Simple Awe Experiences
Tonight Karen and I are sitting in our camp chairs in Utopia watching the sun set. Its been a while since I really took the time to watch from first smattering of colors until the first star appears at last light. It reminded me of a time a few years back when I took a leap of faith with a major corporation. I developed and led an executive leadership retreat for them here in Utopia. It is a place far removed from the world. A beautiful spot deep in the hill country of south Texas. My goal was to remove them from the corporate treadmill for a few days and transform their perspective on leadership.
One evening I loaded them up in several jeeps and headed deep into our ranch. We climbed about 300 feet up a hill to an area that I had strategically prepared earlier in the day. The camp chairs had been positioned around a fire pit, all facing west. As they sat down, I asked them to not speak for the next hour. I asked them to forget the past and not think about the future. I challenged them to stay in the present and to look and listen to the sights and sounds as we watched the sun set.
I took a chance to create a simple awe experience that I knew would be transformational to this hard-charging group. They went for it and took it seriously.
The smattering of clouds created an amazing display of color that intensified across the next hour. The colors were otherworldly. The songbirds were softly singing their end of the day melodies. There were no vehicle sounds, only the piercing quiet of the wilderness. The deer were grazing in the distance, squirrels chattering amongst the great oaks in the valley, and a very slight breeze embraced us as if the Holy Spirit was speaking. A fingernail moon appeared just above the distant hills adding a perfect touch. We had a seat to a masterpiece that these executives hadn’t taken the time to witness in decades.
When the sun crept below the distant horizon, I started the camp fire and asked them to speak about what they experienced. Hours later after many tears, especially from the quiet marine, and personal life stories that they had never shared before, they thanked me profusely and left that hill as a new team. A sunset and a simple question turned into an awe experience that they will never forget.
You see, being intentional about creating simple yet profound awe experiences is a catalyst to transformation. It creates a precedent for possibility thinking and a life of true adventure. The mundane of this world cannot extinguish a well stoked fire no matter how small the embers might get. When raising or leading greatness, choose to create simple awe experiences carefully, purposefully, creatively, strategically, and often.
I’d love to spend a day with you this spring at a ranch near Houston discussing this and other principles of greatness. See the link below and come share a long cup of coffee with me and other like minded leaders and performers. It will be life changing for each of us.
Join Dr. Cook for a Fireside Master Class
greatness LIVE! • Houston, TX • April 17, 2026
greatness LIVE is an intimate fireside chat Master Class experience based on the best-selling book by acclaimed peak performance coach, Dr. David L. Cook.
Join this exclusive group (100 person max) this spring in Houston for a day of inspiring stories and life changing principles from Dr. Cook’s four decades of peak performance coaching.