Meet John Hawkins | Licensed Psychotherapist and Peak Performance Strategist

We had the good fortune of connecting with John Hawkins and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi John, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
Our center specializes in helping individuals recover from various traumas they have endured, as well as associated mental health issues. Furthermore, we specialized in couple’s therapy helping partners build secure emotional bonds with each other to experience a greater sense of love and safety in their lives.

In addition, I also work with executives, entrepreneurs, and teams utilizing a model I developed, CLEAR™ Teams Method, that integrates neuroscience and systems theory that assists teams in achieving their peak team performance under pressure. Globally, over 80% of people dislike or detest what they do for a living daily. By helping companies build increased levels of purpose-driven objectives, greater levels of safety, and higher levels of team performance, I hope to assist others in finding more meaningful work, a greater sense of connection & belonging, and achieving their full potential in order to bring more creativity and compassion into the world.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
What sets us apart in our industry is the focus of everything we do being grounded in neuroscience and research. The field of psychology has increased dramatically in its effectiveness over the last couple of decades as a result of new technologies. We specialize in trauma and couple’s therapy that actually results in making positive neurological changes in your brain and nervous system through a process referred to as neuroplasticity.

If psychotherapy is not experiential enough to create neuroplasticity, then you’re just getting information and throwing words in the air. It should be an experience, not just information. Everything we do is based in these principles and is what I believe sets us apart.

In regards to challenges we faced, there were many. When we started in 2,008, there were no online platforms you could utilize as a stepping stone to build your practice. We had to start from scratch. There were thousands of therapist already practicing in Palm Beach County. After various initial struggles, I realized there were two things I needed to focus on exclusively: marketing and professional development.

I once heard someone say, “Get great and people will notice.” We had to let people know we were here and then our services had to benefit people enough to stay. I’ve worked with a lot of entrepreneurs and business people over the years. The ones who are successful never talk to me about money and status, and I mean NEVER. Then there is another category of what I refer to as ‘aspiring entrepreneurs’ who talk almost exclusively about outcomes. Furthermore, they chase different opportunities, or what I define as vehicles, like a dog chases cars. This is one of the primary reasons they don’t succeed in my opinion.

I instruct clients to find something they have an ability or aptitude for, pursue mastery of it, and say no to everything else. Go back and watch interviews with Steve Jobs and how he discusses the concept of signal vs. noise. You have to fall in love with the process of what you do. In psychology we define this as intrinsically rewarding activities; you just want to do it for the sake of the activity. This is the only way to win on a daily basis – you love what you do. This will give you the energy and drive to keep going.

I’m a firm believer you have to want to constantly improve your service or product. Things change today at such an exponential pace. If you’re not committed to iteration, you’re likely to be passed by others who are. In the new economy, you need to be open to change and new technologies and hold integrity as a value. If you’re not dedicated to bringing real value to clients or customers, somebody else will.

Lastly, as a purpose-driven business we are passionate about what we do. And I have spent so much time working on getting better at my craft. However, a few years ago, it began to dawn on me that there were a lot of skills and knowledge I was lacking as a business owner. I made a commitment I would dedicate myself to changing this. What a game changer this decision was. I believe the majority of us as entrepreneurs have a passion, a great idea, or see a market gap. The problem is we often have no idea what we are doing when it comes to running a business.

This is probably the dominant reason so many of us fail. There is so much complexity to running a business, and we are missing so many pieces to becoming successful. I would encourage every entrepreneur and small business owner to commit to learning business skills. YouTube is a ‘gold mine’ for free information, and AI is like having your own personal business coach and consultant. The average individual has never had so much access to amazing information for free; did I mention it was free?

I would summarize by instructing this – find something you’re good at or interested in, pursue mastery of it, have that thing impact others in a positive way, and obtain information concurrently about how to actually run a business.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m a big food and wine guy and was in the hospitality business for years before going back to school and becoming a psychotherapist. The Palm Beach County dining industry has exploded the last few years. One of my best friends owns two of my favorite restaurants, Pistache and Polo Room. We are also fortunate to have numerous award winning restaurants as well.

I also enjoy anything on the water and am out on the boat with friends regularly, as well as other water sports. I’m a musician as well and am always down to go see local and national acts. We have a growing arts scene locally, and I love anything creative. The main areas in West Palm Beach are Clematis Street and City Place. Both have a variety of great restaurants, bars, and shops. West Palm Beach is booming right now. It’s an exciting place to be.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are numerous individuals who have been influential and supportive in my life. My parents gave me many things, but two of the most important were: the belief anything was possible if you were willing to put in the effort required; and the belief life was about contributing and making a positive impact on others.

My wife and kids are the most important things in my life and primary motivators for everything I do. I’m also grateful to my wife for her encouragement and belief in me, especially during the time years ago I had begun to lose belief in myself.

I have been fortunate to work with so many amazing individuals in my field, such as Dr. Ron Frederick, Dr. Dianna Fosha, Dr. Frank Anderson, and so many more. The old saying that we stand on the shoulders of giants definitely fits for me.

Website: https://www.hawkinscounselingcenter.com

Instagram: @hawkinscounselingcenter

Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/johndhawkinsjr

Facebook: Hawkins Counseling Center

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Image Credits
Adam Colling