article archive
February 2007
The power of purpose
by Dr. Kevin Pallis and Dr. Ed Plentz
What happens when you
lose your purpose? Your life begins to lose its meaning.
You begin to lose your dreams and start going through the
motions like everyone else. Everything seems to blend in
a perfect shade of grey. Purpose and a life worth living
seem to go hand in hand. When purpose loses its importance
in your life the linear, mechanized, predicable world replaces
the non‑linear
world of purpose and dreams.
Purposeful people are the ones
responsible for change in society. It anchors and propels
them to present ideas to society that may not be initially
well received. They are the ones you remember from your childhood.
They are the doers, the people who make things happen and
create opportunities for others. They are our mentors, our
teachers and our role models. They have the highest good
of society in their hearts instead of self‑gain only.
If
your spirit is not allowed to flow through your purpose,
it gets bottled up and your life starts to not work as it
did previously. Your practice becomes just a job. Everything
in your life starts to drag you down. It seems like one darn
thing after another. It's spirit that powers dreams, not
intellect. As chiropractors, we are constantly challenged
between our personal beliefs and what society believes. This
is complicated by economic incentives that reward chiropractors
who maintain the status quo. Don't rock the boat with children
and chiropractic. Should we give practice members what they
want (symptomatic relief only) and keep our mouths shut about
what health is? What about the next generation... children?
When purpose is foremost in your heart, your practice will
reflect integrity and purpose, not acceptance of the masses.
When
you were small you dreamed all day long. Big dreams. Then
somewhere along the way you were asked to give up your dreams.
So you gave up your contrary ways and started acting like
a responsible adult. You started to be like everybody else
and put that purpose and your dreams away. We're told dreamers
never get anywhere. Yet, some of us are awakened by a bigger
vision or purpose that intrudes itself in our lives... wanted
or unwanted. Maybe it's the death of a parent. Maybe it's
financial or relationship strain. Without a powerful purpose,
we're exposed by these adversities. If a DC has a strong
self‑image and purpose, going
through adversity actually makes him or her stronger and
more developed personally and professionally.
Everyone in
chiropractic wants to know how to get new patients. Likewise,
everyone wants to increase his or her income. How about staff
relationships? The answer to all of these is purpose. Strange
as it sounds, purpose is the common denominator of a leader.
Having a vision, having a dream. People want to be around
people of purpose. People want to make powerful and lasting
relationships, they've just been let down sometimes in the
past. They've been sold to, promised, and marketed. What
they're really looking for are individuals who stand behind
what they say and who they are. That allows them as consumers
to make the choice best for their families.
The intent of
a purposeful DC is so much different than a purposeless DC.
A purposeful DC calls after the first adjustment and welcomes
new practice members to their office and thanks them, (yes,
thanks them) for the opportunity to serve them and their
family. That's a lot different than calling to see how they're "feeling" after
their first adjustment. An offshoot of that is the recorded
phone call thanking you for your purchase. Why bother? Without
human touch everything is bland, antiseptic and cold. DCs
of purpose are not afraid to make meaningful relationships
with people.
People recognize purposeful chiropractors immediately
by the environment of their office, their staff, and their
message. It's an environment of greatness. It communicates
very high regard for chiropractic and for practice members.
Friendly, compassionate, possessing a backbone and genuine
interest in the highest good for them.
Purposeful DCs aren't
sidetracked by practice members who argue for the right to
be unhealthy. Purposeful DCs are not pulled into the drama
of why a practice member can't participate in care (insurance,
time, distance, no money). They attract the people who are
willing to make the commitment to health for themselves and
their family.
Purposeful people seem to recognize DCs of purpose.
They both have a unwritten credo that reads whatever it takes,
I won't let you down. Isn't it about time that we as chiropractors
stood up for our purpose and showed the world what a group
of like‑minded DCs can accomplish?
(The New Renaissance
is a movement of passionate chiropractors dedicated to changing
the world. The leader in patient education since 1977, the
Mentor IV Coaching Program is a step‑by‑step
navigational guide that embodies the very essence of The
New Renaissance vision of healthier people creating a healthier
world. Without patient education, your patients won't "get
it." To learn more about The New Renaissance, contact
world headquarters at 800‑525‑3879.)