In This Week’s Episode…
Welcome to this special episode of Warrior Week: Parables From the Pit with your host, Coach Sam, and his guest, Dr. Todd Snyder, dental artist extraordinaire and graduate of Warrior Week 46. In today’s episode, we learn the unusual circumstances that brought Dr. Todd to the gates of Warrior, what resonated with him, how it has impacted every area of his life, his biggest take-aways, and what he has created for other dentists as a result.
Parable #1: Veneers, Lambos, and Surfing
- Dr. Todd’s first encounter with Warrior was through Garrett’s wife, Danielle, who showed up in his dental clinic looking for veneers. Not long after that, he saw a Lamborghini in his parking lot one day, snapped a photo alongside it, and stepped into his office to find a tattooed man waiting for him.
- After a couple of conversations and surfing sessions, coupled with a curiosity-driven visit to Garrett’s online presence, Dr. Todd was all-in with Warrior. “I was in a place at that point in time where his message resonated with me. I was burnt out in my career, I was stressed, and it cascaded over into my marriage and personal life, where everything felt stressed and overwhelming. I was going nowhere, and if anything, I was going backward and drowning.”
QUESTION: How did Warrior come into your life?
Parable #2: Armor of Steel & Emotional Backpacks
- Coach Sam recognized Dr. Todd’s humility in their conversations. “You’re a doctor, you’re a healer, you’re a businessman. That, by itself, is a fuck combo, emotionally.” He understands why so many doctors, dentists, and surgeons feel alone because of the armor they have to constantly wear and never take off, in addition to the emotional backpack they carry around filled with things no one wants to talk about.
- Dr. Todd explains that the majority of doctors and dentists are introverts and are not usually social, outgoing people. Over time, the artistry of building and fixing teeth becomes who you are. It’s common to take things personally or beat yourself up when something doesn’t work correctly or when a patient complains. This leads to burn-out and dentists wanting to throw the towel in after twenty years in.
QUESTION: How has the reality of “we don’t talk about it” affected your life?
Parable #3: The Many Faces of Dr. Todd
- There’s the crazy soul that pushes things to the edge, the calculated doctor, the healer whose heart kicks in, and the artist extraordinaire that creates. At the end of the day, it’s his hands and fingers that are the agency of his art. As such, it creates a wide-open space for the plague of elf-sabotage to inch its way in. Dr. Todd thought that Warrior might be a way out for him.
- “I was definitely conflicted with all the different things I was doing. To drop everything and just start doing Warrior was interesting. After doing my own thing for so many years, and then instantly stopping and having someone telling me what to do was tough for me.” The lead-up process to Warrior Week itself was not an easy process for Dr. Todd, nor was it an enjoyable one. It was actually brutal and exposed lies and stories he was unaware of.
QUESTION: How many different hats are you wearing daily?
Parable #4: Soul Searching
- With so many different personalities vying for his attention, Dr. Todd questioned who was it that he actually wanted to be? This entailed a lot of soul-searching and questioning on his part. He recognized that creation without follow-through or having too much creation, and too many battles to fight becomes a problem.
- He also came to recognize he lacked the necessary tools to handle the chaos he was experiencing and realized he needed to let go of the perfectionist in him. He began implementing 90-day challenges and creating weekly Doors to walk through.
QUESTION: How do you currently handle the chaos of life?
Parable #5: Legion
- Dr. Todd has the opportunity to speak throughout the year to dentists worldwide, teaching the how-tos of dentistry. However, what is lacking is the opportunity to talk about life, problems, and chaos present in every dentist’s life. Over time, there is a massive buildup of emotional weight they carry with nowhere to talk about it.
- He created LEGION, an online experience that teaches dentists about what’s most important and equips them with the tools they will need. “At some point, you will have a meltdown, you will have some problems, and what you don’t realize is the problem is you.” Dr. Todd teaches them the Warrior doctrine and how it can save their family and business and allow them to have a good life going forward…if they choose to play the game.
QUESTION: What tools and weapons are in your arsenal to win the war?
Parables From The Pit:
“There was a war that was brought upon our door. We’re in a transition to surviving 2020, but the goal is not to survive war; we’re here to win the fucking war. What we do now defines how we’re going to win in 2021.”
— Sam Falsafi
“My armor had holes in it, but I’ve built new armor…and I’m coming to help the rest of the dentists. My message? Let me show you what you could be doing so you’re working less, making more, your life is more fruitful, you have more time with your Maker, your family…and you’re passing it along to your children.”
— Dr. Todd Snyder
