as part of an agreement of working with me.
The TBD Retreat's Iceland Local Advantage
Years of Location Scouting. I've spent years exploring Iceland's hidden corners, not as a tourist looking for Instagram shots, but as someone living here who understands how different landscapes affect different types of thinking and breakthrough moments.
Some locations are perfect for the "Clarity" day of the TBD process—wide open spaces that help you see the big picture. Others are ideal for "Design" work—intimate settings that help you focus on details. And some are perfect for "Integration"—powerful landscapes that help you commit to your new direction.
Accessing hidden Iceland safely requires understanding weather patterns, road conditions, and seasonal changes that only come from living here. I know which locations are accessible in different conditions, and how to adjust plans when Iceland's weather demands flexibility.
What This Means for Your Business, Career, or Creative Breakthrough at the Iceland Retreat
No Distractions, Maximum Focus. When you're at a hidden location with just four other creative entrepreneurs, there's nowhere to hide from the work. No gift shops to browse, no crowds to blend into, no familiar distractions to pull your attention away from the difficult conversations you need to have with yourself.
Personalized Transformation Environment. Because these locations aren't standardized tourist experiences, each one can be chosen specifically for what your group needs that day. If the group needs expansive thinking, we go to wide open spaces. If they need intimate reflection, we find secluded corners of Iceland that match that energy.
Memory Anchoring. Years later, when you're facing another business transition or difficult decision, you'll have permanent access to these breakthrough moments, not through generic memories of tourist attractions, but through deeply personal experiences of places that felt like they were chosen just for you.
The "Impossible to Replicate" Factor. No one else can offer you this exact experience because no one else has my combination of Iceland expertise, creative business understanding, and access to these hidden locations. This isn't something you can book through a travel agent or find on a comparison website.
The Hidden Iceland Promise. When you join the TBD Retreat, you're not just getting a business coaching session with pretty scenery. You're getting:
- Curated locations that were chosen specifically for their transformational power, not their Instagram potential
- Local expertise that comes from years of living in Iceland, not just visiting
- Exclusive access to places that aren't available through commercial tours
- Weather flexibility that allows us to work with Iceland's natural rhythms
- Memory creation in locations that become permanently linked to your breakthrough
Ready to Go Where Transformation Actually Happens?
The TBD Retreat isn't about seeing Iceland—it's about experiencing the version of Iceland that changes you.
Most retreats take you where everyone else goes. The TBD Retreat takes you where you need to go because your breakthrough deserves locations and a process as unique as you are.
xoxo
Steph
The next TBD Retreat is limited to 5 creative entrepreneurs who are ready to leave the tourist path—literally and figuratively. Learn more about joining us in hidden Iceland.
