Backstory
Early Adventures in Creative Leadership
I studied business at the University of Richmond only to promptly leave the U.S. and purchase and operate a boutique hotel business in Casco Viejo Panama, a UNESCO World Heritage neighborhood that had fallen on harder times (2006).
As the only luxury accommodations in town, I became a community leader with the co-creation of a gang-intervention program, Esperanza San Felipe, demobilizing street gangs and creating jobs through entrepreneurship.
Applying my Casco Viejo community lessons to the virtual world I created VRMB.com, an online platform helping vacation rental owners and operators with marketing breakthroughs.
I eventually left Panama for Miami where swimming in the ocean each morning and riding my bike to meetings became a level-up. Back in my home country (but still immersed in Latino culture) is where I started hosting in-person retreats.
This is when things got interesting (slide the prism forward)...
"I am the bottleneck!"
How can we lead others if we're not leading ourselves?
I had reached a point in my career where I had everything that should make me successful on paper (a passive-income business, travel shows and documentaries, speaking gigs around the world)...but I sensed deep down there was a next level of clarity to growth.
In 2022, less than a month before hosting my first retreat, I serendipitously met two gurus Jordan Bower and Erwin Pearlman, who specialize in transformative and mystical growth, at a BBQ in Vancouver.
Jordan and Erwin encouraged me to take a big step back to explore what I really wanted for myself in business and life. They challenged me to go places I had never been. And answer questions I had never considered.
Having worked with hundreds of clients in group settings, I was excited but also unsure as to what this next level of success could look like beyond my material world. But I went for it! Here Goes Nothin...
Stuck in My Own Echo Chamber
The same people, ideas, and conversations were being recycled and everything started feeling stale.
Lack of Creative Intelligence
My capacity to lead was impeded by a lot of intellect yet not enough intuition.
Success Without Meaning
It felt empty running from mountain top to mountain top. Money is great. But there had to be more to this whole game.
No Clear Vision
I wasn't clear on my vision for the future. And my team was just going with that nebulous flow.
Inflection
It's hard to put my finger on any one inflection point that was the catalyst for my transformation because the discovery process has been an evolving string of powerful experiences that have each greatly enhanced my worldview.
In a meditation cave in Tibet, I had a vision of myself combusting into a million crystal shards in outer space. I googled what that meant and discovered it's a hallmark ego death sensation in psychedelics, near death experiences, and (get this) Tibetan meditation caves! LOL!
Another inflection point took place on a conference stage in Barcelona, where the decision to follow my heart created a highly pressurized situation between Israeli and Palestinian attendees. It resolved almost magically and in hindsight seems like we were, for a few minutes, channeling the universe.
I visited the House of Beautiful Business in Tangier, Morocco and was mind-blown to discover what business gatherings can achieve: irreversibly shaping my own business model moving forward.
The choice to frame growth in inflection points has yielded extremely high-grade information for me: each adventure, experiment, test, pilot project...etc. becomes an arrow pointing at a hidden door.
In one meeting Matt shifted the way I think about designing futures. Chasing good vibes isn’t a side quest, it’s the whole damn point.Jinnie Templin, digital creator
Discoveries in Creative Leadership
In-Person Gatherings
As technology speeds up, we slow down and choose to connect with each other as humans.
Authentic Communication
Work with Matt to design and co-facilitate a transformative gathering for your team or community. This is not a done-for-you service — it depends on an exemplar leader who seeks to lead by example.
Future-Making
Reimagine your positioning from the inside out. Identify what chapter needs to end, enter the discovery process, and emerge with a new sense of purpose, mission, and alignment.
With simple language Matt creates profound moments over and over again, leading to a new awakening; a new way of seeing ourselves.Paul Waldschmidt, OwnerRez
After one call with Matt I had so much more clarity and direction around a problem I was trying to solve. Matt shakes things up and really got me down into the dirty work of challenging myself.Emma Cole, product marketer
My Next Phase of Operations
The benefits of creative growth are what it feels like taking off a tight shoe.
First, a relief because I had so much pent-up energy bottlenecked. Followed quickly by a sense of freedom and expansion, as new ideas flowed and new people began to come out of the woodwork.
My next phase of operations is doing more in-person gatherings with people and companies who are doubling-down on Soul and authenticity as key differentiators in the age of A.I.
I host transformation retreats several times a year. And talks every month in Miami where residents from all walks of life can enjoy the benefits of creative leadership that I am so excited about (free of charge). I've started recording my talks as a podcast too! Storylines.
If you are wondering about working together, I am one-part consultant, one-part coach, one-part curious question-asker, one part bold peer telling you to be more yourself. To explore synergies, please use the button below.
A Sense of Accomplishment
Pouring 100% of your focus and passion into the work you choose creates confidence!
Greater Adaptive Energy
Respond to market shifts and industry corrections quickly and effortlessly with a full tank of agility and adaptability.
Deeper Relationships
Feeling proud about leading friends and family with clarity and love, even (read: especially) through challenging times.
Frictionless Flow
When you discover your true nature and match your life to it, there's less thinking and more just being naturally and confidently yourself.
Who Is
I'm Matt Landau! And thanks for visiting my website!
Some people know me as a retreat facilitator, some have attended my speaking gigs, and others call me an advisor with an unconventional approach to business.
My job consists of sharing my own discoveries about creative leadership and transformative growth with the goal of helping others find their true nature and match their lives to it.
In 2022, I experienced a profound life-shift meeting two gurus at a backyard BBQ in Vancouver. The encounter set off a series of events have that fundamentally change who I am and how I see the future.
This website is intended to inspire anyone looking for a next big leap. Just use the prism bar at the bottom to scroll back and forth through my timeline of events.
Thanks for visiting!
Matt’s at the beginning of something big. It’s gonna be a tidal wave and we’re all gonna be caught up in it. Matt’s able to help people do something about it.John Suzuki, tech evangelist