Why the purpose of your practice is NOT to 'serve, serve, serve'

 by Jeff Smith

Chiropractic is an unconventional profession, and many of the most powerful strategies to grow your practice and improve your personal life are equally unconventional. One of the most powerful is called the "primary purpose shift."

Frequently I ask doctors, "What is the primary purpose of your practice?" I always get answers like: "To serve my patients" ... "To help my patients improve their health" ... "To create a subluxation-free world" ... "To serve chiropractic" ... etc.

I have found that doctors at the highest levels of success realize ALL of those answers are incomplete. Instead, they have discovered the true purpose of a practice is to fund one's ideal lifestyle.

You can accomplish all those other things (serving, eliminating subluxations, improving health, etc.) while being an associate in someone else's practice. The only real reason for taking on the risk and responsibility of having your own practice is because you believe that it will create the freedom to live your ideal lifestyle. In other words, your personal life is primary, your practice is secondary. That is the primary purpose shift.

Making this shift frees you from the "serve, serve, serve" mantra that's taught at seminars, on tapes, and in most practice management programs. And paradoxically, it actually allows you to serve on a much higher, more profound level at the same time that you are taking more time off and having more fun than you ever have before.

Here's how it works.

Imagine you've already made the primary purpose shift. Once you've allowed your personal lifestyle to be primary, who do you serve first?

Yourself.

Is this selfish? Yes, but we call it healthy selfishness. And it is good. Because when you make the shift, you quickly become your own best practice member. And becoming your own best practice member is the only way to practice with full integrity.

After all, how can you expect your practice members to follow your recommendations for optimal health, if you are not an example of what following those recommendations will create?

To put it bluntly, practice members like myself -- those who understand chiropractic, can easily afford to pay cash for your services and who already believe in lifetime care -- will not continue coming to a doctor who is not a living example of optimal health ... and that includes physical health, mental health, and emotional health. Yes, we CAN tell the difference in two seconds. We won't say a word to you when we know, but we won't be back. (And for you smart doctors reading this, therein lies the secret of retention and reactivation as well.)

So, by becoming your own best practice member, two things happen.

First, because "like attracts like," you attract successful, health-conscious practice members who understand and believe in the value of lifetime chiropractic care. Therefore, your practice grows.

Second, when you're "hands-on" with patients, you are 100% present and 100% focused instead of being partially distracted by the bills that are piling up, the extra pounds on your belly, the problems you're having with your family or your staff, and a whole host of other issues that unconsciously distract most chiropractors. Being 100% present and 100% focused is truly the greatest gift you can possibly give your practice members as it results in the best possible quality of care for them.

By giving yourself permission to do the things you enjoy and create your ideal lifestyle first, you create the ability to serve your practice members on a deeper, more profound level. The bottom line: EVERYONE is served, including you.

Which completes the primary purpose shift.

Recently, I received a note from Dr. Tom Gargiula, a great example of this principle in action. He described what an amazing experience it was for him to see his son hit his first home run in a Little League game. Dr. Gargiula was able to experience this "magic moment" because he had cut back his working hours to spend much more time with his family. At the same time, his practice is enjoying record growth. In fact, he has practice members who drive up to three hours to come to his office!

Dr. Tony Palermo, the CEO of the WCA and one of my fellow leaders of The 2X+1 Chiropractic Mastermind, is another great example of this simple, but profound principle. I just received an e-mail from him today talking about the results he's gotten since he made the primary purpose shift for himself.

After working 70 hours a week in his practice, he now works 10 hours and still generates a comfortable six-figure income from the practice, which is 100% referral as well.

He used to exercise whenever he could fit it into his schedule. At age 44, he's in better shape than he was at 24. The results show in the quality of his care he's able to give his practice members, as well as in the changes they're making in their own lives.

Outside the box? Certainly. Effective? Profoundly.

If you want to serve, serve, serve, begin with the primary purpose shift. Give yourself permission to serve yourself first. Become your own best practice member. Start taking time off, doing the things you enjoy, taking care of your own health and mental well-being, contributing to causes you believe in -- and consciously creating your ideal lifestyle, even if it's totally different than everyone else's.

You'll discover that your energy goes through the roof, you regain your "spark" for chiropractic, you attract ideal practice members who understand and can easily pay cash for the service you provide ... and your income and your practice will grow in ways it never has before.

(Jeff Smith is an acknowledged authority on "outside the box" success strategies for chiropractors. As a non-chiropractor who's been a patient of chiropractic since he was 17, his unconventional ideas have revolutionized the lives of an exclusive group of D.C.s in "The 2X+1 Chiropractic Mastermind," his private by-invitation-only community of the world's top doctors. Smith is the author of dozens of books and courses, including "The Stress-Free Chiropractic Success System." To Learn about The 2X+1 Mastermind and how doctors are using the 2X+1 Principles to create their ideal lifestyle and practice, turn to pages six and seven of this month's Chiropractic Journal and read the letter from Dr. Tony Palermo. You may e-mail specific comments or questions about this column directly to Jeff Smith at stressfree@lvcm.com)