Dec 21, 2020
Meet Today’s Guest: Pat Mussieux
Pat Mussieux is an internationally acclaimed speaker,
award-winning business coach, TV host and author located in
Edmonton, Canada.
Her newest book, ‘Business Gets Better When YOU Get Better! How to
Change Yourself to Change Your Results” will be released in the
summer of 2021. She has also co-written ‘Leadership Gurus Speak
Out!” contributing her wisdom and expertise in the fields of Human
Resources, Sales, Marketing and Training.
She has appeared regularly in media and print publications. Pat won
the (New York based) STEVIE Award – Female Entrepreneur of the Year
in Canada (4x), the STEVIE Award for Women in Business – Female
Executive of the Year in Canada. Pat has been named as one of the
“Top 100 Women Entrepreneur Experts to follow on Twitter”. She has
also been nominated for Chatelaine magazine’s ‘Woman of the
Year’.
Having transformed her life at age 57 from trash bag to travel in a
private plane around the world, as well as taking her business from
zero to close to a million dollars in less than 6 years are a
direct result of her expertise in the area of mindset, marketing
and money. She works with entrepreneurs around the world, including
a mentoring project in both Johannesburg and Zimbabwe.
Pat regularly hosted a TV show, ‘Wealthy Women Leaders’ – where she
interviewed successful, mature women entrepreneurs discussing the
‘good, the bad and the ugly’ of being in business and leadership.
The intention of the show is to spark and inspire budding
entrepreneurs when it comes to mindset, leadership and
success.
She is very well known for her skills and expertise in the areas of
networking, marketing, time/energy management, life balance ……and
her mantra is ‘it’s never too late’! Her presentations are timely
and relevant when it comes to productivity, motivation and
inspiration.
Pat is well known in the world of association management having
been involved, over a period of 30 years, as a board member,
committee member, strategic planning facilitator and speaker at the
local, Provincial and National levels. She has been a keynote
speaker at national conferences for the CSAE and the Alzheimer
society.
And while she loves all of that, her most important role and
commitment is that of grandmother to 3 amazing young adults!!
How did you get to be the expert you’re in right now?
I am on a mission to share my story. Because if we were to sum it up my message to individuals to professionals to women is it's never too late. And you're never too old. My story is long, because I'm old. I'm going to start with a 10-year period in the 90s. That really was the foundation for who I am now, how I think, what I do, how I create my life, and many of your listeners may be familiar with Lou Tice and the Pacific Institute. I worked with Lou, I mentored with Lou, I was part of the institute's faculty, I was part of the International Speaker's Bureau, and the Pacific Institute is an international educational institute. And the focus of all the programs is around mindset, critical thinking skills. So I had the good fortune over a 10 year period of going on out into the world delivering this information, public sector, private sector, nonprofit. I became who I am now, because as I learned from Lou and all of the research psychologists that we worked with. There's certain ways of thinking to create the life that you do want.
My mother-in-law had Alzheimer's disease, my father-in-law had terminal cancer, my best friend was dying of breast cancer, my infant grandson was taken off life support and passed away. All of those life things that typically would happen over a period of time, for me, happened in a very condensed period of time. And had it not been for the incredible mentoring and training from Lou Tice, I don't know that I would have had the mental, emotional, even physical strength to get through some of those big life hits. While that was happening, I was traveling around working for the Pacific Institute, my marriage was dying too. I made a decision that after 25 years in that relationship to walk out the door, because my soul was dying. I know many people can relate to that right now, whether it's been a long term career in corporate, whether it's been a long time relationship, my soul was dying.
I knew that there was so much more to life and so much more to me. And so I walked out of that marriage, and I moved across the country with virtually my life in a trash bag and landed there with no business, no contacts, no money. However, I had a dream. And I had the critical thinking skills to reinvent myself. I've given that trash bag away to a lot of people to who made a decision after hearing my story. I landed on the east coast. What I didn't know was how to market. And these were the days where social media was really just becoming a thing. So I knew I needed to learn that piece. So I hired a high-level marketing coach out of New York. And I knew she had passed the million-dollar mark. I hired her and said, look, I'm way older than you, I have less time, I want you to teach me everything I need to know. And I will do it. Because another one of my principles that I teach is she who implements wins.
I did take my speaking and coaching business way up to the million dollar mark. I was traveling all around the place, loving what I was doing. However, what happened then that took me to the next phase of transformation is that you cannot be on the road three weeks of every month, different hotels, different countries, different stages, different cultures, different time zones, and maintain a certain level of health. It was in Chicago in January. This particular year, I'd been on the road for three weeks and I was tired. I had been to Argentina, Florida, California, Seattle, Vancouver and was heading back and landed in Chicago. There was only one Saturday connecting flight from Chicago to where I lived in London, Ontario and it got cancelled. Then I went into the washroom in the airport, and I looked in the mirror, and I didn't recognize who was looking back at me. I had big black bags under my eyes. I was inflamed. My skin tone was gray. I put on weight, I was exhausted. And I and I just started crying.
I vowed right then and there that I was going to make some changes. When I got back home, I called my personal trainer and I said I need to make some changes. While I am a workout fanatic, I love working out and my personal trainer said, it's not your exercise, it's your nutrition. I argued it wasn’t my nutrition. I worked for Weight Watchers for eight years. I know my nutrition. He said, no, you don't. He said, I want you to try this system for 30 days, it will change everything for you. I did follow his nutritional advice. The nutritional system, the exercise changed everything for me. When you’ve got your health and energy you really can take on the world.
Then what happened simultaneously, my very best friend like my soul sister in Ontario was diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer. I took a bit of a sabbatical from my business because she was divorced like me, entrepreneur like me, lived alone like me, were best friends. So I took her to every chemo visit every Friday. After every surgery, I moved in with her to make sure she was okay and all through hospice care. We had a lot of those deathbed conversations and she said you need to stop talking about making money, and you need to start talking to women about how you've transformed your health. So she passed away. And I made a commitment to myself at that time that I am going to make another change in my life. Because while I was there for her, I recognize where I lived, I had nobody there for me. So I moved back across the country I sold everything again. I came back here to be near my family. I made a decision to downsize my life. I downsized all my mastermind groups, all my coaching clients, I had a full speaking calendar. I loved speaking and it was prime places, prime fee for service, it was perfect for 2020 and 2021. And then COVID hit. My business died overnight. I lost probably close to $200,000 - $250,000 in revenue overnight. Now, what I used to coach in my mastermind groups and with my clients was you've always got to have additional streams of revenue, always. And I walked my talk. So I did have this third stream of revenue an online business in the wellness space. And with COVID and being isolated, online is the way to go. So I rolled up my sleeves and got to work helping women now online get healthy and wealthy. And in working with my speaking coach, we've changed my signature talk. My message now is that for different stages of life, you can have a different purpose. You can pivot, and it is never too late. So that's my story.
You have focused now on helping women become healthier and wealthier? How do you do that?
Here’s two driving forces for me. I do not wake up every day to be mediocre. I have God given gifts and talents and shame on me if I don't use them. And I like I said to you earlier, I've been around enough of my friends who are dying. And they're either still dying, or they're dead. And they have died with their gifts in them, which gave me all the more stimulus if you will, to keep going and get very clear and focused on what I am doing. So I have no intention of being mediocre. And I do have every intention of standing out in the crowd, because what I know for sure, is that it's crowded at the bottom. When you start climbing, you get to the top, the view is clear, the air is fresh, there's elbow room, there's room to grow, and really be who you are. And the majority of people in life are followers. I recognize that and I recognize my leadership skills. I'm quite clear and direct and focused on stepping out and helping anybody who wants it and is ready for it.
There are so many women at home right now. I read from the Business Insider that in the United States in September 860,000 women in September left the workforce. They're at home rethinking their life, they're at home rethinking their gifts, they're at home rethinking their time and their energy, and those are the women I'm working with. Whether it is health related or whether they're joining my team and creating residual in leveraged income, which is so important these days, because there's so much uncertainty outside you can bring that certainty inside and create this online business. That's my focus.
You can't start climbing a mountain if you're not in good shape. That comes down to my five daily non negotiables.
# 1 – hydration
#2 – sleep
#3 – exercise
#4 – nutrition
#5 gratitude and meditation
Those are my five daily non-negotiables and I intend every day to focus on those because at my 70th birthday party, I intend to take seven of my fittest, happiest, healthiest colleagues and friends with me to Sedona, and we're going to climb Cathedral Mountain. And I've been there three times now and just about made it to the top. But at 70, I'm going to the top, and we're going to meditate, and we're going to drink, we're going to celebrate.
I have a simple formula for people.
#1 - You've got to have a vision. Now, I typically would teach people to do a vision board, and a vision for their business in their life for six months for a year. Now I'm telling them do it for a month, because the world is so uncertain. You've got to have a vision. Without a vision, you will perish, without a vision, you just go in circles without a vision, you don't want to get out of bed. And life is to be lived. So have a vision.
#2 - Take that vision and move it into specific goals. I focus on three goals. Most people just create a huge list. It's overwhelming. It's intimidating, it's exhausting, and they are bored again. Focus on three goals and move those three goals into three action steps. Keep it simple. Live your life, create your life with intention, and then make a decision to create that vision, to put it into action. Goals are great, but they've got to be action-oriented and move that into your calendar and commit to it in ink. You do not give yourself out.
#3 – Celebrate your achievements no matter how big or how small. It's important to celebrate.
#4 - The other piece is accountability. I have three accountability buddies who hold my feet to the fire. And vice versa. I have an accountability buddy for health. I have an accountability buddy for wealth and I have an accountability buddy for happiness.
Pat’s Free Gift
A complimentary 30-minute 'Pivot on Purpose' strategy call (value: $500). Please email Pat at pat@patmussieux.com with the subject line: Pivot On Purpose.