SPEAKER_00 0:06

Welcome to the Joy Inspired Podcast. I'm Mickey Clearly, and I'm trying to explore with you what it means to work in a faith-in-free business. This is your space to find powerful things and insight, to build what's concerned, and to create impact for your unique purpose. Discovering a joy that's only got improved. Together, let's embrace a business journey entered in faith and empowered by joy. Let's jump in. Well, hello there, amazing joy-inspired entrepreneurs. Welcome back to another episode of the Joy-inspired Podcast. Hey, yeah, this is that place where faith meets mindset, joy crushes confusion, and the enemy's lives get put on do not disturb, and the button broken off, hopefully. But that's up to you. We get to make that choice to have joy. And I am super excited that today we get to look at more into using the tools that God has given us. I'm Nikki Cruz, your coach, your cheerleader, and today that personal lie squasher. Because so many of us have this question on our mind about AI. I don't know how to use it. Can we use it as Christian entrepreneurs? Or I just don't know what to do, so I'll avoid it. Folks, that's not the kingdom mindset. This is a tool that God's given you. So have you ever secretly found yourself thinking, how do they actually do it? Yes, the AI stuff. Well, sweet friends, grab your coffee, touch your crown, and exhale. Grab your pen and paper because this episode is going to be just for you. Buckle up your boots. Today we're diving into the sweetest intersection art, one of faith, innovation, and purpose. And my guest is someone who proves that obedience to God's knowledge can redirect your entire life past. She's a doctorate-level occupational therapist, and she traded in her medical tools for marketing strategies, and now she's known as your AI-powered doctor of marketing. So as we head into the episode today, from healing hands to high impact marketing, where we're going to talk about how faith science and AI unite to serve with purpose, I want to introduce you to my amazing friend, Dr. Teresa Pantanella. She helps entrepreneurs attract clients with ease. Oh yeah, isn't that something we all want? And she does it through a powerful blend of human connection and AI-driven precision. There's that AI word. We're talking purpose, pivots, and practical wisdom today. So let's jump right in. Dr. Teresa, do you prefer Dr. Pantanella? I don't know what you like to go by.

SPEAKER_01 3:41

Oh, Nikki, Dr. Teresa is just fine. I know Pantanella is kind of a big mouthful.

SPEAKER_00 3:47

So, Dr. Teresa, just take us back for a moment. For all the folks here who don't know you, before the world knew you as the AIPA Doctor of Marketing, what did life look like for you as an occupational therapist? It was what was the pivot?

SPEAKER_01 4:08

What was the pivot? My goodness. This had God written all over it. I was uh enamored of aquatic therapy as an occupational therapist. It's like physical therapy in a swimming pool. And I was amazed by what it could do for people who'd gone through traditional physical therapy and didn't reach their goals or still had pain or still couldn't figure out how to walk after a hip replacement. Some people had strokes and were still struggling. The water gave them a freedom of movement, it gave them strengthening naturally. Water is 12 times the resistance of air. Nikki, it was so successful. I went from one clinic to seven. It was seven beautiful clinics across the three counties of South Florida. And the day came when I went to my home office. It was kind of a surprise, it was a big surprise to me. Because there was two guys standing there in dark suits, and they had an unfriendly look about them. And Vicki, they would not let me in. I gave them a fuss and promptly toned right down when they said, ma'am, you're under investigation for insurance fraud. We are from the F I. God's hand being what it is, I did lose everything. And went through a long period of anger. And yes, I did some time. During my time away, there's a lot of time to think. Yes. This one woman I met while I was there, she was a preacher's woman. And she had been incarcerated for embezzlement. Something she had done as a child, a young teenager. And it caught up to her as an adult. I walked alongside her one day, and Nikki, she was so happy. So happy. And I'm like, what are you so happy about? We are in this awful place. I mean, if you can imagine a place where there is nothing other than the clothes on your back, you've got a toothbrush, a comb. They give you a razor because you're a woman, the men aren't allowed to have them. Except under supervision. And she's so happy. And she said something to me, and she said, I don't even know where these words come from. They come from God. I didn't get it. I didn't understand. But it made an impression on me. And I kept thinking about it. And I I found a Bible and I started to read the Bible from front to back because it's a book. That's what you're supposed to do. And it turns out that's that's not the best way to go about it. A dear friend of mine is a Baptist minister, and she explained to me, read only Philippians, read only Ephesians. And she would talk to me every day. And I began to get an understanding of who Jesus is and why God is who he is, and why there's not always explanations for what happens to us. As an entrepreneur, when you have unexplained circumstances, there's a Bible quote about letting go and letting God do not be underneath your own understanding.

SPEAKER_00 8:30

Oh, yeah, especially in the entrepreneurial journey. Because life and business can be like a roller coaster. True. And I often say, you know, that roller coaster goes up and down, and you might be at the top of it one moment and yelling for help as you go down. But your cart, the cart you're sitting in, has to be on a firm foundation. And you know, you said something very interesting there. You lost everything. Once we know God, once we know Jesus, we never lose everything. And it's only in that space of having nothing that he could fill you up. So, friends out there, if you feel like you're losing things, maybe that's extra space that you can let God into and let God fill up. And that was an awesome gem. Thank you, Holy Spirit. I love it when you do that. So, as you've transitioned now from being in that space to moving from healthcare something you knew, something you were totally familiar with, what you do now is almost like a flip side of the coin. How did your faith anchor you in that transition from healthcare to entrepreneurship?

SPEAKER_01 9:57

That's a great question, Nikki. And having the faith anchored, it's like having in the on that roller coaster ride, making sure that it's grounded and that your seatbelt's on. And my seatbelt for me became one phrase, one verse from the Bible. Jeremiah 29, 11. For I know the plans I have you not to harm you, but to prosper you. That verse I read every single night. It grounded me. It gave me the ability to not focus on myself. It gave me the ability to look at my options and I learned from my friend the Baptist minister that if I felt happy about something, that was God's message. That that is a good thing for me. If I felt unsure or had a lot of questions, that was God's message for me. That was not a sound path for me to be on. She gently taught me this skill of discernment by using these two emotions, happy and confusion. And to this day, when I'm happy, I know I'm on the right path. That's part of my being being grounded. And when I looked at what could I possibly do to earn a living? I was I was shocked that I'll no longer be in healthcare. I know I love being an entrepreneur. So it came down to what service could I provide for others. And marketing is kind of like a common denominator for all businesses, and I would not be location dependent. Because as you know, I enjoy being a traveling entrepreneur and visiting other countries outside the US. But I I had to get a base first, I had to get that, I had to get that security of knowing I had enough knowledge and enough of a network. So I spent time in masterminds. I spent time learning how to build websites, how to what is SEO, the search engine optimization thing. It's gonna be AI engine optimization. It is AI optimization. Okay. Um I learned how to produce videos. I learned storyboards. How is a video put together? I learned all kinds of copywriting frameworks. Now, and it's occupational therapy. We had six frameworks for mental health. So I'm like a framework for marketing. What do you mean? Sometimes there was a correlation between the the words and nomenclature, and sometimes there just wasn't. And it's taken me oh my gosh, I'm it's been 11 years. 13 to be exact since the whole thing started. It's been 11 years since I started learning my marketing. And in those 11 years, I've learned how to match audiences to messages. How to use AI to look at a landing page and go, this landing page isn't speaking to the audience. I met with a pros uh prospective client earlier today. She knows me through uh a mastermind. She showed me all of her beautiful landing pages, the colors were striking, she her poses were excellent. There were no testimonials on it. And she said, How did how did you catch that? And I'm like, It's my years of training. I know it's supposed to be on a landing page. And there is a certain sequence that they should go. And that's why successful people say, Use my landing page template. It works. And any of the listeners, if you find one that you really like, save it. There's this really cool tool. Yeah. Um oh my goodness, I'm gonna look it up here real quick so that the listeners have it.

SPEAKER_00 14:23

And I just I love the way you say what makes you happy. I saw your face totally light up as you started talking about that. So what what did you say the tool was?

SPEAKER_01 14:36

It's called Go Full Page. G-O F U L L P A G E. And you can save either a PDF or a P N G version of the page, and you can always go back to it. Marketing's not difficult. Find someone who's successful and copy them. Success can be copied. Jesus gave us the Bible. Copy what's in there, what worked for the examples that did well. Learn from the examples that didn't do well.

SPEAKER_00 15:14

Yeah.

unknown 15:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:16

Oh, I love that. I love that. And so many of our listeners are women navigating faith reinvention, stepping into entrepreneurship. And, you know, the woman of faith navigating that reinvention. So as they look there, they sometimes do have to look and say, how do I reinvent my faith in this? You don't reinvent your faith in it. You infuse your faith into something new. But sometimes you do get to pivot, you get to follow where God's leading you. So what advice would you give to someone who feels called to pivot but is scared to start over?

SPEAKER_01 16:04

Wow. My advice to that person, to that woman, to that man would be to have a mentor on your corner. Have someone you can talk to from your heart. And it's not AI. It's someone who's grounded in their faith that is open to listening and guiding you. When I was in healthcare, I had that person with me. I could call her morning, noon, and night. And when I would thank her for her help, she would tell me I didn't do anything. You already knew the answer. You just had to talk to somebody about it. Anyone who's stuck, you have the answers. God has given them to you. Saying them out loud to someone can give you that emotion of happy, it's the way to go. Or you know, I'm not quite sure about this. And that's when you don't go. Yeah. Talking out loud puts a different perspective on our words, our visions, and our perceptions. That's why that mentor, that person that who believes in you and you trust them, that's where clarity comes. Yes. A new path shines. That's where God's gonna show you where to put one foot in front of the other on the path he created for you. Keep your eyes open. Just like he says, keep your lamp filled with oil. And I use that because it took me a long time to figure that one out. And after I figured it out, I think I sat upright in bed one night and went. Oh my gosh, I get it. I'm just supposed to I always need to be ready to hear him. Yes. It's in those moments. Have those quiet moments for yourself. And if you have children, get up 15 minutes before they do. Take that time for you. Stay up half an hour later and write things down. Take time for you. So important. If you're caregiving for someone else, give yourself that self-care. Make sure you stay on God's path. Keep your lamp filled with oil.

SPEAKER_00 18:54

Oh, I love that. And you're so right. You said that your friend said to you, you already knew the answer. One thing about God is we have everything we need. We already have it. We may not have seen it manifest yet, and we may not have noticed the direction to go to pick it up. But just as you said, you know, in healthcare, there was a framework that you used. Yeah. So yeah, you bought a fair framework. Folks, what's in your hand? Is it a structure? Is it a mindset? God has given you what you need. And you know, you used to help people, and you now help people in a different way. So the one background must have impacted the other. You describe yourself as helping people build client attraction easily. So how did your background in therapy, helping people heal, help you in your business? Were there parallels that other people can use as an example of, oh wow, yes, I do know?

SPEAKER_01 20:13

Yes, Nikki, this is so when it was pointed out to me, see, in marketing, you're supposed to find out like what's what's my client's pain? What problem am I solving for them? In healthcare, we call that the subjective part of our note-taking. When that patient walked in the door and we said, What's hurting you? And they would say, I can't walk. Or they would say, I can't get dressed after my stroke by myself anymore. That's their pain. Now looking at that pain from a marketing perspective, it's the same thing. As an occupational therapist and discussing not being able to get dressed alone, there's a level of embarrassment there. There's a level of letting go of one's own dignity. That's the problem. That's the emotion. And as a therapist, we're trained to find out not only from a veneer, from the just from the words, what's the problem is? How do we really help this person? Occupational therapists are trained in psychology and sociology. Physical therapists are not. We are also trained in something called activity analysis. We go through different arts and crafts projects, not to become an arts and crafts teacher, but to understand when a person picks up a pencil, picks up a knitting needle, picks up a paintbrush, when they pick that up, what muscles are being used? What emotion comes forward when they can't accomplish the task? Now, as a therapist, how do we address not only the physical incapacities, how do we address the emotional incapacities, the emotional reaction, the emotional response? And this is where marketing becomes key. Marketing is about emotion because that that potential client has pain, but that's the subjective part. The objective part is what does it mean to them? Why is it important for them to have their store do well? Why is it important for them to sell this widget? Is it because they want to feed their kids? Is it because they want to retire their husband? Is it because their entire life they have wanted to be an entrepreneur and this is the only thing they can figure out that they can sell? And there might be something better or different for them to sell. Or they might be trying to sell it to the wrong audience. This is part of the assessment. So in medical world, we do subjective, objective, and then assessment. So in assessing what they've told us and what the real problem is, assessing it, how do we fix it? What are what are the possibilities? Now in the medical world, they've got all kinds of names for this. In the marketing world, we call it paths, we call it funnels, we call it client attraction systems. Which leads us to the P, the fourth part of the medical note. The plan. Problem, what is wrong? Objective, what's really wrong? Assessment, how do we fix this? What are the possibilities? Plan, let's execute, let's make it happen. And that's where the rubber hits the road in marketing. That's where you get a return on your marketing investment. That's when the audience hears the message and responds. That's when the leads buy the next product from you. That's when the relationship is built between you and the audience because you know from an emotional level what they're feeling. As an occupational therapist, that's the first thing we tune into. That person sitting across from us with their walker, with their cane, with with in their wheelchair. What's their pain? Not their physical pain. What's in their heart? And this is why I'm successful with marketing. I'll go to that emotional level immediately. I want to look at the whole picture. I want to look at the big picture. I love looking at messages and saying, This is not what your audience is thinking. This is what your audience is thinking. And AI has made it so easy to do that. It used to take me a couple of weeks to come up with these plans. And now I can do it in a few days. I still go on my long walks. I still spend my time with God. I still have my tapes I listen to every day. I love listening to my worship music. I've got one song I listen to in the shower all the time.

SPEAKER_00 25:32

I don't know about you, but you think marketing, if I had to visualize marketing, I would see it as a solid concrete or brick building that's immovable, you know, impassionate. But the way you've described it, there's so much passion in it. But folks, do you see how she already had the tools? She moved into something totally new that God had given her something new. And yet there were all the tools that she had been equipped with. And if she hadn't been open to using what God had already put in her hand, we might have a very different plan coming out of Dr. Teresa. But now we hear all this heart, and yet we know that you bring this human side into AI, but you also use AI a great deal. That's what gives you the time freedom to keep doing what you want. So, what is one misconception that you recognize entrepreneurs have about AI when it comes to marketing?

SPEAKER_01 26:42

Their misconception is I have AI, I can do it myself.

unknown 26:49

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 26:51

I've had 11 years of training in marketing. If I were to look up on AI how to win in the stock market, I would have no idea what I'm looking at because I don't know how to play the stock market. I don't know what I'm looking at. I don't know if it's telling me the right thing or not. I could lose my shirt in a second. When I'm talking to AI about marketing, I know when it's not right. I know when it needs to be pushed. I know when it needs to be tweaked. I know when an email series isn't fulfilling what it's supposed to do. I know when AI has ran off and hallucinated. I know when it looks like it sounds really great, and I'm just gonna run with it and copy and paste because it just sounded good. It's my experience with AI that makes the difference. So the dangerous part is for someone to use AI with marketing without training. And I highly suggest that listeners download what's called my AI demand manifesto. It's a 20-page document that'll walk you through what's important in your offer, your audience, and your message. Those three things offer, audience, message, those need to align. And when you go through this document, you're gonna have you're gonna be empowered with some information. When you're empowered with information, that's when AI becomes an assistant, not the agent that can do everything for you, the assistant. This is the difference. This is the difference.

SPEAKER_00 28:37

Folks, you'll find you'll find that. That is so generous of you, and you'll find that in the comments. We'll have that link there for you. Um, sorry, not the comments, the description. But to me, what you're talking about, I've just seen a parallel to that. You know, we can go into AI, and it's like going to a foreign country with a translation book. Yes. Instead of having an interpreter, you can still look it up and get the answer and find your way around, but you're bumbling and you're not actually expressing yourself. Whereas if you have the translator who knows you, who knows where you want to go, they can direct you and take you there and help you communicate it clearly. So that is that is awesome. Now, a lot of our small business entrepreneurs may have been staying away for our AI and just starting to dip their toes in. What's one simple and ethical way you would recommend they start dipping their toes in the water of AI tools?

SPEAKER_01 29:49

Oh, that's a great question. And there are many people that are just dipping their toes in. I would suggest never ever buy prompts. Prompts, you know, it's it's like buying a spare set of tires for your car when you already have that. You you you know it you you you have what you need in your in your mind. I would suggest from a marketing perspective, take a look at comments about your product or service in three places first. On Reddit, it's called R E D D I T. Use that search function there on Quora Q-U-O-R-A. And on Amazon, chances are there's a book about your service or product. And on Amazon, you want to take a look at the one-star reviews and the five-star reviews. Copy that information, put it into AI, put your landing page in AI, and ask AI, how can I improve my landing page? What am I missing in my offer?

SPEAKER_00 31:17

Oh wow. I tell you, isn't this lady amazing? You know, I'm so blessed to have people like this in my life. And look at all the wisdom she's freely giving out. I encourage you, follow her, connect with her. I love her presence on social media. So real and so authentic. And you would never imagine when you look at her and hear the heart that she talks with, that she's an AI geek, but she is, you know. So, Dr. Teresa, how do you see AI being used as a tool for kingdom impact rather than a tool for fear?

SPEAKER_01 32:00

I see AI being used as a tool for kingdom impact by learning the depth of not only Jesus' teachings, but understanding other people and their cultures. When you can use AI to go deeper into something you don't understand in the Bible. When you can use AI, you met someone and they were wearing their hat in a way that you would describe as backwards. And you could ask AI, is there a meaning behind this? Songs. Interpreting songs. Is there a popular song that you really like? You can put it into AI and ask AI, how does this relate to the kingdom? If it rubs you the wrong way. Ask AI. And tell you, I have Christian faith, and this song doesn't sit well with me. What is it about the song? And it could be something as simple as the beat doesn't match your binaural beats in your brain. It could be that simple. Some jazz rhythms I can't be around. But it could be the words also, understanding cultures, understanding other people. This is where the kingdom impact can happen. The more we understand others, the more we understand ourselves, and the closer we beg to Jesus. There's the movie Les Les Miserables. To love someone is to see the face of God. And when you know someone else well enough, you do see the face of God. That's that's where the kingdom impact can happen.

SPEAKER_00 34:20

Beautiful. You know, we rule out how we can use these tools powerfully and positively. And you know, we've had some serious conversation here. So let's put Dr. Teresa on the spot and have some fun, just with a lightning round of questions. Favorite productivity or joy-fueling habit?

SPEAKER_01 34:45

Oh. Anything in the water, free diving, scuba diving, swimming in the sea, looking at fish.

SPEAKER_00 34:56

I love that. Morning beverage of choice while creating content. Oh, favorite beverage of choice while creating content.

SPEAKER_01 35:06

I love a hot cup of coffee with a lot of sugar.

SPEAKER_00 35:13

And the best advice you've ever got.

SPEAKER_01 35:18

Oh my gosh, the best advice I've ever got, do it anyway.

SPEAKER_00 35:25

I love that. I love that. Bless you. One word that describes the season in your life.

SPEAKER_01 35:34

Joyous.

SPEAKER_00 35:36

So, Dr. Teresa, if there is just one thing you want every listener to remember about embracing both purpose and progress, what would it be?

SPEAKER_01 35:50

I would have one word.

SPEAKER_00 35:53

If there was one thing you wanted them to remember, just about embracing like the newness of AI along with their purpose.

SPEAKER_01 36:04

I would encourage them to carve out 15 minutes, just like 15 minutes in their day and play with AI. Put a timer on, do not make it a rabbit hole, 15 minutes, and go back to the same AI tool for one week. Do not change it until the following week.

SPEAKER_00 36:28

Oh, wow, that sounds like fun. So there you have it, folks. You have permission to spend 15 minutes playing, exploring, where there's no pressure to produce or anything else. That is one of the things I love about this lady. And I just love how she reminds us that faith and innovation, the tech, the AI, they're not at war. They're actually allies when we steward them with purpose. When we let God lead, he'll use whatever skill, even the ones from past chapters, to build our brand new story. And he will help us to embrace those things that we think are so foreign we can't overcome them. So you can connect with Dr. Teresa using the link in the comments below. And as always, keep walking in joy, friends, because joy isn't a reward. It's the fuel that gets you to the reward. So I'm encouraging you, go out in joy, be led forth in peace, and use the tools that God has given you. Blessings all. Look forward to seeing you next week. And Dr. Teresa, thank you again.

SPEAKER_01 37:44

It's my pleasure and honor. It's a blessing to be here with you, Nikki. And I wish much abundance, prosperity, joy, and love to all of the listeners.

SPEAKER_00 37:53

Thank you all. Remember, if this episode inspired you, if it touched your heart in any way, come like, put a comment in, and perhaps invite or tag a friend. Tell them to come and watch too. Because in the in the kingdom, we don't keep our joy to ourselves. We share it out. We help one another grow, and in that way we have even more joy. Look forward to next week. For reels this time. Bye now. Thank you so much for joining me on the joints by www.joinclub.com. Make sure you hit that subscribe button so that you can get this up episode that comes up. And you don't want to miss it. Come on. All of you can comment.