Mini Series: A Billion WHYs - Dr. Sanchez's Vision for Global Impact

Welcome to beyond you'd why podcast, where we go beyond just talking about your why and actually help you discover and then live your why. You see, we believe that knowing your why, that driving force behind every decision you make and every action you take, is the essential first step to really knowing yourself. It allows you to move forward faster and have a bigger impact. If you're already a fan of the show, then you know that every week we talk about one of the nine whys, and then we introduce you to somebody with that why, so you can see how their why has played out in their life. This show will be more powerful for you if you've already discovered your why. If you still need to do that, head over to whyinstitute.com and discover your why today. It'll only take you about five minutes. Now let's meet today's guest.

Welcome to beyond your why podcast, where we go beyond just talking about your why and actually helping you discover and then live your why. So if you're a regular listener, you know that every week we talk about one of the nine whys, and then we bring on somebody with that why, so you can see how their why has played out in their life. And we've done this for many, many years now, and I'm guessing that many of you have not ever gone back to our very first couple of episodes and learned about how the heck did this ever take place? How did someone that's. I was a dentist for 32 years. What is a dentist doing talking about why? Where did this all come from? Why should I listen to you? And what's the backstory to all of this? So we thought we would do a little mini episode right now to bring everybody up to speed and answer some of the questions that we've been getting and some of the questions that maybe you've had and haven't had a chance to ask me. So I'll try to answer all of those in this little mini episode. So let's start with why that why. Why do you even need to know your why? So think about this for a minute. Let me ask you a couple of questions. Why do you do what you do? Stop and think about that for a minute. Why do you do what you do? And sometimes, maybe even more importantly, why don't other people just do things the way you think they should be done? Why do they do it their own way? Why do you have passion for some things and not others? Why do you have energy for some things and not others? Why do you walk into a room and you quickly connect with some people and others you don't connect with at all. Why do you behave the way that you behave? And why do you react the way that you react? Why should I choose you over everyone else who does what you do? Now, those are some pretty challenging questions, right? But once you know your why, those questions become very easy to answer. So when I'm speaking at events around the world, I'll maybe I'll say something like, when you know your why, what you do has more impact or more meaning. And the person I'm talking to will say, yeah, I, I understand what you're saying. In fact, I agree with you and I know my why. I say, great, what's your why? And they'll pull out their phone and they'll show me a picture of their kids on their phone and they'll say, this is my why. This is why I do what I do. These two kids where they'll show me a picture of a outfit or a little red dress or something and say, you know, I've got to get into this in six months for a wedding. And so that's why I'm working out the way I'm working out. Or their new book or their new business is their why. Now, what they're talking about is something very valuable. What they're talking about is a short term motivation for doing things the way they're doing it. When their kids grow up or the business moves on, they lose their why. What we talk about is something even more profound, why you do what you do everywhere you go, why you operate the way that you operate. You know, I believe that when you discover your why, you actually discover that superpower inside yourself. It's already there. One of the things we talk a lot about is are you ready to become the person you already are? See, your why is already inside you. You don't have to create it, you don't have to work on it. It's already there. You just have to know what it is to be able to use it. You know, I want you to imagine Clark Kent sitting here next to me, right? He's mild mannered, he's meek, he's trying to almost mute himself. He doesn't want to get noticed. He's in his suit, you know, he's real conservative, but inside that is Superman. So when he stands up, takes off his jacket, takes off his shirt, and you see the big S on his chest, you know that he's the man of Steel. And you know that he has those special gifts inside him. They're already there. He doesn't have to work on them. They're inside of him already. That's the same way your why is for you. Your why is already inside you. You just need to know what it is so that you can use it in your life. You know, it's like gravity. Gravity's there. And whether you believe in gravity or you don't believe in gravity, it still affects everything you do. And your why is there. And whether you know it or you don't know it, it still affects everything you do. And so that's why it's so critical for you to know that there are some experts out there that talk all about it. Simon Sinek is the most well known for it. He has a TED Talk that I watched probably 30 times back in 2009.

Start with why. His book I've read many, many times. That's the book that got me on this path. I was a dentist for 32 years, but back when I started, the advice that I was given by the experts was build a great product and people will come. Maybe you've heard that yourself, maybe someone's told you that same thing. Build a great product, do the best job you can, buy all the stuff, get all the training and you'll be successful at what you do. So I spent 20 years doing that, getting to the highest levels you could get to in dentistry, working with the best mentors, building a beautiful practice, buying all the technology, training a great team. And when I say that we had a great practice, we really did. I mean, Most dentists spend 20 hours a year in continuing education. We, we, my brother and I were spending 240 hours a year on training. We, we had half day staff meetings every week for two years to get our processes and systems and policies and procedures down so we could deliver an exceptional product. But we still ended up blending in with everybody else who said, yeah, yeah, I'm a dentist too. Yeah, I'm a great cosmetic dentist too. Yeah, I'm everything that I said I was, they said, yeah, I'm that too. And while the people didn't know and didn't know the difference, it was driving me crazy. All this work and time and money and energy I've put into it. And maybe it's been that way for you in your life and in your career and you're struggling to stand out and you're not sure how to do that. That's when I heard about this concept of why. That was in 2009. That's when I saw Simon Sinek's TED Talk. I said, man, I have a great what, but I don't know my why. And that's when I called Simon. I said, simon, I need you to help me discover my why. And so he and I spent about eight months together going back through my life looking for clues. And finally, after months and months and months of trying to figure it out, I finally figured out my why. And my why is to find a better way and then share it. To find a better way and share it. And once I saw that and realized that, my life made so much sense to me. I have a lot of patents and products and inventions that are all better ways of doing things, and then I share them with the world. And so in our practice, we stopped talking about what we do. Crowns, bridges, fillings, complete gum care, all that stuff. And we started talking about what we believe and why we do what we do. And that's when my practice took off. That's when we went from just getting by to having abundance. From four to six new patients a month to 35 to 45 new patients a month. And in our. In our practice, a new patient was worth about $6,000. So it was very. You know, abundance is a heck of a lot more fun than just getting by. So I started getting calls from other dentists that I had been studying with in all these study groups I was part of, said, hey, can you help me do that same thing? And so I said, sure. And so I went back and figured out what Simon was trying to do in helping people to discover their why. And since my why is to find a better way, I went back and found a better way. So instead of taking six or eight or ten months to help someone discover their why, I could help them discover their why in about an hour. And once I could do that, I became obsessed with doing that. And everyone I ran into, I would try to discover their why. And so remember, I'm a dentist, right? So while you're sitting in my chair waiting to get numb, I'm going to help you discover your why. If you're sitting next to me on an airplane, I'm going to help you discover your why. If I meet you at an event or a party, we're going to go sit down, and I'm going to help you discover your why. And I did this literally for thousands of people for free. I couldn't stop myself. And as I did that, I started to notice patterns and trends and similarities. I remember once I was working with this big group of lawyers in. In Florida. And I was supposed to just speak for about 45 minutes, bring somebody out of the audience on stage with me, help them discover their why. And, and it was going to be a quick thing. 14 hours later, I'm still on the stage, bringing one lawyer after another out of this audience on stage with me, helping them discover their why, build their messaging, marketing, branding right there on the spot. And halfway through that day, this gal, this lawyer, raised her hand and said, hey, Gary, how many wise are there? And I had never thought about that. And once she asked me, I started to keep track of them. And the same nine whys keep coming up over and over and over. And that's where the nine whys came from. And that those nine whys have held true over and over and over for 14 years now. I've been studying and being obsessed with this for over 14 years. We've now done this with hundreds of thousands of people. I've taken thousands of companies, and our coaches have taken thousands of companies through this process, and it holds true every single time. So as my practice took off and I started helping more and more dentists, I started getting calls from other professions, chiropractors, lawyers, financial groups. And the businesses kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger. Now we've done this, like I said, with thousands of companies, almost anything you could possibly imagine, right? Sports teams, large farming, co ops in Minnesota, venture capital firms in Los Angeles and Baltimore. I mean, I could just go on and on. Almost any different type of business we've taken through this process because it's so valuable to be able to know who am I, why do I do what I do? And why should somebody choose me? And who is it that should choose me? And who is it that I would get along the best with?

There's some very challenging questions out there that the answer becomes easy when you know your why. And so, like I said, I figured out that there's nine different whys. And that was the most invaluable thing that I figured out. Because once I knew that, then I could help people discover their why much quicker. Then I could help people, I could teach other people, coaches, how to do what I was doing. Then I could get lots of data. And with that data, I was able to develop the algorithm and write the Software where. In 2016, we launched the why discovery. Many of you have taken it. We gave it away to hundreds of thousands of people for free to test it. Very, very accurate. Takes five minutes and it found your why. And then in 2021, we launched the YOS discovery. So what is the yos.

As valuable as knowing your why is? And it's incredibly valuable. People have been searching for that forever.

Knowing your how and your what is just as valuable. Why you do what you do, how you bring your why to life and what it is people can count on from you.

Takes the why to a different level. A lot of people talk about why. Simon Sinek talks about it, Tony Robbins talks about it. Michael Hyatt talks about it. Frederick Nietzsche talks about it.

Mark Twain says that the two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why. So it's one of the two most important days in your life is finding your why. And most people go through their life never even knowing what their why is.

But we've taken it a step further.

Knowing your why, your how and your what is three times more powerful than just knowing your why. And once you have your why, how, and what, it gives you now the words to clearly articulate why you do what you do, how you bring that to life and what other people could count on from you. Let me give you an example, my own example. So I told you earlier that my why is to find a better way and share it, right? So if that's all you knew about me, you would know that I'm always in search of a better way. I can't stop myself. I go to bed thinking about a better way, and I wake up thinking about a better way. And I didn't choose it and I can't turn it off.

That's why I do what I do. How I go about doing that is by making things clear and understandable. First for myself, by asking lots of questions, and then for others.

Ultimately, what I bring are simple solutions to help others move forward. So my why is to find a better way and share it. My how is clarify, make things clear and understandable. And my what is to simplify, decrease complexity, make easier to do. So for me, things have to be better, clear and simple, or I don't want them. But it also gave me the words to clearly articulate that. So then I can use that. Then I can understand myself so much better. If it's not better, if it's not clear, if it's not simple, I don't want it. If you have an idea that you want to present to me, let me show you how you can use this. So maybe you're listening, you're saying, hey, great, it's neat that you've got your yos, you know your why. How and what. What do you do with it? How do you use this in your life? How do you use this personally? How do you use this professionally? Why is this so important? So let's talk about that for a minute.

What discovering your yos does for you is it takes a concept and makes it reality for ever. People have been asking the question, why do I do what I do? Why am I here? What is it that makes me special? Why should you choose me?

When you know your yos, it goes from a feeling, a thinking, a maybe, a kind of a sort of I think. I know. I don't. I'm not sure, but I think to knowing.

And imagine in your own life. You're driving down the road. You're up in the mountains. You're driving your car down the road, and you run into this big bank of fog. Has that ever happened to you? It just happened to me a couple months ago. Driving along, boom. We're in this bank of fog. Windy road in the mountains, lots of trees, normally beautiful, but now everything is foggy. What happens to you? You slow down. You grab tighter on the steering wheel.

You want to just hold on. You got your foot kind of on the brake. Can't really enjoy the ride. You can't really see what's in front of you. You can't really see what's behind you. You don't know if somebody's coming up on you. You just don't want to fall off the road. You just don't want to make a bad decision.

And that's what life is like for so many of us when we don't know our why. We're just feeling our way along through life. But then once you get through that fog and it opens up and it's clear.

Wow. Put your foot on the gas. Let's go. Let's go. Time. I know where I'm going. I can see where I'm at, where I've been. I can enjoy the ride. I can enjoy what's around me. I can move so much faster. I can make decisions. I can have fun.

I know what I know now, and that's what it feels like discovering your y. O. S that much more powerful now. How does this work personally? You understand yourself? How does this work outside of just yourself? So. So here's in. In essence, what it does for you in one sentence is it helps you make better connections faster, Better connections with yourself, better connections with the people around you, significant people in your life as well as business colleagues. Better connections with your team, better connections with Your marketplace, better connections with your message. So let's jump into those. We talked a little bit about better connection with yourself, right? Knowing who you are, knowing how to articulate it, Having that feeling of clarity, of that confidence, that certainty. Because, you know, when you know, you know, and you just feel.

Allows you to reintroduce yourself to who you really are. You no longer have to try to be somebody else.

You can just be yourself.

I don't believe in trying to change people. I don't think it works. How often outside of a major event does somebody actually change?

So you can try to change your brain and change your life, change your brain, change this. Does it really work? I don't know. You can answer that for yourself if you've seen it work very well, very much and for very long. But I don't believe you need to change. I believe what you have is already very special. Very special. You have something great inside you already. And once you know what it is, boy, then you get to use it. Then you get to feel it. So don't change. Just be you. Be the best version of you that you can be. You're going to love your life. You were here for a reason. Be you. Think about Halloween when you dress up as somebody else trying to be somebody else. How much work is that? Then you got to go out, you got to act, you got to try to do somebody, be somebody different. And, yeah, you could do that for a night, and it's kind of fun. But if that's your life, trying to be somebody else, dressing up every day, putting on an act every day, why, you're already good enough.

So that's what the yos will do for you, is help you to understand that, help you to understand you so you can be you. And then when the people around you, those significant people in your life, your. Your significant other, or your kids or your parents, when they know their yos and you know their yos, it allows you to then connect to them at the real level. So what. What typically happens is you meet somebody, this could even be somebody you know extremely well. You see somebody and you look at their hairstyle, you look at their facial hair or your jewelry or what they're wearing or their posture or their looks in their eyes, and you create a narrative around what you think you see, and that's who they become to you. So you, you know, if you didn't know my yos and you were just looking at me right now, you'd create a narrative around what you think you see. And then that's who I am to you and that's how you treat me and that's what you expect from me. But when you know somebody's yos, it strips away what you think you're seeing and it brings forward what's really there. Ah, Gary's all about better way. Clarify, simplify. It's got to be better, it's got to be clear. It's got to be simple. That's what he's all about. That's how he thinks. That's why I would choose him. That's what makes him special. And the same thing for you and the same thing for your kids, your insignificant people in your family. And so when you know that about them, you'll know how to connect with them in a way that they want to be connected to. Right? There's the golden rule. We all know the golden rule. Treat others the way you want to be treated. What if I, what if you don't want to be treated the way I want to be treated? Then what? How valuable is that? There's the when the, the next or the best rule is the platinum rule. Treat others the way they want to be treated. That's when they're going to enjoy it. That's where then they're going to love it. So, so how do you do that? You use their yos.

So a funny, funny way to think about that is if you were to throw a birthday party for, let's say you're married or, or you have somebody significant in your life, if you were to throw a birdie birthday party for them, the way you would want it, is that the way they would like it? Probably not. Or if you, they, if you threw through, they threw you a party the way they would want one, is that the kind of party you would like to go to?

So when you're able to know who you're talking to, you can communicate with them in a way that they love it, they feel heard and they feel valued. Now you can take this to your team. If you have a business, you can build your team based on their yos. So you put them in a position where you know they're going to enjoy what it is you want them to do. They. That's how you build an inspired team with the right person on the bus and in the right seat. And this is how you do it. We could take this another step further. The messaging of your business all starts with your yos. That becomes the essence of your building. We could do a whole series on that. But an example would Be Steve Jobs, right? His why is to challenge the status quo and think differently. How he does that is by continually looking for better ways. And ultimately what he brings are simple solutions. So he wants things different, better and simple. And that is the essence of what Apple is. They challenge the phone industry with the iPhone. They found a better way using glass and they simplified it to where a 3 year old and a 93 year old could use it with. With just their finger. That's what Apple does over and over. Apple is a reflection of Steve Jobs. Your business is a reflection of you. So this episode, I could go on and on and on. And as you can tell, I'm very, very passionate about this and I have been for the last 14 years. And I feel bad sometimes for my family because they hear about it constantly. People around me hear about it constantly. But we have grown so much.

In the last 14 years. Our vision, maybe you're clear on this, maybe you're not our vision, what we're all about, what we're trying to do here, where we're trying to go, is we want to be the first step in self awareness. There are a lot of great assessments out there, a lot of great tools. Myers Briggs, Colby, String fighter, disc, go on and on. They're really, really good and we use them and we like them. Those are how you take action, not why you take action. We have the world's only why. And now yos discovery tool. Start with the yos. The others become much more valuable, much more useful. Is YOS better than disk or Colby or strength finders? No, no, they have their. It's just a matter of sequence. YOS comes first, then disk or Colby or strengths, and it'll be much more valuable for you. So our vision is to be the first step in self awareness. Our goal is to impact a billion people in the next 15 years. We're on track for that now.

Podcast is a big part of it as well. You're a big part of this.

Imagine if a billion people were clear on who they are, where to find their passion, how to live their purpose, how to communicate and connect with themselves and others in a way that's so powerful and useful. Imagine what we could do if we help a billion people. For now, it's going to grow past that, discover their yos. So you're a part of that. Every episode that you listen to and every episode that you share and everyone you send to our website helps get to that billion. And you're part of our team. You're part of our cause. Thank you. Thank you for listening. Thank you for being part of this. Thank you for helping us push this forward.

This isn't something I ever set out to do. This isn't something I thought I would ever do with my life. I didn't plan on this. I. I didn't know anything about it. I didn't want to do this. Somehow it was given to me to decide to figure this stuff out. And then I left my dental practice to do this. I could have wrote it out with my dental practice, but this is what I meant to do. And you're here for a reason. And thank you so much for being part of this. And I wanted to shoot this episode to bring you up to speed with where we are right now and where we're headed. And if you want to be part of this, send people to discover their yos. Help them. You knowing your yos is super valuable. And when you do it with somebody or help somebody become, you'll have. They'll have that aha moment which gives you that aha moment. So help us bring this to a billion people and what a difference we're going to make. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you so much for being part of this. We're gonna continue with our amazing guest. I can't wait to share with you who we have coming up. As you've listened to the last few amazing guests, we've got some even more amazing coming up. Hope you enjoyed this mini episode and thanks for being part of the Y nation.

I really hope you enjoyed today's episode and that through today's guest, you heard how important it is to know your why and how impactful it can be in your life and the lives of those around you. Be sure to head over to whyinstitute.com and discover your why today. Remember, the more you know about yourself, the more you'll know about others. I'm Dr. Gary Sanchez and I'll see you on the next episode.