Lessons in Startup Growth, Storytelling, and Health with Dr. Spencer Lalk

with Dr. Spencer Lalk

Sep 19, 2025 · 00:34:55

Today's guest on The Total Entrepreneur Mind Body Spirit is on a mission to transform how healthcare information is shared and understood. As the founder of MedStory Media, he's helping physicians and other healthcare providers and tech companies educate the public with innovative, engaging, and professional content. His work bridges the gap between healthcare providers and patients, making complex medical information more accessible and actionable. Whether it's empowering better patient decisions or building stronger healthcare brands, he's passionate about using storytelling to improve outcomes and elevate the healthcare experience. Please welcome to the show Spencer Lalk. Welcome to The Total Entrepreneur Mind, Body, Spirit, where we turn cutting-edge science into practical strategies for entrepreneurs. I'm your host, Dr. John Torrance, Entrepreneur Inc. 5000 honoree and professor of entrepreneurial practice at Syracuse University's Whitman School of Management. Each episode, we dive into mental, physical, and Spiritual health with expert guests offering actionable insights to help you thrive and perform at your highest level. Let's get started. Spencer, welcome to the podcast. I'm really excited to talk to you.

Thanks for having me, John.

Well, one of the things I'd like to start with is origin stories, because a lot of young entrepreneurs always wonder, how do you actually get started? Is there a secret sauce? What's the code? Can you unlock it for me? And you and I have similar backgrounds in that you're a physical therapist, I'm a speech language pathologist. We both created businesses from a clinical background. So yeah, I'd love to hear your story.

Yeah, I would say my first introduction into entrepreneurism was really when I was in PT school. So I was living down in San Diego and the way that my program was set up is that it allowed you to work while you were going to school. So it was actually a 4-year program. And so of course I moved out to San Diego. I was actually living in a hostel. with 4 other people in a single room at that time, going to school and then looking for work. I ended up finding my first job as a personal trainer. Now I got my cert. Go ahead.

Did you go to PT school, your DPT program right out of undergrad or did you do it altogether? Or how, like, how roughly how old were you when you were living in with the other people and that sort of thing?

Sure. So I had just finished my undergrad. Okay. So I finished my undergrad degree in sport and performance psychology.

Okay.

And from there applied to PT school and then ended up moving across country, moved from New Jersey to San Diego in California.

Yeah.

And so I didn't know anyone out there, so I figured, okay, what is the cheapest way that I can get out there and start living? And a hostel was the way to go. As soon as I got there, I knew right away, I was like, this is not gonna be sustainable long-term.

Right.

But at least it's something to like a stepping stone. So I started looking for work. I found a job as a personal trainer. Which was great. I found a second job at a country club, and then I ended up finding a third job as a soccer coach. So I'm navigating 3 jobs and then going and getting my doctorate. And when you're young and dumb, these things can make sense. And the soccer program had just started out. It was just a small Montessori school, and I was working with the dad and he was working full-time running his own business. And we ended up sitting down and having a conversation and he said, You know, do you wanna take this thing over? Do you wanna see, you know, kind of run the program? And at the time I was like, yeah, that seems like a really cool idea. I would love to take it over. At this time it was just a group of 10 kids. We'd just see 'em after school, play with 'em on the weekends. Pretty standard soccer program. And so once he handed it over to me, I started thinking, okay, number one, what am I passionate about? Number two, what could we do to make this thing grow? So it's actually unique and parents are like, yeah, I want my kids to be part of that experience. And for me, I said, we can use soccer as a vehicle to do 2 things. Number one, teach these kids to give back, and number two, teach them financial literacy.

Mm-hmm.

And so what we did is we ended up founding this company, it ended up being a nonprofit called the Soccer Unity Project. And the whole premise was using the most popular sport in the world as a vehicle to build the foundational skillset for these kids. So for example, what we would do is on the weekends we'd do standard games, but then we'd do a game at the beach where we'd do a beach soccer game, then have the kids clean up the beach after, or take 'em to a skilled nursing facility, play in front of the old, old folks and have them interact with them. So that was the community service component to it. And then we had the financial literacy. Now you can teach a kid the basics, the foundation of it, but it's not as good as experiential learning, right? So what we did is this, we almost used the lemonade stand approach where pretty much we would have the parents donate a case of water. And then so we'd go to the third grader and say, okay, let's figure out how much one water bottle cost us. Because the parent would also give us a receipt. And then from there we'd say, okay, well, how much do you have to sell it for to make a profit? And it was that simple practice through their sold granola bars, fruit snacks, you know, very small profit margins, but they got the idea of saying, okay, I have to sell it for more than I bought it in order to make money. And it ended up taking off. It was so cool because this idea started to grow a community around it to the point where we actually got to the point where we served over 1,000 people.

There you go.

So I ended up having to learn to say, okay, I need to hire coaches cuz I don't have the time to do all this stuff. I need to learn how to do payroll. I filed for my 501, which is the nonprofit status. And throughout this experience, it was like, let's just go for it. I'm enjoying it and I'm seeing the community grow. And it really opened my eyes to the idea of what's it like to be an entrepreneur.

So you took what could have been just a very normal experience coaching 10-year-olds at soccer and turned it into something pretty extraordinary. Now, are, are you still involved in that or is the program still going?

Yeah, so I got to the point, I'm running the program for 3, 4 years, I think it was. And at this time I got outta school with my doctorate and I said, wow, I've just spent all this time training to be a physical therapist, yet I have this business here as well. And I had to make the decision and Honestly, I got to the point where I said, you know what? I love the work that I'm doing with the Soccer Unity Project, but I gotta be realistic now understanding what it's like to run a business. If you're not aware, if you are running a nonprofit, say if you grow that thing to have to be massive, you never can sell it. It's not something that you can sell and actually achieve true financial freedom. And I figured, you know what? I've got to start exploring other ways because I do want to have a point in my life where I can be fully financially free while still giving back in in a positive. way and making the world a better place. So we ended up closing it down so that I could go and start working as a physical therapist. And that's when I actually started doing travel therapy, traveling around the country and working in different hospitals.

That's a good point about starting a nonprofit and understanding what your endgame is, right? Because I think a lot of people don't understand that. Yeah, you can start the nonprofit and you can pay yourself a reasonable market rate salary as the director of it, but you're not the owner. You can't take distributions and that sort of thing. So I think that's a really important, yeah, it's an important point to make for people who are considering that. Really great work, but yeah, you're not going to create wealth like you would as an entrepreneur.

I think one thing also that I really was keeping in mind is that a lot of nonprofits rely on grants where they'll go and get grants for the business. And I said, I don't want to build something that is going to be reliant on public funding. I want it to be an actual something where the families were paying for the service. So like it had to be running just like a standard business would, because And that's how I felt it would be truly sustainable. And that's what led to that success over those 4 years. So it was those skill sets that kind of opened my eyes to saying, okay, this is how it's done. How can I apply this skill set to things that we'll probably talk about as well later in this conversation?

Yeah, for sure. I wanna back up a little bit to the chaos of your life while you were a student. Like you said, when you're young and dumb, you know, tongue in cheek, you can do all that. I remember similarly, I, I just seemed to take on so much when I was young going to grad school or starting a company. So what did you do to keep yourself healthy and performing? Or were you just young enough where it didn't matter? You can live with a bunch of sins and still move on.

You know, I'm gonna be honest, that is where things caught up to me because I was, yes, I was young and I had youth on my side. I was in my low 20s. Yeah. And so my metabolism was still high. However, I was so busy that I didn't have time to cook and I was living off of burritos, to be honest. And I ended up getting to the point where I was working so much with the business and then PT school, I actually became the heaviest I ever was in my life. I got over to 200 pounds. And I got to the point where I said, this is pretty ironic. I'm going to school and learning how to teach people how to recover and be healthy. Yet I am probably at the most unhealthy point in my life. And I had to make a decision. I was like, you know what, if I want to be able to do this truly long term, then something is going to have to change. And unfortunately, it was me making the choice to say, okay, I need to create some free time. And it was after we closed down the nonprofit, and I was able to just focus on my career as a physical therapist at that time, that I got back into cooking and exercising consistently and just really taking care of my body.

Yeah, no, I can relate to that. And I think it's good Yeah, it's good information for people in that stage of life who are still students, maybe student founders. I work with a lot of young student entrepreneurs and their lives are chaotic and they're hectic. And I think the message to take care of yourself is an important one. So let's fast forward to your life as a traveling therapist. I was tempted to do that when I first got out. I never did it. So yeah, what, what was that like and, and how did you, you know, stay healthy? I mean, 'cause I'd imagine you're, what is it, 13 weeks at a time the assignments were or something? But yeah, tell us about that.

Sure. Yeah. So I ended up getting my first contract up in Oregon. And typically how it works is you do sign a 13-week contract.

Yeah.

I ended up moving all my stuff. I ended up selling pretty much 90% of everything I owned so that everything I owned can then fit in my car, which by itself was one of the most freeing experiences of my life.

Amazing.

Because, because I felt, I was like, if this car were to be stolen or to go off the cliff and I were to lose it, I would be okay. Like, it's not that big of a deal. There's so many things that are more important in my life. And that alone was a really a transform— transforming experience for me and saying, okay, I'm free. I'm free to do what I want. And so ended up moving up to Oregon coast called a place called Astoria. So if anyone's seen The Goonies, it's where The Goonies was filmed. And, uh, was there for 8 weeks. Then I get a call saying that they've just hired a full-time therapist and they were letting me go. So I just upended my life, moved there. It was only two months later where I had to move around, and that is the reality of travel therapy. If you are going to do that, you have to understand that there are going to be times where the company is going to hire a full-time worker and you're going to be replaced. You're their most expensive worker, so it makes sense for them from a business perspective. So I never took it personally, but this was the beginning of a journey for me that allowed me to go and experience a healthcare system. across the country. I got to go work in Maui for 2 years. I got— I moved out to Vail, Colorado. I worked at the hospital at the bottom of the mountain there. And that's a pretty funny story in itself of how I got there. And, you know, out in Monterey, California, back in New Jersey. So there was all these things. And what I was finding, I was like, wow, this is unique, seeing all the differences in the way that people perform medicine. But at the same time, the similarities as well. And throughout these experiences, I started to see a common trend in the challenges and the reality of how broken our healthcare system is. And I figured I wanted to do something to help fix that.

Yeah. So, well, that's actually a good segue into the next question is, how did you do that? And I agree, healthcare in the US is broken. I don't know the answer. It's way too complicated for me to fix. But yeah, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

I think what it came down to is me identifying that it's really interesting where you could be having the worst day of your life. Something happens, you break a bone, you have cancer, whatever it may be, and then you step into a hospital that is there to heal you. And the first thing that they do is they strip you of your clothes and they put you in a gown where your backside is exposed. And I remember thinking, I was like, we're trying to heal these people. And if you just do that to a human being by itself, they're already going to feel a little bit worse. They're going to feel vulnerable, they're not going to feel supported. And I saw that entry point extend into this almost dehumanizing experience. Like, we have all these amazing empathetic providers that want to get these people better. But then they're combined with a system that's corporatized, that where— were treating people based like they're numbers rather than like they're humans. And this ended up leading to a huge disconnect to these patients going into these systems, having an overwhelming amount of information given to them that they truly didn't understand, not having the amount of time that they truly needed with their providers to ask the right questions, and ultimately end up making really bad decisions for themselves and their health. And I was like, wow, this is a big problem. And so I thought, me as a physical therapist, what can I start to do with my skillset? And the first thing I thought is like, you know what, even if I can show people some pain relief exercises that they can do that can hopefully keep them moving and mobile and avoid these injuries, then that's worth it. And so I just started creating exercise videos for people, you know, just filming things on Instagram saying, hey, you have hip pain? Here are a few movements you could try out. Back pain?

Yeah. Same thing.

And it ended up taking off, generating millions and millions of views, getting a ton of really cool feedback. And that opened my eyes to the power of education and the way in which that education can be presented in a digestible way.

Mm-hmm.

That allows them to make better decisions. And that was kind of the beginning of me starting my first business, which was, you know, a telehealth physical therapy company before then transitioning to MedStory.

I can remember one of my earlier visits to a PT and I mean, it was probably before Instagram, but you know, they print out all these sheets or actually they photocopy them. You can tell they're really bad photocopies because they just keep photocopying a photocopy, right, of all these exercises you're supposed to do. So I think that was really great innovation that you just started videotaping yourself and putting them on Instagram because that's how people consume content anyway. They may as well do it about their own bodies. So yeah, that's great. Yeah.

And then you think about ways of like, how do I scale my time? And so what I did is I was able to do is like, okay, here I use this very foundational set of exercises for a lot of people that helps majority of people. You can film that. And now like if I have a friend reach out, it's like, hey, I have sciatica. I was like, before you even ask me questions, like try out these movements first and see if it works. Mm-hmm. And majority of the time it does. And so it's like, that is when we talk about you scale your time and that scales your impact. And then that's where really it provides and starts opening doors for you.

Yeah. That's the biggest problem in human services, right? Is that you're billing for a procedure or for, you know, it's either procedure-based or time-based. So you're limited to the number of hours you can actually provide in a day. So your income's limited. And that's a great example of how to scale your time and take the knowledge you have and be able to push out to more people. I love that. That's really innovative. So yeah. So now tell us about MedStory.

Yeah, so, you know, I started doing first the telehealth company. And, you know, I got to the point where I was like, I've done enough telehealth myself. And I started to be in the social media world and seeing all of the harmful information that was out there. And I started thinking, you know, we need to find ways to empower our qualified professionals to get quality information out into the public. And so I said, it would be cool. I've already learned a way to develop a content system where I can create quality content consistently myself, maybe I can systemize this and potentially see if there's potential to sell this service to other providers, specifically physicians. So what I did is I put together my first prototype and started reaching out to a few physicians saying, hey, I want to try this out. I'd love to help develop some patient education libraries and help you make sure that you're getting quality information out to the public. And all healthcare providers want to help their patients, and all of them are frustrated when they see harmful information out there and they want to combat that misinformation. So it was cool because it started to take off to saying, ah, these people do want this, you know, they do want to try this out. And so I had to figure out how do I productize this, and that's when MedStory was born. Now it was interesting to see the evolution of it because it started first with being like, hey, let's educate them with the anatomy, the stats, the data. And really quickly is what I learned is that people don't really care about that stuff. And so I did a little deeper research. And I once said, you know what, maybe I can actually pull from the marketing experts and seeing what do they do to drive attention to them. And that's really when I got immersed and understood the power of storytelling. And I was like, wow, well, here are these health professionals that experience really powerful stories on a daily basis, but have been in a culture where they've been almost limited in sharing And so I'm like saying, let's find ways that they can share these stories and let's see if that makes a bigger impact. And it's so cool. Like, it's so cool to see the difference because we now know that a lot of people make decisions based off of emotion rather than logic. I'm not saying you should do that as an entrepreneur, but that's just the reality of the situation.

Yeah. So I was gonna ask you about selling to physicians and providers. It seems like that would be hard, especially, you know, cuz they're, Yeah, they're always being hit up by pharmaceutical reps or DME providers or whatever. And I can imagine, you know, when you call or knock on their door, they're like, what, what are you talking about? What is this? So what was that selling process like into this very unique industry? Hard.

Really hard. Yeah. Yeah. Because like, you're right, they get pitched all the time. So they're immediately, their guard is up. They're skeptical.

Yeah.

And that's fair. And what I found is that really what they value is transparency first and foremost. So I had to learn to be, of course, and I was transparent as possible. It was interesting because I've, I've taken like these sales courses, you know, and I would say, okay, oh, I'm gonna apply all these sales principles. And I found myself being really unsuccessful because I'd be like, okay, here, I gotta check this box. I gotta check this box, this check this box. And then I started putting that away. And of course there's value there. And then I just started talking to them like they were human beings and being like, hey, I'm a human. You're a human. If we have shared values here, and if I can help you bridge that gap from your pain to the solution, then there could be potential partnership here. And really just talking to the human first, I found has been so much more powerful and also has just felt so much better for me. You know, from a sales standpoint, because people often, healthcare providers especially, are scared to sell because that's not the system they were brought up in. People typically come to them, they don't have to sell, insurance pays for their services and whatnot. And they say, oh, I feel icky doing that. And realistically, the reframe needs to be is that you should only feel bad about selling your product if it's not, if it's something that you don't believe in.

Mm-hmm.

So if you don't believe in it, then yeah, you should feel bad about selling it. But if you're producing and creating something that you feel like is genuinely gonna make the world a better place and help them, then feel good about it. You're actually helping them because you're helping them get to a point where they want to be.

That's good advice for people who are selling into any industry, right?

Mm-hmm.

But when it came to the providers specifically, like what you identified some pain points upfront, and did you find that that was a good fit right away, or did you have a few iterations or pivots like as you discovered You know, as you were in the initial meetings with the providers, did you, did you change your direction based on that feedback at all?

Definitely. Yeah. Yeah. So that was a big thing is like listening to what they're saying and just really tuning into what are the things, what are their objections. So for providers specifically, they want to make sure it's transparent, but also the biggest limiting factor is their time. So you need to help them understand that this system Yes, there is gonna be some time investment into it. However, you're gonna be able to produce and educate at such a bigger scale than if you were to try to do this all on your own. Because a lot of 'em tried on their own, they're inconsistent, and it doesn't lead to sustainable creation and thought leadership. Mm-hmm. And so it's like we are building a system that's going to save your time, but then also continue to build your brand and put out quality information at the same time. And so overcoming that obstacle and helping them see that was really a big push for them.

Did you find that some of them were a little bit reticent to even get into, you know, the thought leadership thing and putting themselves out there, or were they open to it?

You know, it's been really interesting because now I've talked to hundreds and hundreds of physicians, and this is scary, but it is the truth. Because what's happening is that we're seeing a squeeze. As we know, that insurance reimbursement has continued to decline while the demand for care has increased. Our healthcare system is getting corporatized and private companies are coming in. And so their number one priority And so what that has done is that means that these providers are— they have to see more people in the same amount of time, which decreases quality of care. In addition, they have increased administrative burden, you know, with pre-authorizations, dealing with insurance. And ultimately, it's been the perfect recipe for burnout. And so what this has done is it's started to drive these providers to second-line care. Guess and start to think of, you know, what would life look like out of this typical model? And maybe good timing for me is that they start to understand is that thought leadership is the beginning to provide opportunity for them, you know, whether it be to open up a concierge practice, run courses, have a membership, so many different options you can go with. But when it comes down to it, really first and foremost starts with getting your name out there. And so that was actually Pretty helpful. So yeah, it's an interesting time right now to see this transition, and there's a lot of unknowns, but transformation is happening and innovation is happening, and it's going to be a bumpy road, but it has to happen for things to get better.

And I feel like physicians, healthcare providers in general, are starting to recognize the box that they're in now, right? I mean, they got into the profession because they truly wanted to make a difference. They wanted to help their patients or clients. And yeah, like you said, they've got time pressures, cost pressures, productivity pressures. I think I was reading the average physician encounter in the US is 7 minutes long or something like that. I mean, that's—

Right.

That's crazy, right? And, you know, we've got a consumer population that is sort of abdicating their responsibility for their own health to this third party who doesn't have enough time to really dig in and deal with it. So it is, Yeah, it's an untenable situation and I agree that it's, it's ripe for some innovation and disruption for sure.

Yeah, absolutely.

So what is it like? Is there like a case like when they start working with you?

Good question. So that's one thing is whenever someone's buying a service like this, they're going to look at what's the ROI on it. And I think it's really important because typically what we do is our eyes go directly to the vanity metrics.

Mm-hmm.

To saying, how do I get more likes? How do I go viral? How do I do all those things like that? And what we need to understand is that I understand virality is a very enticing idea, and I've gone viral myself. I've had videos that have millions of views and it feels really cool. It's like hitting the pot on a slot machine.

Yeah.

But that's exactly what it is. It is a slot machine. Sure, there is a recipe that we can use to increase the chances of it, but when it comes down to it, you need to focus on building the machine that's gonna allow you to do this consistently over time, and then making sure that that machine aligns with whatever your business professional goals are.

Yeah.

You'd rather have a small audience that actually cares about the things that you wanna offer rather than an incredibly large audience that has a diverse interest set and not actually gonna become buyers. And that's where the creator needs to, meet the entrepreneur. And it's interesting cuz I've now talked to so many different creators. Many of 'em have very big followings and you would be very surprised to learn how few of them actually have a business strategy behind it that doesn't rely strictly on views. And if you have a business that relies strictly on views, you once again are gonna be handcuffed to the algorithm. And that's where we say, okay, let's focus on maybe more important metrics like how do we grow your email list? How do we start setting up discovery calls for you? How do we put them into a sales pipeline that actually is gonna grow your business rather than just be strictly vanity.

Yeah, that's so important. And I think, yeah, people get tied up or wrapped up in the vanity metrics and they, they lose sight over what they're really trying to do. And then the likes and the shares and the subscriptions or downloads or whatever become the thing, but that's not what's paying their bills or generating income or wealth. So it's, that's a really important distinction.

Yeah, exactly.

So I want to kind of turn our attention now to your expertise as a PT. And I was interested in your thoughts on the founder entrepreneur's life, right? And if you have any recommendations or thoughts, or if you see red flags, right? Like they're, you know, they're sitting all day coding or at a computer, they're drinking Soylent for their meals, or I mean, you know, the startup grind, right? So as a DPT, are there things that you wish they knew or wish they would do or any kind of advice you have for people in that stage of life?

Yeah, I think that it's really hard when someone is hyper-focused into something to get them away from their computer. And I have been guilty of it myself. I am— there's no one more highly trained than me of the importance of mobility, and yet there have been days where I sit at this computer for 8 hours straight, you know. So like, I want to— I say this because I am human. And so when I make these recommendations, give yourself grace.

Yeah.

Right? And so when it comes down to it is that you need to add movement into your workflow. Mm-hmm. Something as simple as the standing desk. I have a standing desk right now that I threw out my old desk. I was like, I'm getting that one in. Second, when I take calls now, I pop in AirPods and I walk while I talk. Mm-hmm. Right? Some, somewhere I can get some movement in while I do it. And it's interesting, people don't realize the value of this. But it's actually gonna provide some clarity in your thought and open up some space in your brain to continue to be productive and creative, to drive innovation in your business. And so when we think about it, it really comes down to movement, how you feel your body, which we're all aware of, but then something unexpected. And I actually had a really good conversation with a neuroscientist yesterday about this, is the importance of socialization. Because we can sit at our computer all day long and yes, we can have digital conversations like this, which are absolutely good for us. But what the research is showing is that there is— is that we often underestimate the value of socializing and having in-person interactions and what that can do for us. And I found that to be really interesting and something that I'm trying to incorporate into my life because there's been times where friends have been like, hey, you want to hang out? It's like, no, I want to work on my business. And then I'm sitting there not actually being productive because my— I'm just— my battery is just fully drained. And so it's saying, okay, let's get out, let's go interact with these people. And understanding that's actually going to return And allow me to continue to grow the business.

That's such a good point because we start businesses so we have more time freedom, location freedom, financial freedom, and we can do things like hang out with our friends. But then when an opportunity is right in front of us, we don't take advantage of it, you know? So I think it's, yeah, it's important when you're in that startup mode and you're a founder, yeah, to really understand why you're doing it in the first place. And that socialization is key. I mean, if you're familiar with Blue Zones in the world and the work of Dan Buettner, One of the, one of the things that's really important to longevity is a social fabric, social network. So yeah, I think you're right on with that.

For sure. And I think like if someone like is interested in the science, this is very— comes from an evolutionary perspective, is that back in the hunter-gatherers days, you actually were rewarded for being social because if you were isolating yourself, you would have less likely to survive. And so it developed this evolutionary feedback where now short-term, if you're isolated, Mm-hmm. Your body actually releases cortisol, which is the stress hormone. And this is good in short-term effects, but what happens is that if you continue to keep yourself isolated, then we have— start having that prolonged exposure, and that's chronic stress. That chronic release of the cortisol actually is gonna suppress your autoimmune system. It's gonna, it's gonna impact your metabolism and so many different things that you don't realize that you're doing a lot of harm just by sitting at your computer and working. So yes, I understand you wanna build something for the future, but you also wanna have a life that has some quality to it in the long run as well.

It's such an important concept. And I think, yeah, we forget that when we're in the midst of it, right? It's so easy to keep your head down and look at the next KPI or the next metric, the next sale. But yeah, you know, you definitely need to, yeah, you need to be social, right? And there's a, like you said, there's an evolutionary reason for it. And like being cast out from the tribe is probably one of the worst things that could have happened to you, right? But we're very socially anxious and we want likes and validation and things like that.

Yeah, totally.

Yeah. Well, is there anything that you wished you knew when you were starting out that would have made your life a little bit easier?

You know, it's interesting because we had talked, you and I had talked about this and, you know, I was thinking about it and reflecting on it as well is that oftentimes you have to slow down to speed up. And I find that to be incredibly valuable. Now, one thing that I'm grateful for is that I felt that I could take action before I was fully ready, because there was never a point where I felt like, oh, I'm fully prepared for this. I'm gonna go try to start a business.

Right.

Yeah. And if I let that narrative in my head continue, it never would've happened. And as I do it, I now, I'm on my like 4th business at this point.

Yeah.

I'm saying, how do I build this business in a way that aligns with how I want my life to look? And a lot of that came down to the time freedom. And so saying like, I built this so that I could have some free time to be creative and to be outside and to go socialize. And initially I built it and I was working more than I ever was in the clinic. And I said, what are you doing? And so now I take Fridays, like the second half of Fridays is just free time to be creative. And I just leave it blocked off. I don't take any meetings or anything like that. And just allowing myself to have that space has been so incredibly powerful.

That's great that you've recognized that and did it for sure. And I love that, you know, you recognize that you're never gonna be fully ready. And, you know, I remember when I first started, when I started my first business, I was stuck on that, right? I was like, oh, I need another partner. I need somebody to help me. I'm not quite ready yet. I gotta learn this. I gotta do that. And it wasn't until, you know, I just had to. You know, I hated my job so much that I had to leave and I just, I just went for it. So that's a great point. You're never going to be perfectly ready. You just got to be ready enough and go for it.

So I, I actually recently had a really good conversation with this cardiologist and he said something that really struck me is that when we're sitting in those settings where we feel like we're trapped, he's like, oftentimes we're sitting in a prison cell and we're looking through the window, looking up at the sky. But all we need to do is turn around and realize that the door is already open. You know, and if you just turn around and take a look and be like, oh, you know what? There is the opportunity to go and try something new, and it's not as hard as you think—at least the first steps. Then go and do it. You don't want to be at the end of your life and be like, wow, I wish I would have tried that out.

Well, Spencer, if people are interested in learning more about you and the work you do, where could they find you?

Sure. So you can go to Instagram. That's at Lock Help. L-A-L-K Help. Also, we are launching— we just launched the first season of our podcast, the Med Story Podcast. Season 2, I'm really excited about, which John is going to be part of as a guest, which you will see, is that we are then transforming it from just interview style where we're going into the narrative storytelling style. And this is once again me doubling down on storytelling and how important it is. And the idea is hopefully we can make it even more engaging so that people can learn from great minds like John. And Hopefully it makes, makes some impact in their life. So it's called the Med Story Podcast. Season 2 will be launching at the end of August, and we're really excited about it and would love your feedback, right? This is just the beginning, and I'm already pretty proud of how they're turning out. But even if we look how it's going to be a year, 2 years from now, like, it's only going to get better.

Well, Spencer, thank you so much for sharing your story and your wisdom. Really appreciate it.

I appreciate you, John. Thanks so much.

Thank you so much for listening to the Total Entrepreneur Mind Body Spirit Podcast. If you liked what you heard or heard something interesting today, please give us a like, share a comment, or better yet, subscribe to the podcast. Thank you.