There are key qualities and characteristics that make the difference between those who are just proficient and those who prevail as they start their career in chiropractic. The latter group achieves and thrives at the level they dreamed of – whatever that level may be.
As you consider the following “C’s of success,” do a self- check and determine which factors you are strong in, and those in which you may need some “adjustment.”
Confrontation. It’s not always a matter of what to say, or how to say it. For many, it’s just the willingness to get uncomfortable and say what needs to be said. Our profession suffers from a chronic case of confrontation-phobia. Confrontation here doesn’t mean fighting. Rather, it means being willing to bring up a belief, a principle, an office policy and stand firm.
The inability or unwillingness of young doctors to do this short circuits their ability to lead their patients, their teams, and their communities. To resolve this challenge, say what you mean and mean what you say.
Comfort-zone crashing. This is related to confrontation. As a start-up doctor, you have a choice in the discomfort you experience. You can choose the pain of investing the time, energy, and effort required to build a business, or you can opt for the pain of sitting in your office hoping and praying someone comes in by chance because you hung a shingle out.
The doctors who prevail early are those who do not let discomfort keep them from doing what they need to do. Bear in mind what B.J. Palmer said: “There are four words that hold us back. Those are ‘What will people think?’
Certainty. Trying to build anything with a lack of clarity or certainty will usually result in floundering. Prevailing chiropractors have certainty – first in who they are and what they are about. They need not be a certain race, gender, or size, or use a particular technique.
Prevailing doctors of chiropractic know they cannot sell what they do not own. You need not hold a philosophy degree, but you ought to have exposed yourself to the principles of chiropractic.
Congruency. In addition to being congruent from a legal, moral, and ethical standpoint, those who focus on living and practicing in line with the principles they have explored and chosen to represent tend to prevail on a higher level.
Avoid the practice that looks good and productive on the outside but is rotten within. Larry Markson, DC, teaches what he calls “the law of circle-circle”: what comes around goes around. You cannot outsmart or cheat the universe. By the same token, you cannot serve, give, and love without being rewarded.
Coach-ability. Most of the premier and prevailing people in any field have a coach. Stop trying to reinvent the wheel by flying solo. Involve someone who knows where you want to go, who has been there, done that, and who knows how to take others there.
One of the most valuable things an effective coach does is hold you accountable – to ensure you do what you say you wanted to do. And, when you are being coached, stop talking and start listening!
Check your mastery of these principles. Grow where needed. Think positive and prevail.
