“I trust you.” I whispered to Agostina DiMartino.
She came up to me during Gary John Bishops talk with us and looked me dead in the eye, “I didn’t expect to cry today” she said.
She told me she was trying to ensure she didn’t take away from the moment we were having with Gary by having the click of the camera interrupt our obvious vulnerability. That’s just one of the reasons I hire Agostina-her empathy, tact and grace.
I didn’t expect the outcome of this retreat. I try not to expect anything and just pour my heart and soul into the INTENTION of this event and my life. When I do that and I have clear intentions, then the magic rolls forth and people unfold and blossom like never before.
It was evident by Saturday evening that we’d been hit with a monumental amount of information to digest, process and take action on. And I’m still working through everything that happened at the PNW Operations Retreat this year. This is the first time I’ve been able to sit down and start writing about it.
It was a combination of attendees, speakers, the environment, the food and the intention. All 33 of us came with the intention to step beyond ourselves. I think we knew that this time would not happen again with this particular group of humans. When you realize that- its critical to push yourself over the edge of fear and anxiety and trust that you’ll land in a safe spot in order to experience the highest level of growth.
It’s my job to ensure that safe spot is there for them. THAT is my best use.
Tyler Schmitt, Executive Assistant to Gary Vaynerchuk- this was his first speaking engagement, and we’re so fortunate to have it be with us. Tyler left us with several messages- some of my favorite are:
“There’s no difference between the ice cream man and the CEO of a Fortune 500 company- know them completely and be open always.”
“Learn how to stay interested and be curious.”
“There is no difference between text, email, Instagram DM, Twitter, calls, etc. Communication happens in all forms today.”
“Look for their intent, not at their behavior.”
“Every day is Day 1.”
“Do not be afraid. What keeps people complacent is the fear of execution.”
I love bringing in someone like Tyler because it helps to add a massive amount of perspective to our community. It’s amazing the similarities that you find across industries and positions. When you have exposure and perspective- you suddenly find yourself gaining confidence, awareness and you feel more empowered to take action. WE ARE HUMAN. Nobody is perfect. In fact, we are “imperfectly perfect”.
Gary John Bishop, author of the book “Unfu*k Yourself”. Gary delivered. In a huge, massive way.
If you don’t believe in personal development- and how THIS is the road to having a bigger business + life, you need to check in with yourself.
Gary is a very physical speaker- and by that I mean he was up, down, laughing, yelling, gesturing and overall very entertaining. All while planting seeds in your mind to encourage you to be honest with yourself.
“If you want to achieve great things, you will have to become someone else for it- because who you are today will not be the same person when you achieve those goals.”
“As a human being, you are a skin and bone bag that talks- every day you get up, you perpetuate the myth of who you will become.”
“Language is the house of being.”
“Authenticity starts with telling the truth about yourself to yourself.”
“There is a massive difference between freedom and relief. Often times people think they are free of something when instead relief is what really happened. Such as divorce, you are not free of the relationship, you are relieved of your duties to it.”
“BE ALL IN.”
“STOP TRYING TO FIX YOURSELF – you are not a fu*king chair. You are not broken – you are just not expressed.”
“Human beings are addicted to being right.”
En-May Mangels, Strategic Intuitive Advisor. En-May works with humans like India Arie, Brandy, an Executive from Essentia Water, Executive Management at Microsoft and LA Fitness- and many professionals in the Real Estate Industry.
How often do you pay attention to your goosebumps? Do you act on them? En-May was with us on Saturday and she determined she was there to put us back together. The power went out right before she walked into the lodge. We were in the middle of yoga with Chelsea Rose- and En-May walked in. I went over to greet her as we started to put the room back together- and she said “No rush, we need to get everyone in here happy again.”.
I knew my energy was off all morning. Regardless of whether she was reading my energy or that of the entire room- it was the reminder I needed to adjust my thoughts and my energy to ensure we got the most of our time with her that day. It can be hard for me to be present during these retreats because I get caught up in my head about small things that happen, and I’m also trying to allow myself to experience everything at the same time. It’s a lot to wrangle.
Due to the lack of electricity, En-May started her presentation without her PowerPoint and went straight into the difference between instinct and intuition.
“Instinct is there to protect you- it is reactive and fear based.”
“Intuition is the total opposite- it is proactive and a guidance system- it is your inner GPS and universal team.”
“Inside of intuition lives empathy and your personal joy.”
“Spend more time just BEING. Less DOING.”
“The more you trust your intuition the more empowered you become, the stronger you become and the more empowered you become”
“Use your ESPMF (Emotional, Spiritual, Physical, Mental/Mindful, Financial) to track how you feel about something.”
She went through an exercise with us called the “Yuck and Stuck” where she helped us identify things that we want to let go of, events in our lives where that idea/opinion/judgement started- and how to move forward and leave that identity behind. It no longer serves us.
En-May stayed through dinner with us. The rest of our time with her was extremely personal, vulnerable and intense.
You can call her a psychic, an intuitive, an empath-
I like to call her a friend now.
Everyone was invited to ask her whatever they liked, and so we did. I will refrain from sharing the personal stories of the attendees – in honor of keeping their confidence. If they’re open to sharing them- they will. As I had already had a personal meeting with her back in December- I was comfortable asking anything and sat on my hands for the first 2 hours to ensure people had a chance to ask what they wanted. If there were a pause- I would jump in. And I did. I asked about my Dad’s father, Robert Smith- he went by Bob. I never got to meet him, he died when my Dad was 20. He died of lung cancer. En-May mentioned his lungs before I said anything- and said his eyes were wide in amazement. Probably because he never expected me to be the person I am (that’s my guess). I asked her about my “man situation” as I call it- and she enlightened the group (to their total enjoyment)- which was fun 🙂 She mentioned some interesting things about the future of the retreat, our podcast, and the Pickett Street team overall.
For me, En-May is all about validation. She validated a lot of things we already knew about ourselves.
I don’t think people realize the POWER in validation. Sometimes we just need to HEAR the things we already KNOW. To give us the confidence to move forward with intention and belief in ourselves.
My Intention:
Every year Sarah and I put a little gift in their rooms with a note from me. This year I included a longer note in the Retreat Agenda that I’d like to share with you now:
“This retreat came to fruition in January of 2016. When I first came to the real estate world in November 2012 it was very apparent to me that the Operations side of the industry lacked talent and leadership. Along with talent many Agents also lacked knowledge on how to effectively manage people and provide them with opportunities to grow and become better people and employees. I spent the first 2 years getting to know the industry and business- and then I began teaching a class called “Perspective, Through the Lens of an Executive Assistant” in July 2015.
I decided to organize the retreat because I realized we needed an event where we had more than a few hours together, and I also thought it would shine a light on the need and help create the beginning of the ripple I knew needed to happen.
There are many events, conferences and retreats organized for Real Estate Agents- there are very few if any for Real Estate Operations.
My goal with this retreat is to show YOU just how powerful YOU can be, and help YOU learn how to share YOUR story effectively. Through networking, hard work and persistence- YOU have the ability to take control of what YOU want in life and go after it. Many Admin have a lot of fear over going after what they want or think they deserve. Thus, much of this retreat is all about personal development. By working on ourselves first- much of what else we need will follow.
I hope if nothing else you step into this weekend with an INTENTION, to have an open mind. Listen. Ask questions. Allow this event to be something that perhaps stops a pattern, opens a new door, uncovers a part of your thinking that you didn’t even realize was there.
You’re much more powerful than YOU realize.
xoxo,
Mo”
#pnwoperationsretreat
*More to come. This is just a sneak peek of the photographs taken by Agostina DiMartino, local photographer and friend from Everett, WA. Check out more of her work and hire her: http://agostinadimartino.com/
