A conversational YouTube interview ("The ‘Cookies’ That Revealed My Ego") between Will Humphreys and a guest, Michael. In this excerpt Michael recounts being introduced as the owner and receiving compliments about his office and team, prompting reflection on how external praise fed his identity as a business owner and revealed aspects of his ego and need for validation.
And then if I get introduced to them, oh, here's Michael, here's the owner. And they would. They would come to me and give me the compliments of the team and.
How great this.
Office is and this team or this person.
Like, what better?
Like, can you ask for anything more as a business owner?
No. It's such a cool thing, I think, when you tell that story. Obviously, anyone who's gone through that journey, which is a small percentage of private practice owners, they relate to it so much because the ego is that first layer. It has to be. I remember what it was like when I didn't get my cookies. You know, patients bringing desserts, and it was just kind of like when I didn't. Like, no one was even bringing me anything. I remember going through a small depression because I was leaning on that. Yeah, the cookies. The cookies. It was so much more than sugar and dough. Like, it was like validation that I was worth something. Right. And it's so interesting because in, you know, the ego needs to be stroked when we don't know our value as individuals. Right. Like, I think when we know. Well, I mean, this has just been what you and I have journeyed together is. Is like, you know, when we can find our confidence in our impact and don't need somebody else to validate it, that's when we can be free mentally and operationally to start making a bigger difference across the. The globe without the same credit. Right.
