Collaboration, Connection & Co-Creation ~ Letting Go of Hyper Independence to Rise Together E38

There are certain themes that start whispering in your life long before you realize they’re trying to get your attention. For me, the theme of collaboration has been showing up everywhere. In conversations with clients. Over tea with girlfriends. At Jessica Clark’s Gathering in Carpinteria. And most of all, while co-creating the La Vida Sagrada retreat with my dear friend Leah.

This episode of Sip Tea with Me explores a truth many women are beginning to feel: the era of doing everything alone is ending. The next level of our purpose, our leadership, and our healing requires something deeper—collaboration, co-creation, and the willingness to trust again.

The Roots of Hyper-Independence

For a long time, my independence was my safety. I lost my dad when I was five years old, and that kind of loss rearranges you. It teaches you to stay alert, stay in control, and avoid depending on anyone too deeply. When you grow up with that blueprint, you learn to build a life where you make the decisions, lead the projects, and stay firmly in charge.

It worked for many years. It helped me succeed. It helped me stay safe. But eventually, the same protective strategies that kept me standing also kept me isolated. At some point, the strength that helped me survive became the cage that held me back.

Collaboration felt risky, even when I wanted it. Trusting others felt unfamiliar. Letting someone else share the wheel felt uncomfortable. That is why this shift into co-creation has felt so meaningful and transformative.

A Friendship That Became a Teacher

When Leah and I decided to collaborate on La Vida Sagrada, it wasn’t just two friends working together. It was two women with eerily similar childhood loss stories—her dad passed when she was two, mine when I was five—learning how to trust again through the process of building something sacred.

We knew each other’s hearts. We knew each other’s pasts. But collaboration required us to know each other more deeply. Not just as friends, but as co-creators.

It meant asking honest questions.It meant naming what we needed.It meant stretching our communication beyond polite conversation into real transparency.It meant practicing the courage to stay in our hearts with ourselves and with each other.

And in that space, collaboration became a mirror. A healer. A teacher. It invited both of us to rise into a more conscious, attuned version of ourselves.

Why Different Strengths Make Collaboration Stronger

One of the most transformative realizations I’ve had is that not everyone works the way I do—and that is the beauty of collaboration. Every person brings their own natural wiring, rhythm, and strengths. Some move fast. Some move slowly. Some lean into structure. Some flow with intuition.

Honoring these differences is what allows a partnership, team, or retreat to become richer and more powerful than anything one person could create alone.

This is where the wisdom of Sandra Yancey, CEO of eWomen, becomes so important. She teaches that if you want to grow anything—your business, your purpose, your mission—you must think like a CEO, not like someone running a hobby.

CEOs build teams. They don’t do it all. They don’t hire replicas of themselves. They hire the people who fill the gaps. They trust the strengths of others. And they focus on the work only they can do.

This lesson has shown up in every corner of my life recently—from collaborating with Leah, to joining Bold Visibility with Jennifer Dragonett, to growing inside my women’s networking community, to my Sound Healing Cohort with Danielle Else. Each step into community, collaboration, and co-creation has allowed me to become more fully myself.

The Soul Friendships That Arrive Through Collaboration

There’s something sacred that happens when women create together. It is not just about the work you produce. It is about the bond that forms, the trust that grows, and the shared purpose that becomes bigger than either of you could hold alone.

The most meaningful friendships in my life have come from these moments of co-creation. Women I met while traveling. Women I met at retreats. Women I crossed paths with in the most unexpected places. Women who became soul mirrors, soul expanders, and anchors during seasons of transformation.

Collaboration has a way of drawing in the exact people you are meant to evolve with. The ones who celebrate your wins. The ones who hold your truth when you forget it. The ones who help you rise—not in isolation, but together.

Three Gentle Ways to Open to Collaboration

As you feel into this shift, I want to offer three simple invitations to begin opening the door:

1. Notice where you are still carrying everything alone.Awareness is the first step toward release.

2. Let one person in—just a little.Ask for support or share one idea you’ve been holding close.

3. Reconnect with a woman who feels safe and aligned.A simple message can reopen the energetic pathway to deeper connection.

These small openings create space for the bigger collaborations that are already moving toward you.

A Look Ahead to Episode 39

Episode 38 opened the heart.Episode 39 will light the fire.

Next week, we step into initiation—practical tools, communication skills, and aligned action steps for women ready to collaborate, co-create, and rise with others. Be sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss it.

Join the Community

If this episode stirred something inside you, I’d love to have you in my community.Visit www.lisaschoenthal.com to join my mailing list and download your free journal for transformation and self-discovery. This is where you’ll hear about retreats, workshops, and soul-led offerings first.

Thank you for reading, thank you for listening, and thank you for sharing your journey with me.

Until then, remember who you are, live authentically, travel lightly, and connect deeply with the sisters and stories that make this journey feel like home.

With love from, Lis XO