Dr. Stefanie Rodsater: Hi, Amir. Thanks for joining us on the hot seat today. And let’s get started, let’s just kind of dive in. I know you have recently just wrote a second book. Tell us a little bit about it.
Dr. Amir Rashidian: Well, it’s called, ‘Cracking the Stress Secret: How to Turn Pressure into Power’. And it started out by everybody asking me, “Why do you work so hard?” Or “Why do you do so much?” and “What’s the use of achieving your goals and doing amazing things if it comes at the expense of your health?” And my answer has always been, “Well, what’s the use of having great health if it comes at the expense of achieving your goals, dreams and future? It goes both ways.” And so, I decided I’d write a book and talk about that. The first book was called, ‘The Stress Proof Life’, which is about how to put this stress-proof vest on you, kind of like a bullet-proof vest that stops the stress from hurting you, because you can’t stop the stress. The stress is everywhere, it’s all the time. And so, then the second one is more about the fact that you’re going to have to learn to deal with it, and there’s a possibility of having both, you can have your cake and eat it too. You can go for your goals and dreams and whatever that is, and achieve amazing things, and still stay healthy and not sacrifice that.
Dr. Stefanie Rodsater: That’s so awesome. I know… I bet you there’s so many people in UAC that want to write a book. Will you tell us a little bit about that process and number one, like how you started, how you decided on the topic? And then, how you flourished through it? Because, I mean, that’s a goal of mine, and so I would love to hear just your whole process, yeah.
Dr. Lynne Mouw: Yeah, this is fascinating.
Dr. Amir Rashidian: So, Brandy, my wife, was expecting our first, and she was three months pregnant. She said, “You have six months to finish the book before the baby comes.” Well, the baby was…
Dr. Stefanie Rodsater: What a timeline.
Dr. Amir Rashidian: The baby was 6 years old before the first book came out.
Dr. Lynne Mouw: 6 months, 6 years.
Dr. Amir Rashidian: It is a very long process. It’s tough. It’s more work than I expected. I thought I could just start writing, but I couldn’t organize it. I went through three ghostwriters, didn’t like any of them, didn’t like the way they were writing. So, then I just decided to do it myself. At one point, I was stuck, and I had written maybe two-thirds of the book and hadn’t worked on it for a few months. And one of my accountability partners said, “Write down 100 reasons why you should finish the book.” And I know a lot of us have done the exercise, I think it comes from John DeMartini. And I started writing the reasons, I got to 25-26 reasons, and then I couldn’t come up with any more reasons. And then one day it hit me… And because you should divide those reasons into pain, pleasure, and purpose.
Dr. Amir Rashidian: So, most of the reasons where, “Hey, it’ll be great to have a book.” I’d love to be able to hand it out as a business card to patients and I use it for marketing and all that.” So, there are all these positive reasons, and then purpose. Well, it serves my purpose, because I want to be a voice of reason and teach people about philosophy and good stuff. But I hadn’t talked about the pain reasons. The pain reasons were, “If I don’t finish the book, I’m a hypocrite. If I don’t finish the book, that means I don’t believe in the message I’m giving out to people. If I don’t finish the book, I don’t believe in it myself. If I don’t finish the book, I’m the kind of person that doesn’t finish things that he starts.” And so, when I started writing those reasons, I got to 100 reasons pretty easy. And then I was motivated. So, then I kept writing.
Dr. Stefanie Rodsater: That’s awesome.
Dr. Lynne Mouw: That is great. What a great exercise to keep in mind for any big goal.
Dr. Stefanie Rodsater: I just got homework.
Dr. Lynne Mouw: And it’s funny because I’ve heard… I’ve not written a book, but it is a goal of mine as well, and I’ve heard that it’s comparable to giving birth. So, it’s ironic that it started when you were having your baby. So, did you self-publish? And talk about after the book is written, how did you get it to the market? What are all the ways that you get this book in front of people?
Dr. Amir Rashidian: Yeah, so the first book, I self-published completely. So, when it was done, I had some friends and relatives read it and edit it for me. I did hire… So, I have dyslexia, I have really terrible, severe dyslexia.
Dr. Stefanie Rodsater: Oh, man.
Dr. Amir Rashidian: I can’t watch movies with subtitles. I can’t read. I mean, literally… Whatever you can read in one minute, it takes me 10 minutes to read. And so, when I finished the book, I started reading it to edit it myself. I kept falling asleep, and I thought, “This must be a terrible book because I can’t even stay awake.”
Dr. Stefanie Rodsater: That’s awful.
Dr. Amir Rashidian: And so, I hired an editor and I had her read the book to me over the phone. And so, every Friday for two hours, she’d read me the book and I’d edit it verbally. And so anyways, it got finished, and I found a printing press that you just give them your PDF. I had a freelance designer, graphic design person online, do a cover for me. And we came up with a title and then we had it printed. Then you can also upload it to Amazon, I think it’s called printspace.com or… Anyways, or createspace.com. And you upload the PDF of the cover and the book, and they do what’s called, print-on-demand. So, any time someone orders your book, within 24 hours, they print it, bind it, and ship it. So, they don’t have to maintain inventory because when you ship copies of your book, you have to pay them for warehouse space, and I think it’s 5 cents per book per month. But if they do print-on-demand, you don’t have that, but you don’t make a lot of money on your books. So, the print-on-demand books, I think we sell a book for $20, and I get $8 out of it, as opposed to… It would have been more if I had put the whole book there.
Dr. Amir Rashidian: So, the second book, that part wasn’t that hard. The second book, I decided to go through publishers. So, I started writing query letters to agents, and you have to have a literary agent. They say it’s; I don’t know, you have a 2.5% chance of getting a literary agent if you’re an author. I got one, and we were super excited because he was a great literary agent, he’s got a great track record. And he took the book and sent it to eight or nine publishers. None of them liked it. So, then the agent comes back and says, “Nobody’s interested.” I said, “There’s got to be more publishers out there.” He goes, “No, they’re not going to be interested.”
Dr. Stefanie Rodsater: “Find me somebody else.”
Dr. Amir Rashidian: Fired the agent. And I went through a publishing company where I own the rights to the book, I own the cover, the edits, I own everything, but they do the publishing. So, they’re like a traditional publisher, but I pay for everything. Tends to be pretty expensive, but they have their high-level editors working on it. We had three different editors go through all the different rounds of edits. And what was really tough was they want references, but they want such specific references. You can’t just say, “Hey, I don’t know… Gandhi said this.” You have to say when he said it, where it was written, what year it was written, how do you know it was really Gandhi. It’s because their attorneys are constantly sending the book back going, “Okay, we need more references on this, more on this one.” That part took the longest time. And then every time I put a story in the book, I had to go to the people who are in the story, whether it’s patients, friends, other chiropractors, and I had to have them sign a release, giving me permission to put it in there. So that was a lot of work. And then finally it came out. So, it came out October 18th. And we did a lot of marketing for it, lots of phone calls and asks and so on. Anyways, it hit number one bestseller in three different categories, and it was number one new release in a couple of categories. So, it did okay. I get to put bestseller after my name now.
Dr. Lynne Mouw: That’s amazing. That’s amazing. Congratulations.
Dr. Amir Rashidian: It was bestseller for a few days in a row, which was great. You know, some people stay on the bestseller list longer than that, but we may do another push. But it’s right here.
Dr. Stefanie Rodsater: That’s awesome.
Dr. Lynne Mouw: Yeah, let’s see it. Cracking the Stress Secret, I love it. Cracking The Stress Secret by Dr. Amir Rashidian. So, love this. You’ve had this experience of both of these two different ways. When you write the third book, which method would you choose or what would you recommend for somebody wanting out there listening, wanting to do this for themselves?
Dr. Amir Rashidian: You know… Gosh, I don’t know… because the third way is to sell the book to a publisher. And nowadays… It used to be people would get a couple hundred thousand dollars as an advance for your book. Now, they’re given a lot less, you might get five grand for your book. Then the publisher owns the rights to your book. Most publishers will say, “Okay, we’re going to print 1000 copies and that’s it.” And then if you want them to print more copies of your book, they won’t do it. You have to buy the book back from them, and they won’t sell it back to you for the $5000 they gave you. You have to pay them a lot more because if they have competing titles and other authors that write about the same thing, it won’t work. But some people go the traditional route with a literary agent, and they’re very successful and they do well. So, I don’t know, maybe the third book we’ll try that again. Maybe I’ll go back to my literary agent and see if he can promote that one.
Dr. Stefanie Rodsater: If he does a better job. Okay, so you mentioned your accountability group, like that you had… That somebody said, “Hey, you got to write down 100 reasons why you should write this book,” right? Tell us a little bit about your accountability group and your experience and what that’s added to your life, and obviously pushed you to write your book, which is awesome. But tell us how else it’s affected your life?
Dr. Amir Rashidian: Yeah, it’s been great. I’ve been in the same accountability group, I don’t know for how long, maybe 12 years. The members have come and gone and changed, but it’s been the same group, and it’s life-changing, obviously. I look forward to it every week. It’s Tuesday morning at 6 AM. And a lot of times we talk about headspace, because as a group we think that’s the most important thing. A lot of times we’ll study a book and discuss it and talk about it, and obviously hold each other accountable, which is the most important thing. I think it’s been life changing, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Dr. Stefanie Rodsater: What’s a best practice?
Dr. Amir Rashidian: Sorry?
Dr. Stefanie Rodsater: Share a best practice of your accountability group and what’s made you guys successful.
Dr. Amir Rashidian: I think the best thing is getting to know each other, because once you’ve been talking to someone every single week for more than a few years, you know them, and they know you. So, I’ll come and say, “Hey guys, I really want to do this.” And three of them will go, “You know what? Four years ago, you tried that, and it didn’t work. So, either do it differently or don’t do it.” But if you’ve been in an accountability group just a few months, and members keep changing, and you just don’t get to know each other on that deep level… I know we do the lifeline, and that’s really helpful, but just time. There’s no substitute for time. So just stay in your group, and make sure you guys really bond and gel and get to know each other well.
Dr. Lynne Mouw: That’s the best advice because I’ve seen that in our group as well, and I also have talked to other people who have had some fluctuations. And Stef, your group, I mean week after week, for however many years now, seven or eight?
Dr. Stefanie Rodsater: Yeah.
Dr. Lynne Mouw: And it’s like… It just gets so much richer the deeper that you guys can go. So, we should mention you are a founding member of the UAC, which is amazing. And so, you’ve been in the UAC for as long as it’s been around, 10 years now, right?
Dr. Amir Rashidian: 2008.
Dr. Lynne Mouw: Oh, my goodness. Oh, gosh. Yeah, time flies. So, what do you love about the UAC? And how have you seen it evolve? And how are you excited about where it’s at today?
Dr. Amir Rashidian: Oh my God, it’s nothing like it used to be. But what was really neat was this last meeting was a lot like it used to be. Because when we started, we were in a small conference room with Patrick Gentempo, and there were maybe 12 chiropractors and our staff was there, or spouses. And the whole meeting, a day-and-a-half, was sharing. And each person would just get up and share and talk about what they’re doing and what they want to be held accountable for, and so on. And in fact, the first accountability call was Patrick with everybody. And we tried that, I think it was once a month, and then as it got bigger, then we divided into smaller accountability groups. But yeah. So, it’s just nice to think about those old times, especially with the other two guys, Steve, and Pete. It’s neat to talk about those old days or the very, very first meeting. But I like it, I like how it’s gone, and it’s like family. We get together, and it’s like holidays and family. It’s fantastic. So, you just can’t substitute that.
Dr. Lynne Mouw: Love it. Can’t put a price on that.
Dr. Stefanie Rodsater: What do you feel like is the biggest thing, your takeaway? Obviously, with it being since 2008, there’s a lot of value in this group for you. What are you feeling like you’re pulling from it that’s just adding to your life?
Dr. Amir Rashidian: I always feel like I got to step up my game to keep up with the rest of you guys. So that’s really helpful, to walk into that room and see the energy and see the enthusiasm, see how humble everybody is, and knowing what they’ve done, and what they can do and, what they’ve achieved, is just incredible. So, it’s humbling, it’s exciting, it’s motivating, and just, I’d say that’s the best thing.
Dr. Stefanie Rodsater: I feel the same way. That’s awesome. Amir, what would you say is one of your big superpowers? What do you feel like you really bring into that room, like that energy, what do you bring in there?
Dr. Amir Rashidian: Off the top of my head, obviously, communicating the chiropractic philosophy, I think is a superpower. And then just faith, believing that God will take care of you, and will lead you, will speak to you, will provide for you, will meet your needs, and help you learn through the days.
Dr. Lynne Mouw: I love that.
Dr. Stefanie Rodsater: You definitely bring that.
Dr. Lynne Mouw: Thank you so much for being here and answering our questions and being so open. And one thing I love about you is you are a man with just… You’re impressive, you’re tall and you’re broad, but you’re so quiet, and it’s a quiet strength. And so, I just love getting to know you a little bit deeper here and seeing your personality come out.
Dr. Amir Rashidian: Thank you.
Dr. Lynne Mouw: Yeah, and I hope to see you and your wife in the New Year. And speaking of, we’ll be heading to Arizona, Scottsdale, in February. And if you haven’t had your rooms reserved, please email, text Christa and get your room reserved, because that room block will likely sell out. And yeah, Stef, why don’t you close this out?
Dr. Stefanie Rodsater: Amir, thank you so much for joining us today. Can we find your book on Amazon? Tell us where we can find your book.
Dr. Amir Rashidian: Yeah, it’s in every bookstore. But definitely Amazon is the best way to go. If you want to do bulk orders, send me an email and I’ll send you the link, if it’s something you want to do as Christmas present. Amazon doesn’t do bulk discounts, so I’ll send you a discount link to be able to do that.
Dr. Stefanie Rodsater: That’s awesome, thank you.
Dr. Lynne Mouw: That’s great. That’s good.
Dr. Stefanie Rodsater: With that, will you end by telling us a little… Give us a little bit of part of that secret. Obviously, don’t ruin the book for us, but give us that carrot to make us want to read it all.
Dr. Amir Rashidian: 100%. Bottom line, it’s innate intelligence. Your body is designed to adapt to whatever comes your way. I believe the number one reason we fail to achieve our goals and dreams and aspirations is because we can’t handle the stress that comes our way. You got to believe and receive that stress. Expect it. If you want to go after higher education, or open more offices, or expand your family, have more children, whatever it might be, you know there’s going to be stress that comes with that. So instead of trying to avoid that stress, get stronger. Get stronger, so you can take the hits and still keep going forward. You get stronger so you can carry the burden, not have it knock you down. Get stronger so you can go after those dreams, goals and aspirations and succeed every single time. And you get stronger by training for the stress like a prize-fighter does. See, if you knew you were going to step into the ring and fight someone who’s bigger than you, stronger than you, faster than you, you would train for that. You take those next six months and really build up the muscles, the speed, the endurance, the mental toughness to be able to handle it. So, whatever you’re going for, you need to work on that part of it as well.
Dr. Amir Rashidian: And then after that, it’s simple. Number one is chiropractic, obviously. Then you’ve got to do the other basics like how are you sleeping, because I always believe how you sleep is more important than how long you sleep. I don’t sleep very long, but I’ll make sure it’s useful. How you eat is more important than what you eat. Again, you could be eating whatever your definition of healthy food is, you can be eating that, but if you’re in a car in rush hour traffic, late for your next appointment, talking to a business associate on the phone, your body is in fight or flight. Whatever food you put in there turns to poison. You can’t digest it, it’ll sit in your stomach, ferment, and it won’t become nutrition. But if you’re sitting with friends, you play maybe classical music, say a prayer of gratitude before you eat, a lot of changes physiologically that receives that food properly. So, some of the stuff I talk about is kind of controversial and counter-intuitive, but that’s what chiropractic is too.
Dr. Lynne Mouw: Love it. Love it.
Dr. Stefanie Rodsater: I love it. Say the name of your book one more time so we can get it on Amazon.
Dr. Amir Rashidian: It’s called, ‘Cracking the Stress Secret: How to Turn Pressure into Power’.
Dr. Lynne Mouw: Love it.
Dr. Stefanie Rodsater: Good. That’s awesome. Thank you so much for being with us today, Amir.
Dr. Lynne Mouw: Thanks, Amir.
Dr. Amir Rashidian: My pleasure. Thank you, guys.
Dr. Stefanie Rodsater: Bye.
Dr. Amir Rashidian: Bye-bye.
