ABOUT RICK COWLEY
Purpose catalyst. Cancer survivor. Father. Surf bum.
Most people spend their whole lives ignoring their purpose and aiming at an inauthentic version of success.
They conform to some false ideal that came from parents and teachers and movies. As they follow the herd and chase this generic "success" they lose more and more of themselves along the way. They move on through the years and decades with a nagging feeling that they're not really satisfied or living the life that is right for their unique soul. They don't know who they are. They don't know what they're here to do. They don't believe in themselves. But they also don't know what to do about it.
Often even if they get to "success" they experience a huge let down, like, "Is this it? I did everything I was supposed to do to be happy and fulfilled, but I'm not."
They go on this whole long wonderful adventure of life, but miss out on the main point of it... their unique PURPOSE. They miss out on the magical flow of support that life offers when you're living in alignment with your calling. Inevitably the end of their life comes and sadly they have to admit that they didn't do what they REALLY wanted to do in life. The fear kept them small and stuck and trapped. And then they die.
Ouch.
The VysionQuest is a wake up call to make sure that doesn't happen.
The whole reason that I created the VysionQuest was that I had an amazing experience when I was 21 years old... leukemia.
(Cancer of the bone marrow. Basically it shuts off your immune system so you can't fight infections.)
It was brutal and effing scary! But it turned out to be one best things that ever happened to me.
Cancer was an AWAKENING that totally changed me and the trajectory of my life because I got to see 3 important things:
1. I got to see how TEMPORARY our lives are.
I got to face the fact is that this lifetime is going to end. It's just a matter of time. You can't get time back and you don't know how long you have left. It filled me with an appreciation for my days and moments, appreciation for my loved ones, a sense of presence. It filled me with an urgency to go for it now. To speak my mind and heart. I didn't care what other people thought about me. I wasn't afraid to fail. Because when you're facing your mortality, what have you got to lose!? Seeing the temporariness of life gave me FEARLESSNESS.
2. I learned to LISTEN to my Inner Knowing.
And I started to be able to dialogue with it and ask questions and hear answers. The process was always uplifting and inspiring, and even when I didn't hear answers. Just the process of being still and listening was powerful. But I usually did get practical answers for my life, things that I could do and change. I felt aligned with the greater power at the source of life. I call it the Great Flow. This deeper connection made me feel like even though most of life is out of our control and most of life is a mystery that things are going to be okay. There's a loving intelligence at work behind the scenes. Listening to my Inner Knowing gave me CONNECTION.
3. I REFLECTED DEEPLY and HONESTLY on who I wanted to be and what I truly wanted to do with my life.
I followed my inspiration and revealed a clear vision based on what gives me joy, what excites me, my priorities, my dreams... and most importantly, my purpose. I had the space and time for it because of how interrupted my life had been. I couldn't do all the things I normally did - go to school, go surfing, do yoga, etc... I had so much quiet time in the hospital and at home. And thankfully there wasn't social media or YouTube or Netflix back then. I also had the support of a very special psychologist (thank you, Dr. Ted.) Reflecting deeply and honestly gave me CLARITY.
These 3 realizations set me free to be myself and do what I really wanted to do with my life.
It was almost like I didn't have a choice anymore! As the years went on, I realized how special my cancer experience was, how transformative it was and what a blessing it was. My perspective on life was so different from most people. I lived my life differently. I made my life into an adventure.
I started thinking, "How amazing would it be to somehow help others have that same AWAKENING experience... without having to almost die!?"
A mission started brewing in my soul. I've been obsessed with it ever since. What if other people could get this same deep self-understanding? What if they understood what their true priorities in life were? What if they felt how precious their time on Earth was? What if they discovered their unique purpose? What if they believed in themselves to fulfill it? What if they LOVED themselves exactly as they were and stopped trying to be someone they're not?
And then one day in 2010 I did it. I scheduled my first retreat and created the very first version of the program. It was a magical week and the tears and smiles in our final group hug showed me that the program had worked.
Retreat #1 - Aug 2010
Retreat #7 - Jun 2013
Retreat #14 - Aug 2014
Retreat #31 - Mar 2016
Retreat #55 - Sep 2020
Retreat #59 - July 2021
Since then I've been improving and refining the process during 50+ retreats, with feedback from hundreds of big-hearted achievers who have joined me for the adventure, both on retreat and online.
In 2016 I put the course into a 28-day online version that could be done from anywhere at anytime. By the way, I almost called it an "offline" course because I designed it so that you spend almost no time in front of screens. Life-changing clarity happens when you are looking inward, not at a screen! In late 2021, with retreats on hold thanks to covid, I had the time to do a major update to the whole course. The VysionQuest has become a super reliable and transformational process that is unlike anything that any of my participants have ever done before.
I want to emphasize something: You don't need to be perfect. You just need to be YOU.
I definitely don't feel fearless, connected and clear all the time. I've got plenty of flaws and weaknesses and bad habits, probably like you. I'm not especially smart or hard working. I mean, I love working hard on things that matter but I love being lazy too. I think I'm pretty much a bum ("You're NOT a bum!" my girlfriend says and we laugh.) I'm a sensitive introvert making my way in a hard world. And like everyone I have ups and downs. I think one of the most frustrating things is when we put too much pressure on ourselves to be perfect and then self-doubt holds us back, for example...
Even with everything I'd gained from my cancer adventure I was terrified to run my first retreat. I put it off for years. I'm embarrassed to admit that.
I think that often the dreams that are related to our purpose feel extra scary because they are so important to us. We don't want to fail at them. My excuses were:
- I need more training/experiene before I have anything valuable to offer.
- Who am I to be able to help people?
- I need to have my sh*t together before I can help people.
- I need to have more money before I can help people.
But if I'd waited for those things to happen I would have gone to my grave without ever running my first retreat or creating the VysionQuest. And instead of reading my page you'd be mindlessly scrolling Facebook :)
The difference in my life has been the level of clarity and self-understanding I've been so fortunate to get.
As I said before... once you get enough deeper clarity, you can't go back. You are committed to your purpose and vision! I want to give you examples of some "impossible" dreams that have come true for me because of this clarity:
- Create a 6-figure, deeply fulfilling, adventurous, purpose-driven business that changes lives and that I can run from anywhere.
- Make peace with my ex-wife and create a supportive, harmonious co-parenting relationship with her. (She even caters at my retreats.)
- Raise two awesome kids who were born at home, raised barefoot and mostly didn't go to school.
- Live and work in Mexico and Bali and Australia - and have a flexible schedule so I can surf when the waves are best.
- Live walking distance to the beach (I LOVE walking to the beach as opposed to driving) and get in the ocean - or go to a yoga class or jujitsu class - most days.
- Create a peaceful, passionate, playful relationship with my beautiful girlfriend. She's a welcome part of my family. And she's part of the VQ retreat team!
If a surf bum like me can do these things, what could YOU do?
