One of the areas I am incredibly passionate about is doctors becoming business owners.
In this world where hospitals are gobbling more & more practices, there are a lot of financial & emotional incentives to start & maintain your practice.
That’s why I thought I would bring as a guest, Dr. Tedd Koren.
Dr. Koren is a great entrepreneur and healer. He has many words of wisdom that can help many whitecoats- whether you are a doctor, dentist, or chiropractor.
In his own quest to heal from an accident, Dr. Koren began to research ways of improving care.
In this podcast, Dr. Koren reveals:
– Learn how the horrible accident that caused Dr. Koren to stop his practice & his search for healing
10:09 -How doctors, dentists, & chiropractors could create their own healing system that patients and other practitioners could follow
12:51 – His piece of amazing advice to young white coats
16:35- He tells you how he got on TV & radio and what you can do to book yourself solid for years on end
TRANSCRIPT
(Note: I outsource transcription efforts, please forgive in advance any grammatical errors. I just simply don’t have time to review it all)
My name is Dave Denniston, welcome back to the latest episode of the Freedom Formula for Physicians Podcast. Well one of the areas I am incredibly passionate about is doctors and [?] being business owners. Well here we in this [?] hospitals are gobbling more and more practices and there are lots of financial and emotional incentives to start and to maintain your practice. That’s why I thought I will bring as a guest Dr. Tedd Koren.
Dr. Koren is a great entrepreneur and healer and I think he has many words of wisdom that can help so many different [?]. Whether you are a Doctor, a Dentist or a Chiropractor. And it all started in his own quest to heal from an accident. Dr. Koren began to research ways of improving care. So over a period of 10 years he visited over 50 different Chiropractor, Doctors, healers, MDs, physical therapist and didn’t have any lasting results.
And in this process he was experimenting on himself he had 10 years of pain and suffering that resolved in one week. And these years of suffering it was a blessing in disguise because they led to the discovery of the Koren Specific Technique (KST), which is now being practiced by thousands of healthcare practitioners around the world and has helped millions of people achieve greater health and wellbeing. And yes his three Cs; challenged, checked and cracked. And so we are going to talk about that here a bit. Well welcome Tedd.
Tedd: welcome. Thant you so much for that great introduction.
David: oh you are so welcome. I think this is going to be really fun and interesting and lets kick it off. Tells us a little bit about you, I mentioned in the introduction that you are in this deep and dark place and you were in a state of horrible pain for such a long time. Tells us more about your journey. About that time when you were in such pain and how you’ve gotten to where you are.
Tedd: well what happened was I was in a home accident and I had a concussion, almost lost three fingers. It wasn’t a car accident; people say it was a car accident. A large piece of lemonade blindsided thing hoped over. We just moved into our house, things were piled up and crushed down and gave me a concussion. You know when you have a concussion you want to sleep is one of the side effects and I went down sleeping for up to a ten-twelve hours.
But when I woke up that`s when my problems really started; I couldn’t use my hands, I couldn’t make a fist, I couldn’t open them, I was in constant pain up for extremely on neck, head, shoulders, arms, hands plus sciatica. It was getting horrible. I had slight bit of sciatica but now it was almost constant and some days I couldn’t walk more than ten feet. Even if we are in the city I do walk with my family and sit even on the sidewalk till the pain resided. Only a minute or two I get myself up walk another ten feet, sit. Need not to say it made travelling pretty difficult, at least walking. And this went on for a long time. I had to give up my license to practice Chiropractic.
I couldn’t use my hands so I put my life in some hold and I started searching for somebody to help me and I use to pull the local Chiropractics in the area. Me being a Chiropractor I went there and started seeing people all over the country. I was travelling all over the US and a year or so I went to Canada and I looked for Chiropractors, physical therapists, medical doctors, asteotops, caniosecle therapy, acupuncture, you know many many different modalities and techniques and nothing was given left in results. And I remember looking at a photo of three uncles, my grandmothers` brothers, l guess they are grand uncles. And the three of them, brothers, they had walkers and canes and all had hip replacement from back surgery and I looked at that and I thought this is going to be my faith. Here I am a chiropractor was supposed to get rid of them and I was getting worse and worse and it was horrible.
And I realize if I took concepts from a few different health care systems and merge them with a natural, they call them adjusting instrument, a very simple thing that taps; no heavy duty electronic thing but just a simple tapping instrument. It is electrical that taps at about ten to twelve times a second. I could apply it to different parts of my body and I would know where exactly needed to be worked on and I`d know if I got it or not. Whether I release the stress. And, I was my first patient. I started working on myself and after a few days my symptoms resolved back to ten years. I started teaching and so far we`ve thought of 3000 people. And we were truly not that well known but doctors that usually work tell me that practice has explode. That they are getting people better they never thought. People that plat tote, you know you see them a long time they plat tote. You see them over three times a week, two times, three times whatever, and after the first visits where you have had the most dramatic stress releases because you are breaking up old stress patterns. There`s suddenly that real change.
David: that’s what I admire about the situation, heard you were in a horrible place and you found solutions and now you are helping people. And so I think you are lenient with this and you called the technique here, is a healthcare system with a generally a powerful drug free natural holistic approach where people of all ages in such a conditions. So tell us more about that. You know what is in this technique, what is in this system?
Tedd: ok the way I tell people when they ask me what is it, I say; have you ever met a doctor who can locate your deepest stresses both physical and emotional. Stresses you might have carried for decades with some straus and then quickly release them and get rid of them. That’s what I do. And all the patients the results turns credible. What we do is we use prior feedback, very simple way anyone can learn it and we find what everybody else misses. One of the unique things about this work is you can put people on different postures because, you know, everybody works on patience when the link face down on the table.
Whoever got hurt lay his face down on the table. You know the entry really happens or the stress happens as either micro or macro trauma from work, day to day things, real big traumas and accidents. You are in different positions so for example you talked about dentists. I have had many dentists as patients and we`ve had dentists learn this work. Because you can work on yourself, by the way I forgot to mention that. I learnt this by working on myself and one of the biggest advantages is doctors working on themselves.
Another advantage is that is easy and gentle. So a lot of doctors get hurt doing [?] structural and never fall on to chiropractic of course. But other doctors as well. Put a dentist in a certain position, the position that they generally work in and usually in that position there is severe stress and damage going on. And as the physician you corrected them. That`s why the results are so amazing because you find stuff that is revealed in those positions.
Surgeons, I`ve had many surgeons as patients. Surgery is very rough on their bodies, standing in one position for so long, you actually have them going that position. You know the old joke; doctor will hurt when I do that and doctor says don’t do that. Well with this work I want you to do that, I want you to get into the position, the posture, posture that’s an important word of interference, stress, [?], damage, blockage. When I teach doctors I say just be an open [?], be humble, and let the body really open itself to you. Don’t try to impose your will on the patient, let the patient tell you what they need and that is probably the most important thing.
The patient is not coming to you for you to be entertained, they are coming to you so that you will find out what they need. The deepest care on whatever level. So one of the beauties of this work is that is a lot of fun because you are not bored, you`re seeing different things and everybody, everyone is totally unique. It doesn’t beat your body up to work on people is gentle and is gentle on the patient. [?] Koren Specific Technique and we have a live seminar. I prefer people do both; I prefer they get the home study so they get the understanding of the concept, you know the general things they know about, we have sixteen hours of video on it so they know what I look like so that’s not a shock when they come to the seminars. And then they have a large seminar.
David: what I think is very great is you have something very specific, it`s very different, it`s not the same and I think that there is a lot of folks out there whether they are doctors or dentists, chiropractors that are also have some great ideas they want to do to help heal folks and [?] you mentioned you have DVDs and home study programs, live seminars. How would you recommend for other doctors or dentists to develop something like that. What do you think you would recommend to them?
Tedd: well, I hate for them to be in pain for ten years, but one of the things you do is, really your teachers are your patients. In order to really know what you are doing usually you have to keep your eyes open and I feel that we get the patients we deserve. It might sound a bit off frankly but the university sends us invitations that have the most lessons to teach us. I got doctors who say they want to learn this work, certainly they`re getting involved in all these weird cases they never would have ever seen before but that’s not unusual.
Everybody who is listening in private practicing, whatever a group practices, people will come in and teach you. And I have also learnt from my students. People would say you know this work have been influenced by many different healthcare systems both eastern and western. But my students are among my best teachers. We have a forum where people write ideas and get feedback and it’s a lot of fun. One other thing is we include the home learning study well you`re certainly online with all these people asking all these questions.
David: I think following that kind of system is awesome and I think where medicine is headed is likely we are moving slowly and slowly for physicians to have more single pear systems, seems like, and I think we`re really going to have this bifrication of doxin private practice versus those that are in hospitals and in terms of where people will queue for advice. If you are talking to young medical students that one to be entrepreneurs, that want to start their own practice, you’ve been there, you’ve done that, what`s the single best piece of advice you will give to a young doctor, chiropractor or dentist?
Tedd: its… people that do this work generally start having cash practices. Doctors go from mostly insurance to mostly cash usually within a six months and the patients will pay if they see real results. I don’t know if there is any single thing because, you know, people don’t come to my seminar and not learn anything if they don’t want to learn; their head is in another place. Because somebody come into my seminar once to learn anyway but most… we`re dealing with a wider range of people with different personalities and need needs.
I`ve always been attracted to research and scientific study and sort of like my clinical work always seem like sideline. I was always looking at patients and saying why is this not working? Everything I have done is built on failure. Perhaps the best advice you can give to any student is you have to fail a fail a few times and each failure will be a stepping stone to success.
It`s not unusual to fail, it`s good, it`s natural. Every successful person I know, every billionaire, failed numerous times and probably will continue to fail. Don’t be afraid to failing. don’t be afraid of getting your head burst and your teeth… this is a horrible story and there are other examples, but don’t be afraid of failure even in personal life, family life, it`s a way that we learn what our deficiencies are.
What are our weaknesses? What are we lacking? And you know not to just swallow well but grease but to pick ourselves up and know what is this lesson. So the best thing to do is to try because if you don’t try you will never fail and if you don’t fail you will never succeed. I see people that take the easy way out and I have known MDs and doctors, chiropractors and others, dentists, just working in a clinic, they are working for someone else. And they just sit there they are cogged in a wheel and they just do their hours and go home and they get their paycheck. But you know what, to them that might be great, but I find that life experiences are always pushing you deeper to keep trying. Am sure in your life you’ve had failures
David: many
Tedd: you have this hunger to learn and do things so you know right? Is not just doctors but all of us we all have this political, this urge in us to reach out and to grow and to learn for lots more, and to feel more and to understand more. You know because we are all going to die one day and my position has been to die a little smarter than it was when I came in. I know this is sort of not the answer maybe you are expecting
David: no I think that was great I think I have to tell you a story, another type of that about my biggest failure and that’s my whole transition over here to me so that… but I think one thing that kind of stay on this entrepreneurial rout because I really believe that’s where a lot of physicians should be going, they start their own practices, taking that risk, that leap of faith to do it because
I think there is the financial rewards and emotional rewards are so much greater and one of the things you did that I think could help build that for people because you sent me this book; how to get onto radio and television to build your practice.
Tedd: oh I forgot I sent you that. Oh yeah.
David: it’s a really good piece I thought and one of my favorite steps was step four; about contacting the producers and I was just laughing when you wrote that the producers they don’t care about necessarily what you do, whether it`s about getting people well or about helping humanity. They do care about having an interesting guest on the show so that the show can have higher ratings and make more money.
Tedd: they don’t really give a damn what you are doing as long as the ratings go up. You could be dancing with an elephant as long as the ratings go up they are happy.
David: and to talk about the step four you had a script but I thought it would be good to run people through you know because I think people need to get that media exposure; whether it`s online, TV, whatever for what not to say versus what to say.
Tedd: oh yeah. I have to put on my marketing cap now am just switching gears. When I was in college I went to the university of Miami and I was this [?] there. WVUE and so as a DJ I was even when I get a brawly at the grave yard shift I learnt, I learnt how to run the board, I had to get an FCC license those days, it was not easy to take exams and all. Anyway so I had my radio show it was really cool. And then when I got down to private practice I was starving, I didn’t know how to run out of business, I never had a business experience you know. One thing you said was the one thing doctors should do.
I said well get a coach, get someone who… they have management companies and all that, some of them are good, some of them are probably not as good but everything in life you have to have the right set. I was sort of calling radio and TV shows to get on and they shut me down. I mean they couldn’t get my foot through the door. I was getting rejected all the time but I was single then so I was used to getting rejected. So that was nothing unusual for me. So what do I do? So I started figuring out exactly what to say to get on. You know I always ask what do they want. And after I figured what I was doing wrong I got on every radio and TV show in a greater field of the area.
Everyone that had doctors or you know good guests on. I mean ousno priona and one of the things I realize what you do and don’t say is; hi I am Doctor Koren and I will like to be on your show so you could build my practicing, something like that. You never say or talk about that. Instead you can say; hi I am doctor Koren and I will like to talk about bla bla bla you know because is a great topical issue its really hot now and people will listen and call in, especially if its radio they will call in, and I think you will really enjoy this topic.
And what you`re really saying is it will be good for rating. This will build you up, this will be great for your show, is so great for your show and people will enjoy it. And you have to sound entertaining over the phone. Because if you sound like a boring person, if you have a horrible accent that somehow you speak slowly or whatever; you have to sound entertaining and engaging.
That helps a lot. And what you do is you look up media things, things you could relate. To practically every day there is something in the newspaper or the internet or TV whatever, radio, that has an angle that you could talk about that the public is interested in. am not kidding every single day there is [?] that you can, you know, tell it really cool, that you can have a good angle on. Your profession, and you said, you know I talked about how to fall into the current [?] of the host. I used that and I was getting on TV and radio all over the place then it built my practice. My practice went from almost nothing to, you know practically standing on lonely. I was practically booked for weeks un-end just from a few radio shows. And I got into how to what to say. And you know how to use props, you know just the little things. The little things that I learnt over the years on how to make a radio or TV show successful.
David: and that was all before this stuff happened with you and… You know one thing I love to do, Tedd, is really turn people on to some good resources so here we have to rap-up in the next couple of minutes but outside of approximately your old materials, what are some other good resources regarding either how you build your practice or healing techniques that you would recommend to other white coats. Maybe some good books or videos that they could check out.
Tedd: My bible, is a divided legacy by Harris L. Cuorter; C-U-O-T-E-R. Cuorter is a medical historian and researcher and a Peorotician. One of the best most brilliant people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting and he died about five years ago. He wrote a series of books called divided legacy, I recommend volume 4 and it will give you the philosophical intellectual framework to know why you do what you do.
Is history of medicine. History of medicine is boring, no, is incredibly exciting. And it talks about medicine no really from a clinical standpoint as most histories have priored on but from a philosophical stand point. Philosophically why does medicine, why has it practiced this way and that way and what changes went on and what`s the thinking behind it. You have to understand you philosophy, what is your basic way of looking at nature, at the body, at health and disease. To me that was more important than any of the clinical books I read later, or concurrently because it gave me a framework.
You have to have a solid framework. What was it you [?] said, am sure I have the personal, give me a place to stand and a lever long enough and I can move the earth. You need a place to stand a solid place to stand first. Your practice, your profession is the lever and that will change the world. But you first have to be on solid footing and my work that I teach has to be on solid philosophical footing. You have to know what you do and why you do it. Why is more important so and then you can continue. So I would recommend Harris Cuorters book far above any. Divided Legacy, there are other prints but you can get them I think in maybe Amazon.
David: online?
Tedd: yes online. There is a marvelous, a full volume set, get Volume Four, that`s the key one. Collect the whole set but you know volume four is really great.
David: awesome. There is still much more that we don’t have the time to cover today. Do you have any closing thoughts that you think folks should consider or be aware of?
Tedd: oh I think what I [?], most important you know, understand what`s the philosophy. Every healing has a philosophy; whether is medicine, [?], chiropractic, homeopathy, western healing, whatever, dentistry. Everyone has a philosophy or basis on which their research goes.
Researches only comes out of philosophy. Scientific researches based on the philosophical… a lot of times unconscious biosis, prejudices and premises that we have so understand that. And that’s what all of my writings are based on; Koren`s Specific Technique is really based on that. A philosophical foundation first and these doctors are learning about it. They can go to our website; korenspecifictechnique.com. or call the office and we will be happy to talk to them about it. So thank you so much for the opportunity to speak with you.
David: oh you are so welcome and am so glad to have you and I want to [?] the folks I think Dr. Koren`s last point there that one of the things you can do to really ground your practice is letting people know your philosophy so you have that grounding there, then you want to make people aware of what that is. So what makes you different? Dr. Koren here has done a fantastic job of doing something and branding himself which is something that physicians haven’t rapped their arms around. So congratulations to you on that Dr. Koren.
Tedd: thank you. You are very kind.
David: well thank you so much for being with us and if you are a white coat out there listening, you are an entrepreneur you are someone out servicing them, you want to tell your story, grappling on tax issues like this, you want to get on show box for a few minutes? I would love to share it too in the next freedom formula for physicians’ podcast. Make sure to contact me at dave@davedenniston.com or my website daviddenniston.com/physicians or doctorfreedompodcast.com. for the freedom formula for physicians’ podcast this is Dave Denniston. Thank you so much for joining us. Make sure to subscribe and check back again soon. Have a good one.
