Dr. Brandie Keates is an entrepreneur on a mission to disrupt the status quo of prenatal care globally. Over her career, she’s worked as a paramedic and a chiropractor, but it’s her experience as a mother that led her to see what she calls a glaring and industry-wide need for improvement in care for expectant moms.
Today, her practice specializes in treating moms-to-be and children, and she’s now teaching her new standard of care to providers through a certification program called The Bloom Philosophy. She’s also written several books, including “What You Don’t Expect When You’re Expecting.” It’s a frank and humorous book designed to help women navigate pregnancy and the pain that often comes with it.
“I think what impresses me most about Dr. Brandie,” says BEATS WORKING host Mark Wright, “is she saw a problem and didn’t complain about it. She decided to try to fix it. What if each of us in our own lives did the same?”
Resources from the episode:
- Learn more about Dr. Keates by visiting her website.
- Connect with Dr. Keates on LinkedIn.
- Follow Dr. Keates on Instagram and Facebook.
- Order “What You Don’t Expect When You’re Expecting” and other products from Dr. Keates here.
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Transcript
The following transcript is not certified. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors. The information contained within this document is for general information purposes only.
Speakers: Dr. Brandie Keates and Mark Wright
DR. BRANDIE KEATES 00:00
Treatment rooms, I always encourage people to hang out with me because sometimes women will say, like, I wish I had never gotten pregnant again. This is so hard. My husband’s mad at me. My boss thinks I’m, you know, a loser. I can’t do my job anymore. This is how we treat women. And I think as the mother of two, uh, daughters that were born, I, I, it’s wrong. And if I can stop that as much as I can, that’s what I was put on Earth for. And that’s what keeps me doing it.
MARK WRIGHT 00:30
This is The BEATS WORKING show. We’re on a mission to redeem work – the word, the place, and the way. I’m your host, Mark Wright. Join us at winning the game of work. Welcome to BEATS WORKING. On the show this week, disrupting the status quo. Dr. Brandie Keates is an entrepreneur on a mission to globally disrupt the status quo of prenatal care. Over her career, she’s worked as a paramedic. And a chiropractor, but it’s her experience as a mother that led her to see what she calls a glaring and industry wide need for improvement in care for expectant moms. Today, her practice specializes in treating moms-to-be and children. And she’s now teaching her new standard of care to providers through a certification program called the Bloom Philosophy. Oh, and she’s also written several books, including What You Don’t Expect When You’re Expecting. I think what impresses me most about Dr. Brandie is she saw a problem and didn’t just complain about it. She decided to try to fix it. What if each of us in our lives did the same? Use our unique abilities to change the world for the better. I hope you’re inspired by our conversation. Dr. Brandie Keates, welcome to the BEATS WORKING podcast. It’s so great to have you here.
DR. BRANDIE KEATES 01:53
Thanks, Mark. It’s a pleasure to be here. I’m very excited.
MARK WRIGHT 01:56
So when I asked how I should introduce you, it’s a bit of a mouthful, but here, here we go. CEO of Experience Chiropractic and also founder of the Bloom Philosophy and also author of the book, What You Don’t Expect When You’re Expecting. So we’ve got a lot to cover today. And when we talked maybe a month or so ago. It was such an eye opening experience and I was so inspired by not only who you are as a person, but who you are in the workplace and how that speaks to your larger mission, which is to globally disrupt the prenatal care status quo. So we’ve got a lot of really interesting ground to cover. So you’re a chiropractor by training, but it goes so much beyond that. I’d like to go back and talk about the time when you were a paramedic, because I think that it seems like a really interesting job to have. Take me back in time, Dr. Brandie, and how did that happen?
DR. BRANDIE KEATES 02:52
Yeah, I grew up in a very medical family. My mom was an army nurse. And that’s how we grew up. And I, my mom was actually a cutting edge where she got her, uh, masters of public health and gerontology in the eighties, which like didn’t exist. Like she asked me to do a project with her about euthanasia. And I was like, I don’t know anything about kids in, in China. I didn’t know that euthanasia was something totally different. So like my mom was an academic and also clinical. And then ended up making an adult daycare center with a child care center. So growing up, I always grew up around healthcare. Um, so I always wanted to be a doctor from, I was raised in a urology office, which explains so much, uh, kidney models and, uh, and such is where my mom would take me to work. So, um, that was a natural thing of becoming an EMT and then becoming a paramedic. And I always joke that being a paramedic takes you from normal self esteem to like a godlike complex. For me, I had very low self esteem, so it took me to normal. Um, but I just feel like there’s no better profession that sort of braces you for everything in healthcare because you have to do every aspect of it from, you have to deliver 10 babies to graduate, you know, you do respiratory, you do mental health. So, It also grounds you in seeing stuff that nothing really shocks me anymore. So it’s, it’s like, it could be a lot worse, do you know what I’m saying? And it really teaches you to keep your composure, which is really critical, uh, in that role. So I loved it. I never lost the excitement of the lights and sirens and I actually got resorted in my 2016. I resorted as a paramedic, I started running calls when I was the president of the board of an ambulance because I wanted them to understand that I understood. Then because it’s changed so much since 1996 when I graduated.
MARK WRIGHT 04:34
Boy, when you say having to keep your cool, I remember having to call paramedics when our younger son had febrile seizures, so fever related seizures, and if you’re a new parent and when that first happens, it’s just completely freaks you out when they go into seizure and their face turns blue and man, when the door opens and those paramedics come in, you’re just like, oh my, thank God that these people are here. And they’re just like, hey, we think this is what it is. Don’t worry. This is, these are pretty common. Um, when you go back to that time in your life, what did, what did being a paramedic teach you about life?
DR. BRANDIE KEATES 05:11
Life is short, life is short and, um, getting to run again in 2016 and being a parent, you know, of older kids and having aging parents, it, it, if you step back and watch it, one of my tenets that I learned from Marilyn Waller is to watch the movie and not get in the movie and to watch everybody around is having an experience, do you know what I’m saying? And to respect everybody’s experience and to sort of in business, keep the calm. Like as the CEO, you have to be calm. You, you can’t freak out. You know what I’m saying? And it takes a super human level of strength, just like it does as a paramedic in the most horrific things. But I also think I also did a lot of hospice. There’s incredible beauty in emergencies is probably incredible beauty of how you guys as a couple with your child and how much you loved your child. There’s so much beauty as much as it was scary in that moment that is so beautiful to be a part of. And it’s an honor to be a part of that, you know, to be into somebody’s house and be in their life in such a small time and provide a source of peace in a small moment and expertise. Um, I think I’ve taken that a lot into business as well of making an impact in a small period of time in somebody’s life.
MARK WRIGHT 06:29
That’s such an interesting statement to, to observe the movie, but not be in the movie because I think so often, especially in the workplace, drama can happen and somebody gets upset and then pretty soon everybody’s dragged into this fight instead of like taking a step back. And, and just kind of saying, okay, what is this really about? I mean, is that, is that sort of what you’re saying?
DR. BRANDIE KEATES 06:50
Yeah, I have zero. Uh, I was not one of the mean girls in high school. I was kind of a nerd. Uh, so I have no tolerance as somebody that was incredibly bullied for any type of drama. It, it, we, we say at work that gossip, the definition of gossip is telling something or venting to somebody that has no power to change it. Uh, and I just think it’s not constructive. So when everybody, somebody meets with me, um. I want to know what their solution is. It’s not a venting session. I want to know what we’re going to do about it. But, um, there’s nothing that can kill a business quicker than culture. And so maintaining and hiring based on, uh, people that can, that are self aware is critically important. As we’ve scaled and gotten bigger, you lose that control a little bit, just like a teenager, uh, in business. So, um, it’s, it’s critically important to, um, foster healthy communication and also provide ways that, uh, people can vent effectively and safely.
MARK WRIGHT 07:49
How did you become a chiropractor? I’d love to, I’d love to explore that. When did, when did that happen? When did you decide?
DR. BRANDIE KEATES 07:56
Uh I can tell you the day I decided I worked for a chiropractor because I thought that they were like podiatrists of the spy. Like I had no idea I thought they were a branch of medicine. Like I had no idea what they were. Uh, I thought they were like, I guess, what is a physiatrist? And um, I really didn’t have high regard for them because I didn’t understand it from being from a medical perspective. The first job I got, the guy made me get adjusted and was telling me how he liked to throw up because it meant his body was working effectively and as a chiropractor, I totally understand that. From somebody that doesn’t have that perspective. I was like, you’re crazy. Um, and the sound actually drives me crazy. Like I, I am misophonia. Like, so it’s just like, I am the most unlikely person. Uh, but my daughter that’s almost 26 who lives in Brooklyn, um, she was one and she was dancing on a hardwood floor and we had those golden books from a basket of books that was on the floor and she twisted her lower leg and made a yelp and fell to the floor and had a persistent limp. And they found she had a fracture in her leg. So they put her in a cast that was up to her hip and she toddled, her kids are so resilient. You know, I was a mess, but she was fine. And when she got the cast off, she had a heavy, heavy limp. And so we took her to five different doctors who said anything from Botox to re breaking her leg. And somebody said, have you ever thought about taking her to a chiropractor and said, you’re nuts. I use an expletive, but I was like, are you nuts? Um, but we ended up going and I tell that to parents cause my specialty, my certification is with pregnancy and kids. I sat in the car and cried for 30 minutes because as you can attest, when something’s wrong with your kid, it makes you viscerally sick, you know, and I didn’t know all I had context for was adult chiropractic with like cracking and so I was terrified. So when we went in, the chiropractor explained that the weight of the cast pulled the ligaments out in her pelvis, which made her leg a little bit longer, which made her limp. And he asked me if he could adjust her. And she walked out that day like nothing happened. And as a parent, I was so grateful that I was going to cure the world of kids with limbs, uh, which is what I did through clinic. I haven’t done that, uh, in practice, but that was my aim at that point is I was going to save other parents from, uh, and that’s how I started of being a chiropractor. And it’s been a huge struggle because, uh, I don’t fit the mold of a chiropractor and, and there’s nothing wrong with it, but I identify with more with somebody who can help people and less about the role in the idea of wanting to be different and alternative, so to speak. Yeah.
MARK WRIGHT 10:32
Yeah. I was introduced to, uh, chiropractic when I was a kid and I, I immediately found the value in it because it provided immediate relief. And I also realized that you kind of have to, you just kind of have to have your eyes open as, as, as a patient. And, you know, when it comes to, you know, back in the old days, there were a lot of chiropractors who maybe pushed the envelope in terms of what they thought that they could treat or cure. But boy, over the years I’ve gotten such, such benefit from, from staying in chiropractic care. So eventually you started treating, uh, professional cheerleaders with the Philadelphia Eagles. How, how did that happen? And that must have been kind of an interesting chapter of your career.
DR. BRANDIE KEATES 11:16
Oh, it was so much fun. It was, uh, I wanted to look like them. For sure, they all have the same surgeon and the same stylist, but, um, taking care of them was the highlight of my career at the time because it was so exciting and they live such an exciting lifestyle. It’s chilling is a, is a hardcore sport. Uh, but I was a chiropractor at Bally’s in near Philadelphia and they had two approved gyms. They were allowed to work out cause everything’s standardized. Um, but just, I learned a lot from them and I still take care of a lot of them who now have 22 year olds. Um, so it’s an interesting dynamic to watch them, you know, as we all age. But uh, I took care of a lot of the people that were trying out for the AFC, like a lot of the professional athletes, the future professional athletes went through because it was such a big gym. And I got the pleasure of taking care of this very, sports medicine is very sexy because he’s like you said, chiropractic can take you right out of it as a sports chiropractor. You can get somebody back to working out, which is what they want to do. It’s impressive how an amazing how much you can heal with chiropractic. Yeah.
MARK WRIGHT 12:18
Dr. Brandie, can you explain what chiropractic exactly is because I think there’s a perception that it’s all about alignment that the you know, the chiropractor looks at your spine, oh, it’s out of alignment. Let me put it in alignment, but it seems like from my experience over the years It’s also about manipulating muscles and tendons and bones so that they kind of get res reset. You know what I mean? How do you describe chiropractic for people who maybe never have gone to a chiropractor?
DR. BRANDIE KEATES 12:49
So I’m very colloquial, um, and I like analogies. So what I used to say is, um, if you can imagine a garden that’s full of weeds, right? You’re back over time from imbalances of carrying a heavy bag or I’m sitting at my desk mousing or picking up your kid, you know, and holding your kid in the same way. Um, over time that stresses your system out. And so it overloads in the muscles. So you have an imbalance in your muscles that some muscles become tighter. Um, you develop trigger points within those that are sort of, um, it doesn’t allow your muscles to work as smooth, right? And so when they’re too tight, if you can imagine tight rubber bands, each joint is its own, you know, lever. If, if the muscles tighten down too much, the area becomes restricted and then it doesn’t move. Emotion is life. So if something doesn’t move. Then stuff becomes stagnant, right? So then your spine becomes fixated or stuck. And so there’s not youth or vigor in that anymore. And then what’s critically important with chiropractic is that you, and the differentiating factor, which now is mitigated because a lot of physical therapists, physical therapists and chiropractors are super similar. We, you know, we overlap. There’s only 50,000 of them and 50,000 of us. So there’s no competition, but a good physical therapist or, or chiropractor will address your muscles by digging out the, the trigger points, getting those muscles to relax, getting your spine to move. So everything is useful. I joke with my patients, I’m going to get them to be like a teenager. Um, and then strengthening on top of what’s fixed instead of strengthening on top of an injury. Like a lot of old time physical therapists would strengthen on top of you know, the, you go right into exercises when you need to actually clear out the area, make sure it’s moving, make sure it’s cleaned out and then strengthen on top. That’s what I think chiropractic is.
MARK WRIGHT 14:40
When you were pregnant with your second child, there was a turning point and that’s really when you got exposed to the world of prenatal care and natal care. Um, what was it? It was a complicated pregnancy, but take us through that story, Dr. Brandie, if you would, and how that really set you on the path that you’re on today.
DR. BRANDIE KEATES 15:01
Yeah. So my older daughter got us into chiropractic and then when you start owning a business and you don’t know what you’re doing, uh, you tend to work 60, 70, 80 hours a week, you know, and I was lucky enough to bring my daughter to work. I had a little table for her. But I planned that baby I wanted, I wanted two kids, right? And so we planned that baby. And unfortunately I was the one who saw most of the patients. So, uh, we had to plan it in a, in a certain way that it was a slower season. So, um, there’s nine years between my kids. So I was older, right? And planned every facet of that, you know, pregnancy, because you dream about something that you really can’t take time off of work to do. Um, but at 17 weeks, uh, I was again practicing sports chiropractic, uh, which is heavy duty. It’s adjusting people’s feet, shoulders. And I had five patients in the back. I had open adjusting just like I did at the gym. And we were laughing and carrying on and I was adjusting somebody’s foot, which entails taking their foot and putting it between your knees to leverage and to manipulate the foot. And I felt something pull and I had, um, horrible, uh, situation on my hands that I had to leave work. My ex husband had to be called in to see my patients because I’m like, I’ll just finish these patients. And they told me I’m going to lose my baby if I don’t quit. So I, I realized in that moment, in the moments following, oh my God, like I’m the breadwinner of this family, you know, and I have a nine year old, I need to feed at home and pay the mortgage and buy them food. Holy, you know, what would, what would this be if I worked, you know, I didn’t, I wasn’t a doctor. Do you know what I’m saying? That your face was a sort of Sophie’s choice of like, you have a child at home because most of the problems I see of doing this 22 years is second pregnancy. So the first one is like, you know, it’s a pregnancy. It’s what you expect. The second one is where it goes off the rails. And so I had to bargain with my doctors and say, hey, you know, I can’t take fully off. And my ex husband wasn’t certified with pregnancy. Can I just take my pregnancy patients because they have relaxin hormone, which makes them easier to move, it’s less work. So I negotiated with them to just see them. And they were not happy with me doing that, but I needed to support my family, which sounds awful, Mark. Um, but I started, I’m the type of person that when I encounter something, I want to make it better for other people. So I started writing protocols on how they could also help themselves and I really from that point in 2006, I developed Bloom because it’s like somebody needs to pay attention to this because if you can’t work, you lose your, I lost my identity. I had horrible depression because I lost my identity of being, you know, a powerful businesswoman that produced, you know, it was upsetting for patients to be upset with me because I couldn’t be the same as I was before. Like they’d see me in the office and they’d be like, why can’t you just you know, adjust me. And I’m like, cause I’m, I care about the baby I’m carrying, but I also need to support the child I have at home. And I think that’s a, that’s a struggle a lot of women deal with. And on top of it, they’re being told by their provider that there’s nothing that they can do. What do you expect? You’re pregnant. You know, you know, we’ll deal with this when you’re done. That’s what I got in a car accident with my first daughter and they’re just like, wait till you’re done and then you can have treatment. So I sat in a chair for a month getting hit head on with a car. You know, that’s, there’s something, if we can get athletes back on a field, why don’t women deserve the same thing? You know, you would never tell a professional athlete, hey, wait till your season’s over, you know, and we’ll take care of what you’re going to just get banged up a lot. So why don’t we just like, forget about this or you’re a professional athlete. Like, what do you expect? Uh, I expect to function. You know, I expect to be able to have dignity in my life and feel um, women in the United States doesn’t have a great maternity policy where you just be like, oh, I’m just going to take 12 weeks off. And in the moment you can’t step out of it and think clearly of like, oh, I’m not going to be pregnant for a bit. And I’ll think about it. You know, I’ll deal with it. You, you’re in it, you know, and you just do the best you can. And, and I’d be lying to you if I didn’t have regrets. My youngest has autism and has a lot of health problems. And there, as much as you can tell yourself like, oh, I wasn’t, you know, I was stressed out the entire pregnancy, honestly, and there’s a lot of guilt. So if I can provide training or resources for women to be able to work, you know, or feel better, or, or just validate, you know, that this sucks because they go to, I would go to my mom. My mom had four kids and she’s like, I don’t know what you’re talking about. They were a breeze, you know, and you just, you feel like a failure that. That it’s not beautiful for you, like the social media says. It’s not like running in a field of flowers with, with a white dress on. It’s, it’s brutal sometimes for women. And I think validating experience and for me now going after medical doctors and physical therapists and saying, hey you know, we do this for athletes. Let me show you how safe this is for pregnancy. I think their patients would get better outcomes and women would get the pregnancy they deserve.
MARK WRIGHT 20:09
So you created what’s called the Bloom Philosophy to teach other healthcare providers. What, what’s at the center of the Bloom Philosophy? What are you trying to teach and spread?
DR. BRANDIE KEATES 20:20
Seeing people. Uh, seeing them, I think, I think, um, if you see your patient as a problem, you know what I’m saying? Or a, or a malady, you’re not going to see that. We had a patient come in today, 30 minutes late. And if you step back again and watch the movie, I’m taking care of a patient I can see at the window, she’s struggling out of her car with her stroller. You know, and she’s struggling and she’s stressed out, you know, and she comes in and my team is adept to say, like, look at it. She got a baby ready. Do you know what I’m saying? Like she got the baby ready. She got herself ready. The baby is like maybe three weeks old, so this is all new for her. Have some humanity. You know what I’m saying? And, um, I think for providers. Um, understanding that, um, saying that there’s nothing that can be done, how damaging, there’s always something that can be done, unless you’re in like hospice or something, there’s something we can do, you know, um, so, so offering those things I think is critically important to give. I like to empower people, um, instead of just, um, saying, be dependent on me, you know, and I think it’s, it’s critically important that we have the discussion of, of applying something that works to help women, um, be able to stay on the job, be able to take care of their kids and put their pants on, like something as simple as putting their pants on and not having their partner put their pants on. It sounds stupid, but it really wears on you. You know, it makes, life is already hard enough. Add that you can’t put your pants on, you know, or carry your other child that you love so much. It, there’s some, in treatment rooms, I always encourage people to hang out with me because sometimes women will say like, I wish I had never gotten pregnant again. This is so hard. My husband’s mad at me. My boss thinks I, I’m, you know, a loser. I can’t do my job anymore. This is how we treat women, and I think as the mother of two, uh, daughters that were born, I, I, it’s wrong. And if I can stop that as much as I can, that’s what I was put on earth for and that’s what keeps me doing it.
MARK WRIGHT 22:19
Yeah, it’s, it’s the hardest job in the world and the most important job in the world at the same time. Is the Bloom Philosophy, is that something that you teach or is there a certification program or how does that work?
DR. BRANDIE KEATES 22:30
Yeah, so I developed a certification program and trademarked it. So originally I just wrote the book, you know, what you don’t expect when you’re expecting sort of a tongue in cheek sort of thing of, um, I’m very aware of my own mortality. It sounds weird, but I think growing up with a mom who majored in gerontology, you know, that’s, that’s, uh, my associate’s degree is in gerontology, but like um, I’m acutely aware of the finality of my life. So to share that knowledge, you know, of 22 years was really important. And to, to have somebody that doesn’t feel understood, feel understood. And then during COVID I realized instead of getting upset with other providers for telling women that, why not teach them? So I used to just teach chiropractors and patients. So during COVID, I started turning my sights on empowering and educating medical doctors, physical, there’s seven different, um, professions that need continuing education for pregnancy. Why not help them give their patients resources on the best sports medicine care that we can apply safely to pregnancy? So it’s evolved into a set of tenants, to, um, the education behind as much as I can share with them safely. And I’ve had it vetted by OBGYNs, you know, cause it’s a lot of, they’ve, they carry a lot of risk, uh, midwives to make sure what I’m giving them is sound and safe. That’s why it took me three years to write that book. It took me six months to write the book and then two and a half years to wait for them to get it back to me. But, um, anyway, you know, learning a Strategic Coach, I’m in their 10 X program. Um, it’s critically important that there’s different learning styles to reach people, you know, and a lot of people don’t have the attention span, so how do you cater to that to get the information quickly that they can apply in their busy life?
MARK WRIGHT 24:18
Yeah. Strategic Coach. One of the top entrepreneurial coaching programs in the world. And, uh, gosh, so many, so many amazing people in, in that organization. Um, I’d love for you to talk a little bit more about that book. You know, I think we all bought what to expect when you’re expecting, when we all had, you know, when we all, you know, got pregnant as couples, but, um, what are a couple of things that we don’t expect when we’re expecting.
DR. BRANDIE KEATES 24:15
So this is the book. Um, so basically, uh, what it is is I developed six villains of pregnancy, the most common villains of pregnancy. So there’s the ones that you expect, which is Linda low back pain, Sally sciatica, Peggy pubis, which is the fun one. And then, uh, there’s Helen headache, Rebecca rib pain, and Wendy wrist pain. So this is the six most common. There’s definitely other things, but I did the six most common, um, things that affect and ruin women’s pregnancies, made them into cartoons, uh, and made the women, the superheroes of their own journey of how to fight these and kick them out of town and what they’re doing to invite them into town that they may not expect and how to kick them out and keep them out for good. So it’s a lot of, so it’s basically stretching massage. Um, exercises, what to do, what not to do, uh, and then emergencies, giving a little a hat tip to being a paramedic. And then I’ve asked experts on yoga, uh, doula, all these things that they can consider options which help, uh, fit them. Um, and then I’ve written two other books, one for partners. So that because people don’t look at the partner either, who’s changing and they’re all focused on the woman and the baby, you know, and they’re as a dad, you’re changing. So empowering and educating and helping them be the best for their partner and helping. So they don’t feel so, uh, isolated, you know, so they can go through it together. Um, and then also a book on the fourth trimester, which is after the baby. Um, there is, uh, there’s a whole set of things where the villains come back, you know, for their own reasons. Um, so it’s just, I think normalizing it without my, my tagline is pregnancy pain is common and not normal. I want to demystify it. And to, um, help people understand there’s a lot, like something as simple as heat. Like if somebody slaps heat on something, you better be sure that you’re putting it on the right thing. Cause I used to say putting heat on something is like saying something about your husband’s mom. It feels great in the moment, but then you sort of pay later. So like they, they get that where they’re sort of like, oh, it feels really good to say that. But like, then your husband doesn’t talk to you for a couple of days. So um, you know, heat feels good. You know, so it’s just like using those sort of quirky analogy. I think when we talked a month ago, my new book is called Why Does My Kitty Still Hurt? And it’s shaped like a kid’s book, like a children’s book. It’s for OBGYN offices because I wouldn’t go into a waiting room and pick up a book about pubic pain because you’d be embarrassed to be reading it. But if I would pick up a book with a cute cat on the front of it that looks like a kid’s book and then you can learn about what your pubic pain is from and how to fix it. A lot of the, a lot of the parents are laughing and my hope is because their kids start reading it. There’s nothing bad in there, but they’re not expecting that it’s a book about pubic symphysis dysfunction. But, um, I have a quirky sense of humor and I love analogies and I have profound ADD, so I sort of channel that into quick bites of things that people will remember or hooks so that they can remember, oh yeah, I’m not supposed to use heat, you know, instead of just saying that, you know, providing a little bit of humor with that.
MARK WRIGHT 27:59
It seems like, uh, there’s a lot of shame. There’s a lot of, you know, not talking about stuff, but it’s so refreshing that you are just laying this stuff out there and saying, hey, let’s talk about this stuff and let’s, let’s help solve it. Dr. Brandie, I’d love for you to talk maybe to that pregnant woman out there, um, because until you go through pregnancy, it’s, it’s a completely foreign thing for everyone, but in terms of empowerment and, and, you know, sort of embracing that role and becoming an advocate for yourself. What’s your best advice for a woman who is maybe pregnant for the first time? What, what would you have appreciated someone telling you at that point in your life?
DR. BRANDIE KEATES 28:42
I wish I learned to listen to myself a lot more like I, um, I’m a huge advocate and I’m a person that will ask for help and that’s what your professionals are there for. Lean on people that have been there. I had a patient today that brought, the patient that was late, uh, that has a three week old. She was in my office with contractions every five minutes and the strength of a woman, she was crying and she’s like, I can’t do this. I’m not going to be able to do this. And I was like, you’ve done this three times before we got, she said the energy from me knowing that I had done it twice before, do you know what I’m saying? And, and, um, another of the massage therapists were in the room. She’s a mom just that, um, leaning on people that um, don’t shame you, you know, and don’t, um, discount your feelings. You know, pregnancy is a very loaded journey because everything’s changing. And that’s why I named my company Bloom because I get such intense pleasure watching somebody change. I love, I love personal growth. Like I’m a personal growth junkie, but it’s such an intense track where somebody, um, starts out being very sort of selfish and self centered. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Like go for that in your twenties, but like they totally change, you know, and it’s these little subtle changes every visit, like, and they immediately change when they find out they’re pregnant, where it’s like, oh, stuff’s getting real, but to watch the strength grow and watch them grow. I think the same thing with business is we go through such, when you go through hard stuff, right? It’s so beautiful. Just like we talked about being a paramedic, there’s such beauty and struggle because on the other side, you know, is we know the baby’s definitely worth that, but the changes that you make and the strength that you showed throughout that, it’s so beautiful to overcome. One of the most painful things In life, you know, and, and there’s nothing that’s precious without pain and, and same thing with your business. When you overcome and you do the work and you hang in there, right? And you endure the beauty on the other side is totally worth it.
MARK WRIGHT 30:46
Well, speaking of, of pain, you, you said that your divorce is reinventing your definition of work. And what it means to be the most effective at work, if you’re comfortable talking with that, Dr. Brandie, what, how has, how has your divorce changed how you, uh, approach life and work?
DR. BRANDIE KEATES 31:07
Yeah, it’s not so much related. I think, um, I did an interview recently where I was talking about, I, I achieved. Everything anybody would want, you know, this, the stereotypical gorgeous house that backs up to a national park, my dream car, um, vacations, kid, like every, I checked every box, right? And I was miserable. And then you’re like, what’s wrong with me that I’m not grateful for all, because I tend to be very happy, but I think when I decided or discovered this thing called the hell, yes principle where it’s like I’m very amiable and um, I just go along with stuff. Again, you go along with stuff that’s sort of like I don’t know if it’s ingrained in us where it’s like, you know, you grow up, you graduate college, you know, you get a job, you get married, you have kids. I think it’s, in owning a business, I think it didn’t allow me the bandwidth to have fun because you feel so guilty that you need to be working all the time. And you know, when I entered Strategic Coach, not to give a hot tip to them again, they were, they’re very big into free days and I’m like, I’m not taking a free day. And I worked 16 hours a day for seven years. Like, and I loved it. It didn’t feel like work. Do you know what I’m saying? Because I love what I do. But I think understanding, um, that life is short and that, uh, I matter to have fun. You know, I, I only knew myself as somebody’s wife, you know, cause I got married at 22 and a, and, and Dr. Brandie, who has experienced chiropractic and is the, like, there’s another side of me that I’ve never uncovered. You know, the, this, the, the person without those two things, those roles, and I think finding her has been brutal this year. I said that my life is much, I’m much happier. I’m much more at peace, but heck is it messy. It’s messy trying to date. Like that, that whole thing is like. Wow. Like the whole that, I don’t even want to talk about that on this podcast, but I think knowing that I deserve time off and that has made my business more effective, you know, that pairing with EOS, like, um, traction of like letting go, putting people in the right seats. I’ve always been that way. But the fact that I don’t have to be in there help helping, which usually is distracting, you know, and showing the memes, but I, I, I, it’s really important for me to sharpen my song and to really sit in and look at what am I most effective at. So that I stopped distracting my team and can get out of their way. I used to see that as lazy because I was raised as Gen X and it works, you have to be in it. Like you have to, I was the dedicated boss of like, you know, I’m on call all the time. I’ll do whatever you want. I’ll be in, I’ll, and I love being that way. But I think my life, I’m 50 years old, you know, and, and I want to develop my life outside of that. And if you’re with somebody that doesn’t want to grow and doesn’t have goals and they’re not aligned and you can’t communicate anymore, I think making the hard decision of like, I really need to, uh, evolve with my life. You know what I’m saying? And move forward. I, I wrote an article about, um, I was cleaning some plants out on my deck, a tray of succulents because the number one thing people said when I got divorced was, oh my God, you guys look so happy. And, and we were friends. We were very good friends. There was one particular plant that was gorgeous. It was beautiful, right? And then when I looked at it, it was actually, it broke through the plastic because it had done so much growth. And I feel like I had invested so much in personal growth and working on my shadow self and working on, on everything that I could, I broke out of the container. There’s nothing wrong with the container, which was my ex husband. I outgrew the container. And, and people change sometimes. And if, if you can’t grow together, that’s where there’s a problem. But I think it’s important again, to hell yes, your life. Again, you’d said about the advice for a pregnant woman is, is listening to yourself and try as hard as you can to stay in it. And if you can’t come to something, life is too short not to. Uh, let go, you know, and explore other things and free them up so that they can have a life that’s aligned. And I hope that he does that. And I’m going to explore my life and move on. And we shared 20, almost 26 years together. So it’s just wishing him well and, and, and developing my life forward is genuinely mine and authentically mine. And that’s, that’s important to me is being authentic. That has always been critically important that who I say I am. And, um, and, and to hide something that I had a bad marriage and make it look like it’s pretty, I couldn’t do that anymore. Yeah.
MARK WRIGHT 35:51
That, that, uh, container analogy with the plant, I think is, is just brilliant.
DR. BRANDIE KEATES 35:55
Yeah. Thank you.
MARK WRIGHT 35:56
Um, and thank you for your candor.
DR. BRANDIE KEATES 35:58
Oh, it helps somebody else. A lot of people are getting divorced right now. And I think it’s important not to judge yourself. Yeah. It’s hard.
MARK WRIGHT 36:05
Uh, tell, tell me more about the, the hell yes uh, philosophy. Like where did that come from? I love it.
DR. BRANDIE KEATES 36:12
I just think like I sat on four, like the day that I was broke down, I was like at a breaking point and, and, and I was just like, I came across a podcast and they’re like, you have to hell yes. Because for me, I’m like, oh yeah, I’ll do it. I’ll do it. Do you like it? And, and it’s, it’s not, if for me now, especially like I was talking with dating or whatever, if it’s not a hell yes, I don’t want it. If I’m not a hell yes for somebody to work with, I don’t want it. And I have the luxury, you know, 22 years in practice, but I think it’s, it’s a good thing of like gauging your friendships. We taught, I don’t want to tolerate anything anymore. And it’s not being, um, elitist or whatever. It’s just, there’s a vibe with people that you have, you know what I’m saying? Where you either have it or you don’t and to force it, uh, during COVID, I, I really was acutely aware of batteries, like your phone. And, and I’m acutely aware of my batteries. Whereas before I could push through that. I have a rhino on my desk where I would just like push through stuff. I don’t have the batteries for that anymore. And, and I find in business. If you push through, yeah, I’ll get what I want, but I won’t enjoy it. And, and I, and I, it wasn’t the best experience. It was, there was no joy in the process. So I lost. I, does that make sense? So it’s, it’s more important to tap. Is this tapping my batteries? Is this draining my, or for me, I’m looking for people that are solar for me, like that they generate it, you know, energy and feed my energy, um, that this year has been amazing, you know, to really stay in that space of not tolerating it. So if I’m, if I, cause I have to do this monthly now, Mark, because like, you’ll, you’ll be like, oh, I’ll do that. I’ll do that. If it’s not a hell, yes, it’s a no. Yeah. So
MARK WRIGHT 38:00
That’s an awesome philosophy.
DR. BRANDIE KEATES 38:01
I wish I could give credit, but I’ve moved on to a different word that starts with a, with another word that starts with M because like now that I’ve reached that level, but it really is a good, I don’t want it to, I don’t, I don’t want to be, I don’t want to meh life, you know, you get one life. So it’s like, you know, every trip I take every, every time I go out, it has to be hell yes. And if it’s not, I’ll just excuse myself from the thing and just be like, I’ve had fun and now it’s not a hell yeah. It’s like, so it’s, uh, the right people are attracted to you. I think there’s an expression where like, when you’re on fire, everybody will come to watch you burn. And it’s like finding more people that are aligned is less draining than tolerating, you know, a lot of people.
MARK WRIGHT 38:48
There’s so much wisdom to what, to what you’re saying. And my perception of strategic coach is that a huge part of it is identifying what your unique ability is and what, what really makes you sing, you know, what, what lights you up and then what doesn’t light you up. You, you sort of delegate or figure out how to get out of your life, delegated to somebody else or get it out of your life. How has that evolution through Strategic Coach? How have you changed as, as a leader, Dr. Brandie, in terms of how you show up at work and how you navigate at work?
DR. BRANDIE KEATES 39:21
It’s, um, without sounding dramatic, it’s changed my life. Like it, it, um, I think as a, as a business owner, you’re sort of alone, you know, and even when being in married, being married with my ex husband, like it was, I was it, I was the owner,right? And so there’s stuff that you deal with that you never have to deal with, you know, before, and you have to figure it out. And so on top of that, I have a Kolbe of three, three, nine, four, which is like, I have like no attention span. I don’t like follow through. I build my wings on the way down, you know, and I like to fix things. Like I think that
MARK WRIGHT 39:55
And the nine is a quick start. Is that right? So you’re super fast to start.
DR. BRANDIE KEATES 39:59
And, and it’s funny cause I have an IQ of 154, but I like no common sense. So I’m like, I keep on my keys most of the time, but I have a very quick, my brain works extremely fast. And then it’s mixed with a 17 year old boy’s humor. So it’s just quite the, quite the enigma. But, um, but the first time I took Strategic Coach. Um, I felt at home and then when I took 10x, when I was around those people, they were all that nine quick start. All of them were dorks and, um, in the coolest way because like their brains, they all had like three companies. Like I do, they’re all like ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, you know? And I think for a lot of us, we’ve had trauma. Um, owning businesses where we have consultants come in or you have like a manager come in and they’re like, you’re a moron, you know, or they’ll be like, you’re flighty or you’re scatterbrain. And it’s like, there’s so much where it’s like, you’re not doing it the corporate way. You know, and I had two offices and this giant, like mega practice, they expect you to work some way. I’m a paramedic with a gutter mouth and like, and, and, and I like to have fun. Do you know what I’m saying? I’m very smart with academic, but like, I don’t want to be stiff and fake and I think in 2018, I really, when my book came out, my book came out, I got a second office, I got a second house, like it’s what, right? And everybody’s like, you have to act like a grown up now, and at first I did, I went to Banana Republic and I got the suits and I, you know, I started like carrying, I stopped wearing sweatpants and Uggs to the office and I became something that I wasn’t and, and it didn’t fit, you know, it didn’t fit well. And so I think hitting that and realizing that I’m okay by myself, Strategic Coach and being with that group, that 10X group, I’m not a free zone yet, that’s like they’re out there and I hope someday to be there. Right now they’re my tribe. And, and when you walk in that room, it’s like a ping where we’re all on the same crazy level where we’ve been horribly misunderstood, but we’re doing these amazing things and disrupting everything. We’re the troublemakers and we, we’re crazy enough to know that we can, you know, and, and we’re doing epic stuff, but yet everybody thinks that we’re like these giant, like class clowns, you know, and that’s, what’s fun about it is to watch on LinkedIn. All my friends doing epic stuff, but I have so much fun with them because we’re, we genuinely love what we do, you know, and we’re genuinely called, which is what gets us over the hump. But I think being out there and understanding, I think one thing for a Strategic Coach, cause I first started with traction and it’s interesting. I read a book a week and I could not read traction.
MARK WRIGHT 42:50
So explain what that book is.
DR. BRANDIE KEATES 42:54
So, so, uh, traction is a book written by Gina Wickman. It’s sort of a sister program to Strategic Coach. So when I first was like dabbling and looking at this, I’m sort of like, I don’t know which one to do first. So I started with traction and tried to read it. I read a book a week. And I could not read it. I literally would have to take it Mark and like, have the audible version and follow like, like really like use my brain power and after reading rocket fuel, which is another book, I realized I thought it was a good visionary integrator because I, I did it. I did. I did the work. I was in there. But what I realized, if you’re a true, pure visionary, which is what I am, a hundred, I’m a hundred percent visionary. You cannot read that book. You know, and I understood the value for my team to have a system in place because the secret of business is consistency and systems. But Strategic Coach is the communication of how to organize my thoughts. And I’m not putting myself in the ballpark of Dan Sullivan at all, but I have a very similar Kolbe. He’s a ten. I’m a nine. Um, but a lot of the stuff, what he teaches it. It’s he frames it in such a beautiful way that he understands his strengths and he understands what’s not his and he builds a team to brace his and and that’s their unique ability that sets them on fire. And so a lot of the ways that they work with him, I steal a lot of his tools are geared towards people like me that you have this beautiful vision, but nobody knows what the heck you’re talking about. And they’re too afraid to ask you because you’re the boss, you know, because they think you know everything and you don’t. Um, so it’s really helped me understand myself and understand how to communicate with my team and understand the biggest thing. It’s funny cause I’m going to be doing a podcast with another person and they have a lot of trauma. Like I do with working after 22 years of how we’ve been treated as the boss, which sounds crazy, but you’re a nice person and you’re like, okay, maybe they know better than I am. And you care about your business. So you’re like, they know better than I do. But I think embracing the beauty of what I am as a visionary, and that that’s not lazy, just coming up with ideas, you know, and then that’s not lazy to go play tennis Monday, Wednesday, Friday, twice a day to burn off my crazy, you know, and then work intensively Tuesday, Thursday, I’m more effective that way than slogging in there and staying the 16 hours a day I did for seven years. But that was such a mind shift for me to take off because I, I wanted to control everything. And I felt like I was the only one who could do it, you know, and I’m not, you know, I’m not the best. I want the best people for, I care about my business. I want the best people for those positions and I want to be tapped for what I am useful for and effective and that’s it. And it’s freed me up. It’s, I have a life Mark. I play tennis. Like I can actually, I haven’t played, I haven’t played tennis since I was 12 and I’m playing tennis twice a day at 50 years old because I have. I understand the value of turning my brain off, like a tab on your computer that has like 50 tabs open, which is my brain all the time. It takes it down to one tab or you’re going to get pegged. You know, if I check my watch for a work email, I’m getting pegged in the face. So it’s, it’s those things that was one of the ideas from Strategic Coach of like, you can’t text your team if you’re playing tennis or somebody, a lot of them scuba dive. Cause you can’t, you can’t check in with, with work. So checking out and preserving your batteries and understanding your gifts. That’s Strategic Coach and being aligned with other people that you’re okay. You know, you really don’t feel okay a lot of business and you have to make it and you can’t come in and be like, I’m really insecure that I feel like I’m so disorganized and I’m a mess. You’re it, like you’re the I was gonna hire my fourth book was gonna be the reluctant leader because I never wanted to be in charge. I really did it and it’s now I’m not giving it up I learned my strengths, but I have a good balance now. I really love my life.
MARK WRIGHT 46:49
That’s so cool. Um, you mentioned, Gino Wickman and entrepreneurial, uh, operating system, and we’ve had Kelly Knight.
DR. BRANDIE KEATES 46:57
She’s awesome.
MARK WRIGHT 46:58
She’s on the program. Yeah. Boy, when, when you talk about just the genius of those two programs, EOS and Strategic Coach, what’s, what’s interesting is that, you know, you and the rest of the people in Strategic Coach are learning these lessons sort of later in your careers and it’s just it’s too bad that 20 somethings don’t get exposed to these ideas to realize that you do have to make time for for you outside of work. So Dr. Brandie, I’d love to to ask you just this podcast is, is dedicated to redeeming work, and that is just to make work better for everyone in all of your experience it sounds like you’re just in such a great spot right now. What do you think the key is and what advice would you have to other business owners and leaders when it comes to redeeming work?
DR. BRANDIE KEATES 47:48
I think understanding, um, like I said, that, that uh, sometimes you’re not the best person for your, like, you really, there’s a great tool that’s free from, um, EOS and I don’t get a kickback from that. It’s called delegated elevate and, and it’s one of the best tools to be like, I’m really good at that, but I hate it. Like I’m good at an angry customer. It drains, it’s the quickest thing that will drain my batteries. So being epically clear and then intentionally getting rid of the two bottom quadrants as you can afford it is the quickest way to get yourself freedom. And that’s what Strategic Coach is about, freedoms. You know, freedom of relationship, freedom of money, freedom of time. So it’s just giving you the breathing room, because if you don’t identify what those things are and, and give them to somebody that loves them and lights them up, there’s, there’s a joy in that. So I think, I think taking the time to really, uh, understand yourself and your business, instead of just being in your business, take a step back, like I said, watch the movie and, and, and understand how could I, it was another big love of mine is a four hour work week. If you had four hours to do this, how would you get this done? So it’s really important to take time. Get up at five in the morning. I got up at four in the morning for years when it’s quiet, get yourself a really nice cup of coffee, make it a beautiful experience and think how can I do this and lean on again, like you said, with pregnant women, lean on people. I’m leaning on Strategic Coach right now. I’m leaning on EOS. So that I can have a life and go to Italy and stay on a rooftop for a week and eat pizza, fries and wine. Like I’m living in, and then I come back and I’m like ready to go, like I get such great ideas. So. I think understanding yourself, your unique abilities and what you love doing, you will be much more effective. I was such a martyr for so many years, Mark, where I was like, only I can do it, and look at me suffering. It’s important to free yourself up. You are not your business as much as you are your business, because that was a foreign concept for me before I was like, this is my baby. This is, this is a representative of me. It’s not. And I think it’s really important to invest, I don’t get a thing for Strategic Coach, but investing in, in that perspective, I do, they do teach teenagers now, and I’m so happy to see programs because I wish I had this. I wish I, I wish I understood myself and not thought I was such a screw up, even though I’m professional success. There’s a lot of days as an entrepreneur you feel like a screw up, you know, you’re like, I’m not the right person for this. Like who’s going to take my baby, you know? Um, and it’s just, it’s given me this sort of swagger that like, I’m cool. I’m cool with my quirkiness, and, um, I have a, they have, they do a lot of testing. There’s a thing called a print. So I’m, I have the three that everybody is extremely driven. But I have a nine that I want everybody to be happy. So it’s like a conflicting, I want peace and harmony and I want everybody to get along and kumbaya, but like they, they’re diametrically opposed. So they’re helping me construct how I can drive forward and have the peace that I need, you know, and, uh, understanding why am I like this, you know, whatever to be happy, but I want to build this mega company as well I think it’s it’s it’s been life changing and again, this is not it, this is not a commercial for them I just there’s nothing that’s made such an impact on my life. Yeah.
MARK WRIGHT 51:20
And it’s so interesting. You know, I think a lot of entrepreneurs in the beginning especially think I have to do it all. I have to put in 16 hour days because if I don’t do it, nobody else does. But then you reach that point of understanding where is the best use of your energy, right? And you only have so much energy in a day.
DR. BRANDIE KEATES 51:39
Yeah. Or you’re actually doing stuff that you think you’re good at that you’re not. That’s an awakening where you’re just like hiring. I thought it was an amazing hire because everyone talks about how great my team is because I hire people that I can picture them doing dishes in my kitchen with me because I’m that person in a party that will do dishes with you without leaving. I’m not Irish.
MARK WRIGHT 51:59
I do that too.
DR. BRANDIE KEATES 52:00
But that’s my secret. And, and I thought I was good at it, but like when I’m good and I’m real good, when I’m bad, I totally missed the mark on that. So I’ve delegated that. So it’s just, um, knowing when to step out and, you know, delegating and not abdicating. I think that’s also critically important is methodically ridding yourself, you know, of the stuff that drains you and really align with what sets you on fire. And then you’ll create more.
MARK WRIGHT 52:26
Well, this has been such a, such a fun conversation, Dr. Brandie. I mean, what you’re doing in healthcare is amazing. What you’re doing in business is amazing. And 10X is, you know, that, that, uh, Strategic Coach, uh, program that tries to increase your business by tenfold. And, and, uh, that’s, that’s an exciting journey that you’re on there as well. Anything that I didn’t touch on that you want to leave us with?
DR. BRANDIE KEATES 52:51
I just, I think, I think what you’re doing is so critically important. I’ve done a lot of thinking. I’ve listened to all your podcasts this weekend and I don’t know if you’re familiar with, there’s a short video where they talk about, um, you know, I’ve worked 16 hour days for, you know, a long time so that your kids have a better life, you know what I’m saying? And then they have an easy, one of the things that I used to try to do to build this practice is to say, I want to save other people that dehumanizing situations that I put myself through or endured through business, but there’s such a beauty again to learning and doing going through that process just like giving birth that I am immensely proud. Do you say there’s there’s a beauty in that, um, doing work and being aligned and, um, contributing, you know, and giving back to society and, and realizing what it’s, I thought everybody was born with why they’re here, you know, and, and to, if you are, you have to do it, you know, you have to do it. It’s, it’s worth your life to not have regrets that you haven’t tried you know, valiantly and failed many times and get up a thousand times. So, um, I think it’s important to follow your passions and to, to do the work, you know, and, and lead on other people to learn on their experience and to grow. It’s all, uh, Marilyn, I mentioned her before Marilyn Waller, you either learn, you know, you either learn, uh, you either win or you learn, you know, and I, I think reframing it to that, it’s really true. It was like, what did I learn from this? And just becoming. All of this is life school becoming a better person, you know, it’s just, you do the best that you can and you’re like, nope, not doing that again. Or Yep. Oh, that’s really cool. I’m going to do that again. Taking the, taking the emotion out of it and really, um, just having fun with it.
MARK WRIGHT 54:39
Well, Dr. Brandie Keates, this has been so much fun. Thank you for spending some time with us on the BEATS WORKING podcast and love what you’re doing to redeem work. Thank you for your time.
DR. BRANDIE KEATES 54:48
Thanks, Mark.
MARK WRIGHT 54:49
I’m Mark Wright. Thanks for listening to BEATS WORKING, part of the WORKP2P family. New episodes drop every Monday. And if you’ve enjoyed the conversation, subscribe, rate, and review this podcast. Special thanks to show producer and web editor Tamar Medford. In the coming weeks, you’ll hear from our Contributors Corner and Sidekick Sessions. Join us next week for another episode of BEATS WORKING, where we are winning the game of work.
