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Oftentimes patients have a better relationship with their hygienists as they spend more time interacting with them. In today’s episode, Gary examines the role of the hygienist in increasing your case acceptance. Gary highlights the importance of measuring your case acceptance rates as well as acceptable benchmarks dentists should strive to attain when it comes to case acceptance. This episode is full of tips to help increase case-acceptance rates for your ideal treatment plan significantly.  Intro to topic > 01:30 Benchmarks > 03:56 How to get there > 08:02 Tips to make hygienists your partner > 10:35 Raising the bar > 21:50 About the last MBA of 2020 > 23:30 Resources LEARN MORE REGISTER LEARN MORE Transcript Naren: This is the Less Insurance Dependence podcast show with my good friend, Gary Takacs and myself, Naren Arulrajah. (Gary’s voice): We appreciate your listenership, your time and most of all, we appreciate your intention to reduce insurance dependence in your practice. Our goal is to provide information that will help you successfully reduce insurance dependence and convert your practice into a thriving and profitable dental practice that provides you with personal, professional, and financial satisfaction. [Music] Naren: Hello, everyone, welcome to another awesome episode of the Less Insurance Dependence podcast show. This is Naren, your co-host. Today, we are going to be talking about something interesting. This came because Gary and I were having a conversation the other day about some of our common clients. And one of the things that I asked Gary about is, "Hey Gary, what's the secret for the common clients, meaning the coaching clients who also happen to be, you know, our Ekwa clients, doing so well in case acceptance and specifically some of the comments I heard about, you know, them working as a team towards case acceptance". So Gary said, "You know what, let's make it a podcast episode", and here we are. The topic today is ‘Hygienist as your partner in case acceptance'. So this comes from Gary's experience, working with 2200 practices, you know, fine-tuning LifeSmiles and the client practices. So let's jump in. Gary, how are you this afternoon? Gary: Naren, I'm doing great. And I love this topic, you know, and I'm so glad you noticed in our common clients, some really great results with our clients. And I'm talking specifically is our case acceptance percentage. We measure that. You know, we measure that. You've heard me say, Naren, that data never lies. People do. When I say that, I don't mean that cynically. But let me, let me get very specific about what I mean on case acceptance. If you do not measure your case acceptance percentage, you may have a very different perception of what's going on in your practice than what's really going on, because you're likely to remember it anecdotally. Let me explain what I mean. If I talk to a doctor and I say, "Doctor, tell me how your case acceptance is and others when you present dentistry, how are you doing with patients accepting that," If they don't measure it, they might say something like this: "Well, Gary, I think I'm doing pretty well because yesterday we had two new patients. Both of them needed treatment. I presented the treatment and they scheduled. So I think I'm doing pretty good." You know, remember what their memory time is, it's yesterday, you know, and it's their most recent experience. Conversely, if they don't measure it, the doctor might say, "I don't know, Gary. Yesterday, I had two new patients. Both of them needed treatment and neither one of them scheduled. I think I suck at that". And neither one of them is accurate because it doesn't have a  ... it's not scientific. It doesn't have a long enough, you know, range of measurement. But when we start measuring it, it actually gives you information out. Naren, you know, I'm going to quote Stephen Covey and, you know, I'm going to quote the second habit. You know, Stephen Covey, the epic author of Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. And the second habit was 'Begin with the end in mind'. So is it okay if we start there? What should (00:03:52 – 00:03:53) case acceptance be? Naren: Great. Let's start there, Gary. Gary: Okay, so these are the benchmarks we use with our clients. At emergency dentistry, in other words, the patient came in on an emergency, they've been awake the last two nights, haven't been able to sleep with a toothache, and you present what should be done. What should our case acceptance be on emergency dentistry, Naren? Naren: I think it should be close to 100 percent, maybe 90 percent. Gary: Well, I'm gonna correct you, say 100 percent, one hundred percent. If it's a true emergency, you know, the patient hasn't slept in two nights and we can help them. Can we agree that that should be 100 percent? Naren: Absolutely. Gary: Yeah. So now but let's talk about the, what would be likely more common. Let's talk about necessary dentistry, where the situation is asymptomatic, where it's asymptomatic. No, it doesn't hurt. And a great example of that would be old amalgam fillings that are clearly breaking down. And you can see every different way you measure, you can see it through radiographic evidence, you can see it through photographic evidence, you can see it through visual inspection. And then you even ask the patient, "How long ago were those placed?" And they'll say, "Geez, I don't even know. Gosh, it has to be 25, 30 years ago". You know, we often hear that, right? So for general dentistry, that's asymptomatic, that it doesn't hurt. Our goal is 70 percent case acceptance. And notice I didn't say 100. And the reason I didn't say 100 is, we always like to set our goals realistically. Realistically, there will be some people with those asymptomatic old amalgam fillings that need replacement, "Oh, doc, I'm just going to wait till it hurts", which is not a wise decision, but that's what their thinking is. But our goal for general dentistry, that's asymptomatic, we should for 70 percent case acceptance. Now, let's go a little deeper for optimal dentistry. In some cases, you're going to think of elective treatment. They don't need to have it done. Optimal treatment, ideal treatment, comprehensive care. We look for a case acceptance somewhere between 30 and 40 percent, 30 and 40 percent. And the way I like to share why we benchmark it there, Naren, I happen to enjoy baseball. I grew up in a baseball family. And on a professional baseball, a player, Major League baseball player, if a Major League baseball player has a career batting average of, say 350, Naren, I know I'm going to ask you this question and I know I might be taking you slightly off-field /afield (00:06:38 – 00:06:40) because you're in Canada and you probably think more about hockey than you do baseball. But I'm going to take a chance and ask you that question. What would we call this Major League baseball player that had a career batting average of 350? What would we call that person?   Naren: Hall of Famer? Gary: OK, you got it right. I was a little worried there for a minute. If I asked you a hockey statistic, I'm sure you'd get it right, but you got it right. We'd call that person a Hall of Famer and let's break that down. What does that mean? That person got a hit 35 percent of the time, 35, and yet they're a Hall of Famer. That means they didn't get it 65 percent of the time. So let's translate that to case acceptance for ideal care. Then we're going to look for somewhere between 30 and 40 percent, somewhere in there. Even 30 percent on the low end of our goal is pretty awesome. You know, if a career Major League baseball player had a career batting average of 300, yeah, that person had a very, very, very good career. So that's how we benchmark that, 100 percent for emergency dentistry, 70 percent for asymptomatic general dentistry, and somewhere between 30 and 40 percent for ideal care, comprehensive care, elective care, the care that we like to say things to consider, you know, things to consider. Now that we have the measurement, we begin with your mind (00:08:00 – 00:08:05), let's talk about how to get there, right? And I love thinking about your hygienist in particular as your partner doctor in case acceptance, your partner in case acceptance. And think about it for just a minute. Sometimes, sometimes doctors don't want to recognize it, but I think we need to recognize it, sometimes the hygienists have a closer relationship with the patients than the doctor. Would you agree? Naren: Hundred percent, that's the case for me, you know, like because I see the hygienist for a longer period of time and I see the hygienist more consistently, especially if you have the same hygienist. Definitely, I kind of look forward to seeing her because, you know, I know her. I know her kids. I know, you know, and we have similar kids in similar ages. So we chat, you know, because when I'm sitting there, you know, I have to do some thing, so I chat, yeah. Gary: Well, there's another dynamic here. You know, a patient might have a little bit of a cynical perspective if a doctor is recommending treatment, you know, they might be saying, "Well, of course, you're going to recommend that, doctor, it’s your practice. You know, you have a lot to gain from that". Now, I don't think everybody looks through that lens, but some people might. But they view the tier team members as more independent and they view your team members as they're likely, think about your patient base. Your patients are likely to identify more socioeconomically with your team members than they are you. That makes sense? Naren: That makes total sense. I think, I have even overheard some people say, "Hey, you know, doctor said this. Do you think I really need this?" Gary: We hear that routinely, as approachable as Dr. Paul and Dr. Tim are, you know, they'll ask the patient, "You know, do you have any questions?" And the patient will shake their head, "No". And they'll leave the room and then they'll practically tackle the dental assistant or the hygienist and say "I don't know, what do you think?" You know, I don't, I wouldn't take that personally. I don't think that has anything to do with Dr. Paul. or Dr. Tim's demeanour or the presentation. I think they're looking for validation for, subconsciously they're looking for validation from someone that seems more similar to them. Naren: Yeah, this is Dr. Cialdini's principle called 'Similar others'. So, you know, "Hey, I can relate to this hygienist. I'm kind of like her, you know, socioeconomically, family, you know, etc., etc... So, hey, I want her opinion. What does she think?" Gary: Yeah, yeah. Okay, so let's talk about some techniques and some tips for a hygienist to be partners with your doctor. And one of the things I want to encourage our hygienist to do is to prepare for your appointments, to look ahead. We get this in the morning huddle, but you can do it on your own, you can do it in the morning huddle. But look at the patients that are on your schedule today. Look in their treatment plans and see if there is any unscheduled part of their treatment plan. In other words, treatment that's been recommended but hasn't been scheduled. Now, your practice should have a good system for noting that in your digital records, somehow. Pretty much every practice has, they have a system for checking off what's been done and what remains to be completed in the treatment plan. And let's go back to that example that we used earlier about the asymptomatic old amalgam fillings that need to be replaced. So let's say, I'm the patient and I have some fillings on the upper left that have been recommended by the doctor to be replaced. But I haven't scheduled that yet. The hygienist can bring that up in a very educational way. You know, she can say, "Gary, I noticed the doctor recommended some fillings for that area on your upper left. You know, the one thing, the reason why the fillings were recommended is there's very likely to be decay underneath those existing amalgam fillings that you have. Very, very likely." And you might be thinking, "Well, I'll just wait till it hurts." But if you wait, decay never fixes itself. It can't scientifically fix itself. Decay only gets worse. And if we wait till it hurts, what now could be treated with fillings, in other words, replace it with new filling material, might be more comprehensive treatment like a root canal and crown. Now, that'd be good for us, but not good for you. “I'm going to have doctor take a look at that when Dr. Paul comes in to do the exam today. I'm going to have Dr. Paul take a look at that. Just give you a status report, so you can, you know, you can kind of decide what to do from here”. And that's it, you know, just a heads up, I've noticed that, so now you're earning favor with your patients because you're paying attention. "Gary, I noticed that doctor recommended fillings on the upper left that remain to be completed. I'd like doctor to take a look at those today and kind of give us a status report." And then when doctor comes in the room, make a verbal pass off, you know, in front of the patient. That's called the 'overhear' (00:13:05 – 00:13:07)technique. And it might sound something like this. "Dr. Paul, would you do me a favor and take a look in the upper left for Gary? I noticed that he has some old amalgam fillings that you've recommended replacing, that remain to be completed. Would you do me a favor and look at those and give Gary a status report on those? I'm concerned about that area." Notice what I just said. "I'm concerned about that area". Naren: Right. Gary: Now, Naren, put yourself in the position of being in the chair as a patient. If the hygienist says "I'm concerned", what just happened to your ears? Naren: They're gonna perk up. Gary: You just perked up. Naren: Yeah. Gary: Right Naren: Yeah. I mean, I think the people who go to hygiene visits regularly, they want their teeth to be maintained. So that's the mindset they already bought into. So when the person who's responsible for that, the hygienist says, "I'm concerned", I'm concerned too, meaning, me, the patient is concerned too. Gary: Right. Now, and that conversation can be held with any patient that has recommended treatment that remains, remains to be completed. And of course the doctors listen to this. Doctors, I want to help you with verbal skills as well. When the hygienist, you know, does the verbal transfer of information to the overhear technique, I want you to say, don't script this, but in your own way, "Kelly, thanks so much for pointing that out. I'll absolutely take a look at that. Thanks so much for pointing that out to me." And it's just the patient's going to feel like "I'm being taken care of by a team of professionals. They are on top of it, they've got my best interests at heart. Right? But now let's talk about how the hygienist can actually be, you know, kind of a scout, an advanced scout for elective treatment for what we call a high value treatment. And this is so powerful and it's something that you're seeing it now in our clients. Now we're talking about that 30 to 40 percent of ideal care. You know, the ideal care, the elective care, the comprehensive care, the things to consider. So imagine you do adult orthodontics. i just like this (00:15:24 – 00:15:26), I'm going to role play with some information. Imagine your office provides adult orthodontics. And imagine that the hygienist notices that the patient has some crowding in his lower arch. His lower teeth are crowded. Okay? She can say something like this. "Gary, let me ask you a question. If there was a way to correct the crowding in your lower teeth, relatively quickly, would you have any interest in that?" "Oh, yeah, yeah, I really would, you know, I just, I don't want to look like I'm back in middle school again, you know, and have it take two years and, you know, but if it could be done quickly, yeah, I'm interested in that." Well, we offer adult orthodontic treatment for our patients today. And one of the really cool things about the advances in orthodontics, things can be done much quicker than they were in the past. "I'm gonna have doctor, when doctor comes in and does his exam today, I'm going to ask him to take a look and see if you're a candidate for adult orthodontics today". And then when doctor comes in, make the pass off and the pass off might sound like this. "Dr. Tim, Gary's interested in learning if he... in the crowding in his lower arch, he's interested in learning if he could be a candidate for adult orthodontics, would you do me a favor and take a look at that?" And hopefully it's good news. "Great news, Gary. Absolutely. You're like the perfect candidate for Six Month Smiles, for Invisalign, whatever it is you do". But notice the role and notice how it was done, Naren. If I say, "I'm going to ask Doctor to take a look and see if you're a candidate for that", how does the patient feel? The patient is anticipating, right? "Okay, I hope I am." You know, hope I am. And most of the time, you know, I'd say 95 plus percent of the time, they're absolutely a candidate for it. And one of the things you can do, doctors, is you could run an in-service training for one of your team meetings and just educate your team members about who are candidates for some of the procedures that you do. You know what? Who are perfect candidates and just let them understand that. But notice the questions she asked. "If there was a way to correct the crowding in your lower teeth, would you have any interest, and relatively quickly?" Or if there were, "I noticed there are spaces in your lower teeth, if there was a way to correct those spaces relatively quickly with adult orthodontics, would you have any interest?" Very simple. We're not looking for occlusion, we're not looking for posterior occlusion, we're not looking for canine guidance, what is it I’m just looking for, crowding or spaces? Naren: Right. Gary: Is that within the bounds of a hygienist to identify crowding and spacing? Naren: Absolutely. Gary: Absolutely, it is. Naren: Absolutely. Gary: In fact, if it's crowding, she can even say, “One of the concerns that I see there, Gary, it's hard to keep that area clean when you have crowding. It's hard for you to do your home care with that,” and so it's a right within her authority to identify that. Now, interestingly enough, as I presented this to hygienists over the years, most hygienists get really excited, "Oh, yeah, I, of course, I can identify crowding and spaces." I had a hygienist ask me one time. Said, and she had a good question, she said, "Are patients ever offended if I say they have crowding or if they have spaces?" And I answered it as I'm going to answer you in this podcast, Naren, "I've never heard the patient respond with any offense. They know their teeth are crowded. They know they have spaces. It's not, it's not like news flash. But now you're, you are viewed and, this is what I want a hygienist to take away, you are viewed as one of their providers in this practice. They respect you. They respect your wisdom. And I, up to date, now maybe that will change in the future, but I have never heard a patient respond in being offended by the fact that the hygienist said crowding or spaces. Naren: Gary, is it okay if I share something that I noticed about what you do with your coaching clients real quick, Gary? Gary: Please. Naren: See, many of these things are not like one time you learn about it and we are done, right? These are things that are ongoing. And the thing I love about your approach to all of this is you look at it like, you know, let's say you have a BMW car and you are with a BMW dealership. They treat you like a VIP. They do things for you. They pick you up, they drop you off. They'll tell you when things need to be taken care of. And the damn car is solid. So it usually doesn't break and they just take care of things, so you don't have to worry about it. So I think, you have kind of built that model, in even though we are using the word coaching, it's really practice management support where, you know, you have verbal skills training, you have team training, you have book clubs where you did a book club on, you know, case acceptance. So, you're constantly reinforcing these ideas. And then, of course, your practice management support team just, you know, checks in with people to make sure all these things are happening consistently. And of course, you check the numbers, you and your team look at the numbers and say, "Hey, is it working or is it not? If it is, then great, good job. Keep doing it. If it's not, let's troubleshoot. Let's figure it out." So, I think you have figured out something Gary, that is, is like a game-changer. And you are doing this virtually, so the cost is also like really, really low. Gary: You know, it's an empowering exercise, Naren, when you have good team members. They want to contribute to the success not only of your practice, but they want to contribute to happier, healthier patients. And let me go back to this adult ortho. I can't, you know, adult ortho's a big part of our practice. We love helping adults have beautiful, healthy smiles. And I can't tell you how many times the patient, you know, has come back as, "I am so happy I did this. You know, I am so happy. I mean, I've never felt better about the appearance of my teeth." And that's heart-warming for patients. You know, it's very much patient-centered. I think maybe that's where we can close today's episode. This is about really raising the bar on how patient-centered you are. Are you really patient-centered? If you see something that needs attention or that could benefit the patient and you don't bring it up. I mean, I think we let our patients down. Now you're not intentionally letting them down, but I think we let them down if we don't share, you know, information with them. What we want to do is we want to share information with them so they can make great decisions. Hey, if the patient says, "I don't care one bit about the spaces in my teeth”, make a note in the, you know, in your digital records and don't bring it up again. Don't pound a square peg in a round hole. You can respect that decision. But most people, and I'm talking about way, way, way above 90 percent, are going to respond with interest. They want to improve that. So think about it in the context of really being of service to your patients and truly being patient-centered. It's like you have this information, and you keep it to yourself, that's not helping them. Let's share it with them, share it with compassion. Let's listen. And like I said, if the patient doesn't have any interest, no harm. And on the rare times where a patient doesn't have any interest, they don't feel offended that you brought it up. They're thankful, but they may be, for whatever reason, they don't have any interest. Gary: Well, Naren, as we wrap this up, I think this episode will be a good one for our Less Insurance Dependence listeners and remember those benchmarks. I want you to shoot for those goals on your case acceptance. A last reminder, as you're listening to this, very soon after, we have our very last Thriving Dentist MBA livestream workshop. That is Saturday, December 5th. That's the last one of 2020. It's coming up on Saturday. December 5th, it's eight hours. I go through the 10 elements of a thriving practice. I want to encourage you to attend that one because you will have all kinds of information to allow you to set goals for 2021 that will, in fact, result in 2021 being your best year yet. Come join us. It's all done livestream. It's eight hours of CE. (00:24:04 – 00:24:06) We do it in a workshop format. We go through 11 different exercises so you can apply this information to your practice. And at the risk of sounding proud, this will be one of those CE events that you will look back on in your career 20 years later and say, "I am so glad I took that MBA livestream workshop because it literally set me on a course that changed the direction and results of my practice. Come join us. I'll put a link in the show notes. You can register for that. They do sell out. I would encourage you to go to lessinsurancedependence.com/mba. And if there are spots available, I would encourage you to sign up. You'll notice that the tuition is very affordable because of the livestream format. We strive to make that as affordable as possible. On that note, let me thank you for the privilege of your time today. Hope I get to see you at that Thriving Dentist MBA workshop.

The American Dream Revisited: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Results – Gary Sirak. He’s been helping other people achieve their American dream for the last 35 years. These are stories about everyday people creating extraordinary results in their lives and the those around them  a true inspiration   I've got a really fun guest for you today, and his name is Gary Sirak, he’s been helping other people achieve their American dream for the last 35 years. He's president of Sirak Financial Services in Ohio, a company founded by his father, Stance Sirak back in 1957 and the company will celebrate 60th anniversary this year. Gary has written two books. First, “If your money talk, what secrets tell?” In this books about personal finance and the most common mistakes people make with their money and so many people make the same mistakes again and again and again with their money that you decide to do something about it. The second book the book we're going to talk about today is the “American Dream Revisited.” Ordinary people extraordinary results. It's deeply personal subject for Gary. While it's true it was a survey and deepest in this conversation in a coffee shop that spurred to write this book and the ideas and beliefs of the book that’s been with him for his entire life.   So, I just want to welcome you Gary for being with us today. Thank you, Dave. And so, I love the part about your book was thought about at the coffee shop. It's like so many those businesses that were put together on a napkin   Well kind of. I'm addicted to mochas.   I really am. And between work and my home there are four coffee shops that I frequent. So, I kind of rotate them as they all make different ones, they all taste varieties of chocolate and coffee but I literally stop every day at one of them.   And I was in a place called Karma Cafe one morning, sitting down and just having my mocha thinking about my day, my week, my month, my life whatever I was on that day. I mean I never really remember that.   But as I was sitting there four college students sat down right behind me Dave, and they started talking about the American dream which really piqued my interest because I've always had an interest in the American dream. So   I heard them and I kind of slid my chair a little closer to them and my back.   Them I want to hear what they were saying and then very quickly the American Dream was referred to as the America Disaster. And three of them were really negative. They talked about college debt, credit card debt, tough job market, all these things that were negative.   And then finally the one person who had the same thing said listen I don't really agree with you guys. I think you know life's good. I'm going to pay my college loans, I’ll pay my credit card off. You know I'm going to have a good life he said. I feel like I'm really getting, I’ll get a good job, and they shut him down in a matter of seconds. And he never said another word. But the conversation was just very ugly.   I told people that day and this is a Tuesday and I love Karma Cafe with some really bad karma.   It was just a very negative experience. I was very disappointed and bothered me in about four nights later I woke up in a middle of the night and decided I was going to write a book to refute their opinions. And I just was gonna. I just believed that they weren't right. And there's no reason in the world to be that young and that negative. And it just really disturbed me.   Wow that's pretty amazing. And you know I was like you were talking about that for people. It was kind of interesting that the 25% of the people were positive Yeah. Exactly. And so, it really runs close to 80 20 rule all the way around doesn't it.   It really does. It really is that 81-year-old of. It is accurate that men were a long time ago Yeah.   And everything still comes. There's the 80-20 and it keeps you break it down down down farther just gets crazy with the numbers. So, you got to write your book. And what were some of the highlights in there that helped you. I mean it was pretty good perspective in a sense where you got to hear both sides and it peaked you to really move in that direction to refute it. So, what were some of the things that really get your attention during that conversation.   Well a couple things that happened I realized that I needed to find people that achieve their American dream.   So, what I did is I started asking friends acquaintances who was the most interesting person they know or they knew that still living? Who did they know the most interesting person in their life that still living that I could talk to.   And people started throwing names at me and he said well what about. And I said well the American dream. I’m writing this book and I told this little.   Oh, I know this lady in California, I know this guy in Chicago. So, I started getting names of people all across the country, and a guy in England, and a guy that you know migrated here from South Africa and just fascinating. I ended up doing 25 interviews Dave. Wow.   And I took the 25 and I picked 13 of them that I felt most congruent with. I felt like they were the ones that fit. They were after they were in the model of what I was really trying to achieve. And so, each one after another felt like they were in the right place. So, I ended up with 13 stories. And it was kind of unique and how it all came together because I really hadn't planned any of the thing except they broke up they going right away.   So, the interviews were very interesting the 12 that I didn't use, I didn't use for a whole host of reasons sometimes I didn't like the credibility or lack of credibility. There were some things that just didn't feel right or sound right. And deep six those and the people that I ended up with I had a very nice feel about it. And I was able to fact check them enough that everything they said was true.   That's wild. So how long did it take for you to pull this all together? Close to a year.   What was the most out of all of this story, who’s story was the most interesting?   Well it's funny. There were three that I really, I always think about. And one of them is a man who actually became a friend, a dear friend, had survived seven Holocaust camps. Oh wow. And not only the surviving but he ended up coming to Canton Ohio. By the way home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Oprah coming to Canton Ohio and being a physician and taking care of people in this town.   And I got to know him because I was on a basketball team and he was the team physician for the basketball team although he knew absolutely nothing about basketball.   He did understand when you got beat up. What chances do you have? When you weigh what I weighed you get knocked around a bit so he just became friendly with him and then later on he became a client and I got to know his story fascinating man. So that story clearly resonates. There's another man that I found equally interesting. He   was an Old Order Amish farmer and he had an eighth-grade education and his wife and two kids left the order which is very traumatic events and move to Canton and started a company and he did this with no money or anything and just all on a leap of faith.   And at the peak of his business success he had a 186 million in sales. Nineteen hundred employees, 13 locations across the country. I mean just fascinating what he was able to achieve. So, those are a couple that really stand out. But there is another way I always find incredibly interesting and she's actually down your way. She's in Jacksonville. Her name is __ Echiveria, and __ was brought up in the Bronx and she was a girl gang member a quarter and girl gang member. And her story of how she escaped the gang and how she turned into the person she is today. A great story. Just and a wonderful person by the way.   So, every single person that you talk to and I think where you are really trying to make the point was that everyone has a story and everyone can overcome the odds if they choose to. Yes.   And that is exactly correct. Every single person in my book had adversity had trouble had nothing for anyone of them and they all overcame them.   You know it's kind of interesting. And I've said this to color.   I know you on the straight today a couple of other people and you know it seems like it in our society today people look at success and they see the top of the iceberg and the base of the iceberg is all the trials and tribulations all the hard work all the sweat all the tears and everything that got them up to a certain point for you or I see them but the interesting thing is for those people who are the iceberg that we're looking at. They still see themselves like a halfway point yeah.   They really do. Actually, one of the key points in the book and I found this unique once I really sat down and did all these stories I was looking for points where there were links between the different people. OK. And one of them I came up with was that the people that I interviewed all had an amazing ability to not just look forward and see what they had accomplished but to look where they came from and their sense of achievement and what they'd accomplished once we started talking and they look back where they started from. Remarkable how they would think in terms of that and a lot of them said gosh I haven't thought about this in years. But yeah, I started out it was really tough and all that. And   I said Yeah look where you are now.   I just haven't done that long time and said it really helped rebuild my self-esteem and my self-worth and it made me feel proud to look at all the things I've accomplished she said because sometimes there's one person in particular talking about Whitney Hadnagy. And, all of a sudden, we are talking and I realize we got on my copy which I love to go back and see where everything started from.   I mean I get on my desk to look at how I started looking to lots of people start and what they've accomplished. It's just a remarkable journey backward and fun journey too by the way. And that's what I'm in this for all these people were much more backward based than forward base which is really very interesting.   And you know here.   Yeah you know that's really interesting that you said that because I think that the people are just, they don't really think about what they've achieved.   They think about what they haven't achieved or there's so much more to do.   And we get lost in that.   And that's kind of funny because I'm in that process my own self I think we all go through it at different times or all the time just at different stages. And I was talking to my wife this morning and telling her I’m going to put this webinar and going you know it's yeah, it's so I'm doing it and I'm going. And then I started thinking about you know introducing myself in a sense you know who are you.   And then I started looking at all the stuff they've written and I'm going Hey I have done a few things you know but you don't look at it from that standpoint you're thinking about I could do so much more. I haven't done this yet. It's pretty wild.   Well that is exactly the point. So, I'm a financial adviser and I help people with their money I help them. Right now, I'm helping a ton of people with their retirement or helping them gain money so they can retire. And when I find out is I'm also a cheerleader in a lot of ways.   I'm inspirational to them because they're stuck and they don't need to talk to when they talk to me and they say wow you’re really fun to talk to because you inspire me or you make me feel better. I sleep better at night which are all very nice things to say and appreciate it.   But I also find out the reason they say that is because I get them to go back and see what they've caught where they've come from and where they are now and it just makes them feel better. I've got a guy right now going through a divorce which is really tough. And I've been on the phone with him a few times now helping him because his self-esteem has gotten kicked in in the gut and he's really down. And I said wait a minute look at who you are what you've accomplished. Look at how cool your kids are. I said that didn't happen by accident. I said Yeah. One person rejecting you. And that's true but there's 300 million people out there that don't know you and some do and the ones that know you really care about you. I said so don't focus on the one that doesn't Wow that's amazing. It really is you know man that's such a great thing right there because we do get stuck in at home. I don't want to downplay it too much but we do have like our own little pity parties. I've been there from time to time and I go I can't, I can't afford to be here I need to go somewhere else. But it's I think it's just part of human nature where we just have a tendency to go backwards instead of looking too far forward. I mean it's just really weird on how it just all comes together. And I like the way that you've been presenting that and I'm sure your book really demonstrates that especially with each one of these stories of these people who you know come through. Not a bad place. Well I mean in the beginning you're probably was in a bad place. I think we all start off in different places and we can consider it good or bad but it's challenging let's put it that way. Clearly counting and you're right. And it's funny. Someone asked me what do all these people have in common. I can tell you one thing when they all started it was all about food, clothing and shelter. Was it about being rich? Was it about making a ton of money? It was just can I provide for my family. Yeah. What do I need to do to provide for my family? How do I get that accomplished? That's really where we started that and quite frankly that's kind of how it went down. So we're looking at this and saying if that's the case these people had something very similar to everybody else I've ever met who was just starting out. And that's you got to start somewhere. And when you start you don't start at the top. You start at the bottom and you work your way up. That's just how this being goes. Yes. That's amazing. I know cause, it's you know I look at kids going through school. It's for some grandkids I've got one just graduated she went into high school and I'm gone. Awesome. You went from the top of your class to the bottom of the totem pole. And then you graduate high school you go into college to graduate top of your classes go to the bottom of the totem pole. And then, each stage of our life. That's what we go through as we go, we reach a pinnacle and then we start something new. And we got to start at the bottom. We have this. There's no place. How are you going to learn? That’s the thing. How do you learn. It was the point that came out in the book club where was all these people fail. And sometimes they fail a lot the whole time. And they all had the same response I said Well how did you overcome failure. So, we don't have a choice. It's food clothing and shelter Gary. We didn't have a choice. Failure wasn't an option. Delaying was an option but failure was not an option. We were going to make this thing work come hell or high water. And they did. That's so true. Failure is not an option. It's the only time you fail is when you fail to get up and start over again. Exactly. I know it's kind of funny I would thinking the other day and I'm going you know I've been in business for so, so long. The other day it was and it wasn't too long ago and I think we all go through this at a certain time. I was really sick and of course you know it doesn't matter whether you're in business for yourself or not when you're sick it doesn't matter. You just do what's gotta get done you know. And so, I said to somebody this, you know this these are times like this when I wish I had job when I could call in sick. Yeah, I know there are many days where I've felt the same way. I have lots of people around me. We have a pretty good-sized staff. But quite frankly there's things only that I can do. Right. And some days I don’t wanna do them. No I said Are you sure you can do it. No. So you see you know I really need to teach them how to do those things so if I don't feel like coming in I can actually do that. Right. And that's just that's another part of the process that all it is. It is. It's really how you replicate yourself and give somebody else in position to take over for you. You just teach them. Tricks. Yeah that's it. That's amazing. So, in the course of your book what were some of the things that that were eye openers for you. Well here's an interesting one. I interviewed a guy named Duez. Duez lived in South Africa grew up in Johannesburg and moved to the states because at the time he's an Indian living in South Africa which had all kinds of issues. And there was violence everywhere. We saw so many people injured. And when I interviewed him and he came to America with like a thousand dollars and turned out to be very, very successful. In fact, he actually owns a mini mart and a drive through and he's just a super nice guy. Charitables can be a couple kids both of whom are going into med school and it's very, very interesting talking to him. When I talk to him though the main reason he came to America was freedom. He said, Gary I need needed freedom to vote. I needed freedom to have a chance to get a job. Means, that there, I would have been stuck in the system I would have never owned my own business in the threat of violence was so prevalent every day.                He said I can't say how many people he said I was knifed in a fight and he said I can’t tell how many times that you know I had to fight or how many people I knew were killed in fights he said. Just ridiculous how many people were threatened every day in the streets. And he said I had to get away from that. He chose to come here. And he ended up here because he had a relative that owned a motel and he came here and clean rooms for him until he could figure out what to do with his life. So, the idea that America provided opportunity is really the point that I think has been trying to make your America has really been an opportunistic country if you take advantage of your opportunities and all of the people that I interviewed took advantage of those. Right. I think you know going back to the conversation of you know those four guys in the coffee shop that they realized that there was an opportunity and the other three were not really thinking about an opportunity but thinking about the long-term effect of paying back a loan or Bill or you know and it was something that they chose to do from the beginning. Absolutely. And I'll say one thing about this is if they were sitting here today and they really felt sorry for themselves and then that came out really loud and clear also. They really did feel sorry for themselves. And I guess that's ok you're allowed. But, I don't think you want to go in the light, feel sorry for yourself. I just don't think that's a real healthy thing to do. I just don't think that comes out positive energy. Yeah you know because you end up like you know we go back to the percentages you know like 75% of the other people out there are whining, complaining and just don't see any good in anything. Right. It's funny Dave. As I’ve gotten more successful for a long time.                      One of my key ingredients that I look for on the clients I work with are making sure they have a positive attitude and that they have a go forward attitude not you know not put their head in the sand attitude I really want people that are progressively moving forward in life that are exciting and dynamic and entrepreneurial. Those people. I like that and I have fun with them. I don't do so well with the others. It just doesn't resonate quite so well Yeah this doesn't seem like it would fit well with your personality. You sound like that fun-loving guy who loves to help other people and wants to always moving forward directions and then you would give it all. But if they're going to fight every step of the way then it's just a losing battle for everybody. That is exactly the case so I've really gotten pretty, pretty careful about who I do business with because of that and someone have said you know you're pretty exclusive and I said I'm not exclusive I'm just careful. So, I just know who I'm going to fit with and who I’m not going to fit with and I don't want to waste my time. Well you know I think if more business owners thought about that you know from a different perspective on how well do we do we work together instead of going after the end result which is you're not going after you're going after the solves their problem. In place of collecting their money exactly. And I don't I don't try and solve their problems anymore Dave. I use to do that. That was frustrating now just give them suggestions. Right. They have to take action because I can't do that for them. In the beginning. I try to do that for them and I had to engineer things but that was miserable and so many times I was doing things that they didn't have they weren't so long as I was I said OK this has got to stop. This is frustrating.     We don’t do that anymore. It will be more like pushing spaghetti. Right. Pretty much Leave them the water they have to drink. I can't make over. So, this has really been exciting. I love the way you brought this all about. I loved the interviews with the people and just the whole brings back you know that American dream Revisited. And it's just like you said the American Dream Revisited: Ordinary people, Extraordinary results. So, there’s extraordinary results in each one of us if we dare to dream. Yes, and take advantage of our opportunities. We all have them. It's a question of seeing them recognizing it's an opportunity and then doing what it takes to make it work for you. And I was with someone the other day and there were some that started in the company and he started the lowest end of the totem pole and he asked me what I thought. And I said, would he make any comments that OK's He’s not making much and what is he doing. They called me and said OK. I said this is temporary. He said Why do you say that. He said he's way too talented to be left in that job for very long. They are going to see if he has what it takes to work on the bottom. I said they're just testing it. I said so let's find out how this plays out. Anyway, it was funny it was about six months ago and he got his first promotion and the promotion was pretty good one. What was really at the bottom. I mean they jumped him about three levels and that's awesome. They saw what he could do. But he was humble enough to start at the bottom. Absolutely. And below where he wanted to see all his friends were making more money and they were giving him crap which they would and said No, no I'm going to do this and we'll see what happens. Yeah. Yeah. It's just like there's a young guy I know it's a bartender in a bar. And then 15 years later he owns a bar and it's a very successful bar. And he goes really well at it and he started as a part time bartender but you know he did whatever that owner had him do to the point when the owner said hey I want to sell the business would you buy it because you fit the culture of what I tried to do here. That's awesome. Yeah that's plenty of opportunities. We just have to be willing to look with open eyes. Yes. And don't let people talk you out of it. That's the other thing that amazes me. The people around people I always mention. And it didn't come out in this book but it came out in “If your Money Talks what Secrets would it tell?” and that’s upgrading your friends. So, many times I have found people that were so negative around that I just don't want to be around those people so they stop being my friends. And I stop calling them and stop going out to dinner with them because I didn't want to be around negative people. It just wasn't fun. And I just wasn’t, I mean they complain about everything, and I’m thinking man this wasn’t enjoyable. This is like going to the dentist and getting a tooth bowl without Novocain I know I've gone out to people that dinner right. Well I went out to dinner with a bunch of people one day and I said next to one person when I left my wife, I said listen, if they come out to dinner with us again, great but don't ever, ever sit me next to him again ever. Right. And it's like one guy one day it was kind of funny at a family function so I can say this because it's family. And one of my in-laws says you know you're lucky and I go explain luck to me I don't understand it but explain what you're saying. He goes you can afford anything you want. And I look and I says No I said I can afford anything you want. But I can't afford anything I want or everything I want. It's interesting how perception isn't really reality after all. So, I work with some people that are massively wealthy and massively wealthy and they're just not happy people. And I don't like hanging around them I don't really like working with them all that much because they're not fun to be around and their money is OK as long as I deal with them on a regular basis. But it's just not a group because they're just we just don't have it in common. And so eventually they'll go away. And I don't get sad about that at all because I think of myself, good I don't have to go to deal with this guy anymore. I mean I can think of three of them right up top of my head that I’ve left that I was maybe I helped touch them up Dave, I don't know. Sublimely, maybe I did that and all I know is gosh I don't have that point with the people anymore. I sort of smile about that. Yeah that's pretty awesome. That is really awesome. Hey Gary this is really been awesome and I just I just love the whole concept. How can our listeners get in touch with you and maybe just talk to you about your book or work when they buy your book? The book is available on the Amazon. OK we'll put a link on our phone so that yeah, it's on the Amazon and it's also on GarySirak.com and as far as communicating with me, if they send me an email Reiffel it she tells me and we answer all of them. We've never had answered an email so far in the four or five years I've been doing this, as I've always responded when someone sends me something and I do get things sent to me I guess I've gotten some very interesting questions over the year. I said really, they're asking me that. And you know I can smile. Yeah. Anyway, I never forget Dave I was doing this and I got a call from somebody what kind of refrigerator that I buy? What? I said OK. Why would you ask me? and he said well your proof smart about a lot of stuff, we’re thinking you might know something about refrigerators. And I said how much do you know about refrigerators? I said that’s what they like and they said OK well thank you. I mean that was just, it was just an interesting phone call. I’ll bet it was. It’s kind of funny. That was pretty awesome. So www. GarySirak.com and Amazon and that's where my books available and they're both on there and. Yeah, I just thought thanks for taking the time to share your story with us share your book and the experiences. It's been a really, really been a fun time. Thanks Gary. Dave, thank you. You may visit Mr. Sirak through this website: www.garysirak.com Get your copy of Gary’s Book The American Dream, Revisited: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Results There are so many ways to do almost free marketing you just have to think about it or you could just go to the web site and pick up the free download.    4 Hot Marketing Strategies That Can Flood Your Business with Customers  If you have a story to tell and would like to be a guest on this podcast email my assistant Shell at Shell@contractorssecretweapon.com   and she will send you our guest sheet.     Our sponsors  Would you like your phone to ring more with qualified buyers people looking to buy now? Then let’s make that happen. Best Home Services Leads is dedicated to making your phone ring with qualified buyers wanting to buy now. Go to and fill out the form to get more information.       http://contractorssecretweapon.com/money  How about 100 free postcards sent out to your best prospective customers. Radius Bomb sends out hyper targeted, laser focused postcards using a map while sitting in your under ware at your kitchen table then go to http://contractorssecretweapon.com/radiusbomb  Painting Contractors, get up to a 24% better response rate just for having the right memorable telephone number 1-800-PRO-PAINTER.Check out your area before someone beats you to it and it’s not available. https://www.1800propainter.com/ 

On this episode of Military Resource Radio, Tony Gatliff and his kinda, sorta, sometimes co-host, Paul Zbair – Vice President of Mortgage Lending at BBMC Mortgage - discuss several different topics, including the recent Naval accidents in the Pacific that cost several Navy sailors their lives, Senator John McCain’s stunning statistic about U.S. Military training accident deaths versus U.S. Military combat deaths in the last 4 years, former Navy Seal Robert O’Neill, possible abuse of dogs in VA research centers (as told by a wounded former Marine), the benefits of VA loans and much, much more. We also debut our new “Hey Gary!” segment…and Marine Veteran Garrison Foster of VAHOME.org talks about some of these items with Tony, as well. You won’t want to miss a minute of this informative episode of Military Resource Radio!

In this Episode Shannon, who is a high bottom drunk explains how she made it to nearly 80 days sober. She mentions she loves Karaoke and you can check out Jimmy Cliff's "I Can See Clearly Now" on YouTube because that's how we both feel these days!   While listening to the Bubble Hour Podcast a few weeks ago on my drive home for Thanksgiving, I heard some great ideas on how to stay sober over the Holidays. One of the segments was how to respond when someone offers you a drink at a Holiday party. I heard from great responses, but none of the answers were the truth. What I have learned in recovery, is the best answer is the truth. The truth is liberating and you will be surprised by the lack of questions you will get after telling someone you don't drink. Most people are happy for you, and encourage your decision to not drink. A small percentage will give you flack, and this is a great way to quickly find out who are not your friends. Another small group will become inquisitive and start asking questions like, how much did you used to drink? Or, why are you not drinking? These people are asking for themselves because they have been questioning their own drinking habit. But here are 77 additional tips on how to stay sober over the Holidays. I do not claim for this to be a full and comprehensive list, and with certainty, I can predict leaving out some very important ones. But here ya go.   63 ways to stay sober over the Holidays Hang out with another alcoholic: That guy Bill was on to something there. Dedicate 5 minutes today, 10 minutes tomorrow, 15 minutes the next day and increase by five minutes each day on a dormant hobby that you used to love so much. This could be the guitar, model trains, knitting, or swimming. Endless possibility of fun things to do. Find conduits to your higher power: Forest, Snow, Trans Siberian Orchestra in a Starbucks coffee shop, painting and so much more. Music: Listen to music. Have you heard flamenco? It’s incredible. Write a letter to a friend. Not an email, but place a stamp on an envelope and send it out. Write down 5 things you are thankful for each day. My first sponsor requested this of me, and after 16 days, I had 8 things listed in my gratitude list. Not because I wasn’t thankful for things in life, but because sometimes these small, seemingly infinitesimal tasks were very had. Have a sit down chat with your addiction: Hey Gary, as you know the Holidays are approaching… Call a family member that isn’t immediate family and tell them how much you appreciate them. This could be a cousin, uncle, etc. When in a drive through (preferably not fast food), pay for the person behind you. Cartwheels: 94% of cartwheels result in laughter and a great time. The other 6% are broken coffee tables. Go to a 12-step meeting. Buy paint, a canvas, and start painting Go on a 3-mile walk/hike where there is no cell service. Or make it a point to leave your phone at home. Write down the goal of not drinking over the holidays. And then place this goal in a place you will see everyday like on your bathroom mirror or inside your gym locker (if you work out everyday). Volunteer your time at the animal shelter and walk some dogs. In Montana, you may even be able to walk a pig or goat. Dogs are service animals for a reason. Their company is therapeutic and they also don’t judge. You’re simply the “bees knees” since your taking them on a walk. Affirmation: Remind yourself daily that you will not be drinking because you have an allergy to alcohol. Read a book. More specifically, “A Drinking Story” by Caroline Knapp When someone asks if you want a drink at his or her Christmas Party, you respond with “is your snowmobile insured”? Stay a minimum of 300 feet away from Burger King, McDonalds, Arby’s Wendy’s and other fast food chains at all times. Actually the chili at Wendy’s is okay. But that’s it! Pray Say the serenity prayer out loud while looking into the mirror. Learn the serenity prayer in a different language. Make it a point to get outside of your comfort zone. Be okay with uncomfortable feelings. Take 10 minutes and feel your uncomfortable feelings. Embrace them. Get REal with yourself. Hot tea. Hot Tea Hot Tea. Tea that is not injected full of caffeine if possible. Listen to recovery podcasts. Read: Read and be a sponge. Go through your cabinets and remove anything with over 10grams of sugar on the carton. Also look for bags of sugar, powdered sugar, and stashes of Reece’s pieces. Cook brussel sprouts When someone asks if you would like a drink at his or her holiday party, tell them you don’t drink. When that person asks why you don’t drink, answer their question unequivocally. Ask siri to set the timer to 5 minutes. For the first minute, while in a calm still place, sit down, keep your eyes and just focus on sounds. Minute two, breath in for 5 seconds, and exhale for five seconds. Minutes three, close eyes and tell yourself what you are thankful for. Minute four, pump yourself up with affirmations like Paul Churchill, today we will something great and minute five, envision what you want your life to be like in 1 week, 1 month, 1 year, 5 years and 10 years. Write down your goals. 95% of people don’t write down their goals and 95% of or people, who write down their goals, achieve their goals. Think that one through. Wake up before the sun comes up fro five consecutive days. Put your alarm clock on the other side of the room so you physically have to get out of the bed. Write down who your recovery team is. This doesn’t matter if you are drunk now, or have 10 years of sobriety. Be clear with who is on your team in case of emergency. Have the baby bag packed by the door. Avoid self-loathing: in other words, don’t kick the crap out of yourself over your drinking. Alcohol does a fine job of this already. Get to know your addiction. My addiction is named Gary, and I fully respect him. Whoever or what ever that God thing is, just remember, you’re not it. Find a way to create accountability. Tell someone you are planning to quit drinking, or this Christmas you plan to have less than ten eggnogs. Don’t judge yourself. Be truly accepting of who you are. Call your sponsor and if you don’t have one, get one. Acceptance is the answer. My favorite paragraph in the Big Book. Find a way to accept your current situation. Get creative: Create something with clay, pick up a new instrument, use your mind to create something. Learn a new skill or task. You tube is a great way to learn new things. Remove temptations: There are the obvious ones like that bottle of Tequila in your pantry, but get rid of all the maple syrup in the house while you’re at it. Have an exit strategy at outings. Give up control. Hang out with that group of friends who implausibly seem to be enjoying themselves without alcohol. De-friend 5 negative or non-supportive friends on Facebook. Write goals down: Don’t drink today, build a fence, or write a book. Celebrate: Milestones are huge. Get back up on your feet. Reward yourself with a treat: The treat shouldn’t be booze or consist of more than 92% sugar. Stay busy. Remind yourself the last 256 times you planned to only have a couple beers tonight, didn’t end up as planned. Netflix, HBO, and Hulu Learn a new recipe. One that doesn’t need maple syrup to make it delicious. Check out some animals in their natural environment. Go Carts. Do the steps. Remind yourself, it was my brilliant ideas that got me into this predicament (if you’re in a predicament) so maybe I don’t have all the answers.   This is huge Recovery Elevator. The first Recovery Elevator meetup will be taking place in Seattle on Saturday February 27th, 2016. Details to come. Email info@recoveryelevator.com for more info on this meetup. This podcast was brought to you by Sober Nation.

#QOTD: What is your Snapchat username? - Follow me @GaryVee #LINKS Buy JJJRH on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Jab-Right-Hook-Story-Social/dp/006227306X PleaseRobMe Foursquare Reference: http://mashable.com/2010/02/17/pleaserobme/ #TIMESTAMPS 01:31- Looking for a job out of college is tough, specially in marketing finding one that is not sketchy. How do you find a job that is the right fit?  04:29-How would you advise a young woman to brand herself on YouTube if she's worried about privacy and security for her family? 07:34- Any tips on giving a great right hook? Been serving and giving for months, it's time for a right hook! 09:56 - How to leverage social media when your up'n coming actor? I want to jab, give content & also be able to do more roles 14:22- Hey Gary, everyone has been doing an amazing job creating the #askgaryvee Show. So good that it makes me wonder: Are we having an special "Behind the Scenes" episode? How do you throw a great right hook? You sweep the leg. Straight up. Just sweep the leg. That’s literally how I think about this. The fact of the matter is you have to go right in the for the kill. It’s all Karate Kid. Go in for it. What else makes it a great. Honesty. Just be real with what your goal is. If I was the CEO of Toyota, my Super Bowl ad would sound like this: “Hey. I’m Gary Vaynerchuk and I’m the CEO of Toyota. I want you to buy my cars. What do I have to do to make that happen? Let us know.” That is a good Super Bowl commercial. Forget the pony. Forget the eagle and the cute dog. I’m turning this episode into a test case right now. Currently, Jab Jab Jab Right Hooks’ Amazon ranking is #2,051. I am now asking everyone to buy one copy. ONE. It would mean a lot to me. It would prove my point about solid right hooks. You’ve watched thirty or so episode for free, and now I’m asking you for this one thing. Buy one. And so, that is a right hook my friends. You just honestly ask. You try to create a little guilt around it. And you ask. Don’t hold back and be honest.