May 2007

Who's in your corner?

by Dr. CJ Mertz

When we think of professional athletes, it's not uncommon to find out they have surrounded themselves with experts who can give them an edge. Individual sports, like golf, continue to show us that the top 10 players on the money list have all the right people in their corner. Who do you have in your corner?

Before I even ask you how fit you are, I would ask you who put your physical training schedule together, and who is holding you accountable to it? One thing our clients learn early is that every 25 visit per week increase requires a five percent increase in your energy level. This is not simply because of the addition physical demands, but because of the added mental focus required and the increase in pressure that comes with managing growth.

You don't have to be training for a marathon, bodybuilding or participating in any other high‑level activity to hire a personal trainer as a chiropractor. Your return on investment will be multi‑fold, both in your new energy levels and your capacity to serve more people.

Personal development gurus often write about measuring your potential to grow relative to the circle of people you call friends. If you want million‑dollar results, you need to hang out with million‑dollar people. Even though it's been one of their more difficult decisions, chiropractors who have changed the caliber of people they associate with outside of practice are rewarded greatly inside their practice.

Growing up as a boy, my father always encouraged me to play with older boys because it would drive me to hone my skills and learn to compete with them. That advice paid off in sports and in practice. How many chiropractors do you train with who see more patients than you do? These are often called "mentoring" or "brainstorming" groups and are valuable to your progress in practice. The only caution is that you not confuse this with coaching for it could stunt your growth.

Speaking of coaching, who's your coach? Every year, the chiropractors who post the greatest growth are connected to a coach responsible for creating their unique game plan and building the right skills to reach their goals. If your aspirations are low and you have no real desire to see more than 120 patient adjustments per week, you don't need to do a thing I've mentioned. Yet, my guess is that you read this column because you're motivated to take your practice to the next level!

You'd have to look far and wide to find a chiropractor who has a spiritual mentor, a chiropractic coach, a personal trainer and a powerful circle of friends who isn't flourishing in practice. If the chiropractors who have the best skills and greatest potential to succeed follow this champion's formula, shouldn't you?

At first, the two most obvious challenges are time and money. However, the champion's rule of thumb is that you invest money to make money, and commit your time to make more time.

If you feel you currently have more debt than is comfortable, your practice feels flat and you're somewhat afraid to change from what you're currently doing, get in line. Even if things are going better than I just described, the people you put in your corners of your life have direct influence over your ultimate level of success in practice.

Anyone who could properly invest $100 and have a return of nearly $1,000 within one year would be encouraged to do so. Getting the right people in your corner will be the best investment of your time, energy and money.

While all growth in our lives exists in the "stretch zone," we're constantly challenged by the lure of the "comfort zone" (even when we're struggling). If I didn't have my spiritual mentor, my weekly life group, my coach, my personal trainer and my amazing circle of friends, I couldn't have accomplished a fraction of what I've achieved so far.

It's true that in practice, as in life, there are no shortcuts. This year, stretch yourself and strengthen your corner. This year... turn your dreams into reality.

(Dr. CJ Mertz is the founder and head coach of the prestigious Waiting List Practice chiropractic training organization. See the WLP 300 patient per week opportunity on the back page of this issue. If you want to experience what it feels like in person to "stretch yourself and strengthen your corner," call the WLP team today and accept a personal invitation from Dr. Mertz to the upcoming Phoenix Seminar [June 29‑30]. He still has a few complimentary tickets available, so call today! For seminar tickets and information on WLP coaching services, please call The Waiting List Practice at 877‑TEAM‑WLP).