Priorities
by Shane Amburgey
I once felt bad because I had no shoes, until I saw a man who had no feet. – Unknown
A phenomenal quote, because it prioritizes how important your feet are compared to your shoes. We are all challenged in a variety of capacities to realize and recognize what our priorities are and what constitutes our personal and professional priorities. Something as simple as justifying your feet over your shoes is a proverbial no-brainer. However, why is chiropractic care not perceived as a no-brainer among the people living in our communities, running our municipalities, and working for or owning the businesses that make up the fabric of our towns or cities? Although the reason may be complex on the surface, it is simplistic in principal: “It is not a priority.”
Depending upon the statistic you choose to believe, between 3.3 percent and 6 percent of the American population is currently receiving care from a Doctor of Chiropractic in the days before or after you read this article. This should be unbelievable to you given the fact that, as I write this, the population of the United States is 305,198,883 and growing, with a net gain of one person every 9 seconds. I will never claim to be a mathematician, but these numbers indicate between 9 and 18 million people are actively engaged in chiropractic care. That is not a case of radiculopathy, but it is a serious case of ridiculous! I believe you would agree that we all know how to take care of radiculopathy, but we have done a poor job of addressing the ridiculous.
Unfortunately, just like degenerative lumbar-disorders, there is no quick cure for a bad case of ridiculous. However, each of us has numerous resources available to address this Chiropractic Awareness Campaign we are constantly promoting, whether that consists of practice management groups, technology for health screenings, or a multi-tier community education program. All of these resources will enable you to instill monetary value (relative worth, merit, or importance) to your quality of chiropractic care; however, it can remain incomplete, if you fail to acknowledge personal values (imply intrinsic excellence or desirability) to why you chose to make a difference in the quality of life for human beings. Identifying or redefining these personal values can ultimately lead to increasing the credibility of your chiropractic services to your communities, local civic organizations, and greater municipalities who are waiting to discover a natural truth—chiropractic.
How often has a patient or a prospective patient said, “Doctor, I can’t afford that.” What they are actually saying is, “Doctor you have not shown enough value in the product/service to warrant the investment.” This has nothing to do with the quality of your care, but more to do with the quality of your communication and your ability to connect with your community in ways that are meaningful and engaging. When you become very certain about the values of your practice and you develop a clear vision of what you want, you will see it come to be for yourself, your patients, and your community. You will be able to communicate more effectively and connect the deeper value and the true meaning of what you do with why you do it. When the message you are conveying is truly meaningful and engaging to your audience, you will be able to help them connect to it emotionally and, therefore, engage energetically!
We are all consumers in different capacities, and the psychology of purchasing suggests that we have a propensity to buy something from those we trust, and we trust those we find credible; and the credibility stems from the fact that the intentions our seller has are truly purposeful towards benefiting the consumer. The consumers for a Doctor of Chiropractic are current and prospective patients that are in need of powerful, certain, and consistent leadership—leadership that will help them move from the unconscious life of sickness and disease to the conscious awakening of what is possible in a chiropractic wellness lifestyle.
Ultimately, getting “stuck in the process” prevents all of us from fulfilling our absolute potential. By reevaluating and stimulating your consciousness, you allow yourself the “process” to take on a transformational discovery of becoming more purposeful toward the goals you want to accomplish—essentially, creating a higher level of efficiency, engagement, fulfillment, and profitability for yourself and those you work with and serve. This will have a residual effect on your ability to treat ridiculous with more success and purpose and facilitate chiropractic’s shift from “only if needed” to a Priority in mainstream society.
Shane Amburgey has worked within the Chiropractic profession for the past 4 years, and is currently the National Sales Director for Learning Curves; an essential component to experience purpose in your practice. For more information, visit www.learningcurves.us. He can be reached at 1-800-613-2528 or at [email protected].