Podcasts about Lake Wobegon

BEST OF: Prairie Home Companion's Garrison Keillor and Joe Soucheray meet for the first time. Garrison Keillor is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio show A Prairie Home Companion (called Garrison Keillor's Radio Show in some international syndication), which he hosted from 1974 to 2016. Keillor created the fictional Minnesota town Lake Wobegon, the setting of many of his books, including Lake Wobegon Days and Leaving Home: A Collection of Lake Wobegon Stories.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Just about every week here on YMYW, Joe and Big Al talk about converting your retirement savings to Roth accounts. But why? What's the big deal? Today the “IRA guru” Ed Slott, CPA returns to Your Money, Your Wealth® in podcast number 526 with Joe Anderson, CFP® and Big Al Clopine, CPA to tell us why he calls the Roth IRA “the greatest account ever created.” (Here's a hint: it's all about having tax-free income in retirement - and beyond.) Plus, where to prioritize saving for retirement? Jerry Tom in St. Louis wants to know. Are Christian and Tiffany in Montana on track for retirement, and should they rebalance their ETFs? Should Frank in Lake Wobegon's wife take her teachers' salary over 9 months or 12 months? And finally, Jon thinks the target retirement withdrawal rates Joe and Big Al use to spitball are too low - we'll see what they think. Free financial resources & episode transcript: https://bit.ly/ymyw-526 DOWNLOAD The Complete Roth Papers Package CALCULATE your Financial Blueprint WATCH Don't Let These 10 Risks Break Your Retirement on YMYW TV ASK Joe & Big Al for your Retirement Spitball Analysis SCHEDULE your Free Financial Assessment SUBSCRIBE to YMYW on YouTube DOWNLOAD more free guides READ financial blogs WATCH educational videos SUBSCRIBE to the YMYW Newsletter Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 00:59 - Ed Slott, CPA on the Roth IRA, the Future of Taxes, the Death of the Stretch IRA, and Naming a Trust as Your Retirement Account Beneficiary 19:44 - Download The Complete Roth Papers Package for free 20:37 - Where to Prioritize Saving for Retirement? (Jerry Tom, St. Louis) 28:57 - Are We on Track for Retirement? Should We Rebalance Our ETFs? (Christian & Tiffany, Montana) 40:43 - Watch Don't Let These 10 Risks Break Your Retirement on YMYW TV, Calculate Your Free Financial Blueprint 41:44 - Is It Better to Take Teachers' Salary Over 9 Months or 12? (Frank, Lake Wobegon - voice) 45:32 - Withdrawal Rates Are Very Low on YMYW (Jon, Twitter & Apple Podcasts) 49:46 - YMYW Podcast Outro

On this inspiring episode of the Mastery Unleashed podcast, host Christie Ruffino welcomes Julie Caprera, a dynamic published author and homeschooling advocate, to share her transformative journey into home education. Julie recounts how her initial skepticism about homeschooling evolved into a passionate mission after meeting Christy at a conference. With Christy's unwavering support, Julie embraced a new path that led her to become a published author and empowered her to guide homeschool moms through the challenges of unconventional education.Drawing from her background as a critical care nurse and her personal experiences with her children's diverse learning needs—including those of special needs children—Julie explains that homeschooling isn't about replicating traditional classrooms at home. Instead, it's about nurturing independent thinkers and fostering a mindset that values flexibility, creativity, and real-world skills. She introduces her CARE framework—Create your vision, Assess your variables, Restructure your schedule, Evaluate, and Encourage—to help parents navigate the journey with clarity and confidence. Julie's heartfelt story and practical advice underscore the rewards of a debt-free, personalized education that equips children with essential life skills, making her a motivational and actionable message. ABOUT JULIEJulie Caprera didn't expect to be a pioneer. In her early years, her Norwegian Lutheran family echoed Lake Wobegon of Garrison Keillor fame. Her father went to work for the Apollo space program, moving the family to Cocoa Beach, FL. Life is bathing suits, T-shirts, and flip-flops when one lives six blocks from the beach. Julie earned her BSN at Florida State University. Being a member of the FSU Student Circus was great therapy during nursing school. Next came 15 years as a critical care nurse. Marrying Rob Caprera brought Julie to Massachusetts, which was quite a culture shock after Florida.As new parents in the 1980s, Julie and Rob became pioneers in the emerging world of homeschooling. They didn't plan to be so out of the box, but doors kept opening. Life became an adventure of learning opportunities. Pioneers try new things to find the best match. For the Capreras, homeschooling included lots of national and international travel. Julie's search for personal mentors led her to help new homeschooling families. Helping others became the Capreras' passion over the next three decades. Julie and Rob served over two decades on the MassHOPE Board of Directors. Julie was also a regular homeschool conference speaker. An unexpected turn came when Rob's mother moved in with them due to her Alzheimer's. Homeschooling continued as they pioneered multi-generational living. For eight and a half years, Julie served as primary caregiver. A side benefit of homeschooling has been studying art and working in oils and acrylics.To better mentor more moms, Julie became a student. She then entered the world of online entrepreneurship. A recent out-of-the-box challenge was completing 75 HARD on her first attempt. Connect with Julie at www.CAREhomeschool.com. GET JULIE'S GENEROUS GIFTDon't Panic 20 min Coaching SessionACCESS THIS GIFT AND MANY MORELINKS SHARED ON THE SHOWwww.carehomeschool.comwww.linkedin.com/in/julie-caprera-7b1a7819/www.facebook.com/julie.capreraABOUT OUR SHOWMastery Unleashed is a podcast for success-driven women who want to empower their...

Here's a sentence to read and ponder: the average Christian is…average! What's your immediate, visceral response to that? Is God measuring you at all as a believer…or does His grace remove any expectations of obedience for Christians? And, if and when God does measure His children, how and what does He measure? Our compliance with Mosaic Law? Our social action? Our making of disciples of Christ? Join Kevin as we make a direct, forthright, and bracing dive into the topic of “The Average Christian is…Average.” // Download this episode's Application & Action questions and PDF transcript at whitestone.org.

A little gift for our Garrison Keillor and Friends subscribers. In the Back Room (paid subscribers) you receive a monologue from the 80's weekly.12.24.83It was bitterly cold in Lake Wobegon this week. Thirty below and cars wouldn't start. Everyone in Minnesota has jumper cables. Kids even get them in decorator colors as graduation gifts. If cars don't start, they use the cables to spell SOS in the snowbank. In Lake Wobegon it is a matter of pride if your car starts in cold weather, though people stretch the truth about it.Monday morning Lyle woke up feeling extra cold in his bedroom; there was a sheet of ice on the window and his water pipes were frozen. His car wouldn't start and he had the bright idea to light charcoal and place it under his engine. Well, the garage was saved but not the car. Lyle's brother-in-law, Carl, is the one that has the car that starts and is able to fix everything so it's embarrassing to make these mistakes, though he does know that Carl would be there in a moment if needed. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit garrisonkeillor.substack.com/subscribe

Go ad-free at wickedproblems.earth!Well it's been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon.1 Hope you're enjoying Trumpocalypse Day 8. How are you getting by? Had such a great night2 catching up with The Heat and the Fury author Peter Schwartzstein early this week that this episode is even more delayed than I thought it'd be. Before a stop on his UK book tour we buttonholed him for a sidebar earlier this week at the top of the show.For our main event I sat down with Pittsfield, MA's finest, Dana Drugmand, a leading voice on US climate litigation, founder of Climate in the Courts and author of the One Earth Now Substack, to explore the potential for litigation to step in as a force for climate accountability and progress, especially under the new U.S. administration.This conversation drops just days after the Dutch courts' reversal of a landmark case against Shell—a decision that, while discouraging for some, also highlights the role of judicial action as a means of enforcing corporate climate responsibility. Dana brings her unique perspective on what the post-election legal landscape could mean for U.S. climate policy. As we confront a federal judiciary more conservative than ever, she warns that the courts could become either a last line of defense or a daunting obstacle for climate advocates.One of our central topics was Project 2025, an ambitious agenda helmed by the Heritage Foundation, positioning itself to dismantle key climate policies. This agenda foresees cuts across agencies that have historically played central roles in regulating environmental impact, potentially downsizing the EPA and other scientific agencies like NOAA, while replacing civil servants with politically aligned appointees. Dana's take is that while the federal stage may seem bleak, we shouldn't underestimate the power of state-level litigation. States like California and Vermont are already mobilizing to hold major polluters accountable—efforts that could set national precedents, especially if cases reach the Supreme Court.Our discussion also explored the Honolulu case, which could open the door to groundbreaking discoveries about oil companies' historical actions on climate change. This case has the potential to bring to light internal documents that could shape public understanding and policy alike, much like the tobacco litigation of the 1990s did for public health.For those who see these efforts as idealistic, Dana's closing insights were clear: while federal barriers may grow, there's also increasing resilience at the state and international levels. Vermont's recent legislation, European legal frameworks, and global climate accords offer paths forward—if we can hold on to them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Garrison Keillor spent 42 years as the host of “A Prairie Home Companion, a folksy show that was performed live on Saturday nights and broadcast on hundreds of public radio stations. Keillor, who likes to wear red sneakers, brought his audience news from Lake Wobegon, a fictional town in the state of Minnesota where he grew up. He also performed in skits where he played Guy Noir, Private Eye. Keillor likes to sing patriotic songs and recite poetry. He's also written more than 15 books and many articles for the New Yorker. Keillor is currently at work on a novel which he says he better finish fast. “I'm 82. I don't have time to write Moby Dick.” “Now What?” is produced with help from Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta. 

09.18..82 This week in Lake Wobegon, the Whippets had a big celebration at the Sons of Knute lodge to celebrate a final game win against the Avon Bards. Hjalmer Ingqvist spent time at the party drinking whiskey because his wife told him about her plans to do a makeover of the house, including peach and apricot.Some men of the lodge were down in the basement building giant duck decoys to be used at Pete Peterson's house. Pete would shoot ducks right out of his basement window till his wife was startled one too many times. Now he uses a duck blind out behind the house.AS A PAID SUBSCRIBER, YOU WOULD RECEIVE A MONOLOGUE IN YOUR INBOX EVERY SUNDAY. THESE ARE MONOLOGUES THAT ONLY WERE BROADCAST ONE TIME AND CURRENTLY ARE NOT AVAILABLE ON ANY OF OUR WEBSITES.BY SUBSCRIBING, YOU WOULD HAVE ACCESS TO OVER 100 MONOLOGUES RELEASED TO THE BACK ROOM OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit garrisonkeillor.substack.com/subscribe

Minnesota is known for its Scandinavian roots, which are apparent in everything from the Vikings football team to the Norwegian bachelor farmers of Lake Wobegon. But more residents report having German ancestry than Scandinavian. So why isn't that German heritage more reflected more in the state's culture? Reporter Greta Kaul joins host Eric Roper to discuss the effort to erase German culture in the state around World War I. LINKS: Why did Minnesota erase much of its German culture? Is Minnesota actually more German than Scandinavian?

Author and Co-Conspirator at Gold, Goats 'n Guns, Dexter K. White, returns after too long a podcast hiatus to gloat a little (okay a lot) over the post-debate, post-Chevron meltdown of the American Left, CNN, and their collective puppet masters… but I repeat myself. Show Notes:Previous Eps:#123 – Dexter White and FTX's Real Crime#105 -- Dexter White and Navigating the Sea of Lies

Wayne, the owner of Lake Wobegon Outfitters, shares his story and the services they offer, including e-bike rentals and inflatable paddle boards. He explains how electric bikes work and the benefits of using them on the Lake Wobegon Trail. Wayne also discusses the rental process and future plans to become a retail dealer for e-bikes. The conversation covers topics such as safety waivers, reservations, and recommendations for exploring the area. Overall, the episode highlights the unique outdoor experiences Lake Wobegon Outfitters provides in central Minnesota.Book your rental outing with Lake Wobegon Outfitters: https://lakewobegonoutfitters.com/Experiencing and exploring everything that makes small towns great. Abbey (The Small Town Tourist) sits down with people to share stories about the towns they live in, the cool services they provide, and more. Visit online at https://thesmalltowntourist.com/ and follow on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thesmalltowntourist/

Author Cheryl K. Johnson joins us to discuss one of her favorite books, Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman. Guest Bio Cheryl was a research director for nearly twenty years until boxing training gave her the courage to leave corporate life for something that felt more like her true self. Box Lunch Lifestyle is how she now helps people realize that richer, more satisfying lives aren't as distant as they seem. Secretly, Cheryl loves grocery stores: small family-owned ones, national chains, co-ops, and the corner convenience store. Seeing everyday life through the lens of what food is available, and what people actually buy, fascinates her—and reinforces her disdain for weight loss programs and companies that thrive by selling non-nutritious food. When she's not boxing, reading, or pushing a cart, Cheryl and her husband enjoy documentary films and Indian food. They live near St. Paul, MN, in a town that Cheryl describes as a cross between Lake Wobegon and Twin Peaks.   Learn more at cherylkjohnson.com     For episode homepage, resources and links, visit: https://kristenmanieri.com/episode294    Learn more about coaching: Kristen@kristenmanieri.com    Mentioned in this Episode   Guest's website: https://cherylkjohnson.com/    Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Berkman https://www.amazon.com/Four-Thousand-Weeks-Management-Mortals/dp/1250849357    Box Lunch Lifestyle by Cheryl K. Johnson https://www.amazon.com/Box-Lunch-Lifestyle-Using-Deserve/dp/1735085758  Host Bio Kristen Manieri is a coach who works with teams to increase both productivity and wellbeing. She also helps individuals navigate transition with clarity and confidence. Her areas of focus are: stress reduction, energy management, mindset, resilience, habit formation, rest rituals, and self-care. As the host of the weekly 60 Mindful Minutes podcast, an Apple top 100 social science podcast, Kristen has interviewed over 200 authors about what it means to live a more conscious, connected, intentional and joyful life. Learn more at kristenmanieri.com/work-with-me.    Learn more about coaching: Kristen@kristenmanieri.com  Connect with the 60 Mindful Minutes podcast   Web: https://kristenmanieri.com  Email: Kristen@kristenmanieri.com    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/60MindfulMinutes Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristenmanieri_/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/kristenmanieri/

Why would a financial advisor suggest that Frank in Lake Wobegon sell a piece of inherited property, pay 25% tax, and invest the lump sum? Mark in Florida is 72 and invested in CDs. Should he go back to his financial advisor, or just buy more CDs? That's today on Your Money, Your Wealth® podcast 473 with Joe Anderson, CFP® and Big Al Clopine, CPA. Plus, Adam in Tennessee will have deferred income in 5 years. Should his asset allocation be more conservative? And in order to retire early at age 55, should Lewis in Arkansas delay starting Roth conversions? But first, if Mike's wife outlives him, how can he keep her in a similar tax bracket? Access this week's free financial resources and the episode transcript in the podcast show notes, and Ask Joe & Big Al On Air for your Retirement Spitball Analysis, at https://bit.ly/ymyw-473 Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 00:48 - If My Wife Outlives Me, How Do We Keep Her in a Similar Tax Bracket? (Mike) 06:49 - Long Term Capital Gains: Retirement and Real Estate Spitball (Frank, Lake Wobegon) 15:58 - 10 Tax-Cutting Moves to Make Now - YMYW TV Top 10 Tax Tips - free download (for a limited time only!) 2024 Tax Planning webinar, Wednesday March 27, 12pm Pacific/3pm Eastern - register now 17:04 - I'm 72. Should I Go Back to an Advisor or Just Buy More CDs? (Mark, FL) 21:32 - Should My Deferred Income Asset Allocation Be More Conservative? (Adam, Franklin, TN) 30:16 - Investing Basics Guide - free download 31:13 - Should We Delay Starting Roth Conversions to Retire Early by Age 55? (Lewis, AR) 41:11 - The Derails

On this episode of The Global Exchange, Colin Robertson is joined by Phil Calvert, Nick Etheridge, and Helen Lansdowne to discuss their recent book, "Supervising a Peace that Never Was" Recollections of Canadian Diplomatic Personnel in Indochina, 1954-1973": https://www.uvic.ca/research/centres/capi/assets/docs/books/supervising-a-peace-that-never-was.pdf. You can find a short paper on the book on CGAI;s website: https://www.cgai.ca/international_control_commissions_canadian_diplomatic_pioneers_in_southeast_asia And a review of the book by Colin in Policy Magazine: https://www.policymagazine.ca/the-quiet-canadians-stories-from-two-decades-of-diplomacy-in-indochina/ Participants' bios - Phil Calvert is a CGAI Fellow and former Canadian ambassador to Thailand. - Nick Etheridge served with the International Control Supervisory Commission in both Hanoi and Saigon and later as Canada's representative to Cambodia and as High Commissioner to Bangladesh - Helen Lansdowne is the Associate Director of the Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives (CAPI) at the University of Victoria Host bio: Colin Robertson is a former diplomat and Senior Advisor to the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, www.cgai.ca/colin_robertson Read & Watch: - "Kennen: A Life between Worlds", by Frank Costigliola: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691165400/kennan - "News from Lake Wobegon", by Garrison Keillor: https://www.amazon.com/News-Lake-Wobegon-Garrison-Keillor/dp/1665172533 - "Living with Oil and Coal: Resource Politics and Militarization in Northeast India", by Dolly Kikon: https://uwapress.uw.edu/book/9780295743950/living-with-oil-and-coal/ - "Extraordinary Attorney Woo": https://www.imdb.com/title/tt20869502/ Recording Date: January 31, 2023. Give 'The Global Exchange' a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow the Canadian Global Affairs Institute on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (@CAGlobalAffairs) and Linkedin. Head over to our website www.cgai.ca for more commentary. Produced by Joe Calnan. Music credits to Drew Phillips.

For a full transcript of this episode, click here. For a deep dive into the way back backstory here, listen to the show with Dea Belazi, PharmD, MPH. That's episode 293, and it's entitled “Game Theory Gone Wild,” because gone wild is what has happened with pharma manufacturer co-pay assistance programs. Don't forget that the original intent of the first chess move here was by pharma manufacturers to circumvent basically PBM (pharmacy benefit manager) formulary restrictions, because the leverage PBMs have is access and patient out-of-pocket costs—and let's focus on the out-of-pocket costs right now. If a drug is on formulary, patients can get said drug for a lower relative price. Drugs not on formulary are abandoned at the pharmacy counter quite often because patients cannot afford them, and this is by design. This patient abandonment of their prescriptions is what gives the PBM leverage when negotiating with Pharma. If Pharma doesn't play by PBM rules, they get kicked off the formulary; and then patients can no longer afford to get their meds and pharma market share tanks. So, the original intent of co-pay cards was for Pharma to say, “Ha ha, talk to the hand, you PBMs. You can not put us on formulary if you want, but I'm gonna lower the out-of-pocket costs all by meself with me co-pay cards. If you, PBM, force a $300 co-pay or whatever, which is way too high for most patients, I, Pharma, will pay $275 of that (or maybe all $300) a month on the patient's behalf with my co-pay card program. So, patients are now left with a reasonable amount that they should be able to afford, and my pharma drug's market share is unhindered.” I think one thing to keep in mind here as we evaluate the net impact is that not all situations are the same. Let's say there's two main scenarios—and keep both of these in mind during the conversation that follows with Joey Dizenhouse as you consider the impact on plan sponsors and patients vis-à-vis their premiums and also on patients/members in the short term. Scenario #1: Let's say there's one drug out there for a particular condition. One drug. And on some plan, that one drug has a ridiculously expensive out-of-pocket cost, say, $8000 or something like this, whatever their deductible or the max out-of-pocket is for that particular member on that particular plan. And this is $8000 every year if this is a chronic condition, which makes it different than someone hitting their deductible this year because they had a knee replacement or whatever. In this first scenario, we're talking about patients or their kids who in perpetuity need a drug and who effectively just had their salary reduced year over year by $8000 or whatever. If they want the med, they have no other option than this huge out of pocket. That's one situation. Scenario #2: Let's say there's another really expensive drug, but in this scenario, there's a generic equivalent or there's some other brand that costs $70 and works for most patients. So, yeah … now we have patients who get a co-pay card and are thus incented by their low or no out of pocket to get a drug that is effectively a rip-off. So, now the plan is paying something upwards of $8000 instead of $70. And it's not like the patient got a better product. It's upwards of 8000 wasted plan dollars that really don't accrue any better health. And so, this is really where our story begins. A couple of definitions here: Maximizer refers to the entity running a maximizer program. It's a noun. It's a who. Oftentimes the maximizer is the PBM, but not always. Joey talks about two kinds of maximizer programs: One is what Joey calls a spread model, and then there's also the transparent model. We also in the podcast that follows talk about a scheme which is often pitched to plan sponsors that I'm going to call the “the drug's not covered” approach. At the end of the show, we come up with three bits of advice. And here they are, spoiler alert: 1. Buyer beware. If you are a self-insured employer or some other entity who is purchasing these maximizer programs, purchasing due diligence is required. If your vendor makes more money the more a drug costs, yeah, you have misaligned incentives and the chances of you (the plan sponsor) and all of your members getting screwed is on the high side. (Eric Bricker, MD, shows how this could work in this video about the Cigna “transparent” CostVantage offering.) 2. As Lauren Vela said also in episode 406, everybody always thinks that their contracts are amazing. It's everybody else's contracts that suck. You ask a roomful of HR folks if their PBM contracts are above average, and the whole room raises their hands. This ain't Lake Wobegon, folks. Don't kill the messenger. 3. Get on the ground and actually talk to plan members who are taking these drugs or who have kids taking drugs that are covered by these maximizer programs or covered by the “it's not covered” alternative funding programs. I certainly hope no one listening is taking the word of the program sponsor on how satisfied plan members are, especially with all these class action lawsuits afoot. My guest today, as aforementioned, is Joey Dizenhouse, FSA, MAAA. He is an actuary by background. He serves as CEO of SlateRx, which is a pharmacy benefit experience provider, or a PBX, as they call it. He is also head of HealthTrust IHP. Also mentioned in this episode are Dea Belazi, PharmD, MPH; Eric Bricker, MD; Lauren Vela; Andreas Mang; and Kollet Koulianos, MBA. You can learn more at SlateRx.   Joey Dizenhouse, FSA, MAAA, has spent more than 25 years in the healthcare industry, serving in a number of strategic, leadership roles. As president and chief executive officer at SlateRx, Joey is responsible for driving the organization's mission of revolutionizing the pharmacy benefit experience. With a key focus on servant leadership and innovation, he seeks value for SlateRx's clients and their covered lives across the complex pharmacy supply chain. He also provides strategic guidance for partner organization HealthTrust. At HealthTrust, Joey led the Insurance, Human Capital, and Pharmacy (IHP) business segment, managing more than $15 billion in annual drug purchasing. Prior to HealthTrust, Joey spent 15 years at a large professional services consulting firm in a number of health and welfare leadership roles, serving many organizations during his tenure, including several from the Fortune 100. Joey is a frequent public speaker on subject matter related to pharmacy insurance, benefits strategies, and the US healthcare landscape. He is a fellow of the Society of Actuaries, member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and a licensed life and health insurance agent across all 50 states.   06:21 How was the first iteration of maximizers conceived? 10:59 “I'd always encourage you to come back to the underlying incentives.” 11:18 What does maximizer acceleration look like? 12:24 What are the two kinds of maximizers? 12:43 What is the spread model for a maximizer? 13:02 What is the transparent model for a maximizer? 15:26 “Ask the questions: How do you make money? Prove it!” 15:56 EP419 with Andreas Mang. 16:25 How might Pharma be making more money with maximizers? 26:14 What is the “it's not covered” approach? 32:29 “The right kind of program has been properly narrowed.” 33:51 Is there a purpose that some of these programs can serve, issues aside? 35:57 How does a free drug program actually cost money?   You can learn more at SlateRx.   Joey Dizenhouse discusses #pharmacybenefits, #employer #costsavings, and #outofpocket costs on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #pharma #healthcareleadership #healthcaretransformation #healthcareinnovation   Recent past interviews: Click a guest's name for their latest RHV episode! Benjamin Jolley, Emily Kagan Trenchard (Encore! EP392), Cora Opsahl (Encore! EP372), Jodilyn Owen, Ge Bai, Andreas Mang, Karen Root (Encore! EP381), Mark Cuban and Ferrin Williams, Dan Mendelson (Encore! EP385), Josh Berlin  

10.27.84Carl Krebsbach's brother, Lyle, bought a new car this week from a St. Cloud dealer. The little red foreign car was not available in Lake Wobegon. Lyle saw a picture of this car in a magazine and he just had to have it. On Tuesday, the car wouldn't start because someone put a potato up the tailpipe. Lyle has lived in town for twelve years so he's still seen as an outsider. He needs some friendship.The host was at the Sidetrack Tap a while back playing the baseball pinball machine and doing pretty well but lost his last ball. Carl put his hand on his shoulder, which almost brought him to tears. Lyle walks into the Sidetrack and he still has to give his order when Wally knows the order of all the regulars.The high point of the week was the show put on by the Lundeen's Gospel Birds up at the church. Attendance had been getting smaller and smaller so they needed to do something. The Deacons called a Christian booking company to book events at the church. Ernie and Irma Lundeen and the Performing Gospel Birds was the program on Wednesday. The church was packed. Ernie and Irma walked out in white satin outfits and they were covered in live birds. The birds were singing at the top of their voices. As Ernie bowed his head, the birds went silent. It was a 45-minute program full of flying and swooping and singing. The birds — dressed in little animal outfits — reenacted the Noah's Ark story. It was stunning. The birds then took up the collection as people held up dollar bills. Then little parakeets played “His Eye Is on the Sparrow” on tiny silver bells. Finally, Irma said she was going to send the birds out to people as they were praying, and a bird would land on their shoulders. It was the blessing of the birds, and everyone felt blessed by this event. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit garrisonkeillor.substack.com/subscribe

In part 2 of my interview with debut author and podcaster, Holly Varni, Holly continues her story about reaching the milestone of publication, talks about the role of an important mentor in her life, and answers questions from listeners. Holly offers encouragement to writers who've grown weary in their pursuit of publication as she shares her inspiring story of patience and perseverance.Holly Varni is a native Minnesotan of strong Norwegian descent, who was raised in the Lutheran Church that Garrison Keillor made a career depicting. Between the lutefisk, grumpy grandparents, and crazy neighbors who mowed their lawn wearing pajamas, the seed to becoming a storyteller was planted. Though she, her husband, and their three sons live along the Central Coast of California, her beloved Midwest roots continue to haunt everything she writes. She hosts the Moments from Moonberry Lake podcast where she shares more stories of her beloved characters. Learn more at www.hollyvarni.com.Connect with Holly on social media:FacebookInstagramListen to Part 1 of my interview with Holly:Praise for On Moonberry Lake:"Delightful! Charming! Full of characters who take up residence in your heart. The best of 'News from Lake Wobegon' and Father Tim combined." Lauraine Snelling, bestselling author of the Red River of the North series"An uplifting novel about the power of small-town community." Suzanne Woods Fisher, bestselling author of The Sweet Life"Rich characters, a delightful setting, and a heartwarming story. You'll love everything about On Moonberry Lake!" Ginny L. Yttrup, award-winning author of WordsEnjoy Moments from Moonberry Lake . . . Ginny L. Yttrup is a Christy Award-winning novelist, a developmental editor, and founder of Words for Writers which offers inspiration and instruction for writers. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ginnyyttrup.substack.com

Debut author and podcaster, Holly Varni, discusses the inspiration for her novel, On Moonberry Lake (Revell), and obstacles she faced on her path to publication. Holly offers encouragement to writers who've grown weary in their pursuit of publication as she shares her inspiring story of patience and perseverance.Holly Varni is a native Minnesotan of strong Norwegian descent, who was raised in the Lutheran Church that Garrison Keillor made a career depicting. Between the lutefisk, grumpy grandparents, and crazy neighbors who mowed their lawn wearing pajamas, the seed to becoming a storyteller was planted. Though she, her husband, and their three sons live along the Central Coast of California, her beloved Midwest roots continue to haunt everything she writes. She hosts the Moments from Moonberry Lake podcast where she shares more stories of her beloved characters. Learn more at www.hollyvarni.com.Connect with Holly on social media:FacebookInstagramPraise for On Moonberry Lake:"Delightful! Charming! Full of characters who take up residence in your heart. The best of 'News from Lake Wobegon' and Father Tim combined." Lauraine Snelling, bestselling author of the Red River of the North series"An uplifting novel about the power of small-town community." Suzanne Woods Fisher, bestselling author of The Sweet Life"Rich characters, a delightful setting, and a heartwarming story. You'll love everything about On Moonberry Lake!" Ginny L. Yttrup, award-winning author of WordsEnjoy Moments from Moonberry Lake . . . Ginny L. Yttrup is a Christy Award-winning novelist, a developmental editor, and founder of Words for Writers which offers inspiration and instruction for writers. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ginnyyttrup.substack.com

HEALTH NEWS   Omega-3 levels linked with lung health maintenance Turmeric Extract Strikes to the Root Cause of Cancer Malignancy Type 2 diabetes: Ultra-processed foods may cancel out benefits of Mediterranean diet  Vasectomy linked with aggressive prostate cancer risk Drinking kombucha may reduce blood sugar levels in people with type-two diabetes The magic number: How many days a week you need to exercise to see real benefit Survival in the New Woke Order Authors Richard Gale and Dr. Gary Null “We have this ability in Lake Wobegon to look reality right in the eye and deny it.” -- Garrison Keillor     Keen observers of history realize that the US and the West have entered a new Dark Age. The light of reason and the capacities for critical thought are rapidly being snuffed out by widespread emotional immaturity.  The erosion of American culture has largely been the result of a decades' long merger of adolescent attitudes and the corporate commodification of human life and values. Mass culture, Hannah Arendt observed, was not culture but personal entertainment, or better stated self-aggrandizement. Our civilizational collapse into intellectual darkness and the catastrophic failure in democracy were presciently predicted by many of our wisest cultural critics such as Lewis Lapham, Morris Berman, and Robert Kaplan two decades ago.  Likewise, earlier works of science fiction such as Fahrenheit 451, The Perfect Day and The Canticle for Leibowitz describe not only the dystopian triumph of a puerile citizenry blindly subservient to the tricks and treats disbursed by an elite corporate and political class, but also the consequences of the intentional disorientation of a distracted human mind. Aldous Huxley perfectly predicted our times in Brave New World. Hungarian-born journalist and author Arthur Koestler (d. 1983) envisioned a future America being populated with human automatons in a replay of the fall of the Roman Empire; at such time the US will have turned into a “soulless, politically corrupt, everybody-for-himself civilization.” Although these modern critics and fiction authors may not have foreseen the exact structures and popular social values society has now transitioned into, such as the worst expressions of critical race theory's inverted racism, institutionalized woke culture, endemic mental disorders, and growing gender dysphoria, they nevertheless accurately observed the trends that have led America to this impasse of moral anarchy.  Critical race theory and the woke movement will never democratize society; rather it will further erode universal ethical norms to a cacophony of subjective emotions and aberrant personal beliefs felt at any given moment. These mythologies about race and gender, which are mistaken for hard truths, now permeate our elementary schools and universities, which are being fashioned into what Morris Berman calls “a gigantic dolt-manufacturing machine.” And the global elite, political legislators and pseudo-intellectuals dominating our educational institutions, willingly or not, declare this feat of social deterioration as a political victory. At the core of our society's collective daze in the marketplace of frivolous pursuits resides a deep existential emptiness. In particular this vacuity of a life enriched by meaning and purpose is being acted out by the younger generations.  In 2022, the national suicide rate again rose to 14.3 suicides per 100,000; two years earlier 5.2 million either planned or attempted to take their lives. The prevalence of gender dysphoria continues to rise significantly and starts at younger ages. Although the percentage of people either professionally or self diagnosed, with gender dysphoria remains very small, it has nevertheless been raised to a level of national priority at the expense of other mentally and physically handicapped persons that make up 27 percent of the population.  This brief reference above noting the consequences of the dark abyss at the center of American culture only highlights a small sliver of the consequences of the intellectual ignorance underlying critical race theory and woke culture. During the past five years, there has been an aggressive encroachment of woke and postmodern race ideologies into every aspect of society: local school boards, college campuses, corporations' human resources, and the halls of federal and state legislative bodies. The leaders of this trend are by no means our culture's best and brightest; rather those are the first to find themselves cancelled or handed their termination papers. Rather it is the activists who shout the loudest who manage to be heard. Those of us who critically recognize social dynamics observe this hysterical phenomenon with credulous amusement. When Tucker Carlson reports about a woman who wouldn't change a baby's diaper unless she received the infant's permission, the sane among us step back and wonder what the hell is going on. Self-righteous university students demand professors abide by their demands and teach only what they want. Those teachers who stand up for educational integrity and the teaching profession's tradition, are ostracized. Students petition college administrators to have dissenting un-woke professors fired.  What is especially notable is how rapidly this raging woke and inverse racist movement has become incorporated into our public and private institutions.  This includes the adolescent tantrums by political parties to censor their opponents, pass laws banning certain kinds of free speech and the gradual erasure of social norms of binding relationships that fueled the founding of the nation. None of this could have happened if the majority of Americans were not asleep. In the twenty-first century we can agree that equality is crucial for harmonizing the historical aberrations such as slavery and the denigration of women and gays that have haunted us through the generations. Everyone should be able to have the opportunity to succeed in reaching their goals. However, despite the new woke and critical race movements' condemnation of meritocracy, its followers demand the same out come.  Of course, once Rome passed a certain threshold after several centuries of decline, its final collapse accelerated quickly.  This is the nature of entropy. Aside from the enormous disparity in wealth between Rome's social classes, a perpetual war economy, widespread political corruption and the decline in literacy, Roman society was also plagued by a mental virus of magical thinking and superstition. In our own time, the level of American illiteracy is astounding. The average American likewise lives in a garbage heap of superstitious hopes for a utopian carnival where a superficial free thought reigns; however, at the same time a future utopia requires a new vocabulary and the banning of words the new woke order finds personally offensive. Following the warnings of social psychologist Leon Festinger in the 1950s, the American populace is being “deindividuated.” Deindividuation is a state whereby individuals lose their sense of self-awareness and their realistic and healthy personal identity in order to become part of a crowd that opposes other crowds. Normal moral restraints are cast aside and replaced by impulsive and deviant behavior. The entire woke narrative now giving way to antisocial behavior is a notable consequence of the deindividuation being approved by government and private industry. Deindividuation reinforces illiteracy and blatant stupidity. For example, when Democrats brought Aimee Arrambide, an executive for an abortion rights organization, before the House Judiciary Committee to give testimony, she claimed men could get pregnant and have abortions. Again we are reminded of Jefferson's words “Illiteracy is the enemy of progress and the ally of tyranny.” Dr. Henry Nasrallah, editor in chief of the journal Current Psychiatry, remarks that we are in a historical moment when “the passage of time ruthlessly increases the entropy of everything in life.”  We not only witness entropy in civilizations and societies, but also in our possessions, dwellings, businesses, and our physical body and mental faculties. Therefore, new energy must be invested in order to slow or reverse entropic processes. Yet without the restraints of a new constructive and restorative vision, entropy runs amok. During the dramatic public shock triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, lockdowns, social distancing, business and school closures, and financial loss, there was a parade of incessant media porn reminded us repeatedly that death could knock on our door at any moment. The federal government's and medical establishment's gross negligence on multiple fronts during the pandemic gave rise to a rapid degeneration of America's social order. Distress from the loss of normalcy accelerated the nation's collective psychological entropy; this in turn contributed to resurrected racial tensions, hateful biases, toxic relationships, drug addiction and suicide, permissible crime, homelessness, rampant disinformation across mainstream media, the implosion of social norms, a psychological disoriented citizenry and a ruthless cancel culture that is utterly intolerant of others' beliefs. Remarkably, the mobs in the street are little more than bland reflections, a Jungian shadow, of the instability and disorder created by the agents of chaos and entropy who sit in the seats of power. “Just as the individual has a shadow,” wrote Jung, “so does society at large. And just as the individual must come to terms with his shadow so too must society if it is to be healthy and whole.” The rising psychological deindividuation and existential angst infecting our youth over their self-identity, gender, moral alienation and a lack of existential purpose in our technological driven materialistic society has reduced our youth to sentient robots screaming for self-expression.  This is a cause for today's woke groupthink contributing to social and political unrest with its destructive outcomes. Or as Nobel laureate Bertrand Russell warned, the “collective passions” have a penchant to inflame “hatred and rivalry directed towards other groups.” Despite the original values of American liberalism and non-dogmatic healthy skeptical inquiry, today's Left has perverted its own legacy.  The woke have become every bit as intolerant and wrong-headed as the most zealous fundamentalist on the Right. This “exclusivist humanism,” as the prominent cultural philosopher Charles Taylor has termed it, is giving rise to a faux universalism. The new woke order's myopic obeisance increasingly relies on the secular power structure of the ruling elite that in turn legislates on its behalf to marginalize and imprison alternative belief systems that do not embrace a secular universalism. Hence the new radical Left no longer tolerates the diversity of traditional beliefs and worldviews. The entropic descent into irrational hostility, collective emotional hysteria, and what the Russian-American sociologist Pritrim Sorokin called  “cultural schizophrenia,” clings desperately to a grossly materialistic society and a fragile false sense of individuality, an empty void, which is completely divorced from any deeper purpose in life. America is a “society in chains,” an expression stated by Nelson Mandela to describe a citizenry psychologically crippled for making informed decisions and incapable of participating thoughtfully in a democratic process. Consequently, a democratic renaissance, a new energy to reverse entropy, can only proceed following a revitalization of moral and spiritual values that have universal appeal, which respects pluralist ideals both within and beyond national borders. To be worthy of participating in any viable possibility for a democracy in the 21st century, it is necessary to return to becoming John Adams' “moral people.”

Once again, we're arrived at the season finale. Will Ilan take his second crown, or will Keegan or Abhi upset the returning champion? To answer that, we'll need to start at the beginning, so it makes sense that we start round one with a game all about TV and movie prequels, put through the lens of a certain iconic butler. Then, it's the big game in round two where we'll identify not only some TV theme songs, but the other works of the iconic musicians responsible for them. And course, a lightning round! NOTES ⚠️ Inline notes below may be truncated due to podcast feed character limits. Full notes are always on the episode page.

04.18.81Holy Week in Lake Wobegon was especially quiet as people pondered their shortcomings. Most everyone in Lake Wobegon believes in the existence of sin. In Lake Wobegon, many things are called Sin. And in the larger cities, the same things are called Problems. Tomorrow is Easter as well as first Communion for some young ones. These children have been asking many questions about heaven — many questions we all have. Both Our Lady of Perpetual Responsibility and First Lutheran churches will be packed. The services almost bring you to a place of immortality. But just like that, it's over and you are back outside. It is so interesting how the mystical feeling of it all dissipates and we go back in our daily lives. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit garrisonkeillor.substack.com/subscribe

Is your church more like Antioch, the evidence-based, missionary-sending church of the book of Acts…or is it more like the famous saying about the famous fictional community of Lake Wobegon—where the blanket assumption is that it's self-evidently “above average”…? Just what is the measuring stick for the vision and the mission of an effective New Covenant church in modern times? Join Kevin for a bracing challenge about whether our churches are in fact excellent or simply average…from the perspective of God's standards!  // Download this episode's Application & Action questions and PDF transcript at whitestone.org.

If you want to incentivize an outcome, don't just focus on the final reward, hone in on the behavior that will drive the result. Whether we're motivating our employees, our kids or ourselves, we can all benefit from learning how to effectively drive behavior. “ Incentives drive behavior. So if you don't get the behaviors right, that's where incentives go off the rail.” ~ James Castello, Episode 344 Our guest on this episode is James Castello, Vice President of Field Operations and Incentive Compensation Practices at TGaS Advisors. TGaS Advisors is one of the leading consultancies focused on the pharmaceutical industry.  They provide insights and real world knowledge to hundreds of the leading life science companies around the world.  While this episode is focused on how incentives can be created effectively to reach sales targets, the takeaways from the discussion with Jim can be applied to many aspects of our lives. Be sure to join Kurt and Tim in the Grooving Session in the last portion of the episode, as they summarize the most applicable aspects of the interview.   Topics (6:25) Welcome and speed round question. (8:32) Collaboration is just a means to an end. (10:49) Incentives drive behavior. (13:44) The influence of the pandemic on incentives. (17:25) How do you align incentives with behaviors? (20:05) The importance of language in incentives. (25:14) What exactly is goal setting? (33:04) Breaking goals into manageable chunks to remove objections. (38:54) Do contests work well for driving sales? (47:00) What music would Jim take to a desert island? (51:02) Grooving Session with Kurt and Tim discussing incentives.   © 2023 Behavioral Grooves   Links Brain/Shift Journal Shopify: https://www.100behaviors.com/products/the-brain-shift-journal-volume-1 Brain/Shift Journal Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Brain-Shift-Journal-1/dp/B0BN2JZBJ2/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=brain+shift&qid=1670950820&sr=8-1 James Castello: https://trinitylifesciences.com/our-experts/james-castello/  T-GaS Advisors: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tgas-advisors/  100th Episode of Behavioral Grooves: https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/the-100th-episode-celebration-in-philadelphia/  Lake Wobegon Effect: https://psychology.fandom.com/wiki/Lake_Wobegon_effect    Musical Links  Bob Dylan “Like a Rollin' Stone”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwOfCgkyEj0  AC/DC “It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'N' Roll)“: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vj_rvLVpqg8&ab_channel=AC%2FDC-Topic  Metallica “Enter Sandman”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD-E-LDc384   

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: If everyone makes the same criticism, the opposite criticism is more likely to be true, published by MichaelDickens on December 17, 2022 on The Effective Altruism Forum. I frequently hear people say EAs rely too much on quantifying uncertain variables, but I basically never hear the opposite criticism. If everyone believes you shouldn't quantify, then nobody's doing it, so it can't possibly be true that people quantify too much, and in fact the opposite is probably true. Obviously I could make various counterarguments, like maybe the people who think we don't quantify enough are not writing essays about how we need to quantify more. Generally speaking, I don't think this counterargument is correct, but arguing for/against it is harder so I don't have much to say about it It's like Lake Wobegon, where all the children are above average. It's impossible for every single person in the community to believe that the community is not X enough Another example: everyone says we need to care more about systemic change Saw a Twitter post "EAs way under-update on thought experiments" and I thought, damn that's a spicy take. Then I realized I misread it and they actually said "over-update" and I thought...wow what a boring take that's been said a thousand times already They gave the simulation argument and Roko's Basilisk as examples. As far as I know, nobody has ever changed their behavior based on either of those arguments. It would be pretty much impossible for people to update less on them than they have I'm sure there are some people somewhere who have updated based on the simulation argument but I've never met them "People under-update on thought experiments" would have been a much more interesting take because people basically don't update on thought experiments By a shocking coincidence, I take the opposite side on all these examples: I think EAs should use more quantitative estimates, should care less about systemic change, and should update more on thought experiments Are there any issues where I make the same criticism as everyone else, and I'm actually wrong? Probably, idk I can think of some non-EA-related examples of this phenomenon, but I'm not as interested in those By analogy, the moment when the most people agree the stock market is going to go up is the exact moment when the market is at its peak. The price can't go higher because there's no one left to buy from. If everyone agrees, everyone /must/ be wrong Relevant Scott Alexander:/ and/. He said it better than me, but my post isn't about exactly the same thing so I figured it might be worth publishing. (Note: The way I usually write essays is by writing outlines like this, and then fleshing them out into full posts. For a lot of the outlines I write, like this one, I never flesh them out because it doesn't seem worth the time. But I figured for Draft Amnesty Day, I could just publish my outline, and most people will get the idea.) Thanks for listening. To help us out with The Nonlinear Library or to learn more, please visit nonlinear.org.

From 1992 to 2016, Twin Cities voice and theater performer Sue Scott was a resident of Lake Wobegon, one of the regular cast members on the weekly radio show A Prairie Home Companion, heard on Minnesota Public Radio. After the show ended, she launched a new monthly live cabaret at the Women's Club of Minnesota to raise amplify women's voices. The show is released as a podcast called the Island of Discarded Women. Scott spoke with MPR News host Cathy Wurzer about the podcast. Use the audio player above to listen to the full story. Subscribe to the Minnesota Now podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Railroad workers are still trying to negotiate a contract but the U.S. house voted to block it. We'll find out why and what's next. Meteorologist Sven Sundgaard is back with a look at what happened and the forecast. We'll talk with the people behind a new map restoring Native place names to northern Minnesota being unveiled today. Plus, an interview with author and poet Linda LaGarde Grover about the power of family stories. And I'll talk with a former Lake Wobegon resident you may remember from a Prairie Home Companion about her OWN cabaret show and podcast - The Island of Discarded Women.

If you were sent an exclusive invite to a secret society, would you accept? If you knew only a few people in the world had been approached to join, would it spark a scarcity curiosity? What is more alluring: the society itself or the mere fact that it's a secret? Creating hype is the forte of our returning guest on this episode, Michael F. Schein. In our previous chat with Michael back in episode 212, he was telling us about his book “The Hype Handbook: 12 Indispensable Success Secrets From the World's Greatest Propagandists, Self-Promoters, Cult Leaders, Mischief Makers, and Boundary Breakers”. Since writing it, his marketing business has been inundated with clients wanting “in on” some hype! So as a unique way of creating hype, Michael has created a new secret society with only a few (secret) members. Kurt and Tim spend time discussing the allure of a secret club - why they have been successful in the past, what continues to make them enticing, and how businesses can potentially use them to create hype.  There is something that you can be part of that is definitely not a secret - the Behavioral Grooves Patreon membership. It's no secret that we rely on the support of our loyal listeners to support the podcast and we truly appreciate everyone who chips in, thank you.   Topics (5:16) How hype changed Michael's marketing consultancy career. (10:51) The details of Michael's secret society. (17:30) Are secret groups a tactic businesses should use? (21:30) How marketing has evolved since the Alice Cooper Piccadilly Circus stunt. (23:53) How Michael gets to work with only his favorite companies. (32:02) Grooving Session with Kurt and Tim.   © 2022 Behavioral Grooves Links Michael F. Schein: https://michaelfschein.com/ Michael's book “The Hype Handbook: 12 Indispensable Success Secrets From the World's Greatest Propagandists, Self-Promoters, Cult Leaders, Mischief Makers, and Boundary Breakers”: https://amzn.to/3V5KVO9 Episode 212, Scrutinizing Hype: Powerful lessons from The Hype Handbook with Michael F. Schein: https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/scrutinizing-hype-with-michael-f-schein/  Seven Society, University of Virginia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Society  Jeff Walker “Launch: An Internet Millionaire's Secret Formula To Sell Almost Anything Online, Build A Business You Love, And Live The Life Of Your Dreams”: https://amzn.to/3V9Uv2m Episode 226, The Power of Unity: Robert Cialdini Expands His Best Selling Book Influence: https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/cialdini-unity-in-influence/  The Lake Wobegon Effect: https://psychology.fandom.com/wiki/Lake_Wobegon_effect  Behavioral Grooves Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/behavioralgrooves   Musical Links  The Dickies “Banana Split”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_wkEnLBvlE

In this podcast, we will be discussing the Lake Wobegon effect which follows the trend of social comparison.  From 'I know better than them, to 'I have better musical preferences' it's all it. We will review how it creates a picture of cognitive bias and affects our performance, which to an extent is important, yet at times, hinders us from improving. Followed by various explanations surrounding why we experience this effect and discussing the results of a few famous studies. Further giving some nano tips to uncover this positive bias on self and unleash your potential!

Discussing the plans, topics, and activities for the upcoming Unitarian Christian Alliance 2nd annual meeting in Ohio with Jake Ballard, Anna Brown, and Mark Cain.  RESOURCES North Timberland Bible Church, South Bend, IN Compass Christian Church, Louisville, KY 6. Working at the Colson Center - Anna Brown Biblical Unitarian Podcast, Dustin Smith Unitarian Torch website Living Hope International Ministries Conference Partners UCA Pre-party at "The Abbey" video Christian Centered Counseling Eventleaf, event application  Official UCA twitter: @UnitarianChrist (www.twitter.com/UnitarianChrist) Hash tag for conference: #UCAcon2022 A Prarie Home Companion radio program Lake Wobegon segment EPISODE INDEX (00:25) What's a "Roundtable"? (01:18) Message to a future listnener from 2024 (02:44) The Roundtable discussion (03:13) Introducing Jake (04:08) Introducing Anna (06:18) Jake's experience as paper reviewer (10:06) Anna's paper writing experience (13:08) Paper length (13:54) Anna's revision process (15:05) Paper topics listed (18:38) Q&A for presentations (19:46) Being a part of this unique crowd (21:03) Space for meeting people (22:06) Workshop topics (24:09) The practical nature of the workshops (25:14) The night sessions (26:13) Meetups (Friday afternoon) (35:22) Saturday afternoon, available baptistry (36:53) Debate training workshop (38:10) Kinda cool, that is cool, it's gonna be awesome (38:13) UCA Pre-party (39:04) Conference Partners (Sponsors) (42:27) Children at event? (44:20) Planning for the community event finale (45:03) Church options for the next morning (45:24) Eventleaf app for announcements, etc. (45:53) Twitter live updates, #UCAcon2022 (46:49) Over 100 registered (47:33) Call to action, share this! (Time is short) (47:55) Ending: "Lake woe be to unitarians" FEEDBACK We all appreciate hearing each other's voices. Send a short recording. Say your first name and your state or country. Email recording to podcast@unitarianchristianalliance.org Click here to RECORD A MESSAGE Or call: 615-581-1158 LISTENING TIPS Pauses and pacing are hand crafted, artisan efforts. If your podcast app lets you remove silences, please don't. You will enjoy this better with the silences left in. ENGAGE The UCA Podcast email list! Large and enjoyable episode art, additional thoughts from the host, and notifications when there are delays. The UCA events listing. Keep up on what's coming up. Podcast twitter @UCApodcast - Episode announcements Official UCA twitter account @UnitarianChrist  Podcast Webpage: https://podcast.unitarianchristianalliance.org

This week: We learned something interesting about Netflix, Cross-promotions work but you might be doing them wrong, Anchor continues to be the top podcast host by episode share, and the FTC sues a data broker. All we know about Netflix's ad plans so far Shreya: Once again we bring you an article that doesn't feature the world “podcast”, but could have big implications for the industry. Last Friday Kelsey Sutton published a brief roundup of all the news about Netflix that had dropped during the week. The world learned about polarizing new ad-supported tier, charging between $7 to $9 a month. We also learned they're targeting 15 and 30 second spots for preroll and midroll ads.  “The flurry of reports helps provide a better picture of how Netflix is strategizing the rollout of its ad-supported tier after eschewing Madison Avenue for years. There are still many unknowns, including what kind of metrics the service will provide to measure ad effectiveness. Even without all the details, media buyers are buzzing with anticipation.”  Podcasters and advertising folk alike should take note of how much Netflix is paying per thousand impressions. According to Sutton the streamer is paying $65 CPM, with expectations of that going up to $80 in future.  With those rates in mind for the biggest streaming platform, average podcast CPM is fair to underpriced in comparison.  Do Cross-Promos Work? Hell Yes, But You Are Likely Doing Them Wrong…And We Can Fix That Manuela: On Monday Eric Nuzum published an issue of The Audio Insurgent that aims to introduce podcasters to a vital lesson learned while conducting research for terrestrial radio nearly two decades ago.  Nuzum is of the opinion that on-air and in-episode content promotion is frequently misunderstood and often poorly executed. This and the next two issues of Audio Insurgent are dedicated to covering the three Rs of program promotion: Reduction, Repetition, and Real Content.  In 2004 Nuzum conducted a study for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting titled ON-air Program Promotions Insight Study, a study of cross-promotion in the radio industry so helpful he continued to get messages asking where to find the study long after the original webpage hosting it had decayed.  For this newsletter series he has done some light editing and uploaded the entirety of the 18 year-old study to Google Drive for preservation.  “Yet despite its age, it can still be very effective and useful to all audio professionals today. But the whole project boils down to one simple sentence: A well-constructed message, delivered to the right listeners often enough for them to recognize it, can increase listening.” His issue on Reduction stresses the importance of stripping fat from a promotion and ensuring it isn't airing in a block of multiple other promotions that could distract from the message. An example given from when the promo study was first conducted is Nuzum playing a promo for A Prairie Home Companion. The promo rapid-fire announced the town, state, college auditorium in said town the performance would take place at. Following that, three musical acts and the name of the famous News from Lake Wobegon segment.  “Immediately after playing it, I would ask those in the room to name a single artist or location mentioned in that promo. On a rare occasion, someone could remember “Iowa”--but most times, no one could remember anything. And these people were (supposedly) paying attention.” Top Podcast Hosting Companies by Episode Share (August 2022) Shreya: Last Thursday Livewire Labs updated their substantial snapshot of the industry via episode share.     “One of the ways to measure the health of the current podcast ecosystem is to measure the number of new episodes published in a given period. We look at every single new podcast episode published (about 1.6 million in August 2022, up 5.4% from last month) and identify which podcast hosting company it belongs to.” One of the first things that jumps out about both the list of hosting companies by new episode share and the ranking of hosts by new episodes published in August is the gulf between first and second place. In a ranked list of 234 podcast hosting services Anchor dominates first place at 22.9% of new episodes published. Buzzsprout showed gains in solidifying a strong second place at 9%.  Livewire's data pairs nicely with the Podnews podcast hosting change tracker, which observes RSS feed hosting changes across the system's sample size of over 73,000 podcasts. Over the past week 211 podcasts changed from one hosting service to another, 26 which moved from various other services to Anchor. Pundits are fond of depicting Anchor as a dumping ground for single episode or dead podcasts due to their free tier, but they clearly are attracting a lot of new creators.  A sociologist on what advertisers should know when they use health data And:  FTC picks fight with data broker Manuela: Over the past week Ryan Barwick of Marketing Brew has published two closely-related articles covering the use of data collected in a healthcare environment for advertising.  First, yesterday's article features an interview with Mary F. E. Ebeling, an associate professor of sociology at Drexel University and recently-published author of a book on the effects of collected data on individuals' lives. Ebeling provides an anecdote of how a child she lost to miscarriage in the real world continued to live a false life through parenting-related marketing emails.  “Though it's near impossible to audit a digital ad—how, why, or where it was served—Ebeling connects the experience to her research in the healthcare industry, where patients rarely know they're feeding “massive databases maintained by healthcare providers and public and private insurers, or payers—often called data ‘lakes' and ‘oceans.'” With Ebeling's account in mind, we look back to last Friday when Barwick covered a much-publicized lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission.  “On Monday, the agency brought a lawsuit against Kochava, a data broker, for allegedly collecting and selling location data “that can be used to trace the movements of individuals to and from sensitive locations” like reproductive-health clinics and places of worship.””  The suit comes several weeks after a preemptive lawsuit from Kochava towards the FTC. Barwick details the two businesses within Kochava in its data marketplace and measurement service. Kochava argues the user is forewarned when they initially agree to share their location data with the third-party apps they purchase the data from. The FTC, clearly, disagrees.      “By the end of the week, many were wondering: Why Kochava? And though we don't know the answer yet, the FTC's lawsuit could put the entire location data collection industry under the microscope.” Quick Hits: Recommended Weekend Reading Shreya: Finally, it's time for our semi-regular roundup of articles we're calling Quick Hits. These are articles that didn't quite make the cut for today's episode, but are still worth including in your weekend reading. This week:  The Ambies, the flagship award program of The Podcast Academy, designed to celebrate excellence in podcasting in the same way the MPA celebrates film with the Oscars, is now taking nominations. In addition, they've also announced a membership program sponsored by Spotify to enable independent creators to submit.  WQXR hires a podcasting chief by Laura Holt. Music remains one of the most untapped categories in podcasting. WQXR is a great example of a station that produces its own content and has access to a number of resources for original content, which is the key to making music podcasting work in a world where licensing music under copyright is still financially not viable in podcasting. Apple is staffing up its ad business by Ryan Barwick. This might not be breaking news for dedicated audience members of The Download, but it is crystal clear confirmation that apple is fully embracing its advertising business.  The BBC Shares podcast stats by Podnews. A recent talk at Radiodays Asia in Malaysia featured rare info about the BBC's daily download data, the show in question's audience profile, and comparison to other podcasts.  Finally, in accordance with The Download's love of sharing news of podcasting's performance on a global scale: Otonal has published Podcast Report of Japan, a survey of podcast usage in Japan in 2021.  The Download is a production of Sounds Profitable. Today's episode was hosted by Shreya Sharma and Manuela Bedoya, and the script was written by Gavin Gaddis. Bryan Barletta and Tom Webster are the executive producers of The Download from Sounds Profitable.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week: We learned something interesting about Netflix, Cross-promotions work but you might be doing them wrong, Anchor continues to be the top podcast host by episode share, and the FTC sues a data broker. All we know about Netflix's ad plans so far Shreya: Once again we bring you an article that doesn't feature the world “podcast”, but could have big implications for the industry. Last Friday Kelsey Sutton published a brief roundup of all the news about Netflix that had dropped during the week. The world learned about polarizing new ad-supported tier, charging between $7 to $9 a month. We also learned they're targeting 15 and 30 second spots for preroll and midroll ads.  “The flurry of reports helps provide a better picture of how Netflix is strategizing the rollout of its ad-supported tier after eschewing Madison Avenue for years. There are still many unknowns, including what kind of metrics the service will provide to measure ad effectiveness. Even without all the details, media buyers are buzzing with anticipation.”  Podcasters and advertising folk alike should take note of how much Netflix is paying per thousand impressions. According to Sutton the streamer is paying $65 CPM, with expectations of that going up to $80 in future.  With those rates in mind for the biggest streaming platform, average podcast CPM is fair to underpriced in comparison.  Do Cross-Promos Work? Hell Yes, But You Are Likely Doing Them Wrong…And We Can Fix That Manuela: On Monday Eric Nuzum published an issue of The Audio Insurgent that aims to introduce podcasters to a vital lesson learned while conducting research for terrestrial radio nearly two decades ago.  Nuzum is of the opinion that on-air and in-episode content promotion is frequently misunderstood and often poorly executed. This and the next two issues of Audio Insurgent are dedicated to covering the three Rs of program promotion: Reduction, Repetition, and Real Content.  In 2004 Nuzum conducted a study for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting titled ON-air Program Promotions Insight Study, a study of cross-promotion in the radio industry so helpful he continued to get messages asking where to find the study long after the original webpage hosting it had decayed.  For this newsletter series he has done some light editing and uploaded the entirety of the 18 year-old study to Google Drive for preservation.  “Yet despite its age, it can still be very effective and useful to all audio professionals today. But the whole project boils down to one simple sentence: A well-constructed message, delivered to the right listeners often enough for them to recognize it, can increase listening.” His issue on Reduction stresses the importance of stripping fat from a promotion and ensuring it isn't airing in a block of multiple other promotions that could distract from the message. An example given from when the promo study was first conducted is Nuzum playing a promo for A Prairie Home Companion. The promo rapid-fire announced the town, state, college auditorium in said town the performance would take place at. Following that, three musical acts and the name of the famous News from Lake Wobegon segment.  “Immediately after playing it, I would ask those in the room to name a single artist or location mentioned in that promo. On a rare occasion, someone could remember “Iowa”--but most times, no one could remember anything. And these people were (supposedly) paying attention.” Top Podcast Hosting Companies by Episode Share (August 2022) Shreya: Last Thursday Livewire Labs updated their substantial snapshot of the industry via episode share.     “One of the ways to measure the health of the current podcast ecosystem is to measure the number of new episodes published in a given period. We look at every single new podcast episode published (about 1.6 million in August 2022, up 5.4% from last month) and identify which podcast hosting company it belongs to.” One of the first things that jumps out about both the list of hosting companies by new episode share and the ranking of hosts by new episodes published in August is the gulf between first and second place. In a ranked list of 234 podcast hosting services Anchor dominates first place at 22.9% of new episodes published. Buzzsprout showed gains in solidifying a strong second place at 9%.  Livewire's data pairs nicely with the Podnews podcast hosting change tracker, which observes RSS feed hosting changes across the system's sample size of over 73,000 podcasts. Over the past week 211 podcasts changed from one hosting service to another, 26 which moved from various other services to Anchor. Pundits are fond of depicting Anchor as a dumping ground for single episode or dead podcasts due to their free tier, but they clearly are attracting a lot of new creators.  A sociologist on what advertisers should know when they use health data And:  FTC picks fight with data broker Manuela: Over the past week Ryan Barwick of Marketing Brew has published two closely-related articles covering the use of data collected in a healthcare environment for advertising.  First, yesterday's article features an interview with Mary F. E. Ebeling, an associate professor of sociology at Drexel University and recently-published author of a book on the effects of collected data on individuals' lives. Ebeling provides an anecdote of how a child she lost to miscarriage in the real world continued to live a false life through parenting-related marketing emails.  “Though it's near impossible to audit a digital ad—how, why, or where it was served—Ebeling connects the experience to her research in the healthcare industry, where patients rarely know they're feeding “massive databases maintained by healthcare providers and public and private insurers, or payers—often called data ‘lakes' and ‘oceans.'” With Ebeling's account in mind, we look back to last Friday when Barwick covered a much-publicized lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission.  “On Monday, the agency brought a lawsuit against Kochava, a data broker, for allegedly collecting and selling location data “that can be used to trace the movements of individuals to and from sensitive locations” like reproductive-health clinics and places of worship.””  The suit comes several weeks after a preemptive lawsuit from Kochava towards the FTC. Barwick details the two businesses within Kochava in its data marketplace and measurement service. Kochava argues the user is forewarned when they initially agree to share their location data with the third-party apps they purchase the data from. The FTC, clearly, disagrees.      “By the end of the week, many were wondering: Why Kochava? And though we don't know the answer yet, the FTC's lawsuit could put the entire location data collection industry under the microscope.” Quick Hits: Recommended Weekend Reading Shreya: Finally, it's time for our semi-regular roundup of articles we're calling Quick Hits. These are articles that didn't quite make the cut for today's episode, but are still worth including in your weekend reading. This week:  The Ambies, the flagship award program of The Podcast Academy, designed to celebrate excellence in podcasting in the same way the MPA celebrates film with the Oscars, is now taking nominations. In addition, they've also announced a membership program sponsored by Spotify to enable independent creators to submit.  WQXR hires a podcasting chief by Laura Holt. Music remains one of the most untapped categories in podcasting. WQXR is a great example of a station that produces its own content and has access to a number of resources for original content, which is the key to making music podcasting work in a world where licensing music under copyright is still financially not viable in podcasting. Apple is staffing up its ad business by Ryan Barwick. This might not be breaking news for dedicated audience members of The Download, but it is crystal clear confirmation that apple is fully embracing its advertising business.  The BBC Shares podcast stats by Podnews. A recent talk at Radiodays Asia in Malaysia featured rare info about the BBC's daily download data, the show in question's audience profile, and comparison to other podcasts.  Finally, in accordance with The Download's love of sharing news of podcasting's performance on a global scale: Otonal has published Podcast Report of Japan, a survey of podcast usage in Japan in 2021.  The Download is a production of Sounds Profitable. Today's episode was hosted by Shreya Sharma and Manuela Bedoya, and the script was written by Gavin Gaddis. Bryan Barletta and Tom Webster are the executive producers of The Download from Sounds Profitable.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shankar Vedantam is the host of the wildly popular podcast, Hidden Brain and esteemed author of the book Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain. We initially interviewed Shankar in mid 2021 but want to highlight this discussion for you again as it is one we still discuss in more recent episodes. Before reading Shankar's book and interviewing him for this podcast we were, as Shankar describes himself, card-carrying rationalists. We were firmly in the camp of believing rational, scientific findings and believing that lies and deception are harmful to ourselves and to our communities. However, Shankar walks us through a compelling argument, that paradoxically, self-deception actually plays a pivotal role in our happiness and well-being. In our discussion with Shankar we cover: (6:38) Speed round questions. (11:04) The difference between self delusions being useful and being harmful. (16:23) How nations are a delusional construct. (23:00) Awareness of self-delusions and how daily gratitudes can shift our perspective of the world.  (25:56) Shankar's personal story of delusional thinking.  (29:58) The role emotions play in our mood and delusions. (35:23) How avoidance of delusional thinking is a sign of privilege. (37:30) Why our perceptions play an important role in understanding delusions. (44:36) Shankar's unique approach to conspiracy theories. (52:28) What music Shankar has been listening to during COVID. (52:15) Grooving Session and Bonus Track with Kurt and Tim. We really hope you find Shankar's unique insight on how delusions are useful as compelling as we did. If you're a regular Behavioral Grooves listener, please consider supporting us through Patreon. Thank you!  © 2022 Behavioral Grooves   Books  Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain https://amzn.to/2PUkzlv  The Hidden Brain: How Our Unconscious Minds Elect Presidents, Control Markets, Wage Wars and Save Our Lives https://amzn.to/3e1qgWY Links Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment by Kahneman, Sibony and Sunstein, 2021 https://amzn.to/3heyr5r  Richard Dawkins https://richarddawkins.net/  Mahabharata https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahabharata  Lake Wobegon Effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Wobegon    Other Episodes We Talk About The Myth of the “Relationship Spark” with Logan Ury (featuring a guest appearance by Christina Gravert, PhD): https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/the-myth-of-the-relationship-spark-with-logan-ury-featuring-a-guest-appearance-by-christina-gravert-phd/ Robert Cialdini, PhD: Littering, Egoism and Aretha Franklin: https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/robert-cialdini-phd-littering-egoism-and-aretha-franklin/  Self Control, Belonging, and Why Your Most Dedicated Employees Are the Ones To Watch Out For with Roy Baumeister: https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/self-control-belonging-and-why-your-most-dedicated-employees-are-the-ones-to-watch-out-for-with-roy-baumeister/ George Loewenstein: On a Functional Theory of Boredom: https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/george-loewenstein-on-a-functional-theory-of-boredom/ Gary Latham, PhD: Goal Setting, Prompts, Priming, and Skepticism: https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/gary-latham-phd-goal-setting-prompts-priming-and-skepticism/ John Bargh: Dante, Coffee and the Unconscious Mind: https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/john-bargh-dante-coffee-and-the-unconscious-mind/ Linda Thunstrom: Are Thoughts and Prayers Empty Gestures to Suffering Disaster Victims? https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/linda-thunstrom-are-thoughts-and-prayers-empty-gestures-to-suffering-disaster-victims/ 

Whether we realize it or not, each of us benefits from the work of the nonprofit sector. A strong nonprofit sector is key to thriving communities. At Next Gen Nonprofit Leadership with Tommy Thomas, we are on a journey – a journey to play a small part in equipping the next generation of nonprofit leaders. Unlike similar shows where the guests often make their living writing, teaching, or speaking about leadership, our guests are seasoned leaders, and there is something we can learn from their experience that will make the nonprofit stronger and more effective. Every day, nonprofits feed, heal, shelter, educate, inspire, and nurture people of every age, race, and socioeconomic status. The common thread that runs through each nonprofit story is that the impact of the organization rises and falls on leadership – leadership throughout the organization and leadership at the board level. Join me, Dr. Tommy Thomas as we talk with Greg Pope, the Chief Mission Integration Officer at Ascension / St. Thomas Healthcare network in Nashville. Greg shares his humble beginnings in Dayton, Tennessee where his dad was in the shoe retail business.  It is interesting that Greg and his brother both ended up working with major healthcare networks in the midsouth. Greg is a bit unusual in that what he thought would be a two-year commitment to Ascension St. Thomas has turned into a 27+ year career. In this episode Greg shares how he got his start in fundraising and how the field has changed throughout his career.   Time Stamps 2:06 – Greg talks about his childhood and being raised in a family where his dad had a retail shoe business and preached on the weekends 6:32 – What Greg thought would be a two year commitment to (at the time) St. Thomas Hospital turned into a 27+ year career with Ascension St. Thomas 10:49 – Greg discusses what he is looking for when he hires a major gifts officer 12:30 – The “secret sauce” to Greg's management success 15:46 – The challenges that one might experience when working for Greg 17:38 – Greg talks about what it would be like to be a member of his senior leadership team 20:57 – Greg discusses how he and his team handled the rebranding of Ascension St. Thomas.  Rebranding being defined as changing the logo, NOT changing the mission.  There was a lot more turmoil and consumer reaction than one might imagine. 24:28 – As we often close episodes, Dr. Thomas asked Greg what counsel he is giving those who come to him wanting to discuss a career in Development / Advancement / Philanthropy   Links and Resources JobfitMatters Website Next Gen Nonprofit Leadership with Tommy Thomas Ascension St. Thomas Website   Connect Tommy Thomas - tthomas@jobfitmatters.com Tommy's LinkedIn Profile Tommy's Twitter Profile Greg Pope's LinkedIn Profile

“Well, it's been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon, Minnesota, my hometown, out there on the edge of the prairie…” The News from Lake Wobegon comes to Fish Creek as Garrison Keillor, writer, humorist and radio personality — most well known for hosting A Prairie Home Companion — brings his tour to Door Community Auditorium July 30. In advance of the show, Arts & Entertainment editor Sara Rae Lancaster caught up with Keillor by phone to talk about the tour, how he approaches writing for the stage versus the page, and why getting older is the best exercise for learning to live in the moment.

Tonight we conclude the series of stories from Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town, by Stephen Leacock. It is generally considered to be one of the most enduring classics of Canadian humorous literature. The fictional setting for these stories is Mariposa, a small town on the shore of Lake Wissanotti.Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town is populated with timeless archetypes of small town life, treated carefully with affection and humor. Modern reader's will be reminded of Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon from Prairie Home Companion. The sinking of the steamboat Mariposa Belle -- featuring "one of the smartest pieces of rescue work ever seen on the lake" -- is one of the best-loved and most admired vignettes. Support the show

For episode homepage, resources and links, visit: https://kristenmanieri.com/episode185   Learn more about coaching: Kristen@kristenmanieri.com   Description In the book, Box Lunch Lifestyle: Using Your Lunch Break to Win Back the Life You Deserve, author Cheryl Johnson uses the common, everyday experience of a lunch break as a kind of metaphor for how we live our lives. Are our breaks rushed with almost no time to nourish ourselves, or do we build boundaries so that we make time for what matters for us? Are we constantly flying by the seat of our pants or do we strategically place moments of calm and clarity in our day so we can pause and return to ourselves? As you'll hear, box lunch lifestyle is a small change that can have a huge ripple effect.   Guest Bio Cheryl was a research director for nearly twenty years until boxing training gave her the courage to leave corporate life for something that felt more like her true self. Box Lunch Lifestyle is how she now helps people realize that richer, more satisfying lives aren't as distant as they seem. Secretly, Cheryl loves grocery stores: small family-owned ones, national chains, co-ops, and the corner convenience store. Seeing everyday life through the lens of what food is available, and what people actually buy, fascinates her—and reinforces her disdain for weight loss programs and companies that thrive by selling non-nutritious food. When she's not boxing, reading, or pushing a cart, Cheryl and her husband enjoy documentary films and Indian food. They live near St. Paul, MN, in a town that Cheryl describes as a cross between Lake Wobegon and Twin Peaks. Learn more at cherylkjohnson.com.   Host Bio Kristen Manieri is the author of Better Daily Mindfulness Habits (July 2021: Rockridge Press). She's a certified both as a habits coach and mindfulness teacher. She specializes in: stress reduction, energy management, mindset, resilience, focus, habit formation, rest rituals, and prioritizing personal well-being. As the host of the weekly 60 Mindful Minutes podcast, an Apple top 100 social science podcast, Kristen has interviewed over 120 authors and thought leaders about what it means to live a more conscious, connected, intentional AND joyful life. Learn more at https://kristenmanieri.com/work-with-me/.   Mentioned in this Episode Guest's book: Box Lunch Lifestyle: Using Your Lunch Break to Win Back the Life You Deserve: https://www.boxlunchlifestyle.com/the-book   Guest's website:  http://cherylkjohnson.com    Learn more about coaching: Kristen@kristenmanieri.com Connect with the 60 Mindful Minutes podcast   Web: https://kristenmanieri.com Email: Kristen@kristenmanieri.com   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/60MindfulMinutes Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristenmanieri_/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/kristenmanieri/  

Tonight we continue the series of stories from Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town, by Stephen Leacock. It is generally considered to be one of the most enduring classics of Canadian humorous literature. The fictional setting for these stories is Mariposa, a small town on the shore of Lake Wissanotti.Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town is populated with timeless archetypes of small town life, treated carefully with affection and humor. Modern reader's will be reminded of Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon from Prairie Home Companion. The sinking of the steamboat Mariposa Belle -- featuring "one of the smartest pieces of rescue work ever seen on the lake" -- is one of the best-loved and most admired vignettes. Support the show

Tonight we continue the series of stories from Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town, by Stephen Leacock. It is generally considered to be one of the most enduring classics of Canadian humorous literature. The fictional setting for these stories is Mariposa, a small town on the shore of Lake Wissanotti.Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town is populated with timeless archetypes of small town life, treated carefully with affection and humor. Modern reader's will be reminded of Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon from Prairie Home Companion. The sinking of the steamboat Mariposa Belle -- featuring "one of the smartest pieces of rescue work ever seen on the lake" -- is one of the best-loved and most admired vignettes. Support the show

Tonight we continue the series of stories from Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town, by Stephen Leacock. It is generally considered to be one of the most enduring classics of Canadian humorous literature. The fictional setting for these stories is Mariposa, a small town on the shore of Lake Wissanotti.Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town is populated with timeless archetypes of small town life, treated carefully with affection and humor. Modern reader's will be reminded of Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon from Prairie Home Companion. The sinking of the steamboat Mariposa Belle -- featuring "one of the smartest pieces of rescue work ever seen on the lake" -- is one of the best-loved and most admired vignettes. Support the show

Tonight we continue the series of stories from Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town, by Stephen Leacock. It is generally considered to be one of the most enduring classics of Canadian humorous literature. The fictional setting for these stories is Mariposa, a small town on the shore of Lake Wissanotti.Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town is populated with timeless archetypes of small town life, treated carefully with affection and humor. Modern reader's will be reminded of Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon from Prairie Home Companion. The sinking of the steamboat Mariposa Belle -- featuring "one of the smartest pieces of rescue work ever seen on the lake" -- is one of the best-loved and most admired vignettes. Support the show

Yesterday, the Game Workers Alliance (a union of quality assurance workers at Activism subsidiary studio Raven Software) won their vote to form a union. This may not seem like such a big deal, but it is. The games industry is large and growing. Quality assurance testers do the grunt work of rooting out bugs and potential problems in the weeks and months before games are released publicly. These jobs are typically among the lowest in the game industry, with demanding workloads finding and cataloging issues within a project's timeframe. That these workers are unionizing marks a major turning point in worker organizing of the new economy. Meanwhile, Starbucks Workers United has now unionized more than 80 Starbucks stores across the United States, and filed over 100 cases of unfair labor practices against the Seattle-based coffee giant. Howard Schultz, who returned to head the company in April, has a union busting record that goes back to the origins of the company, and is vowing to stop the drive toward unionization. But he can't stop it. Workers at a Trader Joe's branch in Hadley, Massachusetts have begun organizing at the upscale supermarket chain. It would be the first unionized Trader Joe's store out of more than 530 locations in the US. “We organized ourselves. With the same instinctive teamwork we use every day to break pallets, work the load, bag groceries, and care for our customers, we joined together to look out for each other and improve our workplace together,” workers wrote in an announcement letter to Trader Joe's CEO, Dan Bane.Workers at Amazon warehouses continue to organize, against fierce anti-union headwinds coming from Jeff Bezos and other Amazon executives. Unions are coming to the new economy of grunt jobs in high-end corporations. Between October 1, 2021 and March 30, 2022, the National Labor Relations Board recorded a 57 percent increase in workers filing for the petitions to allow union elections. What's going on?1. Part of the reason for the upsurge is the so-called “labor shortage” which — as I've stressed — is actually a shortage of jobs paying living wages. At least for now, workers have bargaining leverage to demand better pay. 2. Another part is related to the pandemic and its psychological effect on many workers who have begun asking themselves why they've settled for lousy jobs and often unsafe working conditions, especially when corporations are scoring record profits and CEOs of big firms are taking home record multiples of the typical workers' wages. More than at any other time in the last three decades, workers are telling employers “you can take this job and shove it.” 3. A third part of the revival of unions relates to America's retreat from globalization. Four decades ago, when corporations began to move (or threaten to move) their operations offshore to hire lower-wage workers, American blue-collar workers lost their bargaining clout. Unions went into retreat. But starting with Trump and continuing with Biden — along with global supply bottlenecks that are now convincing corporations to bring suppliers home — outsourcing is in sharp decline. (Yesterday, Biden announced an agreement that he hopes represents the future of trade policy, known as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, which focuses on increased cooperation in areas like clean energy and internet policy rather than opening markets.)4. A fourth reason: More college graduates are now in blue-collar jobs, many leading unionizing efforts. 5. A fifth reason is a new appreciation of the importance of power in driving wages, and the fraudulence of the economic idea that “you're paid what you're worth.”The old economic mainstay that people are paid what they are “worth” is finally revealing itself to be an ideology grounded in nothing but power. Let me pause here to spend a bit of time on this one, because it's important. According to this old mythology, minimum wage workers aren't “worth” more than the $7.25 an hour federal minimum many now receive. If they were worth more, they'd earn more. Any attempt to force employers to pay them more will only kill jobs. According to this same ideology, CEOs of big companies are “worth” their giant compensation packages, now averaging 350 times pay of the typical American worker. They must be worth it or they wouldn't be paid so much. Any attempt to limit their pay is fruitless because their pay will only take some other form. Fifty years ago, General Motors was the largest employer in America. The typical GM worker then received over $35 an hour (in today's dollars) — which came to over $70,000 a year (in today's dollars). By contrast, America's largest employers are now Walmart (whose typical worker earns about $15 an hour, or $30,000 a year for a full-time employee) and Amazon ($17 an hour, or $35,000 a year).Does this mean GM employees a half-century ago were “worth” more than twice what today's Walmart and Amazon employees are worth? Hardly. Those GM workers weren't better educated or more productive than Walmart or Amazon workers are today. Fifty years ago, most GM workers hadn't graduated from high school, and they worked on slow-moving assembly lines. Most of today's Walmart and Amazon workers have graduated from high school; many have attended one or two years of college. And they're surrounded by digital gadgets – mobile inventory controls, warehouse search engines, instant checkout devices – that make them enormously productive. The real difference is GM workers a half-century ago had a strong union behind them that summoned the collective bargaining power of all autoworkers, enabling them to command a substantial share of company revenues for its members. And because more than a third of workers across America then belonged to a labor union, the bargains unions struck with employers raised the wages and benefits of non-unionized workers as well. (Non-union firms knew they'd be unionized if they didn't come close to matching the union contracts.)Most of today's Walmart and Amazon workers don't have a union to negotiate a better deal. They're on their own. And because only 6 percent of America's private-sector workers today are unionized, non-union employers across America don't have to match union contracts. This puts unionized firms at a competitive disadvantage. The result has been a race to the bottom. By the same token, today's CEOs don't rake in a record 350 times the pay of average workers because they're “worth” 350 times the pay of average workers. CEOs are getting these giant pay packages (and top executives just behind them raking in almost as much) because they appoint the compensation committees on their boards that decide executive pay. Their boards also want investors to see that their company pays their CEO more than the average CEO at their major competitors, showing that their CEO is worth more. It's the Lake Wobegon effect, where all CEO pay is above average. The result has been a CEO race to the top. If you still believe people are paid what they're “worth,” take a gander at Wall Street. Last year's average bonus was up 20 percent over the year before, to more than $257,500 — the largest average Wall Street bonus since the 2008 financial crisis. (Remember, we're talking bonuses, above and beyond salaries.)Are Wall Street bankers really “worth” it? Not if you figure in the hidden subsidy flowing to the big Wall Street banks that ever since the bailout of 2008 have been considered too big to fail. People who park their savings in these banks accept a lower interest rate on deposits or loans than they require from America's smaller banks. That's because smaller banks are riskier places to park money. Unlike the big banks, the smaller ones won't be bailed out if they get into trouble. This hidden subsidy gives Wall Street banks a competitive advantage over the smaller banks, which means Wall Street makes more money. And as their profits grow, the big banks keep getting bigger. How large is this hidden subsidy? Researchers have calculated that it's about eight tenths of a percentage point. This may not sound like much but multiply it by the total amount of money parked in the ten biggest Wall Street banks and you get a huge amount – well over $83 billion a year. That hidden subsidy going to Wall Street banks because they're too big to fail is almost twice what Wall Street paid out in bonuses (a total of $45 billion). Do the math. Without the subsidy, no bonus pool. By the way, the lion's share of that subsidy goes to the top five banks – JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo. and Goldman Sachs — which just about equals these banks' typical annual profits. In other words, take away the subsidy and not only does the bonus pool disappear, but so do the profits.  The reason Wall Street bankers got fat paychecks plus $45 billion in bonuses last year wasn't because they work so much harder or are so much cleverer or more insightful than most other Americans. They cleaned up because they happen to work in institutions – big Wall Street banks – that hold a privileged place in the American political economy. And why, exactly, do these institutions continue to have such privileges? Why hasn't Congress used the antitrust laws to cut them down to size so they're not too big to fail, or at least taxed away their hidden subsidy (which, after all, results from their taxpayer-financed bailout)? Could it be because Wall Street also accounts for a large proportion of campaign donations to major candidates for Congress and the presidency of both parties? America's low-wage workers don't have privileged positions. They work hard – many holding down two or more jobs. They can't afford to make major campaign contributions, and they have zero political clout. Unions built the American middle class. Their demise almost exactly tracks the demise of America's middle class and the growing share of total income going to the richest 10 percent. This graph makes this clear: The “paid-what-your-worth” mythology ignores power, which means it ignores the single most important reason why hourly workers today are earning so little while corporate top brass are earning so much. For years, this ideology has lured the unsuspecting into thinking nothing should be done to change what people are paid because, they assumed, nothing could be done. That's finally changing. The revival of union activism across America suggests that workers are getting the message: If they want higher wages and better working conditions, they need the power to get them. To have power, they need a union. What do you think? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Tonight we continue the series of stories from Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town, by Stephen Leacock. It is generally considered to be one of the most enduring classics of Canadian humorous literature. The fictional setting for these stories is Mariposa, a small town on the shore of Lake Wissanotti.Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town is populated with timeless archetypes of small town life, treated carefully with affection and humor. Modern reader's will be reminded of Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon from Prairie Home Companion. The sinking of the steamboat Mariposa Belle -- featuring "one of the smartest pieces of rescue work ever seen on the lake" -- is one of the best-loved and most admired vignettes. Support the show

It's 2022. Lindsay is taking a break from the podcast and writing, taking a year off to accomplish some other things on her list. But Jerry has recruited someone else to join him. Because as new authors, we should be talking to each other, the New Author Podcast will have a new co-host. Joining Jerry most weeks will be Rich Kacy. Listen as Jerry and Rich (and sometimes Lindsay) talk about plotting vs pantsing and foreshadowing, along with their publishing hopes, and anything else that pops into their head while talking into a microphone. If you're an existing author or are writing your first book, come and listen to us because we were in the same boat as you. We've made mistakes so you don't have to! Come hear our successes and our mistakes, find out where we spend money and where we shouldn't have spent money. We'll tell you everything we did to be successful (or fail...as the case may be). And you'll hear a nice conversation on Rich's feelings toward plotting vs pantsing and foreshadowing. This week, you can hear things talked about such as: Foreshadowing Plotting and Pansing your Book (and your bathroom?) Golf Talk A Plotting Update from Rich Hugh Laurie A Developmental Editor Busy Weekends Story Grid and so much more! Read more...

Tonight we continue the series of stories from Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town, by Stephen Leacock. It is generally considered to be one of the most enduring classics of Canadian humorous literature. The fictional setting for these stories is Mariposa, a small town on the shore of Lake Wissanotti.Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town is populated with timeless archetypes of small town life, treated carefully with affection and humor. Modern reader's will be reminded of Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon from Prairie Home Companion. The sinking of the steamboat Mariposa Belle -- featuring "one of the smartest pieces of rescue work ever seen on the lake" -- is one of the best-loved and most admired vignettes. Support the show

Tonight we continue the series of stories from Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town, by Stephen Leacock. It is generally considered to be one of the most enduring classics of Canadian humorous literature. The fictional setting for these stories is Mariposa, a small town on the shore of Lake Wissanotti.Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town is populated with timeless archetypes of small town life, treated carefully with affection and humor. Modern reader's will be reminded of Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon from Prairie Home Companion. The sinking of the steamboat Mariposa Belle -- featuring "one of the smartest pieces of rescue work ever seen on the lake" -- is one of the best-loved and most admired vignettes. Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/bvjpod)

Tonight we continue the series of stories from Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town, by Stephen Leacock. It is generally considered to be one of the most enduring classics of Canadian humorous literature. The fictional setting for these stories is Mariposa, a small town on the shore of Lake Wissanotti.Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town is populated with timeless archetypes of small town life, treated carefully with affection and humor. Modern reader's will be reminded of Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon from Prairie Home Companion. The sinking of the steamboat Mariposa Belle -- featuring "one of the smartest pieces of rescue work ever seen on the lake" -- is one of the best-loved and most admired vignettes. Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/bvjpod)

The Star of Prairie Home Companion and Lake Wobegon's most famous son is back to share stories, humor and wisdom.  It's a return appearance for Garrison Keillor,  here to talk about two new book projects, “Boom Town: A Lake Wobegon Novel,” and Serenity at 70, Gaiety at 80,” a funny and thoughtful treatise on aging. As always the conversation is lively and fun. Enjoy!

Tonight we continue the series of stories from Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town, by Stephen Leacock. It is generally considered to be one of the most enduring classics of Canadian humorous literature. The fictional setting for these stories is Mariposa, a small town on the shore of Lake Wissanotti.Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town is populated with timeless archetypes of small town life, treated carefully with affection and humor. Modern reader's will be reminded of Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon from Prairie Home Companion. The sinking of the steamboat Mariposa Belle -- featuring "one of the smartest pieces of rescue work ever seen on the lake" -- is one of the best-loved and most admired vignettes. Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/bvjpod)

Garrison Keillor describes the fictional Lake Wobegon as a place where ‘All the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.' Psychologists have coined the phrase ‘The Lake Wobegon Effect' to describe the way in which humans tend to overestimate their abilities and characteristics against the rest of society. In short, we all think we're above average. But because it is impossible for all of us to be above average, we wind up knocking each other down in what psychologists call ‘Downward Social Comparison.' In the first segment of today's episode, I talk about the harm that all this negativity does to us and how to use the practice of compassion to overcome these unwanted impacts. In segment two, I discuss how the deepening of self-awareness offers us the ability to see the activity of our minds - thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations - as though we're watching it all happen on a tv screen. Even better, it's like we're holding the remote control and always have the ability to simply pause and come back to a regulated place. I hope you enjoy! https://youtu.be/zt7BHMm2njU If you would like to learn more about these practices I talk about, I encourage you to get in touch. Some people are well capable of developing these skills on their own, but most of us need a little guidance, motivation, and accountability in order to stick with it long enough for the skills to take root as habits. If you feel like you could use some coaching, your first session is on me. In fact, I've already bought the first session for you! All you have to do is claim it. And you can do that by clicking this link: https://calendly.com/artburns/45-min-coaching-session Coaching can be one of the most rewarding and life-changing experiences a person can have! And I have several reviews to back this statement up. (you can read them here): https://business.google.com/reviews/l/12036371216006319741?hl=en It may be far more powerful and far less expensive than you think, but the only way to find out for sure is to click the calendar link above and see for yourself!

Resource: How to Buy a Dental Practice  Resource: Selling Your Dental PracticeFor More on Brian Hanks, visit: https://www.dentalbuyeradvocates.com/ and/or https://dentaltransitioncoaching.com/ Join the discussion on Facebook!TranscriptJonathan VanHorn:Welcome to the Tooth and Coin Podcast, where we talk about your adventure of being a dental practice owner. In these episodes, we're going to be talking about problems that you will likely face as a practice owner, as well as give an idea about actionable solutions that you can take so that you can get past this problem in your practice. Some of these concepts are really big ones, some of them are very specific, but we hope that these episodes help you along with your journey.Jonathan VanHorn:Now, a very important piece for you to understand is that this is not paid financial advice. This is not paid tax or legal advice. We are not your financial advisors, we are not your CPAs. This is two CPAs talking about informational and educational content to help you along with your journey. A very important piece for you to understand. Another thing that you need to know is if you enjoy today's content, join us on the Facebook group. We've got a Facebook group that is active with dentists that is going to have content talking about what we're talking about today, to continue the discussion. Agree with us, don't agree with us, have a story to tell, have something to share? Join us in the Facebook group. If you go to Facebook and you search for Tooth and Coin Podcast, click on it to join it, and be able to join us there.Jonathan VanHorn:Finally, if you need some more help, we're developing a list of resources that are going to be centering around our topics of discussion, to be able to help you a little bit more than what the content is doing. If you'd like access to that, whenever it becomes ready, all you have to do is text the word toothandcoin, T-O-O-T-H-A-N-D-C-O-I-N to 33444. Again, that's toothandcoin, all one word, no spaces, to 33444. Reply with your email address and we'll email you instructions on how to get into the Facebook group, as well add you to the list to be able to send you those resources when they're available. If they're available, we'll go ahead and send them to you as well. On to today's episode, hope you enjoy it.Jonathan VanHorn:Hello, ambitious dentists, today we're going to be talking about something that not a lot of you probably have considered in terms of a way to optimize your life and your business. I'm your host, Jonathan VanHorn, I've got Joseph Rugger with me as always and today we actually have a guest. We have Brian Hanks with us. Brian is a fantastic person inside the dental industry. I speak this whole heartedly. There's not a lot of the times that I connect with people inside of the industry, and you just know that they're doing things for the right reason, they're there to help. And Brian is one of those guys. He helps a lot of practice owners, or about to be practice owners, as well as people transitioning out of practices, make the right decisions in making that big life choice. Brian's really good at it. Brian, thank you so much for coming on the podcast.Brian Hanks:Thrilled to be here, thank you.Jonathan VanHorn:Awesome. Brian, like I said, I mentioned he is the person that helps people buy and sell practices and helps make those transitions be successful. The problem we're going to talk about today is how to maximize that value of the dental practice that you're going to be running and owning. People sometimes just come up one day and say like, "Hey, it's time to sell," and they don't do a whole lot of planning that goes around it. You plan around everything else. A lot of people will plan their meals for the week. They'll plan on where they're going to send their kids to school, they'll plan on so many things. When it comes to something that's a pretty big deal, selling your business, they don't really seem to plan a whole lot about it. Talk to us about this problem, and why it's a problem, Brian.Brian Hanks:There's a psychological block there and I can understand it. You've worked really hard to be a CPA and a financial advisor, and Joseph, all of these skills that you have. Think about a dentist, eight years at least of graduate school, probably a specialty, all the CE you've taken. The thought of selling a practice is a major mental hurdle. Hanging up the hand piece, how you introduce yourself at parties is, "Hi, I'm a dentist," that's your identity. To think about selling the business, which by the way, probably cost you at least hundreds of thousands of dollars, maybe millions of dollars to buy, that's a big mental hurdle for a lot of people. People don't plan for it and there are a lot of misconceptions around that.Brian Hanks:Even if say you're the dentists in their late 30s and selling your practice, even close to your horizon, the principles that we're going to talk about in this episode are applicable to those folks too, because ultimately how you sell your practice has a lot to do with how you run your practice. If you run your practice effectively, you're going to be able to sell your practice a lot easier, a lot better, a lot higher prices, all of those things we're going to get into. But yeah, this is useful information for every dentist in every stage of their career regardless if they're selling their business in the next 12 months.Jonathan VanHorn:In terms of this type of a problem, if you're talking about a 20% difference in the value of a practice, you're talking about a house worth of difference. You're talking about a lot of money. It makes a big difference. Is that a reasonable number to be able to affect the value of a business? Can you make a business 20% more valuable?Brian Hanks:Absolutely, but it's not easy. It's simple, but not easy. Let's talk about some of the misconceptions around how selling the business works and the value piece of things for a second. I've got three points that I want to cover, Jonathan and Joseph.Brian Hanks:The first is you really do need to understand how valuations work. We're not going to give a valuation clinic here, but I want to give the listeners something to really hang their hat on beyond some of the simple calculations that are out there that are frankly, just wrong. The second point we're going to talk about is how to sell at the right time. We'll spend a little bit of time on that, and then thinking through your options on how to sell your business is really helpful. Not just who you sell to, but who you have help sell your practice can make a huge difference.Brian Hanks:Yeah, all of those things put together, I would say in a lot of cases can make an even bigger than 20%, 30%, 40% difference in the ultimate sales price of the practice. Then just for background, Jonathan, what I do in my business, I've done transitions, experts, helped buyers and sellers. I've literally written the books on buying and selling a dental practice. In fact, I'm so boring, I came from the accounting world, I titled the books, How to Buy a Dental Practice and Selling Your Dental Practice. I have no creativity, all I do is this stuff all day long. I've helped hundreds of dentists all around the country do this. I'm happy and thrilled to be here and share some of this advice. Should we talk a little bit about valuations?Jonathan VanHorn:Yeah, absolutely. The one that we always seem to get is, Brian, I and Joseph were talking about this, about someone that we had a shared conversation with. It was like 90% of the revenue was what the value was. That's all it is. So are you telling me that that is not an appropriate valuation technique? That's not how you valuate?Brian Hanks:I am telling you that. Yes, absolutely. So every comment on Dentaltown every comment in the Facebook forums that people are on, where they do the mental math. Okay. So my practice collects a million dollars. I heard the average is insert number, right? And there's always this wild 65, 75, 90. I don't know, I do know where they hear the numbers, and then they just apply that basic math to their own practice. By the way, every dentist, of course, lives in Lake Wobegon where everybody's above average. They're always a better driver than everybody, and more attractive than everybody. So everybody's practice of course is above average. So they're not thinking, "Well, the average dental practice sells for 75% of collections and mine's a little below average so maybe I should sell it for 70%."Brian Hanks:Every single dentist I talk to says, "Well, if the average is 75, then I want to be 80. Then I want to be 85." Yeah, it is the shorthand. It's useful. Maybe you sit down with Joseph and you have a financial planning discussion in your thirties and you say, "All right, if you're collecting a million dollars, let's put in a value of your business at 65% of collections." Okay, that's useful at that point in your career. But when it's actually time to sell your business, that is not how you value. That is not how evaluation experts, that is not how I value business. That's not how brokers value business. That's not how accountants valuate business and a lot more goes into it. So it is more than just a formula. Let me give you a couple things that are really important to know.Brian Hanks:The first is that values of businesses are generally built on three years' worth of data. Okay. So they're going to look backwards in time over the last three years, as a way to say, a buyer's going to say, "I don't know what I'm going to be able to do as the business owner, but the best predictor of my future performance is the past performance of this practice. And the past performance of this practice that we're going to use as the window of time to look at as the last three years." And most reputable valuators, whoever they may be, are going to actually weight those values. They're going to say, "All right, last year is times three, two years ago is times two, and three years ago was times one. We're going to add all those numbers up and we're going to divide by six to get an average revenue number at an average profit number," whatever the method is that we're looking at.Brian Hanks:They're going to look backwards in time over the last three years weighting the last year as the most important of those. Jonathan, that's really important because I know a lot of dentists who say, "Man, all right, 2020 sucked because of COVID." Or, "2019, I got sick for three, four months." But, "Man in 2018, I collected 1.1 million. That's my mental high watermark. That's what I'm going to go off of my evaluation. My business is a $1.1 million business." And the buyer standing here in 2021 saying, "That's great, good job in 2018, but I'm looking at the business today." So I think the first thing to realize is, it's a backwards look in time over the last three years. Does that make sense?Jonathan VanHorn:Yeah, it does. So obviously 2020 is a unique year. I tell, I've been on calls with some people and this once in a hundred year things sometimes makes the rules a little bit shaky in terms of what you're doing. Because let's think about the reason why we weigh, the reason you weigh the last year is because it's the most recent year and the most likely to repeat itself rather than that one three years ago, if revenue's declining, revenue is just not going to just automatically go back up. The reason you wait is because it's the most likely to reoccur because the most recent in time. However, it's not likely we're going to have another once in a hundred year pandemic this year.Joseph Rugger:We hope not. We all hope not.Jonathan VanHorn:I mean, assumably right. So, yeah. So how have you found that? What do you, how do you find that pandemic? Do you think that changes things?Brian Hanks:It can, but it hasn't in most cases. There are ways to account for a pandemic in evaluation methodology. And in shorthand, we could go into the nitty-gritty details if you really want to, but in shorthand, what most people are doing is they're looking at the practice in Q4 of 2020, Q1 2021. And they're looking at the average production on a monthly or quarterly basis. And they're saying, "Hey, are we back? Is the practice back to where it was pre pandemic?" And if the answer is yes, then for all intents and purposes, we're not ignoring the pandemic, but we are discounting and kind of taking that into account in the numbers. So sellers, in most cases, aren't being penalized, but in some cases, the answer is to the question of, "Is the practice back?" Is no, the practice is not back. The pandemic killed the business, not necessarily outright, but absolutely knocked 20, 30, 40% of collections, production, active patient base, whatever it is. Anyway, there's a lot of things that could have happened. And so in some cases, yeah, the pandemic did hit.Jonathan VanHorn:And we could go into a really defined theory of what a defined risk profile is associated with the public perception of what COVID is and the dental practice and what percentage of patients will be less likely to come back in. And you can get super, super, super granular in this type of analysis. I do typically say, when people are talking about buying businesses, the price should be indicative of the risk that you're taking on when you're buying this business. Our risk profile today looks very different than it did eight months ago, or 10 months ago, 12 months ago. 12 months ago, risk profiles were through the roof because nobody really knew what was going to happen. Right? So, you start with this weighting and where do you go from there? Do you just take 90% of that? And that's all you do?Brian Hanks:Yeah. So one methodology is to do that. Is to look at the comparable practice sales in a specific geography and apply a multiplier. And that is a legitimate way to look at a practice value. Now it's more than looking at nationwide averages or looking at my specialty average and things like that. So you do have to apply some logic, but yeah, you're looking at averages. It's kind of like selling a house. You're looking at comps in your neighborhood and using that as one of two major methods to value the business. And by the way, sellers tend to favor that model because it's easy, right? Sellers tend not to be the type of clients that are working with good dental CPAs, like Tooth and Coin, then they don't know their overhead. And so the only number they do know is their collections, right?Brian Hanks:And so that's the easiest way they can get to a value in their head, but I'll tell you the second way that most people, that most reputable valuators value businesses is they actually look at the profit, right? How much take home pay is the owner of the business keeping after paying the normal and typical expenses of a dental practice? Staff, rents, supplies, labs, et cetera, and so forth. And by the way, that number profit is different than what goes on my 1120S or my tax return. Profit is not including things like depreciation and interest and the owner's compensation and those things, right? Profit is literally how much does the owner benefit from the business. Now, buyers. Buyers care a lot more about that number, right? We could have two practices collecting a million dollars, one with typical overhead of somewhere around 600,000 meaning the owners keeping 400. Or you could have one with high overhead where the overheads 800,000, the owners only keeping 200,000.Brian Hanks:Well, which one is the buyer going to like more? They're both billion dollar practices. And a lot of sellers are going to think in their head that those businesses could be valued very similarly. But from the buyer's perspective, they're looking at these two, they're going, one's going to put 400 in my pocket. The other's going to put 200 in my pocket. I'd like the 400 one please. Right? And so without going into the details, and it is similarly weighted, it's looked over the last three years, but the profit methodology is the second way that you value most businesses. And it's the way that buyers care a lot about. Can I add one just side note to this that comes up a lot when I'm talking to sellers? Equipment purchases, almost never, ever, I'm going to pause here for effect, never. Factor into evaluations. I say almost because there can be some asterisks type scenarios, but I just hear a lot of sellers say, all right, Brian, 75% the last year plus hey, three years ago I bought a 3D panel and it costs me a $100,000. And I really want to add that in to my-" I'm going, geez. Sorry, sorry, doc. Good for you. I'm glad you bought that equipment, way to keep up. That's just, outside of a few specialty situations, you buying equipment for your business to keep it up and keep it going and keep it current isn't going to affect the value of your business outside of a few special cases.Jonathan VanHorn:It's kind of helps be a selling point for someone looking at different practices like, oh, this one's got the nice equipment. So maybe I should, that one would be a better one for you to buy. I wouldn't have to do as much upkeep of yeah. We've seen that a lot or like yeah. It wants me to take over the loan payments or he still owes $80,000 for this. He wants to increase the value by 80,000.Brian Hanks:Yeah. I want to sell my house and I want to live rent free in the basement too. And I'd love for this, the buyers to make me breakfast every morning. It's just not realistic. Right?Brian Hanks:Yeah, exactly. So cool. So, you're going to get an understanding of how a practice is valued. If it was your choice of those two methods, which one would you be more likely to be utilizing in terms of what the actual value of a practice is?Brian Hanks:Profit, all the way. Although most valuations, final evaluations, will do a mix of the two. Okay. So it's not an either/or. You're going to look at both and you're going to weight 50/50 on the two methodologies. You might do 60, 40, something like that. But if I'm buying the business, I'm going to look more at the profit. And by the way, the banks who are lending the money for the buyer to be able to afford to buy your practice, they're looking at cashflow, which is just another way to say profit. So the banks are looking at the profit methodology too. So of the two that's the far better way to look at value in business. Which is, by the way, you're a professional podcaster, that's an excellent segue into the second point of settling at the right time. Can I talk a little bit about that?Jonathan VanHorn:That's where I was going with it. Yeah, I was moving into, what is it, if you have an understanding of the value now, then what is it that you. How do know when to sell? Cause I actually had a conversation at lunch with someone and they were another service-based business person. And I was like, if someone said to you today you can sell your business for two times what you make in a year. Like it'd be kind of hard to do it cause you'd just work for two more years. But so how do you time this? Like how do you figure out when it's going to be? Because it could be two years, four years, five years of earnings that you're basically signing this business for. Actually take taxes out and maybe it's back down to two or three, whatever it may be. So like how do you figure out this timing element of it?Brian Hanks:So the timing has to be a life decision that you make with advisors. Okay. If it is solely based on money, I'll give you the formula on how to maximize the value based on just numbers. But I got to say, that a precursor to discussion around anything numbers based has to be qualitative decisions. Like are you ready? Do you have something to retire to? Are you not? Are you just financially ready? But are you psychologically ready? You're logistically ready. All of those things. But let's assume those for a minute. By the way, that's a major assumption that someone is qualitatively ready. If that is a check mark in your ledger, the right time to sell your business is going to be, if you want to maximize the value of your business, it's going to be to think about a few things first.Brian Hanks:You can't take your foot off the gas in the practice in either the revenue or the expenses. So collections by the way, kiss of death. Okay. If you are a bank underwriter who looks at nothing but dental practice, PNLs, and tax returns all day long. For a living, you look at the financial results of dental practices, bank underwriters, and then to decide whether or not to give buyers money to buy your business. The very first thing that bank underwriter looks at is the collections trend. Are collections going up or collections going down? Now, if you're the typical seller, right? You've had that conversation with Jonathan, you're thinking, all right, Joseph tell me if I'm ready to retire? And Joseph says you're close, but you got to wait. And so mentally that dentist is thinking, man, I'm close, sweet.Brian Hanks:Instead of four weeks of vacation this year, it's going to be six. Then it's going to be eight and it's going to be 12 the year after. And you see a corresponding dip in the collections, very reasonable, right? A very understandable dip in collections. But when we talked about how you value a business, we're looking at the last three years and the last year is the one that's the most important. And so that practice with the declining collections now looks a lot riskier on paper and the seller is having that mental head space issue where they're saying, "yeah, but three years ago it collected 1.1. And then I know last year was only 800, but really it's a 1.1 business. Right?" And so it's just hard to get to that psychology piece. So if you can keep your foot on the gas and keep collections at least steady, if you can keep collections rising two, three, five percent, whatever that number is? You just maximize the value of your business. Almost guaranteed.Brian Hanks:We'll talk about profit here in just a second. The rising collections is a sign that a business owner is engaged. It's a sign that everything else in the practice is probably working correctly. So let's talk about profit a little bit. Same deal. And it's just the corollary to collections. If the overhead is rising, that's tough. Here's what happens with a lot of sellers. I get in a conversation. I'm like, hey tell me about [inaudible 00:22:08] your overhead is 67%. The average practice overhead is something like 60 to 61% what's going on? Oh, well, Brian it actually was 61%, two years ago, but my hygienists al ask for raises. We had to add the health insurance. There are all these things and I just, it wasn't worth it to me to say no.Brian Hanks:So I just said yes to everything. And I haven't been really fighting the equipment rep and the supply rep on bills like I should and pricing things out. And that overhead has crept up. Right? And so it's the same situation as collections. Their foot has to come off the gas on the business operation side. They haven't been watching the expenses. So having somebody good that's a great dental CPA, great dental financial advisor to kind of keep your feet to the fire in that area is going to be really valuable to help you maximize the value of business.Joseph Rugger:How often do you find that? How often you find that the sellers are really, really tracking that stuff, or are they taking the mental vacation as they're starting to check out?Brian Hanks:Less than 10% of the owners I see are tracking that in any kind of way, shape, or form. 90% don't have any idea.Jonathan VanHorn:Definitely. And the another piece of that is if you're not doing that, there are times when you need to sell your practice and you weren't thinking of those things. This kind of comes up. Like maybe you have a family illness or you have something happening to you personally from a health perspective. And if you haven't been doing this, then all of a sudden you've just cost yourself all this money. Let's use a broad assumption that we're talking about a practice that could sell for a million dollars if everything was highly finely tuned. Whereas if you were just kind of resting by your laurels, it could be, you might be costing yourself a couple hundred grand, right? The profitability of your business is more than just your lifestyle.Jonathan VanHorn:Sometimes it's also going to be your exit ticket. So why would you not be taking care of that? So let's assume that someone's made the decision that they're going to try and sell the business at some point in the near future. What is the near future for you in terms of making this decision and you mentioned keeping your foot on the gas pedal in terms of revenue and making sure your expenses don't get out of control. Because, like I said, you see it all the time where you talk to the dentist, they're like, yeah, revenue was 900,000, then it was 800,000, then it was 750 and then it was 700 and now 650. But he just says this because he only works three days a week now. There's a reason that he does that. Would that person have been better off just selling it back whenever it was 900? Or what is the best answer for those types of things, in terms of time?Brian Hanks:I don't think there is one. So mathematically, that seller that's now at 650 where they used to be a 900? Okay. Yeah. Could they have sold their practice back in 900 and gotten a higher multiple and sold for a higher sticker price? Yes. But they've made money those three, four years they kind of hung on and, and it maybe increased the quality of their life as a business owner. So I'm not going to say that there is a right time, because as you guys know, the real money in dentistry isn't made buying and selling dental practices. These aren't stocks and bonds, right? The real money in dentistry is the income from the ownership. That income stream, year in, year out. So if your goal is to go play golf someday with a bunch of other dentists and show that you got the biggest multiple on your dental practice? Well then yeah, make sure you sell at peak collections, peak profitability.Brian Hanks:But if your goal is to make as much money as possible, it might be a different time. Just realize that there is a cost to that. And the cost comes in both the multiple that you get for your business and the type of buyer that's actually going to be interested. and how easy it is to find that buyer and, and how easy it is to transfer that business. You might have to carry part of the note because the bank isn't looking at you as risk-free as they might have otherwise. So just realize that there are some potential costs that can be mitigated with how you sell your business.Brian Hanks:So let's talk a little bit about that. Cause there are some options, right? And a lot of dentists. So let's talk through kind of, there's a two-prong decision here. So they say a seller, an owner of a business, dental business is thinking, all right, I think I might want to sell my business. They have to make two decisions. The first these days is DSO or private buyer. Okay. And I'm just going to just, well, let's hit this quickly because there are a lot of misconceptions we could have. I'm sure several episodes on DSOs versus selling to a private buyer. But let me just say mathematically, it is not as simple as I can sell to a private buyer for 75% of collections. And I can sell to a DSO for a hundred percent of collections. It's not that simple. There are handcuffs that come with DSO offers. You're not going to have control over your career. You may not get the payout. You're going to have to hit massive production targets in your last two years of ownership when, by the way, you don't own the business anymore. So it's not as simple.Brian Hanks:And I have a bias towards the private buyers and owners cause I like private dentistry, but DSOs could be right for someone. So let's assume that decision is made. The next decision the dentist has to make is, okay, am I going to use someone to help me sell my business? Or am I going to try to do it myself? And that tends to be the decision point. And there's a mistake here. So dentists are making a common mistake thinking there are only two options. In their mind, there are two options: broker, who's going to take 10% or sell it myself. And I'm here to tell you that there is a growing third option, okay? And by the way, not every broker's still charging 10%. So keep that in mind. There's a growing third option. I call them in my book, Selling Your Dental Practice, I call them seller's coaches, but they go by different titles and they're nationwide firms that help with dental transitions on a nationwide basis instead of being a very geographic centered kind of broker for your area. I'm the broker for Georgia. I'm the broker for Washington state, right? So seller's coaches are doing dental transitions. They're doing as much, if not more value in a lot of cases, than brokers at a significant discount to the typical broker's fee. It comes at a little bit of cost, right? They don't know your individual streets and some of the geography as well as a local broker might. They can't physically walk buyers through the practice like a local broker might be able to do. But aside from those two things, in this day and age, here we are in 2021, a lot of life is on Zoom, right?Brian Hanks:A lot of life is pictures and all of those things. That sellers coach option at a lower price point is becoming a lot more attractive. And those seller coaches, they have to step up their game, right? They have to have amazing listing documents. They have to be really good at finding buyers. All things that they tend to be better at than brokers. And so anyway, so I just want to make people aware that selling it yourself, by the way, could be an option with an attorney, of course, like always pick an attorney. And a broker is a great option too, if that's the way you want to go, but there's a third option for folks. So don't assume it's just between buyer, like a DSO is going to get you more money. And then don't assume that your choice is a 10% fee or muddle through this myself. That's not necessarily true.Jonathan VanHorn:Great options. And I completely agree. There's a lot of middle ground cause you'll get the people that will call us and a lot of people, they never bought a business before and they're like, I need someone who's going to do complete due diligence, top to bottom, on this dental practice acquisition. And I don't think you know what those words mean whenever you're saying them to me, cause in our world and the CPA world, due diligence on immersion and acquisition means something way different than what you're talking about in terms of buying of this business. Like I'm not going to go look at the seller's bank accounts and look at their transactions coming in and out and then trace them back to the insurance plan or anything like that.Jonathan VanHorn:That's not what we do. So I completely understand. There's middle grounds. Like what is it that you actually need in this type of a transaction, right? Like what is it you actually need? So completely get that. So cool. So we have covered a general understanding of how valuations work in this world. We've talked about the timing of getting these things in line. We talked about the different options you have when you try to sell your business. So what, in addition to the things, we could probably talk about any one of those three subjects for at least an hour a piece, but we try and keep the episodes shorter in nature so that we can get the high impact things in. And we've talked about how to affect your selling price by a hundred, $200,000 and that if you can keep the revenue growing, keep the expenses going down, your profit will get larger, your collections will get larger.Jonathan VanHorn:And if you think about it in terms of if your profit level is, if you're looking for two times your profit in a year or three times your profit in the year, for every penny that you save, or every dollar that you save, it's going to be $2 or $3 more, you'll get your sell price. So there's a lot of really important numbers of things that we talked about in today's episode. So anything else that we didn't talk about that you think would be an important point for us to end on?Brian Hanks:If you're a buyer, a great resource and I'm going to plug my books, is just How to Buy a Dental Practice. You can buy it on Amazon, or if you go to dentalbuyeradvocates.com/book, I'll set you an author copy at just the cost of printing and shipping. Same deal if you're a seller. Selling Your Dental Practice is the title. It's available on Amazon in all the formats. And you can go to dentaltransitioncoaching.com/book. And I think we're going to put those in the show notes for folks.Jonathan VanHorn:Absolutely. So Brian, we appreciate your time. Appreciate you being a friend of Tooth and Coin, and the podcast, and we look forward to working with you in the future.Joseph Rugger:Thanks, Brian.Brian Hanks:Thanks.Jonathan VanHorn:That's it for today, guys. I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Tooth and Coin podcast. If you are going to be a practice owner or a new practice owner, and you're interested in CPA services, head on over to toothandcoin.com. Where can check out more about our CPA services. We help out around 250 offices around the country. Would love to be able to have the discussion about how we could help your new practice. We do specialize in new practice owners. So people that are about to be an owner of a practice they're acquiring, about to be an owner of a practice they are starting up, or has become an owner in the past five years.Jonathan VanHorn:That is our specialty. And we'd love to be able to talk to you about how we could help you in your services with your tax and accounting services. Oh, and if you enjoyed today's episode again, go to the Facebook group. Talk to us about what we've talked about, join in on the discussion and let's create an environment where we can talk about some of these things so that we can all help each other get through these things together so that this adventure of business ownership is more fun, more productive, and better in the longterm. Lastly, if you want access to those resources that we are currently building, just text them word tooth and coin 233444. That's tooth and coin, no spaces. T-O-O-T-H-A-N-D-C-O-I-N to 33444. Reply with your email address. We'll send you instructions in the Facebook group. We'll send you the resources when they're available and we will see you next week.