Setbacks happen for a reason. It changes not only the way we do things but also the way we perceive our situation. Failures allow us to think creatively and evaluate our lives. As many successful people would say, it's not about the times you were left disappointed; it's about your response to those disappointments.

In this episode, Allen Lycka shares how he found new meanings in his life after receiving horrific news about his health. Allen also discusses how he shifted from his successful career in cosmetic medicine to being a great marketer and an author. He also talks to us about the golden pearls he discovered to help us live a beautiful life.

If you want to know the secrets to a happy and fantastic life, listen to the full episode!

3 Reasons to Listen: 

1. Discover Allen's turning point from being a successful doctor to being a marketer and author. 
2. Allen will share the message of his book, The Secrets to Living a Fantastic Life, and why our society needs to hear it now.  
3. What's next in Allen's journey? Listen to the full episode to find out!

Resources

• The Secrets to Living a Fantastic Life: Two Survivors Reveal the 13 Golden Pearls They've Discovered by Dr. Allen Lycka and Harriet Tinka
• Renegade Millionaire: 7 Secrets To Extreme Wealth, Autonomy, And Entrepreneurial Success by Dan S. Kennedy with Lee Milteer; Foreword by Adam Witty
• Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz
• On Death and Dying by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
• Episode Details

About Allen

Allen Lycka is an author, motivational speaker, and thought leader. He is also a business coach and a TEDx speaker. Allen used to be a medical doctor in the field of cosmetic surgery. He has recently co-authored a book with Harriet Tinka called The Secrets to Living a Fantastic Life: Two Survivors Reveal the 13 Golden Pearls They've Discovered.

If you want to contact Dr. Allen Lycka, you can send him an email at [email protected].

Episode Highlights[03:25] Allen's Wellness During the COVID-19 Pandemic

• Allen lives in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, known for having a prosperous economy from its oil production. He feels very blessed living in a peaceful place with incredible scenery. 
• Being a former doctor, Allen sees COVID-19 as a potent virus due to its unpredictability and the uncertainties it brings in our lives. 
• For him, testing everybody is the best idea; otherwise, we will be forced to live in isolation for a long time. 

“As things shifted, I shifted too.” - Click Here to Tweet This[11:59] On Working with Dan Kennedy 

• Dan Kennedy is a known millionaire-maker. He invites authors to send him their materials for critiquing. 
• In the early 1990s, Canada had a medicine recession that changed its healthcare system. Back then, Allen thought of going to private enterprise. 
• Also, during that period, cosmetic surgery was becoming a trend. 
• Allen was one of the first innovators, users, and experts of Botox, fillers, and liposuction that fight aging. 

[16:07] On Being a Marketer

• Doctors are great technicians, but they are poor storytellers. 
• Allen was blessed with a good voice, and it allowed him to amplify his message to the people. 
• There are three parts of marketing: message, market, and media. Media has changed drastically over the years, and Allen had to adapt constantly.   
• For him, marketing is like catching a fish. If you have 20 fishing rods, you will have several places to send your message and observe what is doing well. 

[21:11] Investment on Masterminds

• For Allen, you can learn things in a hard way or invest in your education to find success. Being on a mastermind is one means of getting an education.
• There are three ways of getting ahead: use other people's knowledge, time, and money. 
• Even though you invest in education, there are still possibilities of failure. But for Allen, he wants to get his failure quicker than anybody else.
• It helps him find new ways of doing things, such as developing his unique selling proposition.

“I want to get my failure over much quicker than anybody else. If I'm going to fail, I want to fail now. And that's a good thing because after failure comes success.” - Click Here to Tweet This[25:09] Learning from Maxwell Maltz

• According to Maxwell Maltz, for people to experience a change in their lives, they have to change the way they look at the world rather than changing how they look. 
• Most plastic surgeons took a similar path to Maxwell. You can't change people by changing what's on the surface; you have to delve deeper. 
• Allen also has personal experiences that shifted his view in doing more than just cosmetic surgery.  

“He (Maxwell Maltz) realized that people had images of themselves and that if you didn't affect the way they looked at the world and looked at themselves, you wouldn't be able to change the way that they are.” - Click Here to Tweet This[27:13] On Cosmetic Surgery 

• Cosmetic surgery can change people's lives. It helps people to get rid of the things holding them down. 
• Cosmetic doctors are often perceived as gods due to their ability to make drastic changes in people's lives.  

[29:54] On Starting His book, The Secrets to Living a Fantastic Life

• While walking around Disney World, his foot dropped on the right side of his body. After talking to a lot of experts, he was diagnosed with ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease. It was predicted he was going to die in six months.  
• While being at the top of his career, he experienced Kübler-Ross’s five stages of grief. But his wife, being a medical doctor as well, was not convinced that he has ALS. 
• He turned to Google and found Dr. David Martz. He's a hematologist who was presented with the same symptoms as Allen but was cured later after getting a different diagnosis.
• He started David's treatment. Allen realized that life is not all about work and worrying and that God gave him a second opportunity to send a message to others.
• After retiring, he started writing the book with Harriet Tinka, who has an unbelievably painful story to tell. Together they found principles of life they call “golden pearls.”      

“Because of the things we went through that really gave us a new life, that allowed us to see life in a different light, that allowed us to see things in a way that was totally different.” - Click Here to Tweet This[43:01] The Book's Message

• Because of the things Allen and Harriet both went through, they now see life in a different light. 
• The book's message is needed now more than ever. People should be able to come out of this society with a new life, or we will not be able to revive it. 

[44:46] The Book's Golden Pearls

• Golden pearls are rare finds. They are formed from the irritation on the shell of an oyster. 
• They both see this as an excellent analogy for the things they've learned. Pearls are formed from strife, and they are stronger for it. 
• They use the number 13 since it's a remarkable number. They put a bonus pearl in the book, in which they talk about fear and how it's crippling us. Each pearl in the book is a standalone item. 
• Listen to the full episode to get a sneak peek of the book’s contents! 

[49:56] The Importance of Enthusiasm

• Enthusiasm is a game-changer. You need to wake up enthusiastically every day. 
• Allen treats every day with sincere enthusiasm because, for him, he wasn't supposed to be alive, yet he's still here. 
• Listen to the full episode to hear about Fred the carpenter's story of enthusiasm!

[53:48] Readers’ Takeaway from the Book

• It's not about what happens to you; it's what you do with what happens. 
• Look at crises as opportunities and find something good that can come out of it.  

[58:59] Allen's Next Journey

• The book The Secrets to Living a Fantastic Life is the start of several books. Each golden pearl they discussed will become a book. 
• They will put extra pearls and workbooks on the second book to further show people how to do things differently in their lives. 

“We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” - Click Here to Tweet ThisEnjoy This Podcast?

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To growing and becoming all we are created to be,

Tim

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