Pat Priestner started out in the automotive car business washing cars and in later years founded one of the biggest dealer groups in Canada. However, he suffered adversity along the way, which he explores in intriguing ways in his book: Notes For The Children, A Journey Through Life’s Broken Road.
Priestner, CEO of CanadaOne Auto, wrote the book from thousands of notes of team meetings he led in his dealerships. One of his daughters, and his wife Diana, encouraged him to add in personal stories about his own journey because his kids knew only a little bit about his past story.
In the opening chapter he details growing up in “destructive family chaos” that included alcoholic parents who were constantly fighting and struggling to pay bills, while guilting Priestner and his four siblings. “If the book helps anyone, I’m thrilled,” said Priestner in an interview with Canadian auto dealer.
“I really believe my story is not much different than everyone else’s, and I always bring that up in meetings with our teams,” he said. “We all have a story, and if I sit down with you individually, which I’ve done with hundreds of people, they’ll tell me their story in 15 minutes and it’s shocking. All I knew is that I was not alone and I thought if I told the truth, my kids and grandkids, when they are older, would understand it. I didn’t want to write something that was just fluff. I had no interest in that.”
Priestner dropped out of university after a year to sell cars and to chase dreams “of making real money,” so he would not end up broke like his parents. He became the top Chrysler salesman in Canada in his first year. “I got really lucky,” says Priestner. “That was amazing. I sold 330 units my first year. I was really shy. I had no suits. My dad actually bought me two cheap, stolen suits and of course they didn’t fit.”
He moved up into a management position with another company, and in 1981 at the age of 26, he and his twin brother Mike, who was also in the business, were approached by Chrysler about buying into a franchise dealership in London, Ont., that had lost $500,000 the previous year. The dealership broke even the first year, but would go on to make $600,000 the following year and saw new car sales triple. The Priestners subsequently purchased the dealership fully.
But success had its problems. He developed a drinking problem, which he later overcame, and his marriage dissolved. He and his brother also had a falling out, though they are now on speaking terms. He focused on mindfulness and a devotion to Buddhism to balance business and family life. He has found compassion and contentment, which he said is the essence of the book, and has been happily married to Diana for 15 years.
“As we go through life, I don’t care what position you are in, you have to work on your emotions, your feelings, your thoughts, your words,” said Priestner. “If you’re not working on that, your life is going to be pretty tough.”
Priestner founded AutoCanada, one of the biggest dealership groups in Canada, which he left in 2017.
His book is available on Amazon.com, and all proceeds go towards Well-being Canada, which was started up by Pat and Diana last year to provide mental health and wellness tools for youth. You can also learn more about the book by visiting: www.notesforthechildren.com.
