Take a moment to imagine the following scenario.

Your practice is filled to capacity. Idle or down times do not exist. You have new practice members scheduled four to six weeks in advance. Your advertising budget is less than $500 annually. Your practice is 80-100% cash paying members (non-insurance dependent).

Your time in the office is fun and invigorating. You look forward to serving and your practice members look forward to you. Your income is steadily increasing on a monthly basis. Your practice volume is consistent. You take adequate time off to enjoy your family, friends, hobbies and interests. You have at least four full weeks of vacation every year.

I would guess that most of you became chiropractors, established your own practices and dedicated yourselves to our profession because this is EXACTLY what you want.

Throughout the years I've met with countless chiropractors who began with the same dream in mind. And, for reasons too numerous to count, many lament the death of that dream.

They confess to me a loss of their vision. Too many doctors have settled for less than expected practices. I must confess that for several years early on in my practice career, so did I.

The very first thing that I did to create my ideal was to decide in crystal clear terms precisely what I wanted from my practice. I determined that it was time for me to give my dream a chance. Prior to that I unconsciously followed what everyone else was doing.

One of my realizations was that most of my business decisions in the practice were the result of reactionary thinking. I ran the business on a "crisis to crisis" basis. If there were not enough new members, I ran an ad. If income dropped, it was time to toughen up in collections. If referrals ceased, it was time for "patient education." Sound familiar?

My practice was the complete OPPOSITE of our chiropractic principles! While teaching about proper rest, proper nutrition, a positive and empowering attitude, adequate exercise and a nervous system free from interference — my business and I were living the contrary.

Sleepless nights prevented proper rest. Eating fast food and late night meals prevented proper nutrition. Living from stress to stress prevented an empowering attitude. "No time" for exercise kept me from energizing my body. Inconsistent chiropractic care prevented me from a nervous system free from interference.

When I began to see the effects on my family, my practice and myself, I created systems to eliminate the reactive consciousness and replaced it with a proactive consciousness. For example:

— I accurately defined the type of practice that I wanted to serve.

— I gave up my need to be everyone's friend and tell the chiropractic truth.

— I subscribed to the logic that if I had ONE member I liked and loved serving, he or she would most likely have similar friends and family members. Therefore, I created referral systems.

I asked my ideal members such key questions as: "What did you hear about me that made you decide to choose my office?" "Throughout your life, who has been your favorite doctor and why?" "What is your favorite part about coming to the office?" "How do you describe what we do here to your friends and family members?" "What has been your greatest obstacle in referring others to the office?"

These five questions alone gave me insights as to the specific part or parts of my service and myself that my ideal members were attracted to. The answers were invaluable. I found myself becoming more interested in why people DID come to my office than I was in why they didn't.

I designed my systems around the parts of my practice and myself that people found most attractive. Then, once I had my ideal practice and ideal members in mind, I went about creating my 100% referral/members ONLY practice.

*** I began actually ASKING vs. hinting for referrals. I took note of the specific request that generated the most referrals.

*** Inviting referrals at the end of my health care demonstration with a deadline to my offer became systematic. Again, I found that one method of requesting referrals far out-performed others.

*** I created an office brochure of my services, my health philosophy and my criteria for ideal members so that they could share with their potential referrals.

*** I discussed the positive and overwhelming benefits of the chiropractic lifestyle vs. scolding members about the devastating effects of vertebral subluxations. (This was HUGE!)

*** I invited new members to refer their family in for check-ups (vs. care — this is a key distinction!)

*** I collected and shared testimonials on a regular, consistent and systematized basis.

*** I became much more selective in my acceptance of new members in order to protect those who were already members.

*** I created a "Country Club" of health conscious individuals.

You, too, can manifest a practice created in your ideal! Start with the consciousness of possibilities. Seek the assistance of others who are still doing what you'd like to create. Set your sights and take action.

Removing the effects of stress from others should not be the cause of stress in YOU!