Books Can Serve as Mentors

Three books influenced the growth and success of my medical practice, and today I’d like to share them with you because they opened my eyes to doing things differently than most doctors do.

My Top Three

1. Hypothyroidism, The Unsuspected Illness, by Dr. Broda Barnes
2. What Your Doctor May Not Have Told You About Menopause, by Dr. John Lee
3. The E-Myth, by Michael Gerber

Let’s Unpack these, one by one.

In 1991, I was at an allergy conference when one of my fellow Pan American Allergy Society (PAAS) members, Dr. Richard Mabray, approached me about hypothyroidism. He convinced me to begin checking my patients for autoimmune thyroiditis and hypothyroidism, which he declared would be rampant in my allergy patients.

He was right. I found that 31 percent of the women and 18 percent of the men in my practice had antibodies to their thyroid glands. An even larger part of my practice had all the signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism.

Another patriarch of the PAAS, Dr. Dor Brown, told me that I needed to use Armour Thyroid to treat my hypothyroid patients. In his words, “It works!”

To research this condition of which I was largely ignorant back then, I read several textbooks on the subject. The book that was most impactful though was Hypothyroidism, The Unsuspected Illness, by Broda Barnes. I found it fascinating and it has been a favorite resource ever since. I often recommend it patients because it helps them better understand what is happening in their bodies.

Treating patients for subclinical hypothyroidism and autoimmune thyroiditis was a game changer for them and for me.

What Your Doctor May Not Have Told You About Menopause, by John Lee, M.D.

In 1996, one of my patients, Lark Steele, asked me to listen to a cassette tape by Dr. John Lee about natural progesterone. Since I had just read about this hormone the night before, I was intrigued.

I am known as a quick start – the overy next day I contacted Dr. Lee to find out more about using this natural hormone instead of Premarin or PremPro. He amiably visited with me about all the benefits of natural progesterone, and pointed me to a compounding pharmacy to get more information, which I did.  I also obtained his book, What Your Doctor May Not Have Told You About Menopause.

The first two patients I to whom I prescribed this had quick and noteworthy responses to it. One, a pastor’s wife, told me her permanent black cloud had disappeared.  She went so far as to share it with her daughter and her mom. It saved her daughter from a premature hysterectomy, and freed her mother from the isolation to which she had fallen into as she aged.

The second patient returned after a month, raving about how good she felt. She was very prim and proper, so it startled me when she said, “Dr. Hotze, I want to kiss your toes!”.

I pulled my little staff together and said, ladies, we are onto something with this natural progesterone.  It’s amazing! It has been a godsend for my patients and my practice. Progesterone in its bioidentical form balances estrogen, providing patients with tremendous symptom relief. You can read more in Dr. Lee’s book.

The E-Myth

As for my business, the most influential book I have read to date is Michael Gerber’s, The E-Myth. 

The core concept in this book is that business owners, entrepreneurs, are technicians in their businesses unless and until they systematize it. He encouraged me to view my business as the product, and seek to work on it not in it.

I set a goal in 1997 after listening to this book on cassette tapes to leverage my systems and myself to the point that I no longer was responsible for seeing patients within five years. It took me six, but I did it using his strategies. Since then, I have read tomes of business books, but this one is still as relevant today as it was more than two decades ago.

What are you reading?

These three books changed the course of my medical practice and my life. I share them with you because they can help you on your journey. If you want to learn to do things differently in your medical practice, these books are must-reads.

Today, you can get this information the old-fashioned way, in a book, or you can get it digitally, or even on Audible.

I believe that books, specifically these three books, can serve as mentors in the absence of a live person. But you don’t have to rely solely on these books to make a change.

If you want to Do A 180 and have more time, more money and more freedom to enjoy your life, while your patients obtain and maintain health and wellness naturally, get started.

I can help! I established Hotze Elite Physicians to provide training in both medical protocols, including, treating patients for thyroid and hormonal imbalances.  I also have more than forty business training modules for you to learn and apply. All you need to do is get started, today.