Will Power Podcast by Will Humphreys
Freedom isn’t just possible… it’s kind of the point.
If you’re a healthcare leader or entrepreneur drowning in to-do lists, juggling team drama, and wondering if success has to come with burnout...this podcast is your lifeline.
Hosted by Will Humphreys, a former physical therapy practice owner turned serial entrepreneur, The WillPower Podcast is your go-to resource for building a business that actually serves your life.
Each week, we tackle the big stuff: leading with vision, scaling with systems, and figuring out whether AI, virtual assistants, or a clone of yourself is the best path to freedom.
You’ll get unfiltered solo episodes, candid interviews with leaders in healthcare and beyond, and just enough humor to cancel one meeting and feel good about it.
So if you want more income, more impact, and way fewer 10 p.m. emails… this is your new weekly habit.
Will Power Podcast by Will Humphreys
Finding Freedom with AI in Healthcare with Rachel Woodson
Join Will Humphreys on the Willpower Podcast as he sits down with Rachel Woodson, a pediatric physical therapist and the visionary CEO & CFO of Post Pediatric Therapies. In this insightful episode, Rachel shares her unique journey of growing a thriving multi-location clinic, originally founded by her mother. Discover how she's redefining "freedom at work" not by stepping back, but by strategically embracing new responsibilities that align with her strengths and passion.
Rachel delves into the crucial role of family, both in patient care and in building a cohesive work family. She reveals how understanding her team's "working geniuses" (a concept by Patrick Lencioni) has revolutionized their operations, allowing for seamless delegation and a more joyful work environment. This episode offers a masterclass in intrapreneurship, demonstrating how to foster growth and leadership within an existing organization.
The conversation takes an exciting turn as Rachel, a trailblazer in healthcare, uncovers how she leverages AI tools, particularly Google Gemini, to boost efficiency, streamline communication, and make data-driven decisions. Learn about her innovative approach to task management, email optimization, and her compelling perspective on the evolving landscape of virtual assistants and artificial intelligence in the healthcare industry.
Key Takeaways You Won't Want to Miss:
- The Power of Purpose-Driven Work: Understand how Rachel's lifelong connection to pediatric therapy fuels her drive and commitment to making a difference in families' lives.
- Building a "Work Family": Learn the importance of a team-centric approach, empowering employees, and delegating based on individual strengths.
- Unlocking Freedom Through Growth: Discover how embracing new responsibilities and optimizing your strengths can lead to a more fulfilling and impactful career.
- AI as a Game-Changer in Healthcare: Get a firsthand look at how Google Gemini is being used to automate tasks, improve communication, and analyze data for increased efficiency.
- The Future of Delegation: Hear Rachel's compelling insights on the interplay between AI and virtual assistants and why staying ahead in AI adoption is crucial for long-term success.
This episode is a must-listen for healthcare professionals, business owners, and anyone interested in the intersection of leadership, technology, and personal fulfillment.
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Welcome back to the Willpower Podcast. Today's guest is proof that when your mom says that you'll be running the company one day, she might actually be right. Meet Rachel Woodson. She's the CEO of Post Pediatric Therapies. They're in Northwest Arkansas where their team delivers over a thousand patient visits every single week. So she runs a pediatric therapy empire and still sometimes finds the ability to battle her arch nemesis, email.
Speaker 1:So from growing up watching her mom treat patients to now leading a powerhouse team that feels like a second family to her, rachel's story is what happens when humility, genius and a little bit of I never wanted to do this energy collide. Plus, she's mastered AI in a way I can't wait for you to see. She's learning how to find the joy in color coding spreadsheets, and in this episode we're going to have a master class on leadership family-run businesses and building freedom from the inside out. Buckle up rock stars. Enjoy the show. Rachel Woodson, thank you so much for being on the Willpower podcast. Let's have you introduce yourself. Kind of set that table of who you are and what you do.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah, so I'm a pediatric physical therapist and also the CEO and CFO of Post-Pediatric Therapies, and we're a clinic in Northwest Arkansas that's serving. We have three different locations One's like school-based, and then two are locations and we're opening up a third in the next year.
Speaker 1:That's great Congratulations.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we just broke ground a couple weeks ago, so we're pretty excited about that. And then, yeah, we just we have about 50 to 60 employees and are just having a good time playing with kids and working with families and doing all that.
Speaker 1:I love that, so you're making a big difference in there. Why are you so driven in that space, like what drives you to be in that world?
Speaker 2:I've been around pediatric therapy my whole life because my mom is also a pediatric physical therapist and so I've watched it and really seen the value that it brings to families and just how you like get to enter into a space with a family that kind of feels in crisis at that moment often and go through just finding the potential in their child and helping them see goals and see progress to just see their child grow and become who they want their child to become, as well as who their child wants to become right.
Speaker 1:I love the word family in that, the fact that you use that family word is so powerful because you guys do especially with pediatrics. You're involved in a whole team approach. Outpatient adult physical therapy, occupational therapy doesn't have that same connection that you guys do on the pediatric space. So it's powerful that you guys are in that role. And you know, I wonder, you know you must work with, with families whose freedoms have been basically impinged, you know, infringed upon or changed because of the challenges they're facing at home with their health. Talk to me a little bit about that. What is it like, you know, when you're working with kids and their whole family's world have pivoted around a condition that needs therapy?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think one of the big things that I've realized is, like in my I've been in it for 10 years now is when I first started that the family's kind of scared me, like the parents, like having that interaction kind of scared me. I was like I just want to treat the child, I want to treat my patient. And now I've recognized like how important that family is to the child. Like even like our owner chose to make our colors the secondary colors and we do that intentionally as like the family is the primary and we're the secondary to that family and that that's how we see ourselves as a support network to the family, and so we have always like mentored and discussed that together. Of a lot of these families are truly going through a grief process and they feel guilty to even say that, and so to talk about it and say it and acknowledge it with them and then help them walk through that to the point of acceptance allows them to then step into advocating for what their child needs to become everything that child can become.
Speaker 1:Remember freedom isn't just possible, it's kind of the point. Remember freedom isn't just possible, it's kind of the point. If this episode helped you laugh, learn or at least cancel one meeting, go ahead and hit subscribe, share it with your overworked friend and leave a review. I read every single one, usually while avoiding emails. Want more behind-the-scenes stuff. Then hit us up on the socials. Now go delegate something and take a nap. You've earned it.
Speaker 1:I love the branding, down to the secondary colors, as a reminder that we are secondary to the parents, and so, as a provider, you had to pivot your understanding of how to help them create freedom by helping focus on the child and the family as a whole. And you're no stranger to family. Not only do you work with families as a pediatric therapist, but you're the CEO of this company that has a work family Like you have employees, their teams. I always tell people a really good team feels like a work family, and so you know. Tell me a little bit about those. You've taken a few stepping stones in your career, so tell me about where you entered the company and how you got to CEO.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so my mom actually owns the company that I work for and she joked way back when I was in third grade when I said I was going to be a PT, and she joked when she started it I was in sixth grade. She was like you're going to own it one day or something like that. And I was like I'm never owning this, like I don't want to like that, you like work too hard, all of that stuff, like I just want to treat, I don't want to do all the rest of it. And so I think now, looking at it from that standpoint, like I've gotten to work with my mom just as a physical therapist and just found so much value in the team that we have created and in the therapist that I get to work with, and I saw that in a way to kind of just how I operate.
Speaker 2:I like to talk about things and I like to set goals and I like to kind of direct where I'm going constantly. I've set goals since I was very young and so I think that was the first like where I started. And then Taylor Marla and I, who are all now on the executive team together, were placed into leadership when we transitioned from being contract therapists to salary therapists and we've just kind of moved up together as far as just seeing things that can be done and doing them. And my mom has recognized that and put us in different positions and roles based on where, like, our strengths are. So she's been really good at delegating and empowering us to do things that she was doing before, but recognize that we could do better and I think that's like become a general thing that we've done as a company.
Speaker 1:Rachel, I love that and rock stars who are listening. Rachel just described the pattern of freedom. I want you to go back and hear what she just said, because she had a leader who had a vision, who brought her and some other A players on and nurtured them. And what, rachel, you said, that I love, I want the rock stars to really focus on is this idea that, like she empowered them to take over things she was willing to let go. There's a lot of mindset shifting in that process of helping other people take ownership of it. And when you say it's funny because your mom, when you're a little like you're going to own this one day, you know she wasn't wrong because in one, on the very first day of your job, you really took it seriously as an a player, and that's what she probably meant.
Speaker 1:Is that a good team member, a bunch of team members who take ownership of their roles and their responsibilities. They change the world regardless of who actually legally owns the business, and it's so smart for any of you listeners who are owners to recognize that they need. You need to give up that freedom. You to create your freedom, you must give up your responsibilities, excuse me, to others who want to grow, and then for those of you who are listening that aren't owners legally of a practice, that taking ownership of that practice and your responsibilities is the path for progression. Because, rachel, you started in entry level and then you worked your way up as a director and then you eventually became CEO. So where in that, what would you say, the hardest transition in all of that path was for you?
Speaker 2:I think, accepting the leadership at all because I think for me.
Speaker 1:I always was afraid. So clinician leadership is where that struggle hit.
Speaker 2:Okay yeah, and I think for me, I was just afraid that I was only being put in leadership because my mom was the owner of the company and that other people wouldn't respect my role in that or wouldn't see like I stepped into leadership because I had skill sets in there, you know, and really like it's funny because we like how it all started, it was really my coworkers who did that, not my mom.
Speaker 2:Like we voted on like who would be lead PT and who would be these things, and it was like my coworkers who chose for it to be me and I felt that was so odd because I was two to three years out, but and and I will say they like trusted me with their kids too, like I was treating their kids, um, and I think that also gave me a lot of confidence like okay, they value what I bring as a therapist and they see that I've been intentional about becoming a good therapist and so now I can step into that role because they trust me. But it was still really hard for me and still to like it still is to this day Like when people ask like, oh, like who owns your company? And I say my mom, I automatically kind of have that feeling of people probably just don't like, probably think I was just given this role because it's a family business.
Speaker 2:You really think people think that. I think initially I don't think. I think the people that know me don't, and I know like even when we were talking about CEO, I was like we should talk, we should talk about the other executives, like maybe Marla should be, or maybe Taylor should be, or maybe Aaron should be, and they were all just like no, rachel, like that's you, like you're the person who sets the goals, you're the person who directs the ship, like you're that person that we all go to for direction, like we want that to be you. And then I think, like meeting with consultants, meeting with coaches, meeting in these different leadership teams I now recognize that people outside of our organization see me in that role, but it's just one of those things where it's like it's the stigma of it.
Speaker 1:I appreciate that and I think it's actually served you well, because here's what I think about you as a leader Like, for me, when I found that out, it didn't ever cross my mind that there was a nepotitious like motivation there in that promotion because, um, at the end of the day, leadership is leadership and if it doesn't work, you wouldn't even, you wouldn't even have a business. Like if, if some, if a parent was going to put a child as the leader of their own, of their company, it wouldn't work if the leader, if the child, wasn't a good leader. Like there's no. And so it's really interesting because in your world, it's kept you really humble, like it's kept you really humble, and I love that, because the best leaders demonstrate humility. You know, the best leaders are the ones who are these reluctant leaders of. Like people are asking them to step up because they know they would be great, and so I, I I'm more, I'm just smiling as we're talking, rachel, because you are, you're so approachable that I think this is a nice little discussion on leadership as well.
Speaker 1:As a side note before we get off this topic, I've recently found a study that talked about how one of the greatest gifts a business owner can give is allow their family members, their children, to work inside of that company, and the reason being is because they'll either progress or grow or they'll go find their own niche. But it's it's not. It's not enabling at all, it's actually the opposite. It's like a leg up in terms of, like, getting them a chance to prove themselves. And boy have you proved yourself. Congratulations, and all your growth and success.
Speaker 1:So that transition into leadership was your hardest step going. Okay, I'm a clinician, now I'm a leader, holy crap. And then you just clearly you've run with it and you're still, internally at least, managing this idea. It's keeping you humble that like, oh, this is the owner's daughter, all that silly stuff that I probably think no one, anyone who knows you doesn't think it and anyone who doesn't know you doesn't even know it. But let's get into freedom. So, as you've gotten into this place of transitioning, how have you created space or freedom for yourself to grow? You know, like, how did you and the owner, in this case your mom, like how did you guys work together to progress from clinician to owner and then owner to leader, then leader to ceo? Like what was that? What? How did you do that?
Speaker 2:yeah, um, I think a lot of like. I think my mom is actually really good at trusting people to do the day-to-day things.
Speaker 2:Something we like were encouraged by Michelle to do was take that, michelle Pambanek, your company coach that you guys work with, yeah, is to take the working genius, and so we did that about 18 months ago and it was so interesting because my mom, like, has hired a lot of people to do really important jobs within our clinic. Um, but when you look at what those people are, my mom was an inventor, discerner, and she hired all these people who were enablers in tenacity and so she took, like here's what I want to do, but I know I can't do these other parts of it, and so she hired a bunch of people who had enablement and tenacity to like work with her and do the things Without the test, oh yeah.
Speaker 1:So, for people who don't know what the six working geniuses is, it's a Patrick Lencioni system of assessment. It's not a personality test. It's the single greatest, most effective way to determine how well people are going to work together. It's not about if you feel or receive love. It's it's literally like hey in a work cycle here's where this person will do well and where they won't. And so your mom was an ideas person who could make really good decisions, but what she didn't have was someone who could coach people and someone who just liked to get the job done. That's what discern, or tenacity and enablement, means. So you're saying that she, just without even a test which you guys are all listening, have access to now reach out, we'll give you free information and I'll put you in touch with michelle bambenek, but in your case, rachel, like she just figured that out kind of organically.
Speaker 2:That's crazy, oh yeah and she had like in our office, like team that's doing billing and scheduling, all of those things. She had hired three ets and one wt and so she and she does not do tenacity, I have to jump in.
Speaker 1:So ets, enablers and uh, tenacities, and one wonder, or a wonder is someone who's very like high level why do we have to do it this way?
Speaker 2:yeah, yeah. And so it's just like cool that she's naturally filled the spaces that she didn't like feel her skill sets were shining and instead of being like, oh, I don't like, this is the right way to do it, the way I do it is the best way. She was like I do these things really well and it is okay that I don't do these other things really well. I'm gonna find somebody, find somebody that does that, and she's always been that way. Um, as far as I've known her, and like even before I worked at the clinic, like that's how she's always been. And so when she was looking at transitioning people into leadership so that she could have more freedom, um, and start training and coaching all of us into leadership roles, um, she did a lot of the same thing.
Speaker 2:I actually am my mom's carbon copy, so I also am an inventor and discerner. Um, and then, like just other people on our team, we we kind of rounded out, and so in doing that, she delegated or gave each of us different things based on our skill sets and what we enjoyed, and she really didn't like, she didn't really give options, I guess and I know that sounds rude, but it wasn't ever done in a rude way, like my mom has such a intentional, respectful way way of doing it. But she just was like hey, this is what you're going to do now and like, and it was just like, okay.
Speaker 1:Question it because she was so confident.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, like she had decided she had thought of it, she, she had decided it was the best thing and she decided it was going to be good for us. And she was like, if you need help or you don't feel like it's right, come and let me know. But this is what you're going to do now, like this is your new role, um, and I think that's really great it is. It is funny at times, like I tell everyone I found out I was clinic director through the same email that everyone else found out that I was clinic director.
Speaker 1:You're kidding me. You were promoted to clinic director and you read that, you read the memo that you were clinic director, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so we all. I always laugh. I'm like, oh, okay, cause she had asked me, and I was like I don't think I'm ready for that yet. And then you know she had decided well, I'm going to tell everyone.
Speaker 1:And then I've noticed that, by the way, as a trait with very strong leaders, that they are so decisive that people just don't even like, they just go, oh, is that what we're doing? Like there's no question and like, to your point, it was in your best interest. So you knew what she was, you knew it wasn't an accident, she was doing it on purpose to be like oh, you are, you just don't know it. And now you know, it and everyone else knows it too. Yes, yeah.
Speaker 2:And so that's I just think it's like that's how she's been and so she created space for all of us to step into those roles and she also created like an opening for us to figure out what the best way for us to do that. And Taylor Marla and I were the three that kind of stepped into this first and we always said, like we're, like it's interesting, because when you talk about the working genius, it also talks about the gears, right, so it has the different gears and how they will work together. We always said that we were like we're like gears that just work together.
Speaker 1:And we would never get it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we would be like we would never get anything done if we didn't have each other.
Speaker 1:Like we're in this together everyone turns the dial just a little bit differently and complementary to the other. It's a very if you've never experienced it, it's magical, you know. It's like when I it took me years to get a team where we finally clicked as gears in the same machine and when it happened it was just it's freeing. It's freeing because you start feeling free, you feel you start feeling like oh, I can do the thing that I love and that doesn't feel like work whereas everyone else, and then you get better results and so on.
Speaker 2:That's amazing oh, yeah, yeah, so we took that. We took that test last March and it was just so. It was so, like, oh, eye-opening. I think that has actually been like the number one thing that has changed us, like freeing ourselves up, because, um, we now don't feel bad to give other people other things and we think about what their working genius is. And then we're like, hey, I need to want to do this, like, can you, like, would you want to do that? You know, um, and usually they want to, they truly want to do it, and they feel honored to, like have been given that responsibility. So I think that is really where I've learned is from my mom would just be like it's okay if other people do things better, like, and they don't need to do it the way I do it, but I need to have enough clarity so that they can figure out where they need to go with it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's. It's really bizarre. It's a different shift in mindset when you realize the stuff that I hate doing might be someone else's favorite thing to do, and when I ask them to do it, it's like a compliment because I hate it. So if you ask me to do it, you're insulting me. Perfect example I'm a galvanizer, which means I like to rally groups of people together.
Speaker 1:I'm an inventor galvanizer. I come up with lots of good ideas and then I love to sell these ideas to groups of people, not so much coaching one-on-one, and so I love speaking on stage. It's my favorite thing. It's um, might have something to do with being a middle child with not enough attention, but I truly love being not just speaking at people, but like facilitating a group discussion. I love to like help invent and galvanize simultaneously. But if you ask my wife to speak on stage, she will wonder what she did Like why do you hate me so much? You know, if you ask me to speak on stage, it's like oh you, what little old me? Oh, of course I will. I'd be happy to Because at the end of the day, when we're in our strengths, what we do feels like a gift, because it is our gift to the world.
Speaker 1:So how fun for you that you guys are seeing this cog. It's really validating too is that you guys have identified the six working geniuses in a way that has already been, kind of miraculously. It tells me how great of a leader your mom is, because most people don't organically figure that out. She did. Now you've got the technology that helps you blueprint it, and now you're able to build on that blueprint in a way that you don't need the natural instinct. Some leaders are born, but, like me, I'm a main leader. I have Theodore Roosevelt said that anyone can be a powerful leader anyone. They just need to practice and get training. I'm a main leader. I have Theodore Roosevelt said that anyone can be a powerful leader anyone. They just need to practice and get training. I'm that guy. I'm the one who needs training, and so I love the fact that these tools come out that allow me to grow my team.
Speaker 2:So how fun that you don't have to rest on one leader's intuition and you can use a system now within your own company to create freedom, which, in your case case, freedom has always been filled with more responsibility, though yeah yeah, yeah, like I would say I started out in the clinic director role and then we filled that, like taylor then filled that role, so he was lead there, but him and milo were lead therapists and I was clinic director and then taylor filled the role of clinic director, which allowed me to move into cfo, um, and then from the CFO role I actually have just somebody that works under me who has worked for Post longer than I have. She likes to get things done and so in my CFO role I've given her a lot of those things, so she's probably taken 15 to 20 hours of what used to be mine. I've put the systems in place, I created how to do it. She just wants to get it done, and so now she does that, which I.
Speaker 2:Once it got to that point I hated it. I like loathe that part of my job. I hated it so much. And she like came to me because she was kind of in the opposite role where we were like hey, we want you to train people. And she came to me. She's like I do not have enough to get done, like I don't have enough work, um, and I was like oh, I can give you work. I got that. So that's what we've been doing and it's been so freeing to me and, I think, for her. She knows what she's supposed to get done each week and that's so like that makes her find so much more joy in what she's doing.
Speaker 2:Because she was like I feel lazy and our office team is not lazy, and I was like, ok, yeah, we'll work on that this week, I will give you something, and so that freed up 15 to 20 hours of my, like admin time, and then from there my mom was like secreting herself from the day to day, more and more so I started being the one that set the, and more so I started being the one that set the agendas and I started being the one that set the goals, and then she would look at them and the team would look at them. Um, but when we would set goals, everyone was like I don't know how you do this, like it takes so much brain power for me to set my goals, and so I would meet with each individual person that what have you did this and what have you did that, and and what if this was your goal? And that's too many goals.
Speaker 2:Like, yeah, one time we sat down and somebody had 57 goals for the next year and I was like when are you doing that? Because we're all part time clinicians, our entire executive team treats at least 15 hours of patients, and so when are you going to do 57 goals throughout the year? She was like I can, and she's the tenacity person. I was like okay, we'll check back in. I want you to choose your top 15, though, for us to like release it.
Speaker 2:And so that's just kind of how our team has worked. But that's what I stepped into is doing that direction role of and I love it Like I love setting all those things. I love setting the meeting agendas. And I love it Like I love setting all those things. I love setting the meeting agendas. I love creating our team's goals.
Speaker 1:I love just looking at what we're doing next, right, yeah, you know what you said was I'm going to highlight for the rock stars who are listening. There were three words that you used that I want to show the audience how they go together to create freedom, and one of them is freedom. One of the words is as joy and one of them is giving, giving. So it was interesting to me because I think a lot of times people think that freedom means not having anything to do. That's not freedom, that's boredom. Freedom is working where you get love and energy, like where do you find? So that example of when you were CFO was a really cool one, because the word you used was I gave her those things to do. She was unhappy because she didn't have enough on her plate. Now, as a quick side note, I believe people are burned out. All this burnout that's so prevalent in our industry comes from people doing either too much or doing things that aren't in their geniuses.
Speaker 1:So, I could be doing fewer things outside of my genius and complain about feeling burned out and overwhelmed. And then people who have that genius look at what I how little I'm producing and judge it like well, what's wrong with him? He's just. He just must be weak. No, I'm working outside of my genius. So when we give, when we delegate a task to an employee or a coworker in my opinion, who's outside of their genius, we're crippling them. But when we are delegating a task to an employee or a coworker that's within their genius, we're gifting them. We shouldn't even call it delegation, we should call it gifting them, because we're gifting them the freedom to do what they love, which gives them peace and joy. And then so, like, in your journey, this has been a really cool masterclass, because you haven't created space and freedom. And then, like, gone fishing Some of the owners of companies I've interviewed that's what they do.
Speaker 1:They'll talk about like, oh, I'm snowboarding more, and that kind of stuff. In your case, you grew and you're growing a legacy because your mom started this business, but you're growing into the leader that you were born to be, which is, by the way, beautifully DNA by your mom, but it's also got its own flavor, yeah, and you're getting access to tools and techniques that no one else has. So it's fun because, like I told you before we hit record, I've created freedom through multiple companies and I keep filling it with more things that I do, but every time I do it's because of love. I love what I. I'm getting so clear that what I want to do I never want to retire.
Speaker 1:I you know, and I want people who are hearing this kind of shifting their mindset around freedom, because that's what you've done You've created freedom to grow, to become the leader of this legacy company with others. By the way, it's never alone. You've got Taylor, you've got this wonderful team, so I love that you're there. Let's talk about, let's shift gears just a little bit. Tell me about somewhere in your business that you feel you're limited, somewhere in your business that maybe feel you're limited, somewhere that somewhere in your business that maybe feels prevents you from feeling free at this point.
Speaker 2:It's like it's interesting. I think the only thing that I really don't like about my job is emails.
Speaker 1:Got it. So communication. How many hours a day are you on email?
Speaker 2:Well, many hours should I be, or how many hours am I, because they're two very different things. Oh, I like hate it so much that I just I don't. I do it like once or twice a week, because no, that's not good. It's tenacity, it's a tenacity way for sure yeah, and I like yeah, it's tenacity for sure, and so it's like I tell people.
Speaker 2:I'm like, like in my executive team and in my billing team, which are the two teams that I lead, um, I'm like if you need a response, you need to text me like like if I don't respond your email like, but it's just like I probably didn't see it because I didn't look, um, and so I'm like, if you need a fast response, like I need you to text me, like that is, I need that from you, um, and yeah, it is tenacity, it's also just. I think it's also galvanizing, which is my lowest, and actually my lowest are gal like. Yeah, so I think it's like all these things of like actually getting people and like responding in a way that's like positive and answers their question and keeps everything in the right direction, and not like if all I had to do was just answer the question bluntly, I would have no problem doing it yeah, but to rally the troops?
Speaker 1:if you were on stage with your entire company and you're selling them on a new direction for your, for your company, you'd be like get me off stage.
Speaker 2:I don't want to do that, oh, yeah, for sure, um, but also, like, even in an email, like trying to get someone to like read it in the right tone and like make sure it's communicated in the way where they like understand how it's in alignment with what we're doing, I just I those take forever, like those just really are hard for me, um, and so, yeah, email's like the only thing I don't like doing, that I constantly try to think of ways that I can like get out of it, make that better, you know, okay, um, because it's not the simple emails, it's like the ones that take time to respond to and research and all of that.
Speaker 2:Um, but yeah, so I'd say like that's the only place that I right now feel like I need freedom from. But everything else that I do currently I truly love and I know I work more than 40 hours like I'm in that role, but I've been in the CEO role for six months, and so working more than 40 hours to me is like my enjoyment of learning how to do it and learning what this business is, and learning from my mom like what she wants the direction to be and why she's done things the way she's done it. So to me, that's not like an area that I need freedom right now. I'm sure in the future, if I still am there in two years, I'll have a different feeling about it, but right now I feel pretty like I'm putting a lot of time into it and it's worth it.
Speaker 1:That's so great. I love that answer Because we all have those things that we're feeling. If we're not feeling limited somewhere, we're not trying hard enough. I think we think those areas are invalidating, like oh, we're still doing this, but it's like, no, we're all trying to break free of those things, but once we break free and we progress, we got more things that limit us. Yeah, so in your case, what are the tools and technology that you use that frees you up? You know email is like the worst thing for you. Do you use any technology to help you?
Speaker 2:Yeah, like the worst thing for you. Do you use any technology to help you? Yeah, so I, I use I, we use gemini, so we use google workspace, um, and gemini is like the ai tool within that um which is getting so good.
Speaker 1:They they started a year ago at the bottom, but because it's google, they're going to pass chat, gpt and then blow them out of the water.
Speaker 2:It's what a lot of people are saying yeah, it's, it's really, it's fun to use and taylor and I have like used it since the beginning and so it like. It says that it doesn't learn you, but I don't believe that, because the words it uses now, versus what it used to use, is so in alignment with what I how I speak, and so if I want something, I'll like write just the bullet points and I'll be like make this in alignment with our core values, and here's our core values, and then it'll just like use that wording to like write the email. Um, that's awesome and and I the way I've like learned it is the Gemini app on the phone and I sign into it with my work email, which is important, but more in the details. But I use the Gemini app on my phone and I'll just be like how do I get you to do this?
Speaker 1:Because you can talk to it. So you ask AI to teach you how to use it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah and so and I think that's like been so fun because, like, what Gemini could like you said what Gemini could do a year ago was so limited. Now you can like put it into Google Sheets and be like, hey, summarize all this data for me and it'll give you a bunch of different ways that it summarizes the data.
Speaker 1:How do you put it into Google Sheets?
Speaker 2:It's just like if you have the Gemini through Google Workspace, there's just like a thing that you click that says different ways to use Gemini. You know it's funny, I. You know it's funny I have Gemini.
Speaker 1:I use Google Workspace myself, but I'm so heavy into chat GPT I didn't even realize I've seen that button. I'm going to pull up a spreadsheet where we're talking right now, just so I can walk you. So, as you're talking, I can do that.
Speaker 2:I might have to do the same thing with you because I can't remember exactly how I did it, but you can go through and, depending on what data you have I know someone else was talking about how they use it to create their calendar in Google Sheets and they'll take the tasks that are in their task and be like, put this into my calendar and it'll create a calendar. But yeah, so you could like like, if you click on that top right next to your face, it'll say, like generate a chart, analyze insights. What can Gemini do in Google Sheets? Like, and you can just like, learn it and so any like google sheet I make, I just do it. I do all the things that jim and I will do and figure out, like what it's going to do for me and how I can use that and if I should put more things into google sheets so that I can use that.
Speaker 1:um you were actually really heavy into ai, then I mean, you're using one main product so far as I talked about, but it's the way that you're using it is fairly frequent. And so I pulled up. I pulled up Google slides and Google sheets and it's interesting because there's a button there on the right that says find out what Google Gemini can do for slides, and it can generate images, generate new slides. I can say what kind of slide I want and it'll create it. Summarize presentations it can actually write the slide. It can actually create your presentation for you. Holy cow, I feel embarrassed that I didn't know that. And then, on the slide, oh, go ahead.
Speaker 2:We just did that Like our orientation. We created a new orientation doc and we were like, put this in, like create a slideshow, because we were working on a working document we call it the working document um, but we created a new tab in there and we were like, take this tab and make a slideshow. So they did that and then they had the whole slideshow as a as a lead therapist team created in like 35 minutes see that's insane.
Speaker 1:and then like spreadsheets I love spreadsheets, but I'm just not realizing how I am not. I am not, um, I'm spending way too much time building them out or even reviewing them and so on and so forth Like I've got oh man, this is open. So, guys, I don't know if rock stars are home or opening up their minds to this, but, like this shows about me at this point, cause I'm so excited to see how I'm gonna start leveraging Gemini, they me at this point, because I'm so excited to see how I'm going to start leveraging Gemini they're doing video automation now, where you can create videos that you can use for marketing. I had a video. I'm turning 50 next year, so I created a birthday invitation of a bunch of scenes of like ones in African safari, where the gorilla turns and invites people to the birthday party. So it's like the opportunity.
Speaker 2:if people aren't spending time educating themselves on AI a little bit every day, they're missing out on a massive wave of opportunity yeah, and I would like, I would highly suggest because I used to like read about it and all that stuff or watch youtube I would highly suggest just using gemini to learn about it. Like ask gemini, like what can you do here? How do I use you this way? How like, and there'll be answers. It'll be like I can't do that right now and I'll be like okay, well, good to know, like it's not gonna matter what research I find you can't do that and I'll ask the question 17 different ways to see if they're just wrong and they can do it. And sometimes it is like, sometimes it's like, oh, if you give me that information, then, yeah, I can do it.
Speaker 1:Um, and so it's weird how it can be wrong. I, my, my, my, my buddy, who's a? He's a, he's a genius, he owns a tech company, he's using AI at a level that, like, I'll never use already, and he was telling me about this thing called the one-off you know concept, where it's like, yeah, it's not like you're Googling it or using a calendar, it still makes mistakes. He goes and he showed me I don't know which platform it was, but he, he said to spell the word strawberry and he spelled the word strawberry and it misspelled it. He goes this I forgot it was gemini or whatever. He's like that. For some reason, this platform gets it wrong. But when you say, hey, you misspelled it, they go oops, you caught me. And then they correct it like it's it's. It's really fascinating how it's oddly off in some weird ways, when it can do all these other amazing things so beautifully yeah, yeah, um, yeah.
Speaker 2:So that's that's kind of, but I use it in my emails and I'll be like, oh, that sounds too formal, like can you write it this way, or that sounds whatever, and so I'll just like I do use it to answer a lot of my emails. What it can't do is like get into my real desktop and pull up the specific spreadsheets and all that. So it's like those are the things that take more time, and maybe it's just because I have so much of it automated that I'm like why do I have to do this?
Speaker 1:I like the fact. You know, steve, I forgot who it was. Some famous leader said oh, it was Bill Gates. He goes. I like to hire lazy people for leadership because they're so like they just want to do it as easy as possible and they find the best ways of doing it. I'm not calling you lazy, I'm just saying like no that would be me?
Speaker 1:That would be me. I want to find the simplest way to do that, so okay, so what other AI do you use? Any other AI? I mean, that one thing is huge, but do you happen to have any other AI tools or things?
Speaker 2:that you use. Yeah, we only have a fun time with it. So we are actually would be like taylor does a lot more about this. But we actually helped a ai note check company create their ai for that. So we were meeting with them and so we got free ai note checking for like a year because we were their bet data. And then, when it came down to the cost of it, we were just like we don't feel like that's worth it. Um, for what, like? For how often we have we don't really have a lot of rejected, and so we were like it's not worth that amount for us, but it was fun to like see what it could do there. And then we use Our platform that we use for communication. It's called Infinity. It has AI within it and it has automations within it that use AI, and so we use that to automate a lot of our processes so it notifies the right person at the right time. Trying to think what else?
Speaker 1:So Infinity is a communication software. Is it like Slack or one of those? It's more like Monday. Oh, got it. So Monday is a task organizer and it has, like, some automations, but you use it for mostly communication and automate some of those tasks yeah okay yeah also, but it also has like an ai feature in there.
Speaker 2:You can be like create a board that does this um, and it will help create that.
Speaker 2:Uh, I will say, I think the thing about ai is you have to learn how to use it and it has to learn you yeah and it's and I tell what I tell everyone is like it's like a relationship, not a computer, and so you have to like develop that relationship and create like. It's going to make mistakes, it's going to like not get what you were saying, but you have to learn how to communicate with it, and the way you do that is by communicating with it and just asking it questions.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's funny because I find that when I'm doing coaching groups now, rachel, I spend a lot of time teaching people how I use my AI and it's to your point, I've used it so much that when I ask for it to do something now because it has this database of all my preferences how I operate, my purpose, my, you know, my company, my personal purpose, vision, values, like all of those details are so baked in that when I go in there and ask it for advice, it is so like people look like what did you say to it to get that kind of result? Like it's not what I said in this question, it's what I've been saying for the last year, day in and day out. So it's a muscle we have to learn to use. We decided to create a new avatar or or an ideal client for my company, and it already remembered everything we've ever done in marketing. And when I asked for who the ideal client was because we were deciding between one, a certain size versus a different size it was like, dude, you only? It told me like you have to focus on this particular size now because you don't have these things in place. So you get this here by doing this and then you get there by doing that and, like, I mean, it gave us a road map that I probably would have spent easily five figures on and it did it in like 10 minutes and I just remember going oh, my, my understanding of what this can be used as is expanding, but only proportionately to my use of it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so you're very big on ai. I think it's very interesting because you don't have virtual assistance, which I love because, again, I want this to be a very like neutral piece of this. So those are the two fastest growing trends in healthcare. You are so advanced, more so than most of our clients who've been on this podcast. We're on the second half of filming these episodes and, rachel, you guys are more advanced than the vast majority of the people I talk to. So why is it that you guys are so advanced in there but you're not looking at VAs at this point? Is there any concerns that you have with VAs at this point? Is there is there any concerns that you have with vas?
Speaker 2:or what's your, what's your thought process when it came to virtual assistants? Um, this might not be a good answer, but the art, the reason, I think we don't. So we did try, like doing an executive assistant, and what we realize is just that's not where we're focusing our time, because it's just the same thing, right, like with ai. I like have conversations through that gemini app with ai at 10, 11 o'clock at night when I can't sleep and I just am like learning it and it's like my fun way of learning it, like I truly enjoy it. It freaks me out and I enjoy it. Um, whereas with virtual, when I had an executive assistant for a little bit, it was like she was amazing. She was like absolutely incredible. She's super, super smart, um, and she would do things at a super high level, but I just didn't have the time at that point to give to her to really be on her time.
Speaker 2:Ai, you can do whatever, but her time is when, during her clocked hours yeah, and which was during my clocked hours, which are already filled with things, right, um, and that was like during my transition into the role of ceo and that was like an idea I had like what if I do this to help, like free up time, um, and I just realized like that's not what I can do right now, but I fully believe it's something I will have in the future, some kind of executive assistant, whether it's virtual or around here. Um, I will have some kind of executive assistant, I think, in the future, because I always want to treat and be ceo and that just is going to mean I need more like manpower to do the things I'm doing, right you're open to it, but you're saying, with your limited resources, you chose AI because it's more.
Speaker 2:It's more workable for your, your situation yeah, and I think like it's more workable and I think there's going to be so many different ways to utilize it but, if you get behind, it's going to be really hard to catch up, um.
Speaker 2:So I think that's the other thing is, me and Taylor talked about that a lot it's like we can't get behind this. We have to like focus on and decide that this is important um, at least for a couple of us to use on a regular basis, and that has kept us at least in the midst of it. We don't have a bunch of products. I don't think we ever will, because I fully believe that gemini will build out all of those products, but it will not be. But that's my own belief.
Speaker 2:I have no proof of that. I just believe that it will all be able to be in one product. That I just want to keep learning through gemini, because that's what we use for our workspace, right, um, and so that's integrated into everything we do. Um, but yeah, I, I do think. But I think virtual assistants will go away if they're not using AI, so they have to stay on the forefront of it as well. So because if I have a virtual assistant who's going to take an hour to write an email when I know AI could have done it in 10 minutes, I'm going to be like, hey, you need to be doing that faster. So I think it's kind of AI is going to be part of virtual assistants.
Speaker 1:This has been one of my favorite episodes so far this season because your process. First of all, you're one of the people who's the furthest, along with artificial intelligence, so you have a different perspective than most people, and I'm going to say something that I think my audience will prove to my audience that I am legitimately supporting. What's best for them Is that, based on what you just said, I am of the firm belief that if you had to choose between virtual assistants or AI for a timing of adaptation I'm not saying which one is better, I'm saying, if you had to choose one to get into sooner, ai is the way to go, and I own a VA company. So it's interesting because, to your point, if you had to pick, if you could only pick one of those routes, I think AI does get preference in the sense that, like you got to start adapting now, you got to pivot now, or cause VAs are going to pivot with your knowledge of it, vas aren't going anywhere.
Speaker 1:Ai is ai is going somewhere very fast. So if you know how to leverage that later, you can always tack on the vas.
Speaker 2:But if you do vas but you're not looking at ai, you're going to get left in the dust truly, I think vas will optimize ai, like, yeah, vas will give you the ability to optimize your use of AI, and the fact that everything can be virtual is very clear at this point. So, yeah, I think that's kind of where I'm at right now is just my time. I needed to focus on leadership development and our team development and things like that, and developing an executive assistant and taking the time necessary to make them feel successful.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Just wasn't in the cards at that point.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love it. I love it. I mean, ideally people could leverage both. Or, if they're leveraging a VA to free them up to spend more time on AI, that's different, but at the end of the day, when you're looking at that, so it's funny because we're going to finish on a question that you don't know is coming and I already know the answer based on what you said. But, rachel, this has been such a phenomenal discussion, let's do our rapid fire, our rapid fire questions. You ready? Yes, so don't worry, rapid fire doesn't mean you have to answer quickly, it's just we're going to go through them pretty fast. What's a book that's blown your mind?
Speaker 2:I guess it's the book and podcast would be Working Genius.
Speaker 1:I can't recommend both of those enough. The six working genius book is amazing. Please check out Patrick Lencioni's work. He is the most influential author in business according to his success on five dysfunctions of a team. Okay, rachel, top time saver hack. It might be something you've already mentioned.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think, in my honest opinion it's someone cleaning my house unashamedly. I have somebody who comes and cleans my house and that means I don't have to do it and then I feel less bad about working more. Like I feel I feel fine about working more because someone else, like, does everything in my house.
Speaker 1:Um, that's a big, big. I love that share. That's important for people to hear do if you don't love doing it. Don't do, no matter what kind of cultural shaming your old parents used to give you. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And honestly, it's funny because it comes from my mom. She always it's. When we grew up we had someone cleaning the house and she would always tell us and everyone else I told your dad, I married him, I will always work enough to make sure somebody else can clean my house, have to make sure somebody else can clean my house. So it's like it comes from her and it's like, yeah, I feel like that's something and the person that does it. I absolutely adore her and it's somebody that we're close to as a family. She cleans my house and my mom's house and my brother's house, and so we're close to her as a family and she's incredible at what she does and does it in half the time and she loves it.
Speaker 1:I mean, that's the thing she loves it yeah, so it's just.
Speaker 2:It's one of those things where it frees up probably 10 hours a week for me because she does all my dishes, all my laundry, everything, um, and so I have 10 extra hours of time to do whatever I want to do in my free time In my role at the clinic.
Speaker 2:I would say my team and AI, but asking that question to both, I think I really think like asking both my team and AI, when I have a task I don't want to do, of being like hey, if I was to take the time to teach you how to do this and you had the freedom to do it the way that you felt was best, as well as the time made for it, who would want to do this? And I think that is like the question I've learned to ask because of going through working genius of like I just ask because if there's somebody else who's like, if you give me the time, I'd love to do that and I hate it, then how I I don't need to do it. Um, so yeah, I'd say that's like my biggest time saver hack is just asking okay, what's one time saving, time consuming task that you secretly enjoy?
Speaker 2:I guess setting my calendar I love like, like at the beginning of the week, setting my calendar up of like what I'm going to prioritize that week is something that takes an hour or two for me but I really like it, Like I truly enjoy doing it and I just do it leisurely on a Sunday and yeah.
Speaker 1:Okay, I love this is one of my. That's one of my favorite questions, by the way, cause there's like this love of like I like stats or I really, oh, that's something I love, but everyone knows it, they.
Speaker 2:I have gotten two different like mugs that say like uh, it's like an excel sheet around it, wrapped around it oh no, it's a mug and a t-shirt, but it's like an excel sheet and it's like freaking the sheets, because my whole team knows that, like, excel sheets are my love language, I put everything into an Excel sheet. That's funny.
Speaker 1:And that's why you love Gemini, because Gemini puts your love into the spreadsheets while you're doing all the spreadsheets, all right. So what's the latest thing that you delegated?
Speaker 2:Payroll.
Speaker 1:Payroll. That's a big one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that used to take me like six hours every other week, and now I check it for 30 minutes and that's it.
Speaker 1:Yay, all right. Final question this is the question of the whole season and the honest answer, rachel, is it AI or is it VA?
Speaker 2:I'm going to go to go AI because I think everyone needs to use AI. I think VAs are something that are super, super beneficial, but they also need to use AI.
Speaker 1:Love it. Okay, well, seth, our video editor, who is also our creative specialist at Virtual Rockstar, he's doing this episode. I don't know where we are in the tally, so, seth, please put that on the screen for those who are watching the episode. There is the current tally Rachel, it's been a treasure to have you online. I thought this has been such a fun AI based discussion about freedom, as well as this entrepreneur journey of someone creating freedom from within somebody else's company. Also, we hit some major points around um family-based businesses, which was a very unique flavor that I loved. Tell me what would be your parting thoughts as we conclude this episode.
Speaker 2:I think something I've learned is like find a way to enjoy it, Because I think we all are going to work a lot and I don't think that work is bad if you find a way to enjoy it, and a lot of times that's creating. For me, I think that's creating the right team and having the right team that really just interconnects together well. But if you don't enjoy it, then you're going to resent what you do and who you do it with.
Speaker 1:Goes back to that six working geniuses. Find out where your geniuses lie and then only do those things because they feed your soul. I love that, Rachel. Thank you so much, so much for being on the show. It's been a pleasure to have you on. Thanks for tuning into the Willpower Podcast. As always, this is Will Humphries, reminding you to lead with love, live on purpose and never give up your freedom. Until next time.
