Baja, Reborn.

The broad, blank canvas of Baja, Mexico, helps an entrepreneur find new meaning later in life.

- Chip Conley

Alfredo,” a tall, centuries-old cactus, stood watch over the shaman performing his blessings and cleansings amid the sound of yelping sea lions in the distance. I was out of my natural habitat, but I felt strangely at home in this wild and beautiful landscape along Mexico’s Baja California Sur coast. If you had told me two decades ago that I’d be hanging out with a shaman on the beach, I would have said you were nuts. But at age 50, I was feeling burned out and a bit lost in my career. I was searching for a new purpose and, more importantly, a sense of freedom. This region’s untamed nature and laid-back pace turned out to be what I needed to help me find my way.

Over the years, I’d been visiting Todos Santos, a surf town about an hour north of Cabo San Lucas that has long attracted artists and musicians—a town full of starlight but without a stoplight. Yet it was the surrounding area, with its rugged terrain and gracious spirit, that captured my imagination. One word described it all: fresh. The organic farmland and beaches. The adventure sports. The migrating whales and the hatching sea turtles that arrived during the peak winter season. All of that natural freshness inspired fresh ideas. It was a place where I could think big, creative thoughts.