We were lucky to catch up with Lindsey Dukes recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Lindsey, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

Ok, so this really starts long before the idea actually came about.

6 years ago, I left my corporate job, my marriage, my friends, my house and all of my stuff and decided to start traveling the world. I knew there had to be deeper purpose to life. Through a series of insanely synchronistic events, in 2017 I ended up landing a job working for the company I initially traveled with the year prior (a company that changed my life) and over the next 3.5 years I designed and led culturally immersive, adventure based trips around the world. During these travels, I stumbled across opportunities to deep dive down the spiritual path, learning from various healers, teachers and shamans all across the globe.

In September 2019 I felt an internal nudge that it was time to leave the company I’d poured my heart into, which my mind had an incredibly hard time justifying. I had been living in full alignment with my vocation, I was beyond passionate about our company and our mission. However, if there’s one thing I’ve learned throughout my 30’s, it’s to trust that gut feeling EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. So, I did. The exact day that I decided I was going to start looking, a new opportunity dropped into my lap. It was marketing in the Tech world, but was fully remote and paid more than double what I was making at the time. It sounded absolutely BORING, but for some reason I felt very strongly about at least entertaining it since the opportunity quite literally fell into my lap.

I accepted the position with the new company in January 2o20, but was adamant about not starting until March so that I could make sure my prior company was set to function smoothly in my absence. Fast forward, I start the new position on March 2, 2020. Covid hits one week later. One week after that, my old company had to let go 98% of the staff. It was at that moment that I understood why I felt the urge to leave so strongly – I couldn’t have left at a better time.

I ended up spending the next 8 months in a bit of a dark place, to be honest. Though my position was fully remote, I couldn’t travel (as none of us could). So there I was working a job that I felt no connection to or purpose in, stuck at home in Austin, TX (which isn’t an awful place to be stuck) wondering how in the hell I’d found myself working for the sake of a paycheck again. As soon as domestic travel opened, I decided I was going to go see an old mentor and saved the weekend of November 5-7th. I hadn’t bought a ticket just yet, but I had the dates saved in my calendar.

After a particularly hard week, struggling more than I’d like to admit with overall mental and emotional wellness, I decided to do something that I hadn’t done in a while – ask the Universe/God/Great Spirit/my Guides/my roommates cat (honestly I would have taken advice from anyone/anything at that point) to help. To PLEASE show me the next step. I yelled out loud through tears “I don’t have to know the ending, but F*CKING PLEASE just show me the next step…and make it loud and obvious so I can’t miss it.”

I went to bed that night and woke up at 3:00 on the dot (which is pretty common), and looked at my phone to confirm the time. Out of habit I clicked on facebook and the first thing that popped up was a FB story from a new friend that was about a wellness retreat in Sedona, AZ taking place….wait for it…November 5-7. I immediately knew that is where I was the breadcrumb I was supposed to follow, so I did.

The primary facilitator, Danielle Bryan, and I immediately clicked from the moment we met, like a very old friendship that we were finally picking up again in this lifetime. Throughout the weekend, she found out about my experience working in the international travel industry and my intense passion for it. While driving back to the airport at the end of the retreat, she looked over and asked me, “what would it look like to take a retreat like this around the world?” The idea lit me ALL THE WAY up and I was immediately ready to put the wheels in motion. Within three weeks, I’d created The Medicine Connective, LLC and we were on our way to planning the first few experiences for 2021.

So really, the idea happened because I followed another breadcrumb, met the right person and was posed a question by that person at the exact right time. Danielle is very much a large part of the creation, and I just happened to have all of the experience and extreme passion required to bring it all to life.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

In a nutshell, we’re in the business of transformative travel. We use a unique combination of deep work and deep play to help people ultimately remember that they are their own medicine, their own healer. We help people remember their unique form of medicine through deep connection with self, with other, with spirit and with our planet.

Our trips combine cultural immersion, adventure (think: hikes up active volcanos and to hidden waterfalls, white water rafting, surfing, etc.), connective activities, yoga, breathwork, meditation, workshops, and LOTS of play. Our workshops are usually based on concepts around the intersection of spirituality and science, so attendees always walk away with a grounded understanding of ancient and esoteric theories.

What we’ve found, is that people are most open to meeting new aspects of themselves when taken out of their normal environment – away from their daily lives, away from the people that expect them to show up a certain way. When you place people in a new culture, with new experiences and new people, and completely remove the stresses of normal travel (since everything is taken care of for you), it sets the stage for some powerful transformation. Add in the intentional tools and practices, and it becomes magic. The exact right people seem to magnetize to the exact right trip every single time, it’s quite remarkable.

We have a saying at The Medicine Connective, which is “keep the main thing the main thing”. For us, the main thing is that magic – the deep connection, growth and transformation that happens during these retreats. We’re not out here to focus on profit margins. Our deepest desire is to continue to make these trips as accessible as possible, so that the people that crave this type of transformation are able to experience it. We are still in our business infancy, but hope to be able to start offering scholarships within the next year!

I’ve actually vowed to not pay myself for the first 3-5 years, and to funnel any and all profits back into the company. There’s a silver lining to the tech job that I struggled with for a while in 2020 – I still have it, but have completely shifted my perspective around it. I’m grateful for it. It’s helped me build this company with the utmost purity – as I don’t depend on The Medicine Connective for my financial security. I don’t have to stress out about selling out every retreat. I don’t care if three or fifteen people register for a trip, I know that the people that do show up are the exact people that are supposed to be there.

Do I look forward to the day when I can funnel 100% of my focus and energy into this company? Absolutely! However, I’m not willing to risk the integrity of the mission to rush to that point. We’re letting this business grow like a well nurtured child – with a whole lot of love and patience, and at it’s own pace.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

100% word of mouth! After working in marketing in the international travel industry, corporate settings AND the tech world, I’ve become a bit sensitive to applying too many marketing “strategies” to what would be considered a spiritually-based company.

While I definitely want as many people as possible to be exposed to our mission and experiences, it all comes down to keeping things pure for me. When people have an incredible experience, they tell their friends. The post about it. They come back for more. Organic marketing will always be my preferred method for sourcing new clients!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Because I flipped the table on my entire life 6 years ago, and have given several talks on “quitting your 9-5 and your mundane life to pursue your passion”, I was firm on the thought that it had to be one way or the other. You either had to follow your dreams OR just work for a paycheck. There was no consideration of the “and” in that narrative.

Danielle is actually the one that really opened me up to seeing the “world of and” in all things. I can run a business full-time AND have another full-time job that supports me. I can be spiritual AND human/real/silly af. There truly are no actual rules.

Unlearning the “this or that” mindset has been a game changer for me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://themedicineconnective.com/
• Instagram: @the.medicine.connective
• Facebook: facebook.com/themedicineconnective
• Other: email: [email protected]

Image Credits
Megan Fine, Free Flow Fotography Adrian Ramirez, Rago Photography