It started with a simple plan.


My daughter had the opportunity to attend a soccer camp in Barcelona last winter. One of us was going to fly over with her for six weeks, stay in a rental, and hold down the fort while she trained.


But then my husband and I asked the question that changed everything:


What if we didn’t just send her? What if we all went? What if we pulled the kids out of school, I worked online, and we gave ourselves permission to live differently—even if just for a season?


So, we did it. We packed up our lives in Canada and landed in Spain. We thought it would be temporary. But Barcelona captured our hearts in a way we didn’t expect—and we made the decision to stay.


That bold leap wasn’t just about geography. It became a lesson in creativity, business, and leadership. The city taught me lessons I now call The Barcelona Effect—principles that have reshaped how I think about building a business and a life that lasts.

Lesson #1: History Matters, But It Can’t Hold You Back

Barcelona is a city of layers.


In the Gothic Quarter, you walk down cobblestone alleys so narrow they block the sun. It smells of earth and history. You can feel the weight of hundreds of years pressing in. It’s grounding, humbling, a reminder of where we’ve come from.


And then you step out into the light and see Gaudí’s architecture—playful, modern, whimsical, defiant. Buildings that look like they were dreamt into existence.


The contrast stopped me in my tracks.


Because isn’t this what we need as entrepreneurs and practitioners? To honor the roots of our training, our discipline, our hard-earned foundation—while also giving ourselves permission to do things differently?


We can cling so tightly to tradition that we lose momentum. Or we can chase the new and forget our roots. The real power is when the two come together: respecting what got us here while innovating to get us there.


That’s what Barcelona embodies. And it’s the lesson that has shaped how I think about the future of healthcare and entrepreneurship.

Lesson #2: Vision Requires Permission

When Gaudí designed the Sagrada Família, he insisted the tallest spire remain shorter than the mountain behind it. Out of humility. Out of reverence. Out of the belief that man’s creation should not outdo nature’s.


That decision fascinated me. Because while it’s about humility, it’s also about vision. He imagined something the world had never seen before—and then actually built it (even if it’s still under construction centuries later!).


Standing in front of that cathedral, I realized how often we stop short of our own vision. We worry about humility, about being “too much,” about failing.


But Barcelona gave me permission to stop playing small. To acknowledge that my past work as a clinician and entrepreneur is the foundation—but not the ceiling. To build on top of what I’ve done, not diminish it.


The same is true for you. Whatever chapter you’ve lived up until now doesn’t have to be the capstone. It can be the launching pad.

Lesson #3: Lifestyle Alignment Isn’t a Luxury—It’s the Strategy

We didn’t move here just for soccer. We came for the ocean, the architecture, the slower mornings, the kind of climate that makes you want to take a walk after dinner instead of collapse on the couch.


Because here’s the truth: vision without lifestyle alignment will eventually break you.

If you want to 10x your impact, it won’t come from hustling harder—it comes from building systems and strategies that honor your life.


Barcelona taught me that impact is meaningless if you sacrifice yourself to get there. Success has to include paid time off, dinners with your family, creative space in your day, time to breathe.


That’s not indulgence. It’s smart business design.

Lesson #4: Reinvention Is Possible (In Business and in Care)

One of my favorite discoveries here was an old hospital in the heart of the city. It’s no longer a hospital—it’s now an art gallery.


Think about that. A place that once represented medicine and healing has been reinvented as a space for creativity, reflection, and community.


That transformation reminded me of what’s possible in our industry. Just because care has always been delivered one way doesn’t mean it always should. Just because we’ve marketed or structured our practices a certain way doesn’t mean we can’t reimagine them.


Reinvention isn’t a rejection of the past. It’s an honoring of it—just like Barcelona does—while choosing something new for the future.

What This Means for You

Delivering Impact LIVEs 2025 (October 16–18) from Barcelona feels symbolic. This city has been my teacher, and the lessons it offers—about honoring your roots, expanding your vision, aligning with your lifestyle, and daring to reinvent—are exactly what we’ll be diving into at this event.


At Impact LIVEs, we’ll ask the questions that Barcelona asked me:

  • How do you honor the foundation you’ve already built?

  • What would it look like to define your next bold chapter?

  • How can you execute on a 10x vision without burning out?

  • What might reinvention look like in your practice, your business, and your life?


Barcelona cracked something open in me. Impact LIVEs is where I’ll help you crack open the same possibility in yourself.


Note: This event has passed.