Welcome to the Christianity and Business Podcast with host Darren Sheer, an initiative of the R. G. W. Dunham College of Business at Houston Baptist University. This is the show that helps Christian business leaders to integrate biblical values into business. You can get more information about HBU Center for Christianity and Business and sign up to receive free access to all fishes of the Christian Business Review Journal by visiting our website at Christianityandbusiness.com.
SPEAKER_02On this episode, we're joined by Dr. Chris Zano. Chris is a world-renowned speaker, author, and entrepreneur. After winning Mr. America in 1998 and being a leader in the fitness industry, he found himself defying a deadly disease in his late 20s. Dr. Zano leveraged his experience to establish one of the largest health and wellness clinics in the world, seeing thousands of patients per week. And I got that right. That's per week, right? Yes. And his clinic is called Abundant Life Chiropractic. It's in the Woodlands, Texas, not too far from where we are at HBU. And it's all about helping people to reach their God-given health potential. Chris, why do you emphasize the God-given part of health potential? Because it's all over your website. And we're not talking about, you know, just a niche chiropractic clinic. I mean, my wife worked in a chiropractic clinic once upon a time. If our listeners know any chiropractors, you know, seeing thousands of patients per week is not typical, uh, but you really bring this to the forefront and want people to know that you are, first of all, a believer in Christ, uh, but you want people to really tap into their God-given health potential. What's that about?
SPEAKER_01Well, because it's it's just that. I believe, and it's just not health. Of course, I specialize in health, but whether it be your finances, your relationships, or your health or your business, understanding that there's, let's just get to the basic stuff. There's natural laws and principles of life, right? Many of those, you know, I mean, just whether it be proverbs or whether it be just biblical principles of the Bible, they're it's not, they're not just strictly just based off religious Christianity, they're actually true, proven principles, right? So, and and that's the issue. You can't say, well, I'm not a Christian, therefore I'm not gonna throw the baby out with the bathwater. Like Allah is Allah, right? So whether it be uh the golden rule or whatever you want to call it, so it's there. So for me, when it comes to health, you know, God created our bodies to function and heal a certain way. In fact, well-being is our natural state. It's always been. Um, and like I tell people, uh, you know, I'll get into a little bit, but you know, the absence of well-being is a disease process. So here in our society, we're chasing disease, we're chasing symptoms. And symptoms can be, again, in the other areas of your life. But when you chase a symptom, a symptom isn't really a thing, it's the absence of a thing. So for instance, you know, darkness is the absence of life or health. Health is your natural well-being, disease is the absence of health. So when there's an absence of that thing, that's what creates something that most people focus on. So they're focusing on the wrong thing. So instead of focusing on, in my instance, uh covering or masking symptoms, you know, they should be focusing on restoring well-being, restoring health, getting to the root cause of the problem. And when I talk to my patients, and like, you know, I do uh for me, I speak all over the community. And it's very easy to do it, uh, Darren, because when when you're thinking about it, it's like I tell everybody, I'm like, hey, listen, you know, this is a non-religious statement. I and and I go, because I'm I'm definitely much a Christ follower and not necessarily a religionist, you know, and you'll I think everybody knows what I'm talking about there.
unknownSure.
SPEAKER_01It's not a religious statement. I go, but can everybody agree that you were conceived two cells at conception, and then you became in nine months a person with 70 trillion cells in perfection? Can we all agree that this was just not random? You know, so I don't care who's in the room. Everybody's like, yeah, there's some type of intelligent wisdom, uh master builder going on there, right? So and and and just yes, we agree. I go, so when you were born, the same intelligence and wisdom that and the power that made your heart, your lungs, every other the same wisdom and power intelligence that pieced every single part of your body together. When you were born, where did it go? And then you get to see everybody, they start to get confused. They're like, and I'm like, yeah, where did it go? Didn't it did it come out with the placenta? You know, like what with that same wisdom and power in nine months that you call a miracle of life, where'd it go? And everybody then realized, I connect people to the point they're like, oh my god, it's still with me. I'm like, yeah, it's still in you. I go, so but we were distracted as a side as a society that when we were born, then that's saying like people forgot, or they're distracted that the same God-given power and principle that literally created them has always been with them under behind their nose the entire time, and yet they're looking for everything and everyone else for healing in their body versus actually looking uh and working with the God-given laws and principles that are predictable, they're actually laws, just like gravity, the way we were created. So we were, I tell people, let's work with that design of the body, the God-given principles, and not against it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Yeah, that's good. And so you were you became Mr. America in 1998, and then uh you found yourself in the midst of a deadly disease. What was uh how how how soon after? Because you I think you were early 20s when you became Mr. America's. So I mean, the specimen of physical condition in the world, and now you're you're on the verge of death. What was that journey like?
SPEAKER_01Well, that was a thing, you know, at 21 when you Mr. America be on the cover of the magazines, and you know, I was a trainer for Universal Studios and when it because I was in Orlando, Florida, had my degree in exercise physiology. So my entire identity was how I looked and how I felt, right? So I looked like hell. I didn't drink, I didn't smoke, I didn't do any of that stuff. And uh I that was what I was known for. And about 26, a couple years later, right after I got married, I just started going to the bathroom a lot. Okay, no big deal. Thought it was a stomach bug. Then I started bleeding every time I went to the bathroom. And now I'm getting nervous. I go on Google, I type in blood and stool, and you see cancer, right? And I'm like, ah, my dad died of cancer when I was 21, my grandfather I never met. So you're starting to think, is this happening? And my my identity and who I was was absolutely stripped away until one day I found myself at a TJ Maxx, and because you always have to have the urge of going to the bathroom all the time, and it's blood and mucus, all this other stuff. And I lost my bowels in that TJ Maxx in front of like 40 people. I couldn't hold it anymore. The bathrooms were locked, they were under construction. And you know, when disease attacks your body, it's slow, it's subtle. You know, it's it's every single day, it's getting worse and worse, but it's so sneaky. But until you until I found myself standing there going, what the heck happened to me? Like everything I had was stripped away. What's going on with me? And then I was mad. I was mad at God. Why? Because it's like I'm doing everything right, I'm eating well and exercising. You know, I'm self-righteously the healthy person. You know, I'm not eating at McDonald's and Burger King every single morning, and and I don't smoke, and those people are doing way better than I am. So here's my question I'm questioning like what you know, why why why was I dealt this hand of cards? Because I had a blind spot. See, I was on the wrong map. I thought health was how I looked, how I felt. And so I just continue to get worse and worse. I was diagnosed with an incurable terminal disease called ulcerative colitis, where the immune system of your body is attacking and eating your colon from the inside out. I was put on very, very tons of harsh, expensive medications that caused more and other complications and side effects and hepatitis from the medications. It was crazy. Went to the top four doctors in Dallas, Texas. They put me on a low-dose chemotherapy, rumicate infusions, interferon shots for the hepatitis. I was on organ rejection medication to shut down my immune system. And nothing was working except the only option I was left with, the only option was the removal of my entire colon. And so they said, listen, we're going to take out your entire colon. You'll have a colostomy bag, which is a gaping hole out of the right side of your abdomen for the rest of your life. You know it's going to break, it's going to leak, it's going to get infected. They went on to say all the medications I've taken had sterilized me, so I'm sterile and everybody would have children. Adoption would have to be something we would look into. And they were biggest concerns, like, we don't even even know if you'll make it through the surgery, because when you're on organ injection medications, it shuts your immune system down at the DNA level. So how are we going to take out your colon without getting some type of bacterial infection? And then and then, see, I'm saying all these things, and not to mention the hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt that I was in and would be in from this. So, like a lot of people, that's only that's the only option you have. All right, I guess I'm gonna do this. And so I'm flying home to see my mom, and my mom is the prayer warrior, and she sends out that prayer email because this is a mother who lost her husband, and she already lost two sons at this point. So this is her third son that she's gonna lose. She sends out that prayer email, and everybody's saying, Hope the surgery goes well, and we pray for the hands. And then my anatomy teacher from 10th grade uh sent a different email. He's like, Listen, uh, when Chris is in town, I want to see him. I think I know there's something that can help him. So I'm in town, I see Mr. Bauman, I'm like, what are you doing here? He goes, Listen, you need to go see my doctor, he's a crack-care chiropractor, it'll change your life. And that was the most absurd thing I ever heard in my life. Because I was like, um, thank you. Because I thought it was just someone who was just trying to show me empathy and you know help you out. I'm like, thank you, but but no thanks. I told him I tried it all. And he goes, Well, you didn't try it all because if you tried it all, you would have had your health. And I realized I realized in that time, I go, see, Darren, I didn't realize I was a victim. I didn't realize I hit a state of hopelessness until I realized I was in that state, meaning, for everybody who's listening or watching, when he said you didn't try everything it was, you would have found your health, it woke me up just a little bit to go, oh my God, like you're right. Like I didn't try everything, even though I thought I did. See, I thought I tried it all. And how many people in your finances, your relationship, your businesses, or your health, you felt, hey, I tried it all. And you accepted, okay, I did everything. So therefore now I'm a victim. Now I'm hopeless. Now I can blame my circumstances. And sometimes I tell people, they're like, never underestimate, like when you're going through a tough time, the scripture you read, the movie you watch, the song you listen to, or the conversation you have, the podcast you're listening to, like something that that one line might speak to you and wake you up in such a way where it gives you a clear understanding of maybe you're not, you know, hopeless. And so I went to see this doctor. He taught me about the how God created the body to heal, function, operate. And uh, you know, the brain controls everything. Yes. Anything interfering with that causes disease. Yep, got it. And uh then I went to and then I saw my blind spot. I looked at my x-rays and my spine was destroyed in the lower spine, even though I didn't have pain. And that was the blind spot that I didn't think I knew. That was the blind spot that I never saw. And that was the cause of those issues. So, you know, through correcting that, which wasn't easy, you know, because in in life, the the scariest thing to do is make a decision. I I knew that if I didn't correct my problem that I have that was causing my problem, I had to take personal responsibility. No one's coming to save you. And in three months, I was off half the meds, five months I was off all the meds. Uh, the blood was starting to come down, and at seven months my body was blood free, and I uh my body healed itself from an incurable terminal disease called ultra fruclitis, and that was 16 years ago. Wow. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Praise God. Did you lose your colon?
SPEAKER_01I mean, or didn't have to.
SPEAKER_02None of that's basically none of that stuff they said was gonna happen came to pass.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and they were doing the best they can with covering symptoms, but you know, the the body has the most amazing healing power to um heal and be well if we're working with the design of the body, not against it. And then, you know, there's always a cause. I love that problem. There, there's no cause that goes causeless.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So understand that even though you may have not found the cause yet, even though you may have not found the solution, that doesn't mean that the cause and the solution still aren't there. You you just got to keep on digging versus masking and doing a temporary quick fix. You know, all those drugs and medications were causing more problems and more harm than good. It was toxifying my body. And it was about going to that, but it was very tough because when you don't, when you've never been through it, it's tough to logically it makes sense, but emotionally you're scared because you're like, well, how do I know this is going to work? But when you start to see the momentum, there's no more faith needed. Like when you see the results are happening, you're like, okay, faith turns into belief very easily. And then then momentum starts after that. But I mean, that inspired me so much because now I had something. And here's here's really like the focus of this this uh interview. See, chiropractic would have been 10 more further down than 10,000th on my list if you asked me what I was going to be when I grew up or if I wanted to be. So it wasn't even on the radar. But see, I went through a I don't even see a disease anymore. I went through a contrasting experience. That's what it was. It wasn't a failure. I went through an experience in my life that brought me through this journey. That in that journey, when I lost my health, I knew what I didn't want. I didn't want to be sick, so I was clear on that. But when I know what I didn't want, it also clarifies what you do want. So when I didn't when I know I didn't want to be sick, I definitely knew I wanted health. So I had such a higher intention and yearning and drive for health. And I went through this experience. And this experience was a struggle. It wasn't exciting, it was scary. But when I went through that experience, now I have an experience. I went through something. So what I have in me when I when it comes to business, it's not a a books, I'm not a book smart guy speaking to you. I'm not someone who says, hey, this seems like a cool job to have. When I stand in front of somebody, I have a testimony, I have a true experience, I have a real idea experience. I can put my hand on anybody's shoulder and and know what they're going through. I can put my hand on your shoulder and say, me too. I get it. And sometimes I like I'm in the point because I I did go through this and I did come out successful and triumphant and overcoming. My patients sometimes borrow my confidence in their true ability to heal until they get the confidence in themselves to heal. And that really is the thing. So I went back and I got a I found a purpose of something that I went through and experienced. So now when I do sell, let's say business takes selling. So when I do sell, I'm not selling, I'm selling something that's so deeply rooted in me. Like that's why I hired all my staff, my team that works with me. People say, don't hire people you do business with. No, I hired my patients, you know why? Because they paid money for their care. They went through the experience themselves. So what they're so congruent on such a deep level of experience, it builds such a value of trust. And to that point where that's because I remember sometimes people don't know what you do is going to work for them. But when they believe in you and they trust in you and they trust in your principles and feel that warmth and love, that you truly care about them, then they're willing to make that exchange of value and money for that certain time, borrow somebody for confidence, and then and then choose to get well.
SPEAKER_02So at what point did you recognize that God wanted to, that God was really orchestrating all of this and redeeming what you had been through, and that he wanted to be involved in your business endeavors?
SPEAKER_01Well, I when I was getting better, you know, it's just like when I was, and even when I was rough, going through rough times, you know, I had my 59 list of scriptures. And even though I said those scriptures every single day, sometimes those scriptures felt like words, you know what I mean? It's like, you know, a scripture isn't a spell. I think too many times believers and personally use they use they use a scripture like a spell. It's not, it's not magic. It's do you really believe what those words say? See, that's the difference. Like I could say, I could do all things through Christ who strengthens me, and I could say it with no emo, like it's just like, you know, I'm just saying these words, but like, do I really believe that? And you may believe it logically, but logical doesn't cause it. The faith comes from the emotional vibration of it. Like, do I really believe that? And there's days that you do, and there's days that you don't, but when you really could say, listen, I believe it, or you're like, or you're so, or for some of us, like we're so broken that we just have to surrender our disbelief. Like, I was so broken, I had a dis I just surrendered and said, Listen, I don't, I don't know how I'm gonna get out of this. Like, you know what I mean? You get to the point where like I I am I'm lost for work. I got nothing else. So clearly it's all got to be you. You know what I mean? Like you almost have this moment of absolute surrender. And that almost that the moment of absolute surrender is actually the time where you may believe the most because you gave up all of your personal work to do so. It was it couldn't be you anymore. And I believe really God steps in and does the healing when we can't do it anymore. Like I realized someone's like, well, how come God healed this person and didn't heal this person? I'm like, well, maybe that person with diabetes, they could control what they eat. They had they had they had power in their own self-discipline to do something about it, where I believe God will step in to show his glory, which is usually something man could never do, right? That's really showing the glory of it. So a lot of people, it's it's weird, Darren, especially some of the toughest patients I work with are in the Christian realm because they have it somewhat off where I'm gonna have faith, I'm gonna pray, and God's gonna do all the work for me without any work on their part. And I see a lot of I see a lot of frustrated people, and I saw a lot of people who get their families get mad at God because they they weren't they weren't willing to do all of their part. I believe like I believe there there is work that needs to be done on your part, and because the work shows an element of faith that listen, you know, I this is I want healing, but I'm still gonna move forward, I'm gonna do my part, but I you know it's almost like a team effort versus saying like I'm gonna sit on the couch and pray for a job, you know?
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Uh maybe an another way to look at it as well is that it's it's because our the our theology does play into this so much, where if my theology is that you can't earn anything from God, which is which is true in a sense, um, not to say that the Bible doesn't talk about rewards in heaven and so on, but in terms of earning salvation and things like that, because you can't earn salvation, you can't work for things here on earth and expect God to bless you with them, you know, which is not necessarily the case either. I mean, the way that I frame it is it's as you said before, this is what God's word says. Now live as though it's true, live as though you are healed. I mean, somebody who's healed doesn't eat junk food all the time. You know, if you're if you're really walking, it really comes down to stewardship, right?
SPEAKER_01Oh, well, without a doubt. And you know, you're so right, Darren, and it's so tough. It was because it's a tough thing. Imagine every day you're seeing the manifestation of something that you don't want to see. So if I'm seeing, I was seeing blood in the toilet bowl every single day. So it was so tough to have this, you know, I'm believing I'm healed, and then you're getting reminded 10 times a day. Well, still there, it's still there. So that is the battle uh for sure that I know a lot of people will go through.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And I really get the sense that you are, you know, the Great Commission is to make disciples of nations. And in between there, we have companies that need to be discipled. We have industries that need to be discipled. And what I see you doing, and you point this out, uh uh it I read on your website, you talked about how you're teaching mindset and health principles that have helped thousands of people to finally receive results where other health and medical systems failed them in the past. You know, the people I can think about like the woman with the issue of blood, where she had tried all these doctors and I got no, I mean, imagine how much money she had spent and the time and the surgeries that failed and all that. Um what is your sense of how you are making an impact on the industry and really helping to shhip the industry? Do you feel like you're do you see yourself leading the industry? Do you see yourself kind of having to kind of go off and do something separate from the industry? How do you frame that in terms of uh discipleship?
SPEAKER_01Well, yeah, I mean there's there's a whole slew of colleagues in my profession that believe the same way as I do, but maybe they're not as bold at it. You know, they don't uh, you know, they they they they try to keep it, you know, religion neutral, but I try to tell them like this has nothing to do with religion. You know, you know, I'm just talking about God's laws of life on how we were created, heal, function, operate. And I rather rely on on the way God created me because He knows everything I need, then rely on my own brain or rely on somebody else as book smarts, right? So it's very and I think everybody everybody truly believes you cannot deny there's a beautiful, higher, amazing power, whatever they want to call that. But when you really open the doors to say, like, hey, listen, you know, there are God principles, there's a rest. There's clearly a recipe and how we were created to live, and there's discipline in how we're created to live, and knowing that our health is the vehicle to be able to carry out all the great things they want to do. Like, and like you're right, dogmas are weird sometimes. You know, people feel they got to be martyrs. I'm like, but here's the thing: if you're not healthy, you can't take care of your family. You know, you can't go out and serve on the mission field. You know, I love when I had a patient, he worked for Pixar, he had massive headaches and migraines, drinking some booze and taking some pills to get away from those headaches, because you know, they they're miserable. You can't run away from it. And, you know, when he was able to get well and get off all those drugs, and and you know, and uh 10 months after that, he went on a missions trip to Ecuador and fell in love with that and retired from Pixar. They do full-time missionary work. And he says, you know, if I just believe the life, he goes, if I just believed it was my age, my genetics, my culture, my job, my stress, and uh, and I just believed that I needed all these medications, like if I didn't take responsibility and really learn how my body was able to truly heal uh create a heal uh and function operate, he's like, I would have totally missed out on my sole purpose. You know what I mean? It's like, yeah, because now he uh like our body is that temple and we take care of it because it's the only vehicle we got to carry out what we have to do. And like and everybody knows when you're feeling foggy and crummy, let's say you eat a bunch of bad stuff, you're just feeling lethargic, you know you're not, you're not, you know you're not at your A game. And your A game is a lot more than you being a salesperson. Your A game means like if Darren came on here and he was tired and sleepy and like his questions wouldn't be really good, he'd be yawning. You know, it's like it would be like he would not be able to fulfill his intention and impact he wanted for what he does, right? So it's like, you know, when you're when when you're healthy and taking care of your body, it allows, I think when you're at your A game and you're in your zone, it really allows the spirit to work with you. Because I can't tell you, and Darren, you're the same way, man. Like it's intuition. You ever walk by someone and you feel the calling to talk to them or pray for them? It's like you you miss all that stuff when you're sick and depressed, like because you can't see that opportunity. But it's like when you're tuned in, that's the best way I could describe it. When you're tuned in physically, emotionally, and spiritually, all these opportunities that were there for you to make the impact and be the hands and feet and mouth of God, you could see and you could you could you could act on. But I'm telling you, when you're sick and you're depressed and you're you're so myop, you're so myopic, you're so focused on you, it really almost is if it's the most selfish stating versus being someone who's healthy, strong, vibrant, and then you you just you're contagious. You want to go spread and do your creative deal. Like that's that's what fulfillment is. You know, uh Francis Chan said a great quote, you know, Francis Chan. He goes, uh the greatest fear, the greatest fear in life uh is not failure. The greatest fear of life should be succeeding at something that didn't matter.
SPEAKER_03Wow.
SPEAKER_01I love that quote. So the biggest fear in life is not fear of failure, but but succeeding at something that didn't matter. And I really get it. I really get it. And I think if everybody can brace that, like, wow, I want to do something that matters. I want to be and I don't want to be successful and look back and be like, hey, I was successful, I had all these amazing things that I accomplished, but like it really didn't matter on the big unit, you know, just you know, timeline that God created us and put us on this earth to do.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. So the the points and the and the takeaways here for the individual, the the business leaders, the business professionals listening to this show are really pretty obvious. Uh in terms of because I think the reason why a lot of people listen to this show is because they don't just want to focus on their own personal spiritual growth, but they also want to make an impact on the people that they work with and beyond. And this is just one of those low-hanging fruit kind of things, you know, having a marketplace chaplain, uh, you know, having some employee care programs, this this issue of health and in terms of corporate wellness, because when I served in the Air Force, and not that the Air Force among the branches of the service is particularly known for being the most fit, you know, because we're not boots on the ground for the most part. But, you know, people bring in boxes of donuts in in the morning and things like that. So if you're trying to, like you were talking about, be on your A game physically, you're watching what you eat, hydrating, exercising. And then every time you come into work, there's you know, temptation like that, people that just don't have the same objectives without bringing that into the corporate setting of really from from the starting with the leadership. Uh what have you seen works of for companies in terms of helping people in these areas?
SPEAKER_01Well, number one is is taking the um taking the guilt and shame away from it, meaning you're not cheating on eating well. You you take up uh an empowered position. So the empowered position is this literally saying to yourself, see those donuts? I could have that whenever I want. Nothing's stopping me. I could always I could I could have whatever I want, but I choose not to because I don't want anything to sabotage or is sabotage in the way of my goals and my dreams and who I am. And is this useful? I always ask people, like, when you go do it, like and you're gonna grab that, is it useful? Is it useful? And start thinking about all other areas, mentally, physically, socially, and spiritually. Like, is this useful? And when they realize, no, it's not useful. Uh, could you have it? Yes, I could have it, but it's not useful. And you know, what's the and what's that one vacation meal you could have and enjoy yourself? Yeah, I could do that. You know, I could have a little bit of delay gratification. You know, like I have delayed gratification, and I call my I don't even call it a cheat meal, I call it a vacation meal, and that's a date night. And I know maybe the next day I'm I don't have to be as sharp as I need to be, because I know it does affect me. But you know, I could have those things, but it there's there's uh there's temperance, you know what I mean? There's there's there's something where you're able to self-discipline yourself because you're asking yourself, is this useful? But yet I could have it whenever I want. So it's like it's very empowering. I choose not to have it. You know, I never say I can't have it, because what happens to the human nature when like someone says you can't, you can't, like they focus on what they can and actually it turns into guilt, shame, and uh and judgment towards themselves, versus saying I choose not to, is this useful? And I could do whatever I want. I could put anything in my mouth I want because nothing's classified as unclean, or I can I can eat whatever I want, but I choose not to because it's not useful for me and my goals that I want to put and accomplish on this planet.
SPEAKER_02Right. Yeah, you you used the word temperance, was it, which is not a term that I hear used very often today. Usually I hear it used uh with the temperance movement of like the early 1900s, 1800s, where it was all about abstaining from certain things that were destructive, you know, like like uh alcohol, um, you know, excessive alcohol. I think back then it was more let's just get rid of all alcohol 100%. Um, and and and what as I've studied the faith and work movement, something that I noticed is that it was really the business owners that kind of pioneered that because they were seeing the destructive impact of people that just weren't really taking care of themselves, uh coming to work and they just weren't doing a good job, you know, safety issues and things like that going on. I think the same is is true today. Maybe we don't necessarily need to take things to quite the extreme, but um but having this understanding, like like even just the way that you talked about how if you go on a date night and have a vacation meal, that you know that that's gonna affect you the next day. So you need to kind of order your schedule. I think that that in and of itself, I think is a takeaway for all of us as we uh you know wrap it up here, uh, to think about what we're I mean, you're talking about health in a very holistic way, uh, but just one part of that is the way that we uh treat our bodies physically. Um, but what would be uh a parting piece of advice you would leave to with our listeners today, specifically our Christian business professionals, and uh maybe uh something that they could go and apply even today?
SPEAKER_01Well, one thing I would I would definitely focus on be as bold as you choose to be when it comes to uh like you know, abundant life chiropractor, you know, like everybody knows like I am a Christian organization. I but they know but I say it, I I come, I come across and I truly my intention is really to help and love people. And when it's truly to help and love people, I have all people from all walks and all religions of life and all um lifestyle choices come to my office and they feel Christ's love for them. They don't feel religion's judgment on them, they feel love. So I really feel like if you're if you're doing it for the purpose of listen, you know, I and I think that's the greatest example you could be. You could be an example, you could be Christ, you know, like I like people say you're Christ with, you know, you're you're like you're you're wearing Christ on you, and right, and like that comes through. So this is why like I have never ever been in my uh 13 years, never have I had one issue with any type of discrimination or anything like that. I've had I have an atheist that have come in and debated me, but they did they debated they debated with respect. You know what I mean? Like it was respectful, it was loving, it was agree to disagree, but it was never hatred. The only issue I had was this. Um, I took out a marketing uh thing, like uh the Cheesecake Factory. I don't know if you've ever been to those, they have a menu, and the menu on one side of the menu used to have ads on the other side, and it was $4,000 for this one page on the side. And we made up the ad, we did everything, and I put, you know, first the ends 19 through 20. That's my that's my scripture, you know, the you know, body's a temple of the Holy Spirit. And they said, Well, we can't put that on there. I'm like, why can't you put that on there? Like, well, we don't want to offend anybody. I'm like, well, I wouldn't have paid 50 cents for that ad. Like, I'm not gonna like compromise, you know, that's one thing. I'm not gonna fall back. I'm not gonna compromise on what I believe. And that was really the only thing that we ever went through. And it really, it's it still wasn't. It was just a company's decision to say, listen, we want to be uh neutral. And I'm like, that's fine. And they let me out of the contract, but you know, I just know that when people you you can really say whatever you want, as long as you're coming from a loving, caring aspect, and people really appreciate that. And because everybody, everybody knows that there's they come to grips with their own mortality or their immortality, or you know, there's uh deep down, everybody, even an atheist, is coming down thinking or an agnostic, they everybody wonders about that, and just to be someone who's loving and open and non-uh, and a lot of people had uh a lot of bad um bad experiences with churches or certain religions, and because there's all different dialects, whatever it may be. So uh just for them to go in there, they're coming in with a with a a burnt or a skewed version of of their life, that's their belief system, and just to show what uh what it what Christ's love really is to someone, like they never experienced that.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01And a lot of people when they heard they hear the turn love or they see Christ as a father figure, some people had horrible father figures. Like you are you never unlike people have gone through so many experiences. So all you so if you could just show show the loving version of that and people and it's real, it's like you can't that's one thing you can't fake, right? It's like it's gotta be real. And how does it get real? It's your daily, I know I'm telling you, but it's your daily preparation. Like before I go to work, I have a whole morning routine because I have to fill the well up. Why are we filling up the well? We're filling up the well so we could pour out into people. Because you're if you don't prepare yourself in the morning, your well is gonna go dry. And when your well goes dry, and we've all been there, we get into scarcity, we get into poverty mentality, we get into worry, we get into anxiety, and we just we don't we don't function and we don't communicate at the level we should, versus when your well is full. So what could be your personal routine? That's your daily, daily scriptures in the morning, that's your daily journaling, that's whether you listen to something, but you gotta get your spirit, mind and body right to now go out to pour into the world. And just like Jesus went away to refill, you got to refill every single morning. And again, that's a discipline that is a huge success because without having that well that's full, you can't pour that love out to people the way you you were created to.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Well said. And by the way, you know, maybe the real reason Cheesecake Factory didn't want to put that verse in their your buys and temple of God, they might have thought they were gonna sell less cheesecake. Possibly. Chris, thank you so much for this. Uh, Chris Zaino.com is your personal website, Chris Z-A-I-N-O.com. What else do you want to weave with people in terms of uh where they can find you and get more of your content?
SPEAKER_01Well, I mean, you could see me on uh on Instagram. You know, I'm there at Dr. Zano, dr drz a i no. More my and I do a lot more mind steps uh mindset stuff on there. And it's real stuff, guys. You know, it's just it's real. It's something that's gonna get you hopefully 1% better each and every single day. Uh, and then uh, you know, Facebook, I'm on there as well and YouTube. It's all under Dr. Zano D-R-Z-A-I-N-O.
SPEAKER_02Beautiful. Well, we sure appreciate your time, brother, and may God continue to bless the work you're doing and your clinic and your family and everything you're putting your heart into.
SPEAKER_01Well, I appreciate you guys so much. Have an amazing day.
SPEAKER_00We hope you've enjoyed this episode. And if so, we would greatly appreciate it if you would leave us a quick rating and review for the Christianity and Business podcast on iTunes. You can get more information about HBU Center for Christianity and Business at Christianityandbusiness.com. Thanks for listening, and remember to keep integrating biblical values into your business.