Video Transcription
Stephen Franson: Hey! Remarkable Practice, this is Doctor Stephen Franson coming to you with a very special guest. This is Doctor Lona Cook.
Lona, say hi.
Lona Cook: Hello.
Stephen Franson: Hey, we’re getting together for a coffee break. I’ve got my coffee with my new favorite mug. That’s our motto, that’s our theme.
So Lona, talk to us. You’re an amazing person I met at the UAC thanks to my good friend Patrick [inaudible] who pointed out some people in the room. He’s like, “You absolutely have to meet Lona.” I know that we hit it off right away, not nearly as well as you and my beautiful … my own personal chiropractor, Camilla, hit it off. My wife and you, I know really struck a cord and you guys, as we were just talking about a minute ago offline, are now doing your own coffee breaks, you and your husband. You can speak to that if you want, but I know you have a lot going on. There’s a lot of moving parts. You’re an explosive, strong female chiropractor coming onto the team, coming onto the scene and we just so appreciate the work that you’re doing, so I wanted to create a platform just to showcase what you’re up to and let our people know how they can come alongside you and support you.
Why don’t you talk little bit about your own practice, your own walk and then we can talk about some of the projects that you got going on.
Lona Cook: Sure. Thank you.
So excited to talk about some of this stuff because obviously it’s so important to me right now. Well, I started in practice four years ago and grew a practice from scratch in Western Wisconsin and you know, one of the things that I realized coming out was my lack of knowing what I’m about to do but feeling really strongly about wanting to be successful and wanting to give back and serve and understand deeper in chiropractic and do it for the right reasons.
So, as I was going through the process of growing I thought, you know, it would be really great if someone wrote down how this went and put it together in a book format for new chiropractors so, because I had a history in creative writing, that’s what I did and I was blessed, I guess, to figure out that once you actually got something there you should publish it so I did that. I self published and about a year ago we had a hard format of the book and it’s called Just Starting … Or, Tell Me Where to Start and you know, Life West picked it up to put in their business program and that was a huge thing for me to have something like that happen.
Stephen Franson: I know that Brian Kelly is a big fan and that’s always a nice check in the plus column so Brian is actually buying copies and distributing them to the students, is what I understand.
Lona Cook: Yeah. He’s been giving it to the entering new DCs from what I understand and then also use it in several of their quarters up at Life West. I can’t say thank you enough to them. I’m so excited that they are behind the book so much and I’ll be headed out there in January to do a full day with the students and the campus.
With that said then … Oh, go ahead.
Stephen Franson: Let me interrupt you. So, we have started a club on campus called The STP club which is the Save the Planet Club which is for students who have a heart for global service. So, I’m going to take this opportunity to call you out and ask you to swing by and hi if they are gathering while you are on campus.
Lona Cook: Oh sure.
Stephen Franson: I know that they would love it and I’ll arrange something with you where we can buy some copies of your book and distribute it to the members of the STP club too so you and I can talk about offline about that but that’s something I would love to have you do. They need that inspiration for sure.
Lona Cook: Yeah. You know and that’s my passion, is, I feel so young in the profession being out four years and you know, you realize you pick up stuff really quickly because you’re forced to but then you also realize how much you don’t know yet and how much is developing in you every single day.
That’s where this year starting off is, I feel this sense of leadership that I need to come in and help the new, especially women, DCs because there are some many of us and we’re very powerful and I think sometimes maybe it’s not that we don’t have egos but they don’t maybe shine out as much sometimes and so, we get lost I think or at least our shining parts maybe don’t come through as often and I think we need to support the women because there’s another thing I see in the profession just traveling around and going to seminars is, you know, we always talk about the in fighting and I look at also having this huge group of women coming through schools now and if we can reach out and support each other and become a bit more, you know, not even that you have to practice just like me or anything like that but if we can still network and maybe be a bit more cohesive with that we are trying to do, I mean, that’s how we make massive shift in the profession and in the world.
Stephen Franson: I would agree with you that there’s such a need. There are so many wonderful female chiropractic role models out there but this next generation coming up is just so incredibly impressive. I mean, I have a heart for female chiropractors. We have three in my female. I married my favorite one so to see, you know, young women like yourself coming up and doing it with being so powerful and being so successful and taking a leadership role and dong it with such grace, I just appreciate that about you and I know that you are a gentle warrior. I just want to recognize you for that and the fact of the matter is, is that female chiropractors need lots of role models but they definitely need some strong female role models as well so thank you on behalf of at least the women in my family.
Lona Cook: Well thanks. I hope I can live up to that but that’s part of what I really want to get into is, assisting new practices and new doctors to just evolve faster, you know, as I am going through that process as well. So, that’s kind of what 2014 is looking at, you know, we have two practices going now so that keeps me very busy as well but I, you know, wrote a workbook that will be the spin off of the first book and that’s for implementing some of the cornerstones I would call and how I’ve gone from scratch and opened and then did it again and you know, I’m still for sure learning how to grow those practices and open them up and that’s part of it is, there are key things you keep going back to.
You know, awareness of the level that you are at and what needs to change an what maybe is working. You know, simplifying things, becoming more and more congruent in your chiropractic message and how you display that in your office and then also the energy you’re putting behind things. So, I’ve had amazing mentors and I just hope that I can help funnel some of that into a message that other people can reach as well.
Stephen Franson: Fantastic. I can tell you are already doing that and leading from the front so we appreciate that about you.
So, talk to me a little bit about this new program that you have out. I understand it’s like a four week program, like a four week intensive for new students.
Lona Cook: Yeah.
Stephen Franson: I can speak from authority here. I ran a student fast track program for three years so I think I’ve helped probably 400 chiros through school and launch and plant practices so there’s a desperate need for this and there’s a different climate today so this is a moving target, right, so I’m assuming you’ve got your finger on the pulse of this, you’re a modern chiropractor just coming into the workplace which is a totally different environment than when, you know, some of us who opened our clinics 15-20 years ago. So, speak to that. I’d love to hear more about this program that you’ve put in place.
Lona Cook: Sure. It’s done with online videos obviously so there’s four areas of videos that go through … Each week there’s one hour that you need to watch and grow this workbook that takes you through a bunch of questions that hopefully will evolve into some more questions that you have and then also, becoming aware of some of the things that we definitely need to target whether it’s implementing in practice and as you are starting up or things that you need to search out in your soul and yourself.
As you watch it, you go through that workbook and then we touch base once a week, at least, one on one through Skype or on the phone, it’s up to you, and work through some of the things that come up and then also, some of the things I want to make sure that we touch on so, you know, each week … It’s not meant to get you to this point of knowing exactly what, you know, your practice has to be like in order to be acceptable to me. It’s nothing like that. It’s about becoming much more aware of exactly what you’re trying to create and why and then when you have clarity with something, it’s going to happen a lot faster because you know the action steps to take.
So, that’s my goal is to spin off of that.
Stephen Franson: Exactly right. I love that. I love the spirit of that and just working with a student and helping them realize that first and foremost that it does start with a vision, you know, and to be able to tell that story, with that clarity and like you said, what I call the pixelation process of getting that vision to the point it’s so detailed you know exactly how it looks and feels and sounds and smells, I mean, that practice should be like birthing a child.
Lona Cook: Right.
Stephen Franson: You should have that vision locked in your mind in such a way that you’re more likely to manifest it faster and easier and the universe will organize itself to deliver that.
Lona Cook: Right. It is your baby, you know, and the thing about it too is, I see from myself coming from a school that wasn’t exceptionally principled. I think in the beginning, I grew out of sheer energy and wanting to help people, not being in depth in chiropractic, or you know, I can’t even put my finger it. I just wanted to move, you know and so, I think there’s different ways to get the job done but if you can put some of those pieces together and have good mentors that lead you down a path of continuing to deepen your philosophy, it just becomes a lot easier.
Stephen Franson: Right, right, right, and the best way to know what’s coming down the road for you is to speak to somebody who’s coming on the way back right?
Lona Cook: Right.
Stephen Franson: Just stepping into that gap for these young students who are trying to figure out exactly the first 17 steps to take, you know, you’re going to save them so much time, energy and focus not to mention money and tears and frustration. You know, looking back at that, just to have the right mentors. I mean, I was blessed with having really generous mentors and Camilla and I are just feeling really fortunate looking around at our history, just recognized that so many chiropractors came up around us and supported us and helped guide us but it was totally informal and it wasn’t structured. Nothing like what you’ve put together so I think this is fantastic.
I’m going to highly recommend you and recommend this process that they go through with you. It’s just brilliant. I don’t want to pigeon hole you either, I mean, I don’t want you to think you’re just the person to speak to if you’re a new female chiropractor entering the field. I mean, everybody’s going to learn from you. You’ve just got brilliant insights and a great style. I love what you are doing do on behalf of chiropractic, thanks for taking care of our young.
Lona Cook: Oh, thank you.
Stephen Franson: So how do our people get in touch with you? How do we find you? How do we support you?
Lona Cook: Sure.
Stephen Franson: Contact information etc.
Lona Cook: Okay so the easiest way to get all of it probably in a format to look at is just go to drlonacook.com otherwise, if you just search my name or on Facebook, you’ll get all of our website, email, phone numbers. It’s pretty easy to find. Probably the easiest email to reach me at is just my name, lonacook@yahoo.com.
Stephen Franson: Is that what you prefer? People reach out to you there or just go right to your website?
Lona Cook: Either one is fine. You’ll get me.
Stephen Franson: Can I get that … The book title one more time. The name of your program one more time and then your URL.
Lona Cook: Sure. Okay.
So the first book is Just Tell me Where to Start. Let me grab a copy, I’ll show you.
Stephen Franson: That’s the one you’re going to send me right?
Lona Cook: Yeah, for sure.
Stephen Franson: Oh actually, you know what? Now that I look at it, Camilla’s grabbed my copy that you gave us at the UAC, so I’ve got to grab that back from her.
Lona Cook: That’s right. She has a copy.
Stephen Franson: Alright, so I have it.
Lona Cook: And then the Starting to Take Work book, I actually don’t have in front of me right now, so you’ll have to go to the website and that’s drlonacook.com.
Stephen Franson: Alright. Alright remarkables, Doctor Lona Cook. Watch this girl. She’s awesome.
Thank you so much love.
Lona Cook: Thank you.
Stephen Franson: What a pleasure to hook up with you and I’ll speak with you soon and I’ll definitely see you at the next UAC.
Lona Cook: Sounds great.