Not Every Bad Outcome Is Your Fault

In this episode, I sit down with Todd Westra, CEO of Growth Readiness, entrepreneur, and host of the Growth & Scaling Podcast, to talk about what happens when business doesn't go according to plan.

Todd has experienced both extraordinary success and painful setbacks. He's built companies, lost millions in revenue almost overnight, navigated legal battles, and watched trusted business relationships fall apart. 

But what stayed with me wasn't a lesson about strategy.

It was a lesson about perspective.

Sometimes the wisest thing we can do is honestly examine our mistakes without carrying responsibility for decisions that were never ours to make.

Transcript

Todd Westra 0:00

Let's not face our decision making or our position that we're in based off of our own decision making. Because everyone's got the ability to choose how they treat us, how they deal with us, how they accept our goodness and and our and our badness, how they respond to us when we're saying.

Dr. Laura Purdy 0:23

Welcome to the I am Wiser Podcast with the biggest question of health care and welcome to the collective wisdom of industry and I'm Dr. Marker, and here we explore the intersections of AI, care delivery, health. It's about lived experience and real industry insights. Let's dive in and get wiser together. Hi, everybody, and welcome to today's episode of the I Am Wiser Podcast with Dr. Laura Purdy, where I explore the real stories behind groundbreaking innovations in the business landscape and the profound impact they have on people. On that note, I am delighted to welcome Mr. Todd Westra, the CEO of Growth Readiness and host of the Growth and Scaling Podcast, which I was on a couple years ago. Todd has dedicated his career to helping leaders of mid-sized companies, so that's me, realign their strategy, leadership, and execution to become truly growth ready. His growth readiness framework has empowered hundreds of executives to break through stagnation, rediscover alignment, and lead their organizations into the next stage of sustainable success. Welcome, Todd.

Todd Westra 1:42

Well, thank you. It's so good to see you again.

Dr. Laura Purdy 1:46

Likewise. So the last time we met was when I was on your show in 2023. It's been almost two and a half years. And I'm sure a lot has changed and happened in the world of Todd over the last few years. So yeah. Tell us where where are you at? What's going on? How has your life evolved in these last couple years?

Todd Westra 2:06

You know, these last five years have been weird. And the last two and a half have been pretty, pretty awesome, I would say. Um in terms of like reflecting on where I've been and where I'm going and what what I'm doing with my life, you know, I've got uh, I mean, in the last two and a half years, I've had two kids leave the house, which is great. Um hey, you know what? Pause for just one second. I apologize. Yeah, literally just got a bloody nose, like as I'm talking. Oh no. Oh, look, I got on my shirt.

Dr. Laura Purdy 2:33

Ah no. Oh my gosh.

Todd Westra 2:37

Sorry, embarrassing.

Dr. Laura Purdy 2:39

It happens. Listen, I have five children and I'm married to a surgeon, so there's there's no shortage of blood in my life.

Todd Westra 2:47

Hey, give me one second. I'm just gonna grab a shirt. One second. Of course. I'm so sorry. That is like so happens.

Dr. Laura Purdy 2:54

Go, go, go, go. Listen, I I am the least, I am the last person to be concerned about a random bloody note. One sec. I'm here. You have allergies.

Todd Westra 3:29

Okay, you're a you're an MD, so are you familiar with um HHT?

Dr. Laura Purdy 3:35

H H T Yeah. No.

Todd Westra 3:39

Hereditary hemoglobin.

Dr. Laura Purdy 3:41

Oh, hemorrhac oh really. Hereditary, yeah, yeah. Oh wow, that's really rare. Do you have that?

Todd Westra 3:50

Uh I do, and it's not as rare as you think. It's uh Really? It's a one in five thousand people thing, but most people don't know they've got it.

Dr. Laura Purdy 3:58

Why do you know you have it?

Todd Westra 4:00

What's that?

Dr. Laura Purdy 4:01

Why do you know you have it? Like somebody thought to look for it?

Todd Westra 4:05

Uh yeah, one of my brothers like had a really, really weird, um he's got a really severe case of it. And he like, he'll bleed out. He'll like go into the hospital and get like three pints of blood. Like he's literally almost empty.

Dr. Laura Purdy 4:21

Oh my gosh. Hereditary hemorrhagic telangectasias. Yeah? H H.

Todd Westra 4:28

And he'll telangictasias are pretty funky, and they um it for most people it it um it shows up as a bloody nose, but the fear is if you get a telangectasia in your lungs or your brain, you'll just go without knowing it. You know what I mean?

Dr. Laura Purdy 4:46

Oh, that's terrifying. So what do you have to get like frequent MRIs, or what do they do in the management of that?

Todd Westra 4:52

You know, they're thinking just once in your lifetime really tells tells the story of what where it is and where it's gonna affect you.

Dr. Laura Purdy 5:01

Do your kids all have it too?

Todd Westra 5:03

Uh like half my kids have it, and my mom has it, and like two or three of my siblings have it. So it's kind of a weird just like it hits and then it doesn't, and then it But when it hits, sometimes it just doesn't stop. And so I'm I apologize. I'm I'm keeping it G-rated, but um you poor thing.

Dr. Laura Purdy 5:25

I'm sorry.

Todd Westra 5:26

It's taking a second here. I think you're a doctor and like can understand this is just one of those weird body things, you know?

Dr. Laura Purdy 5:34

I get it. I I get it. I don't have HHT, but I get it. I mean, you know, life happens and everybody has medical conditions.

Todd Westra 5:42

So everybody's got something weird, and this one is just the most frustrating one because I've been up on stage before and like oh crud.

Dr. Laura Purdy 5:51

Oh no, what did you do? What did you do when you were on stage and your nose started bleeding?

Todd Westra 5:56

You can literally, if you tilt your head back the right way, it'll all just go down your throat.

Dr. Laura Purdy 6:02

Okay. I mean, I guess you have to learn how to accommodate for it, right?

Todd Westra 6:08

It on a on a weird level, because I can tell you're like into weird body stuff, you know? Like you can literally, um, when it's bad, you can feel each sinus fill with blood as you're. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. It like will literally go like here, here, here, here.

Dr. Laura Purdy 6:31

All of your sinuses. That's hard.

Todd Westra 6:33

And you just have like these stupid um clots that just need to come out as soon as you're done. Yeah. You know, it's just weird.

Dr. Laura Purdy 6:41

And there's nothing you can really take, right? Because it's a blood vessel problem. It's not like a real clotting problem. It's not like hemophilia, it's not a platelit disorder, it's not a clotting disorder, it's a blood vessel disorder, right?

Todd Westra 6:53

So it's a blood vessel disorder.

Dr. Laura Purdy 6:55

What can you do?

Todd Westra 6:56

You know, I I have like um I've done a lot of like study because the there's an HHG clinic here in Utah at the University of Utah, and um it but they don't really know anything, and so it's kind of one of those where like they're trying to figure it out, and so they're like, okay, it's gonna cost you $20,000 to do the study, and we're still trying to figure it out. I'm like, shouldn't you be paying me to study my condition? Like, I'm not gonna pay you $20,000 to study me.

Dr. Laura Purdy 7:29

No.

Todd Westra 7:30

Anyway, the the stupid thing is that um you know, so what I've done personally is I have been playing around with like uh I used to put like Vaseline in my nose to kind of keep it moist so that they wouldn't like crack open or whatever. And um then I learned that Vaseline is literally petroleum jelly, and I was like, uh I didn't put that together.

Dr. Laura Purdy 7:55

Well I'm literally putting like petroleum products into my body that will never dissolve.

Todd Westra 8:00

So I actually started making my own like um lube, like my own like uh really concoctions significantly reduced my episodes. Like I'm probably once or twice a week I get a bluttery nose, whereas it used to be like three times a day.

Dr. Laura Purdy 8:23

And that's less. Oh god.

Todd Westra 8:25

Yeah, yeah. And so it's um I've just about got it killed here, by the way.

Dr. Laura Purdy 8:31

That's okay. I mean, three times a day, that's that's really intrusive. I mean, you like you know it's gonna happen three times a day.

Todd Westra 8:38

It's a it's a pain in the neck. Like it it truly is. And you know, the one brother that's got it really bad, he just had some major surgery to try and like I don't know what they did, but they went up and like uh it was more than a cauterization. I think they like took something out, like some kind of um major blood vessel. But he was like on an artery. Like his was like, it was something crazy where they couldn't believe he was walking. Like when he would come into the hospital for ER stuff, they're like, How are you even standing? Like, how are you even awake? And and he's like, I don't know, but they'd give him like three quarts of blood, and he'd be on his way. And anyway, okay, I'm gonna change my shirt, I'm good to go.

Dr. Laura Purdy 9:30

Okay. And uh what an adventure.

Todd Westra 9:34

I'm so sorry. I I seriously, like, you're not bothering me.

Dr. Laura Purdy 9:38

I'm good. Honestly, Todd, I'm just glad you're here. I don't even care. Listen, with the I'm sure you can relate to this, but with the high volumes of no notice cancellations and no shows, I'd rather you be here with a bloody nose than not be here at all. Okay, so our cancellation and no show rate is ridiculous. So I'm just happy that you're here.

Todd Westra 10:05

Alright, one second, one second.

Dr. Laura Purdy 10:07

No problem.

Todd Westra 10:08

I think. All right, I think I got it all off my face. New shirt.

Dr. Laura Purdy 10:20

Like all good businessmen, you just have to learn how to pivot, right?

Todd Westra 10:23

Dude, I'm telling you. It is the weirdest thing ever. And I I uh I apologize. That that was not a little one either. That was like a I probably lost a few cups.

Dr. Laura Purdy 10:36

Oh, like a crime scene. Oh, that's terrifying. Okay. Well, make sure you eat your spinach and your steak tonight, or whatever it is. You have to spinach and lots of water. There you go. Lots of water. All right. Let's go. Well, listen, let's dive back in. You know, we'll cut all that stuff out. So, so we're to recap, we're catching up on the last couple years of our lives. Where have we been since then? What have we been up to? And most importantly, how are we wiser for it?

Todd Westra 11:02

Right. Okay. Well, I will, I've got a good, I've been thinking about it. Um, I have learned a couple things. So here we go. That's good. Here we go. All right. So, yeah, last couple years have been super interesting for me. I have been um on this journey where it COVID, you know, my my business got completely wiped out. And I didn't share this with you when I was doing our interview, but I literally was transitioning because I went through a a one-week stage in 2020 where I lost about four and a half million dollars of revenue, and um it was like a kick in the pants. And you know, I heard all over the place people were just booming during COVID, and here I was like, freak, I gotta sell my house. I don't know, I don't know what I'm gonna do. And I started interviewing CEOs, and I I literally, um, our podcast was me interviewing you as a CEO because I was captured, it was almost like a therapy session that I didn't know I needed. And and what ended up happening is I had these awesome guests coming on saying, Hey, this is this is what I loved about growing my business. This is what I love about uh, this is my biggest challenge, and this is what I'm gonna do to change it, and and this is what I recommend other people do with my problem. And I was like, Okay, yeah, oh, I've had that. Oh, oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's my problem too. Yeah. And I just discovered that like we're all kind of in this weird world of entrepreneurship where we think we're the only ones going through certain problems, and the reality is that we're we're one of many, as opposed to just being these lost on my own island and nobody knows what I'm going through type things. And so, as I had these conversations in these interviews, I turned the podcast off and I was like, all right, I gotta make money, gotta feed my kids, I got I got seven kids. I'm like, they're not gonna get fed without me. And so I actually started um diving into more like agency work. I started doing content production for some people, and yeah, I kind of loved my podcast. I was like, man, how can I make money just doing podcasts all day? And I didn't figure that part out. I side note, I interviewed 60 podcast hosts and said, How are you making money? And only three of them were making money on their podcast. So I was like, okay, that's not my moneymaker, but it is a fun fulfillment thing. And so I turned off the show, I came back to like reality, and I started building content for other people, and that was a fun business. Well, of those people, I started getting asked to come in and do their marketing. And I was like, well, yeah, yeah, let's. So I started this fractional CMO thing, and I started being this fractional CMO. Well, while I'm doing that, I'm like going into these businesses, and I was kind of targeting, you know, like like an 8 to 15 million. That was kind of like the that was my minimum viable person I'd do work for, because I otherwise they're just not, they're still launching, right? Like, I'm not there to launch business, I'm here to like grow businesses. And so I go into these companies, and I'm literally thinking, okay, dude, I've heard that one before. Like, like they're all looking at each other, these partners, and they're all like, okay, well, we're gonna sell this business in three years. And then the other one's like yeah, yeah. And then the other one's like, no, we're gonna go raise some capital, we're gonna buy all of our competitors. And then the other one's like, no, dude, I've like got this awesome gig going, and I just want to have my kids come work with me. They're teenagers. I and I'm like thinking, oh my gosh, this is the most bizarro world I've ever jumped into, where every set of leadership teams were so diverse in their thinking of where the business is going that no matter what cool marketing strategy I was bringing to them, it wasn't gonna land because those are all different strategies. Like raising money is a different strategy than than exiting. And and trying to um hide stuff, hide your revenue and tax, you know, tax deductions is a whole different thing than trying to show I'm this guy this massive EBITDA, right? Yeah. So I'm like, I'm like my head spinning, and and I took on three fractional CMO roles, all three had the same, same, exact same condition. And you're a doctor. I'm looking at these these companies, these entities, going, dude, do you realize that you're all over the place? And you're no matter how cool your sales director is, and no matter how cool your product guy is, no marketing strategy is gonna encapsulate what you're trying to do unless we fix that problem first, right? And so I started thinking and I started thinking about my podcast, and I and I said, you know, I need to kick the podcast back on because I need more case studies. And so I literally turned my show back on and I started asking better questions and I started like diving deeper. Like, hey, if there were two things you could tag to your latest growth or your biggest growth, what are those two things? And the conversations got much more interesting and they got a little more exciting, and I started kind of capturing this stuff and I started building a framework, and I was like, I think I've got this growth thing dialed in because everyone's got the same problems, and and I think I can solve it. So I tried doing it in a in a workshop format, and that was kind of fun, but it was hard. And then I started doing some one-on-ones, and I actually took on another three or four fractional CMO roles, and those taught me the same lesson, but I was actually able to fix it better, and I was able to find that alignment. And so, Laura, like here I am um launching this cool product called growth readiness. And my whole question I ask everyone is like literally, like, if you if you had the wish of your heart, if an investor came in today and said, you know what, Laura, you're doing such an awesome job with your business. How much money do you need to take it to the next level? Just name your number, and I'm gonna give it to you. And if I give it to you, what are you actually gonna like, Laura? If if I gave you $10 million today and you said, Todd, I need $10 million to do this cool thing that I think I could do, really cool, and I gave it to you. Would you actually deploy it? Or would you just be like, oh crap, I gotta figure out how I'm gonna do this, right? Oh, I would be terrified. I would go, oh totally, totally. So that's where I keep running into this thing of like, are you growth ready? And people just kind of chuckle, oh, that's cute. No, like really, like, are you? Like, are you? Are you? And so that's the name, Laura. It's been fun, it's been so fun.

Dr. Laura Purdy 17:47

Wow, that's exciting. So it has been weird. You've had some devastation, you've had some loss, you've had some struggle, you've had some wisdom, you've had and look at this big smile that you still have on your face, despite all of that.

Todd Westra 18:01

You know, regardless, my wife still loves me, my kids think I'm pretty cool, and um, you know, I don't know.

Dr. Laura Purdy 18:08

What more could you want, right? What more could you want? So, one thing that I heard you say, which points me in the direction of wisdom, is you learned how to ask better questions. And that's pretty cool. I do a lot of consulting, I still do a lot of work in telehealth with small businesses, non-position-owned businesses. And I know what you mean when you say you learn how to ask better questions.

Todd Westra 18:29

Yeah.

Dr. Laura Purdy 18:30

Tell me a little bit about the wisdom behind learning how to ask better questions. What's what's on the other side of that?

Todd Westra 18:36

Well, as you know, as we get older, it's like um people expect you to know more. You know, I I've I've had in the last uh since 2018, I've had, you know, um five kids uh four kids now move out of the house. And um, you know, some of them are out earning uh the last few years of mine. And I'm like, okay, you're cool. Um, that's really awesome. And and I and I started kind of reflecting on like I turned 50 this year, and as I turned 50, I was like, holy crap, man, what where am I? Like what what have I learned? And I think that this this whole transition to turning 50 has been the weirdest year of my life. And and as I as I kind of came out of that, Laura, it it became a game of like I've done some really amazing things in my life. I've had $100 million years, I've had, you know, multi-million dollar losses, I've had like you know, all these kids, I've had kids get married, I've uh, you know, I'm the grandfather to a grandpuppy. I mean, who could want more there? You know, but like all those little things have led me to think if I'm not asking the right questions, how can I impart the wisdom to my kids? And and I've come to also recognize people that ask me really good questions, I appreciate it more. And I don't, I never did before. It was always like, well, why do you want to know? And it's now it's like, huh. They probably actually want to know something deeper than that question, right? And that's where I think this whole I am wiser show that you're doing is so inspirational. I think that as we age and as we learn, we kind of want to deflect that to the next set of people coming into where we've been. And it's like, how do I help them not make idiot decisions that I did?

Dr. Laura Purdy 20:40

I made idiot decisions. But I would rather people learn from me, from you, from us. I tell people, don't be like me. Learn from me. Please don't be like me. It's exhausting, and you have to get a lot of lawyers to help clean up your your your missteps or you're overly trusting of people who then exploit you or try to. You know, don't, don't, don't be like me, learn from me. And that's why, that's why we're here, right? Because someday my kids, my grandkids are gonna go find this podcast somewhere and they're gonna be like, oh, oh, grandma's talking to that guy Todd about all these CEOs and the fact that none of them knew what they were doing, and maybe I'm gonna be a CEO and do better.

Todd Westra 21:24

Right? No, it's fascinating. It's fascinating, you know, and and I just I just feel like um, you know, if there's if there's one thing that's changed since the last time you and I talked, is you know, I I felt like even at that time, even though I was nearing 50, I wasn't there yet. And and it was something something in the year of being 49 that that just like I started reflecting, holy crap. Like I remember people turning 50 and thinking, oh my gosh, how are they moving still? You know, and and now that I'm there, I'm like, oh my gosh. Gosh, how do I help my kids? You know, like, you know, I saw my oldest, you know, this summer get a little dad bod going. I'm like, be careful, those don't go away as fast as you think, you know. And he's like, whatever, dad. You know, but it's it's like you you kind of just want to teach those lessons of these are some of the biggest mistakes I've made. Don't do that. If you want to have a happier life, avoid these ones because those ones suck. These ones are okay. Like it's okay to learn by beating your head against the wall sometimes to start a business. But it's not okay to trust someone with all your assets. And you know what I mean? Like, that's not good.

Dr. Laura Purdy 22:42

Never, ever. They'll shut down your whole domain and take away your nickname and make you have to rebrand your entire company. And that's why we don't say America's favorite doctor anymore.

Todd Westra 22:52

Wow, it sounds like a personal. I just tapped a little vein there.

Dr. Laura Purdy 22:56

And that might be someone that you were personally family friends with who later tries to sue you for breach of contract and it's really gonna wish they didn't do that.

Todd Westra 23:05

Whoa, hypothetically speaking, that sounds horrible. I'm just saying that in the work of a crazy thing.

Dr. Laura Purdy 23:13

Holy crap, Laura. That's not very good. Life happens. Life happens, we get wiser, always have a good lawyer. Or two, or lawyers are good.

Todd Westra 23:22

Lawyers are good. You know, I would say one of the better decisions that I made, um, you know, it probably about a dozen years ago or so, uh, maybe 15 years ago, I started a an agency, an offshore agency doing um a lot of marketing work, both telemarketing as well as, you know, tons and hundreds of offer pages and all that kind of stuff. And it was a really fun business, but operating offshore, I was like, dude, I I gotta cover my, you know, I gotta cross my T's, dot my I's, make sure I'm not gonna get like investigated by the government or, you know, something stupid like that. And so I literally hired an in-house attorney. Smartest move I ever made. And and he protected me from so many lawsuits that I think I would have had otherwise.

Dr. Laura Purdy 24:08

Yes.

Todd Westra 24:08

I am wiser because I did that.

Dr. Laura Purdy 24:11

And you know what? To all of you out there listening to this, going, oh no, what do I do? How do I not get sued? Like you might still get sued. Getting sued, you know, it it happens, it happens, but it can be absolutely minimized. It doesn't have to go farther than that first response. Uh, know the laws of the state in which you live. It's actually pretty hard to serve someone in Florida because they have to serve you or an adult that lives in your house. But it's okay, right? Have a good lawyer. Everything's gonna be fine. Don't do illegal things. No, no, my lawyers are my biggest assets right now.

Todd Westra 24:47

Okay, okay. Here's another lesson, Laura. Um, Dr. Laura. I'm ready. Sorry, I'm ready. Sorry, I keep I keep forgetting the title. Okay, so Dr. Laura, I I uh, and this is kind of a sad thing, and and I'll just say it, you know, um uh so one of my partners from from the 20 teens, uh early 20 teens, he um, you know, I was kind of the conscience of our operations. We had we were doing a lot of online offers, and and with online offers, you can do a lot of shady stuff. And and I was always like, that's gonna cause problems. That's gonna cause and I had my attorney that was telling us, you know, don't do that, that's gonna get us all in trouble. And and literally one day the FTC came in and shut him down. And uh, like I'm not even kidding, like FTC, which by the way, hopefully they don't hunt me for saying this, but they are an interesting organization. And they hunted this guy down from a previous business he had.

Dr. Laura Purdy 25:49

No offense. We love you, but yeah.

Todd Westra 25:52

I am wiser because I avoid FTC. Um there you go. There it is. And he had done something prior to our business relationship that they were like keeping their eye on him type of a thing. And we literally launched an offer that did $100 million in six months, and it was an amazing weight loss pill. And it was just like, whoa, we rode this way with Dr. Oz, and it was like phenomenal. Like we were just all just counting money and just like, yeah. And it was the coolest offer. Well, FTC comes in and literally froze all assets, all of it. I had like a million plus dollars in invoices I still need to get paid. Like it was just like, it was just stuff all over the place. And I was like, okay, I've got 400 employees that I need to go manage and take care of while we sort this out. Can you release some funds to me as a vendor? And they're like, Yeah, tell us what you know. And anyway, yeah. Sure. We continue to do that. I walked the FTC through the whole operation of what we were doing, and they were like, Yeah, that sounds legit, but we need to investigate. So it turned into a four-year legal battle, and it was a joke. And and anyway, we continued to do some work together while that was all happening. And then finally I was just like, you know, I'm out. I'm gonna go do some something different. And so I left in 2018. Well, um, a year and a half ago, I see pop up on my newsfeed um, you know, this big arrest in in Utah that they had found these, you know, this ring of illegal whatever, you know, money laundering kind of stuff. And I'm like, oh no. Let me see if it is. So I look, and sure enough, it's my old partner. Well, Laura, this this good friend of mine like was so determined not to go to jail that he took his life this summer. And just a month before they were gonna read the verdict of whatever they did, and I don't, I wasn't involved in any of it, just you know, I'm playing. But um literally, business can cause so much stress and burden, just do it the right way. And and and that's where I remember meeting with them in like 2020, and I was like, dude, you don't have to do offers the way that you've been doing them. You can do offers very clean, you can do it the right way and do it legally. You've already been investigated by the FTC. I'm sure you're on a radar somewhere. Yeah, don't do stupid things. And and literally it just turned into stupidity. And so that's where I really just feel like you've gotta like dial into stop, you know. I am wiser because I don't do illegal things. I am wiser because I don't even get close to that edge of doing illegal things. And that's one thing that as a as this 50-year-old guy who's done nothing but entrepreneurialism my whole life, don't do stupid stuff. Like be careful who you do business with, and and don't just assume that everyone has your best interest in mind because there's a good chance that they could just take your entire brand away from you, right? And you're screwed.

Dr. Laura Purdy 29:00

It happens, it happens. And I'll tell you one of the things that I've learned over the last few years, because I've been the victim of federal identity theft multiple, multiple, multiple times. Actually, the first time that I found out that I was a victim of federal identity theft was like a year before I met you. We're talking years, this stuff's been going on because doctors' NPI numbers are public and anyone can find them. And if you're multi-state licensed, which I was and still am, you can become a target. Holy shit. And it is always, yeah, but you're but but I hear you when you say don't do stupid stuff. Know what the laws are and know how to follow them. Because if there's one thing I've learned, and I'll tell you how I'm wiser, if people do crimes as you, you cannot be held responsible for someone else doing something wrong with your information, with your name, with your likeness, with your image, with your company, with your brand. If you are doing the right thing, then you're doing the right thing and you don't have to worry about getting in trouble. In fact, you can help. You can help those. I just had, I just found out about a new one yesterday. There's like five or six lab companies in California that have been doing COVID tests and billing it to Medical under my NPI number. And I have never once in my entire life ordered a COVID test for insurance. You can go buy them at one point. Oh my gosh, if you want to. Oh my gosh. Know the laws, know how to follow them, know not to break them.

Todd Westra 30:31

And just avoid any sign of stupidity if you can help it.

Dr. Laura Purdy 30:36

You know what? I had another one just I would say um last month. I got a pitch from a staffing agency, and they said, Oh, we're looking for a client, they're gonna pay you $10,000 a month, which that's a red flag. If it sounds too good to be true, you know, it probably is. We're looking for a doctor who will sign off on all of these assessments done by the nurse practitioner, and then they're gonna bill health insurance under your name as the doctor. And I wrote them back and I said, that is illegal. And if I were you, I CC'd my attorney. First thing I did was I CC'd my attorney, and I said, That is illegal. If I were you, I should I would recommend disassociating yourself from that client right away, getting your own legal counsel and understanding that the things that you are propositioning me to do are federal crimes. Goodbye.

Todd Westra 31:25

Amen.

Dr. Laura Purdy 31:26

I never heard from them again.

Todd Westra 31:27

Yeah, I would think not.

Dr. Laura Purdy 31:29

No, never heard from them again.

Todd Westra 31:31

So what a mess. Yeah, no. So in other words, like you're learning things, I'm learning things. The big question mark though is how do you get that generation to actually listen and appreciate these experiences? Because a lot of them just feel like I've uh I'm different. I'm gonna learn this on my own.

Dr. Laura Purdy 31:54

Well, I hope, I mean, this is what I will tell you. I know that my own children who live in my house, every single time, every single day that something like this happens, I tell them. Ooh, I'm I just told them yesterday, I'm on the phone with the regulator. Somebody, somebody's committing fraud. I'm not ashamed of it, I'm not embarrassed about it. When I got regulated, so I did get regulated in 2023. I don't know if we talked about it, but I was in the process of getting regulated that year in May of 2023. There was a um, how would you say, there was a dispute in Mississippi over whether you could do a video chat or a text-based chat to establish doctor-patient relationship for cash pay. I know it sounds so ridiculous. But in most of the states in the United States, you can do a chat-based visit and in single digit less than 10, they mandate you to do video for cash pay. And my lawyer will still say that if you interpret the law most strictly as the way it was written, we should have been able to do video. But they, or we should have been able to do chat. So they brought me to administrative court. I was like throwing up in the bathroom. I was so I was just a wreck. I was beside myself. They raked me over the coals for two and a half hours. They thanked me for my service, of course, because they're all patriots. And um, and then they disciplined me. And then they waited 32 days to sanction me so that by the time I got sanctioned, I would be outside of the reporting timelines for all of the rest of the states. You're kidding me. No, I promise you, this happened um in 2023. And so one of the things that I have done when it comes to kind of sharing with the next generation, I am very verbal about what has happened. I released a press release saying this is what happened. I tell everybody that I can about it. I'm actually going to be filming um a five-part course in a couple months. I'm filming a course for doctors. Okay, so you get reported to the medical board falsely, unfairly. People are coming after you, your name is getting slandered. What do you do? And I hope that I hope that by bringing these dialogues out into the open and letting people know this can happen to anybody. And just because you get in trouble doesn't necessarily mean that you are in trouble. And it doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with you. Because sometimes people do get targeted. So I hope that talking about it helps.

Todd Westra 34:17

And and the same thing goes with with business ownership. You know, I I have had um, you know, since since my recovery of COVID, um in my business growth, I've had so many weird experiences with with clients who felt like you know they didn't need to pay me anymore. And so they just didn't. And and like like very serious things where I'm out cost of employees and teams and all this stuff. And then they're like, yeah, you know, I decided not to go that path. And it's like, well, we did all the work, and and it's not my fault you guys don't know where you're going, you know, and that this leads back to my new solution set, right? But my kids, I've been I've been very open with my kids about, okay, so what do contracts mean? Does it mean you're safe and protected? No, they do not. It means pick your pick your clients better, pick your employer better, pick people who you know you can trust. And and unfortunately, um, you know, I I tend to get pretty excited by cool opportunities and and you know, like uh, hey, this could be a multi-billion dollar thing. I'm in, you know, and you get signed up and you're over there helping them, and all of a sudden you're out, and your contract doesn't really mean anything sometimes. And so there's a lot of stuff to it that that so much of the wisdom that I'm trying to impart to my kids, like you, in telling other doctors and your kids about like this just happened. I would say as a parent, don't be afraid to tell your kids what is happening because they gotta know why their ski pass isn't showing up in time for the ski season, right? Like, I just got hosed about 300 grand last month, and I really can't recover in one month, you know. So let's move on to the next thing, you know. So it's on we go. Those kind of things happen, and I think that to your point, um, we all become wiser when we don't try to to hide those things that we're ashamed of, and we just talk about it and say, holy crap, what would you do? I mean, I know I know the seventh grade locker hallway is a little bit stressful, but like imagine where I'm at. What what do you think I should do?

Dr. Laura Purdy 36:30

I agree completely. Uh pause one second. The I think the computer got unplugged. I can see the I can see that it's gonna die. Sharon, can you hear me? I don't know if Sharon's there.

Todd Westra 36:45

Sharon's there.

Dr. Laura Purdy 36:46

We're just running, Sharon, if you can hear me, we're just we're just running a little bit behind. I'm sorry about that. I would say less than 10 minutes. No problem, Sharon.

Todd Westra 37:01

I had a medical emergency.

Dr. Laura Purdy 37:04

Yeah. Thank you. Okay.

Todd Westra 37:11

I can say that, right? I had a medical emergency.

Dr. Laura Purdy 37:14

Whatever you want to say, that's your medical emergency that you had. So, okay, so what we got it plugged in? Okay, perfect. I just didn't want the computer to die. So diving back in, I I agree with you. And I think one of the ways that I I am wiser is I've learned how to redefine and to reconsider what does embarrass me or what does a shame me. For sure. Because if you're in business, if you're in healthcare, and if you're in the media, you will become a target in any one of those things. You are a target. The more money you make, the more visibility you have, the higher up in the hierarchy of the chain of command, the food chain, the higher up you are in the food chain, the more eyes there are looking at you, the more um opinions there are in your direction, and the less people you have at the same level as you to kind of have your back, right? And and I've really had to, I've been defamed, I've been attempted to be blackmailed, I've been attempted to be uh extorted, I've had my identity stolen so many times, I've been betrayed, I've been uh I've one time I actually thought I had been poisoned, if you can believe that. I mean, it's yeah, it's been wild. I've had um patient lists stolen, I've been like publicly defamed, privately defamed. My husband's been defamed to his boss by uh people who worked for me, which is crazy, right? And and what I've learned is that I have had to first of all be humble and to not have an ego about these things at all. There's really no room for for ego, and you have to be humble and understand that these things don't have to be embarrassing. They are common things that happen to people in these types of circles. And redefining the way I think about shame, embarrassment, and honesty, authenticity, and transparency, I think can help inspire and motivate people not to make these same mistakes.

Todd Westra 39:12

Right, right. Well, you know, you bring up a point that I think I think will kind of connect all the dots of what we've been talking about. And that is, you know, when I um I do a lot of family history research. I I find it super fascinating. I I've got like, you know, like most Americans, I'm like a quarter Dutch, a quarter German, and then like half a bunch stuff, you know. Sure. And so I think it's really cool to kind of connect the well, I there's this family picture of my great-grandma. I actually have my grandma, she was about three years old, um, with her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother in South Africa. And and I I love this picture. I've always loved the picture. Well, I just discovered like um two years ago, I was reading in a journal of of one of my the great-great-uncles or something like that, and he was talking about the death of the husband of my great-great-grandfather. And apparently, you know, never knowing, yeah, I just always look at these pictures of black and white, they look so cute, and they're probably the nicest people, right? Well, her husband was a drunk and he was abusive, and he would beat her, and all this stuff. And and she was across the street when there was a house fire in their house, and she didn't go rescue him because she saw a better life. And and I was just like, Well, whoa! That was a secret. That was a secret that you would never know. Yeah. Moving to today, moving to today, we are in a day of social media, we are in a day of of kids learning things that that you and I didn't learn until we were much, much older. And they're seeing these things happening. And I think that like our generation, um, you know, we have to do a better job of being transparent and saying, life sucks. You know, I I one of my kids was so mad about not being able to go to a sleepover. And I'm like, yeah, none of your six siblings have done sleepovers because there's a reason. And let me just tell you why it's not so stupid. And you'll probably thank me later, you know? And so it's like we have to be transparent as to why we make certain decisions we make and why we do certain things that we do. And and when I do stupid things, I will flat out tell them, I'm like, yeah, that was a really stupid move by me. Like, I should not have trusted that person. And they look like, oh, you know, yep. And so, you know, in in relevance to this, this connecting the dots of this show that you're doing, Laura, which I think is fantastic, is how do we become wiser? We become wiser by acknowledging ourselves that that we are idiots sometimes, and that if we want people to not do the stupid stuff we did, let's let's not hide it. Let's just be like, yeah, dude, like that deal was a killer. That deal was amazing. If you could replicate that, do that a hundred times, please, you know. But but I think that this whole like mission you're on to define what is wisdom and and how do we push it forward, I think this is how we do it. I think you documenting these stories is a is a fascinating journey. I think it's gonna help people. I think I think if anyone has any interest in in learning how to be an idiot, they can look really clearly close. They don't have to look that far into most of our lives, right?

Dr. Laura Purdy 42:31

I mean, the stories are there, right? If you want to know how to be an idiot, just listen to the stories. It's kind of like that old show, like A Thousand Ways to Die. It's like a thousand ways to be an idiot. That's the subtitle of my show.

Todd Westra 42:44

Right, right. Seriously. I think it's your subtitle. I think I think you need to plug that in somehow. It'll work. Lesson being like, Why are you so interesting, you know? And and and honestly, like again, I I hate to get super reflective, but like this year turning 50, it was like, oh my gosh, I got four kids out of the house. I've got three left. I've got a business that was I I had so many blessings during the previous 20 years of my life. And now all of a sudden, like I feel like I can't do anything, and like I'm I'm hitting brick walls all over the place. What lesson am I not learning? Right. And and then you got these kids asking questions of like, well, should I take this opportunity or should I not? And it's like, go for it. And they're like, well, yeah, I see you making opportunities and it's not panning out, dad. And it's like, you know, and they're and they're right. And I'm like, Come on. And I'm like, yeah, you're right. But you know what always works out is that when you learn the lesson and don't just look in the mirror and say, Boy, I'm an idiot, and you say, Okay, what parts of that experience am I an idiot for? I landed a big contract, I did a lot of really good work, they chose not to pay me. And am I an idiot for that? Probably not as big as I made myself out to be. You know what I mean? And so that's where we gotta take lessons out of things that that you know, why do bad things happen to good people? Because God gave us the gift of choice and a lot of people choose to be jerks.

Dr. Laura Purdy 44:18

You know? Life. Right.

Todd Westra 44:20

So let's not let's not base our decision making or or our positions that we're in based off of our own decisions only. Because everyone's got the ability to choose how they treat us, how they deal with us, how they accept our goodness and and our and our badness, how they respond to us when we're stupid. It makes a big part of what our end results are. I love it.

Dr. Laura Purdy 44:47

Yeah, I think you're right.

Todd Westra 44:49

There's my wisdom, Laura. I mean, I I don't know what else I lacking. Too much deeper without getting emotional.

Dr. Laura Purdy 44:55

I know. Lots of wisdom though. Todd, thank you so much. I I I love having these shows because I always feel wiser. And when I feel uplifted after a conversation, I know we've done it right. Because if I can feel uplifted here with monitors and lights and you know, being blinded and and wearing all this like silly makeup with like, you know, if I in these ridiculous shoes, if I can feel uplifted, then so will the people who are choosing to listen to this show because they want to feel uplifted. And so thank you for participating in this with me today.

Todd Westra 45:30

Listen, you're elevating everyone around you by the show. And and let's let's not pretend it's not a fact, but those shoes and and that sparkly getup you're in. I mean, how can you not feel uplifted by that?

Dr. Laura Purdy 45:45

That's the point. That's the point. Well, Todd, let me, I want to let you shamelessly plug yourself before we go, and then we'll we'll call it a day. But can you tell us if people are listening to you and they're like, that guy is really cool, whatever it is that he's doing, I want to be a part of that because I'm gonna learn how to not be an idiot just like him. Where can they find you today? How accessible are you?

Todd Westra 46:05

I'm I'm almost everywhere at Todd Westra. So if you just remember, I'm a double D Todd. I mean that that that's different. You know, single-d Todd's are a little different, but double D Todd Westra. And uh, and you can find me anywhere. I I I live a lot on LinkedIn, but I'm I'm growing more on X. I feel like X is a is a much simpler environment to find a way to influence people and impact people. And I got a YouTube channel, I've got I've done over 550 CEO interviews, and um and now I'm starting to like kind of impart my wisdom differently than just interview style. And it's it's been very fun, it's been very rewarding. So go to toddwestra.com. You'll find all my links of whatever I'm up to. And uh, and yeah, it's uh life is a beautiful thing. Don't get don't let the crappy stuff that happens to you define who you are.

Dr. Laura Purdy 46:56

I love it. I love it. Words of wisdom from ToddWestra today. Thank you so much, Todd. I'll see you soon today.

Todd Westra 47:03

We'll see you later.

Dr. Laura Purdy 47:04

Thank you for tuning in to the I Am Wiser Podcast, where each episode brings us closer to a wiser, more human approach to healthcare. If today's conversation inspired you or sparked new ideas, share it with someone who's ready to rethink healthcare. And if you have a story or innovation that could light the way for others, reach out. We'd love to hear from you. This space is yours too. Don't forget to follow, rate, and review us on your favorite platform. Until next time, stay curious, stay courageous, and stay wiser.