By Debbie Roberts-Loucks and Dr. Susan Cain, authors of Life Lessons From The Man who Listens to Horses

It is finally summer, and that means that more people will be here in the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley, touring Flag Is Up Farms!

This month we hosted a great evening program called Night of Inspiration, featuring Monty’s signature Join-Up event, followed by a superb barbeque cookout. Over 45 people attended this great event–which was casual and at the same time very exciting. After watching a Join-Up® in Monty’s specially built round pen with viewing deck, the group headed to Monty and Pat Robert’s home atop the farm. There, they meet personally with Monty, Pat and their family, and enjoy a cocktail and dinner amid the signed photographs of the Queen of England and Pat’s award winning sculptures. It sounds like a commercial, but people who attend can’t say enough about how touched they are by the personal impact.

The next day, we held an intimate workshop called Life Lessons From The Man Who Listens To Horses. This full-day session is like an intimate book reading, a behind the scenes look at the famous stories from Monty’s original book- which spent over a year on the New York Times Best Selling list.

In this deeply personal session, participants get a chance to delve into the “back stories” in Monty’s fascinating life journey. We apply lessons learned, and think about our own lives and our own learning opportunities.

One of the session participants, Marsha Mantzoros, wrote this note about her experience:

“To you, Debbie, Monty, Pat & Laurel, thank you so much for allowing us an inside look at your life & home (stables). The small group allowed for a closer intimacy between all & I truly valued Monty’s ability especially to relay his private story. Sharing where we’ve been & what we’ve done allows comparison to all that we have become and/ or will become. A humble success story. What I regretted not asking Monty, as he goes through some struggles of his own, is how can we assist him & add to his life? What does he want from us??? How can we (I) help? Thanks again for a wonderful day.”

After receiving Marsha’s letter, we asked Marsha to tell us more about her experience. The resulting response is below:

“On June 1, 2014 I was blessed and grateful to be able to attend a seminar with Monty Roberts on his beautiful, peaceful ranch in Solvang, California. Living all my life on the East Coast, I never raised my head to notice this extraordinary Cowboy from the west who was doing wonders with horses in a way that I would have very much appreciated to

know about. So here I am in my 60’s, now living in California, and finally paying attention to a man worth paying attention to! The Life Lessons event on Sunday was beautiful, inspiring and fun. Pat Roberts, Debbie, Laurel (Roberts) and Sue Cain were all there to contribute to the day. Because of the small group, it was all up close & personal. All our questions and observations were addressed.

I came away feeling totally fulfilled, and that I am now on a path that would lead me forward with more insight and compassion for our giving, loyal friend, the horse.

Many thanks to the Roberts family and associates for putting this day together, for making us feel welcome and for passing on some valuable horse wisdom that we can carry with us.”

We get these responses from so many people that come away with a sense of renewal from Monty’s workshops. Even reading a Monty book or watching him work online via the Monty Robert’s Online University brings this improbable response on. It’s amazing and gratifying to watch Monty’s impact on people. From our Life Lessons workshop, we have a few tips to share to help you discover lessons taken from the session. Take a look at the personal development tools we introduced at the session here:

Toolkit: http://corplearning.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/lifelessonstoolkit-final-140113142237-phpapp01.pdf.

You can find the Life Lessons book here, at Amazon: Book: http://www.amazon.com/Life-Lessons-Man-Listens-Horses-ebook/dp/B00BFJKSTI/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1402692807&sr=1-1&keywords=life+lessons+from+the+man+who+listens+to+horses.

Find the Monty Roberts Online University here: www.montyroberts.com.

Join us for a Night of Inspiration or Life Lessons workshop. Contact Debbie Roberts-Loucks at [email protected].