I arrived at the retreat center, a humble space tucked along the volcanic shores of Lake Atitlán, Guatemala, on the edge of exhaustion. I had been running. Running from noise, running toward something I couldn’t quite name. Life had been loud, even in its silence. Emails. Strategies. Meetings. Decisions. The endless hum of what’s next.

And then, for four days, there was nothing but darkness.

A dark retreat is exactly what it sounds like: complete isolation in absolute blackness. No phones. No books. No distractions. No light. It was a kind of forced presence that stripped away every last crutch, every habit of avoidance, and left me with only myself.

Here’s what I learned.

1. The Darkness Pulls You Into the Present

Try as you might to plan, to map out the future, to anticipate what’s next–the dark doesn’t care. There is no calendar, no clock, no agenda. The only place you can be is here.

In business, we love control. We obsess over forecasts, roadmaps, and five-year strategies. But how much of our power is actually found in presence? When I stopped resisting the moment, when I surrendered to the now–clarity arrived in unexpected ways. It wasn’t about forcing answers. It was about making space for them to emerge.

High-performing leaders often live in the future, strategizing five steps ahead. But the best decisions aren’t always made through overplanning; they come from listening deeply to the present moment. Make time for clarity: block out a couple of hours each week with no distractions, no screens, just space to think.

Ask yourself: How often do I let myself sit with the present, without distraction? Without scrolling, without fixing, without filling the gaps with more? The most transformative ideas are often born in the spaces we refuse to enter.

2. Holding Space is Leadership—For Others and Ourselves

Darkness is the ultimate void, the ultimate container. It holds everything without judgment, without expectation. It simply is.

As leaders, we are taught to hold space for others. We are mentors, advisors, sounding boards. We listen, we guide, and we create room for people to grow. But when was the last time we did this for ourselves?

In the silence, I realized how much of my own inner voice had been drowned out by the needs of others. Not because they demanded it but because I hadn’t given myself permission to pause. If we don’t hold space for our own recalibration, our leadership becomes performative, not regenerative.

The best leaders aren’t just problem-solvers; they’re presence-holders. Psychological safety – the ability to create an environment where people feel safe to speak up, innovate, and take risks– starts with a leader who is calm, clear, and deeply present.

Ask Yourself: Do I lead from a place of presence, or am I reacting to external demands? What if the greatest act of leadership wasn’t in doing more, but in allowing yourself to be still?

3. When the Soul Calls, Answer. Even If You Don’t Know Why.

I didn’t know why I needed this retreat. I just knew I did. There was no logical reason, only a pull, a whisper, an urgency that defied explanation.

We spend so much of our lives ignoring these calls. We override them with busyness, with logic, with pragmatism. We tell ourselves, not now, maybe later, when there’s more time, when there’s more certainty.

But the most profound shifts rarely come with a clear itinerary. They don’t wait for convenience. They arrive as a quiet knowing, asking only that we trust.

The most successful entrepreneurs, investors, and visionaries don’t just follow data—they follow intuition. Warren Buffett has talked about his “inner scorecard,” and Jeff Bezos credits his biggest decisions to gut instincts. 

Next time you feel pulled toward an idea but can’t rationalize it, try this: instead of asking Does this make sense?, ask What would happen if I ignored this? Trust isn’t always about certainty; sometimes, it’s about giving yourself permission to move forward without it. If the soul calls, go. Even if you don’t understand the destination.

Ask Yourself: How many times have I shut out the instincts that could have changed everything? How often do I ignore what I feel because it doesn’t fit neatly into what I planned?

4. You Don’t Need a Dark Retreat to Find the Light

Most people won’t do a dark retreat. Many don’t want to. And that’s okay. Not everyone needs to step into pitch blackness to meet themselves.

But what if the essence of this experience could be found in simpler ways?

Close your eyes. Breathe. Say out loud how you’re feeling–without filtering, without shaping it to sound acceptable. Just name it. “I am overwhelmed.” “I am tired.” “I don’t know what comes next!”

Self-awareness isn’t a luxury; it’s a business advantage. Studies show that highly self-aware leaders outperform those who lack insight into their emotions, reactions, and leadership styles.

Sometimes, self-awareness is the only key we need. Sometimes, simply admitting where we are is what unlocks where we need to go.

Ask Yourself: How can I build more moments of awareness into my leadership?

The Space Between Light and Dark

There is an energy in certain lands. The volcanic soil beneath Lake Atitlán hums with an ancient stillness, a reminder of all that came before. The darkness in that small retreat held me like the earth itself, without expectation, without demand, until I could hear myself again.

In the world of business, of leadership, of relentless momentum, we are taught to chase the light. But there is wisdom in the dark, too.

The question is: Will you make space to listen?