October 2003

JoinArnold.com

by Dr. C.J. Mertz

Every 25 years, the moon, the sun, and the stars line up over chiropractic. Fab has Parker, Guy has Palmer, CJ has the ICA and (with your help) Arnold has California.

Arnold Schwarzenegger has been our friend for more than a quarter of a century and one of chiropractic's biggest promoters. Now, he stands to govern over a land that is home to over 10,000 chiropractors and nearly a million people who use chiropractic in their everyday lives. If there was ever a time when our profession can ‑‑ and should ‑‑ come together for one cause, this is it.

The actions needed are really simple. If you live in California, make sure all your patients (and everyone else they know) are registered to vote for Arnold as governor. If you live outside California, make sure your colleagues (and everyone else they know) send in a donation of $50‑5,000 by logging onto JoinArnold.com. Do you realize if 50,000 chiropractors just follow through with these simple actions, we win? It's David and Goliath and we (together) can be the slingshot that changes the future of health care on this planet.

While California is home to every conceivable off‑shoot of chiropractic, they are still brothers in chiropractic. This is the first big step in learning how such a diverse group of people can come together as one voice and be heard around the globe. This is an unprecedented time that stretches beyond the boundaries of Democrats and Republicans, holding destiny in its hands for our great profession in the world.

Yet, in 1999, more visits went to alternative care than M.D.s? If more people are choosing alternative care, then we are no longer "alternative." If our national associations, our amazing field of chiropractors and our most powerful allies can bring their message together right now, we stand to become the number one health profession worldwide within the next 25 years.

Arnold as governor stands to add strength and credibility to the positive results chiropractors are producing every day. The publicity chiropractic stands to gain with Arnold at the helm is unlike any other in recent history. Just imagine the total fitness initiatives he will implement into the school systems and lifestyles in California. Chiropractic check‑ups will naturally be positioned as a necessary component of the wellness solution.

Meanwhile, the ICA is planning to launch a grassroots project designed to get the principled message of chiropractic into the living rooms and hearts of the American people. The public awareness of chiropractic in the next four years can be the catalyst needed to make subluxation a household word.

Wellness is already considered to be the next trillion‑dollar industry, but there are two main problems to solve. First, no one has claimed the definition of wellness so it is still up for grabs as to what the public believes wellness is. Second, no one has claimed the leadership role of the wellness movement, leaving the opportunity open to whoever wants it most. We must set our sights on nothing short of defining wellness and becoming the overwhelming favorite in the leadership progression of the wellness revolution.

Now is the time to re‑build your practice centered on the lifestyle of wellness. Make sure your skills in the areas of family care, cash conversion and chiropractic lifestyle education for your patients consistently produce successful results. Begin to align yourself with positively minded and congruent chiropractors who are also headed in the same direction.

Our profession is undergoing the most significant shift in identity we have ever seen. The pain relief paradigm is quickly fading and the emergence of the wellness (innate) paradigm is growing by leaps and bounds. The decisions you make now will shape the future of your practice and determine its viability for the next 10‑20 years.

Know that chiropractic builds like the body does ‑‑ from above down, and inside out. We are charged with the responsibility of both building our practices as well as our profession. The actions we collectively take today for this great profession, will pay off a hundred‑fold for our practices tomorrow. Arnold now has a chance to pull California out of its slump and push chiropractic into the leadership role in health care in America. Each of us can contribute and make the difference.

Talk to your colleagues and get them involved. Visit www.chiropractic.org for more information on the impact Arnold's campaign can have for the chiropractic profession. Better yet, go to www.joinarnold.com and find out how you can make a deposit into building the future success of chiropractic.

Together we can move mountains, and shift our identity from underdog to the dominant leader of the wellness to the dominant leader of the wellness movement. Act today so we can celebrate tomorrow.

(Dr. C.J. Mertz is president of the International Chiropractors Association, executive director of ChiroUSA, and founder and head coach of the prestigious Waiting List Practice chiropractic training organization. For information on WLP services and products, call Mark at 877/TEAM‑WLP.)