Pat:  Hey everyone. Good morning. It’s Pat and everyone with me. We’re actually at the Phoenix airport, and we are heading home from a magical, mystical time in Sedona. We landed there on Thursday night for a team retreat with a twist, with a difference. What we wanted to do before we head back into the jungle of life and into our own worlds was to talk about some of the things that you saw us doing on my Facebook page.

We wanted to share with you the whole concept of team. Those of you who have been following me, you know I’ve run my business now for about 8 years in the new life of mine and, for those of you who really have been following me, you know that Cheryl, in particular, has been with me a long time on my team.

It’s a bit of an interesting and unique situation when you come away from your offices, your families, your homes, and you spend time together under one roof. We rented a beautiful Air BNB in Sedona, and you’re together under one roof for Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and this morning, what happens with that. But first of all, I want you to know that you have to be a certain kind of leader to invite your team to come away from their family, from their business, from their homes, from their dogs, from the world they loved, to come across the country in most cases, to come and spend time with me and to map out my business, but also for some R and R. How do you create that? We’re going to talk about that a little bit and then share some of the highlights of what we experienced over the last few days so you too can set the vision, you too can make some changes, you too can do whatever it takes to create the blessing that I have in my business.

Let me start with Cheryl, because she has been with me the longest. There you go, Cheryl, it’s all yours. What’s your key point around team? What works?

Cheryl:  I think what works the most is that Pat has always at least given us an overview of what she is planning for her business. She will give us what she calls a six-month brain dump, and just giving us a highlight, an overview of what she wants for the next six months. This allows us, as a team, to be able to start using our creative juices, our excellence to be able to help Pat get to where she wants to be in six months. If a client doesn’t really know where they’re going and they’re hopping all over the place, you’re going to have a team that’s going to go all over the place. You’re not going to be able to accomplish what you want to do. However, a team does need to be flexible enough to be able to adjust and make those little adjustments as you go along. If something’s not working, then you need to be able to do that, but there’s nothing worse than having a client that changes their mind every week on which way they’re going to go. “I’m going to sell this.” “No, I’m going to do this.”

Pat:  That would be those creative entrepreneurs like we all are.

Cheryl:  And that’s fine in a way, but you need to be able to at least have an overview of the goals. I think that’s what is kind of important to be able to do.

Pat:  And you have to be flexible because we preplanned this as we arrived, and I know Susan wanted to go first, and I just changed it all up. See, you have to be flexible and go with the flow. So, Susan, add your point there what you wanted to share about the whole team concept, the world of team.

Susan:  For anybody who’s at that point in their business and they know that they cannot do it all on their own, you can start small, but I really, really recommend, and what I’ve experienced with Pat and the team that we’re sitting here with right now, is you need to hire right. What I mean by that is make sure that you’ve got the highest level of skillset, the highest integrity, somebody that fits with your unique values and, once you do that, then you need to empower them so that they can do the job that you hired them to do. Something that I think that Pat does phenomenally well is she believes in her heart that we’re all equal, so there’s never this ego-based them against us or me dictating.

Pat:  That hierarchy thing.

Susan:  It’s all about all of us and everyone is free to speak, and everyone is free to share ideas or constructive feedback, and when you create that, I think that you get the best out of everyone. For me, that’s what I’ve experienced and what I would recommend.

Pat:  A lot of key points there, everybody. I see that Jade joined us. Hi Jade. Jade was an active part of my team for quite a few years and now she is with us in spirit all the time. Jade, we’re really happy to see you here. Those are some key points as well, and Denise, she really runs my life, runs my world, runs the team, runs the business. She really does. She also has some key messages. Take it away, Denise.

Denise:  I think the biggest part of the success of our team is that we all respect one another, and that respect leads into knowing that we all have a piece that we need to fit together and implement the strategy that Pat brings forward, so she understands that if she’s the bottleneck and she doesn’t follow through—

Pat:  And she has been the bottleneck.

Denise:  And that happens a lot at times with the business owner. You need to recognize that you come up with the idea, but if you don’t give everybody on your team the pieces necessary to implement the strategy, further down the line, Cheryl is putting together her piece, it’s usually the last piece. If we don’t have enough respect for one another and only think about our one small piece, Cheryl is the one that’s going to have to rush around and get something done and meet the deadlines. If you’re at the top of the pyramid, which you’re coming up with the strategy as the business owner, you really need to take into consideration that your team member, each one of them, needs to have time in their space to create, and don’t hustle, hustle, hustle. We all get tired of hustling, so have enough respect for everyone on your team and allow them the time they need to prepare.

Susan:  Well said. It’s about respect.

Pat:  Yes, it’s about respect, and I’ll tell you where that starts is also, for those of you who are on here who are the entrepreneur in the business and you’re doing the hiring, you have to know your core values. Without your core values, as Susan said, you can’t hire right. Without your core values deeply ingrained, identified, communicated, and shared with the team, there is no way you can stay together, work together, and develop respect. It’s just not going to happen. My team knows what my core values are, and primarily it starts with faith. I walk in faith, I act in faith, I work in faith; however, that also has to move to profitability. They know that this is about business, so each and every person on this team knows and respects this is about business and making money, making a profit, and making a difference, so core values is key here as well.

Another core value is fun, so let’s talk a little bit about fun. Seriously, if you didn’t see the video that we posted yesterday, you’ve got to go on my page here and look at the video, first video down in the river creek. Let’s talk about that a little bit, because that’s really where a lot of the creativity was happening yesterday morning, and then for sure you have to go look at what we did in the afternoon in our jeep tour because that’s just going to bring a smile to your face. Let’s talk about the time down by the river. What was that like for you when we actually got into the nuts and bolts of what’s this is going to look like over the next year and few years?

Susan:  I think what was beautiful about that experience is we had already had a fair amount of time to spend with each other and to relax, to sleep, to eat well, and do all the things that make you feel like you’re in a good place. By the time we got down by the riverbed or the creek bed, whatever it was—

Pat:  I call it God’s boardroom. That’s where we were.

Susan:  It was beautiful and we were all in a really, really good place, so we weren’t feeling any pressure to perform. It was really just about holding the space for Pat to share what her business vision was and be open to letting that percolate and to see where we fit, and what questions we might have. I think, for me, it was about having the time to get to know everybody personally because, when we work together, we know what our skillsets are, we know the job we perform on Pat’s team, but taking the time to get to know each other personally was what made that portion of it so much more effective.

Pat:  It’s snowing in Colorado. Thank you, Jade. It’s hot as all get out in Phoenix, I’ll tell you that. Our lips are fried. We have sunburn and, seriously, this is a place for special people to live, and that would not be me.

We were down by the river, and I did that on purpose because when you’re on a retreat, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to stay in a hotel boardroom. In fact, I believe that really crimps creativity. We all are outdoor people. Our biggest challenge was getting up and down the rocks.

Susan:  Some more than others.

Pat:  Yes, exactly. So that was some of the challenge, but I believe we were in God’s boardroom. Again, the pictures reflect that, so have a look at that. Denise, what was it like for you down there?

Denise:  For me, that’s my place anyway, where I rejuvenate, so it was amazing to spend it with team members. For me, to be able to experience the dream that we’re all helping support, basically we’re all online business owners and we all claim to create the life we want to be, we want to be on the road and be free, and Pat has managed to actually live the life, not just talk about it, and that was so amazing to be able to sit on a rock and listen to the water, and also listen to her and figure out how we can support her dream, and enjoy more of it, and she’s such an amazing person that she’s willing to share her vision.

Susan:  She took us there with her.

Denise:  She did. She shared with us what she created.

Pat:  And that’s a big lesson for my many of you in leadership. You really do need to let go of the fear. Communication is key. Open your heart. Let your team in. They need to know what you’re thinking, how you’re feeling, what some of your fears and challenges are, and what you’re excited about, and bring them along on the journey. I see some of you who are joining us here, you’re not familiar with my team, but Susan is from Syracuse, New York. Denise is from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and Cheryl is from California, and I’m from south of Toronto. It takes certain leadership skills to pull together a team virtually, and we’ve been together for years now, virtually. Again, as I said, for me to create a safe environment and invitation for them to come under one roof with me, so that means you wake up in the morning and you see each other the way you are in the morning and embrace it, and you be yourself because we’re people first, and that’s one of our success factors, that I know and recognize they are people first, not my team first, and vice versa.

Cheryl, did you talk about down by the river? I kind of want to sing, don’t you?

Cheryl:  I kind of want to piggyback a little bit what you guys were saying. My point that I brought up earlier, that was Pat’s time to be able to explain what she wanted to see in the future for her business. Again, our minds started going and started thinking about different things, and we would say, “What about this? What about that?” Pat said, “I don’t know yet.” I want to point out that, as business owners, it’s okay not to know exactly the ins and outs. That’s why you have a team, to be able to figure out those ins and outs, but as a business owner, you’re not supposed to have all of the answers. You kind of know where you want to go and it’s okay to figure out some of those things as you go along. That’s what I got out of that.

Pat:  Yes, and it was just a fun time. Again, that comes back to core values. Why would they want to come climb down rocks, down by a river, with me if, in fact, that did not fit with who they are and what they appreciate, and the time and the energy and the space that they cherish as well. Be different. Be unique. Being under the same roof for a few days, and again, going from breakfast through to evening, from sunrise to sunset, which we’ve done, let’s talk about the number one thing that was fun and what we’re taking away from here, as now we head back to our different worlds and our different lives. Anyone?

Cheryl:  Friendship. Deepen friendship. I think that’s what I’ve taken away. Obviously, we’ve been on the team for quite a while together, but I found out different things from each of these people that I didn’t know about before, so I think that’s what I’m bringing away, the deeper friendship.

Pat:  And it’s okay to have fun together, right?

Cheryl:  And that translates into working better with each other if you know somebody a little bit better.

Denise:  I think, for me, it was that it’s okay to be vulnerable because we have known each other on a team, but when you’re down and dirty with each other for four days—

Pat:  Four days and four nights.

Denise:  Yes, so being vulnerable and we climbed a mountain together. We all had different levels and it was okay, and it was okay to say, “Sit under this tree and get what you need from the moment,” and some of us kept going. Just being vulnerable and also honoring ourselves to know when it was our limit.

Pat:  What was the most fun for you, aside from that jeep ride?

Denise:  That was fun.

Pat:  She was the featured star in the jeep ride, so go look at that video.

Denise:  The most fun for me was climbing the mountain.

Pat:  Cathedral Mountain.

Denise:  I went to the top.

Pat:  Went to the top, and you got the most amazing photo at the top. Here’s another lesson for you in leadership. When you get to the top, it’s not crowded, the air is clear, the sky is blue, the sun shines differently. Her photos from the top of the mountain were breathtakingly beautiful. The other message around that is that we all dropped off at certain points on the mountain to allow this experience for Denise because we knew it was so critically important. You have to know, and I believe Cheryl said that, and allow space for each other because we’re people first.

Denise:  If I can add one more thing to that.

Pat:  You take it away, Denise.

Denise:  What’s really important, even in our business, as we’re starting to grow, if you’re just starting out in your business, don’t play small to make everybody comfortable around you, and that is so important that a lot of times we hold ourselves back from what we want to achieve and we know we can achieve because we don’t want anybody else to feel bad, and it’s really just embrace your power and stand in your power, and accomplish what you know you’re meant to accomplish.

Pat:  Yes, well said. What was the most fun part for you there?

Susan:  For me, what was the most fun is the experience of everyday miracles, from getting the parking spot, from having the special ingredients for what we wanted each individually, to the big miracles of setting intentions within the Holy Cross, and truly, truly, big and small miracles, some too personal for me right now, raw to mention, but I just want you to know that they’re around us every day, and we experienced so many this weekend that I feel like it was a holy experience on some level.

Pat:  Yes, I believe we could write our own book of miracles on the experiences. Seriously, on the experiences of this weekend. I met a really nice man. I have to throw that in.

Susan:  Yes, that’s what I said we weren’t going to reveal.

Denise:  There are kings.

Pat:  There are, yes. Kings exist in the mountains of Sedona. We have to go get our plane. As we wrap this up, and thank you all for joining us, and for those of you in Canada, a very happy Thanksgiving to you. We appreciate your time. I love my team. If you guys don’t know that, those of you out there in Facebook land, my team knows. I am filled with gratitude that I am with them this weekend, and that they support me and love me unconditionally, so we’re going to leave you with one tip each. When you think about team, leadership, being in business or being together, one thing that works that we would love to share with you. Take it away. No pressure.

Susan:  I would just say to be yourself, be real, and be open.

Cheryl:  That’s three of them there.

Susan:  Yes, I grabbed theirs too.

Denise:  I think to be an effective leader you need to make courageous decisions and to have the courageous conversations.

Cheryl:  Don’t worry about making mistakes. Learn from the mistakes.

Pat:  I’m going to throw back in the fun part. All of you are so darn serious. You have to lighten up out there too. I know business is serious. I know that. I work hard and we work hard. You have to let your hair down and have some fun too because many of you are going through your life, going through business, and you’re feeling mean, tired and ugly, and that’s not attractive. You want to have fun. You want to eat ice cream.

Susan:  And share the fun, right?

Pat:  Share the fun, yes.

Susan:  Do the Facebook Live and share it with people.

Pat:  See, they didn’t want to do this. They didn’t want to do this Facebook Live, but they believe in me and they believe in you, our followers, and we did want to bring some solid tips to you as we go back out into our world. We’re going to be on long flights. We have time to think and reflect, which is important too, and take away the magic of Sedona.

There you go. Leave your comments. Please hit the share button. There are a lot of people who could benefit from this because I personally know that people covet my team, and you can’t have them. You covet my team; you eat ice cream. Beautiful. We found a Dairy Queen in the middle of a national park yesterday. Go figure. But that’s important. Go in search of Dairy Queen.

Today, go in search of what serves you well, be in reflection, be in the moment, and go look in the mirror. Go look in the mirror. What’s one thing you can do differently to be a better leader, a better team member, a better person? And then bring that to the table.

All right, we’re out of here. Love you all. Thanks for being with us. Hit the share button. People need to hear this. Bye everyone. See you later.