“Samir is a storyteller and he does have stories to tell.”
Lori De Mori
Tuscan Cookbook Author and London Restaurateur
"I had the great good fortune to spend a day cooking with Samir at my house in Tuscany last autumn. We were with the poet David Whyte cooking for 40 people in a wood burning oven. Samir rolled up his sleeves and dove right in with such tremendous skill, ease and lightness of spirit that I remember telling him, “You need need to go out and do this in the world!” I’m so glad he is!"
Rod Colburn
Managing Director, GOLDMAN SACHS
"Samir is a brilliant chef and an amazing human being. He changed my experience and relationships with food, and with that, the way I experience life. Three days with him were full of learning, delight, and surprises."
Patricia Morrison
Creative Professional and Business Owner, INNER FIRE OUTER LIGHT
“I received what might have been the best coaching session of my life, a gentle and profound experience of opening followed by numerous pivots towards growing confidence and focus"
Robert Manchin
Former Director, GALLUP EUROPE
"At a retreat in Croatia, we went past unneccesarily complicated answers to what’s deeply personal and existential, each of us tackling the most perplexing issue we came with, something I've rarely seen in my long professional and personal experience."
Parker Palmer
Samir offers us the fruits of his rich experience. We need more Samirs on the planet—people of conviction and humility.
Karen Armstrong
Samir Selmanovic is asking the right questions at the right time.
Richard Rohr
Obvious truth must be made even more obvious, and this is what Samir is doing for all of us.
Ken Bradley
CEO, FLORIDA HOSPITAL WINTER PARK
"Over the course of a year, Samir helped our hospital leadership team rest in ways deeper than physical rest, contextualizing his work with us in a way that resonates, is impactful, and 'sticks.I would highly recommend Samir to senior leadership teams for change management, cultural contextualization and fresh approaches to problem definition and solution.'"
Michael W. Morrison
Founder of University of TOYOTA
“Samir brings clarity, focus and spirit to the leadership journey. He 'guides from the side' — creating a powerful pull on our deepest desires to create meaningful change. He has changed the way I think about leadership and how I think about myself.”
Lori Wilson
Facilitator and Director of Getting Things Done, EffectX
"Samir’s online live workshop was so much fun! He introduced the possibility that the kitchen can be not only a place to enjoy good food, but also a place of transformation. Our group found the hands-on part of the workshop especially valuable, and afterward continued the conversation about what we might learn from ordinary kitchen utensils, when we listen. Thanks, Samir!"
Kathryn Himes
Chief of Staff, HR Business & Employee Solutions, INTEL CORPORATION
“Samir has been able to bring out hidden wisdom and courage in myself, that I hadn't been able to tap into until now.Every coaching conversation I have had with Samir ends with me feeling full of hope, clear direction and energy to accomplish what I know I was meant to do.”
What makes you curious?
WAYFINDING LEADERSHIP
Coaching and Practice Program
WE THRIVE WHEN WE BEFRIEND THE UNKNOWN
This is a journey from managing change (or being managed by it) to inhabiting and redirecting change that is already underway. It involves going into the wild (and/or holy) and finding your way in the unknown.
You will have an opportunity to move through the complexity of your experience and pursue the way of living, loving, and leading as you go.
We want to become competent and fully human beings, create our shared post-threshold lives, and contribute to what is needed now in the world.
COOK FOR LIFE RETREAT
Organizations/Corporate
GROW YOUR PEOPLE IN THE WAY THAT MATTERS
Employees are leaning into their innately human skills and doubling down on what data, robots, and AI can’t do.
Growth mindset, communication, storytelling, focus mastery, culture awareness, and creativity are at the top of the list of the fastest-growing and most valuable skills in the workplace in 2020.
Since the beginning, that's what the kitchen has been all about!
COOK FOR LIFE RETREAT
Home Partnerships
HOST A COOKING RETREAT RETREAT IN YOUR KITCHEN
In-person or virtually, you would be the host. I would be the chef. Your guest would come to:
- learn to have more confidence, competence, and joy in the kitchen,
- use cooking for personal or professional development,
- strengthen their relationships with family, friends, or neighbors.
The kitchen is about courage, joy, and freedom.
COOK FOR LIFE RETREAT
Personal Experience
LIFE-GIVING CHANGE IS NOT ABOUT TRYING HARDER
Old tired ways of being loosen up and melt away. A sense of freedom to be yourself surprises you. And stays with you. Through experimentation and practice, you learn how to learn.
You get out of your head and into your body. Your busy hands and anchored feet keep you in the here and now. Your shoulders drop and your heart opens as you discover that your life is enough.
For more clarity, passion, and grounding for what's to come, join Samir for a three-day contemplative cooking experience in his kitchen, steps from Central Park!
MYSTICAL JOURNEYS
New York City, USA | Umbria, Italy | Adriatic, Croatia
Coming Soon
GREAT JOURNEYS EXPAND OUR PERCEPTIONS
I want to take you to places, people, experiences, and--of course--cuisines which I have relished in life so far. This is what I have been dreaming of for years.
Forget the nice trips! Let's take mystical journeys, pay attention to the ordinary, and learn to see the world a bit differently.
