Intro 0:00
Welcome to the Practice Impossible Podcast where your host, Jude a Pierre MD, also known as Coach JPMD discusses medical practice topics that will guide you through the maze that is the business of medicine, and teach you how to increase profits and help populations live long. Your mission, should you choose to accept, is to listen and be transformed. Now, here's your host, Coach JPMD.
Coach JPMD 0:24
Welcome to Practice Impossible Podcast. I'm your host, Coach JPMD. And in our first episode, the trailer episode, I mentioned the word Sherpa. And I'm not sure if I ever defined what a Sherpa was an OR is. And it's also called Sharwa. And Sherpa is a ethnic Tibetan group that resides in the eastern region of the Nepal. And Sherpas are considered elite mountain climbers. And they're known to help those that are looking to climb Mount Everest to help them and guide them in the Himalayas. And because of their genetic adaptation, they're able to climb with less effort than most of the population and their elite guides. And for me, in my process, I needed an elite guide, I needed a Sherpa myself. And that's why today we're going to interview Coach Jay Puppo, who is my Sherpa, my guide in this world that I'm navigating in, and it's an honor to have him on the Practice Impossible Podcast. And just to give you a little background on who Jay is, Jay is a licenced insurance agent in Oregon. And he's got.. he's got 32 years of business experience. And he's been a coach, professional business coach for over six years. Earned his bachelor's degree in International Business at Willamette University. And I can't say enough about what Jay has done for me. And he helped me understand what the one thing is that I could do to help myself and my population of patients and as well as physicians that I'm trying to help in this journey. He's a certified one thing, trainer, and I just can't wait to share this conversation with you. So here we go. And so today, we're here with Coach Jay Puppo, on the Practice Impossible Podcast and I'm going to let Jay tell us a little bit about what he does, and how he's helped me as my coach. Jay -
Jay Puppo 2:26
Yeah. Thanks for having me today. It's great to be here. So I have a 30 year career in financial services last 21 years as a State Farm agent, and really never planned to become a coach. But yet, one of the things I experienced through my, my insurance career was that frequently, young agents would call me and ask for advice. Often Sunday afternoons were full of just, you know, taking calls from from fellow agents and answering questions and sort of coaching them along the way. And then I accidentally became a coach, when close friend reached out to me and decided he wanted to change the world, and asked me if I'd help him do it, ask him if I would meet with him weekly, and hold them accountable. And he's on that journey right now. And that was the first of introduction into the coaching world.
Coach JPMD 3:19
So So you had not trained to be a coach. So you were running a State Farm Agency? Is that in?
Jay Puppo 3:26
Yeah, that's exactly right. I was running a very successful State Farm Agency here in Wilsonville, Oregon, had no formal coaching training at the beginning. I since have gone back and gotten some training, and received some certifications to do this. Yet. In the beginning, it was just happened, people just called.
Coach JPMD 3:48
So so what did your.. What did your family say? I mean, they knew that you were running a State Farm Agency, and now I know, Jays coaching, what are you coaching? Like, why would you do that?
Jay Puppo 3:57
Yeah, it's actually interesting, my family, sort of, when I told them what I was doing, they said, Well, of course you are. You You always do that. You've done that since we've known you. So just kind of naturally, I think part of my DNA.
Coach JPMD 4:14
So that's interesting, because I didn't know that part of you and your journey because I got introduced to you. After I've gone through some some trials and tribulations that I go through my processes as you know. I had counsellors, I had coaches that helped me with relationships, especially surrounding my divorce, did seminars and financial coaches because I had some major financial issues as well. And then you came as the next level. In my in my journey, and I got introduced to you by by Zach actually. And he was, we recorded him and he has an episode.. episode 006 I think, talks about spirituality and, and longevity. And so he told me that you were a coach that only took a couple clients a year. So I was trying to figure out why did you choose me? Why did you take on me as a client?
Jay Puppo 5:08
Yeah, so Jude my my coaching practice is, really not about sort of having an another business or making a lot of extra money. We're doing just fine in our in our other businesses, but really, for me, the coaching opportunity is really about, it's my way to change the world, to make the world better. So I'm looking for people like you who have a mission, who have a calling, who know that you can do so much more than you're doing now. And who literally will change the world for the better. So, so we just take on a few clients a year, and we help them compress their work life. And think about time differently so that they're able to commit their time commit their resources, to take the actions that will help them change the world, just like you've been doing.
Coach JPMD 6:02
Yeah, I appreciate that. And, you know, I appreciate you, because I know how busy you are, especially in your State Farm Agency. I think you're number one number two State Farm Agency in all of Oregon, or is it just a city that you live in?
Jay Puppo 6:15
Well.. the numbers go up and down and go crossways. And there's lots of ways to talk about the number but we've, we've had a good run.
Coach JPMD 6:23
I think you're being modest, but I want to leave it at that. But one of the things that I remember one of my doc's saying is recently as like "Jude, you're doing all this stuff, like aren't you stressed?". And you know, we've got COVID. We've got, you know, practice, we've got the family, we've got a life going on. I think one of the things you mentioned just now is time time management, I think one of the biggest problems that physicians have is is time management. And so what are some of the things that you found were similar to me as a physician and other clients that you've dealt with, or you've coached?
Jay Puppo 6:56
Yeah, so successful physicians like yourself, and physicians who, who really want to do more than just practice the the art of medicine, are very similar to other highly successful business owners. The commonalities are that they see so many opportunities. And there's so many things that can be done, that what ends up happening is, it's almost like getting on a treadmill, where you run and you run, and you run and you sweat, and you pour your heart and soul into moving forward, yet you're on a treadmill, so you actually never make any progress. And so what I've learned is whether you're a doctor, an executive with a corporation, I work with some folks in a very large credit union, whether you're a highly successful real estate agent, whatever your business might be, there's so many opportunities in our world, in our country. And for smart people who think big, there are unlimited opportunities. And so what really has to happen is an individual like you has to decide what they want first. And they have to prioritize exactly what they want. It's only by prioritizing that we can invest the time to make the actions to achieve the results you want to achieve. So one of the first things we have to do is, is take a highly successful person, and just sort of get him to calm down, get them to slow down, get him to put in writing exactly what it is that they want to achieve. What's the most important thing. And I think when we started working together, one of the questions I asked you is, if you only get to do one thing in this life, beyond raising your children, and having a great family life, you know, what's the one thing that you want to accomplish? And once we know the answer to that question, then we can start saying no to what I'll call busy work or other stuff, right? And it's that moment that you have started to say no, that the power really starts to arrive. That's when you can put your time and effort and energy into the things that matter the most.
Coach JPMD 9:07
Yeah, that's powerful because that has prompted me even when I'm interviewing new hires, I'm finding myself asking very specific questions about what they want to do when they grow up. And that's kind of my line and, you know, what is it that they're committed to? I spoke to someone recently, and one of the questions I asked her was, what, what are you committed to? So if you find what you're committed to, and you focus on that commitment, then anything that you do, and everything that you are doing should be related to that commitment. And so that will guide you to say no to certain things. I had an opportunity recently, where someone online I think it was on LinkedIn, requested my services to consult for an hour for an undisclosed rate. So I started to fill out a form and the form took me more than five minutes and looked at myself, I'm like, What am I doing here? It's gonna take me 15 minutes 20 minutes to fill out a form to make a one hour consultation through someone random online, when I can be doing other things. So I think you're absolutely right. It kind of helped me kind of refocus my attention to what I'm committed to. And I think that that's just to help physicians.
Jay Puppo 10:19
Squirrels just show up all day long squirrel squirrel squirrel. There's a great Russian proverb, and I don't know that I'm gonna be able to quote it exactly correctly. Yet. It's something like, If you chase two rabbits, surely you will catch neither one. So you really have to identify the rabbit that you want to catch.
Coach JPMD 10:45
That's, again, powerful. So what are the things that you've seen that are completely different amongst, you know, physician clients and your business clients.
Jay Puppo 10:53
Boy, with physicians, what I have experienced is that they have so much pressure to be perfect. An unrealistic pressure to be right to be accurate, and, and to be perfect. And, and of course, we know that no human is perfect, right? Only one humans ever been perfect. And so this pressure mounts and builds, and it really causes.. it really gets in the way, with with physicians, what I see is oftentimes, they'll feel so much pressure to do everything perfectly, that they'll freeze and do nothing. And so one of the things that we teach in a coach coaching relationship like this is we want you to make mistakes, we want you to fail, we want you to get comfortable with just trying just seeing what things and don't expect that you have to be able to do every single thing perfectly. Have some fun with it, Play. You know, we only get to do this race one time. So when you get done with the race, you hang your shoes up, let's make sure that we can look back and have some smiles and have some fun and have some great memories.
Coach JPMD 12:07
Yeah, and I think that also pushes, you know, the perfection, that perfectionism that we are kind of taught or we learn in residency is it also bolsters the shame when we don't when we're not perfect. And we're shamed by the imperfections and either by our fellows or colleagues, patients sometimes. So that's something that's been popping up in our podcasts as well. So
Jay Puppo 12:35
Yeah, and if I could comment on that Jude. Boy, what I see what I experience is that often that shame comes from within that, that often physicians judge themselves more than anybody else's judging them. They put more pressure on themselves to be perfect, too. And that shame just mounts. Yeah, yeah.
Coach JPMD 13:01
So it's coaching for everyone. I think I know the answer to that. But would you say that there's a doctor out there that shouldn't get coached?
Jay Puppo 13:09
Well, let me just say this coaching is a commitment. So if you're not ready to make a significant commitment of your time, your resources, your energy coaching is not for you. There are coaches who will take your money, and and play a game with you, but you're just wasting your time. But if you're at a point where you're serious to make progress, where you want to get to the next level, you know, there's sort of three ways that people grow, right? Education, there's lots of ways you can get educated. Your course, for example, helps physicians get educated, it's great, great material, there's lots of educational opportunities out there. The second level is mentoring, you know, cosy up next to somebody who's been down the road, who can sort of guide you along the path and be there for you. And probably the highest level is coaching. And that's when you submit to accountability. That's when you agree to follow a direction, and to put all of your efforts into doing the things that you need to do to get what you want. So if you're not ready for that level of commitment, don't waste your time and don't waste the coaches time. But if you are ready, if you're at a point where you're ready to make a change, in my experience, having a coach is the best acceleration you can have.
Coach JPMD 14:35
I agree with that. And so I think you've already described the ideal client, which was kind of my, my next question. Your ideal client is someone that's willing to learn and to level up. And so in that levelling up, how do you measure that person's success? How do you measure that they've done what they need to do to get to that next level?
Well, I personally measure my success by my coaching clients success. So when you hit them milestone, I feel a level of success in your achievement. So my success is all based on your success.
So I'm going to ask, I don't know if it's a hard question. It's a hard question for me to ask, I guess. But what are the methods that you used on me? To help transform me? I know that you sometimes do some jujitsu and do things. I'm like, What is he doing? And then, like, a month later, okay, so what did you do to me?
Jay Puppo 15:29
Well, Jude, I think, you know, when we first started working together, you had such an amazing level of passion, such an amazing level of energy, that and, and I think you've shared on your show, before that there's, you know, some also some baggage that sort of has come along the journey, right. And so we really had to clear, clear the deck. And we had to get your, your mind open, and ready for action. And so, you know, we really spent a lot of time together talking about gratitude. And I remember early on, and I think you're still doing this sometimes, but we introduced the notion of the red light exercise. So every time you're in your car, because it's so easy, because because people in your situation, doctors are so busy, there are so many demands. And yet every doctor I've ever met drives a car. And so when you're in your car, when you hit a red light, that's your opportunity. That's the universe saying to you, here you go, go for it. And so well, that red light is there, you look around, and you just see all the things you're grateful for. And that begins the mental reset. And so we can clear out a lot of the trash, so to speak a lot of the head trash, by getting people to understand what an amazing life we have. And to remember, we've sort of all forgotten, we've been sidetracked, we talked about the squirrels, right? We've been sidetracked from how good this life is. And so we go to gratitude. And so we just start listing off all the things we're grateful for. I think the other really powerful tool that that I've observed, you use very successfully, are the I am affirmations. So, just reminding yourself who you are by doing positive self talk, I am a good physician, I am caring for populations so that they are will be healthy. I am a great team leader, and developer of people. And so as you remind yourself who you are, and you know a lot of Doc's that I come into contact with man, medical school or whatever, there's a lot of ego involved. And yet, the doc's who make the most progress, are the ones who get humble. And remember who they are, who they really are, they go back to their essence. And there's just that's where the power comes in.
Coach JPMD 18:08
I forgot the book talks about rare leadership, I'll put the show notes the book in the show notes, but one of the characteristics of a rare leadership is that they act like their best self. And so their best self is not throwing tools at nurses and, and yelling at staff. It's, it's who they truly are as a best self. And that's what we are charged to do as rare leaders is to to act like your best self. So it's really powerful. Do you have a coach?
Jay Puppo 18:35
Yes, I do. In fact, several coaches, and I just recently brought in a new coach, I've decided to reshape my body. And so I recently hired a running coach to help me run. And you know, it's interesting, how many times have people listening to this podcast, thought, I'm going to get healthy. Or I'm going to go start that new business, or I'm going to improve that relationship. And you have the thought you have the idea, and nothing ever comes about comes of it. What I've experienced is when you get really serious about making a change, when you get really serious about going to the next level, the fastest, you know, if you want to climb the tallest mountain the world, the first thing you do, hire a Sherpa, right? Hire somebody who knows how to get you down the road. Hire somebody who's going to make sure that you got your oxygen mask on, that you grant the right items in your backpack, and that you walk up the correct path because there's lots of wrong paths. You want to make sure you're going down the right path. Yeah. So I have had the great privilege of working with a Master Coach Les McGee, who has coached 1000s of people around the world and a couple other coaches along the path too.
Coach JPMD 19:55
What would make him happy? What would make your coach smile?
Jay Puppo 19:58
That we're having this conversation today definitely would put a smile on his face. Seeing your progress would would put a smile on his face. Yeah, you know, there's just there's so many voices in this world that are that are negative and that are destructive, to bring about a positive voice that is trying to make the world better. I think that would make him grin from ear to ear.
Coach JPMD 20:23
That's awesome. So, I like to ask this question several times. So not several times, but on different podcasts. That that's a question that you asked me in our extreme Pareto exercises is what would be the one thing that you would tell a physician that would help them Practice Impossible, that makes everything else easier or unnecessary? What's the one thing?
I should have prepared for this question, I think, be curious. Open your mind to having a greater awareness about how you can impact people's lives around you.
May have been two but I'll take it. Curious. Curious awareness. Curious awareness is the one. So how do we find you if someone is interested in your services? And or maybe you want to buy some State Farm Insurance? I'm not sure if you can sell insurance in Florida. Yeah.
Yeah, currently have a limited license in Florida. So that's not a good opportunity. But for the coaching practice, CoachJaypuppo.com is our website. Folks want to email. It's Coachjaypuppo@gmail.com. I don't email myself much.
I'll make sure we have that in the show notes so they'll be able to find you. Jay, this has been an awesome conversation. And I really appreciate you appreciate what you've helped me accomplish, even in this podcast and just encouraging me and really appreciate you and wish you all the best.
Jay Puppo 21:58
Thank you, Jude. Thanks for having me and best best to you.
Coach JPMD 22:02
Thank you, bye.
