The Power of Coaching, Masterminds, and Collaboration for Business and Life

Speaker A: Foreign. Welcome once again, the Faces of Business. I'm your host, Damon Pastelka. And oh, my goodness, am I excited for our guest today because we've got none other than Thane Isaacs from Innovations. Tomorrow we're going to be talking about the power of coaching masterminds and collaboration for businesses in life. Thane, thanks for being here today, man.

Speaker B: It's always an honor to have, uh, to be able to be on your show, Damon, for you to ask me. And again, I'm really excited. I'm actually here at Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina, right now doing one of our treats that actually speaks to what you're talking about. Five individuals and myself come together. Uh, most of these guys don't know themselves. An irony is two of these guys work together, and it spent more time and have worked together for six months and have spent more time getting to know each other in these three days than they have at work and have formed an alliance. Um, it's pretty cool. Um, one of the guys is more in sales, and he's more aloof from the office, and the other guy's in production, and he's in the office a lot. Uh, and now they are, like, connecting like they never have. Um, so again, that's what this is about, Damon. That's what this love of getting together and not just taking the power of five or six minds and coming up with ideas, but increasing each other's strengths. Donna, uh, Karaakin, uh, posted on my post today when I said, you know, the people you hang around with is the people you know. You become more like the people you're. You hang around. And she said, I know you, Thane Isaacs. What it actually is, is you all mutually benefit each other, which is the power of that mastermind to increase your knowledge, increase your. And she was so right. And it's. It's a great way to put it. And that's. That's really what the mastermin mastermind does. Um, and having these people here is like a mini mastermind. We sit in a circle. So it's not like I'm in charge. Uh, I'm just facilitating. And they all actually came to that. It's the first time people have actually come to that realization. I think this is the 10th or 12th one of these I've done. Um, it's the first one I've done, or it's the second one I've done solo, but it's the first one I've done since the first one that actually sold out, which is pretty cool. Um, and uh, again, guys come in who have never even met each other before, who are now feeling like brothers and are collaborating from ideas. Um, and what happens when we do this, Damon, is we actually increase our knowledge by gaining the knowledge of all those other five people. We take pieces of them away with us as we talk about in our Tuesday night leader, building leaders, Building leaders session. So, uh, again, I am so blessed by God that this is what I get to do for part of my living, for part of what I do for to work. This is what some people call work. And it's not work at all. It's love. And, uh, to see guys shed tears together, hug, grow, um, support and with real positive energy. To have someone tell you that they've been dealing with the death of their father for 15 or 20 years and through this they've been able to let that weight go. Other people saying that they feel like they've lost 20 to 40 pounds of stress here just by being here. I am so fortunate that this is part of the mechanism that I am a part of.

Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, that's, that's really something. And real quick, we got someone we know. Jody Lennis.

Speaker B: My man, my man. He's coming, he's coming to the next one. We're doing one right after this. I usually do them back to back and that way I can fit more in and have more time with people. And Jody's coming to the next one. Pretty awesome. Um, can't wait to hang out with him. It's been a little while since he and I have actually hung out in person. He was actually one of the first four that came to that first retreat I did. And um, I'm really glad that he's coming back because it's, it's kind of like recharging and resetting. But, uh, it's also collaborating and building new relationships with the people you meet. And I will say that 95% of the people who have come to these retreats, and I would say there's probably been about 40 to 50 people through these. In those, in those times, they still stay in touch. They still, they're connected. It's part of their network. It's not just a one time meeting.

Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. Well, I think, you know, one of the things when you, when you talk about the power of people coming together, whatever you call it, mastermind, collaboration is, is really that human connection that we stop. We gloss over a lot in business. We're, we're just, we, we're getting things done. That's what we're trying to do. We're totally focused on that a lot of times. And that human connection is, is a big part of what we miss when we do that.

Speaker B: Yes, it is. And here's the great thing is, um, Stephen Goodwin, who's here, and John Chapman, who are here, they're from one company called Navarro. Those are the two guys I was talking about. They're in Virginia. And actually they have a great system. You've got to have to change the way it works as they grow. But the, uh, two owners every morning walk and shake and the hand of. And hug every person there's.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: And each one of them. Not. I do these and these. They do do every one of them. And the great thing is when you do that every day, you know, when someone's off, you know, right away, when you, if you've hugged somebody and shaking their hand close to you every single day. And then one day it's like, hey, M. Man, let's go in the office. And that's what they do. They go in the office and talk. That's a company built around community. I had Stephen on coffee on the Peak last week and that was our, our talk was he was in the corporate, corporate rat race business type of business like you're talking about. And he went to a business more community based, people based. And he's like, I only work four days a week. They won't let me work Fridays. Um, I, you know where he was working 70 to 80 hours a week before.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: He's like, uh, he came here and he went to them and they paid for this for him to come here. And he said, hey, uh, that's, you know, that was Sunday through Wednesday. He's like, hey, um, there's only one day. Do you mind if I go visit my parents? And they're like, course you can go visit your parents. Why'd you even ask? You know, as opposed to, no, you got to get back here and work.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: And if you, if people can realize that you will get so much more from someone when you do that, we would do more of those things. You know, I mean, I never was able to give people, uh, four days, but we would leave by 1:00 I would give my people a Friday or Monday off when I thought they'd work too many hours. And even I was in a, the largest privately held landscape company in the world at that time working for them. I still did those things because I could do those things autonomous, honestly, without a lot of, uh, oversight. But, you know, a lot of People don't even think that way. They just think, I'm paying you. That's. That's your reward, and that's it. And you and I both know nobody gets up every day excited to go to work for a paycheck. It's just. It's not what it is.

Speaker A: Yeah, that is true. And I think one of the things that, as you say this and what you're mentioning about your retreats and such, and I think this is true with coaching and masterminds, it's really taking the time to know ourselves better, because as we know ourselves better, we can. We can really then decide what we want to change, what we want to work on. And then through the Master Ryan's, the collaborations and the coaching, that's where we. We find the people that are maybe ahead of us in that journey or can help us with the journey.

Speaker B: Right, Right. And, uh, that's a lot of what I let people understand. And people always want to know what they're going to get when they come here. And I won't tell them, first of all, it's only for the brave, okay? It truly is only for the brave. But I also tell people. So you. You want to know what's going to happen here? Well, part of this, like you said, is knowing yourself. And part of my goal in this, and I. I've never had somebody walk away that was here, uh, voluntarily. There was one person who was a hostage, but voluntarily, who didn't. Wasn't completely transformed. Um, but, you know, part of. Part of this process, I tell them, is this isn't about business. This is about you. Because until you're whole, you can't be whole in business because you carry every part of you everywhere you go. And if you're a 75% complete person because you've got some pain inside of you, you're giving 75% to the business. You can't give 100% of something you don't have. So this is what we do. And every person here has told me already, they're so glad they came. They've gotten so much out of it. Uh, one guy was a little apprehensive to come, and he said, I didn't know what to expect, but I'm so glad I'm here. Um, we have. But it's not a party, okay? It's not a party, but it's. It's a lot of fun. And what's really cool, Damon, is you go to seminars and so forth, and you sit in a big room with all these People and an hour and a half into presentations, you're ready to fall asleep. We've been, you know, we've been going, you know, since 9 o' clock this morning and, and it's, you know, it's what, six o' clock now? And we just stopped about 30, 45 minutes ago. Those guys are still out there going. Their energy is off the charts because we're focused on. It's not somebody preach. It's not me teaching them and teaching them, it's all of us teaching each other. So everyone is active, everyone's contributing as you set that contribution. And again, when Clayton Fieldhouse shares a thing with me that I'm not aware of, I've just become more intelligent and I've just gained a little more wealth in my life. When I share something with Steven Goodwin, he's taking something and vice versa. It goes around the room like that. Um, and if it's just me up there trying to preach to people, it doesn't work. So that's not what this is about. It's, it's about trying to find out who you really are. And as you said, what you what, what your really why is in life and what you're trying to achieve. Uh, but even more so than that, it goes to, you can have all the systems and processes. We, you and I have talked about this a lot. Uh, you can have all the systems and processes, you can have the best equipment, you can have the greatest uniforms. But if your people have no character and their values don't align with yours, it's for naught. And this is what this is about, is to make sure that we find that harmony within business. Because I truly believe it takes that harmony in business to be successful. If you don't have that, it's going to be very, very difficult for you to achieve what you're trying to achieve. Because with lack of harmony, you have resistance.

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker B: So this is what we have to, we have to focus on. And you're 100% right. It comes from never from, you know, being that pusher of people. I mean, you need that sometimes, but it comes from being empathetic and connecting with your people. And I truly believe until you show people you care about them, they're not going to want to push and do the best they can because it's like, why am I going to do this for somebody who would fire me tomorrow for no reason or let me go or push me back to 32 hours because the shareholders say so? Um, because those things happen in our industry. And, uh, it's. It's about taking care of your people. Josh Gamez of East Coast Facility. I love, uh, one of my friends, Melissa Oliveira, is getting married next week. She works for him. And she said. When he hired her, he said one of his most important things, and this is why I think that company is so successful so quickly, is you're. One of your main things is you have to love my people the way I love them. You have to love my people as much as I love them. And for someone whose business has grown from when I. I remember five years ago, about 5 million to over 60 million in that amount of time.

Speaker A: Yeah,

Speaker B: that's a big thing. He doesn't have to say that, but he knows that is what he believes, that that's why his business has been so successful, because he does love his people.

Speaker A: Yeah. And I think when we're talking about, you know, coaching and masterminds and, and, uh, collaboration that, you know, you talk about getting harmony in business. We have to have harmony inside of ourselves first to be able to project that out and let the. And help others around us find that harmony.

Speaker B: Yes, you're. You're so right, man. That, that is so true. And we can't ever lose sight of that. That's, uh, that's where I say, if you're not working on yourself and making yourself complete, all the rest of it is going to. It's going to be impossible for people, because people don't follow what you say, they follow what you do. And if you're, you know, if you're, if you're saying, hey, we're the people who really, you know, believe in our customers. I think our customers are great. And every time you get off the phone with one, you're cussing your customer out because you're like that son of a bitch. Whatever, you know, it's like your people aren't going to buy it. Um, so again, it's. You've got to live that. And I think a lot of people lose sight of that too. They, they want to have these great credos, but they. They don't live them. I've. I've known quite a few people who had incredible credos, but a credo is, is only words. And what you need is. You need those actions, you need that actionable stuff. Uh, and you need people to, to really change. It's kind of like when you. When you want to make your business better and you just change uniforms, you know, it's like, that's not going to make your Business better may make you look a little better, but it's not going to do anything to improve your business. You know, what are you. What are the real meat and potatoes works that everybody needs to do? Uh, again, one of the things I also say when people come in is I let them know, um, we're all a work in progress, including me. I don't want anybody to think that I think I am on a pedestal. I even tell people when I start working with them, just so you know, I need more help than anybody. I help. And I just, I'm honest because it's not because I'm so bad, it's because I want to do so much.

Speaker A: Yes. That's awesome. That's awesome. I mean, recognizing that we, they, that we need help, I think is a, is a first thing, and I think it's a challenge that, uh, stops a lot of us from going down the road of, you know, really allowing coaching or collaboration to benefit our lives as much as it can, both business and, uh, personal.

Speaker B: Yeah. I can tell you, once I got a coach, my business changed a whole lot. You know, I had some of the biggest contracts I ever got. I, uh, had some of the biggest, uh, guidance, you know, some of the best guidance I ever had. I mean, yeah, I'm a John Maxwell certified coach, but I never worked. I've met him, I've talked to him, but I've never, I've never worked one on one with him. In coaching, it's just a certification. Um, but when you get someone to hold you accountable and when you have to meet with them and they look you in the eye and say, you know, this is unacceptable. You can't, you can't not do your assignments. You don't want that. You know, it's, it's no different than it works. So, uh, everybody, I believe, needs to be held accountable. And, you know, my, my two sayings are we're the easiest person we will ever lie to, and we're the hardest person we will ever lead. And if we're not aware of that, it's a recipe for disaster. And having people to help keep us in line and to guide us, even people I coach help coach me back. Not, uh, on maybe on the same level, but they will call me out and say, hey, isn't this. I'm like, you're right, 100%. Um, because again, we're all a work in progr. We're all human, we're all fallible. Um, but having that vulnerability is something we've actually talked about a lot here because a lot of people think. And you know better than this, Damon. But it is a fallacy. Um, it is a fallacy, but a lot of people think when you ask for help, you're weak. But it really takes a strong person to ask for help. And people. What do you mean? It's like, because I am strong enough to show you that I need help, I'm m. Strong enough to be honest and not worry. Whereas somebody who can't ask for help, to me that's weakness. Because they can't even admit that they need help. That's. To me, is. Is a very. Because you're not willing to show your vulnerability because you're afraid that you're going to get attacked. That's a weak person. To me. I am strong enough to know that through my vulnerabilities I still have faith and I will still get through. It doesn't mean because I'm asking for help that if I don't get it, I'm going to give up. But I can promise you there's not one person in this world who's gotten to where they are without help, whether they're willing to admit it or not. You know, there's just. It's self made men, self made women don't exist. I don't care who you are. They. Yeah,

Speaker A: uh,

Speaker B: you may have worked your ass off, but there were people who helped you along the way or collaborated with you along the way, one way or another.

Speaker A: Yeah. I think part of it is too, is that, you know, you being in the landscaping industry and, and working with them. You know, it's a male dominated industry with a lot of it, and we're still dealing with some, um, you know, mental blocks that are a decade or two decades or even longer, uh, out of date really, about, about the fact that getting help is, is something that should even be. It shouldn't really even cross our mind as something that's. That's a negative thing because when you look at it and you go, okay, look at the best in the world at something. The best pole vaulter, the best, you know, football player, the best, whatever they have, they have multiple coaches. They have multiple coaches. Look at. Okay, that's the. You may like them, not like him. I know Jody Lennis likes him. But Tom Brady, great example. Right? Uh, you know that guy, he had people preparing his food every single day. He didn't have to worry about it. He needed to make sure he had that. So he ate right, he slept right. He had mental coaches, he had physical coaches. I mean, these people at the pinnacle of success know that I can only get so far. But if I have the right people around me that are coaching and helping me in these specific areas, that I can go the lot farther. And that's, that's where, you know, 25 years ago, people you say, I, uh, I, you know, I got a coach or I, I'm gonna. I'm gonna do some counseling on something because I need to get over some. They would look at you kind of funny. Like, what do you mean?

Speaker B: Right?

Speaker A: And. And now I think we, we really have to embrace the fact that, like you said, this is an opportunity for us to get better. And for us, every, every bit, we get better, we're better for our business, we're better for our families, we're better for ourselves. Ourselves first, because that allows us to be better for everyone else. But that's why it's so important, I think. And when you're doing this, do you think that you have to help people break through that, that. That old mantra a little bit or that old, uh, thought adage of, hey, maybe this isn't really. Or it's. Is it kind of weird for me to do this or not? Shouldn't say weird is not the right word. But, you know, um, to look at coaching,

Speaker B: um, I'm not going to say that I've had, uh, like a lot of obstacles of that, but a lot of people I work with have told me that it was difficult for them to approach me at first, but once they started working with me, they. Most people feel pretty comfortable. I do have. I mean, I do have a natural ability to help people. People feel comfortable. Otherwise, I wouldn't have six, five guys here out there having conversations right now that I can hear like they're brothers. Uh, after three days, you know, these guys are. And they tell me this, it's not me making this up. They're like, this is just. I feel like I've known you guys and Rod Miller was even saying, you know, I don't know what it is about this place, but this, this time is even more so. I just feel like you guys are, you know, like my friends for life now. And I feel like I've. I've met people that I can really collaborate with. And, um, you know, again, I can't explain it, but it's, uh, it's just this, um, emotions that, that we. People say they walk in and their energy just changes the minute they walk in the door. But you also get greeted with a hug and a handshake. Here. This is what I've always done. I remember the first time Adam Linneman walked in the door, who. You know, and I gave him a big. He's a tall guy, and I gave him a big hug and a handshake, and he tried. Or actually I just gave him a big hug and he tried to pull away from me. And, uh, by the time he was leaving, he was hugging everybody.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: Voluntarily. I mean, he. It wasn't like someone going to him. He was coming to us and hugging. That's the transformation that takes here over that kind of time that you understand this is better than the other way. You know, this is coming from a place of love. There is no, like. There's no, like, um, nobody's hugging you for some reason other than to let you know, hey, man, everything's going to be okay. We're a group of guys, and you can let your guard down right here. And again, everybody does. I. I love it. I can't explain it, but I am, again, so blessed that this is what we're able to do here and I'm able to have as a part of my life. Um, it's just. It's. I'm blessed. I can't say. Say that enough.

Speaker A: Yeah. And I really think that the, like you're saying, getting to know ourselves a little better, getting to feel comfortable and be able to collaborate with other people and really see how that changes our life and our. And, uh, ourselves, and then it allows us to go out and do better in business and other. Other things. Our, uh, personal lives as we. As we move outside of that circle,

Speaker B: 100%,

Speaker A: as you're. As you're doing this, what are some of the things, some of the realizations that you see people, ah, come up with when they're. When they're just really figuring out that if this is. This is a different way of doing things.

Speaker B: Um, you know, again, some of the realizations people come up with, I mean, one gentleman here, um, and he's been. He's been coming to our leaders, building leaders for a little bit, and he's been growing. He said it's been a huge part. But, um, as of three weeks ago, he was thinking of himself as a nobody, and I'm not. And now he is. He is saying, I am the face of this business that I'm running, and I am going to change the way these things happen, and I'm going to do this. Uh, I'm going to implement these things, and I will no longer look at myself as just a Nobody. And that is huge. Huge transformation, in my opinion. Um, you know, some people have. One guy said, you know, I realized today. One guy said, I realized how important. And I mean, actually, four of the guys said that here today, I realize how important and I would not be where I am today without my wife, you know, and how. I mean, I've always thought of her that way, but this is giving me more clarity that she really is my rock. And to me, that's great, because, you know, one of the things I always ask people when they complain about their wife, I'm like, so this is the person you pick to live the rest of your life with. And this is how you talk about them? You know, it starts with that. It starts to how you think about them and how you approach them, how you talk about them. I mean, it's not that these guys don't have great relationship with their wives, but actually understanding what they mean in their lives just, again, incredible. And they're, you know. You know, these are. These are guys who, every night, they're talking to their wives on the phone. They call them every night already. That's before this. But still, to get that further realization, to go back and know, you need to be more intentional with that relationship. You need to make sure when you're going on the walk that you're not on your phone and she's not on a podcast. You know, you need to be talking when you're on those walks and engaging, and that's what these guys are talking about. You know, it's like, I need to be even more intentional, or some of them who I've been working with a little while, um, or like, I've been being more intentional. And when the guys hear that and what the results are like, wow, that's, you know, so we share those kind of things. Um, yeah, there is some business stuff here. You know, one of the things we did today, we talked about doing more with less because businesses are really tight right now, but that's a small part of this. And again, people want to know what we're going to do here. And my thing, I always tell people is when they. When they. Once they come here and they realize, I just, you know, I just wonder why you, you know, don't like to tell people. It's like, well, do you know what's gonna happen five minutes from now? No. You don't even know what's gonna happen. Nobody knows what I'm gonna say in five minutes. I could. I could complete golf on a deep end. So it's kind of like life, right? And if you're brave enough and willing to come, you're going to get everything you can out of it. And the other thing that is really true, um, is that the biggest things you take away from here are the things you were missing inside of you. The biggest things you take away from here because they wouldn't be big to take away if you already had them inside of you. And some of these guys are like this completely. I'm. I'm seeing myself as a different person. I'm seeing myself as more complete. Uh, I'm seeing myself as, um, more than what I thought I was. So, again, I just think that that's really important that we understand that what we're taking away, where it's. It's so big to us because we were missing that inside of us. It doesn't mean we don't have the qualities for it. It doesn't mean we don't have the character for it. It just means we don't even realize that we have a right to it

Speaker A: or even have it already.

Speaker B: Right. Right. And anything that anyone else has inside of them, you can have that inside of you. Because you were created by the same creator. You may not realize it, and you may need to fertilize and germinate and, and, and harvest that inside of you. But you have it inside of you. But you've got to cultivate it. You've got to work on it to make it happen. If someone says, oh, I'm. I'm not very organized, I'm like, how have you been. How long you been telling yourself that? You know, maybe start telling yourself, I'm not as organized as I like to be, but I'm going to work on getting better. Is that a better thing you're telling yourself then? I'm just not organized. Now you have hope and possibility. What you're telling yourself every day, whatever that thing is, you know you have it inside of you. It's your choice to decide if you want to develop it or not. I don't have a desire to develop some things that I'm not good at, and I'm okay with that. But there are some things I'm not good at that I do want to develop, and that's okay. Just because you don't have it, you're not good at it, doesn't mean you need to. But if you, if you're. If you're not willing to even admit that, you know that that can be a shortcoming.

Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. And folks listening There. I just hope, you know that you got a, uh, wise bit of coaching there in the last couple of minutes because if you didn't catch that, you should go back and rewind that thing because, uh, that was, that was some valuable insights there, Thane, because it is really we, we need to understand, um, and this is what I think coaching brings out in, in people that, that seek coaching and really, really understand and learn from it is that there's. There's a lot we don't realize about ourselves that we're saying to ourselves that if we say it differently, can change our life.

Speaker B: Yes. Yes. And, uh, it's. It's so minute that you need to twist that you do. We think we. And we said it to ourselves for so long that we just accept it as fact. We accept it as truth. And sometimes we don't even think we can change it. Um, but you and I both know that that's something we have conditioned ourselves to believe. It's. It's

Speaker A: not,

Speaker B: it's not true. I mean, if someone can quit, can. Can kick the habit of heroin, as painful as that is. You can kick anything. You can kick lack of anything again. But you have to desire to do it. It can't just be somebody else wanting you to do it. You have to be. You have to be. As we talk about in the goal setting process, it has to be your goal for you. It can't be your goal because it's what your dad wanted you to do. That's never going to be your goal. It has to be, uh, uh, my dad wanted me to do it, but it's what I want to do as well. It's something I've had a passion for my whole life. Great. But I don't need to do this because to make my dad happy, that's never gonna, that's never gonna be my goal. So again, understanding those things and putting them in perspective, um, is very, very important. And again, going back to the whole coaching thing, um, you know, you talked about the Tom Brady thing. Um, I always talk about the current, you know, greatest in the NBA. And a lot of people hate him. I'm not a fan of his, but he is incredible. Le James.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: He has like seven coaches. And I'm not talking about people prepare his food. It's like he has a free throw coach. He has a jumping coat. He has a workout coach. If you want to be the greatest, hire more coaches. And again, I'm not for everybody, so I'm not doing this. So people hire me. I only work with 10 to 12 people at a time. I will never work with more than that. I will never. I'm not out here to get a lot of people. Um, but there are lots of coaches out there. So I'm not saying reach out to me, but find somebody to help you what it is you want to do in life. Find somebody who can give you some guidance and most of all, hold you accountable. Because I promise you, more than likely. And this is from Dr. Travis Bradbury, who's on, um, on LinkedIn. You can follow him on LinkedIn. The average person lies to themselves 12 times a day. And I'm not saying they're bad lies. It might be, well, I'm not that fat or I'm in pretty good health or it's like, no, my hair is not as great, not that great. Like I kept telling myself, oh, my hair is not so gray. And it's like, yeah, the light I was looking in, it wasn't. What are those things? They're not, I'm a send. They're bad lies. But we, you know, but if we lie to ourselves about the little things, I can promise you we lie to ourselves about the big things. So again, be, and it's just to be aware of those things told yours. But to have a coach to hold you accountable is, is to me one of the great things. You know, the coaches who are working with me and saying, hey, you know, you're not far enough along, or, hey, you're moving really fast. That's great. Uh, oh, you just need to tweak this a little bit or, hey, the language here is why you're not getting a response. Change the language here to this. And I know everybody's using Chat GPT these days. I've used AI three or four, maybe five times. I, it's just not my thing and I know I'm probably going to lose ground because of it. Um, but that's just where I've been in my life. I, I, I've dabbled in it and I didn't see where it was. Writing things better than what I wrote. I feel like when I write, I write from the heart. When I speak, I speak from the heart. And sorry, as great as Guy is, it doesn't have a heart.

Speaker A: That is true. That is true. So for someone that's considering, you know, looking at coaching, getting some coaching, jumping into a mastermind, what piece of advice would you give them?

Speaker B: Make sure your values align. Because if, if, if my values are different than your values, it's going to be Hard for either one of us to value each other. Other. Uh, I'm going to be teaching you things that are taking you down a different path. Uh, or it's going to be hard for you to. It's going to be like me pulling eye teeth out to get you to change. So I think the, one of the big things is values. And again, you're all. Your values don't have to align, but none. If none of your values align, it's, it's not going to be easy. Um, my suggestion is to define what your top three to five values are. Find out what their top three to five values are and at least some of those three to, you know, if it's. If you have three, at least two of them need to align. If you have five, at least three need to align. It can't be the majority that don't align. So I think that, that to me in my life, when I find those things that people whose values align with mine, I have a lot more success in coaching them and I have a lot more success in friendship and relationships. Uh, so that's, that is my number one suggestion when you find somebody is make sure that their values align with yours. If you're working with a transactional coach and you're relational, it's not going to work. If you're working with a coach who is, um, who is not about. Who's all about making money and not the mission and you're about the mission and not making money. I mean again, we all need money, but if that's not your main drive and that's their main drive is to make you more money, but your main drive is to live your mission and they don't care about your mission. Again, how is that going to help you and what you're trying to achieve?

Speaker A: M.

Speaker B: They may help you make more money, but you're. At the end of the day, you're not going to be fulfilled. Which is what my goal as a coach is to do. If you want to make money, I'll help you make money if that's going to fulfill you. But I can promise you it never will.

Speaker A: Yes. Yes.

Speaker B: So that's, that's, that's my biggest, my biggest suggestion is don't just get a coach because someone suggests get. Talk to them a few times. If they can't give you your time to do that, then they're not going to help you anyway. They're, they're in it for the money. Um, and I am in it for the mission, but I do need money. I can't do events like this without money. I can't pay my bills. I can't. And as my. One of my favorite Zig Ziglar quotes is, money is not the most important thing in the world, but it's a lot like oxygen. When you need it, there is no substitute. And I need it to do events. I need it to be able to make the food cook, because everything we do, we just about. We cook here, we make food, we service each other, we clean dishes up from each other. Uh, I got that from Larry Bird. He said when the Celtics would have get togethers, the dinners were very great. But the greatest bond came when everybody cleaned up after each other. And here's my quote on this, and this is my quote. You can give it to me, you can attribute it to me, but if we cannot do the lowest of things for each other, we will never do the greatest of things together. If I can't do small things for you, if I can't pick up your trash, if I can't put your dish in the dishwasher, it's very unlikely that we're ever going to have a great joint venture making business, making business together. It's just not likely, because those. That's pettiness. If you can't do that for somebody. And pettiness will destroy all kinds of relationships. So that's one of the things we do here. Um, and the great thing is, most times I've had to make that, and before I knew it, guys were cleaning up dishes. And I mean, I make most of the meals. One guy cooked this morning, and I was like, all right, John's cooking now he can't clean up. Somebody else has to clean up besides John. But just to have guys just jump into that without me even having to say it, it. It just shows the success of these. These events, because we all know guys aren't the first ones to want to clean up. You know, just not how it is. I'm a little bit different. I'm. I do like that. But every one of these people here have been just contributing. Like they're. It's. We're working on. On mental power. It's. It's almost like we're, you know, some of the things that have been said. It's like I was just about to say that I was in that conversation. You were in my head. Uh, again, that's that power of that mastermind.

Speaker A: You

Speaker B: have these people connected. You start being a part of each other, and especially when we're in some of these in depth talks. I mean, there have been some serious tears, some serious emotions, some serious growth, some serious hugging, some serious pride, uh, some serious happiness, serious laughing. And it's just been what I dreamed these would always be. It's just, it's. It's incredible. So, uh, again, I am blessed.

Speaker A: Yeah. That's awesome, Thane. And I think, you know, one of the things that, that might hold people back from coaching is the fact that you do a lot of times you have to deal. You have to deal with what you're, what you're dealing with head on to get through it and that people can zig and zag and move around it a lot. But, um, taking the time to deal with things head on and move through them is how you really get growth.

Speaker B: Well, what people hate to hear, a lot of times what people want is to, to. For it to be that, oh, this outside source or this. Especially when you're going to an owner and working in there. Like, my people suck and they don't do this. And I have to hold up a mirror and say, look, unless they hired themselves and unless they're trading themselves and unless they're coaching themselves to do better, this is on you.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: And if they are doing that, that's still on you.

Speaker A: Yes.

Speaker B: You know, because if you're letting them do that, that's you. Who else is letting them do that? Uh, you. You are the leader of this business. Either you own the company, you're the, you're the branch manager, you're the head ops guy, whatever that is. Um, every bit of that, it may not be your fault. Okay? So don't get me wrong. It is your responsibility to fix. There's a difference between it being your fault and your responsibility. And it is their responsibility to fix.

Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. Good stuff. Well, Thane, thanks so much for stopping by today. I know you've got a lot of things to do because you're out on your retreat there in Ocean Isle. And just thanks again, really appreciate it.

Speaker B: I am so honored to be here, Damon. Uh, thank you for having me. And anytime you want me on, I will be here for you. Uh, if anybody's ever interested in talking, not about coaching, just talking with me, just reach out. I'm on LinkedIn, Thane Isaacs. I believe I am the only thing Isaacs in the world, but if not, I'm definitely, uh, the only one on LinkedIn and reach, uh, out. Love to talk to you. If you're ever interested to attending a retreat, we can talk about it. I. I do. About Four to six a year. Uh, but thanks again, Damon. I really appreciate you having me here.

Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. And I would say if, uh, reach out to Thane, if you're thinking about this or just want to talk to him like he said. And then I. I do want to say, too, Jody, uh, Lennis, I think, is having the Tom Brady fan club meeting sometimes him here shortly, so. But we always have to get ready for that,

Speaker B: right? It's. I. I can't wait to attend. I mean, he's coming here, and he's actually bringing Tom Brady signed jerseys to give out to everybody.

Speaker A: Oh, that's good. That's good.

Speaker B: I appreciate you, Damon, on that one, because you and I both know how that gets him.

Speaker A: Yes. Yes. All right, everyone, thanks for being here today. Thanks for the comments. Thanks, Thane. Once again, if you. Again, if you want to hear more about this, go back to the beginning. Listen to Thane. Reach out to him on LinkedIn. Thane Isaacs. He says, love what you do or find what you love on his profile. LinkedIn. I think it's awesome.

Speaker B: Thanks,

Speaker A: everyone. Thane will end up offline here. I'm gonna close this down, and we will keep going with the day.

Speaker B: You got it, brother.