On August 28th, 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered this famous speech. When I lived in Atlanta, GA to attend Life University, I spent many hours at the MLK Jr. Center, birth house, gravesite and church of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  I used to sit in the pews and listen to his recorded sermons that were broadcasting all day long.

I have always been inspired by this man who stood up for what he believed in.

My question for myself and others today, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, is what is your dream?  What inspires you?  How do you wish the world to be?

What will you do in 2012 to realize your dream?

Tags: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Dream, Goals, Inspiration, Leadership, New Year's Resolutions, vision

A recent article in Entrepreneur, titled “Steve Jobs and the Seven Rules of Success” got me to thinking. We have just lost a true visionary, an entrepreneur who changed the world and left a legacy.  I’d like to see how the lessons from Steve Jobs can help save chiropractic.

Right now, our profession as we know it, is at a crossroads.  Will we go the way of the osteopaths, being swallowed up by medicine? Or will chiropractic remain a separate and distinct profession?  We must start taking action to save our profession immediately, and then start to embody Steve Job’s rules for success to have chiropractors be the recognized leaders of true health care and the wellness revolution.

To get in the mood for Steve Jobs Seven Rules of Success, if you have not seen the Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement speech, please watch before we begin.

1. Do What You Love.  Do you LOVE being a chiropractor?  If not, it’s time to move out of the profession and into something you do love, or do whatever it takes to fall in love with helping people get healthy, stay healthy and give them a chance at living the best life possible.

2. Put a Dent in the Universe. To do so, it is necessary to have a powerful vision.  Are you fixing low backs, or are you transforming people’s lives?  Do you truly understand the power of an adjustment, of clearing someone’s nerve system so that they can function and thrive at their optimum potential?  If you do not have a big vision, your practice and your ability to put a dent in the universe remains small.

3. Make Connections. While chiropractic hasn’t changed much since 1895, how can you evolve the profession? What connections can you make with the current global trends and how that might relate to a niche market? Are you connecting to your culture’s specific changing needs and wants?  We must connect a strong message of what people REALLY want to what chiropractic can REALLY do for them!

4. Say No to 1000 Things.  Much of our profession, in my opinion, has become a ‘jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none’.  Many office are chiropractic and and and….We must master the philosophy, science and art of chiropractic.  From Rosen Coaching’s perspective, a true wellness model of chiropractic means removing nerve interference AND showing them ways to not re-create their subluxations over and over again!  The public needs to understand what they can receive from a chiropractic service: remove nerve interference. Then whatever other techniques/approaches you do to help people to stop recreating nerve interference is up to you.  But we have to connect the dots so people ‘get’ what we can do for them.

5. Create Insanely Different Experiences.  What can you and your team to do make every interaction with your office an exceptional experience for your clients/customers/practice members/patients?  Are you giving them the Red Carpet VIP Experience?  If every interaction in with your office isn’t a WOW experience, we’ve got to improve it so it is.

6. Master the message.  Sadly, the chiropractic lifestyle is the best kept secret to getting healthy and staying healthy and having the best life possible!  We MUST as individual chiropractors and as a profession, learn how to communicate chiropractic if our profession is going to survive.  Our mission at Rosen Coaching is to help chiropractors become the recognized leaders of true health care worldwide!

7. Sell dreams, not products.  Get clear about who you want to serve, what their needs are and how you can help!  What is it they dream of? How big is your dream, for them, for your practice, for what legacy you want to leave in the world?

Tags: Apple, chiropractic, Entrepreneur, Rosen Chiropractic Coaching, rosen coaching, Steve Jobs, Success, vision

Are you living the life of your dreams, as a chiropractor and personally?  If not, why not? Many people I speak with, as a chiropractic coach, who are not having the success they desire in their practice or personal life and I want to help you live the life of your dreams:

1. Know what the life of your dreams looks like. Imagine it, visualize it.  If we don’t know what the end is, how will we ever know we got there? Without knowing our vision, we are always unsatisfied.

2. What is your life about? As a human being and as a chiropractor? Write a mission statement that is clear and concise. Your mission outlines how will you achieve your vision. When we coach chiropractors to build a Dream Team with their CA’s, we ask that they read the mission together before each day.  We must keep the big perspective and the ‘why’ we do what we do in the forefront of our minds to not get caught in the mundane details of life and practice.

3. What do you stand for? What are your core values?  For yourself personally and for your chiropractic practice.  These are the foundations that you measure every decision against. If it’s aligned with your values, consider it. If it’s not, move on, even if it’s a good deal.

4. What is success to you?  What are the categories of success for you personally and your practice?  Discover these categories (hint: it’s not just financial wealth) and then grade yourself where you are today on a scale of 1-10. Then decide what ONE thing you need to do to move you more towards a 10 in each category.  Categories could include: Personal Fulfillment, Health, Finances, Practice, Lifestyle, and Family, for example.

5. Get organized and focused on what’s important!  Many people have great ideas and no organization to execute. Be diligent about managing yourself (notice I didn’t say your time) and each day work on what is most important or what will have the greatest impact on your life.  Move away from distractions and ADHD tendencies of a high-tech, high-noise world.

6. Take consistent action. Knowing what you want is one thing. The next is to actually create movement and action towards it. Craziness comes from doing the same thing and expecting different results. So do something different and take action!

There is a month and a half until the end of 2009. Have you achieved your goals? Maybe you didn’t set any.  Let’s see if you can generate some momentum and self-discipline to move towards the successful life of your dreams between now and New Year’s Eve. If you want support and coaching to have the life and practice of your dreams, at Rosen Coaching we’re here to help. It’s our specialty and expertise. Contact us for a Free Consult to get the ball rolling. Life is short, it’s time to make the most of it!

Tags: action, Chiropractic Coach, chiropractic practice, chiropractor, focus, life of dreams, mission, organization, Rosen Chiropractic Coaching, rosen coaching, Success, values, vision

Are you a pessimist, an optimist or a leader?  We need to look at how you deal with challenge and adversity to find out. Most people say they are optimists when asked, but if we look at the proof of their external results we might find out otherwise.  John Maxwell, one of my favourite authors on leadership, says this:

“The pessimist complains about the wind.  The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.”

Sailing without a charted course is like driving without a map or GPS, and like setting goals without an action plan.  It leads to circular action, unintentional sabotage, and rarely reaching your desired destination.

Not only do leaders have a vision and mission, they set long-term and short-term goals with a definitive action plan.  AND they consistently take intentional action, stay on the charted course, adjust the sails and the course as needed.

To manage your chiropractic practice like a leader we need to ensure you are the captain, keeping the big picture about what practice growth you want and what you are trying to achieve.  You need to look at the conditions, the charted course, and take consistent action AND you need to lead your team!  A world cup skipper cannot sail the ship themselves.  They need a solid team with the same vision, desires and willing to work hard and be rewarded for it. As chiropractic coaches and consultants, we help office create and manage a Dream Team and help Get The Team To Grow The Practice!

If you have been being a pessimist or an optimist during the stormy conditions of the past 6 months, it’s time to step up your leadership of yourselves, your practice management and your team!  People in your community need your help. It’s time to lead the chiropractic wellness revolution!

Tags: Action Plan, Charted Course, Chiropractic Coach, Chiropractic Consultant, Chiropractic Practice Management, Dream Team, Get The Team To Grow The Practice, Goals, Leadership, mission, Optimist, Pessimist, Sailing, Taking Action, vision, wellness revolution

Many chiropractors have a difficult time with life balance. Whether you are just starting your practice OR seeing 500 visits/week, it’s hard to find a balance between the office and your personal life, your community and your family.

The truth is, wellness chiropractors who are running successful chiropractic practices have to lead by example.  If wellness chiropractors are going to lead the wellness revolution, we have to walk the walk, not just talk the talk!  You can’t be overweight and teaching nutrition. You can’t be a stress case telling people to reduce their mental/emotional stress.  Just like you can’t smoke and tell your kids not to smoke.  It is who you are BEING and DOING, not what you are SAYING that matters.

While coaching chiropractors, it is essential to look at their life priorities and build their life and practice around that.  You get to choose the life you want to create! First you need to know what that is, then you need to create and action plan to get there.

Secondly, it is not about time-management, but it is about self-management. How focused are you?  How effective are you at following through on your plan? How much do you allow yourself to get distracted?  How tenacious are you at pushing through the dip?  Are you showing up in life with the discipline it takes to be a true leader? And who is holding you accountable for your choices?

Lastly, to be of true service, we have to be full vessels ourselves.  Unless we serve ourselves and our personal needs, we can’t truly be of service.  It is about being self-full not selfish.  It’s time for you to exercise “Extreme Self Care” as outlined by Thomas Leonard in his book, “The 28 Laws of Attraction”. Here are the categories to revamp your life:

1. Stress elimination: By focusing on stress elimination in all areas of your life. What is stressful? What are you tolerating? What isn’t adding positively to your life?

2. Environment & Family: Design your environment to serve you and your family relationships to add energy to your life.

3. Pleasure: Know what makes you feel great and then get more of it in your life.

4. Well-being: Ensure all aspects of physical, mental, emotional, chemical are 100% .

5. Support and Experts: Receive wellness care from experts and seek support from a coach.

6. Ingestion: You are what you put in your mouth. Keep it clean. Treat your body like the temple that it is.

7. Appearance: Take care of the outer you as well as the inner you.

8. Sustainability: Make extreme self-care a behaviour not a quick fix.  Take control of your time, learn to say no, delegate finances for self-care.

9. Daily Rituals: Small improvements lead to great results.  What you do daily is who you become.

10. Special-care Items: Add anything else you need that isn’t listed above.

Tags: Action Plan, Balance, Extreme Lead by Example, Goals, Leadership, Life, Personal Needs, Self Care, Self Management, Thomas Leonard, Time Management, vision, Wellness Chiropractic, Wellness Chiropractors

As a chiropractor, do you know what your vision is? Do you know why you get up every day and do what you do?  Without a clear vision of where you are headed it can be hard to stay the course.  Just like a raft guide who doesn’t know where he’s headed, a chiropractor without a vision can get easily lost. If you can’t clearly articulate your vision, that is the first thing to master to have success in practice.  Because you are not just leading yourself, you are leading your team and the people you take care of.

Your mission is how you are going to accomplish your vision. What will it take to get there?  It answers the 5 W’s of who, what, where, when and why. Your vision and mission is what guides your everyday action and reduces the overwhelm of your To-Do list.  It is essential to start with the big picture in mind to have a successful wellness practice and life for that matter!

Like the raft guide, you are steering the raft of your office for the people you serve, your team, and the community.  Do you know which direction you are headed?  Are you padding upstream or with the current flow of the river of life? Your vision and mission are essential to being able to course correct with wellness practice management principles.  As a chiropractor, are you stepping up to the level of leadership required to save lives in your community?

Next, what does it take to have a successful wellness chiropractic practice? Have you got what you need and are you implementing the strategies to do so? Just like the raft guide has to pack meticulously to have the correct rations of food, tools, supplies and emergency necessities, do you know exactly what you need to run a wellness practice and in the correct amounts?  Or does it feel like you are flying by the seat of your pants (or hanging on to your life jacket)?  May I suggest that you start to look at your practice as if you were a raft guide, who is responsible for the lives, the well-being, the nourishment, and the enjoyment of yourself and others on your journey.  Nothing can be left to chance in the wilderness ~ have a vision, make a plan, have what you need and course correct to be in the flow of life and success! But don’t wing it… your happiness and the health of your community depends on it.

Tags: chiropractic, Leadership, mission, Practice Management, Success, vision, wellness, wellness chiropractic practice management