Why is it that some doctors seem to have a successful practice and have an army of patients who follow them when another doctor can’t seem to get one patient?

  It’s because one has more influence than another.  When you earn people’s trust, you earn their confidence, which is key to influence.  Every successful office has a successful system in place.  Solid office systems along with good character and integrity further add to your influence on others and your success.

  AMC has a solid system from the front desk to the doctor’s procedures that are simple and straight forward.  Today, you not only need to exemplify solid character and integrity, you also need to have a solid system in place you can repeat. 

  Rightly so, today, with most people, you must prove your trustworthiness, which makes your integrity and character so important.  Trust comes from others when you exemplify solid character.  When your procedures don’t match with your integrity, people see right through you so make sure your practice management matches your philosophy.

  Your title is not enough to make you a person of high influence.  It’s who you are that determines your influence.  If you want to work on something beyond yourself-work on you and your word and get a practice management system that matches your philosophy.

Not everyone chooses to master one or more specific chiropractic techniques and many stick only to what they learned in chiropractic college as core curriculum thinking that they’ve gotten “all they need to know”.  Just like medical doctors specialize in specific fields like orthopedics, pediatrics, neurology, ect. So too, do chiropractors specialize in specific techniques like Nucca, AO, Activator, Gonstead, CBP, ect. that may not have been taught to them in chiropractic college.  Specialized techniques in chiropractic require advanced studying, additional time and often travel and of course additional money, but so too offer additional rewards.  There is no better reward than knowing you hold all your patients to the same standard of care and are not left playing a “guessing-game” of where to adjust, how, and why.  I can see nothing more confusing or frustrating than trying to base your care off of merely symptoms alone without having some type of objective standard of care and goal of outcome.

I would also say that having a strong background and practicing a specific technique places you in a tremendous advantage over your peers who may be a “jack of all trades” but “master of none”.  Those chiropractors who aren’t sure what to do typically end up doing a little bit of everything to “please” the patient and are always looking and adding to their practice thinking they’ve found the “silver bullet”.   Whatever you want type of service and business mentality.    Remember, your patients are coming to you for a reason.  If they knew how to get well on their own, they would have already done so.

 Study what techniques are out there, and choose one that makes the most sense to you.  Learn it, become a great adjuster and be very, very good at what you do.  Once you have mastered a technique, go ahead and continue to learn what else is out there.  For example, in practicing and being certified in CBP technique, there were times that called for me to use upper cervical skills and to draw upon that knowledge as well.

When I go somewhere, I want to know that they do what it is I’m looking for and they do it good, very good.  Perhaps you have extra training or certification or degrees.  Let it be known and enjoy the benefits that come from it.  Perhaps you are unsure of what you are doing and why, do the service to yourself, your patients, and the profession and learn, implement, and be rewarded.

Look at our country.  Look at the people that make up our country.  They are great people, but have been told lies and have believed those lies.  They are confused.  Deep down, they know what’s right and wrong, yet they make excuses and go along with the rest of society.  Look at their lives.  What is it that they value?  People have been encouraged not to work, not to take responsibility, and to take the easy way out.  Is the easy way really that easy?  Do you think that women who are told lies about abortion live easy lives years later when they realize that they not only did they escape from their responsibility of parenting, but worse they actually took life from their baby, from their child?  Is it really the government’s responsibility to care for us both financially and physically?  Is this really the easy way?  Should someone else really be making important decisions for us?  Someone’s going to be in control.

Her dream had been stepped on many times.  Yet the dream was strong enough to keep her persisting even through several chiropractic management failures.  The dream brought her to AMC.  She continued to sail and sail she did-right to AMC where her dream is growing.  This young doctor who has such passion for what she does was about to let her dream die.  The river was almost dried up for her.  I hope she reads this blog and knows that what she went through has strengthened her beyond what she knows, but I see it in her.  It has strengthened me and my efforts to keep the dream alive for other chiropractors.  She is the cream of our profession and like the cream, is rising to the top.  The support both emotionally and financially that her husband has given her has no doubt been a significant driving force even though he made light of it by jokingly saying something along the lines of that’s okay—someday you’ll be able to buy me a boat.   Everyone in that room that morning knew how much it meant to her.   I hope that someday as they sit on their boat together they look around them at the water surrounding them and are able to say “I will sail my vessel until the river runs dry.” 

Surely there will be more challenges in store for this doctor and her husband, just like all of us will have challenges, some greater than others-but keep sailing.  Keep your dream alive.  Look for the answers, search for them with all your heart and might, and you will find them.  Remember what’s important and live it.  Like this doctor who wanted to badly to be a chiropractor for so many years because she knew and understood the power that comes from removing nerve interference, that one can only come through the power of chiropractic.  She continued to sail despite the low water level.  No matter what the water level is in your life, keep sailing.  Where there is a will-there is a way.

Success often doesn’t come by surprise, because those that are successful have been focused on it and have been working towards that.  Just like the famous singer who was interviewed said he wasn’t surprised, but he said he did have to change his life to get there.  He said he doesn’t party like he use to because he knows Monday morning when he goes in, to be at the top of his game writing a new song, his life requires his full attention and focus.

Your success in chiropractic and in your business is going to come from focus-and lots of it.  Consistent focus and being on top of your game-being a great adjuster, knowing what you’re doing and being on top of your stats, your marketing-both internal and external, staff training, and on and on and on.  With continued hard work and focus, you will not be surprised with the success that comes in your practice and in your life.

At a recent wedding reception my husband and I attended, someone I hadn’t talked to in years came up to me and asked me if I ever thought I would’ve been this successful.  Though I may have accomplished many things in my life and others may look at me from the outside and see my life as successful, I am not surprised at where I am in my life because I have spent the last 8 years focusing and working towards it.  Success does not come by accident.  It has taken a lot of focus and awareness and work.  However, where I am now is not the same place I intend to be 8 more years from now.

I, just like all of you, I have not reached my potential.  How many of you are striving to be one of this country’s best?  In times like this, our country needs people just like yourself to step up to the plate and be their best.  To serve rather than to be served.  To give instead of taking.  To make a difference doing what they do and doing it with a grateful and appreciative heart.  To work hard and do good work.  What you do and how you do it does count.  It does make a difference.  The work you do carries with it great responsibility and great rewards.

You’ve heard it before, you are what you eat.  Is it any wonder we are such an obese nation?  Many of us have created the habit of eating whatever we want to when we want to.  Whatever we like or whatever makes us feel good for the time being.  We have failed to realize that our bodies are a temple and that we are to take care of them as we would a temple. 

Don’t be upset that your health is failing you or be surprised when it does if you feed it unnatural, processed, refined, and chemically induced food.  This includes bread, margarine, pasta, white sugar and much more.  If you want your life to be radiant, consider what you are feeding yourself and create a habit of eating fresh, whole, raw foods.

You will have more energy, clearer thinking, and feel better about yourself when you eat as you know you should.  Buy or grow fresh, chemically unaltered organic fruits and vegetables and make this a habit.

If you’ve got a habit of keeping yourself and your things organized, your character is going to shine through and you will be a man or woman of your word.  You may have heard it before that “A man is no better than his word” and at the same note, you shouldn’t have to swear on your word.  It should be enough when you either say “yes, I will” or “no, I won’t”. 

If you don’t have a habit built of organization, you will have a hard time even remembering what you said because the roots of disorganization run deep within you.  If you can’t manage your time, yourself, or your possessions, don’t expect any great success or achievement.  Yes, you can hire others to do some of that for you, but ultimately it does come down to you and if you’re not in the position to hire someone of that caliber, nothing is going to change until you do.  People will soon see through you as you “forgot” to do what you said you would do. 

Do you often misplace things of importance, including your schedule for the day?  What things do you forget and how often do you find yourself saying to yourself “I forgot” and then trying to make an excuse for yourself?  Would you ever forget to show up at a spinal screening or health talk?  Maybe you just forget the small stuff?  You will spend more time in your office and in your life accomplishing absolutely nothing and you will likely be saying “I don’t have time” if you don’t take control of this area in your life and get yourself organized.  Fact is you do have time, you just need to decide what’s important and take the steps you need to get yourself organized to have the successful practice and life you’ve always wanted.

I coached a doctor who failed consistently in his practice simply because he didn’t have successful habits in his daily routine.  He was constantly living in disorder and chaos and failed to take control of his life and his direction.  He got the system he needed, but he didn’t develop a habit of rising early, planning his time, and organization in his life.  Therefore, he never did succeed in his practice and he always complained of not having enough time.  Though he saw just 5-10 patient visits/day, his patient charts were scattered throughout his office, paperwork was left out of them, his schedule for the day was kept on scratch paper that he often misplaced, and on and on and on.  Even if he could get a new patient, his lack of organization kept him from keeping them and kept the door closed for other new patients who needed the care.  He was left always making excuses for himself while his wife supported the both of them.

How hard is it really and how hard is it to create a place for everything and then, put it back after you’ve used it?  If this is a weak area for you in your life, understand that it is that way because you have made it a habit of not creating a place for it to go and a habit of leaving stuff out after you’ve used it.  It’s not that it is difficult, but rather it’s something that you have never valued enough to make a habit of.  Creating a place for everything and keeping everything in its place is likely to drastically improve your life, the way you feel about yourself, and the way others see you.  Success in chiropractic and in your life could be yours!

On the other hand, if you get yourself in the habit of rising early with a predetermined plan for the day that relates to your goals and objectives in life, you are likely to accomplish your goals in record time.  Then, if you are in the habit of creating new goals immediately after accomplishing your old goals, and again, plan what you are going to do with every day according to the goals you have laid out, you are likely to accomplish more in your lifetime then you ever thought possible.

Make it a habit to write a list of the top 6 things you are going to do tomorrow in relation to the goals and objectives you’ve laid out for your life and number them in order of importance from 1 to 6.  The next day, after you’ve had your quiet time, begin with number 1.  As you continue throughout the day, keep your list nearby and refer to it, checking off those you’ve already done and seeing what important things remain. 

If you don’t get all 6 things done that day, they go back on your list for the following day, but their order of importance gets moved up.  Remember this list needs to be directly related to your goals.  It is not merely a schedule of your day or a “to do” list and there should be variety in it.  It should not be the same thing day after day.  That is more or less your schedule.

If you’re not willing to get out of bed early consistently and have a predetermined plan for the day based on your specific goals and objectives that you put action behind, you will likely continue to struggle in reaching your goals if they are high level goals.  Decide what you need to do to make this happen if this is a weak area for you in your life.  Perhaps you need to create an accountability partner.

On the same note, on the days that you don’t give love, you won’t be likely to get love.  Those are the days that nothing seems to go right.  And the more your feelings go unchecked, the more out of control you become and the worse your day gets.  If you have more bad days than good days, you need to question yourself and the love that goes out from you.

Decide how you’re going to respond to situations before they happen and don’t be surprised when they do.  This will help keep you from overreacting and will enable you to respond much easier in a rash, loving way.  The way you’ve already thought out.

I was recently talking with a doctor I coach who admitted he hadn’t thought of his response until after he had reacted.  A prior patient of his came in for care who hadn’t been in for several years.  Now this patient was use to in the past being able to come in for an adjustment when he wanted and being treated the same day.  Now that this was no longer the way the doctor practiced, the patient was surprised and caught the doctor off guard when he questioned getting an adjustment.  The doctor became angry at the patient for questioning him and the situation at hand.  Then, in anger the doctor asked something like “What makes you think you can just come in here, lay down and get adjusted?”  Well, the doctor soon realized he hadn’t taken control of the situation and hadn’t responded properly when the patient said “Because that’s what you did when I came in before.”

Get in the habit of thinking about situations like the one above that are likely to happen and run through the scenario in your mind.  Come up with answers to potential problems before they arise.  What will you say and just as important, how will you say it?  Also, in the above case, there are several things that the doctor could’ve said to avoid getting to the point they were in. 

Learn to love dealing with difficult patients and turning a non-happy, non-compliant patient into a happy, compliant patient.  If you can’t get past this point, your success will be greatly limited.

Success doesn’t just happen. It is accompanied with a greater vision. It takes work, planning, and preparation. Along the way, it takes determination, decision making, action, and persistence.

As the doctor and business owner, you are responsible to be the best at the technique you practice. You are responsible for the care you provide to your patients and that takes continued knowledge, learning, and striving.

You are responsible to know you’re billing properly and for setting your fee schedule. You are responsible for seeing that payroll gets paid along with all the other overhead. You are responsible for the repairs and upkeep of your equipment and building whether you lease or you own-you still need to deal with it.

You are not only responsible for yourself, you are responsible for your staff and what they say or don’t say. If you don’t have staff, you are responsible for every single aspect of that clinic’s operation. You are responsible for showing up for work on time, regardless what happened that morning at home or the night before.

As the doctor and owner of your business, you are ultimately responsible for the management and overseeing of every area in that practice-like it or not. You ought to learn to like it if you want to be successful. And you ought to devote yourself time and study on this process if you want to make life easier on you.

Too many doctors make the mistake of saying they want a successful practice, but don’t do what they need to do to be successful. They haven’t really decided what they want and they end up making excuses saying that’s too much work or that takes too much time.

Chiropractic isn’t my life like it is for some-I’ve got other things I want to do as well. They don’t realize that the time involved now saves so much time later. They don’t realize what they’re saying or they never would’ve said it. They don’t realize everyone has a personal life outside of Chiropractic and their business. Or they say I just want to show up and adjust patients, I shouldn’t have to do all the other stuff.

Well, if that’s all you want to do, why are you in business for yourself? Go out and get a job as an associate doctor and see their overflow or take the time yourself and invest in the knowledge you need that will allow you to build that practice to the level it will take so you can do just that.

The main thing is to own up to it and stop making excuses. Successful people don’t make excuses, they take responsibility and they take action. They do what it takes under the worst of circumstances and they get it done. They don’t focus on themselves, they focus on others.