In this episode of the Practice Profit System podcast, host Matt (Matthew Gillogly) introduces listeners—primarily cash‑based medical practice owners and clinicians—to the concept of "Resistance" as described by Steven Pressfield in The War of Art. Matt outlines twelve distinct characteristics (or principles) of Resistance, explaining how each manifests as an internal, invisible force that sabotages the pursuit of one’s true calling. He emphasizes that Resistance is internal, cunning, unyielding, non‑discriminatory, and even serves as a compass pointing toward the most important work. Throughout, Matt ties these abstract ideas to concrete challenges faced by doctors transitioning from insurance‑based to cash‑based practices, such as staff distractions and external pressures. He also shares personal anecdotes from his five startup experiences, reinforcing that encountering Resistance signals being on the right path. The episode concludes with a preview of the next show, which will cover the observable signs of Resistance, and multiple calls to action—including a free copy of his book The Anatomy of a 7‑Figure Medical Practice and a request for listener reviews.
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Hey everybody, it is Matt. Welcome to the Practice Profit System, our weekly podcast. And today we're going to talk about why people are— have a difficult time accomplishing their goals and staying focused. Now, if this is you, you're going to love this episode because I'm about ready to take you into a place that most people never ever talk about. And it's all thanks to the revelation given to me by Steven Pressfield. War of Art. Okay? So this is required reading for all you budding entrepreneurs, existing entrepreneurs. It doesn't matter how long you've done this. This is one of the books that my cadre of fellow entrepreneurs, we read on a regular basis. Now, I am going to go through what are called the 12 characteristics of resistance. And I'm going to go through this pretty fast because I don't have a lot of time and I like to keep my episodes around 12 to 15 minutes. But I want you to go get the book, Steven Pressfield, The War of Art. And it's a really simple read, and I highly recommend that you get it. And let's dive into the characteristics of resistance. So first and foremost, let's talk about what resistance is. So the concept of the book is very, very simple, is that there is a force that is resisting and preventing you from going on your path of this calling that you have. The whole purpose of resistance is to keep you from your calling. And I know this because I've done 5 startups. I've done all kinds of really cool and unique things. And I will tell you right now, we have a standard joke that goes on is when we start to meet resistance, we must be on the right path. Whereas in my youth, I used to think that, oh gosh, we're having resistance. We must be on the wrong path. And it would— we would go off. So Here's a couple of key things. I'm gonna dive in. I'm gonna go really, really quickly. First and foremost, Steven Pressfield says that resistance is hard to overcome because it's sneaky, clever, and unflappable. But you can alleviate the power of resistance by understanding what it is, which behaviors it attacks, and how it does so. So, take your notes, get your pen out. If you don't have it, hit pause and come back and let's get rolling, 'cause here we are. When you understand these principles, you can learn to push past resistance. Principle number 1, resistance has no form. None of your senses will detect resistance. It is not tangible. Resistance is a deflecting force Its sole purpose is to repel you from fulfilling your potential. Principle number 2, resistance is not an external force. You may think outside sources are the obstacles to your success, but this is not true. Resistance is the enemy existing inside of you. You create it, you perpetuate it, regardless of external struggles. Ooh, that's kind of heady stuff. Principle 3, resistance is cunning. God, is it cunning. Resistance is the most formidable opponent You will encounter. It manipulates, it lies, and deceives you any way it can. It will present argument after argument after argument for why you should not follow your instincts or dreams. It is a con man with one goal, to stop you from succeeding. I'm going to stop here for a second. This is a big one. You don't a lot of times realize How resistance is being cunning to you. And we're going to talk more about that in some of these future principles. Principle 4, resistance is unyielding. When you live with resistance, you live in a totalitarian world. Resistance is a tyrannical dictator that cannot be persuaded and shows no mercy. It will never stop doing what it can to thwart your endeavors because it doesn't know how to stop. You can only aim to overcome it on a day-to-day basis. Principle 5, resistance doesn't discriminate. Who you are and what you've been through is superfluous to resistance. Its attack against you is not personal or motivated by malice. It's really important that you understand this. This is just resistance's job.
Okay?
Resistance is like a tornado, a powerful force that destroys whatever's in its path. Principle 6, resistance is a compass. Think of a compass needle that is magnetized, always pointed toward north, because resistance is that compass needle. It will always point in the direction of your most significant calling. You can use this unwavering accuracy to your advantage. Whatever you feel resistance towards is exactly what you should go after. I'm going to say that again. Whatever you feel resistance towards is exactly what you should go after. The appearance of resistance tells you the goal is important to your true spiritual fulfillment. I want to stop here for a second because when I work with doctors to transform their insurance-based practice into a cash practice, we'll have a couple of phone calls. They'll be really excited. They'll be about getting ready, you know, they're— they can see the light and they start going after it. They start to have some initial success and bam, instantaneously they get distracted. And usually that distraction comes in the form of a lot more patients wanting to come in and see them in the insurance practice. That is a classic form of resistance, and your staff is trained to get those people on the calendar. And what the staff does is they start nibbling away at the opportunities and the places in the calendar that you may have blocked for you to see cash patients. And so what happens invariably, about week 3 to anywhere between week 3 to week 6, your insurance practice is going to go through the roof. Oh, and then on top of it, Judy's going to get sick. Bob's going to get sick. Somebody's going to be out for vacation. It's going to keep you off of the path. Okay? Principle 7, everyone experiences resistance. You are not alone in your struggle with resistance. Anyone with a soul experiences resistance. Principle 8, a war with resistance is a battle to the death. Resistance doesn't play nicely. Its aim is not to merely distract you or throw a wrench in your plans. Resistance is out for blood. It wants to destroy your genius and ensure you never succeed. Knowing this will help you prepare for the fight. Anytime we go down a path, I will tell you right now, as I do this work with doctors, resistance comes after me, comes after me, comes after me, comes after me. It gets in the way. And I no longer get upset by it. I use it as a sign of, hey, we're on the right path, but I know it is out for blood. And it doesn't always, by the way, come in the form of resistance to doing the business. A lot of times now for me, it comes in the form of other distractions. Okay? You give resistance power. This is principle 9. Resistance is not a foreign body implanted inside you. You give birth to resistance through fear.
When you feel a pull towards your true calling, you feel fear.
Resistance uses that fear as sustenance. And the more you give into your fears, the more powerful resistance becomes. And he digs deeper into that, that whole concept of fear in detail in chapter 5 of his book, and it's a game changer. Okay? Principle 10, you only feel resistance on the rise. You will only feel resistance when you attempt to seek a higher version of yourself. And by the way, that's your true self. Okay? A higher version of your true self, whether through enterprise, spirituality, or creative expression. If you pursue, pursue goals that don't feed your spirit, you will feel no resistance because there's nothing personal to gain or lose. There is no fear. Principle 11, the last hurdle is the hardest to cross. When you reach the point in your dreams where it becomes a reality, resistance doubles down on its attack. Resistance is the most powerful when you're about to defeat it. Be ready for its final surge of power and double your resolve against it. And finally, principle number 12, Resistance uses reinforcements. I'm going to dig a little bit deeper into that for you in just a minute. Although resistance is self-made, your efforts to defeat it may cause trouble in your external life. This is where I'm going to go when I finish this. The people around you will notice a change in you. The change will appear as achievement or fortitude as you pursue your true calling. If others are losing their own battles with resistance, they may resent your success in defeating yours and becoming allies with the resistance against you. Their efforts to make you feel bad or guilty about succeeding can weaken your drive, thereby strengthening your resistance. This comes in the form of somebody on staff who goes, yeah, but what about all the people that can't afford to do the cash-based procedures? And, you know, we just— insurance really needs to be covering this. Well, that's not your battle. Okay, your job is not to go to battle for that. Like, that, that ship has sailed. Okay, if you don't believe me, go listen to the one where I talked about why you got to get rid of the chains of insurance-based care in your business. Okay. All right. Resistance is only activated by pursuits that gratify your heart, higher calling, and lead to long-term growth and good health.
Okay.
Here are some examples of types of pursuits.
Okay.
Things like creative writing, entrepreneurial endeavors, health pursuits, spiritual religious awakenings, activities aimed to break habits, etc. Things to overcome addiction, educational pursuits. Okay. Now, there are some signs of resistance, and I want to go into those, but time doesn't allow me. So that's going to be next week's podcast, is we're going to talk about the signs of resistance.
Okay?
Now, this is really heady stuff. And once I went through this, it really changed the way I thought about resistance because a lot of— Sometimes we think resistance is just us going towards our goal. And what we're going to be talking about is the signs of resistance are actually about a lot of other things. Remember, resistance is sneaky and it's cunning. So it's not always going to come at you through full force. A lot of times it's going to come in ways and sneak up on you that you don't even realize are happening. That is going to be the topic of our next podcast. So with that, thank you for all of your support with the Practice Profit System podcast. I want to let you know we just had a record month. Um, in the number of downloads and listeners, we are up 50%, and we are— that's a big number to be up. Thank you for sharing this with your fellow colleagues. Thank you for passing this along. Please do me a favor. If you love what you hear, like what you hear, would you be so kind as to leave a review for us? You have to go into your app to do it on iTunes and Spotify, but once you go in there, just open up our podcast on your iPhone, iPad, Android, whatever, and you'll have to scroll down and just Write a review or give us a rating. I would really, really appreciate it. It would mean a lot to me. And please pass this on to your friends. We got a mission, folks, and it's not just about you making more money, but it's about getting the right kind of healthcare into the hands of these— the people here in the United States and Canada. We got a mission. We're the last stand, baby. We're the last stand against the insurance-based care just taking over all the decisions. I want you to be a doctor again. I want you to fight. I want to fight that battle with you. So I appreciate everything you do. We will catch you next week on the Practice Profit System. Have a great day, whatever you— wherever you are, whatever you do, make it the absolute best ever. Thanks.
Thank you so much for listening. If you liked this episode, take a moment and share it with your fellow medical professionals, or post a positive comment and rate it on wherever you just listened. Now, don't forget, you can get a copy of my book, The Anatomy of a 7-Figure Medical Practice, for free. Just pay $7.95 in shipping and handling. Plus, you'll get over $1,197 in free bonus material. Simply go to srpmedicalmarketing.com/book. That's srpmedicalmarketing.com/book. Thank you so much, and we'll see you next time.
