EPISODE 045 | Going Rogue on Instagram with Courtney Lindblom

IT'S TIME! As promised, we're officially bringing back our monthly OT spotlight, where we're featuring an amazing OT from our Rogue Community! 

Let's kick things off with Courtney Lindblom, an Occupational Therapist in the US that started her career in a skilled nursing facility and recently made the transition over to in-patient rehab.

She’s also working on mastering the art of social media, sharing her relatable day-to-day struggles, triumphs, and tips with her tens of thousands of followers across multiple platforms. My conversation with Courtney left me smiling from ear to ear and I can’t wait to share it with you!

BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU’LL DISCOVER : 

• The delicate balance between sharing and oversharing.
• How to avoid a vulnerability hangover.
• Why the idea of social media as a “highlight reel” is outdated.
• The secret to showing up authentically as you are!

Check out Courtney on Instagram  @Courtney_The_OT

Need Courtney's OT/OTA Board Exam Study Guide?

Want to submit a question or comment for one of our Listener Q+A episodes? Go to https://www.otsgonerogue.com/questions and follow the prompts!

If you want to stay in the know with our podcast, go ahead and sign up for our OTGR Newsletter -- we'll send you our most recent podcast episodes, behind-the-scenes details + bonus resources, directly to your inbox!

And if this episode resonated with you in any way, I would love to hear from you. Connect with me on Instagram @OTsGoneRogue or drop me an email at hello@otsgonerogue.com. 

Transcript

00:00 - INTRO

Hey, you're listening to the OTs Gone Rogue podcast, where we inspire therapists to think outside the box and do things differently on your host Melissa Lapointe, my passion is in helping entrepreneurs have a bigger impact on the world while building a life they love and to me transformative work that lights them up. On each episode of the show. I'm gonna share tools and tricks to help you flex your coronary muscles and grow your business from the inside. I want to see more OT stuff on visionary leaders, changemakers and influential CEOs. So let's get started.

Hey, everyone, I hope this finds you all doing well. Oh my goodness, time is flying by. So at the time of this recording, we are starting to wind things down for the year. Now I know for many, there's still a very busy season ahead of us. But for me for my team, one thing that we have learned so my executive assistant has been with me for almost eight years now she has two children with birthdays in December, my son's birthday is in December and my birthday is in December. So add on the end of the year wrap up combined with the holidays combined with all of the different birthdays, we have Christmas concert coming back this year, we have different social events. And we have just learned that for us, it makes sense to really be intentional with slowing things down and the last two weeks of December, we totally shut down. So at the time of this recording, that's in part, what we're doing is starting to wrap things up. You know, I'm working on my annual 2020 To wrap up. And also I've been carving out more time to plan out my 2023. And for me personally at the time of this recording, I am now entering a new era of my coaching career. If you tuned into our last episode, so our last episode, episode number 50, I shared all kinds of stuff. And one little tidbit of information that I dropped was that I was about to sit for my final exams as women's health coach. Well, I am happy to say that I had my you know, it's almost a two hour oral exam. And then I had my final written exam. This course this program has been very, very intensive. And I'm happy to say that I have passed I am done.

I am officially a certified Women's Health Coach through the integrative Women's Health Institute. And this has been a long time coming, I'd love to go into the details of the program itself. So I actually have Jessica Drummond, she is going to be joining me in an upcoming episode of the podcast where we are going to talk all about health coaching, where we're going to talk about creating certification programs. So Jessica is the founder of integrative mental institute, she was the program lead to amazing things with as a physiotherapist and as a functional nutritionist. So I'm not gonna talk about the different pieces of the program, because that's gonna be coming up. But for me, and I think I mentioned it already, but I actually enrolled in a women's health coaching certification in 2016. So a very long time ago, when I had clinical practice. So at that time, I was practicing clinically. And I had a prenatal postnatal practice that was combined with my family wellness, my pediatric work. So when I enrolled in this program, I saw the women's health coaching piece as an amazing opportunity to go deeper with my clinical work in 2018. So when I took a step back from clinical work, a lot of things changed for obvious reasons. And that program got put on the back burner as I went deeper with my business coaching. So at that point, I had gone through the coaching component of that program. And I had started going into women's health piece, but still had a lot of work to do. But I started to do more in terms of my business coaching and mentoring and working directly with occupational therapists.

Now, like anything else, the more you do something, the more you niche down. So I started as you know, in terms of this general business coaching, and then I was doing more in terms of online revenue streams, then I was working more with other coaches and consultants. In the last five years, I've really been honing in on my work as a performance coach and operations consultant for OT and PT entrepreneurs. So that's been something start with OTs, but there are definitely been some PTS who've been on my radar, and I really enjoyed the work I'm doing with them as well. So I've been helping therapists to improve their overall performance. For some of my clients, the focus has absolutely been on individual performance, but for other clients, so some of my clients individual performance in other maybe solo entrepreneurs, I've had some clients who just just getting back into the swing of things for different reasons where they had to take a step back, or where they are trying to grow and their health is suffering.

And there's just a disconnect there. And then some of my other clients, the focus has been on overall performance of their organization or their team. So really looking at the big picture really doing a deeper dive in terms of the overall infrastructure, and how we can work on improving our systems and processes, really improving that efficiency, their organization. And I love it, I want to go deeper with this work, I'm gonna go deeper with my clients where we're integrating their health goals with our key performance indicators as entrepreneur and a business owner, so how they prepare for their program launches, how they decide when they're going to actually work on these program launches, where we're building into their schedule, how they schedule their week and their month. So I talked about my own personal experience with that, but now we're really looking at, especially those high performers out there who feel guilty when they're not working enough. So you know, what is your intention? And how can we actually work with your life and all the different pieces that you have on the go and really making sure we're honoring your health goals as we build in this schedule on what that might look like? How my clients nourish their bodies, how they so so many other ways that we nourish our bodies. And again, for a lot of us work is one of them, you'll gain a business owner, but there are a lot of different ways in terms of movement, in terms of creativity, in terms of leadership, and in terms of diet and supplements, different interactions, the overall health markers, like the more I'm learning about this, and where my brain is exploding on how deep we can go, I want to be working with my clients on incorporating movement and strength into their lives, how they approach brain health and hormonal imbalance, how they plan out their recovery periods. So this is huge. You've never trained for a trial and don't think about the recovery period. But you have so many of us go into busy seasons, with our businesses with our lives. And we may go all in on a program Launch and it's blood out hair back for three weeks. And we don't think about the recovery side of things.

So I again want to take everything that I've been learning and take it to the next level. So the further I go on this journey, the more I'm realizing that there is such a need for a holistic approach with female entrepreneurs in terms of performance, productivity, and output. Now at one point, I wanted to really work with an entrepreneurs who were also experiencing a health scare a diagnosis a chronic condition and bring that into their business journey. So as they're coming back into that leadership role, and this is something that's been continuing evolving for me. So as I'm learning to read lab results and understand the various health markers and what they mean and understand the different approach we can take to health and well being in terms of our various systems. I have been learning about the human body since I started my psychology degree in Omega Miss 19, let me think about this 1998 I started university in 1986, the first two years, I feel like we're gonna write off when you're young. But 90, I'd say 9098 started with biology and then to psychology, then into OT school, and I am still avidly studying the human body and feel like, I'm still just at the tip of the iceberg. And this is really exciting, but what a lifetime journey this is turning into. So alright, I'm getting excited at this stuff. But as we start to wrap up, 2022.

So these are some of the things that I played together, you know, and actively planning out our next year, I have so much clarity on the programs that we're gonna be offering on the different ways, we are gonna be doing more with less. So when I look at how we are simplifying things, and where my attentions gonna go in terms of one on one, because I want to do this, for me is a really exciting time to be coaching other coaches. So I have a lot of OT coaches, and a lot of OT consultants who are my clients. And I love it. I love the ripple effect that I am seeing as we're doing this work, we are doing more in terms of updating our perinatal health programs. So the very, very first online program that I created in 2015, we've had four variations of it since and now I'm taking all I've been learning with my women's health coaching certification, and we're updating a material. So again, coming full circle with this work, and just be you know how awesome it is to be an entrepreneur in general. Now, I know if there's you know, in terms of stability and consistency there, like people out there, there's a you know, a lot of there's some worries about a recession and the uncertainty of the future. And I got it, you know, it's life, like the world is a crazy place right now. But to be an entrepreneur to be doing the work that I'm doing now to be part of the OTs Gone Rogue community to be growing this platform and helping more therapists to see opportunity outside of clinical work. 

I just cannot wait for all the different things we have, and just the 23, transpires themselves are ending this year on such a high in so many ways. All right, so speaking of our last episode, another thing that I mentioned, so one of the, you know, sharing our upcoming features and changes that we're rolling out with the podcast. So one of those features was that we are going to start featuring so once a month, we are going to start featuring an OT from our community. So we first heard the podcast that was predominately all of the episodes not all but a lot. A lot of the episodes involve featuring different OTs and their version of going rogue. And we're coming back to that. I know a lot of you miss those, you know, hearing from front OTS to hearing their stories. And as someone who gets the who has the pleasure of interviewing them, I certainly miss it, too. So today is the day, you may have noticed the title of the podcast episode. So I am super excited to be bringing this back, you know, bringing back more OTS from our community and putting the spotlight on them. And we are kicking this off with Courtney Lindland so otherwise known on Instagram as Courtney beauty. So that's Courtney underscore the underscore OT but I'll also link her Instagram account in the show notes. So fun fact, I actually recorded this episode with Courtney earlier in the year. So I think was the first of June. So well before I recorded episode 54. Like a lot of stuff that I talked about in episode 50. And we were still in the thick of that were different pieces that I hadn't even happened yet. Well before. I know we were still in the planning phase of all those crazy house rentals, like was very different when I recorded this episode with Courtney. And when I was listening to her interview, so it had been in quite some time. So of course, I really listened to it as I was preparing for this introduction and our show notes are just wrapping my head around where I was going to be slotting our episode in terms of our production schedule. And when I was listening to it, I'm not gonna lie, I was smiling ear to ear. So just how this worked in terms of synchrony. And in terms of our schedule, like it just so many things that Courtney and I talk about is actually a lovely continuation of the things that I mentioned in Episode 50. So I didn't learn as it was when I was listening to it that my brain, you know, a little brain explosion about Wow, thank you universe, like this, obviously has been carried around to my subconscious on some level.

So for Episode 51, you know, it's this natural progression where, you know, we recorded it several months earlier, but we're doing a deeper dive into really getting to know your audience and connecting with them on a different level. We talk about sharing things on a public platform. So hello, episode number 51. I share in all kinds of things as recording, I talk with sharing things on public, having timetables or public platforms, and leaning into this idea of being open about our struggles, and being vulnerable. And sharing our imperfections, which you also hear like this is how I started following Courtney in the first place. So she started her social media journey by sharing about her fitness journey, and may have been how she came onto my radar. You know, I really enjoy following people who inspire me and motivate me in terms of health and well being. And so she started with her fitness journey. And she talks about this in terms of how it was a way of staying accountable. And then it morphed into the work she was doing as a new grad in a skilled nursing facility, where recently she's been sharing about her transition into inpatient rehab. And yeah, as an OT, like, I find it interesting, I enjoy hearing about her clinical work, I always appreciate that if it spins, you know, there are ways that she's creating teachable moments and sharing about her workday. But what I really love is how she expresses herself and how she uses Instagram to connect to her followers on a deeper level. It really inspires me, so she's so comfortable on video. And this inspires me to continue pushing myself as an entrepreneur, as a human, it's just finding ways to put myself out there as someone that's in a leadership position with a platform. So I talked about this before, it really comes down to podcast, Mike.

But what's next really comfortable sharing in terms of a coaching call with my people, or in terms of a one on one call with some of my clients or all of my clients? super comfortable, super comfortable teaching position, but how I can lean into my insecurities and my discomfort, sharing more on a public platform, especially in terms of video. So that, you know is one of those things that watching Courtney, I'm like, Oh my gosh, how can you do this? This is fascinating. But it can be very uncomfortable. And I just kept watching and engaging with your content. So on that note, last week, when I was actually chatting with Courtney on Instagram, so we were having some more conversation about the podcast episode coming up. And at that time, I actually did something. So there was someone else I was chatting to in my DMs and I'm not gonna share it too much. But basically, I used you know, I was feeling really lit up from this episode, I just listened to it. I was chatting with Courtney, and I get something that was out of my comfort zone.

09:42

So I'm not going to share details yet the person I was chatting to in my DMs so I'm gonna be bringing him on as an expert. So we're gonna talk more about video. But basically, I've taken on a project that involves more video content, right? So I talked about it I shared and now I'm going to be taking you along on this journey and you guys can help me stay accountable into the work that I'm doing. So Stay tuned, you can hear but it soon enough, but we've got more video content. So that's going to be coming out. So I'll leave it at that. But I'm excited to like, not only did I take that step, I'm actually excited about it. So that's pretty cool. All right. So on that note, let's continue with this recurring theme of personal growth and evolution that we got going on. And that's really my interview with Courtney Lindley. All right. Welcome back, everyone to another episode of the OTs Gone Rogue podcast, recording your first time on the podcast. Welcome. Thank you. Thank you, I appreciate so much. So accordi. As I do this, often with some of my guests, we started to chat before we hit record. And I was realizing Wait, we should actually be recording some of this. So before we hit record, we were talking about how I first came across your Instagram account. So that's how I know of you is through Instagram, and I started following you and you share a lot. So we're gonna dive into that a little more. But can you first start with any people know where you are in the world and how you're connected to the OT profession?

10:41

Yeah, so I'm from like a Twin Cities area. But I'm working toward the Chicago area. And I would much rather be in the heat than a cold person. But I got to talk to each other. We actually I knew I wanted to, you know, in high school. I was like, that's we're calling on people on what it is at that age. But um, it all kind of stems back to working within special education programs in high school and middle school, just been exposed to the role that teams might play with kids all day. Now fast forward with your epic, but I personally use my career because it's going to just literally just because I just finished my last day of like, orientation, and I start trading on the floor. And we have tomorrow, okay? Because when did you graduate, so many different practicing? I graduated 2018. So

11:15

I started practicing in April of 2018. Okay, and with your so I mentioned, I got connected with you through Instagram. So you ever start your Instagram account not connected to OT? Correct. I

11:23

started my incident like when I first moved to actually. So back in 2015. And it was very heavily focused on fitness. I didn't know what I was doing. But I kind of was using social media as like my accountability buddy, like I was talking about, it doesn't hold me accountable. And so I just really comfortable sharing a lot of aspects of my life. And I did that about two years, I was having a baby audience. So I knew how many people were really watching. So that's why I was like putting so much out there. And then it was once I'm studying for my boards for my MD CEO team. I was sharing like how I balanced study for the NBC OT, and also taking care of myself while study because it's such a stressful time for the network at the time, like you know, monitor, manage and monitor. But like I mean, take the middle of neck and stuff. And I found that when I was posting content that refers to anything OT related, and especially it's like a job and I would be sharing like the highs and lows of the the new crowd. People who are just like really clinging on to that are really loving that. And so I think it's definitely something do you find what your audience really likes. And so because I had already gotten so comfortable sharing so many aspects of my life on social media, I just kind of grew from there. And I started to have more of a niche OT following. And I'm like, you know why? Like, it is so much extra work to try to put out a highlight reel into like Catholic, everything's like good old time. It's just easier to show up as you are. And I know that people appreciate that. And so I'm just like, here I am and all of my comments, glory. And like, that's how it all goes. Yeah.

12:21

Do you ever feel apprehensive? Do you ever feel because I you know, there are things that certainly stood out for me where I do appreciate your shares. I appreciate when you share the highs and lows, the struggles, your dating life, like there's like, it's real fascinating. I love her. And but you're right, it's not all rainbows and unicorns that you were sharing? Do you ever feel? Or is there an added pressure on you as a health professional as to what you should be sharing on social media versus what you shouldn't be sharing.

12:39

So of course, you have the extreme Antonio hippo thing. So I am a type of person where I always learn through clinical scenarios, that application of knowledge. And so when I use clinical scenarios, I have to make up fake scenarios I might pull from previous experiences, but ultimately by explaining the patient their false situations, because you know, I don't want anything to tie back to any particular patient. And then of course, when I'm you know, presenting any type of content, I can like make it like a funny instrumentals again, based on false or not false, but not real scenarios. Like I had a patient yesterday that did this, I'm gonna get it. Like that's not the case at all. So sometimes I can create it, but I definitely don't like my surgical interventions. Oftentimes, I randomly call that intervention, of course, I can share that because it's not necessarily related to the patient. But yeah, of course, oftentimes, if you see like a green screen, or like, I feel that kind of experiences in the living room, I feel like all of my stuff in my apartment, so it's, you know, people do it in the home. And I do, it's a hobby, so I do outside of work. But you have to you have to be very mindful about what you're sharing, and how you're explaining things per se. I don't feel super heavy pressure. Because oftentimes, I keep things very just like light hearted and fun.

13:33

Well, that suddenly my next question was, have you ever had a vulnerability hangover of sorts about stuff that you've shared?

13:39

Some things in the past, you know, I've always wondered and scared about lifers are guilty, first of all to overcome. And I was just talking to a student about this today about how I am so overwhelmed. And at first Yeah, that literally I like posted, like years ago, my first year that I like, put my phone down, like, Oh, but I see the benefit of other people. Because you know, when we see these people on social media, whatever professional it is, oftentimes you are, you aren't necessarily purposely putting up just highlight reel, but they're not going out of their way to say like, you know, what fail, and it can feel very isolating, and it can make you truly feel like such a failure when you do fail. And I knew that the discomfort of being vulnerable versus the potential benefit had for such a large audience to feel not alone, like the benefit far outweigh my silly discovered, and it's not a substitute anymore. I want you to know that. It's super common to be a little too, but is also not completely uncommon. And okay, so if it happens to you, we need to do that. How are we gonna come back from that? I think that's important too. Even as a clinician, like, I'm about to go to a study that I have really not been in since I failed. My first one too, in this setting, talked about being a little nervous. Feeling like an impostor syndrome, I'm gonna be like, What am I doing? And so of course, I plan on sharing like all that I am funny enough, the beauty of social media that actually captured so much of my life as a new grad from Instagram story from back in the day where I started full time, and I am paraphrasing something a little bit about basically saying, like, Oh, my full time like it's not going horrible, but it's not going great. I feel like I'm messing up every five minutes like asking all these questions about law, and I can always compare that. No, but yeah,

14:53

with your current audience, do you have a sense so are there a lot of new grad OTS Are there a lot of students are there a lot of experience practitioners or is even dependent on their settings do you have To people who are working in NSF SNF setting who are following you. So tell me a little more about your audience.

15:03

So my audience, I would say, a lot of students, a handful with like three OTP, which I always love and like, yeah. And then I definitely have a solid handful I think most students, new grads, of course, some experience clinicians. But yeah, that's, that's a bulk of my audience. And

15:19

well, it's in a nutshell, you know, who, who your audience was. But I think it's also really important to identify that we all want someone to relate to, and how fortunate that you have created a platform where even pre OT students can relate to your content. Because as new grads, I remember very clearly it was very nerve wracking with anxiety provoking to show up with questions is, it's a dumb question, Should I be asking us? Does this reflect poorly on my performance? Am I supposed to know this? Like, I remember leaving work with stacks of books, because I'm like, oh, here we go. I don't know any of this, I got to write a report that's going to court and so much pressure on getting it right. So yeah, it's you know, I can speak on behalf of your audience and a lot of people that they must be very grateful that they found you and that you are sharing some of the real world they can see themselves in that right, they can see. And then on the flip side, it sounds like some of what you're sharing, there's comfort there for you to not carry on all on your shoulders, your intern, sharing your experiences with them the uncomfortable lens, as well as the, you know, the fun ones, and spreading a load so to speak. Yeah,

16:03

I remember getting asked about like the type of questions like the sniffers, and I feel like people, you know, there's, of course, I don't mean to interrupt or get messages from cancer therapists, I think they might just stick around for the humor. But because I obviously like don't do peds at all, and on the other spectrum, but definitely, there's people that are new grads looking into jobs and are realizing that filmmaking is one of the only purpose that he's gonna open at the time. And then at times, you know, get people who are in a variety of settings are asking about like neuro interventions, which up until now, and like, I'm gonna be honest, I don't really have a great toolbox of neuro interventions, because it's something that's beautiful right now with me, because we haven't, you know, uncovered an open door for different more impatient or cute therapists to be able to relate because I'm gonna be working with these things more, and I'm gonna be getting all the knowledge and hopefully to be able to provide even more intervention, I guess, for people that

16:42

Well, it's interesting, because I certainly can relate I think back to when I was undergrad in peds. So when I was a new grad in peds, I would have been a big fit for your audience, not because of the clinical stuff that you share. But because you do share a balance about No, I was 26. And a new grad was 25. I guess I'm 25 As a new grad, and I had a life No, what we were doing lots of things on the weekends, and then come the week we were we weren't professional, that's but finding that balance and managing that anxiety and transitioning into a grown up. There's a lot to that. And we do have to do quite a different blood pressure on ourselves. Maybe as healthcare professionals, oh, I should have it all together. Oh, my goodness, I did not have it all together as a new grad until you about you know, there are a lot of ways there were many, many ways I was a good clinician, but in the majority or not the majority, but a lot of areas made like I was a hot mess. And I was able to, you know, keep together in terms of the clinical side of things. So I think regardless of the type of clinical work that you're sharing, just that you're sharing, people want stories, and people want people

17:25

and I totally believe that and it is important to recognize that you don't have to be OT you all the time. And it's so important. I've shared a couple times about how when I it's like my routine, my home from work, I usually keep it close to my heart when I sit in my like quiet so there's no call lights going off. Like none of that my quiet departmental literally center, like they're not always like this my very introverted. So by the time I get home from work, and I've used my tiny little battery, it is like negative, like negative empty, I have to recharge. And that is how I can be on for eight hours. For me, I have to find what works for you how you recharge after work. Because if you don't find that, that's how burnout gonna happen. So mine is sitting in my dark, quiet apartment, I kind of calmed down a little bit. And then I go to my workout class. And then I've got those endorphins kicking back. And then I can come home, I can do the dishes, I can clean, I can run the errands, do the things. And I think that's really important to establish to help, especially as a new grad, when you feel like any type of work, like study all the things and do all the things. It's important, of course, to be up to snuff with the things that need to be in your office setting. But within reason, don't make like a routine for like four hours, because you're going to the OT has been around for too long, it's gonna get you stuck, and it's gonna. So you have to you have to unwind.

18:20

It's interesting, we have different different perspectives on this. So I am more of a balanced introvert extrovert, but a little more on the introverted side, except for when comes to social media. So I can exchange energy and be around people in the settings. And that definitely, Oh, that's amazing. But they when I go to share on social media, that's where I have much more of an introverted approach on social media. I like to keep my circle small, I like to know everyone who was in my life, I like to know their name, I like know where they're from, I like to know their story. And he wasn't told about nuclear or social media. So you know, for me, that's what I find draining is when I spread myself too thin on social media, and I open myself up to too many people on social media, I find it exhausting. Whereas and I'm not saying I will always have been, always will be. So that's part of it, you might say I left my earnings, but my earnings are still soccer practice with my eight kids or, you know, go to the grocery store where I see the same Teller and the same nine people. So my odds are a little bit, they're still fairly low key, even if it is a bigger outing, that doesn't drain me, but then talking about it on social media, I get my battery going down really quickly. Yeah,

19:04

I mean, I think for me, I can talk to my store and stuff like that. And I know that there's no one sitting in front of me looking at me. And so it's like, almost like I'm speaking to a journalist you have to watch but it's kind of like an interview because I don't have that immediate feedback, or like just that presence of someone. So it's easy, and I can shut it off whenever I want. Like, I think it's controlling it is brings up my nervous. But it's like, I can be on social media, pretty much I could turn my phone off. And I can control when I am on versus off, which is nice. But

19:25

yeah, a few years ago, maybe a couple years ago, I can't remember when somebody was saying like, remember when I had hosted a challenge. I think it lasted for a month on showing up and showing up on video with confidence. So I hosted a challenge. We had a Facebook group specific to this and it was all around practicing showing up on video because there's so many therapists that's the nature of online marketing this point we have to to a certain extent, this was before telehealth exploded because COVID But still understanding that we need to do more on video. So we're walking people through different tips and tools for showing on video. And we're also creating a safe space to practice and so it was very small. But then they had to progressively bigger challenges represent show up in my bigger Facebook group with I think we have 2000 at the time and then it would show up on your profile. One of the tips that I had shared was to look at the camera and don't look at it as a camera look at it as a portal where it is a tool for you to connect with the people on the other side and to not to focus on yourself, but to focus on the people on the other side. And generally not to be enough of a distraction, where they cared, they cared about their people. So they're able to essentially get over themselves to show up every time you see that green light, that's your portal, your way to connect with people on the other side of the camera. So with that being said, Who do you what do you do? You know, have anyone in mind because you say you're speaking to an empty room.

20:16

But there's a lot of light to your stories.

20:17

So it's not just that you're talking to him here, you know, do Do you have anyone? Or is there any particular piece of your audience or any specific characteristic, or even anyone that maybe you do have any connection with that you hold them in your heart in your head while you're talking?

20:26

That's a really a question. I've literally never thought about that. And and now that I do think I honestly think about any particular person, I think it's just getting into I want to say, oh, honestly, I laugh because I like to think I'm funny. And sometimes you're funny, funny. People tell me I'm kind of funny. But like, like, the more like light hearted like stories in stuff like that. I literally like I'll go to like, you know, when we watch them as we're having the captions and making it whatever, and I just like, like, laughing at myself. And maybe that sounds a little like selfish or self centered. But it's almost like I do so for me, mostly for obviously, serving other people. But in a sense, it's an outlet for me. And I really do. Like, it's very compelling. For me, it's my way of connecting back to a community of people that really, I think neither the components or the resources. And so actually now, I think, because I always say one of the biggest reasons why I provide to the content that I do is I want to get to the person that I wish I had when I was new. I wanted that resource. And so it's always like, I'm talking to four years prior recording when I'm talking to myself in your sport. Like if I put myself that no shoot, is this something that I would find value is something that I would find funny, would I relate to this? I guess like many times I actually will record like, Instagram Stories, honestly, a lot of times because I'm like, is this really shareworthy? Do people really care? Is this actually like, Yeah, but ya know, that kind of been? You know, talking through it. I think it's talking to 2018. Courtney, when you really could have used this.

21:27

And there's there's certainly pros and cons to social media, and there's so much value. No, it's like 10 years ago, we had journalists, well, now we have social media. And same to me, I've gone through and cleaned up my Facebook page and found like goodness, like snippets of gold in terms of even things I can share with my audience, you know, because I have failed multiple times. And when I have people are like, Oh, I could never do that. Because you know what you're doing and I don't know what to do. Here's a video, I launched my very first membership community, you want to think I knew what I was doing? Let's watch this video. So again, you know, it's really sometimes there's some cringe worthy stuff on there. I'm not gonna lie. But it's also really neat, it's a neat opportunity to reflect on the personal growth on the personal development, even professional, relevant, you know, there's definitely like going back and looking at your old photo albums, except they're much more animated now, because you catch a lot on video. So according to you, with your Instagram account, do you have monetized in any way.

22:10

So there any offers that you have had? Yeah. So it's something that I would like to do more of, but I'm not prioritized. So there's something like if I have my head, and then it comes to actually like the logistics of sending like, I would love to do like new grad mentoring or just like virtual mentoring of some sort. I love that, like, I'm an intern at work, I love taking students. But it's, you know, the logistics of creating platforms, I mean, that all of that has been stopping me, I do have like my, for example, study guide reference that I created that like I have a link to my bio that people can purchase. But that's I mean, I have like a free resource and like a guy that has like literally like old handouts, like visual aids for like Rachel's options with my standard into a PDF file. But that's kind of as far as that I don't have a small handful partnerships with various companies I have reached out. And I truly only partner with companies that I like, truly believe in, it's very small. But I really need to prioritize

22:49

Well, I mean, there's a time and place and there something to be said about being intentional with our energies that we're here to start a new position. So you know, a lot of times people either don't put enough thought into it like, that was me, I was excited, I'm much better at it. Now I've learned the art of self control. But I used to have this idea tomorrow, I'm gonna put it to the world and then not have the ability to do all the follow through because I jump the gun too quickly. So I think or something to be said about, I have this idea down the road, this is where I want to go, this is what I want to do and making sure that the time is right now for those of you listening, there's still a lot of you that are waiting too long because of imposter syndrome. There's a happy medium with that, you know, don't wait till you've got it all figured out. Because you're never gonna get it all figured out. It doesn't work that way. You have to start messing sometimes you have to start messy and you don't know how until you actually do it. So people are like, Oh, no. So yeah, even what do you think in terms of getting a platform set up where mentoring and how that might play out? I guarantee it's not as complicated as it is making it up in your head. Right. That's the other piece that we always tend to do not do you can overcomplicate it, I've certainly seen people do that, too. It's like you can do it that way. You don't have to. But that's something that so if we were looking further down the road, so mentorian It sounds like that's something that you're quite passionate about interested in.

23:41

Yeah, even just providing, you know, I've set up a Patreon, but it's got like a, so I created one, I don't really have to select one, they'll just say that that was a good start. It could be a plugin that people could pay a small, like, membership or a small fee to get access to exclusive content. So I can record videos of, you know, this is how I go through the scenario. This is how I would assess this. And this is how I'm gonna be honest. And I think that's one of the side of having like a module type, you know, online course, having that type of platform where, okay, I'm like, interactive. Yeah. So people can submit ideas of things I want to see, I think is a great place to start to providing, you know, and I'd love to just talk about, you know, seeing, like, let's talk you through what I do in a way to teach people how to be the most skilled clinician they can be. And so it's like, I have a passion and there's limitations. Have you asked your audience so if you ask them if I create if I Launch this Patreon channel, so we call the Patreon link, Patreon. Have you asked them how many people are interested? I have not I've thought about it, I sent the challenge coming up. Already, like inspired me not to do it. In the past, I'd actually like maybe like a year or so ago, I had asked if I were to do mentoring, what are some topics you would want? I've had the same list written on a piece of paper in the note section of my phone of things that I could go over. I'll be honest, I'm not perfect all

24:41

that well. And that's something you know, putting out the ask, right? It's, well I'm gonna say stop doesn't have to be sometimes just the what if scenarios and that's another way that impostor syndrome work where you know, managing that vulnerability can show up as like, oh, but what if what if no one says yes, what if they all say no? And that's where you know we can lean into that it's okay. What if What if you don't get answers that gives you feedback to make some tweaks and to then put out an offer again, right like that's how to figure out where where there's value, but I think for many of us, giving people the opportunity, Hey, would you like a little more access to me in a more intimate environment where we can actually get to know each other a little bit more, you know, is that something that you'd be interested in? And then detaching from the answer, you know, just thinking of it as in a clinical setting, okay, I'm gonna hypothesize that we're going to try this. Now, there's some, there's some skilled thinking there, but I'm gonna hypothesize that this is we're gonna try first. That worked great. That didn't work, we have made some modifications, okay. Like, that's all we learned. And so often in putting out offers, especially when there's money tied to it, and it brings up such a different level of discomfort for a lot of therapists, for sure, yeah, there's

25:25

a lot of people that, you know, once you get to a point, we feel like you've been trying to monetize your wealth of knowledge or skills. Like, I feel like a lot of people do a lot for free or feel guilty. But I think recognizing the value that you have on that one thing that I really had to, you know, it was actually one of my girlfriend who's extremely entrepreneurial, she's a real estate, but she's what inspired me to to create a side guide. And she's like, You effort and a lot of work into that. And so it's not something to just, like, put value in what you have to provide, not that I'm doing it just to you know, making a salary off of it. But it's truly, you know, getting back what you're getting value to what I have to

25:52

offer, and if you were making a good salary off of it, I'm gonna push back and say there's nothing wrong with that, either. Oh, yeah. Right. Like, that's something that Oh, my goodness, talk about a lot of personal growth in terms of money and recognizing value, and also helping other OTS with that, too, and something that we all have to work on and as a profession, but also valuing what others are putting out, right? So I have, you know, my community that I'm also that I'm often encouraging, like, Hey, it's okay to put a price on this. Because guess what, you can pay your own bills, you can then create even more, you can then put out even more you can get from an overflowing cup. But on the flip side, you know, there's still a lot of OTAs that you have to go, let me take you away for free. And I see the resistance, and I see the pushback, and I'm like, You are not in business. So because you know, you're not even recognizing the value of the work that goes into that. You know what, you're gonna charge me for that I'm not gonna be back about it for free somewhere else like, like you can. That is your option. And generally, when it's free, we have to look at quality. And we have to look into it as well. I have so many free resources right now. And I don't go through them going through the paper. I couldn't agree more. Yeah, it's interesting. When you invest financially, in some capacity, you

26:44

name it just mathematically, it was a $20 exam to think that people I mean, I would hope everyone has a record. But that test is not cheap. Right. And I know that's a huge force. Everyone wants to have, of course, but the only people I talk to they're like, honestly, I just don't want to I don't want I don't have the money to go back in my day. For four years ago. It was like 500 or 550. I've heard recently from one person that was 800. I don't know what that is still a chump change. Oh, yeah. And I hear from others. It's only 500 range. So we got to record this for someone who's not working yet who has no little to no income, like, just a lot of debt generally. Yeah,

27:10

that was one of my questions as you're talking to that exam. Do you have any sort of international knowledge? Do you have an Are you aware of this? Do you have more prominent Americans? You have people in other countries? I mean, okay, and so obviously, I'm proving my point right now. But do you have a sense of what other countries whether nationalities are in your audience?

27:23

I know, it's mostly us, as far as other countries, some Canadian following. I do get people from South America sometimes. But I would say, I want to enforce that. So well, countries here, you know, us is at 3.6%. We've got Canada and 2.1. UK 1.8. and Australia. India. Okay.

27:45

You asked? Yeah, I wish I could remember how I started following you. I don't even remember, you know, I can't remember what connection was there. But I was like no, no, it was like if my interest in the fitness my interest in women's health, you know, maybe there is some overlap. But I think a big piece of it was, you know, again, your ability to be vulnerable and to share because I something I really got to get started with in real life, you know, not wanting to put even Hilter, I don't always feel strong emotions, whether it's joy, euphoria, sadness, anger, like I'm pretty in the middle. And that's something like I have, we have many generations, my family that, you know, we're not super emotional that way. And I'm not saying that to like, it's not a bad thing, but it's always a good thing. Yes, I think there's some piece of that where, you know, I've seen you've been able to, there's some emotional regulation and some emotional intelligence. I'm like, Man, I'm jealous.

28:22

I mean, so I cry on my social media. What am I like, I'm a crier. I'm a very emotional person. I'm very,

28:27

I think, I don't apologize, like not a bad thing. Somebody who struggles with crying.

28:29

I've cried it with more than that, as well. But and it's I try not to I've had situations where I've tried. I've cried connotations about small handful of times, but I have a bachelor's degree in psychology. Psychology has always been, my bachelor's degree isn't tied into my practice a lot. I mean, I worked in mental health. I tried to collaborate with therapists a lot. Yes, yes. And then that's like,

28:48

oh, gosh, well, so if I'm going to, like take up my crystal ball and see where you are in five years time with your Instagram account, and then what you're doing in terms of your outpatient therapy degree and where you're living, what's what are some of the things

28:56

so as far as my social media, I think, for me, personally, I have to think out of 20 the time because if I can get some in my head, you are not doing what I said I was gonna do. So generally, I really like I'm doing right now, I'm gonna continue to follow that. Ultimately, I would say I would like to try to optimize a bit more of a skill set that I can provide personally for people. I think that I have a decent wealth of knowledge to share and to help new grads and people who feel like they need a little bit extra guidance in the profession. get to that point. And if you're talking about it professionally, also, will calendar residency where I work, I work for a very large company to have really good resources because anybody which is I attribute that is why as a clinician today, because they supported such learning but they haven't a residency program that at the time and launched it but now I'm going to admit we haven't started out with one neuro we'll see if that's gonna picture I've actually been looking into I applied to be an adjunct professor for a school in Texas next year, I've considered you know, again, comes back to probably you know, getting myself into that realm of getting back in teaching mentoring in that capacity which I think would be fun like to be like an added professor for a lab like coupling without any tests or anything you don't have any that guy who's gonna like keep going on. And as far as where I'm living honestly, so long as my rent isn't super high. That's like you're like this is the world we live in. I just like remember tangible and the reason I go anywhere else at this time, like, yeah, as a professor in Texas, so without the move to Texas, basically, it's more like the program is complex programs. These aren't like on campus students with She explained to me something about the restaurant team is here, and she's no different school and she was like, Hey, you should check this out. And so, you know, I fly out for a couple of days, help them out and then fly back. So where I work, actually, so I'm gonna be working five days, but they actually have servers at portends, if we toss, if I, you know, in a year's time could handle working three times and you know, I get four days off in a row, and you know, that would be something else. So, it's kind of like, in the baby steps at this point. But who knows, next year, I could be you know, and who knows, maybe in a year's time, I'm ready to step away from Jakarta. Really, that's where I'll be, but we never know where life's gonna be in six months, next week, six years.

30:28

According as we wrap this up, when give me a timeline when even ask your audience about giving them more access to so having that Patreon channel. Yeah, nice. Send me a DM once you do it, okay, I absolutely already, like, there's always gonna be some, it's not as complicated. You know, I am such a fan of minimalism in the online space. And I'm gonna show people because now I've been doing operations consulting for other therapists in the online space as well. And again, everyone listening like it doesn't can over complicate things. But there's so much we can do, where you can simplify, you don't have to make it complicated. Technology's pretty amazing. There's a low barrier of entry for a reason, in terms of what what we're doing in the online space and ways that we can, ways that we can create an offer and provide a level of client fulfillment on that offer, and do something pretty cool. You know, definitely possible. So yeah, put that offer out. And let me know how it goes and really appreciate your inspiration and push to do well, and you know, the people who want to be working with you, the people want to be mentoring with you. It doesn't have to be everyone can't be everyone. Right? You have full time jobs. So whether it was for people like that, that's how amazing is it for them that you're finally getting out your own way? I'm putting an offer out to you know, you're starting that already just by by taking action and doing something it doesn't have to be everyone just has to be a small, small group of people who are waiting probably for this like yes, definitely. Well, thank you for joining me, it was lovely connecting with you. You've inspired me to show up a little bit more. And just being real and sharing little more about the highs and lows and the things I'm really good at doing with my community, my pay community on Zoom calls, they see it all, but to doing it to a bigger a bigger audience or I don't have control over who's watching. That's the part that I'm like, Oh, but I don't like we can all do scary things. So that'll be something I'll work on.

31:39

Thank you so much for having us. It's a pleasure. All right.

31:41 - OUTRO

We'll talk to you soon. All right, bye. All right. There you have it, folks, another podcast episode where we're pulling back the curtain on in many, many ways we can peek inside the box in terms of showing up in the world as an OTs Gone Rogue. Thank you for tuning in. Thank you for your support. And thank you in advance for sharing our podcasts with other OTS who you think could benefit from listening to our show. And last but not least a reminder that we're now accepting questions from our audience as part of our regularly featured q&a sessions. So to submit a question or comment, you can reach out to us via DM on Instagram. You can go to OTS gone rogue.com forward slash questions, or you can find a submission form in our show notes. Take care and we'll be back soon with another episode of the OTs Gone Rogue podcast.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

people, sharing, terms, ots, audience, social media, health, new grads, learning, feel, grad, years, therapists, talk, work, piece, create, courtney, episode