Because it is harder to define the “winner”, I will describe the loser. Losers are the individuals who seem focused on “what can’t be done” and “why it won’t work”. You can give them a list of 100 things they can do to grow their practice and they will focus on the one or two things that don’t apply to them or their market- and thus disregard the list as a whole! The loser is the naysayer who always wants to point out the fault with no constructive suggestions as to correction.

Please do not misunderstand, it is good to think through plans and foresee possible pitfalls for the purpose of avoiding them. The loser points out the problems for the sake of avoiding doing anything.

There are a lot of losers in disguise; they are the naysayers who camouflage their negativity in catch phrases and in the form of “caring for your wellbeing”. The key to exposing these individuals is to ask the question, “Well, how would you improve this plan/situation/action step?” They won’t have an answer.

The winners, they are the ones that you can throw a dump truck of trash on their lives and they never see the garbage, only the precious metals hidden in the rubble.  No matter what comes against them they focus on the lessons learned and the next steps they need to take to achieve success. They seek mentors not for the sake of an extra hand, but for an experienced set of eyes.

Winners are those who can not be denied. They never see failure because their eyes can’t lose focus on success!

I became very focused on what I wanted and driven by accomplishment. It became fun to define my next ambition and then watch it materialize in due time. I had it all figured out, that is up to graduation!

The arena of academics made sense to me and it was easy to set goals and reach them in this setting. The problem came when it was time to leave school and compete in the real world. I could set goal after goal, but my concepts were so poor that achievement was impossible. I had so little actual knowledge of how to run an office, no matter how much positive thinking I did; it was not going to make up for shear ignorance.

Too many students have the goal to graduate, but understand little of what takes place after that! They want a successful practice, to get out of debt, to make a good living, and to help a lot of people; but they have no plan (or an undereducated plan at best) as to how to achieve their goal.

What I wish I had known is how different the real world is verses the academic one I had lived in for so long. I mistook my accomplishments in school as evidence of my future success in business. I assumed because I was successful in about every other venture in my life that running an office would be much the same. What I wish I had done was find those who really knew and understood the art of opening a chiropractic practice and followed their wisdom instead of my ignorance.

Had I done that, I would have saved thousands of dollars, years of toiling, and a lot of frustration!

I have seen many who have legitimate, paralyzing fears and then I have seen those who use their “phobias” as an inappropriate ploy for attention. Either way, these fears create barriers that hold us back from success.

Obviously, certain fears are more detrimental to developing a chiropractic practice- fear of public speaking, fear of confrontation, fear of rejection, fear of success (poverty complexes) are among the top on the list.

We all have these fears to a certain extent; just how much you let them control you is the real question. Does your fear of public speaking keep you from educating others on the healing benefits of chiropractic? Does your fear of confrontation keep you from addressing key issues with patients or asking for payment for services? Fear of rejection can keep you from asking for that referral or stopping you from setting up that desperately needed spinal screening. If you have a fear of success, you will find yourself in a cycle of self defeating behaviors and your Practice chronically operating in the red.

What I wish I knew was how much these fears could hold me back, especially as an entrepreneur! When you run your own business, every decision made is amplified by the multitude of consequences. When you operate in fear based decision making, your once innocent “quirky” fears are now costing you time, money, relationships, and staff.

Many fears can be overcome by a healthy dose of reality and confronting the issue directly. Forcing yourself to fight through the discomfort and address the hard issues is the best place to start. I started by acknowledging every time I felt that pit in my stomach and acting on it immediately (if I gave myself the chance, I could easily procrastinate until the opportunity was gone).

It will do you well to overcome these issues before your paycheck is dependant upon it! If the thought of doing a spinal screening terrifies you, sign up for every screening you can. Go to a local doctor and ask to do screenings for their office. If you can’t get up in front of a crowd, join Toastmasters as soon as possible, if you have issues with money, listen and learn from those who have it, hang out with them instead of your fellow poverty ridden friends.

The worst thing you can do is to do nothing. There are multitudes of those out there playing the victim to their own insecurities. Don’t be the victim, be the conqueror!

If it is, good grades and stellar GPA will not bring patients into your office. And even though I am a huge backer of technique specific adjusting, your mastery for removing subluxations won’t bring them through your doors any quicker either!

What makes the difference—people skills!

Some people are born with a natural charisma that draws people to them—I was not one of those—I was very shy as a child and in school had to force myself to break out of my shell.

The motivation to improve my people skills came easy enough. I saw my fellow interns and classmates who had half the skill and a fraction of the knowledge I had, doing fantastic in clinic, where I was struggling to get my New Patient Requirement. These individuals figured out how to communicate and draw others to them. I decided that I needed to get what came so naturally to these individuals!

If you have ever heard the phrase, “fake it till you make it”, it definitely applies to developing people skills! At first it will be uncomfortable and awkward, but with practice anyone can become great! It has been very encouraging to know that the ability to communicate is not a “you got it or you don’t” talent, many of the great public speakers will admit to overcoming fears and shyness in their early years. My favorite resource is “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie.

It is a great idea to be developing these skills and habits while you are still in school. When it comes time to graduate, you are under enough pressure to get everything else in your life rolling; you don’t have time for mastering effective small talk.

What I wish I knew—that people skills are probably the most important factor to success in your practice. If I had known that, I would have invested many more hours to developing these skills.

The problem is–now and then– that chiropractors, along with most other doctors, have terrible statistical default rates, which have ruined the chances , for many, of getting funding (at least not without collateral, cosigners, or both).

The solution for today’s funding crisis- SAVE! There are ways to get your chiropractic office open on a minimal budget, but you have to have at least $5,000-$25,000. Obviously, the more you have saved up, the better. In order to get this nest egg, you have to start saving from day one! Get a part time job the entire time you are in school. Don’t get the fancy apartment. Keep your weekend party expenses to a minimum. Get on a very tight budget and stick to it! Don’t blow those student loans on a new TV, clothes, or a car. Conserve every dime from day one and it is highly likely that you can have your opening capital ready to fund your dream with out the banks!

Another helpful tip, be searching far and wide for great deals whenever and wherever you can to furnish your office. If you happen to have a relative with some extra garage space or a free corner in their basement, take advantage! X-ray units from retiring chiropractors, tables off the doc who is looking to upgrade, chairs from eBay; all are great ways to save thousands on your opening cost. Remember, you can always upgrade later when the practice is making money!

The key is that you cannot rely on third party financing to fund your dream. It is only going to come from saving and sacrifice.

They do not put your GPA on your diploma. Not one patient has ever asked me my class ranking. My utility company never gave me a discount because I got an “A” in Biochem.

There is nothing wrong with getting good grades, by all means, you need certain grades in order to get that coveted diploma. What I wish I had known is where my priorities should have been.

What should I study while in chiropractic school?

The answer- Philosophy and Technique

Philosophy- If you are blessed to have awesome philosophy instructors on campus, pick their brains. Learn everything you can. Get that burning passion inside for chiropractic! That passion will serve you well for years to come. If you are not blessed with great instructors, then you have to do the research yourself. Get into the Green Books and go to every seminar you can. Your passion is contagious, and even though patients may never understand where it came from or why you have it, that enthusiasm draws them to you!

Technique- It is very advantageous to be technique specific. I was under the (dis)illusion that if you are a mixer of techniques you have more to offer patients (Gonstead for those who like manual adjustments, Activator for those who can’t take it). The reality is that as a Jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none you have less confidence in your hands and in yourself. You never become proficient with any one scan for clearing subluxations, therefore you are left guessing. You never have studied any one technique well enough to know how to deal with the tough cases. You lack the philosophical backing of the technique to persevere when all the patient’s objective symptoms are telling you, “You are making me worse”.

What I wish I knew was–lack of confidence, even for just a moment, will cause patient’s to lose confidence in you and never come back.

In my years since school, I have had a lot of experience with many techniques, all have their advantages and disadvantages and all have their supporters who think their way is the best. Virtually all masters of their techniques get results, so I cannot say that I would rank any one above any other, but what I will say is PICK ONE!