EPISODE SUMMARY
Guest: Celia Ringstad, D.C.
Dr. Celia Ringstad shares her chiropractic story and Blair Upper Cervical Specific Care in particular. A third-generation Alaskan and one of nine kids, the trajectory of her future was quickly altered when a drunk driver changed the course of her life. She spent weeks in the hospital and underwent numerous surgeries and treatments for a multitude of injuries. She had a traumatic brain injury, spontaneous episodic paralysis, along with multiple broken bones. After months and months, the doctors told her parents there was nothing more they could do for her.
After six months of Blair Upper Cervical Chiropractic Care, the pain, the fog, the fatigue, the pain meds, the difficulty sleeping …. All of that just completely resolved. It went away. She had her life back.
She’s an Alaskan girl. She is a highly sought-after International Speaker and Trainer, where she truly shines by sharing her authentic sparkle like no other.
In this episode, we cover the following topics:
Dr. Celia Ringstad's transition from orthopedic surgeon/neurologist to Blair Upper Cervical Chiropractor after a traumatic car accident
Referral to Blair Upper Cervical Chiropractic by her neurologist for nerve damage
Remarkable recovery in nine months: regained ability to walk without assistance, pain relief, elimination of brain fog, and improved speech
Dr. Celia Ringstad's 30-year practice in Roseville, CA
The strong sense of community and a family-like atmosphere in her practice
Attracts patients from around the world who express gratitude for her and Dr. Pierce
The holistic approach to healthcare, addressing emotional, physical, chemical, spiritual, financial, and sleep aspects of patients' lives
Special focus on caring for children, leading to life-changing experiences
Passion for helping individuals with Parkinson's Disease
Mentorship and inspiration from Dr. Muncy and Millie in the early years, emphasizing excellence
Consulting and mentoring young professionals, particularly young female doctors, focusing on communication, confidence, and breaking down challenges
Belief in self and continuous learning as crucial elements of success
The unique aspect of couples working together in healing professions.
To contact Dr. Ringstad:
https://rosevilleblairchiro.com/contact-us
https://www.facebook.com/celia.ringstad
Upper Cervical Marketing Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/upper-cervical-marketing-podcast/id1070658018
https://open.spotify.com/show/0bIfehtFvfqGMxh7Eqa1mW
To contact Ruth, go to https://www.blairclinic.com
ruth@blairclinic.com
https://www.facebook.com/rutelin
Episodes where Dr. Muncy is mentioned:
https://www.blairclinic.com/podcast-episode-summaries/a-true-love-story-that-leads-to-an-upper-cervical-February 6: A True Love Story
May 16th: Perry Rush episode 1.
Transcript
Welcome, welcome, welcome to What Pain in the Neck. I am Ruth Elder, your host. And in this podcast episode, I am so pleased and honored and excited to sit across from one of the first ever Upper Cervical doctors I met a long, long time ago. And from day one, you were just like, you would come into Dr. Muncy’s office. And I think maybe you were still in school at that time.
Yeah.
This was back in the 90s.
Early 90s.
Yes. And you would come in and just, the sunshine would - you'd bring the sunshine with you.
Thank you.
And you're still that way today after all these years, and that's why I wanted to have you on.
Right on.
Let me welcome Dr. Celia Ringstad.
Hello, hello, Miss Ruth Elin. I love you, girl.
Okay, well, mutual admiration society. How's that?
That's right.
All right. So Dr. Ringstad, why don't you just introduce yourself, what you're doing, where you're at? Right now we're in Las Vegas at the Blair Upper Cervical Annual Conference. Let's see, how long have you been a chiropractor?
Okay, my journey started in 1990, long time ago and it started because I was in a car accident that changed my life forever. I had set out originally to be a medical doctor. I was on the trail to be an orthopedic surgeon or a neurologist. And here I am today as a Blair Upper Cervical doctor, which I am so forever grateful.
Talk to us about the accident and then also why are you happy to be a chiropractor instead of a medical doctor? And surely medical profession is a great profession, and yet you're happy to be a chiropractor.
Good question. So, why? Well let me start with the accident. The accident was a life changing accident. I was hit head on at 7:15 in the morning, in the middle of winter, and I was ejected a mile and a half from the truck.
A mile and a half?
Yep, they said that doesn't happen. I was propelled. The side of the truck, I was the passenger. My side of the truck was ripped off and however, you know, it's a God thing. I am a God thing and I know it and I'm aware of it. My right ankle got hooked in the part of the truck that got - of the door.
Oh my gosh.
And it propelled me. And they said, the people that were bystanders said it looked literally like a projectile missile, poof, and then I impaled into the snowbank, which was a godsend too, because it was, you know, I was compact and it was, it was like compression before compression was even a thing. But they did have to take a backhoe to get me out. I was like a bug in an ice cube and you know, it was big fun. I was in the hospital for months and months and months. I broke almost every bone in my body except for my neck.
Wow.
Every bone in my cervical spine was not broken and/or injured. You know, as they say, but as we know, I was because I had a massive brain injury. It was a long journey back. I had spontaneous paralysis, the lumbar spine.
So that means you couldn't walk.
Correct. And I was in a wheelchair.
And you probably couldn't feel your legs.
Nothing. Yeah. There was nothing. I had caretakers, you know, workers with me. We got to a point where they were my assistants. They helped, you know, regenerate me back with the daily stuff because I couldn't do any of that. I couldn't speak. I sounded like a freak with my - all my words were garbled. It wasn't a pretty time in my life.
That's intense.
It was intense.
You're always so cheerful and upbeat now, were you - how was your mental state during all of that?
Well, you know, it’s curious, I believe I'm that girl that believes who you are when you come into this earth, you are that person. And through it all, I never went dark. I never went low. The attorneys in the case wanted me to go for the jugular and I just wanted everything to be taken care of, settled And I wanted to get on with my life. And thank God I had the parents I had. They're both in heaven now. They never gave up. And they said, “we need to find, we need to find, we need to find. There is something that is going to help her come back.” And it did. And it was, you know, everything happened as it's supposed to. That is, you know, the good part of it. I healed. I got back. They put Humpty Dumpty back together again. I had 17 surgeries. I was addicted to 32 hardcore drugs.
Oh, wow.
Got off all of that and I have a sister that is a chiropractor as well in Dallas and she said, you know, when I was well enough, still in a wheelchair, to come out and live with her. My spine doctors, three of them, were right there in Dallas, so I could be treated still by them and living with her and having her work on me as well. So it was a perfect, perfect picture. Did that and I got well enough that she enrolled me into Parker and that is where I met Dr. Pierce. And from day one at Parker, he had been under the influence - had met old, old school Upper Cervical doctors there. And they just started, you know, uploading into Dr. Pierce's brain, which I knew nothing about Upper Cervical, nothing. I had always gone to a full spine chiropractor since I was three. So Upper Cervical seemed like the farthest thing away from me. And I was going to be a surgeon, so chiropractic wasn't like a thing, and I was like... Why am I even doing this?
Yes, and I almost would have thought, like, after an experience like you had, it seems like it should have even made you more resolved to be a surgeon, because the initial people who put you back together again were surgeons.
They were, and the beautiful thing is, like, I do literally refer, as they did to me, as Humpty Dumpty. What they could not fix. I sounded like an animal. I could not think straight. I could not speak straight. I could not walk. And my neurologist in the team said, you need an Upper Cervical.You have nerve damage. He said it. He told my parents, she needs an Upper Cervical Chiropractor. This is what my family has used forever. And my parents were like, “we don't even know what that is. What is that?” And thank God, thank God. I thank God every day for that neurologist, Dr. Goldstein, an amazing man. And it changed my life, clearly, right? Hence got the ball rolling. I meet Dr. Pierce. He says, “give me a year.” He was a student. And he's telling me, well, “give me a year of, you know, doing Upper Cervical on you.” And I was like, “dude, you're not even, you're nothing. You're just a student.” But his belief was so strong. And Dr. Quella was the Upper Cervical doctor. He's like, “yeah, he knows exactly what he's doing. If you want someone, he is a null. He'll get it done.” And I didn't believe either one of them. And I was like, well, as long as I'm safe and I still have my people around me,I'll do it. So I did. And the first adjustment, you know, as we all know, you land a side posture table and there was a whole gaggle of people around because I was scared. He made the adjustment. And for the first time in three and a half years, I just felt warm water, just flushing my entire body. And I was like, what just happened? And I was scared. I mean, I was walking around gray and I had like, I was kind of looking lifeless. You could hear people gasp because they turned pink, like immediately pink. Yeah, it was freaky. And so I didn't move. I'm just laying there. My eyes were big and everyone was like, “are you okay? Are you okay?” And my yes sounded like a guttural, you know, I sounded really weird. So they got the, yes, she's fine. Nothing broke. And he had me lay down for like an hour and a half. And that was the first adjustment. And when I did get up, I was like, this is something different. My head felt like lighter. My body felt lighter. I couldn't speak really clear still, but I just had this warm sensation. I looked in the mirror and I started crying because I was color. I had color instead of gray and my eyes had gotten to be like looking black and everything just looked bright again. I was like, “Oh, for the first time in three and a half years, me is coming back. The sunshine girl, the happy girl.” Even though through the whole, you know, surgeries, the drugs, the, all of that, I tried to be as positive as I could be because I just was scared to give up hope. That's the real truth.
Yeah. Yeah. I can't imagine you like that because yeah, like I said, everywhere you go, you bring the sunshine.
Thank you. Yeah.
Yeah. It's true.
I had good parents. They're like that too.
That's fun. Yeah, we need more sunshine in the world.
Thank you. I agree. 100%.
Yeah, so it was that experience. So there's surgeons in the world that know how to put people together from trauma and we need those but then you discover there's fewer people who know to do what Dr. Pierce did.
Correct. That is correct. I have an immense amount of respect for a really good surgeon, as we all know. You know, good is good, no matter what you do in life. I was blessed with really good people around me. I just needed that one extra, you know, the caveat that was gonna heal my body. And that is what all of my doctors - MDs at this point, had said that was what was missing.
Yeah and so that's when you -
That's when I was like, nope,I'm doing this. This is it.
So then you enrolled in chiropractic school and the rest is history.
The rest is history. And here I am. I met Dr. Muncy and Millie, his wife. And I really do give both of them equal credit. They kind of took Dr. Pierce and myself under their wing like their kids. And we spent almost every weekend with them at their house.
Okay. So I will link and then show notes. To an episode where I talk about who Dr. Muncy and Millie are.
Oh good.
Yeah, so okay carry on.
We were just fortunate from then on because it was - they gave us a ton of videos from Dr. Blair. Blair notes, Blair books. Yeah, and we just absorbed absorbed absorbed and I knew I knew I knew, I knew that we were on the right path.
So how did you know?
How did I know?
Yeah.
Because I had grown up with chiropractors my entire life and I had seen a ton of them and I thought, you know, there's a lot of good ones too that are full spine and do other techniques. Blair was like literally -when you have had 35 doctors that are world renowned working on you and they still can't get you to speak like a normal person again. And you can't get rid of the brain fog. You can't get rid of the high, the low, your emotions are all over the place. Your body, just, my body felt like it was on fire until that first adjustment. Blair was the first adjustment that I got. The fire was gone. The burning, I mean, yeah. And literally in nine months, three days and 12 hours. I was completely out of the wheelchair, no crutches, no braces, no assistance. It was almost like the accident had never happened and to this day, you know, if people don't know -
It's impossible to know by looking at you. It's impossible to know.
Yes. So tell me that I am not a God thing, right? I'm a God child. I am. And I know it. It was a miracle all over the place.
Yeah. And this was a long time ago now. And now you've made your life about doing that for other people.
It is.
And how long have you been in practice right now?
Right now, this will be 30 years.
Yeah. Sounds about right.
I'd have to think about that.
That's incredible. Congratulations. So can you, sum up some of your highlights of what you've seen in that time?
Oh my gosh. You know, that's the beauty of Blair. When I look at our practice and our office and you know the success and the happiness and the joys that we all share, because in our practice it really feels like a family affair. We have people that fly in all over the world to come in to see us and talk about gratitude. Talk about gratitude.
And you’re in California?
Yes. Yeah. Roseville, California, Northern California, Sacramento. We've been fortunate, like the fun things we've gotten to do. We've done mission trips to Dubai, Qatar, Pakistan, Germany, England, we've done them a lot, a lot of different places, Mexico, Canada. And then we did, you know, the Kentucky hearts,, kids for hearts in Oklahoma for a while. Those are things that I would never have even known was even an option for me had it not been for Blair. So the world just doesn't know that, that even Upper Cervical exists. And when, you know, you have a gift, you got to open your mouth. And so that is what I have done big time. And I love it. I love, I mean, that's how our practice is. People came in there through COVID just because it was a respite. You know, we'd never shut down. We never did masks. We never - we acted as if 100 percent and people were just like, can we just come in? I came into our office one day, there was 150 people in our lobby, just waiting for us to open just to be around the environment. That's pretty cool.
Yeah, that is incredible.
I mean, that's stupid cool. Yeah, that is. So I was like, okay, we got to have some, you know, juice, coffee, whatever, you know, trays here. So people can hang out and it was like a big old living room, which is cool.
Yeah, that is cool. So you're helping people big time.
Yeah, we are. They're helping us too, you know I think it's both ways. I really do. I say that all the time. We get just as much as we give. We have quality, quality, quality people in our, in our entire world, you know, mentors, patients, friends, you know.
Yeah, so your main thing and your main purpose in life is helping people through Blair Upper Cervical.
It is.
But you kind of help the whole person.
We do.
You do some coaching, you help people with their nutrition. One of the things that I personally like about the Blair Technique is - and I'm all about, lifestyle changes. But when I was sick, none of those things would work. I was working on my nutrition. I was still sick. If I tried to exercise, I would hurt myself because my structure was not right. And there was nothing I could do to really get well. And with you, with your accident. You know, it wasn't about what you could do to get help. So the great thing with Blair Upper Cervical is all you have to do is show up and trust that - well, find a good doctor and then, and then it works. Let the doctor do what they do best, 100 percent and then it helps. And yet you're helping people through coaching through nutrition. So how does that fit together?
So people ask me that all the time. Like what does a day in your office look like and who, who are you as a doctor, as a practitioner? The real answer is anyone that walks in our office that we see them as who they are, you know, meet them where they are at, at that moment in life. Nutrition is a part of our everyday life, right? And that, as we all know, if you know, if one thing is outta balance, whether it's emotional, physical, spiritual, chemical, it's gonna have an effect on the nervous system, right? So in the consultations we ask, you know, what is your primary reason for being in today? What has brought you in? Where are you at in your life that you want to be better today, tomorrow, and in the future? So that opens a whole conversation and that's where - so I don't sit there and promote, “Oh, I do, uh, you know, nutrition. I do weight loss. I do coaching.” It's not that. I am here to help you be a better you for tomorrow. That's all I ever say. I am a life changer. That's it. That's it. And if you want a better life. a more functional life, cool, cool, you're in the right place. And that opens many doors. Like goofy, you know, conversations just like this, you think, “oh no, no big deal.” It is a big deal. Then they will say, Oh, you know, “I have had cancer. Can you do anything about that?” Nope. Can't treat cancer. That's not it. We don't do that, but we do help your body, get back to clean, lean, fighting machine, right? Turn the nervous system on. Make sure every system, emotionally, physically, chemically, spiritually, financially, sleep. All the restoration that we're all supposed to be receiving, that the person has the opportunity to be able to take advantage of. That's what I do every day. Literally every day. Those are conversations. What exactly is it that you're missing in your life that you want? Do you want better? Do you want it now? Do you want it in six months? Do you want to have a conversation? That's how it is. Every day.
That's great.
It's fun. It's super fun.
What's your favorite part about the whole thing?
You know, that's a little bit hard. So the journey has been different. We've helped so many - what I really jam on, I will say this is the little kids. We have had so many kids like four year old little kids that come in with seizures from birth. The kind that, you know, the parents have had like one hour, maybe, a sleep of night cause like the kids are having seizure, seizure, seizure, seizure, like literally 15 minute increments and their poor little bodies are like in tetany, you know. The first adjustments they get they sleep four hours and the parents are like, “whoa, what happened? Yeah, this isn't normal”. And the parents too fall asleep for four hours.So there's a lot of gratitude. I love, I love working on the little one, the specific, I don't know why seizures are a big, big thing with a little kids that. You know, we get a ton flying for that. That makes my heart jam because that changes their life forever. The cool thing that I say, and I just was talking to a person just this morning who was one of those kids.
Really?
Yes.
And they're here?
Not here. She called me on the phone. And we were having a conversation and, because she's like, “oh my God, it was, it was almost 30 years ago.” Because she's now bringing her kids in as patients, right? So the generations continue and she was so afraid that it was a genetic thing, right? Cause three of her six kids came out with these seizures that were just like, it's not a genetic thing, you know, as we know, it's not, but she's so forever grateful. And today was a day of gratitude for her to share with me. Those are the cool stories that make me go, I'm never going to stop this. Parkinson's that's another - cause there's two elderly communities around us. Parkinson's is a big, the early brain, you know, dementia is going on. That's another one that I am particularly fond of.
Yeah. We've seen a lot of people getting a lot of help from that too.
Yeah. It's huge. It's huge. They just need to know that we're there.
Yeah. Excellent. Now I would like to actually rewind. I guess I'm old enough to know that word.
Yeah. You're younger than me, so that's okay. We're still young, right?
Yes.
Young at heart.
Yes, you were, you just barely touched on it, and I would just like to elaborate a little bit more. You were talking about coming to see Dr. Muncy and Millie Muncy. And that they were pouring their lives and their knowledge into you. So what role do you see early on, that mentoring, What role did that play in you? And now that you're, you know, 30 years in, how are you able to pay that forward?
I like that question. Dedication. That’s the first thing that ever comes to my mind with Dr. Muncy and Millie. That's very true. Dedication, dedication, dedication, through and through and through. When you believe in something and you've had an experience that literally changes your life for the better. It's huge. There's nothing, you know, nobody can understand them until they've walked those shoes. I've talked to thousands of doctors at this point that have never even had an experience like that, but they're doing Upper Cervical because it just makes sense. Which is great. Dr. Muncy and Millie, the specificity was - there was no room for “oh almost almost it's okay.” No, can you ever imagine Dr Muncy saying okay to almost? You remember those days. No way. And what would He do? He would look at you “okay you have a nice day!” and just walk away.
Yeah.
Those little insidious behavioral things every weekend. Just getting our head right. You know, “what are you reading? What are you thinking? Who are you helping outside of chiropractic?”
Yeah. It was either yes or no with him.
It was yes or no. And if you dare say no, he had no time for you.
Yeah. And then also, also daring to practice your adjustment and your skill in front of him and says, “no, no, yes, no.”
You get it, you get it. So that's how Dr. Pierce and I both learned, you know, so sometimes I get it, like people are like, “oh, they're kind of harsh or whatever.” Oh, please, harsh.
Yeah, that's how my husband learned, too.
Yes, back in the day.
It was intimidating, but you got good because you had to just get over yourself.
You did. Thankfully I was never ever intimidated by Dr. Muncy or Millie. I would always tell him, “you just try and be so tough, and you're not.” And he's like, “oh, yes, I am. I'm a big deal.” I'm like, “okay, well. We're here to learn. Big deal. The big deal.”
Yeah. My journey was a little different because I came in as an assistant, so I was more just like the fly on the wallI. Was just in the background. I mean, it wasn't my place to say anything, but I learned so much. Soaking it all up in those conversations.
You could have been a doctor. You could have. With your knowledge, I call you a doctor.
Okay. Well, thank you.
Yes. But anyway, the biggest thing was dedication and specificity. There's no room for almost. And to never ever question yourself. You know, just keep on researching, do the primary, do the primary, do the primary. Learn it, know it and then become your expert. Yeah. But never have that attitude of, “I am the top. I am the best.”
He never - I mean, he really was the top and he was the only teacher for a long time, but he never did have that attitude. He would always just say, you never stop learning.
That's right. And that's what I say, you know, it's funny. The conference, you know, the students are like,” just talk to me, just talk to me. Like, I want to get to the advanced.” I'm like, “whoa, whoa, whoa, present tense. Be here where you are now, learn the primary, you know, beginning stages, and then just get really good at it.” Can you imagine saying that to Dr. Muncy? Like, “hurry up, excuse me, shortcuts, we don't need all those steps.” Oh my god! Oh my god, he'd be like,” see, I, there, steps, systems. Systems are important.”
Just take the class. Just do the next thing. And practice again.
And again and again and again.
And then tomorrow you get up and do it again.
Do it again. And we still do that. I mean that's one thing that most people would probably be like, “no way, well no” you train in the morning. We did it day one. We still do it 30 years later. You keep your vision crystal clear. You set your goals. You achieve your goals. We don't spend a lot of time like crying over like anything. We don't. We both, thank God, love what we do and feel the gratitude for it. And our, appreciative that it's still growing. You know, growth has changes and struggles and, you know, people might not like what they see all the time, but growth is good.
Yeah. So that, I think at this point we're at the part B of my question is the mentoring that you received, how are you paying that forward now?
So I for you know, what I said to you less literally 30 years, coach female doctors and have done that from day one. And I had a background in counseling.
So you were a counselor when the accident happened?
I was. Correct. Yes, I was and then the eventful accident. But it, you know, everything bad has a reason and a place, right? And it just has strengthened my relationships, I will say, with ease of going into, you know, business, healthcare, different arenas. It's easy for me to talk with people and people to talk with me. So it's never been - I love, I love brand new businesses. So where I first got hooked into business coaching was in a Chamber of Commerce meeting. And I had the head, the CEO of Coca-Cola Came up to me and he was like, “you are like a little spitfire, I need you to train my HR group.” And I'm like, “wait, what? I'm not even old enough.” But that was my very first client was the CEO of Coca-Cola. And cool guy. But he is like, “you just need to, to show the HR how to be people.” And I think that's for a lot of people. They just forget. Just have conversations. Don't judge. Don't put up walls. Just be there.
Just be a person. And the person that's right in front of you is the only person that really matters right now.
It is. And so that's how it began. And then from there, Delta did it, asked me to come on and do it with them, with their international reservation agents. So it just was like one company after another company that were big companies. And so again, you know, I think it's a God thing. I'm not sure. You know, yes, I do have fun with people. And yes, it's easy for me to chit chat.
Yeah, and you really do bring the sunshine. And who doesn't like that?
Especially in the workforce. I mean, there's a lot of, like, grunt work. So, that is where the coaching really, really began. Now I do twenty new graduate female doctors. And I mentor them for five years if they want it. No charge. Because a lot was given to me, and I understand that, you know what Weldon and Millie did for myself and Dr. Pierce. You can't put a price on that one. You can't. That literally changed our lives and so did Blair. So who am I to not help other people?
So now you're helping people with this help that you have been helped yourself.
I am. You know, and I say, you know, the females, but there are a few, male doctors too.
Do you find that oftentimes with female doctors, maybe the confidence might be a little bit more of an issue?
Yep. It's the number one issue. And if there's anything I can ever say to females is, you know, you don't need more certifications. You don't need more just to build your confidence, right? You either have the belief in yourself and your ability or you don't, but you can get it. By working on it. You do it every single day. Certifications are great. I'm not saying that they're not, because I have a ton of certifications as well.
Yes, and that's how you, your skill is first and foremost, and that's what confidence is built on. At the end of the day. People come to see us in our offices because they get better.
Correct.
And in order to do that, you have to be the best doctor that you can be. If your doctor skills are not good, work on that first. But then comes the confidence.
That's it. Well, yeah, I think it's twofold. I really do think the harder you work on whatever your skill is and you are confident in “I'm doing the best job I can do.” Your confidence builds on that. It's having the confidence to go out and have conversations. I find with a lot of female doctors will think, “Oh, I look too young or I don't know how to do the business part of this. I'm not sure of myself.” Those are the comments I get a lot. Or, you know, “I don't know how to manage having babies. And do the practice. I don't know how to manage my husband's career and my career.” It's doable. It is doable. You know it, I know it. You just have to look at what your goals are, work together, communicate, you know, break it down. Break it down. Very simple steps. But the more you practice, the better you come at anything.
Yeah, that's right. Thank you so much for sharing some of your sunshine with us. But before we close, what is one thing as a doctor or as a person or from your life or your heart or anything like that, that I haven't asked you that - what's something that you just wish everybody would know and think about and take away from this conversation?
The biggest thing is to believe in yourself. Get a full understanding of, if you’re inthe Blair work, you never stop learning this. You never ever ever stop learning this and don't be afraid to literally just break every goal that you ever thought you had, do it. Right because I just see so many people try try try try and get overwhelmed and stop. So that is my biggest thing is like, nope,
Don't stop.
Don't stop. You keep on going. There are people here to help you. That's the bigger thing. You just have to ask, you know, if you don't know where to look, ask. There's a ton of good, great doctors in the Blair society, in the Blair world, maybe not even in the society, but they're out there. and belief in yourself, like the dedication that Dr. Muncie and Millie, you know, laid into me. I will never let go of that. I will never ever let go of that. Balance is huge. That is one of the bigger things that I would wish for everyone is balance in their life. Personal and business because it does seem to go heavy on the professional. You better enjoy and love and have a really fun practice and a really good group. So you're having fun. That's probably my biggest thing.
Yeah. Thank you. Great advice.
It's simple. It's straight. It's, you know, easy. People really, I think they over, try and overcomplicate it. We're in the Blair world, which is a lot of intellectual, like your head is on. And, you know, there's been many times where I'm like, “oh my God, my head's ready to explode. I have so much information in here”. That sometimes I just need to go, okay. Chill it out, ease it on, be able to converse with a five year old. You know what I'm saying?
Yes. I have been known to say that myself. “Pretend I'm a five year old and then explain it to me.”
Yep, let's just keep it easy. Because you get into overload. And that's where a lot of people get overwhelmed. And then things start to slip. You know, in our world, I don't allow for slippage.
Yeah. And that actually is one of the main things that I learned from Dr. Muncy. He was super smart and he taught complicated things, but the way he explained it and the way he talked was, a five year old could totally understand it.
That was directly from Millie. That was her, “Weldon, you have to be able to talk like everyone can understand you.” Millie was a genius. I look at you and Gordon, I'm like, well, Weldon and Millie, juniors. Well, you know, there's a lot of similarities, but Millie gets as much credit as Dr. Muncy did in my book.
Yeah, I agree.
She was a force.
She really was. And he also said that he wouldn't even have been a doctor without her.
He would not have.
And he always would say that she was smarter than he is.
Oh, she was. And Dr. Muncy was brilliant. But that just goes to show you, you know, two brilliant minds can come together and keep it simple at the same time, right? To share the love, the dedication and the gift.
And when you work together, really, it lightens the load and you can accomplish more.
Yeah, I think it's so much better.
And that's what you see with Dr. Pierce as well.
Yeah. Today, just walking up here, I had three students come up to me. “Can I ask you a really quick question?” I'm like, “sure, go ahead.” All three of them. “Do you think you should marry another chiropractor?” It wasn't all girls. There was two girls, one boy, but they all asked me, “do you think, you know, would you recommend that? Would you suggest it?” I'm like, “why wouldn't you, you just have to be able to communicate, be honest with each other. I think it's a blast. So why would I say no?” Why would I - you just have to understand each other, respect each other. And continue that, right? You can't lose the respect, first of all, and the love. It takes a lot of work, just like any marriage would be, but I mean, how much fun is it if you're, if you're doing the same thing, you have, you know, mutual goals, you don't lose yourself. I mean, obviously, Dr. Pierce and I are completely opposites. No stretch there, but, you know, it works, and, oh my God, it's a blast. So why not?
Yeah, it kind of comes back to the famous chiropractic quote from B. J. Palmer. “I love you because you love the things that I love” and there's an element of that that makes a relationship that much stronger, I think.
It does. And that again was Millie, laying that down, you know, “you're laying down the right foundations for you and Dr. Pierce” and I'm like, “okay, cool.” And sometimes we all need those affirmations of you're doing the right thing. The right thing, the right approach, the right journey. I mean, you would agree. You and Gordon, it's you and Gordon. It's not just Gordon or just Rut Elin. Both of you. You guys are Weldon and Millie juniors.
I'll take it. That's really quite the comparison.
Well, it is. You had skin in the game though with both of them.
Okay. Thank you. That took a turn. I didn't expect, but thank you so much. And I feel like we've been over a lot and I feel pretty confident as anytime you open your mouth, you have encouraged somebody. Yeah. And, is there anything else that needs to be said before we call it a day?
I think you did a great job. You did a really good job.I thank you for having me and go for it.