When the Call to Adventure Won’t Let You Go — A Leadership Retreat in Japan
- Cory McGowan
- Dec 30, 2025
- 2 min read
Updated: 7 days ago
Have you ever felt a quiet inner voice whispering that your leadership could be something more? This article is an invitation to listen to that voice—and step into a new chapter of courageous leadership.
You’ve felt it before—that quiet tug that says there’s more to your leadership, and more to your life.
It usually shows up in the still moments, in the spaces between meetings or at the edge of sleep. A voice that whispers: this isn’t all there is.
Most of us know how to ignore it. We get busy. We chase goals. We follow the safe path. We put it off until someday.
But if you’ve found your way here, I believe that voice hasn’t let you go.
I know that voice well.
It’s what pulled me away from safe corporate roles into the unknown of building a life and an executive coaching practice in the mountains of Japan. It’s what guided me through failure and grief, and it’s what continues to push me into bolder, more creative leadership today.
Every leader I work with has their own version of this calling.
For some, it’s a restless sense that success hasn’t brought the aliveness they imagined.
For others, it’s the sharp awareness that their leadership has become too cautious, too predictable.
They want to inspire their teams to move boldly, but they themselves feel stuck in routines.
The truth is this:
That hesitation, that inner tension, is not a weakness.
It’s the sign of something powerful waiting to emerge.
When leaders finally listen to that call, everything changes.
They begin making decisions not just from strategy, but from courage.
They stop leading like they “should” and start leading in a way that feels unmistakably their own.
They bring back the spark that re-energizes their teams, their companies, and their lives.
This is the work I do with leaders here in Minakami through adventure-based leadership retreats and executive coaching.
Not through more theory or frameworks, but through fire, nature, silence, and deep dialogue.
Together we create the conditions for you to remember who you are when you lead at your edge.
Invitation to a Leadership Retreat in Japan
If this call feels familiar, don’t wait for a “better time.”
Reach out through the contact form just below this blog post or send me an email.
Share where you are, what’s stirring, and what you long for.
I’ll respond personally, and if it feels like a fit, we’ll set up a spark session to begin.
The fire is already burning.
All that’s left is for you to step closer.
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