January 2009

Fear can make you grow

by Dr. Robert Schiffman

Chiropractors are leaders in their communities and the world, accountable for all that they do and how much they believe in chiropractic. They must set the stage for chiropractic in their cities and towns, and to the uttermost parts of the globe. As a DC, it's your responsibility and duty to do as much as you can to see people who are in dire need of chiropractic care.

What makes you unique? It can be anything from life experiences to your gifts. The answer should be your secret to success.

Take about five minutes and try this little exercise. Write down everything special about yourself. Also, ask the people around you for their input. Then ask yourself how your uniqueness translates into superior service.

In many instances when you're a professional, doing something uncomfortable can teach you ways to face and overcome fear. While there are methods to help you take action and stay focused, you might find it difficult to do at times. That's why it's important you seek out the right tools, the structure and accountability to accomplish your most important goals.

One of these goals should be to market yourself and chiropractic.

When you present a good product, many people will want what you have.

There are hundreds of ways to promote your profession and your practice. You can create a promotional kit to send to the media and to prospects. There are places and occasions that will offer you the opportunity to speak, for example before business groups and at functions. Another way for promoting yourself might be to send monthly postcards, e-mails and/or faxes. A friendly call or note will also help to promote your office -- and help people to remember you.

But, it isn't necessary to struggle. You can do any of these things. You only need to remember that you can do them all, though not all at the same time. The best way to avoid feeling overwhelmed or frustrated is to create a marketing plan and follow it. Make sure that your plan is specific, measurable and attainable with some risk. It should also include goal dates and deadlines. Bear in mind that a personal coach can always help you with the support and encouragement you need to continue and maintain your goals and plans.

After you've made your plan, make sure you reach high for that's the time to climb up! It takes courage and commitment to climb to the top of your mountain, so stay focused on what it is that you really want. Take notice of all the fears and concerns that come up for you when you think about promoting yourself and chiropractic. Implementing tools that create leadership readiness will enable you to validate your capabilities and competencies. This will only help your future leadership positions.

Leaders should be able to position themselves with the critical skills and behaviors necessary for the competing demands of the day. The traditional "command and control" leadership requires a new approach for leading and supporting diverse skills and capabilities and will be necessary to meet the challenges of global competition.

You must be able to discover what skills, competencies and behaviors you currently demonstrate. How do you handle problems, challenges and people interactions? Do you handle them the same way that you do your own pace of events and activities? Determine why you're motivated to certain actions.

I'm here to help you focus on what you want and this will help you develop clarity as well as discover possible resistance and potholes on your road to success. You need to continually ask yourself what you want and what you see for your future. Success begins with simple questions such as these that can elicit an array of responses and begin the process of focusing, exploring and assessing and responding.

Having worked with a number of clients, I could see that some of them had never taken the time to examine what they really wanted for their companies or themselves. As a leader, most of what I do to get people to change is to ask, listen and seek to understand. In fact, among the greatest gifts you can give are those of caring and understanding. This is especially true in the group setting. So often people charge ahead with their own agenda before they take the time to pause and get input and ideas from others.

When change is necessary, there's always some degree of resistance. Certain fears arise associated with the changes needed to achieve goals. The good news is, you can turn your fear into a positive energizing force for success! Every fear is an opportunity to grow. Follow your plan, take action, make it fun, be unique and remember to reach high.

(Studying under CS Gonstead ignited Dr. Robert Schiffman's passion for chiropractic. The Life University graduate's career accomplishments have won him much recognition, and he is one of the most sought-after speakers in chiropractic today. Dr. Schiffman -- founder of the Principled Revolution, Get the Big Idea! Seminars and Coaching Programs -- continues to maintain one of the world's largest volume practices. Contact him by calling 877-251-0181, or visit online at www.getthebigidea.com.)