The Power Transformation Podcast
The Power Transformation Podcast hosted by Alethea Felton, celebrates the resilience, determination, and hope of entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and visionaries who have conquered adversity and various challenges to create meaningful lives.
With her own inspiring journey of living with autoimmune disease since birth (and now thriving), overcoming severe stuttering, and more, Alethea's authenticity adds depth to intimate conversations with her guests who have overcome extraordinary obstacles.
Alethea's heart-centered, introspective, and engaging style elevates this podcast into a movement that inspires listeners to embrace their inner strength, cultivate empowerment, and rise wiser, stronger, and more courageous to achieve their next level of success.
The Power Transformation Podcast
103. Redefining Leadership: Embracing Vulnerability and Courage with Patrick Francey
What comes to your mind when you think of the word "leadership"? Have you ever considered how authenticity and transparency can be the key for true transformation as a leader? Well, seasoned entrepreneur Patrick Francey, host of the top-ranked show The Everyday Millionaire Podcast which celebrates the financial triumphs of ordinary people and CEO of the Real Estate Investment Network (REIN), lives out such an example.
In this episode, Patrick takes us on his journey of how he transformed a difficult part of his corporate journey into a thriving business and he also...
- Shares how being coachable and acknowledging mistakes can lead to personal and professional growth,
- Sheds light on how to live with intent by learning from athletes' resilience in the face of failure,
- Offers invaluable lessons for entrepreneurs striving to turn setbacks into stepping stones,
- Encourages listeners to explore their own blind spots and embrace a systemized approach to achieving success,
and so much more!
Connect with Patrick:
- The Everyday Millionaire Podcast
- Company's Website (Real Estate Investment Network-REIN
Episode 103's Affirmation:
I create lasting change by helping others achieve their highest potential every day.
- Thanks for being a part of The Power Transformation Podcast community!
New episodes are released every Wednesday, so follow to not miss an episode.
- Want to be a guest on The Power Transformation Podcast? Send Alethea Felton a message on PodMatch, here.
Hey y'all, welcome back to another episode of the Power Transformation Podcast. I am your host, lethea Felton, and I am so glad that you joined me today. I want to welcome all of you who are new to this podcast. I welcome you and I also encourage you to go ahead and follow, but, more important than following, share this episode. Share this episode with, at least today, seven people that you know. Seven people share this episode because the guest that I have today is absolutely dynamic and, for you all who have been with me from the beginning, thank you.
Alethea Felton:We are a global movement here at the Power Transformation Podcast because you know that you have the power from within yourself to transform your life through your stories of overcoming obstacles, adversities and challenges, that you are making the best out of your life. And our guest today is no exception. It's Patrick Francey. If you all don't know who this man is, you're going to learn today. He is the host of the Global Top 100 podcast in entrepreneurship, The Everyday Millionaire. He is also the CEO of the Real Estate Investment Network and he has been in business for over 40 years. He's based in Canada, but he has had global influence and his personality is so warm, so inviting, and he wants you to win. He lives by this motto SIMPLE, which is an acronym, meaning significantly impact many people's lives every day.
Alethea Felton:I'm telling you, I am honored to know Patrick, and this episode is no exception, so we're going to jump right into it. We're going to start, though, with our affirmation, and we say affirmations here on the Power Transformation Podcast because we are changing the environment, the trajectory of our lives. The more that you say these affirmations and you believe it, the more you become it. I know from experience that you can change your life through the words you speak and the actions that you take, and affirmations are a key part to it, so I'm going to say the affirmation once, and then you repeat it. I create lasting change by helping others achieve their highest potential every day. I am so excited to have Patrick Francey here today with us on the Power Transformation Podcast. This is going to be an absolutely incredible interview, and we're going to have so much fun. So welcome, patrick.
Patrick Francey:Well, thanks for inviting me on the show. I'm looking forward to the conversation.
Alethea Felton:Oh, yes, and what a conversation it will be. And let's just go ahead and get started. And I'd like to start with something fun, just an icebreaker question. But, patrick, if you could think about every type of holiday there is, from Thanksgiving to Christmas to whatever, patrick, what is your favorite holiday and why?
Patrick Francey:Well, I don't know that I have a favorite. To be honest with you, I think that you know tradition speaks to what we do within the family, but whether it's Christmas or Thanksgiving, easter, whatever you know might be coming up but for me, ultimately, it's about the relationships that I get to re-engage with. Often we're breaking breads with family, but we have a tendency to invite friends that we haven't seen for a while, perhaps, or who are for some reason alone and they're looking for some place to hang out. So, for me, when we look at holidays in terms of tradition, we look at family, we look at breaking bread together and we look at the relationships that we're going to surround ourselves with. So I don't have a favorite, but my favorite part is breaking bread with friends and family.
Alethea Felton:Oh, I love that. I like that response and that's perfectly okay if you don't have a favorite. Perfectly okay if you don't have a favorite, I think me.
Alethea Felton:Growing up I loved Christmas so much, so it still kind of resonates to me because I would see all of these gifts. Where in the world did it come from? And I still believed in Santa for a while. And if there are any kids listening, yes, santa is real. I'm just saying, as you get older you know life kind of twists and turns and adjusts, but thank you for that. I think it's so important that you know breaking bread and being with loved ones in this fast-paced world is so important. Where holidays to me, you just kind of get to slow down some and just enjoy the moment and you've had lots of incredible moments in your life. But before we get into those questions, patrick, this is a million dollar question I'm going to ask you who is Patrick Franci?
Patrick Francey:Oh, that is a big question, isn't it? You know, when we look at who Patrick Franci is, you know. Going back to this, the question you just asked me, you know, although I'm a businessman and I'm that individual that is a coach and supportive and all the rest of it, you know, ultimately I'm somebody who really engages and appreciates relationship. You know, for me it's always the interaction of being and engaging with others. So who am I?
Patrick Francey:I'm a husband, I am a son, I am a father. I am a husband, I am a son, I am a father, I am a grandfather, I am the friend that many people come to count on and rely on. And I guess who I am is, from my perspective and when I look at who I am in the context of my life, is always that individual that can be counted on, that has been, I guess, gained a reputation for being an anchor, somebody to come to, to get regrounded, to feel safe around. And I'm kind of proud of that aspect of who I've developed and how I've grown into, intentionally, who I wanted to show up as and what I wanted to be. So I don't know if that encapsulates it all, but ultimately, when I get to who I am it's just me always working on being my most authentic self, being that individual that people can come to rely on and feel safe in the relationship with.
Alethea Felton:I've never had anyone to answer it just like that, but I think that is so important that you are keenly aware that you are that person that people can. And I like the word anchor I really enjoy that word because when I think of an anchor, especially on a ship, I love water and I grew up by ocean, and so when I think about anchors and how anchors hold such weight in order to keep that boat or ship or yacht docked so that it doesn't topple over or wander out aimlessly, and so when I hear you say about how you have been that anchor or person that people can come to, how did you develop into that person?
Patrick Francey:Were there signs of it when you were younger, growing up? Was it something naturally innate in you? How did you become that anchor? I'll just share a little bit of a backstory. Is that when I first met my wife, who I've been together with over 30 years now, you know she used to joke that I was her favorite Neanderthal, you know she was. I definitely married up, you know. So at that time I was just not really evolved.
Patrick Francey:I was a young man. I was very aggressive, assertive, had my own journey of learning and growing up and all the things that go on, and there was a way I was being. There was a way I would respond to adversity. There was a way I was not trusting of others. There was just a way I would do and say and be. And she would often ask me. She would say why do you say those kinds of things? Why are you so curt and abrupt? Why, you know, why do you say and do the things that you do? It was kind of like that in those moments in time where she picked up on something and I said it's just the way I am and I would always respond in some version of that I go. Why do you keep asking me that it's just the way I am. And this was still early on in our relationship. And one day she said to me she goes, patrick, you know it's a choice, right, what she goes. You're choosing how you respond. It's a choice, you don't have to be an asshole.
Patrick Francey:Excuse my French, but you don't have to be an asshole and I go, oh, oh well, in that moment it was like she hit me in the forehead with a hammer. It woke me up. It was like, oh my gosh, you mean I can choose. And then it started me on this whole journey of realizing that we can define ourselves any way we want to be. What is that way that we want to show up? Who do we want to be in the context of our life? It is a choice. What are our values and how can we wrap our goals, our vision, our character around those values and then take a stand for those values that we start to understand, that are key to us and, believe it or not, that was a total, whole new thought process for me. Not, that was a total, whole new thought process for me. And so that was started me on the journey and then, as I progressed in my own personal and professional development, the study and the reflection and the awareness of who I was being, I started to look and say, gosh, who do I want to be and who do I want to be as a father, a son, as a businessman? Who do I want to be? As a friend and really being clear on who I am in the context of my life and that's what took me to this place of going. You know, what I love and what I know drives me is relationship. What drives me is being a contribution, making a difference in other people's lives, supporting them in achieving goals and in their own success. Their success is my success and that might sound cliche but it really is how I'm wired and I love to support others along the way and I'll expand on it just a little bit to give it. One final kind of piece of the context in my own development is the understanding of as much as I'm CEOs of three or four, three different businesses at one time for I'm not a great CEO. I wear the hat because I started the business and I've kind of evolved and developed that, and because it wasn't you know, it wasn't billion dollar businesses. These were businesses I remained at the helm called CEO.
Patrick Francey:Having said that, I'm more and I'm better equipped to support somebody in a CEO position. I have great vision and I do all of those things. But I've come to understand about me is that if you, for example, had the vision for your business and you saw the mountain you wanted to climb and you're going, I'm going, to the top of that mountain. I can buy into that vision. I can see that vision. I can see that vision, I can understand that vision and then I can get behind it. So I can be the person that's got my hand on your back or hand on your butt and I'm pushing you up that mountain. I'm very good at that. I'm really good at supporting other people's vision. So that's all to say.
Patrick Francey:This is that you don't have to worry about falling backwards. You don't have to worry about oh, I chose the wrong path. I want to go this way. I can support all of that which goes back to where we were. Is that? What can you count on me for? I am the anchor to those who have a vision and that I can support around, or those who are facing challenges, and they can come back to me. That is by choice, that is by me developing that character, and because I love to do it, it became a skill I wanted to hone. So a long answer to a short question. I hope that's helpful.
Alethea Felton:Yes, it's very helpful and it provides clarity, as well as the context.
Alethea Felton:And I do appreciate how you were so open and sharing even that story about the early days of your wife and you, and what better person to really love you enough to say, hey, do you realize that you can act like this and you don't have to be.
Alethea Felton:That's love right there, because sometimes people who don't really care about you will just let you act any kind of way that you want to and not point out the flaws. Of course there were strengths there, but for her to be courageous enough to say, hey, look, you might want to tweak this, you might want to change this, that's so important and the fact you were receptive in it and you didn't act arrogantly about it or oppositional, but you really took time to be introspective. And that leads me to the fact, patrick, that you had some humble beginnings and you ultimately end up leading and being a figure in real estate entrepreneurship, and that's absolutely remarkable. But on top of that, patrick, think about a pivotal moment in your life, in your development, specifically with business, that you realize the importance of this concept of parking your ego and how doing that shifted your personal and professional growth.
Patrick Francey:I think there's something that comes around ego first and foremost, which is many people think about. You know, they look at somebody and they go, oh, he's got such a big ego or she's got such a big ego, and they often relate it to arrogance, you know to thinking big of themselves.
Patrick Francey:But I look at and I unpack ego a little bit differently. In understanding where ego is is, it is the identity. Where ego is is, it is the identity. And when we look at ego from that perspective, we start to understand that our ego is there to protect itself and it either will inflate us to make us bigger, to let the world know that we're a big deal, or it'll often sometimes have us play very small so that it doesn't get exposed. And that's often when we hear those conversations I feel like a fraud. That's our ego behind the scenes going don't expose me, don't like, don't, don't embarrass me, don't shame me. And there's a lot of ego in all of the things that we do and the choices that we make in our life. And so for me in business you know, many years ago gosh in 1984, as a matter of fact, I was coming what was happening was I had a job, the only job I had in my whole life. I'd been with this large corporation for seven years. There was a dramatic shift in the economy and I ultimately got laid off. The story behind that and the realization that I had in reflection was that crushed me. Realization that I had in reflection was that crushed me.
Patrick Francey:I had so much of my identity tied up in that particular job because I was a young man. I got the job when I was 18 years old and, matter of fact, I turned 18 when I had that job. And so through those years I accelerated through the business, I climbed the corporate ladder, so to speak, and I had done a lot of really great things within that corporation. You know, I had my own office and all the things that you kind of dream of as a young man, or I did anyways, and so I had a lot of identity attached to it. So when I got laid off it was like, oh my gosh, now what? And because the economy was so bad, it wasn't like I'd go out and get a job. So then it became a lot about how do I maintain that persona, that identity, if you will, that what I believe was people's view of me and it was just no sustaining it. But I was also, I guess, proud enough and maybe I guess, savvy enough to say I need to do something.
Patrick Francey:And that's when I had my entrepreneurial accident, was my first entrepreneurial accident that I had, and I never looked back. I went to hang out with. A friend had a small business. I worked with him. Just as fun. It was kind of like, ok, let's do this and play around with it and just taking all the experience that I gained over those seven years of having that job in the corporate world is, I applied some of those things and we literally doubled his top line and increased his bottom line by 125% the first year I was there. Well, that increased the relationship and ultimately I bought that business. By the way, I own that business to this day and we celebrated our 40th anniversary.
Patrick Francey:But that's all to say. This is that through that time, that transitional time, when we look at parking ego number one, I had to be able to receive guidance. I wasn't very coachable and that was for me a big shift in how I had to operate. I had to listen to others take guidance and I wasn't really receptive to that. To be honest with you. Again, that was my ego. And when I finally had that entrepreneurial accident, when I saw that I could in fact pivot, that was one of my first and it was a very big fork in the road for me because it took me on the path of being an entrepreneur and understanding that I need to take responsibility for my own life, responsibility for my own income, and I would never go back to that corporate world again and I would never work for anybody again, and I have not.
Alethea Felton:Wow For you to even say, patrick, that you weren't always coachable. That's courageous to say, because I have come across certain people who have a hard time admitting areas of where they didn't grow in and I'm talking about just people in general, not specifically entrepreneurs, but just people in general who have a hard time accepting that, hey, this is where I once was, and I think that a huge part of growth and that power that gets us to that level of success is that very thing. And so thank you for sharing that with us, because I think that without that experience of knowing, hey, I'm not coachable, it couldn't lead you to where you are now. And so, in keeping in line with ego and thank you for that clear description of it when we think about being vulnerable as well as courageous in terms of leaders and leadership, how has being vulnerable and courageous shaped and enhanced your leadership style as well as your relationships in the business that you've done?
Patrick Francey:I think there's a. You know there's an. Ultimately there's a phase in leadership. For me, anyways, when we talk about vulnerability, it is about the willingness to show that side of you that maybe you don't see as a strength, and that takes courage to actually maybe, as a leader, is a strength and that takes courage to actually maybe, as a leader, as a CEO of a business, make a decision and have it be not the best decision or even a totally wrong decision, and be able to look at the rest of the team and go guys, I blew that. I took us down a path I wish I wouldn't have done that. We need to regroup and I apologize for all of the effort that you've put into it, and that would be one example of it.
Patrick Francey:Or getting into a discussion or a debate in a meeting and being able to listen, have a debate about it and actually concede the fact that no, you know something, you are right, I am wrong. Those are all moments of just being your most authentic self, because this is where ego can get in the play in the way for a lot of individuals, which is they don't want to be seen as wrong. There's a story behind that that makes them weak or that they have a shame around it or they have embarrassment around it. They have a judgment of what they or they believe how they're being judged around it, and I found that just ultimately, when I am being true to who I am, which is to say that I don't have the answer. We need to collectively come up with some solution to this, because I really don't know where to go to this, and a lot of CEOs take that as weakness. You know, as a CEO, you should know exactly what you're doing, where you're going, and I'm not built that way.
Patrick Francey:I literally believe that I have surrounded myself with a great team of people who in many cases and I hope in many instances, most instances are smarter than me in their area of expertise. So I don't have a problem not being the smartest guy in the room. As a matter of fact, I don't want to be the smartest guy in the room puts way too much responsibility on me, so I'd rather say, okay, that's a great idea and follow that path. So the point of all of this is that how we see our strengths or weaknesses is again based on how our ego is trying to protect itself or elevate itself. And I'm just built around the fact that I can actually tell the truth of what I'm seeing, how I'm feeling about something, or actually that I don't have a particular answer to a problem that needs to be solved or that you know, I took us down a path that wasn't ideal.
Patrick Francey:So I just don't have a problem with doing that anymore. And what it does is it attracts people into those relationships that they feel confident in expressing what they see as solution. They feel confident in stepping up and going. No, I have the answer to this. I believe there is this path. So when we open up the doors of us just being our most authentic self, it gives others the opportunity to show up and to shine and not shut down because they feel intimidated or they feel made wrong or they feel like they're making me wrong. It's just a way of operating that I found very effective.
Alethea Felton:Yes, and about being the smartest person in the room. I've been taught that also is that it's important to have other people around you who are smarter, that you can learn from, glean from, and I know in my own experience times where I've had failures to happen. It's definitely important that I not only do introspection myself, but I reach out to those people who are more skilled than I, who are smarter than I am, to ask them okay, what can I do differently? This is what I think, but how can I bounce back from it? And so, in thinking about just life in general and, of course, within entrepreneurship, we have failures time and time again, but those failures, if we keep going, we can definitely catapult ourselves into astronomical levels of success.
Alethea Felton:Patrick, I'm trying to get to where you are when I grow up, and so you are truly, truly inspirations. But in this concept of the fear of failure, that can hold a lot of people back from really pursuing their dreams or their next level. So share with us any time, just a random time, or something specific that happened where you experienced a significant failure and how you navigated through it, as well as what tips might you offer someone for overcoming this fear of failure?
Patrick Francey:Well, I think there's a. You know there's. I've I've failed so many times. I don't know that I could give a specific.
Alethea Felton:To be honest, with you, you know.
Patrick Francey:But there's many failures. I think within the context of failure, there's some fundamental understanding, which is that there's. I can tell you some. One of the one of the things that took me a while to get to is that I would have an idea and I would build off that idea and I would literally work on it, work on it, work on it, work on it, launch it and then get halfway down the road and go holy cow. This is not working at all.
Patrick Francey:In the meantime, I'd spent hours and money and team direction and really right now, where I'm at in my life and in the business is that I've come to understand one thing I've got an idea, Launch it. It doesn't matter, I don't overbuild it. You know, sometimes we spend all this time building a grand piano or a baby grand piano and we realize all we needed was a player piano. We didn't need to go to the time, the effort, the cost, the expense of building a baby grand. It wasn't unnecessary. As a matter of fact, we didn't even need a fricking piano. We needed a trumpet.
Patrick Francey:So it's understanding that when you come up with an idea, launch it and then readjust, readjust, readjust and you start to build it while you're in motion. It is a way, more effective way of doing business. Now, I'm not saying this in all cases, but I'm talking specifically about different programs, different ideas. In all cases, but I'm talking specifically about different programs, different ideas and because I'm a coach, because we do educational programs, we sometimes launch things and we spend all this time building it and realize that's not really what we need or what our clients need. So more effectively is starting it, testing it, failing, putting in the correction, going forward. So you build it while you're in motion, while you're going along and, as a matter of fact, you're reading, reacting, deciding, re-deciding, and that's how that goes. So there's multiple little failures as opposed to this one big failure, but the small failures are what leads to the next set of success or the next step you take. That is in the right direction, but there's something else about failure I want to share with you is that because,
Patrick Francey:I've been involved with athletes for many, many years, given the businesses that I've been. My wife is an Olympic and world-class mental performance coach. She works literally with athletes. She just got back from Paris, as a matter of fact, the Paris Olympics and the reality with athletes is that they are so good, number one at failing, number two at being coached. So, in other words, when you're an athlete, you're trying, failing, trying, failing, trying, failing. As a matter of fact, you're falling down a thousand times before you get up and land something. So the point is is that within athletics, you start to put a context around it. Athletes fail a hundred times a day, a thousand times a year, because they're constantly failing as they try and improve their game. I relate that to business and sometimes you're going to fail.
Patrick Francey:Small failures Very few failures, by the way are catastrophic, very few. In business. I mean you have to really screw up. You have to. Just you've had to like go for the. You've gone all in on an idea and it blows up. That's a catastrophic failure. But you also have to own the fact that you went all in on an idea and it blows up. That's a catastrophic failure. But you also have to own the fact that you went all in on something as opposed to trying, trying, testing, testing. So that's part of the whole failure thing.
Patrick Francey:But many people fear failure and I'm going to add one dynamic to it before I kind of quit in this context of failure, and that is most people do not actually fear failure. They fear the judgment of their peers, their family, their friends. Should they not accomplish what they set out to do? So that's really where the fear is, and I've learned that over the years and working with lots of entrepreneurs and real estate investors. When you go one layer down, they go. I said well, what's your fear? Well, I fear failure. Ok, well, describe that. And they often stumble to describe it. So when I unpack it a little bit, I said share with me, how would you feel if you fail? What do you think the response is? Or what do you think the judgment is of your friends, of your family, of your peers? And that's ultimately when they tell the truth is what they're fearing.
Alethea Felton:That is so profound, and there was someone else that I talked to recently who said something similar to that. Is that that's not what it is, but it's that whole judgment piece? And is that that's not what it is, but it's that whole judgment piece? And I like what you said about having the idea launching it, because overthinking can be a trap for a lot of people. I know it's something that I, especially in the past, struggled with, where I wanted everything to be just right and everything perfect.
Alethea Felton:And, as time has gone on over the years, and as I shared with you offline, although I've been in entrepreneurship for 20 years, this is my first year doing it full time and I've always said that entrepreneurship feels like you're flying a plane that is still being built. Entrepreneurship feels like you're flying a plane that is still being built. You can fly it and it's going well, but you're still tweaking, adjusting, adding parts to it and you're doing it so that it won't crash. You know you might have a little crack here and there and you can patch it up and make it work, but I really like how you said that and one of your mantras in life, or a statement that you have been known to say is be your greatest self, live your best life by design. And again, audience, I'm going to say it be your greatest self, live your best life by design. How did you come up with that, and how can listeners take practical steps in doing just that?
Patrick Francey:Well, the statement itself became not just my mantra, but it's my purpose, it is really my mission, it's something that I live by and really every day I'm consciously thinking about and setting my intention for the day. I'm walking into a meeting, I'm coming into this podcast, I'm setting my intention for how I want to show up. So if I want to say, you know, if my intention is to always be my greatest self, it means that there's a lot of self-reflection involved. There's a lot of self-examination, looking at blind spots, having conversations, who am I showing up as? And to do it intentionally. So this goes back to where we started the conversation how we show up excuse me, how we show up, who we are is by design. We can do that by design, our intentionality. Let me share with you a little bit of a context deeper context for that, as I've gone through my life in different phases of my life.
Patrick Francey:I'm technically that OG. I'm 66 years old. I've been in business 40 years. I look at the different phases of my life. There's a lot of wisdom with just living those years that you gain. So when I reflect on who I was back, when I was 35 or 45 or even 55, I start to see the shifts in who that is. But ultimately I look today, at 66 years old. Back a year ago I started to look and say, you know, when I look five years out, so I'm not a big goal setter, by the way. I have some goals, but I'm more a vision. I set a vision what do I want my life to be like, what do I want it to feel like, what do I want my relationships to be and feel like what do I want my life to be and feel like what's a vision for my life, my home, the work that I'm doing, the people that I'm hanging out with? So I have the vision of that. So I look at 65 and I go okay, I'm at 65. There's a physicalness that I have to come to terms with. You know the aches, the pains, the joints that hurt, all of those kinds of things I've got. You know my health that I want to be really on top of all the time. So then I look at it and say, well, who am I going to be at 70 years old? So this is my hack, and that is.
Patrick Francey:I looked at and I said who do I admire? And so this is an exercise that I've done with clients many times over the years. And here's the exercise Think of somebody, more than one person, better two or three, but if it's just one, that's okay. Somebody you admire. You don't have to know them, they could be dead or they could be alive and list all of the qualities of those individuals that you admire, whatever those qualities are. Have that whole list in front of you and then just sit back and go. That's my to-do list. That's my become list.
Patrick Francey:So for me, I don't know him I am in Canada but I admire many things that he stands for, and that's RFK Jr. And I look at RFK. He's 68 or 69 years old, somewhere in that range. He's articulate, he's fit, he shares many common values that I share or I follow in terms of how he treats people, how he sees the world, how he takes stands for certain things. More about what he stands for and how he takes a stand. I don't necessarily need to agree with his stand, but I admire how he stands in it.
Patrick Francey:So, as a man, I look at it and go there's something to aspire to be when I'm 70.
Patrick Francey:Well, I'm not going to wake up at 70 and go I'm going to be that guy. No, I start my journey now because there's certain qualities that I want to shine a light on that I want to adopt more of that. I want to emphasize that I need to develop Now. I have a list of to-dos and so part of my to-dos is to be healthy, to eat right, and I've always trained and worked out. I let myself go over the past few years through the whole pandemic drama, but ultimately I'm back on track and so I'm living into that and who I am as a leader. So again, when we talk about be your greatest self, live your best life by design, it speaks to intentionality, not just in the physical things that we want our life to look like you know, whether that you know a different home or living on the beach or whatever your story is around that lifestyle, but it's also who you are and who you're being. That's intentionality. So for me, that takes study and it takes effort and it's very conscious intentionality.
Alethea Felton:So for me that takes study and it takes effort and it's very conscious. No-transcript.
Patrick Francey:Well, it pays a lot. So I have a phrase and a thing that I use often and I use it with coaching clients, but I also own it myself which is confidence is rarely owned, it's almost always borrowed. So I borrow my confidence from those around me, and my wife, of course, is my partner. She's my best friend, she really is that person that and you've had this experience I'm sure you know you're trying something, you don't know what to do, and somebody looks at you and goes you got this girl and you go yes, I do.
Alethea Felton:Right.
Patrick Francey:It's like, okay, those are powerful words, even if you know somebody's just pumping your tires, you go yeah, I got this Right. And so the point of it is is that confidence is borrowed and as you go through, as you have the courage, as you take those risks and you start to gain and you start to see the changes that you've made in your life are having a positive impact, you gain the confidence to continue the journey. Here's a fundamental breakdown of all of that. This is where things go off the rails. Breakdown of all of that. This is where things go off the rails, and that is as I change. I change.
Patrick Francey:Those around me are not necessarily on the same journey. They may not even be on a similar journey. They may not be on a journey of professional and personal development. So a lot of people want to change, but ultimately, what they want is they want change in their life. They just don't want to have to do anything different.
Patrick Francey:The challenge that we face and you may have started to see this more as an entrepreneur. As you go through this journey of being an entrepreneur, you're making hard decisions. You're doing things that to others seems risky, they may be making you wrong and soon you start to go. No, I don't want to hang out with them anymore because they don't really align. I don't want that energy leak.
Patrick Francey:So ultimately, people want to change, but sometimes what happens is relationships go away, they fall off and as you embrace a new set of values, those values don't align with old friends, perhaps even with family, and so people resist that change for that very reason. And so part of the difficulty is going on a journey of shifting and personal and professional development, of growth, is that you leave often those behind you. And it's not to make them wrong, by the way, my values aren't right and somebody else's wrong. They're your values, they're my values. We just don't align. And your values are right, mine are right for me, yours are right for you. They just don't align, and so often what happens is those relationships go away, and that's what people fear as well.
Alethea Felton:Yes, and you have said the entire truth, but I would expect nothing less coming from the OG himself. So, yes, everything you said is spot on, and you are right. Said is spot on and you are right. For any entrepreneur listening or watching, or even with me, that is true is that relationships shift and change, and it's okay. Now, for me, I can only speak from my experience.
Alethea Felton:It was very uncomfortable at first, and especially when I left my nine to five, so to speak, and launched out and did it full time. That was really insane for a lot of people in terms of their perspectives, whereas, of course, you have those who are supportive. Thankfully, my parents, my sister, my parents, my sister boyfriend, other people who are close, you know, were like, yes, that's so exciting. But of course, you have people who don't understand, and that's okay. But I like that quote about courage Confidence is rarely owned, it's most often borrowed. I absolutely love that explanation. And so, as you've mentioned in this particular interview, patrick, you have interviewed yes, interviewed, mentored and coached many, many entrepreneurs as well as investors, entrepreneurs as well as investors. What are some patterns that you see in those who achieve consistent and lasting success versus those who tend to not learn from their mistakes or have struggles that aren't getting them to that next level.
Patrick Francey:Well, there's a couple of different ways to look at that. That's a great question, but it kind of gets in, first and foremost, my observation, especially working with entrepreneurs and real estate investors. Because when you look at real estate investors, one of the foundations of what I coach around is treat your real estate investing like a business. A lot of people are not full-time investors. They've got a job and real estate is a side hustle and or it's a way to create a financial future, but ultimately it's still what I would call a small business. So treat it like a business. That's where success lives. You know, having worked with literally now thousands of real estate investors over the past 25 years one-on-one, one-on-many stage, all the things that we've done is that we teach a system, we teach a process, we teach a way of having success in real estate investing.
Patrick Francey:My observation has been is that I look at the thousands of people that we've coached and that we've supported and that we teach the system, we teach the process, and there's a group always that just crush it. They hit it out of the park, they go. And then there's those that just never seem to get off the ground and or, to your point, that they are doing things, making mistakes, and that generally comes from a couple of things. The failures are often, or those that are making mistakes, is because they cut corners. We have a system, we have a process they don't want to go through. They don't want to actually do the work. They don't want to go through the grind, as we say. They don't enjoy the grind. So they all do it my way. This will be easier and ultimately it comes back to haunt them. And the thing about real estate is often is mistakes don't show up in the moment or even in the first year. Often mistakes show up years later, many months later, but often years later. Relationships, joint ventures, all of those kinds of things. And I look at the group just crush it.
Patrick Francey:Number one they follow the system, they follow the process, but the real defining I have found the defining times are in the mindset of the individuals, because I can teach you how, I can show you all the here. Do this, do that. This is a process, this is the system, this will work. Follow this process and you will succeed. It is the mindset of the individual that has them go, because along the way they have to make decisions, they have to be courageous. They have to get uncomfortable and do things that they've never done before.
Patrick Francey:And you have to be able to embrace and I'll say it again, you have to embrace the grind. It is what we say in the common phrases. It's simple, but it's not necessarily easy. And so when you start to embrace it and go no, this is just part of the journey and that I will go on this journey and I will have the attitude that I will do what it takes. I will ask for help where I need it. I will surround myself and put myself in the right environment, surround myself with the right people. That takes again intentionality. I will show up as an individual that brings energy into the room Not always a suck, not always a time suck, not always an energy suck. I will show up and I will be proactive in my own growth and in my own financial future by taking action, incremental steps, and that really is the difference.
Patrick Francey:And there are those individuals, like I say, they want to cut corners, they think it's a great idea but, they don't have time and it's too much this and it's too much that, and then, all of a sudden, the excuses come up. I'll give you an example of something you said a little bit earlier, which is a really common thing. Well, I just want it to be perfect. You know, I really struggle.
Patrick Francey:I'm just a perfectionist and ultimately, when I hear that what that is is an excuse not to take action, it is the fear of moving forward, and it's hidden behind this thing called perfectionism. Well, if I wasn't trying to be perfect, I could do it, but I just need to be perfect. No, you're just being afraid, and you don't see that you're operating on top of a bunch of fear, and so you're using perfection as an excuse. That is often the case. So back to the question. Time and time again, what I see is individuals who aren't working on themselves, because I can give you the to-dos, but if you can't execute, if you can't see through your fears, if you can't be courageous enough to ask for help or to put yourself in the right environment, chances are you're going to fail.
Alethea Felton:That's right. And people, I'm telling you I have not known Patrick Long, but in the short time I have, he is the real deal when it comes to coaching and everything else, because he's absolutely right. I can speak for myself in that. You're right. That whole perfectionism thing, I had to break out of that because it was that own internal fear or being afraid and all of that nonsense. I'm talking about it for me. I am empathetic with people who have that, so I'm not saying they're nonsense, but for me I had to get out of my own way because I was the one holding me back.
Alethea Felton:So many other people it doesn't matter how many other people see you in a certain way. Until you see it for yourself, nothing's going to change. And that was really a game changer in my life when I had to take steps within the last five years to really get to this version of who I am today. And so, along with your coaching, mentoring, tell us about some other things that you have going on. Tell us about any type of projects you have, as well as how can people follow you or connect with you.
Patrick Francey:Before I go there, I want to just point something out, and so, first off, I commend you for seeing that kind of blind spot that you had around your perfection button, right Like going out, needs to be perfect. That is really an indication of your own willingness to look in a mirror. And I have a of your own willingness to look in a mirror and I have a fundamental philosophy is that our life is a reflection of who we're being. Our life is a reflection of the decisions we make, the decisions we don't make. Our life is a reflection of how we show up. Now, if we look at our life and we go I'm just not happy with my life. I'm not happy with this aspect of it, this business of it. But here's the trick Go look in a mirror and say where am I accountable and responsible for all of the things that I've got going on in my life that I don't like? We are a victim to nothing.
Patrick Francey:And I'm going to do a book recommendation and that is by Jocko Wilnick and it's called Extreme Ownership. I just can't recommend that book enough. Now, I know that some people won't like the way it's written and maybe some of the underlying intention behind Jocko's work. But the book if you just kind of peel away that, if it hasn't, it's really a lot of men like it because he's a top-performing Navy he was a top-performing Navy SEAL like top performing he. To this day he's got an amazing podcast. He does a lot of things. I don't follow him so much now but I really that book landed for me. I gave it to my team to read, I gave it to a couple of my partners to read.
Patrick Francey:The point of extreme ownership is that when you take on that aspect of how you operate, you quit being a victim, you quit blaming, you quit complaining. You look at it and you go, ok, where am I responsible for the result that I didn't like, that's it, and know that at some level you can unpack that and you will always come back to you. So it's like you said. You know I got out of my own way. Well, understand that if we're getting a result that we don't like, where do we need to own that result? And that's the real kind of premise of the book. So I encourage everybody to just read that book because it really is a game changer in terms of how you look at your life. What's going on we all want to use excuses, we all want to blame something. It's the economy, it's the government, you know, whatever story we have around it. So I just encourage you to read that. Now.
Patrick Francey:Going back to your other question, if I remember it, what have I got going on right now? So, again, I'm in this phase of my life where the businesses that I own are, you know, they're kind of self-sustaining, they do what they do and I have a great team of people and what I'm doing right now. So my wife, stephanie, and I she is a world and Olympic class mental performance coach. She works with athletes and entrepreneurs, by the way, so we've been doing a number of small group coaching programs where it's interesting how that's evolved. It was really to speak to individuals. So our theme, stephanie, and my theme for 2024 is clarity equals velocity, and so we started operating in that context and then we launched a program called Clarity Equals Velocity and it was called Shift and we've had different names of it, but ultimately that's where we're going.
Patrick Francey:We love the body of work, and funny story about all of this is that we were in our marketing, we were reaching out to individuals, but what? For some reason, we have no idea why we attracted couples and that was so awesome, because we had, uh, small groups of couples like I'm talking, 10 couples come together. Uh, we have a beautiful property in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia and we've had events on the property because we were set up for that. And that's really where we want to go in our life right now.
Patrick Francey:The next phase of our life, stephanie is still going to go to the next Olympics she's signed up for that again and Winter Olympics and then so it's in a couple of years from now. So that's part of her journey. But collectively, we're going to continue doing our podcasts. We're going to continue to do our coaching program and for anybody who wants to reach out to me, they can DM me on Twitter or LinkedIn or the Everyday Millionaire podcast Facebook page. There's all sorts of ways to get ahold of me. If you Google P Franci or Patrick Franci, I'm kind of all over the place.
Alethea Felton:Yes, and I will include those links. And briefly, could you also tell us what the Everyday Millionaire is about?
Patrick Francey:Well, the Everyday Millionaire is a podcast that I started eight years ago, which is really an interesting story about that. I guess, to the degree that it's interesting is that I had my peers were asking me to write a book. They're suggesting, patrick, you need to write a book, and I just was not up for writing a book. I actually thought that you know, I don't really have a book in me. The thing about a book is that you write one and then you got to write another because you got to update it. Anyways, that whole story around it.
Patrick Francey:This was me, by the way the realization around ego wanting me to play small. So I'm literally on a vacation, I'm on the beach, I'm meditating, and what showed up for me is that number one, I was playing small. I was a fear. I had a fear of putting myself out there being judged. I went, oh wow, look at my ego kick in there, it's trying to protect me. And so, because you know lots of stories around shame and embarrassment, all the things that we grow up with, right, and so, ultimately, what kicked into gear was do a podcast. Now, I don't know where that came from. I'd probably heard the term once. I mean eight years ago, in 2017 or late 16, whatever it was, it was like what the hell is a podcast?
Patrick Francey:So, I started that podcast, but the realization for me is, I was working with entrepreneurs, I was working with real estate investors, all trying to create and grow their net worth, create a financial future.
Patrick Francey:And, in reflection, and in that meditation which, by the way, was only 20 or 25 minutes all of this showed up for me. The realization that I had within that meditation is I am surrounded by many individuals who had achieved what so many want to achieve, and that is to have a net worth of a million dollars. Now, maybe today, in 2024, a million dollars doesn't sound like a big net worth, but it actually is. It's less than 3% of the population that have a net worth and that's, by the way, globally. Certainly within US and Canada, less than 3% have a actual, true net worth of a million dollars. And so what I realized, for me, was that I was surrounded by individuals who, in fact, had a net worth of a million dollars and even far more than that, and I looked at them.
Patrick Francey:But they're just kind of everyday people, and they don't. They're not on podcasts, they're not writing books, they're just going to work, they're building their businesses, they're doing their thing quietly in the background. They're being a contribution to their community, their families, their friends, all the things that they do. But it was just really quiet and I came to understand that the everyday millionaire were just seemingly ordinary individuals who had achieved some extraordinary results and that I wanted to share their stories.
Patrick Francey:And so from there the podcast has grown and ultimately it really is about the journey, and I've many guests that have been on that aren't everyday millionaires, but they're on that journey. They have that commitment, that passion and that is the path that they want to be on, and they've got a lot of really cool insights to share. So the premise of the show, by the way, was just to say I want my listeners, at the end of listening to any given guest, to go gosh, if they can do it, I can do it too. I can borrow the confidence from that guest and I can go do that too and also be an inspiration and give some insights into other journeys that they can take on themselves.
Alethea Felton:That's right, and I think that is what's so exciting about it is that, as I had shared with you offline, that is my goal I will be an everyday millionaire, no doubt about it.
Alethea Felton:But I love the fact that you're bringing people together and breaking down concepts and mindsets, like there's nothing wrong with being a millionaire. It's not like you're carrying around saying I'm a millionaire, like, no, the millionaires I know. They aren't going out there publicly bragging on it or saying it or anything like that. That's not what you do, because it's a mindset, it's a way, and for me, a lot of those goals are philanthropic. Yes, I want to still live well and comfortably, but there's so much that people can do good with money and that it's not a bad thing and that it's energy that can be brought towards you to actually make this world better. And so I thank you for what you're even doing on your podcast. And as we come to a close, I do have this closing question for you. For the last 40 years, you have literally been building a lasting legacy through your work and your service, and so, patrick, my question for you is looking back, what do you think has been your biggest core value and lesson that you've learned on this road of entrepreneurship?
Patrick Francey:Oh, let me see if I can articulate that. It's a great question. I think the the journey that I think many don't go on and they don't really live in integrity, so they are living a set of values that aren't theirs. So for me, the biggest lesson I learned along the way, I wish for me. I wish I would have gained understanding of what my core values were earlier on and then stayed true to those values. So values are so important and it's easy to compromise those values without even knowing you're doing it, which is something that I've had.
Patrick Francey:The lesson taught to me the hard way on more than one occasion where I unknowingly was compromising my values because it was the shiny thing over here, it was this cool relationship over there, my ego was driving me over there, and staying true to our values is such a test. But first you have to know what those values are, and many are living a set of values that really aren't theirs. They're their parents' values, their society values. They think their values are their moral values and ultimately they live in this place of never really feeling comfortable with who they are and or not willing to take a stand for their highest values. So I think for me. That was a big lesson, and a lot of what I do in my own coaching is supporting people and really getting to what their core values are and then staying true to those values. Know thyself, stay true to thyself, and that is really the fundamental lesson that I've learned. And if we always can go back to that, it will give you a place to regain or restart or recalibrate. And, okay, I started to get off path a little bit. But when you're choosing relationships, for example, you want to make sure that the individual that you're in business with or wanting to do business with is, in fact, in alignment with your values. Your team as you build your business, you're the pointy end of the spear. Your business should represent who you are and what your values. Your team as you build your business, you're the pointy end of the spear. Your business should represent who you are and what your values are, thereby attracting the right team and the right client into that business based on those values. And those are the lessons that I've learned over the years.
Patrick Francey:That no regrets. But in reflection I go. I'm so clear on that now and there's a part of me that goes I wish I would have known that sooner, but again, I don't ever. This was a question my wife once asked me many years ago. She goes are you where you thought you would be in your life? And I think she asked me that question when I was 40-ish, 45-ish. And I go no, yes, I said yes, I said I, I am I. As a matter of fact, I've surpassed where I thought I would be. I just would have maybe chosen a different path to get here. And without even missing a beat, she said to me she goes yeah, but then you wouldn't be where you are and you wouldn't be who you are.
Alethea Felton:Oh, you're so right, Wise woman. You married a wise woman. Yes.
Patrick Francey:I did, I did the powerhouse.
Alethea Felton:Yes, thank you so much, patrick, for that. That was icing on the cake, and it has been such a joy having you here on the Power Transformation podcast and continue enriching the lives of so many. You have definitely enriched mine, and thank you for your service and what you do just to make the lives of people better. If you enjoyed today's show, then you don't want to miss an episode. So follow the Power Transformation Podcast on Apple Podcasts, spotify or wherever you usually listen, and remember to rate and review. I also invite you to connect with me on social media at Alethea Felton, that's at A-L-E-T-H-E-A-F-E-L-T-O-N. Until next time, remember to be good to yourself and to others.
