Questioning Authority: Q&A with Leading Authorities for Entrepreneurial Excellence
Question and Answer sessions with leading Authorities in health, business and relationships to help service based professional entrepreneurs achieve peak performance in biz and in life.
Authority is a word that has many connotations. For this reason Authority in this context is defined as an expert + influencer= Authority. Someone who has expert knowledge on a particular subject AND has the characteristics to influence others.
Host Dr Scott Vatcher questions Authority figures to help entrepreneurs, business owners and service providers with achieving higher levels of success and fulfilment both in their business life and their personal life.
Exploring unique health challenges that service based entrepreneurs face such as fatigue, burnout, and finding balance between work-life struggles.
Exploring business and financial challenges such as marketing, sales, employees, investments, real estate, hiring and firing, when to scale and when to pivot.
Exploring relationships with self, business partners, romantic partners, your kids and your customers.
Questioning Authority: Q&A with Leading Authorities for Entrepreneurial Excellence
Ink Your Influence: Crafting a Legacy in Health with Marcus Chacos
Summary
In this episode, I interview Dr. Marcus Chacos about the importance of having an 'Authority Piece" to grow authority and expertise. Dr. Chacos shares his experience of writing and publishing multiple books, including 'Arthritis Solution' and 'Chiropractic Crucibles.' He emphasizes that writing a book is not just about the end result, but also about the personal growth and development that occurs during the writing process. Dr. Chacos also discusses the role of social media in promoting and sharing the content of the book, highlighting the value of creating a content plan and utilizing platforms like Instagram and YouTube. Writing a book can help attract, convert, and retain clients. It provides a continuous source of content for social media and other platforms. Over 1800 social media posts can be created from a book. Speaking on stage can be daunting at first, but with practice and training, it becomes easier and more effective. Niche down to attract a specific audience and become an authority in that area. Having a book and an online course can expand your reach and impact. The process of writing a book and creating other products takes time and effort, but the results are worth it.
Takeaways
- Writing a book is an effective way to grow authority and expertise in a specific field.
- The process of writing a book allows for personal growth and development.
Social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube can be used to promote and share the content of the book. - Creating a content plan based on the book's key topics can help generate valuable content for social media. Writing a book can attract, convert, and retain clients
- A book provides a continuous source of content for social media
- Speaking on stage can be daunting at first, but with practice and training, it becomes easier and more effective
- Niche down to attract a specific audience and become an authority in that area
- Having a book and an online course can expand your reach and impact
- The process of writing a book and creating other products takes time and effort, but the results are worth it
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
00:52 The Power of Writing a Book
03:11 The Most Enjoyable and Effective Books
06:31 Overcoming the Fear of Writing a Book
10:25 Using Social Media to Amplify Your Message
16:25 The Benefits of Having an Online Course
25:25 Developing Speaking Skills
32:21 The Importance of Niching Down
36:00 Creating a Product to Provide Value
42:05 Conclusion
I'm Scott Vatcher, the host of Questioning Authority, where I question authority figures about health, wealth and relationships. This episode is brought to you by TheAuthorityCocom, helping health professionals be seen as the go-to authority in their community. I hope you enjoy this episode. Welcome to the Questioning Authority Podcast. I'm your host, Scott Vatcher, and I'm here to interview authority figures in health, wealth and relationships to help you, the listener, achieve better, successful outcomes in both your business and your life. And I've got today with me my special guest, marcus Kakaus. Welcome to the show.
Speaker 2:Hey, dr Scott, it's so great to be here, excited to have this conversation. I know it's going to be so profound and so much.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and in the pre-show and getting ready for the show, something really stood out to me in looking at your bio and figuring out what we're going to talk about today, and that is the idea of growing authority, and there's a few really, really fantastic ways to do that, of which you know I think, we're both very firm believers One of the big ones that it's very daunting for a lot of people, but you know, when we talk about you, what you've achieved and how you can help people do it. You've achieved and and how you can help people do it. Um, could feel a lot more doable is that to become author of a book. So how many books have you actually written?
Speaker 2:how many have I written versus how many have I published? They're different answers. I've published um in the order of 10 books and probably written in the order of 40, and and my publications in the field of principally chiropractic I mean Arthritis Solution was one of my best sellers through the lens of the chiropractic viewpoint. I've written two children's books in the area of chiropractic, a philosophy book around chiropractic, but I've also, as an elite soccer or football coach, I've also published in the area of that as well. But ultimately I think um, it it's the writing and what you do and how you develop and who you become in the writing process that has made it all worthwhile, as well as the the impact within the practice. But yeah, I, I do like to write. I have become a very effective writer and that's by development, not by necessarily just obvious skill.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it is something that you know. I have one book that I've written and one book that I've published, about to be second. You know this year will be a second coming out, so I know the sort of trials and tribulations of it. So you've said a whole bunch there. Let's go into what you were saying about the idea of like it's not even what I'm getting from. It is, it's not the destination, but the journey and who you become during that journey. So what would be like? Let's go through it this way, two different ways One, what you think was the most effective book you've written, and then two, what was the most enjoyable book you've written.
Speaker 2:I'm going to answer that in reverse order. The most enjoyable book that I wrote was Chiropractic Crucibles the 40 Tests of the Philosophical Chiropractor, and the reason I enjoyed that so much was that I'd completed the ACP program, the Academy of Chiropractic Philosophers, which was an advanced training in chiropractic philosophy, and it really challenged my thinking and reminded me of the absolute necessity of chiropractic philosophy as the foundation for our profession and expanded on my own understanding not only of philosophy but my love of chiropractic philosophy as the foundation for our profession, and expanded on my own understanding not only of philosophy but my love of chiropractic and service to chiropractic, the profession and, through chiropractic humanity. So he evoked so much from me in the writing process and I had some wonderful accolades from colleagues who highlighted the significance of the work and what it represented for chiropractic philosophy and principled chiropractic. So that was probably the most enjoyable because it was a self-exploration and I think books can be that way and obviously serves the profession, adds to the body of work of the profession and adds value in that way. However, the most effective or the most valuable book I wrote would be the Arthritis Solution, and I wrote that in 2011. And it was one of my first books.
Speaker 2:It was a real journey to write but from a point of view of effectiveness, I had not only learned how to write using the methodology around that book, I also learned how to promote and market the book and promote and market the practice and it become an outpouring of everything I do now within practice and everything I do now within speaking, social media, content, production, back-end products and programs and it really became a true revolution in terms of how I see practice, growth, practice marketing and education within the community.
Speaker 2:That contributes to all of that. So it was definitely the most effective because it added a quarter of a million dollars to the practice every year, has added more than a quarter of a million every year since its publication in the impactfulness of me as an author and therefore me as an expert, me as a content producer and also me as a person who delivers a care program around a specialized niche of arthritis and degenerative disc conditions, ensuring that my outreach to the community, my position within the heart and mind of people coming from the community into this practice, seeing me and perceiving me as an expert, as an author, with content and information and education around that it has had not only a quarter of a million dollars a year, making it probably two and a half million dollars of revenue from other attributes that contribute to becoming successful Communication, writing, education, having clarity, fixative purpose, you know, passion and meaning, and therefore a way to communicate and connect with audiences that give them hope and a direction for their healing and therefore for their life. So, without doubt, the arthritis solution remains one of the most pivotal life-changing moments of my career and writing a book was the catalyst. Pretty good answer.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So if somebody's sitting there listening to this now and going, yeah, I mean, that sounds amazing, that's a significant impact from an effective quote unquote marketing tool, really, what would you say to the person who is listening and saying, oh my, I mean that sounds amazing, but I can't do that. There's no way.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love that question. That's such an important question because every single person listening to this has already written a book. They may not have put it into print yet, they might not even recognize that they are naturally, inherently right, but they are. And to answer that question I need to go into how I write and why my method of writing, I think, suits me and suits at least within the chiropractic profession, and I know you speak outside the scope of chiropractic. However, most of the people I speak with work with chiropractors and it makes sense within this context. So in a chiropractic practice you have an initial consultation where you uncover the history, you find out information about what challenges they're facing, what goals they have. Then you want to provide some insight into what the solution for that is, into what the solution for that is. So you may take an x-ray, do scanning or do other assessment or diagnostic processes to uncover the underlying cause or mechanism or reason for that condition. Then you do a report of findings or a care plan delivery and you provide information as to what the solution is for the challenges that they're presenting with. And you're also going to add to that education and information For me. I might talk about what the role chiropractic has, about principles and philosophy of cause and effect treat the cause, not the symptom. I want them to understand about chiropractic vertebral subluxation, its role on interfering with spinal nervous system. And then I'll maybe talk about the three Ts how trauma affects the body, how toxins affect the body, how stress and thought and auto-suggestion affects the body. And then we're going to talk about positive lifestyle change and the continued of chiropractic care to influence health and quality of life. Now I've summarized what every chiropractor knows is called table talk, and that table talk is the education you do to bring the client, the practice member, the patient along on a journey, and every professional will have that, from a physio to a GP to a plumber. They're going to make certain that there's information they want the person that they're working with to know and to understand so that the journey through the experience is more effortless, more value-contributing and beneficial and from a chiropractic viewpoint, I need the people coming to my practice to understand more a chiropractic viewpoint. I need the people coming to my practice to understand more about chiropractic. I need them to understand more about why they're experiencing what they're experiencing and how the gap between where they are now and where they want to be is going to be realized through the work that we do, the education we provide and the changes that they make. So that framework and the education that builds into that conversation, everybody knows what they're going to say almost in advance in most circumstances and situations. So if you ask me what's chiropractic, I have an answer. How is chiropractic going to help this person? I have an answer. What does this person need to know and what changes do they need to make in order to benefit from the gift of chiropractic? I have an answer. And in order to benefit from the gift of chiropractic, I have an answer.
Speaker 2:And there are certain things I'm going to repeatedly say to every single person coming into my practice. That table talk, that education that is repeated so commonly is received so well by the people coming into practices that they don't even know what they're doing. It's because it's valuable to them, it's going to be part of their transformation, it's going to transition them from where they are now to where they need to go. And it's that education, because it's delivered to every person, because that person says it so repeated and so often and it's received so well, is really the content of a book. You've said it already a thousand times and if all you did was and my role is to dictate I don't write a book, I speak a book.
Speaker 2:I get my MP3 recorder and I think about everything that I want to say.
Speaker 2:I create a table of contents and put together a message that I know that people want to receive, that they need to receive and that is going to be beneficial for them to hear. I bullet point all the things that I would normally say. Then I simply record it in a microphone in a conversational point of view, like I was in the room with that person, get it transcribed after having dictated it, and then do some edits to it and then, after I've done that, add some stories, put some research to it, create a framework for the book that is a little bit more developed and professional, and then I give it off to an editor and it comes back as a completed book far more effortless than any person could ever imagine. And that's why I say everyone's got a book, they've already written it. It's just they've written it verbally in their interaction and engagement with other people and they've never taken the time to realize the value of what they're saying when written down is already a book and a message that people need.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, I mean, that's a fantastic synopsis. And Okay, yeah, I mean, that's a fantastic synopsis. And there's so many different ways to write a book. I did write mine in more of a written form, so it just depends on which way works for you. I find the act of writing to be quite beneficial in my thought process, because when I sometimes try to verbalize it it's more difficult, but when I'm writing I can take my time with it. So it really does depend, but I do love that idea. And so what are your thoughts? As you were saying that in this world of digital technology, over the last short period of time, there's been an explosion of and we'll talk about social media in a few minutes. But on social media, mine blows up now with I wrote a book with AI in 30 minutes. What are your thoughts on that?
Speaker 2:I've got really clear thoughts on that and before I answer that question directly to that, I want to share a conversation I had with both of my children who are at the Australian Chiropractic College studying to be chiropractors, and they were talking about how CHAT-GPT and any of the other AIs can actually really beautifully answer essays and assignments. So you may have an assignment that says you know what is the benefit of chiropractic in addressing back pain, neck pain and headache. For me that's a really meaningless question because I've got a greater view of chiropractic. But you might have that question and you can put that into chat GPT and say please use APA referencing and make it a 2000 word essay with relevant citations, bring a unique thought into it, as though I'm creating a different idea. So it's different from any other writing that you've done and any presentation that other people have done, and it produces a 2,000 word essay. That is really great and I spoke with my children about that and said if you do that, if you have AI, do your assignment for you. And when you come to graduate years from now, and I ask you the question how does chiropractic help in back pain, neck pain and headache? And you cannot answer that question, then I'm going to make you write that essay right here, right now again, but not get paid for it, for the very simple reason it's not getting through the course that is of value. It's getting from the course. When you do the assignment, you are scaffolding your own learning, your own knowledge. It's enhancing your ability to research, to develop your thinking, enhancing your logic and reason, your cognitive abilities. It's building a web of knowledge that makes you a better communicator, a more effective clinician and therefore a person who's more able to contribute and add value into the practice. So that on an answer of an essay, leads to what I think about writing a book.
Speaker 2:The purpose of writing a book isn't to become a bestseller, although that may happen. It isn't to get notoriety or authority, although that could also be a natural byproduct. The purpose of writing a book is to develop your thinking, refine your art, enhance your perception of your knowledge base and become an authority by virtue of expertise developed through the hard yards. So the writing of a book through AI sure people can do that, but it's a shortcut to expertise, it's a cheat on your own skill, knowledge and ability and it's a way of limiting your own personal professional growth and therefore expertise.
Speaker 2:And is there a reason to do it absolutely? Is there value from it? Without doubt. But I write to become a better person, a better practitioner, a more skilled and more knowledgeable person, and the writing is the byproduct, is the way I sharpen that um saw to the byproduct of expertise. You don't become an expert by writing a book through chat gpt't become an expert by writing a book through chat gpt. You become an expert through developing your thinking, through the hard yards of I agree for the most part.
Speaker 1:I believe it's a tool. I believe it's a way to organize your thoughts. It is great in. You know, I'll use it to um, to you know, if I'm, if I something. It's like I don't want to come up with a catchy title. It's like give me 10 titles for this particular subject or something and it'll spit out 10. And what I will take from that is probably a bit from three or four of them to create my own. So I do believe it's a fantastic tool to organize thoughts and processes, but please don't write a book in 30 minutes with AI. It's not you, it is a shortcut, it is a bit of a cheat and it's not really going to benefit anyone.
Speaker 1:So cool, I like that answer. I think we're in agreement with that answer. I think we're in agreement with that. Continuing along that idea of the whole technological world, where do you feel social media fits into this? Once you have just say you're like, okay, yep, I get this, I've got a book. Now how do you use, then, social media as a tool or to use a presence within social media to get it out there?
Speaker 2:Yeah, this is a great question. And look, the reality is at the moment, social media is where a lot of people are consuming content and viewing information and connecting with people. So, whether we like it or not, that is our, our influence is going to be. I I came to social media later than I may have necessarily liked in my resistance to technology. However, over the last couple of years, I've definitely utilized it in a way that has been really really valuable to to my authority, to the expertise and demonstration of that expertise, and I'm super excited about social media platforms and I have my Instagram and my YouTube and my website that are really content rich and I think any person wanting to create a real platform for themselves and a way of expressing their knowledge, skills and abilities, it's an essential and integral path forward. I think the beauty of having a book it actually extends into social media so profoundly.
Speaker 2:I did it the wrong way around I wrote a book and then spoke and years later came back to social media. I think if I had done the social media first, before speaking engagements and platforms, I would have been more prepared for the speaking and the opportunities that came my way, some of which were a disaster because I was not as communicable as I am now. I know that when I speak here and I present, people go gee, marcus is a really great speaker and obviously very confident. That's refined after hundreds of years, hundreds of hours of speaking and presenting. And I was not this elegant or a speaker early in my career and social media would have given me that opportunity. So the book you write is perfect for social media. So what I do is I create a content plan for my book. So, for example, with the arthritis solution, what I did was I created a really robust content plan which is simple to do.
Speaker 2:When you break it into this step, I said what are the four key things? What is arthritis? What are the different types of arthritis? How do you effectively treat for lack of a better word treat arthritis and what happens when there is an arthritis solution to a person's health and quality of life and their experience in the world. So if they're my four key topics I want to share, then I said, well, let's write a major blog, a thousand words on each of those topics, and then and I would deliver one of those every month Then I said I'm going to write a 400-word blog every week.
Speaker 2:I'm going to break down each of those four points into four sub-points, almost like you have a major essay. Then what are the four core points of your major essay? What is arthritis? Big blog on that. Then four mini points. What are the different types of arthritis? What are the myths of arthritis? What types of ways does arthritis impact a person's health and quality of life? What is the worst thing about having arthritis? And so I'd write 400 words on each of those, and then I would create three additional points around that.
Speaker 2:So now, what are the different types of arthritis? And I would record a video on each of those so rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, slash, diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis or DISH. And then I'd record a five-minute video speaking up off the top of my head saying hey, everybody, it's Dr Marcus Chayka. I just wanted to let you know a little bit more about arthritis. If you're on my channel and you're watching this, I know you're interested in my book, the Arthritis Solution, and it's possibly in something you've already purchased or have been here in my practice, and I just wanted to remind you about some of the things that many people present to my practice on. So, osteoarthritis. Let me tell you what that is. Rheumatoid arthritis let me tell you what that is. And these other two? They're the most common forms we see here within our practice or in blood tests. This is the way we approach it from a chiropractic viewpoint. So really quick, really short, to the top of your head. Most people can speak like this, but by having a major essay and four blogs that are 400 words, which is half a page, it's not that much to write and then, quickly, speaking off the top of your head, you record a video every week on your one topic area area and then you build that. So that means over a year you've produced, you know 12 blogs, 12 mini blogs, four major blogs and you know over 13 videos. So it's not even every year. I probably did that over a quarter and then you can reproduce that again and it becomes a whole eclectic thing you bring together. So the real benefit of that.
Speaker 2:Again, coming back to the initial question of you, know how do I feel about social media. It puts content on your website which makes it attractive for SEO or search engine optimization. It lets you be on Insta, it lets you be on YouTube, it builds your platform, your presence and therefore your expertise. And it's easy to do because it's an extension of the book. You've already written the book and so you've already developed the knowledge and expertise, which is why if you've written the book through ChatGPT, you can't speak off the top of your head in the same way that if you've written the book, because if you write the book, you do the research, you build the knowledge base. You've spent 20, 30, 60 hours producing knowledge in the area of your expertise or interest area and then you can effortlessly communicate on that, which is why I can speak off the top of my head for a whole day on arthritis because of the investment I've made into writing and researching and developing content.
Speaker 2:And then what ends up happening is all this information is out there and it builds that notoriety. People see you as an expert because you've got a book, because you've got social media, and they come into your practice because of that. And what's so exciting and fascinating is they come in and they say I read your book and I really I know that there's an arthritis solution for me and I want to receive the benefits of care. So they come in and they tell me they've watched my videos. They tell me, or they watch my um, they read my posts and they already have in their mind a desire to be in the care that I deliver, to receive the benefits and outcomes of the arthritis solution through a chiropractic viewpoint. So it offers that much value to the, to the process of you attracting people to the practice, converting people and then maintaining a relationship yeah, yeah, I was just going to say that and you said it right there at the end.
Speaker 1:It really is a, as we know, in health professionals as a business, it's all about attraction, conversion, retention, and a book really does all three, which is super interesting because usually they're very different strategies or tactics or whatever the case might be for all three of those, but with a book, it really does all three. And think about it this way If you're a listener thinking about now, oh, maybe I should do a book, you can do it one of two ways where you can use social media and basically take people on the journey of you writing a book and create the content as you go. Now, I didn't do that either, but on the opposite side, I broke down my book and looking through it, I actually realized that there were over 1,800 social posts that I could do for my book. Now, I haven't done that. I'm not saying that I've been there, done that, but I did break it down. And so that's the opposite side where I hear a lot of health professionals say, okay, I know I need to do social media, but I don't know what to do. And if you have a book, you will never run out of ideas. So at 1800, that is six per day, I believe I worked out that you could do six per day for a year and the thing is, a month later you could pretty much do the same thing, right? It's not about continuously making new content. You can literally post the same video and then from the video you can make a blog. Or, you know, with AI again, that's where AI comes into play where you can get a transcript of a video and then use it for a blog, and then you know those types of things. So using AI in those cases is a fantastic time save.
Speaker 1:But without a doubt in my mind, being author of a book is one of the best things that you can do. The process is fantastic, but then to then utilize it to help grow, convert, maintain a practice in a very good way. So let's switch gears a little bit. We've talked about writing a book, but you've also done some really other cool things. You've been on the stage numerous times and you did say that initially it did not go as well as you had hoped, but over time you have really refined that tool. Again, with people being overwhelmed about a book, a lot of people get overwhelmed about being on social media it's like I can't do videos or being on the stage Ooh, I cannot do that. So what would you say to people who are listening to this and just really not believing in themselves that they can do it? How did you get from where you were to where you are today?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. It's such a great question and I think and I understand that most people and I would say it's most people feel uncomfortable being on a platform and I was absolutely no different and my first presentation I decided to do in practice and there was, there might have been, and this was a long time ago as well. This is why I said I would do it in the opposite way. I did the social media first because it'll develop your skill set in communication, whereas I just I didn't. We didn't have social media 10, 15 years ago when I wrote the arthritis solution and I was put decided to put a you know workshop on in the practice and invite the community to it. And we had 30 or 40 people there and I looked into the room and it was filled and I looked at the podium and I felt physically sick, thinking what the hell am I doing? I don't know how to speak. I prepared, but I hadn't prepared enough and I started almost hyperventilating before I went onto stage and I went into a sympathetic storm.
Speaker 2:For those who aren't familiar with chiropractic, that's a really high stress response and I literally became so sweaty that the sweat showed through my. I was wearing a blue shirt and the sweat showed through my. I was wearing a blue shirt and the sweat showed through my shirt and I didn't have a second shirt. Um, and I was like I'm not ready for this, I, I, I can't do this. And they're like you've got to go on stage and um, so there was a. I ended up. It was pretty warm and I put a jacket over the top to try and hide the sweat and it soaked through my armpit into the jacket as well. I could feel it. So I never lifted my. I never moved my hands from my side at all for the whole presentation. I stood there like a robot and I delivered what was not a really great presentation. It was stilted. I kept stopping like this, trying to capture my thoughts, and I didn't know quite what to anticipate, to expect. I wasn't prepared and I didn't think that it was going. I was going to freeze the way that I did and I did my best under those circumstances. And a number of people came up, said I think that was valuable information, appreciate that. You seemed a little nervous. I said I was, and I've got nausea and almost about to vomit on them. And so the first presentation was an absolute disaster.
Speaker 2:And, as I said, I know that I sit here speaking to you in a very confident and elegant way, and that is now because I've done thousands of presentations. So, as with anything, whether you're a chiropractor, your first adjustment is not the best adjustment you'll ever deliver. It takes hundreds of adjustments. Whether it's a physio delivering an exercise program, the first one they ever deliver is not going to be the best. Whatever you do first is not going to be your best and you need to recognize and accept that and then train in anticipation to develop that.
Speaker 2:I didn't realize that speaking was trainable when I first started speaking and I didn't do another presentation for ages after that because I thought this is stupid, I can't do this. And then I read books on presentation and then what I initially did for my next presentation, I knew that I wanted to talk more on this topic. The book was selling well, I had seen so many come into the practice. I had people telling me I need to get the message out there that this is so valuable and meaningful and to share on stages and platforms, and I had that resistance. But then I thought, well, if anything can be learned, then I just simply need to go and learn that. So my next step was to memorize the presentation, so I did shorter presentations of 15 minutes so that I didn't have to quite remember as much, and I literally memorized verbatim what I was going to say, and then had PowerPoint slide decks, and it was death by PowerPoint, and then I had palm cards, and eventually I got to the point where, after practice and practice, I would do a presentation 30 times before I would deliver it. That's how I trained myself to be that effective in presentation skills. So I would say I've got a 15-minute presentation, I'm going to do it twice a day for a month until I deliver it, and now I'm much better than I was and I don't need to deliver on that. But that's again the knowledge, the expertise you develop, the practice that you put into comes in a way that makes everything effortless over time, and the same was true for speaking.
Speaker 2:What I would say, though, is and I did this with Dr Sinder who's this incredible human being, an amazing chiropractor, one of the most just, loveliest people you will ever meet. Who's my associate? When she first came into the practice, I put her through the social media, said I want you to write, and she chose family wellness care, loving pediatric care, and she wrote the big blogs, the mini blogs, and then she went on camera for five minutes every week and she has done this for the last five years and she initially used the teleprompter for the first year so she read it, so she would write her video five minute video presentation so that she didn't have to speak off the top of her head and then she would improve her communication skills that way. And then she did training and now, years later, she speaks off the top of her head. She's been on summits so all of it can be trained and developed. And that's a really long answer to my initial response was disastrous, but I trained and developed to be excellent at it and now that I have been on platforms my message has expanded. I record great content for my YouTube channel.
Speaker 2:I have been not only on that. I've been on many great platforms, many great summits I've spoken at only on that. I've been on many great platforms, many great summits. I've spoken at Concordia, the Australian Chiropractic College. I've given content to Lysim at New Zealand College of Chiropractic. I'm going to Sherman College over in the United States speaking on the neuroscience of chiropractic. I have spoken at the Remarkable Practice on philosophy at the Philosopher's Symposium.
Speaker 2:There have been numerous platforms and numerous presentations, huge numbers of podcasts and summits. That could only happen if one I develop the confidence to present the ability to speak in a way of refining my message to ensure that there was incredible value. And that's a trained process. It's a developed process, and any expertise that comes from time, effort and energy produces great dividends, and speaking has been one of those things that has allowed me to get my message out into the world in ways that I otherwise wouldn't have. It is a beautiful extension of the book and it is a natural integration with social media. It is like an incredible trifecta of success and people who want to make an impact in the world, who want to have influence, who want to be seen as an authority to demonstrate expertise and even achieve mastery. Speaking is an inherent and essential element.
Speaker 1:Couldn't agree more and it is a fantastic marriage of ideas and a brilliant way to have a good strategy moving forward, not only to grow your practice, but to have that bigger picture in mind and have an impact. Because if you do go through the process of writing a book, there is some love involved in that. There is some bigger message that you realize. You know you can affect numerous people's lives within your practice, but then having a book is you can go global, you can really have an impact of people outside the practice, which is always a very cool scenario when you do hear from people who you would have never been able to impact in your local community, to have an impact on that global scale when a book is out there. So that's just another sort of side effect if you're looking at the big picture.
Speaker 2:And that big picture expands because when you write a book or if you have a social media platform and a great following, people follow you and then they invite you to speak and when you speak, you get to represent your book. When you represent both the book and the speaking being on stages with a book, automatically in the perceptional mind of the viewer you are the authority. You've got a written book, you're on a platform and a stage, you're an authority.
Speaker 1:You immediately have incredible gravity with them, incredible influence and therefore your opportunity impact is so expansive there is nothing more and if you're thinking because this is something that does happen sometimes too when, when you start to think about it, facebook knows and then they show you all these author things and you're thinking, everybody has a book like how big of an impact will it be? What I want you to think about, if that does come to mind, is how many people do you know that have written a book that are authors? And, if you truly think about it, not many, to be honest. So it really does help you stand out from the rest. It is truly the biggest tool that I know that can help you to do that and have a bigger impact in growing practice.
Speaker 1:Another one is, I believe, online courses, because that is sort of the language of today. Right, a written book. Sometimes, when people you know, when it comes to the actual hard copy of the book, like, oh, do you have something online? Oh, do you have the audio book? Do you have the something? Yeah, some people just don't read books and to me that's literally a crime. But that's besides the point. You know you've got some online courses as well, so for you, you know you've got some online courses as well, so for you, it's the chiropractic education online, I believe, is your main course.
Speaker 1:Just give the. You know, this is obviously the audience here is not just chiropractors, but this particular course is for chiropractors, which does bring up a good point is to have a niche when it comes to these things, because you know, I know Marcus. His big vision is not necessarily arthritis, it's helping three people through chiropractic, but just niching down through arthritis has such a bigger impact than having a book about chiropractic Because, honestly, nobody cares about chiropractic but they do care about their arthritis. So it is just, it's a way in A long way to ask the question Tell us about that course and how it can benefit for chiropractors in particular, but then what are the benefits you see through an authority piece, with having an online course?
Speaker 2:Absolutely. I do want to talk to what you said before. I'm going to answer that question, but I do want to talk to what you said there about niching as well. So I always say niche down, profit up. So you're right.
Speaker 2:Um, if somebody has back pain, for example, and they look up back pain, chiropractic isn't invariably the first thing that comes up. Maybe a gp with pharmaceuticals or physiotherapy, some and. But then you have a hundred options around that, from acupuncture to physio, to osteotherapy, to myofascial work, to yoga you name it rolfing. There's so many options. So when you market to a competitive market against other modalities, you may or may not galvanize the interest of that person. If, however, you have market to their interest of arthritis and the back pain that's producing as a byproduct of their arthritis, then you're communicating to their need. So the ability to communicate to a niche meaning the needs that they have and the solutions they're looking for actually put you at the top of the list, instead of saying somebody who says who has arthritis may not be thinking of chiropractors, most of them may not be thinking of chiropractors. However, they're thinking of I want a solution for my arthritis, which is why my book title is the Arthritis Solution, not chiropractic management of your health challenges, every single thing that you're experiencing. So that niching gives you the opportunity to speak to your audience. Most people think that what they have is for every single person on the planet, and that is true. I would like to see every person in the world under chiropractic care. Single person on the planet, and that is true. I would like to see every person in the world under chiropractic care, but I'm no. I'm delusional in the ability to produce that within my own community, let alone the world. So if I can't, if I try, by trying to speak to everybody, you end up speaking to nobody. By having a niche, you speak to those people specific to the interest and you become more attractive to them because you're speaking their language, speaking to their challenge and finding a solution for them. So I really wanted to emphasize that niche aspect that people need to look into that.
Speaker 2:Having said that, I do want to come back to that question about having a product, and there are two things in relation to that. I do have my chiropractic education online, which I'll talk to, but I also have my arthritis solution, as you said, audio book. I have my arthritis solution online program and the reason I have that is and we've already alluded to a holy trifecta. In fact there may be a quadrology or even a quintology of things. You write the book, so I write.
Speaker 2:I operate by the four Ps and now, with social media, I really probably should call it a fifth P. But my four P's were the pen, write a book, the podium, do a presentation, the practice ie have the client, the practice member, the patient in practice, with you giving them an opportunity to receive the benefits of chiropractic care, and then the product. If they can't afford your care or if they can't attend your practice for a locational reason, then you still need to add value to their life and give them something. So I actually have an arthritis solution program, which what I did was I literally brought up the table of content of the book and then gave it off. And gave the book off to a somebody on I think I did it on fiverr at that point in time, 10 years ago, and paid them $5 per slide deck. I said take every chapter and make it into a PowerPoint slide deck for me, and then I recorded on my computer a version of the book as I spoke through, saying this is what I would want you to know about arthritis. This is what the arthritis solution is. And then I recorded videos on.
Speaker 2:Here's your exercise program. Here's your diet program. Here's your supplementation program. Here's your breath work program. Here's the myths. Here's what you need to do. Here's what you need to know.
Speaker 2:Here's how you overcome arthritis. There is one thing that I can't do for you within this program. That's the deliver the chiropractic adjustment. Find a chiropractor in your area. Here's how to find a chiropractor. Here's what to tell that chiropractor. Here's what you need to have within your care and what you can expect. Combine all to this you have an arthritis solution. So I have a digital program of the arthritis solution. So we've got the pen, we've got the podium for those that are in practice, we've got practice models of how to deliver an arthritis program, and then we have a product.
Speaker 2:And the fifth thing I'm thinking about social media is you have a presence in social media as well. So all of that combines with this integrated process of delivering value to your community based on your knowledge and your expertise. And so that's how I did it with arthritis. And then I also do it within chiropractic education online, where I produce summits, and those summits are, you know, knowledge banking, the wisdom of chiropractic for our profession, and I do those as a fundraiser to be able to, you know, raise funds for the Australian chiropractic for our profession, and I do those as a fundraiser, to be able to, you know, raise funds for the australian chiropractic college or the australian spinal research foundation.
Speaker 2:So I do that as my philanthropic and you know benevolent contribution back to the profession, and so there is always this opportunity to build a knowledge base, and you could, I could and I have thought of doing an arthritis solution summit as well, which again gives me greater notoriety, greater influence, greater reach and greater impact. So that back-end product, the value you can provide, the education you can deliver and the service that results in lives being changed, it's so valuable. And you might say, oh gosh, now you're telling me to write a book, which I didn't think was going to be easy, but now I can do it. And then I have to get on stages and create all this social media content, and now you're telling me to write a product as well. If you want to change the world, if you want to save lives, if you want to have an impact and it's not even about being seen as an authority or an expert that'll happen as a result of everything that you do here.
Speaker 2:What your motivation needs to be is where do I want to you know not where, so much. What do I want to leave as my legacy? A life-changing gift to humanity where people's lives are changed and the far-reaching impact of what I have said and done today is still influencing people tomorrow. That's why you invest the time and the energy to be a better speaker, to write the book, to deliver effective care, to produce back-end products, because you're saving lives, you're changing lives, you're having an impact and an influence, and the result of that will, yes, add dollars to your bank account, positive experiences to your life and create a legacy. More importantly, it's going to change a life and it's so-.
Speaker 1:I think that's a fantastic way to bring this to a conclusion. So much value provided. I totally agree. I love that. Five Ps. I was wondering how you were going to get social media to fit into a P, but with presence, I love it. So what is that again, pen.
Speaker 2:Podium. Podium Practice Practice Product and presence.
Speaker 1:Yes, couldn't agree more. It does sound potentially daunting, but take it one step at a time Because, in reality, unless you're at the end of your life cycle when it comes to your practice and your career, one, if you take a step back, it is fun, it is, it is one of the biggest accomplishments that you feel like you can. You know something that has a tangible asset to an accomplishment. At the end of the day, I believe, start with the book or or co-create at the same time, but don't be too daunted. One step at a time.
Speaker 1:Marcus, I know you have a program to help people write books as well, so if this sounds interesting, then you know, jump on the we'll have the links and the show notes and stuff. Um, to have a chat with marx to see what he might be able to do to help you out. Um, I would agree with myself being an author and having an online program. I've created an app around it. So it is. It's brilliant. It is a fantastic way to get yourself out there, stand out from the rest, be an authority figure and have you be an authority in your local community. So thank you so much for being on the show. Thank you for what you do for the profession, love talking to you and I'm sure we will get you on the show again and talk again soon.
Speaker 2:Always happy to Thanks Scott and for those not familiar as well, even though I'm a big proponent of writing, if you feel that that is daunting, overwhelming Scott is an absolute genius. He writes books and collaborates with people so that you don't have to do all of that work, and that may be a great starting point. So if you haven't already looked at his profile and platform and what he does with people, I've got to say his idea is absolutely genius and it is the most efficient way to get into the game. And then you might say, gee, marcus has done so much. This has taken me 15 years. As I said, it's not I did this all in a week or a month. I've done this over 15 years and it has taken time.
Speaker 2:So be patient with yourself, set up a plan, but, you know, collaborate with someone like Scott to get the foot in the door, to get mentoring and to have that opportunity to work with somebody who's not only a genius and operates at genius level, but offers you the opportunity to find immediate, more tangible solutions if you're feeling overwhelmed. So I just want to acknowledge you, scott. You think so far ahead of the game and you offer so much in what you do and the way you serve and contribute. So I just want to appreciate and acknowledge you. You're an incredible human being, an amazing servant, and so, thank you. I just really value our time together and all that you do.
Speaker 1:Thank you for that time We'll catch you again on another episode of Questioning Authority. Thanks that you do. Thank you for that time. Catch again on another episode of Questioning Authority. Thanks for listening to this episode of Questioning Authority. I hope you enjoyed the show. Stay tuned for the next one coming out soon. This episode has been brought to you by the Authority Co. Helping service providers increase authority and revenue. Check out theauthoritycocom for more info.