Finding A Cure For The Isolation Of Being An Entrepreneur, With Chase Dansie

Dan Sullivan: Hi, this is Dan Sullivan, and I'd like to welcome you to the Multiplier Mindset Podcast. In today's episode of Multiplier Mindset, a wonderful person by the name of Chase Dansie, who lives in South Jordan, Utah, which is just south of Salt Lake City. One of the lessons that keeps getting reinforced in my mind when we interview our Strategic Coach entrepreneurs is that a lot of the value that they're able to create for their customers and clients... Chase is an orthodontist, and usually anything related to dental care is a lot of human beings' worst nightmare that they have. You have to go to the dentist! But orthodontists are a step above ordinary dentists. They really make your mouth look better. They make your mouth healthier. 

You know, 80% of heart disease starts in people's mouth. I've got a lot of experience with great dentists and great orthodontists, and my mouth, pushing 80 right now, is a lot better than my mouth when I was 50, my teeth, and my overall dental health. But the big thing was just the enormous obstacle with Lyme disease that Chase talks about here. It's a terrible disease because it just takes all your energy away. Your body is in pain. You don't have any energy. And if you're an entrepreneur, you have to still run your business. I remember it was Friday the 13th of March in 2020 when we were faced with the fact that our entire business had been taken away, the in-person business, which we were really good at, you know, live workshops, which required our clients to travel. 

Prior to COVID, we couldn't have offered Chase a Zoom workshop, and it's been an amazing breakthrough for us. But we had to really hustle as a company for three months. But back to Chase's problem, I mean, I can't imagine what it's like to run a business when you're in pain and you're in for a long, long period of recovery, and you really don't have the energy, and he persisted. And he persisted. And not only that, but turned the whole negative experience of his body just didn't work for him, and he turned that into a whole different way of looking at his practice, whole different way of looking at his life. My whole sense of this is that he took his negative experience, transformed it into a positive, and because he transformed himself, he's now able to transform other people. 

But as Chase pointed out, the biggest problem is loneliness. If you're doing this alone, it really warps your life. And you develop all sorts of bad habits. But it has to do with the depth and the constant expansion of thinking tools inside of a resonant community where you understand exactly what the other person is going through in building their life, building their business, building their future. And I'm just so appreciative of Chase's story here because we can send this interview out fortunately by the wonderful technologies that we have and it immediately strikes home with entrepreneurs. And the biggest problem for entrepreneurs as I've experienced, and I experienced it myself, is being alone and not having any company and not having anyone to talk to about both your challenges and your successes.

Chase Dansie: Well, my name is Chase Dansie, and I'm an orthodontist here in the Salt Lake area. And so I just love interacting with people at my orthodontic office. From growing up, I've kind of always known that I wanted to have my own business. And I think as I've gotten into all that, I've discovered the difference between simply owning a business and being an entrepreneur. So I grew up actually doing Wild West shows. My parents started a business and we basically played Cowboys and Indians. We entertained tourists from all over the world like that. And so just from a young age, I was helping my parents with their small business and basically just learning some of the things that I always kind of imagined myself doing. 

I found out about Dan Sullivan just probably the earliest was watching a YouTube video many years ago. It was about The Gap And The Gain and just how to think about your experiences in a different way than I'd ever seen before. So it really caught my attention. I just have loved it. That concept itself of being able to celebrate your progress, I guess you'd say with that too, because I feel like none of us celebrate our progress enough. And that concept was a little bit new for me. So I kept listening to some of Dan's things that he was putting out online and had always kind of wanted to join Strategic Coach, but the timing just really wasn't quite right for me. And I had a lot of other coaching things going on as well that were helpful and that were filling my cup. 

Basically, when COVID came, then a lot of stuff happened in my life personally, but it was kind of the best opportunity for me to be able to join the Strategic Coach community and has been really fun. And probably some of the big things are, I just couldn't fit the travel into my life previously. And then about April of 2020, I was in my best health ever. Things were going really well. And all of a sudden, I had a huge problem with having Lyme disease. And basically, my whole body kind of shut down, and I had a lot of challenges physically that made it really, you know, impossible to travel to do that kind of thing. But when it came up to have the opportunity on Zoom, it was just a perfect scenario for me because I was able to get to a computer and I was sitting in a chair for quite a long time. 

Thankfully, the experience with that has been resolving, and I found a lot of great resources. But at the time, there were some really hard mental things to go through that the concepts and Strategic Coach helped me with. And I know that that wasn't its primary purpose. But what I love about it is that it's not just centered on the business these and that and the other and the grind and all the other things like that. It's actually focused on you as a person and that you can integrate that all together. So even with this real significant health crisis that I was having, it made it possible for me to use those same kind of tools and those same kind of thought processes to get me through it a little bit and to really help me overcome a lot of things. 

So I think the best thing that's come of it is that I can think better. When something comes up where I don't know what to do, I have processes that I can follow that end up helping me get to solutions. And I know myself a lot better because of it. One thing that really helped me a lot is Dan has these little books that he does every quarter. And I think one of the first ones, but it's called Wanting What You Want. And I love that little book. And I love the audio presentation that he has for it, because I've had lots of times where I've been really unable to move, practically, you know, laying on the floor in a lot of pain, doing treatments that last a long time. And so I've had, you know, just hours and hours of listening to things. And I've listened to Dan's little books as I've been doing that. Especially Wanting What You Want has really helped me a lot. I've probably listened to it like 25 times. Because the story of how he had such a huge crisis in his life, with his divorce and his bankruptcy, all the things that that kind of origin story that he's shared, helped me a lot because it helped me to see that you can take something that's kind of horrible, and you can actually turn it into something that is useful to you and that, you know, you experienced it, you can interpret it how you want to, and you can actually change or modulate the past into being what you, what experience you want it to be. 

And it's been really powerful for me because this experience of having Lyme has been really, really challenging. I mean, really terrible. And the way that I've been able to process that through that thought process has really been able to help me to have a reason to move forward, to be able to take the negative experience and start to realize some of the great things that are coming of it. And some of those great things that are coming of this that are really exciting are, I've just had a lot of friendships that have ensued from all kinds of angles that would never have come. Like I've been at some clinics and just chatting with people and you make these friendships because you have either something common with having a chronic illness or something like that or just out of the woodwork. It seems like because of the thought changes that I've had, I've started to attract different people that have these really amazing talents and Unique Abilities to, like, just really fun to look at what they've done and to be able to connect with them. 

I love the meetings because some of the people are the same people each time, you know, and you kind of get to know each other a little bit. And it's kind of like, hey, how's your coffee business doing? Or, you know, it's like you kind of get to know what they've been up to. What's been meaningful to me is that you can feel so alone with what you're doing. But when you're in the right community with people who have similar challenges and similar obstacles that they're facing and similar successes as well, you feel more normal. It's like you feel more like you're not the one person that's doing that. And I can relate that to both my health and both the business aspect of things. You find people that have similar challenges to you that you're not finding in the day-to-day that you're walking around with. It's comforting to know that you're not the only one experiencing that health challenge. 

Well, with the business community, it's kind of the same thing. Sometimes as an entrepreneur, as a business owner, like I have lots of friends around me that are business owners and whatnot, but you can kind of feel alone in your organization and feeling like you're the only one that knows how you feel and some of the challenges that you're experiencing. So connecting with other people that are like-minded, that is just probably one of the most magical things about Strategic Coach, I think, is the people that are in it. So this is my third year now, and I've been loving how there's some people that we've known each other for a while now, and other people that are coming into the room new, or new to me, I guess, but the language that everybody has to work with is really fantastic. It's like a new language of being able to speak in a way that you communicate with someone. And once you've learned the language a little bit, it's like, you know how to communicate with somebody else. 

 I've had most of my interaction online. You know, most of my interaction has been with Zoom. But I was introduced to a man, his name is Brian, and he is a part of Strategic Coach. And we were talking with each other, we didn't know that each other were members of Strategic Coach. And I said something, and he picked up on this little word that I said, and he was like, "Are you a Dan Sullivan guy?" And I was like, yes. I'm like, "I love Dan Sullivan." And he's like, "Well, I've been in Strategic Coach for 20 years." And I was like, oh, my gosh, I found an actual person that's in person that I had met that is a part of the community. And so then we've had multiple discussions now that involve the language of Strategic Coach. And it's just a brilliant thing to be able to see someone else that's doing what I've been doing. 

And most recently, the Kolbe assessment is like I've given that to all of my team members and people that we're hiring. And he does the same thing. Anybody he's working with, he's doing it. So all of a sudden we have this common language that we both learned from Strategic Coach. So it's been a fantastic thing. 

I wouldn't have imagined as an orthodontist that I would be wanting to do some of the things that I'm wanting to do now and doing some of them. I'm in the process of launching a podcast and it's centered around people that I find intriguing and interesting and that are kind of the superheroes that you wouldn't think was a superhero. I think we have a lot of really high-profile people that get a lot of attention, but I see these normal people, these normal people, not that everybody's not normal, but like everyday people who are these really amazing rock stars, in my opinion, who have overcome different things, you know, difficulties that people have overcome and challenges like that. So I think it's a really fun way to connect with that, and I'm excited about that. 

We've also done some different things with, what could be some of the fun things for parents to do while they're in the office with their kids that would be some of the modalities that I've learned from all these biohacking and health and longevity things that I've done? It seems like the people doing Lyme stuff are doing the same things that all the biohackers are and all of the people who are doing longevity treatment. So, you know, I'm doing stem cell treatments and all these other things that a lot of people in those different categories are passionate about as well and with different motivators. So I think it's been fun because it's an exposure for people coming into the office to have a different experience. 

 And then my other passion project is I'm developing a program that kids can do along the way of their orthodontic treatment. You're there for a couple of years, you might as well benefit in other ways and enhance your life in a way that you wouldn't have been able to otherwise. And I think it's a perfect setting because we have this interaction with each other every six weeks or so for a couple of years that's very unique. Even in medicine or dentistry, you really don't see your physician or even your dentist that often. And then some of my sister's relatives, they came up and visited, they're like, "Oh, I feel like I know my orthodontist better than I know some of my own family members because we see each other all the time." And then one child finishes and another one starts. And so you have this like sometimes, you know, six-year or eight-year interaction with a family. And I've just thought about how much excitement comes with me when one of these things that we've shared with people might help them forever. And what if during their orthodontic treatment, one little thing that I was able to share with them, whether in person or whether through something they watched or heard or listened to or experienced, what if that could change their life in a bigger and broader way? So that's my new goal in being able to widen that and enhance that experience that we have as we work together. 

The other thing that's been fun is in Strategic Coach, I've been learning more about my Unique Ability. Like, you know, what makes me unique? You sometimes think that every orthodontist is the same or that every, you know, just person is the same. But with how people work and what motivates them, you know, the PRINT assessment and just different things that I've really learned from Strategic Coach has been really helpful to help me understand what really gets me up and gets me going in the morning. And that is helping people. And it sounds a little bit hackneyed. But when I've dived into it deeper, it's like, this is where all this is coming from. I've been helped by so many people in so many small ways. What if integrating that could make a hugely better experience? 

There's so many topics that parents are uncertain about talking about like financial literacy is one too. Like, you could integrate something like that. And I don't need to be the financial expert, but to bring somebody in that can help with some kind of program to help kids be more financially literate, it could be an amazing transformation at a younger age. And I don't mean to even have it be just for kids because I have a real warm spot in my heart for adults too. We treat a lot of adults. And I think that, you know, some of the challenges are too big for a little guy like me to fix, but there are some that could really be a very great way of enhancing someone's life about communication or, you know, anything. I just it's the most gratifying thing for me to know that somebody benefited from it. 

In fact, a story about that would be one of my team members. You know, we meet every quarter. I've turned everything into a quarterly life like Strategic Coach has done. And so we meet as a team every quarter and we do something and we focus on whatever that is for the next quarter to try to, you know, make improvement. And she went home and she changed something in her household. She was frustrated with something in her kitchen and she was feeling like it could never be changed. And because of the inspiration of seeing how our team members were able to bring feedback to the table during the quarterly advance, and then we would implement it. And she's like, I've actually seen changes that I've suggested come along here. It gave me the courage to go home and to, like, change my life that way. And so she went and did something and it made her kitchen better and her life better and things were better. She came back and she was like, I'm so excited because there was this thing that I thought that would never change. And I've been able to make that change happen. And it took far less than a quarter, you know, for me to do it. So that's how I feel about your life and what Strategic Coach has done for me is it's helped me to know how to move forward with that. 

And the "what if" I have is, what if this integrated program could help somebody have better wellness and better mental health and all these topics that are a little bit hard for parents and children to talk with each other about? What if it could open up some discussion and could really help people have the right resources and get to the right resources to have progress? So the elevator pitch would be, what if when you went in to your orthodontist, you had the chance to improve your life in more than just getting straight teeth? You know, of course you'd get straight teeth, but what if you could find some of the ways that for the rest of your life, you could have a better life because of your thoughts and your attitude and your capabilities? What if we have a period of, you know, a year, year and a half, or two years that you could work with yourself as we work with your teeth? 

I want people to know that Lyme disease is way more common than you would think. Just in the last few months, people wandering into my office, I've spotted them. Two people got tested and actually had Lyme and didn't know it. A lot of people suffer for a long time thinking that their symptoms and what they're experiencing is just this unknown thing and the doctors don't know what's going on. And then it turns out that Lyme has been mimicking an autoimmune disease, or it's been dormant for a long time, then all of a sudden surfaces. And you don't have to necessarily have been bit by a tick or remember it to get Lyme disease. In dental school, we were taught Lyme disease is Borrelia burgdorferi, and it's a tick bite and a bullseye rash, and give them doxycycline. That's the only thing that they taught me. But what I've learned is it can go dormant and then become chronic. And then all kinds of crazy symptoms come that people just don't realize may be Lyme. 

And the other thing that everybody needs to know about Lyme, I think, is that you can test for it and get a negative test and it still can be positive. So you really have to work hard to diagnose it properly. And there are many different ways that people come about of diagnosing that. All of the things that I would want people to know about Lyme. Lyme can present in many different forms and many different symptoms. You know, it's not the same for everybody. And I think a lot of people that have chronic illnesses like, you know, anything with chronic pain, joint pain, arthritis, fibromyalgia, and neurological issues as well, like brain fog, fatigue, adrenal fatigue. Those can all be very commonly related to Lyme and sometimes the source can be Lyme itself, what's going on there. So it's very important to keep that in the mix. 

And the other thing that I've learned is that I'm a doctor and not a lot of doctors actually are educated in Lyme very well. Very few understand it, and very few are able to treat it well. And so when you're looking for solutions, you may have to look a lot in the medical community for the right combination of practitioners that can help you with that because it's not a very simple and easy thing. 

I would say for anybody who's out there struggling, I'm starting to get emotional, but it can be very dark and very hard when you're feeling alone, and it can be so many different things that make you feel that way. And whether it's an illness or whether it's the loneliness of your business or whatever it is, if you're in a dark place, reach out for help because surrounding yourself with people and having connection with others is what's really helped pull me through some very difficult times. I'm very thankful to my wife for really getting in my face. And there are times that she would get in my face really close, and she would say, "You're going to get better. I know it." And so I would have to lean off of the light that she had in her to help me to have the faith and the hope that I would get better. And I think that we've all had times like that, and whether you have someone there that's in your face saying it or not, having people around you to help you is something that's been tremendously helpful for me. 

And the reality is that you can really create your own reality as you go along. You can create in your mind good and bad, and you can create that. It doesn't mean that it's the only thing involved, but it is a really big key point and key part of recovering from an illness or overcoming an obstacle. And I think what this has done for me, I think I have more compassion for people now than I ever would have before. There are people that suffer in ways that I can never understand, but when I kind of have the radar go up and realize that I'm understanding their suffering a little bit more, it makes me more compassionate. It makes me love them more and really want to help them more if I can. And I think that is the human connection. That's why we're here for each other. You know, it's like, that's the reason that we're here to interact with each other is because of that. And now I can say that I'm grateful for this really, really terrible, terrible experience. I would have never wished it on anyone, but I'm grateful for it now because there are people that I spot and other people don't see them. 

I was on this shuttle bus going to the rental car place and this man walked in and he got on and he was having a hard time walking. And I was like, oh, I totally get this. And he was like grabbing onto the rail, trying to get around and sit down into a chair. And I was sitting on the most close chair because I felt like I needed the help. So I scooched over one chair and then had him sit where I was sitting because I knew how hard it would have been for him to just walk a few more feet across and sit next to me on the other side. And so he sat down, and then it was like, we couldn't help but just talk. 

I'm like, hey, I totally know where you're coming from because I was in a wheelchair about a year ago. And he's like, oh, yeah. So then we started talking, and then we ended up having this delightful conversation for a whole hour before our planes were arriving and everything. And it was just a magical experience to have a perfect stranger that I would have never connected with because I wouldn't have had the compassion to scooch over one chair. I would have been like unaware. I mean, not to try to be there, but it's like we're unaware of the challenges of other people. And when we become aware of the challenges that they're having, it brings you this ability to have compassion in a way that you never would have before. And so that's what I'm the most grateful for. I think that I'm a better person now because of it. And I feel like I was pretty good before and I'm even better now. And I think that's the whole point of Strategic Coach is, celebrate how good you were and keep going forward.