EPISODE 437: The Power of Doing What Matters with Clayton Skaggs, DC

Hey, chiropractors. We're ready for another Modern Chiropractic Marketing Show with Dr. Kevin Christie, where we discuss the latest in marketing strategies, contact marketing, direct response marketing, and business development with some of the leading experts in the industry.

[00:00:00] Welcome to another episode of Modern Chiropractic Mastery. This is your host, Dr. Kevin Christie. And today I'm excited to interview a longtime mentor, uh, someone I learned from when I was in chiropractic school. Someone I got to know, uh, throughout the career taking some courses and has been someone that has been on the, uh, real, you know, frontier of the clinical side of things.

And that is Dr. Clayton Skaggs. Uh, but today we're actually gonna. Talk about a little bit of a different topic outside of the clinical, and he's written a book called The Power of Doing What Matters, and we dive into some of the principles of that. And, uh, the subtitle is Discover the Mind Body Resilience in All of Us.

And, uh, you know, his work with. High performing people of all levels, be it business or athletics. Uh, he's seen that mind body resilience and he wrote a book about that. We're gonna dive into some of the principles of it, and it's exciting to do that. And you know, as a chiropractor, most of you that have listened to this are chiropractors.

Uh, resilience [00:01:00] is something you're going to have to have. Um, for your career, for your personal life. And then you're also gonna be able to have to convey that and communicate it to your patient base. And I think today's interview with Dr. Skaggs does a great job of diving into that and, uh, highly recommend his book.

Again, that is the power of doing what matters. And in our conversation today, we dive into that. So hope you enjoyed my interview with Dr. Clayton sks.

Dr. Kevin Christie: All right. Excited to have Dr. Clayton Skaggs on the podcast. It's, uh, this episode and it's, uh, you know, kind of full circle moment for me. I definitely learned from, from the doc here, uh, 20 years ago. And then, uh, uh, we had kind of reminisced before we hit record that we had coffee. Shockingly, it was 10 years ago, and, uh, he, he had a good observation that we haven't aged at all in, in 10 years, so that was pretty cool.

But, uh, uh, before we dive into our topic today, doc, tell us a little bit about yourself and, and what's going [00:02:00] on.

Dr. Clayton Skaggs: Yeah. Well, it is, amazing that it, it's been 10 years and then I guess it's, it's probably been another 15 or 20 since you were. You're my student, my intern. Yeah. Uh, those are some of my favorite things when mm-hmm.

I see folks like you do so well and, and have success and clearly have developed a, an approach and a, an articulation of, of, uh, taking care of people. That's, uh, that's really good. And, so it's as an old guy. Someone who's been doing this for a while, that, that's one of my favorite, favorite things.

Uh, and, and we've, we've really got some fun things happening kinda surrounding that, uh, currently, which is, uh, trying to move a hundred million people to doing what matters and that's a big number. [00:03:00] And, uh, and, and yet, uh, just imagine that. Imagine. If a hundred million people were doing what matters.

And, and that's not, that's not necessarily what you think matters. What I think matters, uh, what, uh, what, what my book says matters. It's, it, it's doing simple things that everybody knows matters. And then there's, there's specific ones for each individual. But, uh, gosh, just imagine if, if more folks were.

Just paying attention to their bodies, more pay, paying attention to what they eat and where you're eating a colorful plate, uh, that, that everybody knows is, is good. Uh, imagine if, if more people were actually relaxing and resting appropriately, uh mm-hmm. Imagine if more people were. Tuning into their families, uh, tuning into [00:04:00] music, tuning into the beautiful things around them, uh, more, uh, how much easier it would be for us to help 'em.

I mean, so, so, so that's going on that, that's obviously, um, got me pretty excited that, that that's our current mission and uh, and we're seeing some traction on that. Uh, you know, with, with the book and some of the platforms were, we're launching. Uh, and, and then, uh, you know, just to, to finish on what I'm doing.

Mm-hmm. I'm, I'm still surrounded by an amazing team here at this institute in St. Louis. And, uh, they, they're, they're just remarkable from the desk to all the people on the floor. How they, they're helping people from around the country, around the world. We're, we're seeing people from, uh, Hong Kong, South Korea, uh, you know, as well as Oklahoma City, Seattle, and New York.

And, uh, [00:05:00] I, I think I saw eight people this morning from eight different locations around the United States and world. My, a couple international folks today. Uh, and, and so, gosh, how, how blessed am I? To, to be able to do that. Uh, it's just extraordinary. And, um, and so one of the, one of the things I'm putting time into things like this, you know, having these conversations and, and, uh, things around the book is, uh, to, to help more people have these experiences.

It, the, that mind-body resilience is in every one of us. And, uh, it's, it's just a matter of. Letting it come through. Uh, it's hard, you know? Yeah. Getting outta the way to let that come through is hard. Uh, but it, it can happen. It can happen with all kinds of things.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah, let's, let's go back a little bit, um, [00:06:00] to set some, some context for our audience.

Uh, I graduated Logan in oh five. I was fortunate enough, I think it might've been oh four, that I was able to work with you on the, at the Barnes Jewish Hospital. And we were, and then we were on that, we did that research study on low back pain and, and postpartum. And, uh, that was, that was quite an experience, uh, for me.

And I believe that was before your current facility is, is that accurate? But like oh four? Um,

Dr. Clayton Skaggs: it's right, right. When we were opening this place, we, we, um. Launched this facility in oh three, so.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Okay.

Dr. Clayton Skaggs: It was, it was right around, right around the, that, yeah. Yeah.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Perfect. Yeah. And so it's, uh, been cool to see the evolution of, of your institute there and, and everything that you have going on, um, ex for our audience, give them the name and, and some of the stuff that you do at your facility there.

And then we'll be able to kind of bridge that gap into what you're doing now.

Dr. Clayton Skaggs: Sure. Uh, yeah. So it's, it's [00:07:00] called the Central Institute for Human Performance. And, uh, we have been operating here for a little over 21 years. It is a, a multidisciplinary institute. We've got chiropractic physicians, uh, athletic trainers, certified athletic trainers, physical therapists, uh, you know, strength, strength, uh, practitioners.

Over time, we've, we've had other physicians, MDs and, uh, of, of, of various disciplines. And what's evolved here is a, a focus on assessment. I mean, that, that's always been mm-hmm. Something in the front of what I do, uh, with the influences that, that I've had. But currently, and especially in the last, you know, four to six years.

That assessment, uh, has, has evolved and, and been refined to, to really be unique and, and comprehensive [00:08:00] that, uh, we feel is, is, uh, you know, not, not produced a lot in this, in this country. Mm-hmm. And, and so we, we look at movement, we look at strength and body composition. Uh, we look at at, uh, diet nutrition parameters, uh, and.

Importantly, that neuro musculoskeletal assessment, which is, you know, what is, uh, the, the chiropractic base, uh, we're, we're providing something that, that certainly here at the institute is, is, uh, a, a combination of broad knowledge and, and experience. But what, what I think most of us can do, most chiropractic practitioners can do.

That, that I'm seeing not happening in, in a lot of these people that come from all over. Mm-hmm. Is, is, is actually listen. Yeah. Listen to them and observe them and touch them. And because I'm, I'm seeing folks come in after six to eight physicians [00:09:00] and, and they're sometimes tearfully telling me, uh, I haven't been, I haven't been touched.

Yeah. Um, and so. We, we, we certainly have, have a, a comprehensive approach and I think, uh, there's, there's components of it that, you know, that, that a lot of folks can provide.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah. And obviously I think modern healthcare, nobody's listening and no one's, uh, actually palpating and touching and moving and, and actually seeing what's wrong with it.

They're just, uh, going right to the, the MRI and uh, and they're missing a, a big component of that. And so you obviously have worked with a lot of people on the spectrum of. Uh, pro athlete all the way down to just, you know, maybe a grandparent trying to pick up their kids and play with their kids, uh, grandkids, I should say.

Uh, and so you've, you've seen the, the gamut there of how that works and your, your most recent book is called The, the Power of Doing. Uh, what Matters. Uh, who is the, who is the book mainly geared towards? [00:10:00]

Dr. Clayton Skaggs: Yeah, my, my publisher kept asking that. And, uh, and, and I'd say everybody, it, it's really, uh, it, it's meant for everyone.

And, and as I've done these, these conversations, uh, you know, very, very nicely, uh, more and more of the, the hosts are saying, wow, this, this really could be for anyone. Yeah. Did you, do you realize this, this model could be for anyone? And so it is intended for everyone. It, it's written simplistically, uh, to be for anyone.

It's, it's told through stories and, uh, and, and I, I truly believe, as I said at the outset, this MINDBODY resiliency mm-hmm. Uh, is, is in everyone. And, and so to, to gain access to it, I think is important for the elite athlete who's, who's trying to, uh, get, get better at standing on the green. To, uh, the, the electrician [00:11:00] who's just trying to finish out his third, third quarter, uh, to the mom who's, you know, wanting to be her best before she, uh, she moves into pregnancy and, and even to those six and eight year olds who, um, are having trouble running out on the field and are running slower than they, they really should be.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah. Now, um. You know, what are some of the, this, this book sounds like one of those ones where I know I'm gonna read and get a lot out of 'em and then put one in the waiting room and then put a stack. Uh, I tend to, when I come across a book like this, will give a lot of the books away to patients that I, you know, all new patients or something.

That's, it is a really nice, um, I feel like a book like this is great. For obviously the education of the patient and, and it makes for a nice patient experience. It's like, wow, the doctor gave me a book that actually is gonna help me out. That's, uh, pretty remarkable. So it, I I'm, I'm definitely on my list for sure.

But, um, what are some [00:12:00] of the traits that you've seen, the, the best, that have that mind body resilience? What are some of the traits of those folks?

Dr. Clayton Skaggs: Well, I, I certainly like your, your comments about the book and, and, uh. I've had that experience, which is, is, is very exciting and I think it can, can apply to, for other practitioners where folks have read the book and, and when they come in and I then sit down with 'em, they tell me, you know, I, I now have hope that I can recover.

And, and so, uh, I think what the book does provide and, and, and what, you know, comes forward for resiliency is. Uh, that, that you have control of these things. If you'll just do some very simple things and simple things like parasympathetic breathing, uh, simple things like reading on a regular basis. Uh, and, and [00:13:00] what I think is, is foundational for, uh, helping practitioners is the book suggests that these individuals have a circle of advisors.

That's, that's creating logical pursuits, logical questioning, logical approaches to health, logical approaches to, uh, to, to performing. And, and so, uh, I strongly believe in a, in, in having a circle of advisors that is helping you and, and reevaluate reevaluating that service advisors, um, pretty routinely. Um, and so resilience is.

Uh, thrown around a lot. I mean, it, it's kinda one of these phrases that mm-hmm. That, uh, uh, all of a sudden is trending. Oh. You hear someone being interviewed, and I had, I really felt my resilience was good today and mm-hmm. Uh, but, uh, it, it is, uh, it's our [00:14:00] ability to adapt, uh, to change our, our ability to respond to stress.

Mm-hmm. And, uh, and, and, and so to be a good responder. Uh, requires preparation. And I think the, for the fault in, uh, in most situations with individuals, the reason they're not good responders, the reason they're, they're reacting and then not, not having good results, uh, is, is they think that these things are just gonna be there for them.

Yeah. And every, uh, every, every approach and, and, uh. Business or otherwise knows that preparation is key. So, so, so preparing for your resiliency is, is one of the most important things. And, and, and so that involves, as I say in the book, finding out where you stand. Mm-hmm. And I think, um, you know, chiropractic, uh, uh, the chiropractic approach [00:15:00] for, for its sometimes, um, challenges with some of the philosophies.

It, it instills in you to, to observe, to observe your patient, to observe where they're standing. Uh, and, and, and unfortunately, some of that analysis has moved out of, out of our approach in, in chiropractic, we've, we've, we've drifted into, you know, more science-based database things, and, and so I strongly encourage, you know, identifying where that patient stands as, as Vladimir Yonda said.

Uh, your standing position is the beginning of all movement.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Clayton Skaggs: And if you're standing poorly, you're, you're likely to be moving poorly. Yeah. So, uh, you know, preparation, know where you stand to then know what you need to do. And, and so some individuals may need to work on their, their, uh, their movements.

Some may need to work on their diet, nutrition. [00:16:00] Some may need to work on their. Strength, uh, some, some may need to, to work on, um, their, their responsiveness relative to their mindset. And, and, and really the, the emphasis in the book is that piece mindset that I, I just keep finding out more and more. Every year is the most potent.

So,

Dr. Kevin Christie: yeah. And going back to your point, this book is for everyone. I can, I can imagine this would be great for our audience of chiropractors. Uh, the vast majority of our audience is chiropractors. And, you know, I, we work with a lot of chiropractors and, and resilience is something that they, they have to really achieve.

I mean, there's gonna be ups and downs and, and it's just gonna be a, a roller coaster. If you practice long enough, right? And there's gonna be great years and bad years and there's gonna be good months and bad months, and you gotta be able to maintain that levelness and you have to do that, you know, for yourself, for your family, but you have to do it for your [00:17:00] patients as well.

And I think that's the, the tricky part of what we do as a profession is. We're trying to be a healer and get people better, and a lot of times we're going through our own stuff. So I'm, I imagine, uh, you know, implementing the principles in this book as the actual chiropractor is gonna be helpful, and then obviously, uh, instilling that for their, their patients is gonna be, uh, really important.

One of the things that you mentioned was a circle of advisors, I think. Um. You know, that's been huge for me. Uh, back in 2022, we actually started a mastermind group of, of higher level chiropractors where uh, we actually meet four times a year in person as we record this. I leave in a couple days for Boston, for our east group, and, um.

And I would say that's what's been, one of the things I didn't know would come out of the Mastermind when I started it, was that it's become a circle of advisors and then people within the Mastermind have smaller circles within it that they, they, uh, get consistent help with. And accountability. We have a, [00:18:00] we have like a WhatsApp group type of thing.

And a few people I had mentioned a couple days ago, I was like, I can't wait for our. You know, quarterly, uh, shot in the arm by getting together and working people. And that, that circle of advisors, uh, idea that you mentioned has been so helpful, uh, for that. Now, uh, what, what would you recommend, I, I just wanna stay on this circle of advisors for a minute, but for the, for the lay person, not the chiropractor, uh, what are some people that, uh.

A patient should have in their corner in regards to circle of, of advisors that would help them out with this resiliency. Hmm.

Dr. Clayton Skaggs: Well, I, I, I love what you're doing there with, um, that, that regular meeting and, and, um, you know, having that group of peers, I think that's, that, that's fantastic. And I, I think. As, as we're running in, in life and, and working and, and, and taking care of our families, [00:19:00] it is, it is really easy not to, to pause and, and have rec recollection or, or contemplation.

Um, and, and, and that's where this circle can help You have, have pause and mm-hmm. And so it's, it's, no, it's, it's, it's, it's no mystery. Or, or, or, uh. Uh, fascination that, that people of faith have good longevity and good resiliency. Because what do they, if, what do they have every week if they go go to church or they have some type of spiritual, um, interaction, they're, they're getting a, a reset, right?

Mm-hmm. So, yeah. So certainly I'm a, I'm a believer that having some spiritual faith. Circle is, is essential and, uh, and, and that, that I didn't, I didn't come up with that obviously. And [00:20:00] then, you know, obviously a practitioner, and this doesn't have to be a chiropractor, doesn't have to be a physical therapist or, or, or, uh, you know, any certain discipline.

Mm-hmm. As Carol Levitt always said, you, it just needs to be a practitioner that is logical thinking. Is caring is, is, is putting attention to, uh, things like listening and, and observation. Uh, so that, that's what I suggest people look for in mm-hmm. Practitioner. And, uh, and, and then, you know, obviously friends and, and friends are, um.

You know, really key thing, I mean, there there's different philosophers who said you're lucky to have, um, you know, five friends at the end of your life, you know that you can call really good friends. Well, I think the pursuit would is to have as many as you can and not, not try to have [00:21:00] a, you know, so many best friends.

And, um, so that, that, that's probably where I'd land on. Mm-hmm. On that question.

Dr. Kevin Christie: No, I think it's, it's great. And, um, I want to, I want to ask you a, a question. One of the things we did, we had a, we have a few members in our mastermind that are, that have been practicing for quite a while. They're in their sixties and in their early seventies and last summer we did a, we had two of them come up and we did a, we did a wisdom session because I think one of the things is like when you talk to, you know, when you talk to younger people when they're in their.

You know, late twenties, early thirties. Uh, let's take it to the chiropractor for a minute. And I, and you can have, you know, people that are listening. If they're not a chiropractor, they can, uh, bridge the gap there, um, to the, to the lay person. But, uh, you know, being in your late twenties and early thirties, mid thirties, it can, it can seem overwhelming and it seems like a lot of people are, are potentially.

Facing, uh, burnout. [00:22:00] And, um, one of the things that we, we asked the, the, the two gentlemen that spoke about, you know, okay, you've been doing this for 40 years now you're, you're in a really good place now. You know, was it always easy? You know, like, tell us our, tell us the, the ugly we wanted to hear the ugly, you know, and we had.

One who, uh, who's practiced, like physically burned down one year, right? Like, and, and again, both these docs are, are doing great now and have had a great career and financially free. And the other one, uh, the.com bubble got 'em really bad. You know, like it, like everybody's got their, their, their war stories, but they maintain resiliency, uh, throughout that.

And, and I think the thing that I found. Interesting that people that can maintain that resilience is they also can maintain a level of fascination and, and motivation, uh, throughout their, their years. And, and one thing that stands [00:23:00] out, you know, to me with, with you is you've always maintained that fascination and, and motivation as you've.

Uh, progressed. Uh, what would you, what would you say? I know it's a loaded question, but, um, to that younger practitioner that it's, it's hard, it's struggling, um, to where, you know, stick with it and, um, you know, and see the forest through the trees. Hmm.

Dr. Clayton Skaggs: Yeah. Well, I, I've certainly, I've certainly had my, my challenges along the way and, um, and, uh.

Things, things happen that you, you, you certainly are curious about and mm-hmm. Uh, and, and yet what The philosophy that I hold on to that is in the book and, and I, and I, sorry if I keep bringing up the book

Dr. Kevin Christie: No, that's why we're here.

Dr. Clayton Skaggs: It is, uh, uh, the, the intent is, is for that big, that a hundred million folks Yep.

[00:24:00] Is there are good things around the bend. Always, there are good things around the bin always. And, uh, that, that, that means when things are challenging, there's good things around the bin. And when things are good, uh, there's some undesirable things around the bin. And so knowing that, then you, you, you, you tend to be less reactive when, when things are good or.

Or not good, you know, hey, there's, there's challenges coming and, and so I think that perspective is, is, is important to hold onto it. It's kinda like the rule of thirds where, you know, you, you train one day, man, that's a great training day and mm-hmm. You train another day and is is okay and you train another day.

Man, that was horrible. And, and so if you know that going into [00:25:00] training. Then, then it's okay. So if you know that life is, is going to be great and then not so good, uh, then that, that perspective is, is, is key. And you know, I was asked, uh, I was on an interview recently and was during this tornado here in St.

Louis. Uh, I was supposed to be talking about something else, but they were asking me all these tornado questions and, and so this, uh, this interviewer said. So what would you tell the, uh, the people who lost their homes and, and are struggling right now? And, and I said, well, uh, probably similar to what I tell some of my patients who are struggling in chronic pain and, and trying to, um, see their way out is to focus on others.

And, and, uh, and she, I, she, uh, didn't necessarily respond ideally, but. I think that's also [00:26:00] what's helped me Yeah. In, in some of my downtimes. Uh, and I, you know, I, I was fortunate to have circle advisors that prompted me mm-hmm. To do that. And, and when you focus on others, uh, you'll, you'll then see other things to do and you'll, you'll, you'll get bright lights by helping them.

And, and so again, this isn't anything new under the sun. This is obviously. Uh, biblical and, um, and that, that's probably what's helped me the most is put attention Yeah. In everything we do. And, uh, even all the way down to that micro moment where you're about to walk in the, the room, uh, with one of those undesirable cases that mm-hmm.

Is just not responding. Not, maybe not the most fun case. And I've told my associates over the years. Uh, when you put your hand on that door, uh, say, what [00:27:00] can I learn? Mm-hmm. What can I learn from this individual today? And that'll, that'll open your mind for discovery, uh, as you, as you head in there.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah, I love that answer.

It reminds me of, uh, I'm a member of Strategic Coach, which is an entrepreneur coaching group, and, uh, they have a little PDF thing. It's, uh, I think it's called the Scary Times, something or other, and it's just like a, it's like 10 things to do when. It's a little bit scary in business. It, it's, it's, it's designed for, for business.

And, uh, one of the things on there was, was, you know, focus all your energy on your customer, right? And, and in our world, you know, like focus on other people, focus on your patient. Like when you're having a bad month or a bad week, or it's a whatever, focus on the patient. If you're starting up a practice and you think it's gonna be all hunky dory, you know, outta the gates like.

You're gonna have, you're gonna have, uh, some, some tough times there. You're gonna have some cashflow crunch. Focus on the patient. I, I love that answer. It can really help [00:28:00] kind of get, get you to that, um, that next step. And now, um, a little bit of a loaded question, and I, and I know it's, uh, it's always hard to, it's always hard to manage it like, like we do with our patients as well, but it seems like there's an epidemic of people who.

They feel a little bit uncomfortable and they go right to. Giving themselves a condition of like, you know, burnout or overwhelm, and they go right to it as soon as there's a, a little discomfort or a little challenge or unease. Right. Um, I, I feel like we may have latched on to that a little bit too much.

And, and again, I, I know there's people with actual diagnosed situations, so I'm not discounting it, but, uh, I do think. Not enough people are comfortable with being uncomfortable. Um, obviously some of the strategies in the book would, would help them with that, but what would be some, some other things you would say to that person if they were, [00:29:00] if, if you somehow fell on their circle of advisors and you had to talk them into, uh, the next 10 years, like, look, you, you're hitting a little bit of a road bump now, but you're gonna be okay.

Dr. Clayton Skaggs: Yeah, I, I agree with you. I think. That labeling in our culture, everything from burnout to A DHD and yeah. Uh, you know, the latest mnemonic, uh, there's a, there's a wonderful book, um, that I read recently, the Age of Diagnosis that really zeroes in on, uh, the, the inappropriate. Labeling that that's happening.

And, and then yes, once that label hits, we, we get attracted to it. We start looking for it, we start putting attention to the symptoms, uh, long COVID, things like that. So, um, I, I, I think it, it kind of goes back to some of the, the things we've talked about, which is. [00:30:00] Focus on, on known good things. Mm-hmm. And, uh, and, and, and, you know, all these, those things we're describing relative to our culture, uh, are hard.

And, and, and so I hear quite frequently, uh, a case that that has success here. They'll say. Man, what? You, you guys figured this out and I'm better. And why? Why aren't, why isn't this happening more? Why, why didn't other docs see what you saw and da, da, da, and, and, and help me get there? And, and I, I usually answer, well, because it's really hard.

It, it's really hard to keep doing the good things, especially when the rest of the culture, a lot of the culture is saying, don't. You know that, uh, and, and a lot of the, when a lot of the culture is saying you, you shouldn't be uncomfortable, then you think, well, I shouldn't be uncomfortable, but it, it, we are going to [00:31:00] have discomfort and, and it's okay.

And it, it is, it's the building block for resilience really. And, and, uh, so often I'll, I'll tell people in pain, people who have a bump in their recovery, uh, or. Individuals who are, are going through a tough time. This is a gift.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Hmm.

Dr. Clayton Skaggs: This is a gift. And when you work through this, you're, you're gonna have strength and responsiveness and resilience and, and knowledge that you can use for the rest of your life.

Yeah. Yeah. So, so any, any, any bump. Any injury. I love injuries early on in our care. I, I love them because it's a, it's an opportunity for us to teach them through healing. It's an opportunity to teach through healing. And, and then, then, no, we can take care of anything that, that, that comes, comes our way. So, uh, kind of a, a circle and, and, and so, [00:32:00] uh, I would probably have a, a conversation with 'em about.

A label and, and, and that's all that is. Mm-hmm. And, and that, um, you, you have some, some challenge going on in your, in your world that, that you can just, you can just tackle. And, uh, one of the, one of the pieces in my book is an important thing. I've, I've taught certainly to our whole team and many clients that come our way and, and athletes along the way is choosing good words.

And, you know, it is one of the things we have control of is, is our word choice. Yeah. And, and, and so you can't use words like sad, bad, frustrated, I mean, they just have to go off the mm-hmm. You know, the vocabulary and because what do they trigger? They trigger those things that get us thinking about those, those undesirable things.

I have a, I have a client, very [00:33:00] successful businessman. And if you say the word worry around him, he goes, he goes nuts. Like mm-hmm. It's like, what you, what'd you say? And, yeah. And I love, I love, I love his sensitivity to that undesirable, uh, dysfunctional word.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah, it's, it's amazing the power of the mind for sure.

Uh, there's another good book that I like, um, it's called Chatter and uh, the author's name is Ethan. First name's Ethan, but it's called Chatter. And he talks a lot about what you tell yourself, um, and even to the point of like, uh, you know, you don't say something like, oh. You know, I'm an idiot. You would say, Kevin, you're an idiot.

Right? You're kind of like third person. It so that it's not, you're not owning it so much. Like kind of, he used the example of like Tiger Woods would be when he was in his prime and he'd hit a batch. I was like, he's like, oh tiger. You know, like he. He would, it was his way of getting it out there, but it was almost like [00:34:00] distancing himself from it.

He's got a lot of these little, little, uh, tricks on, on, uh, preventing the rumination that we fall into. And I think obviously a lot of people dealing with physical ailments or maybe some mental stuff, there's a lot of rumination going on with that.

Dr. Clayton Skaggs: Oh, yeah.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Uh, you know, kind of last question on it that I have is, um, you know, you mentioned a couple things like, you know, maybe some breathing and meditation, things like that.

I, I was recently listening to a podcast. It was actually with, uh, the guest was Jeffrey Katzenberg, who's the. The, the Hollywood writer, producer guide, super successful and they're on a whole mission. Uh, 'cause now people are starting to realize what social media and and smartphones have done to our youth and now our youth.

That has grown up with that their whole life are in their twenties, so now they are, a lot of 'em are patients of ours. And there's a lot of issues obviously going [00:35:00] on with that. And I think even people that are in their thirties, forties, fifties, are dealing with it as well with, with too much of the, the screen time and maybe some anxiety around that.

Um, what are a little bit of the recommendations around finding that. Separation from the noise, uh, you know, whether it is the quiet time, time to think, journaling, breathing, what, what are some of your thoughts on that?

Dr. Clayton Skaggs: Yeah, so there, there's, I don't know, I think 15 to 20, um, exercises in the book that mm-hmm.

That we, we've used over the years. And, and the book is a, a compilation of, uh. Everything that, that we've been doing for the past 20 years. And, and so certainly breathing, I mean, it's a pretty natural thing we do all day long. And so if you can institute a breathing practice that then becomes a, uh, other than conscious activity do throughout the day.[00:36:00]

Where you're stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system, then that, that's going to be, that's going to be helpful. Uh, obviously breathing's really trending from Wim Hof to Nestor and others. Mm-hmm. And, and my approach is, is to keep it simple and with all these exercises to keep them simple enough that individuals will and can keep doing them.

Mm-hmm. And because, you know, I was listening to a biohacker the other day, talk about all these different things he does in the morning, meditates with his compression pants on and, and different things. And that's just not sustainable for most people. So, uh, a simple diaphragmatic breathing practice where you put your legs up on a chair and, and focus on belly breathing.

If you, if you do that and get better at that and do that every day, we, we, you will change your physiology. And whether you're eight [00:37:00] or 80, we, we have evidence that we, we've done that. Uh, and so simple things like that. Reading a book. 30 minutes a day. I mean, what a what a what a, an amazing thing that the average person is reading one book a year.

Mm-hmm. If, if you read a book 30 minutes a day, you increase your longevity, something like 20%. It's just. Incredible juggling. Uh, it, it goes in, in and out of trends. I just saw Carlos Raz holding his ju juggling balls the other day. Yeah. We've been teaching juggling for, you know, now 15 or so years. And it, it's one of the most wonderful things you could do that trains that relax contract, uh, mechanism.

Uh, and uh, and it doesn't. Decreases cortisol increases parasympathetic activity. Um, even, [00:38:00] even just tossing one ball up and doing that and doing that. And so that's, uh.

Dr. Kevin Christie: I like that. Those are some of the things that I think, uh, you know, are, are huge. Um, you know, especially in the day of, I love Audible. I listen to books all the time, but I'm always reading a book too.

I basically will, you know, like listen to a book when I'm driving or working out things where I obviously can't read a book. And then I've got a book that I'm always reading and, uh, I, I definitely work through a good amount of books and get some reading in the morning and at night. And it's, it definitely just.

It really helps, it helps with attention span too, especially in today's day and age. It, it's just been, um, uh, really, really good, uh, for me. And so, um, you know, I just wanna challenge people because obviously your book is gonna help them realize that you can get more resilient. I think some people just chalk it up that, yeah.

That [00:39:00] person was born that way or whatever. Like, you don't have to go into the Marines to become resilient. Uh, yeah, that definitely will help. Um, but you could do it in other ways and in real world ways for people like you and I. Um, I don't think they'll take us into the Marines anymore. I think we, I think we passed that.

Uh, but I, I, I want you to just tell the audience, like give them some, um, insight into how, you know, like obviously this book will help them do that, but challenge 'em and they're like, you know, you can get better, you can get more resilient. You can, uh, work at this, uh, it, it may not be, you know, happen in six weeks, but maybe it's six months or, or a year, whatever it is.

Um, talk to them a little bit about, like, they can get better, they can get more resilient.

Dr. Clayton Skaggs: Yeah, so I, you know, I, I think it, it is sometimes, uh, uh, you know, this whole idea of, of what we should be doing or not doing is, is, [00:40:00] is tabled as, as is mundane. Or, or I know that, like I, I had one fellow read my book and say, oh, that seems pretty straightforward.

And I'm like, yeah, well, and, and he, he was probably. 30 pounds overweight. Anyway, so, and, and so these are things that are known and have been known for Yeah. Thousands of years. And the curious gap is that most of us aren't doing them. And, and so my challenge would be, hey, just, just pick three or four of these things in my book and do them and, and, and do them consistently.

And I. I can guarantee you your life will change and the, and anything else you're trying to do mm-hmm. Can, can get better. Um, and, and yes, the mind body resiliency is in all of us. And it's fascinating that it's taken all, all these [00:41:00] decades for us to acknowledge that. I mean, Ellen Langer in the seventies was doing studies on.

On how the mind affects the bodies and, and then placebo studies were well before that. Uh, so it is, it is known that, that what you think is, it turns into your physiologic response. And so you, you, you can control it. You can control what you do. So why, why wouldn't you? Yeah. And, and for practitioners. Uh, the thing that I think can be most rewarding for you is, uh, when you do this and then you experience it and you, you then you, you own it, and then you teach it, it, it multiplies for you.

And, and that, that, that's, again, nothing, nothing new under the sun. The, the [00:42:00] most impactful imprinting thing you can do for your brain. Is, is to gather knowledge, interpret it, contemplate it, and then teach it.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Clayton Skaggs: And, and so by, by reading this book, reading books like this, doing the things that build resiliency within you, and then you, you teach that to someone.

Yeah. Uh,

Dr. Kevin Christie: I love it. I love it. And so how can they, uh, how can they find the book or find out more information what you have going on?

Dr. Clayton Skaggs: Uh, the, the power of doing what matters. Uh, dot com is, uh, a web book website. We have, and, uh, or, uh, Amazon obviously has a, that, that type of thing. Uh, we we're, we're just launching a new platform called curious gap.com.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Okay. That'll

Dr. Clayton Skaggs: be an extended website that. We'll offer breathing, breathing courses, other educational courses [00:43:00] that, that expand on what we're trying to do for the book. And, um, uh, uh, just hope, hope, uh, people will keep, keep moving down this track.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Clayton Skaggs: Ask better questions and, uh, that that'll serve our, our kids and grandkids.

Dr. Kevin Christie: I love it. Well, thank you so much for your time today. This has been great. And uh, hopefully we can have a coffee again in person and not be 10 years.