Selling the Couch

The pandemic has dramatically shifted and shaped the world of therapy, and it’s prompted all of us to take a close look at our work and how we can do it best. We have learned that we, as therapists, can deploy our unique skill set in different realms than we originally planned, such as moving from the therapy room to bringing in online course income. This transition brings a struggle that is common to many clinicians, and it causes a tremendous amount of fear and imposter syndrome. Join us for this open and honest conversation. Our Featured GuestMineela ChandMineela Chand is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Wayne, PA. Besides being a corporate leadership coach and a certified brain spotting therapist who also has a divinity degree, she is a dear friend and colleague of several years. Since 2022, I have done monthly brain spotting sessions with Mineela, which I’ve found to be extremely beneficial. In today’s session, we are discussing the three biggest roadblocks in going from clinical to online course income. Mineela has worked with a lot of therapists and online course creators, and she uses her background and experience to walk us through the mindset shifts in this transition.Mineela’s LinkedIn and EmailYou’ll Learn:How we can focus on our unique skills as therapists instead of the “role” we take onWhy the caring and helping professions are difficult to transition from–and leave us feeling guilty for wanting to do something elseThe three mindset roadblocks in the transition away from therapy to online course income:Visibility--How am I going to be seen?Ability–Can I do this?Stability–Will I have the finances to make it work?Why doing our work outside the privacy of the therapy room takes us outside our comfort zoneHow our personal trauma keeps us from showing up with a new level of visibilityHow Mineela handled “the fear monster” when it showed up for herHow it helps to “create a bridge” between what you read/learn and what you DO (Mineela explains how to create a bridge between what you know about therapy and what you want to do with an online course.)Mentioned in this episode:Try Alma!Building and managing the practice you truly want can feel overwhelming. That’s why Alma is here—to help you create not just any practice, but your private practice. With Alma, you’ll get the tools and resources you need to navigate insurance with ease, connect with referrals that are the right fit for your style, and streamline those time-consuming administrative tasks. That means less time buried in the details and more time focused on delivering exceptional care to your clients. You support your clients. Alma supports you. Learn more at sellingthecouch.com/alma and get 2 months FREE—an exclusive offer for STC listeners.

Is your goal to build a business that brings in $1 million each year? I used to be that entrepreneur, too, but something’s changed. Even though I always feel some vulnerability in sharing the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, I find joy and feel a sense of responsibility in being honest about my journey in building STC with the simple hope to inspire others. I’m sharing five realizations about why I don’t have that same goal anymore. Join me for this solo session!You’ll Learn:Five realizations that came to me about striving to build a $1 million/year business:I can’t build a lifestyle business and a high-revenue one. It is OK to choose to optimize lifestyle over revenue.I don’t actually need that much money. Living a life congruent with my values is more important to me. More growth equals more complexity. Entrepreneurial growth brings me more stress and anxiety, and it is OK to want simplicity.  My self-worth is not tied to a number, even though excellence has always been my calling card. Being excellent all the time is exhausting.I had to redefine what success means to me, and it is no longer purely financial. Winning at what I do is not tied to revenue. Practical aspects of my entrepreneurial journey around income, expenses, taxes, charitable giving, and living a healthy and holistic lifeWhy each product you launch and market costs energy and effortWhy it’s important to me to grow less in my business so I have more time to be the husband, father, friend, and person I want to be in the worldHow capping business growth causes the pressure needed to optimize and accomplish new goals in the futureMentioned in this episode: Dr. Ali Abdaal on YouTube: "How I Failed in 2022"The Old Man & the Three podcast by JJ RedickThe Healthcasters CourseMentioned in this episode:Try Alma!Building and managing the practice you truly want can feel overwhelming. That’s why Alma is here—to help you create not just any practice, but your private practice. With Alma, you’ll get the tools and resources you need to navigate insurance with ease, connect with referrals that are the right fit for your style, and streamline those time-consuming administrative tasks. That means less time buried in the details and more time focused on delivering exceptional care to your clients. You support your clients. Alma supports you. Learn more at sellingthecouch.com/alma and get 2 months FREE—an exclusive offer for STC listeners.

Everyone loves a good story! Just think how your marketing could be transformed by using the same captivating pull of a good story! This concept takes the intimidating world of marketing and makes it fun, exciting, and accessible to every entrepreneur. Want to know more? Join us in today’s session!Our Featured GuestBrent StutzmanBrent is a former church pastor turned brand marketing expert, and he is StoryBrand Certified through Donald Miller’s StoryBrand Framework. As the only non-therapist in the STC Online Course Mastermind, he genuinely desires to use his knowledge and expertise to help the group members. He approaches brand marketing from the perspective of story, which resonates with many people. Brent will share how we can use the technique of story in ethical ways and integrate this approach into the marketing process. He gives simple steps that you can take today to transform your marketing!WebsiteYou’ll Learn: The connection between story and business growthWhy confusion is the #1 villain in the marketing process How to analyze what your website is saying to people (Are you helping them survive and thrive?)Why simplicity works to capture attention to your website in the first three secondsHow to “Play the Guide, not the Hero” with empathy and authorityHow a problem opens a curiosity gap (story loop) that will engage the brain until the problem is solvedBrent’s personal example of identifying a problem and opening a story loop that needs to be solvedHow to open story loops and solve problems on your website, speeches, etc. Why you need a clear and easily accessible call-to-actionHow the StoryBrand Framework works: character, problem, guide, plan, call to action, success, and failureMentioned in this episode:Try Alma!Building and managing the practice you truly want can feel overwhelming. That’s why Alma is here—to help you create not just any practice, but your private practice. With Alma, you’ll get the tools and resources you need to navigate insurance with ease, connect with referrals that are the right fit for your style, and streamline those time-consuming administrative tasks. That means less time buried in the details and more time focused on delivering exceptional care to your clients. You support your clients. Alma supports you. Learn more at sellingthecouch.com/alma and get 2 months FREE—an exclusive offer for STC listeners.

If you’ve had a standoff with perfectionism in starting something new, you’ll want to join us for this coaching call in today’s session. Like most clinicians who are branching out with an online course, my guest is struggling with her fears about this new endeavor and whether she will get it right. Join us to hear the conversation.Our Featured Guest for today’s coaching callKatie Lear, LCMHC, RPT, RDTKatie Lear is a therapist in solo private practice near Charlotte, NC. She was part of the Online Course School Live Cohort, and she’s part of the Online Course School Mastermind this year. She is preparing for the beta group launch of her course, and her next step will be to record the digital version. This process gives a chance to collect feedback from beta students on the lessons and modules before creating the digital version. Join us for this open and honest conversation around fear and perfectionism.Katie's WebsiteYou’ll Learn:A look at how Katie arrived at her private practice niche working with preteens and tweens around anxiety and OCD symptomsWhy Katie decided to jump into the online course worldHow an online course income stream helps clinicians build a balanced life outside their career, have more time and capacity for family, and utilize another way to reach clientsThe starting point for content in Katie’s course: teaching about coping skillsHow Katie is looking to incorporate a playful element into her courseHow Katie is dealing with “blank-page syndrome” in creating her course slidesTips for Katie in distilling and refining the content for her courseWhy heart and intent matter more in an online course than “Hollywood-level” productionWhy there is great value in teaching with the structure of three tips, three steps, and common mistakesMentioned in this episode:Try Alma!Building and managing the practice you truly want can feel overwhelming. That’s why Alma is here—to help you create not just any practice, but your private practice. With Alma, you’ll get the tools and resources you need to navigate insurance with ease, connect with referrals that are the right fit for your style, and streamline those time-consuming administrative tasks. That means less time buried in the details and more time focused on delivering exceptional care to your clients. You support your clients. Alma supports you. Learn more at sellingthecouch.com/alma and get 2 months FREE—an exclusive offer for STC listeners.

Welcome to a brand new season of Selling the Couch! After an extended sabbatical of several months, it’s good to be back on STC with new, exciting shows. Today’s topic is one that we have all contemplated to some degree. I imagine that many coffee shop conversations and therapy sessions have included discussions around how we think about work and integrate our work into our post-pandemic lives. Join us to learn more!Our Featured GuestDan CumberlandDan Cumberland is a creative, catalyst, and collaborator at The Meaning Movement. He created this blog and community to help people pursue a deeper meaning in what they do beyond simply earning a paycheck. From his personal experience, he knows what it’s like to sacrifice too much for work and face burnout and hopelessness. He is intensely passionate about helping others wrestle with the big questions around work, meaning, and purpose. In this conversation, Dan inspires us to find meaning without letting work become our identity, along with his top tips for finding a healthy balance between work and life. You’ll Learn:Why entrepreneurs are programmed to find meaning in their work through the areas of people, product, process, and profitWhy pursuing your passion usually means sacrificing something elseHow Dan came to a watershed moment with his passion, The Meaning Movement Why entrepreneurship is a constant reimagining of yourself and your purposeWhy there is never a clean line between who you are and what you doDan’s top tips for finding a balance between work and lifeHow to assess your happiness and satisfactionInfo about Dan’s beta cohort assessment for finding balance in lifeConnect with Dan:Website and Burnout AssessmentMentioned in this episode:Try Alma!Building and managing the practice you truly want can feel overwhelming. That’s why Alma is here—to help you create not just any practice, but your private practice. With Alma, you’ll get the tools and resources you need to navigate insurance with ease, connect with referrals that are the right fit for your style, and streamline those time-consuming administrative tasks. That means less time buried in the details and more time focused on delivering exceptional care to your clients. You support your clients. Alma supports you. Learn more at sellingthecouch.com/alma and get 2 months FREE—an exclusive offer for STC listeners.

Today’s show is about a topic I’ve wanted to cover for a while. It’s about something many of us might have wanted to do in our practices. We are talking about retreats and mini-retreats, and I have the perfect person to fill us in on the details.Mikella Millen is an art therapist in NYC. She has taken a great idea and made it reality by creating retreats focused on self-care for clinicians. She’s sharing with us how she developed this idea and validated the fact that people would want to sign up. We’ll talk about what went well and what didn’t go well, along with Mikella’s lessons learned along the way.Mentioned in this episode:Try Alma!Building and managing the practice you truly want can feel overwhelming. That’s why Alma is here—to help you create not just any practice, but your private practice. With Alma, you’ll get the tools and resources you need to navigate insurance with ease, connect with referrals that are the right fit for your style, and streamline those time-consuming administrative tasks. That means less time buried in the details and more time focused on delivering exceptional care to your clients. You support your clients. Alma supports you. Learn more at sellingthecouch.com/alma and get 2 months FREE—an exclusive offer for STC listeners.

So much of what we do as clinicians revolves around leadership, even though we may not be comfortable thinking of ourselves that way. If we are truly leaders in what we do, it makes sense to learn all we can about making ourselves the best leaders possible. The world needs good leaders! Join us as we discuss all things leadership development in today’s showOur Featured GuestJevin KolethJevin Koleth is a leadership coach who happens to be a childhood friend of mine. He has vast experience in what it means to be a leader through his time as a regional manager for a major healthcare system in Texas. I want you to hear Jevin’s insights about why leadership needs to be developed first at the individual level before implementing the more popular team approach. We also dive into how leadership has changed as a result of the pandemic, and we wrap up with personal and real-life experiences from Jevin that can help you in your growth as a leader. Jevin Koleth You’ll Learn:● Why effective leadership development has to begin at the individual level with a solid foundation● The first steps in an individualized approach to leadership training:○ Identify the person’s personal purpose and mission○ Identify the person’s barriers to being their best self● How Jevin becomes an accountability coach in helping people develop long-term habits● Why the mass team approach to leadership training needs to FOLLOW after the foundational individual approach● Why it’s good to develop one’s self as a leader to be the best version of yourself● How an impactful leader will come across with consistency● How leadership has changed during the pandemic in the three areas of remote leadership, interpersonal skills, and team culture● Jevin’s pearls of wisdom about going back to work in the office● Why a leader’s goal should be positive outcomes from difficult conversations● Highlights of Jevin’s current work as a leadership coachRESOURCES TO GUIDE YOUR BUSINESS JOURNEY Disclosures: Please note that all opinions are my own and based on my personal experience. Sponsors are acknowledged. Some links in the description are affiliate links where if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a commission at no additional cost to you.  I use these funds to continue to create helpful content to serve our field.  As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.MY FREE ONLINE WORKSHOPS (These Can Be Watched At A Date/Time That Works For You):🎙️   Using Podcasting To Grow Your Business (Lessons Learned From 9 Downloads On Day 1 To 1.2 Million And a 7 Income Stream Business)💻   How To Launch And Grow A Successful Online Course (Lessons Learned From A $297 First Sale To $150k Online Course)MY FREE GUIDES:🎤   Start your Podcast: The QuickStart Guide 🖥️   The A To Z Online CourseMY COURSES:🎧   The Healthcasters (A podcasting course + community for helpers/healers): 💻   Online Course School (A course to create, sell, and grow a successful online course): COMING IN 2022 (please feel free to download the online guide course above and I can keep you updated as I'm trying to build this with ample input and care including a chance to work 1 on 1 with me!): MY FAVORITE SOFTWARE:🧳   My Podcast Hosting Platform (Captivate-Includes 7 Day Free Trial): 🚀   My All In One Online Business Platform (Kartra-Includes 14 Day Free Trial): 🤖   What I Use For Evergreen Webinars (Easy Webinar)🌐   My Website Host (SiteGround-Includes Discount)🎨   My WebSite Theme (Divi)MY FAVORITE GEAR:❤️   STC Home Office Tour! 📔   My Online Counseling + Coaching Gear🎥   My YouTube + Live Streaming Camera GearSUBSCRIBE TO THE STC PODCAST:Since 2015, I've hosted a weekly podcast where I interview successful therapists in private practice and other business owners to help us grow our impact + income in and beyond the therapy room. The podcast has been downloaded over 1.2 million times and is heard in over 140 countries.You can find also it by searching “Selling The Couch” on any podcast app (eg: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify etc) or simply saying "Alexa, listen to Selling The Couch" on your Amazon device. =Or simply click below for ease =). SUBSCRIBE HERELET'S BE FRIENDS:💌   Sign up to receive the free A To Z Online Course Guide + receive the weekly STC email newsletter (trusted by over 7k colleagues) 🌍   My website / blog📸   Instagram (I mainly post "behind the scenes" stuff about my life and business)WHO'S THIS GUY? Hi. I'm Melvin. I'm a psychologist (PhD), entrepreneur, and online creator living in Philadelphia, PA. In 2014, I began to think about how to use the therapy skills we learn in grad school, and in our clinical work into different realms (e.g., podcasting, consulting, online course creation, etc).  This allows us to serve others on larger scales while diversifying our income beyond 1 to 1 work. I make podcasts and videos about business, tech, productivity, and lessons I'm learning from becoming the CEO of a lean, mean 5 person 100% remote team (we're not really mean..it just rhymed =P).Mentioned in this episode:Try Alma!Building and managing the practice you truly want can feel overwhelming. That’s why Alma is here—to help you create not just any practice, but your private practice. With Alma, you’ll get the tools and resources you need to navigate insurance with ease, connect with referrals that are the right fit for your style, and streamline those time-consuming administrative tasks. That means less time buried in the details and more time focused on delivering exceptional care to your clients. You support your clients. Alma supports you. Learn more at sellingthecouch.com/alma and get 2 months FREE—an exclusive offer for STC listeners.

Do you love learning new things but struggle to retain the information you’d like to remember for later use? This problem is an ever-present obstacle in my nerdy quest to accumulate knowledge. The good news? I’ve found something that works for me, and I’m sharing it in today’s show. Join me to learn more.This is a solo episode about building a second brain. You may or may not have heard of this concept, but it has revolutionized my life. As I stick to my commitment of setting aside two hours every day to learn new things, I find that I can grow as a business owner, gain knowledge and expertise, become more proficient in offering valuable products and services, and improve my physical and mental health. The problem is that I can’t always remember everything I read, hear, and think. That’s where the magic of the second brain comes in to help. Let’s dive in. You’ll Learn:●     How note-taking helps me remember things and stay organized●     How I was introduced to the “second brain concept” through the work of Ali Abdaal, a physician in England●     The basics of the second brain: Instead of feeling pressure to store accumulated knowledge in my brain, I can store it online in a digital brain●     How the second brain principles of productivity were developed by world-renowned productivity expert Tiago Forte, who has a free 10-part podcast on the topic (see Resources)●     Ten Principles in Building a Second Brain:○     Borrowed creativity○     The capture habit○     Idea recycling○     Projects over categories○     Slow burns○     Start with abundance○     Intermediate packets○     You only know what you make○     Make things easier for your future self○     Keep your ideas moving ●     “The key is not to just consume content, but to personalize and recycle it.”Resources mentioned:Ali AbdaalForte Labs Find the 10-part podcast series on Building a Second Brain at Forte LabsApps and tools recommended by Melvin:For live transcription of Mastermind groups: OtterFor pulling highlights from Kindle books: Readwise For capturing snippets of podcasts: Airr For pulling highlights from blog posts: Instapaper To use a central repository for information: Notion or Evernote or Roam Research.com  Transcript:Melvin:Hey friends, welcome to session 264 of Selling the Couch, I hope that you are having a wonderful day. So today's episode is a solo one. And I wanted to start this episode by sharing a story or rather a scenario. As you may have figured out based on these podcasts episodes, I’m a little bit of a nerd when it comes to learning new things. And in fact, as Selling the Couch has grown and as I've really worked hard to create a schedule that's conducive to both doing things as well as ample time learning.What I have actually tried to do is set aside two hours each afternoon to simply learn. And these days, I'm learning about podcasting, because, as you know, I'm a podcaster, and the world of podcasting is constantly growing. And so I think a lot about how to grow the STC podcast. I also have a course called Healthcasters, which helps you create and launch a successful podcast. And I'm learning a lot about online courses as well, because Healthcasters is an online course, and I'm constantly trying to figure out how to tweak things and all of those different things.Then I actually have my second online course that's coming out in the future, with hopefully three to four more in the pipeline. And it's a course that's actually focused on helping you create, plan, launch and scale a successful online course. I know that most of us are really nerdy, and we're probably nerds just walking around as therapists.I imagine, for you, if you're like me, which I imagine you are, you read through a lot of clinical stuff, a lot of business books, you go to a lot of trainings and conferences, and maybe you watch YouTube videos or live streams, or you listen to podcasts, or you read blog posts, or watch webinars, or however, the many ways that you can consume content. And I do this in the same way as you do so that I can grow as a business owner, I can get proficient when I offer products and services and gain knowledge and expertise that way, or just to improve my own physical or mental health.Now I have a little bit of a confession which is; when I go to these things, generally I try to take notes, just because I find that taking notes and actively engaging with that material helps me to remember things a lot better. So I might jot down some notes at a conference or a training on some paper, or a Word document, or I might even - if I've got my laptop near me, I'll pull up the Notes app on my Mac, and just take some notes there.Sometimes I use Evernote, or something like that to summarize a blog post that I want to incorporate into a future podcast episode or something for an online course or if I'm providing direct services, just something that I can reference later. Other times, I might even just put it in like a Google Drive document.So here's the confession part in this episode; I try to take a lot of pride in just being organized, I find that just being organized makes business a lot easier, and my mental health just a lot better. But honestly, how I take notes and more specifically how I connect my past, current and future learning is not really very organized and in fact, I would say it's almost chaotic. And if I'm just being completely honest, there are times where I've taken notes in the past that I keep thinking, “Okay, I'm going to remember this and I got a reference this for something for the future,” and then I actually never do that, and it’s okay, I guess in some scenarios.But to me, one is I’m just being honest, I don't have like the greatest memory where I can access all of this, like accumulated knowledge at the drop of a hat, and so I have to kind of take notes and in order to just remember things. I think, personally for me, and this is just something I've realized as a business owner, having a great way to take notes, and being able to access these notes when needed is really important. Because as healthcare professionals and business owners, we're knowledge workers, people seek our services based on our knowledge and expertise. We're also knowledge shares. So in other words, we accumulate this shared knowledge and we share it through various free mediums and through paid products and services.So for example, let's say you go to a brain spotting training and you read an article later on brain spotting. And then later, you might listen to a podcast interview on somebody that has built a successful practice based on brain spotting. How do you take all of that knowledge? So how do you connect your past knowledge, your current knowledge and your future knowledge, so that you can make it easier to access this knowledge for your future self in however you want to use it, whether it's to incorporate it into a therapy session, or let's say you end up doing consults on brain spotting, or you want to plan some future content, or maybe you want to do some sort of a webinar or something just to explain, or even just create a simple video just explain to potential clients what brain spotting is.But how do you do that? How do you take that knowledge and store it in an organized way so that you can access it when you need it? As I shared kind of at the beginning, this is something I've been thinking a lot about, especially now that I'm six years into my small business journey, I've crossed the five year mark, and I think one of the most important lessons I've learned as a small business owner, and as an online creator is that you have to optimize your environment and schedule for learning.I came across this YouTube video in late 2020, from Ali Abdol, who when it was all about something called the second brain. Ali is actually a physician based in Cambridge, England, and he has over a million subscribers and the channel is a great one to check out, especially if you're interested in tech and productivity and learning and all of these different things. And I've been fortunate to actually meet Ali and we actually got on a zoom call fairly recently and it was just really nice just to be able to connect with him and just learn about some of the things that he's doing in the world.And the second brain that Ali mentioned is simply this idea that instead of feeling all of this pressure to store accumulated knowledge in our brains, why not store this online in our digital brain in an organized way, so that we can maximize our output with it. And this way we maximize productivity, we maximize creativity, all of these different things.The second brain concept is actually based on the work of Tiago Forte. His website is over at fortelabs.com, which is another blog that I highly recommend checking out. Tiago actually has this crazy expensive online course that goes into the second brain concept. I've heard really good things about it. Honestly just haven't had the financial resources to take it yet, I'm hoping to one day, because I tried to be really discretionary in terms of just taking online courses. But this is one of these things that it's absolutely changed the way that I look at my business and more specifically, it's absolutely changed the way that I look at learning.Tiago also has a free 10 part podcast, like a mini podcasts. And I'll link to in the show notes for this episode that's well worth listening to. I've listened to those series; they're just basically 10 minute episodes. And I've listened to that about four or five times just to really wrap my mind around this. Today, I actually want to share the 10 principles, of how you can build a second brain and just briefly share how I'm actually employing this in my own business so that it can help you as well.The first principle is something called borrowed creativity. Borrowed creativity is basically this idea that creativity is less about original ideas, but more about blending existing ideas to create novel connections. Basically, you take things that you see here and watch. You see them through your experience and perspectives and connect them in new and unique ways. For example, I didn't realize I was doing this at the time. But my first online course was, as I mentioned was a course on how to plan launch and generate income from podcasting. So I took notes that I had learned from going to a bunch of podcasting conferences, from mentors that I had done consult with, from people that I consider experts in the podcasting space. And then I used all my own experiences in creating and growing the Selling the Couch podcast.But by having these notes digitally, I could then visually see things and form patterns and create. Then when I was ready to create the course I could create the course based on my unit bent and my own unique experiences.Principle two is called the capture habit. And one of the most honoring things that I think we can all do as business owners is to write down every idea that pops up in our brain without judgment, just the act of saying, “Hey, this is a great idea brain, I'm going to write this down,” is so powerful. So the capture habit is basically this idea that every time you have an idea that comes in your mind, no matter how silly or any of those things that it seems, at the time, trying to just find a good and simple system to be able to write these things down. This does not come naturally for me, because I have a very strong critical voice that often says, “Oh, Melvin, that's a really dumb idea, or, oh, no one's going to pay for that. Or someone's already thought of that. So why are you trying to do that again?”Or sometimes I convince myself, “Oh, Mel, this is a good idea. You can remember it later.” But the reality is, I hardly ever remember it later and so it usually then ends up getting lost. Now I'm still trying to figure out a great way to have a good capture habit, but I wanted to at least share a little bit about how I'm capturing ideas depending on where I am.So I get a lot of ideas in the shower, and I keep shower markers to write things down that come to mind, because I noticed that my mind goes into creativity hyper drive when I'm in the shower; I'm calm, I'm relaxed and all of those different things. And shower markers are basically these markers that you can use to write on glass, or on tile. And the cool thing is they wash off when you're done. Usually what I do is I'll jot down ideas and on the tile, and then after I'm done taking a shower or whatever, I will take my phone and take a picture of it, and then I'll wash it or whatever. The shower is actually how I came up with the name Selling the Couch, and so I really do try to think about how I can alter that shower type.The second thing is I usually do masterminds with various folks during the week talking a walk. Specifically I try to do many of these when taking a walk. I'll do a future episode on this. But there are a lot of benefits of hiking, and creativity. And so what I've been trying to do, actually pretty much most days of the week is I do a 1pm hike and that's usually my mastermind time as well. And what I do is we usually meet on zoom, and I use otter.ai to do live transcription of what we're talking about during the mastermind. After the mastermind, I have a fairly flawless script; otter.ai uses artificial intelligence. So it's not like a real person transcribing. But it's pretty accurate and I can then use this transcript to pull things from. I can then go back later or do this even in real time and highlight things and pull things into my central repository.So usually during masterminds, what I'm doing is I'm asking a question that I'm struggling with in my business, and I'm getting feedback from my mastermind friends. Then I take that piece of advice and then I put that into my central repository. I use an app called Readwise to pull highlights from Kindle books that I'm reading. I use an app called Airr, A-I-R-R to capture snippets of podcasts that I hear. I capture blog posts using Instapaper, which is a really cool app that lets you clip blog posts and videos that you want to check out later, perhaps during your own learning time. I believe Instapaper is still something I've just recently downloaded. But I also believe you can actually copy or you can actually like clip tweets, things that you might find on Pinterest, all of these into like a central repository.So basically what I'm trying to do is I'm trying to use these different pieces of software to capture ideas in environments that I'm usually in, and then I'm taking those ideas into a central repository. And that central repository that I use is called Notion, N-O-T-I-O-N. There are a bunch of different ones. Evernote is a really common one as well. There's one called Roam Research that is well worth checking out. I like Notion because I feel like for me, I like having structure and I also like having a little bit of unstructured or chaos in structure and so I feel like Notion is kind of a good balance of those kind of things.So principle three is this idea of idea of recycling. So in other words, you can reuse or repurpose ideas in multiple ways. So for example, I've spent quite a bit of time researching and scripting for this podcast episode. I'm doing this because I'm planning on using second brain concepts into future videos that I might create, or as part of an online course. So for example, as part of my Healthcasters course, one of the pieces of content I'll likely create is how do you come up with new podcast episode ideas without starting with a blank canvas?The best way to think about idea recycling is I was trying to figure out a good image. And when I was a kid I used to love Connex. I don't know if you remember Connex, but they're like Legos, but they have blocks, rods, and these various different shapes and you can use them to create things like a simple car, or a Ferris wheel.The only reason I remember this is my AP physics teacher passed away really recently, and I saw social media posts and it reminded me of this project I did in AP Physics, when I had Mr. Renshaw. And it was, I created a mousetrap car out of connects and connects comes with these gear sets and so I basically use like CDs, to create this mousetrap car, and got this mousetrap car to go down this hallway using gears and stuff. But so think of your ideas like pieces of Connex or Legos, and you can then swap out those ideas in and out of like different situations.Principle four is projects over categories. One of the roadblocks that I was having with my previous way of taking notes was how I organize things. So for example, let's say I wanted to learn more about Instagram, what I used to do was I have a folder called Instagram, and then I put a bunch of stuff in there and that's where it set me never looking at it again. Instead, what second brain says is thinking projects. So what I should do is if I have my Healthcasters online course folder. I should have a folder called Healthcasters online course, and then put the content that I find into those, because it will further enrich that course.And going back to principle one of borrowed creativity, I can more easily form connections between ideas. So another example of this would be let's say that you are creating a productivity course for entrepreneurs who are held back by their trauma. Instead of separate folders for productivity and trauma, you actually create a folder for your online course, and put related ideas in there. And that way, you are accumulating all of this store's knowledge over time, and when you are ready to create that course, you actually have a nice repository to work from. And it's literally like then, like pieces of Legos or Connex, where you're just connecting these pieces in order to form your online course.Principle five is called slow burn. So think of your business products and services as slow burns versus heavy lifts. This is what the language that Tiago uses in there. So in the second...

Today’s show covers a topic that always brings out the nerd in me. If you are an STC regular, then you know the importance I place on my video and audio gear. With the future of our field being that telehealth is here to stay, a quality home studio setup can help you stand out in your field. For me, the quality of my studio has evolved over the years as I’ve had more money to invest. Join the conversation to learn how to take your videos to the next level by building a dream home studio.Our Featured GuestKevin ShenKevin Shen is a consultant who has been producing online videos for more than ten years, doing most of his work on YouTube. He has developed courses to teach what he has learned about making powerful videos and building a professional quality studio. He shares why a professional studio matters, along with practical considerations to make if building a home studio is on your radar for the future.Dream Studio CourseYou’ll Learn: Why a professional video studio matters Why online video content is like time travel and space travel How a video studio for therapy helps people who haven’t been served well by traditional talk therapy Three tips for creating a dream home studio: Design your studio around your needs for your workflow. Realize that video allows you to create a space for viewers as you get their attention to your face. Lighting should create depth through a large, diffused light source. How your video components can work to create trust from someone you have never met before Kevin’s course, Dream Studio Course, a cohort that teaches the structure and steps of building a dream home studioAdditional resources mentioned:Find out about my gear and software: Kit.co/mvargheseYou can purchase Kevin’s course AND help STC: Dream Studio CourseRESOURCES TO GUIDE YOUR BUSINESS JOURNEY Disclosures: Please note that all opinions are my own and based on my personal experience. Sponsors are acknowledged. Some links in the description are affiliate links where if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a commission at no additional cost to you. I use these funds to continue to create helpful content to serve our field. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.MY FREE ONLINE WORKSHOPS (These Can Be Watched At A Date/Time That Works For You):🎙️ Using Podcasting To Grow Your Business (Lessons Learned From 9 Downloads On Day 1 To 1.2 Million And a 7 Income Stream Business)💻 How To Launch And Grow A Successful Online Course (Lessons Learned From A $297 First Sale To $150k Online Course)MY FREE GUIDES:🎤 Start your Podcast: The QuickStart Guide 🖥️ The A To Z Online CourseMY COURSES:🎧 The Healthcasters (A podcasting course + community for helpers/healers): 💻 Online Course School (A course to create, sell, and grow a successful online course): COMING IN 2022 (please feel free to download the online guide course above and I can keep you updated as I'm trying to build this with ample input and care including a chance to work 1 on 1 with me!): MY FAVORITE SOFTWARE:🧳 My Podcast Hosting Platform (Captivate-Includes 7 Day Free Trial): 🚀 My All In One Online Business Platform (Kartra-Includes 14 Day Free Trial): 🤖 What I Use For Evergreen Webinars (Easy Webinar)🌐 My Website Host (SiteGround-Includes Discount)🎨 My WebSite Theme (Divi)MY FAVORITE GEAR:❤️ STC Home Office Tour! 📔 My Online Counseling + Coaching Gear🎥 My YouTube + Live Streaming Camera GearSUBSCRIBE TO THE STC PODCAST:Since 2015, I've hosted a weekly podcast where I interview successful therapists in private practice and other business owners to help us grow our impact + income in and beyond the therapy room. The podcast has been downloaded over 1.2 million times and is heard in over 140 countries.You can find also it by searching “Selling The Couch” on any podcast app (eg: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify etc) or simply saying "Alexa, listen to Selling The Couch" on your Amazon device. =Or simply click below for ease =). SUBSCRIBE HERELET'S BE FRIENDS:💌 Sign up to receive the free A To Z Online Course Guide + receive the weekly STC email newsletter (trusted by over 7k colleagues) 🌍 My website / blog📸 Instagram (I mainly post "behind the scenes" stuff about my life and business)WHO'S THIS GUY? Hi. I'm Melvin. I'm a psychologist (PhD), entrepreneur, and online creator living in Philadelphia, PA. In 2014, I began to think about how to use the therapy skills we learn in grad school, and in our clinical work into different realms (e.g., podcasting, consulting, online course creation, etc). This allows us to serve others on larger scales while diversifying our income beyond 1 to 1 work. I make podcasts and videos about business, tech, productivity, and lessons I'm learning from becoming the CEO of a lean, mean 5 person 100% remote team (we're not really mean..it just rhymed =P).   Mentioned in this episode:Try Alma!Building and managing the practice you truly want can feel overwhelming. That’s why Alma is here—to help you create not just any practice, but your private practice. With Alma, you’ll get the tools and resources you need to navigate insurance with ease, connect with referrals that are the right fit for your style, and streamline those time-consuming administrative tasks. That means less time buried in the details and more time focused on delivering exceptional care to your clients. You support your clients. Alma supports you. Learn more at sellingthecouch.com/alma and get 2 months FREE—an exclusive offer for STC listeners.

As rewarding as it is to start your own podcast and share your knowledge and expertise with the world, there is one thing that makes it even better--and that’s monetizing your podcast. Wouldn’t it be a dream come true to make money from your podcast? You might think it’s the impossible dream, but today’s show brings practical information and simple tips for monetization that can expand your reach, extend the life of your podcast, and free up more of your time for quality content creation.Christy Haussler is the founder of Team Podcast, a full-service podcast editing and production company. She’s been my podcast editor since 2015, when I realized I needed help with podcast editing. Christy and her team work behind the scenes to produce, edit, and upload podcasts, and they are the main reason the STC podcast goes out each week. Christy began her podcast editing service around the same time as STC, and her team currently edits about 60 different podcasts and about 300 episodes each month. Christy has a unique and interesting perspective on what people are doing to create income through podcasting, and she’s here to share those insights with us.Mentioned in this episode:Try Alma!Building and managing the practice you truly want can feel overwhelming. That’s why Alma is here—to help you create not just any practice, but your private practice. With Alma, you’ll get the tools and resources you need to navigate insurance with ease, connect with referrals that are the right fit for your style, and streamline those time-consuming administrative tasks. That means less time buried in the details and more time focused on delivering exceptional care to your clients. You support your clients. Alma supports you. Learn more at sellingthecouch.com/alma and get 2 months FREE—an exclusive offer for STC listeners.