TNR Happenings September 28, 2020
Being patient
It is assumed that everything happens at warp speed in the digital age. Most members of society think that by having a device (computer or smartphone) means that you can solve problems instantly. It just isn’t true. There is a huge difference between storing information and resolving problems and conflict. What if you graduated from Chiropractic College a full year ago and you couldn’t start your practice because of the Covid lockdown? With all the bureaucracy and regulations, town halls are closed and permits can’t be filled out, and loans can’t be processed. Would you stay the course or would you accept your fate to work as an associate when you are trained as an owner? What if you were attempting to conceive a baby and each month that goes by the light gets dimmer and dimmer on you having a baby? Would you give up, accept your fate, and start the adoption process? How about being patient? Doctors in TNR have the patience that they didn’t have before. They have a different awareness and way of looking at and solving problems. Everyone around you almost demands you do something immediately even though it’s not even close to a solution. A fire-forging of character and resiliency is developed in TNR that serves you in all areas of life. There are no simple solutions to complex problems. And yes, to move through problems, they do take time.
If you need a referral immediately, you’d look on the internet, right?
What if one of your worst nightmares comes true? Your child, spouse, or parent becomes very ill and it’s a life or death situation, not a case for just any doctor. Who do you turn to find a specialist? Do you search the internet or look on Angie’s list, etc? The answer will surprise the heck out of you.
An amazing phenomenon is happening in the digital age. Relationships are getting more and more distant, even though you think you’re connected. Trust is at an all-time low.
In every field of endeavor, there is a Miyagi or Cesar Milan type person who stands heads and shoulders above the common majority. If you have an urgent need for the once-in-a-lifetime expert, all others will pale in comparison.
You’ve got to find this person, but where do you look?
The problem is they are hard to find since they tend to shy away from social media. They have the capability and credibility you are looking for, not the celebrity and popularity that is mistakenly thought of as the same thing today. They are not the same thing and you can lose your life not knowing the difference.
You find these Miyagi or Cesar Milan types only through direct referral by people in the know, not by reading someone's opinion online. For example, a restaurant blogger eats a single meal in a restaurant and then blogs about it. They base their opinion on one meal, not multiple meals. You will pay a premium price for Miyagi or Cesar Milan type doctors because they know their true worth.
They are almost hidden, except to the people they have helped. Fame and popularity don’t appeal to them. They view what they do as sacred, not a business to be scaled. They have unusual levels of skill and compassion; they don’t merely meet expectations, they exceed them.
Do you really think all Chiropractors are alike? Do you think all Chiropractors produce equal results? Do all professional hockey players score the same number of goals each year and also get paid the same? They don't!
I guess it’s okay to rely on someone else’s online opinion when picking a restaurant but when it’s a must-win situation, it has to be from a person who knows and has had direct experience.
You want a doctor who forms good old fashioned relationships with people. Trust needs to be established between two people. This is a lost art today. Too many people think a doctor with a large online following is the same as a doctor who creates real relationships of trust, person to person. These relationships take time and effort to forge and will last a lifetime.
When my wife and I started our practice, we helped a man from our town with a neck problem. He had seen many doctors and therapists but had gotten no results.
Because we wanted to be the best Chiropractors we could be, we adjusted him 7 days a week. We didn't treat him as a business relationship or transaction, something to be done and forgotten about. We wanted to help this man to the best of our abilities and we delivered results. He sensed something different in us.
He was one of the most influential men in our community and he made it his business to refer everybody he talked to into our office. One of his friends that he referred was a real estate agent who eventually showed us the house we bought and live in. He gave my wife a horse the very first day we moved in. He is the godfather of our oldest daughter. His reciprocity and kindness knew no bounds.
He made it his business to help us in our success.
Lots of authors write really well but if you were to meet them you would probably be disappointed. Their writing is articulate and logical but they might not sound like that in person. Online reviews are similar. People who can move your molecules and make you feel hope and optimism when you meet them are more impressive and so much more powerful.
Don’t be like the authors mentioned above; be a doctor people can rely on and trust.
Share Love Has No Color with your practice members
Let your practice members know about our website, savethereservation.org. They can read the weekly blogs and look at all the photos. This will allow them to follow our efforts on the Reservation the whole year, not just when we fundraise for Christmas on the Reservation and Boot Camp/Fun Days Having a kiosk in your office dialed in to savethereservation.org will allow people to visit the Reservation during times in your office. Being a part of something bigger has never been more important. TNR offices are kid-friendly and this will help show the next generation that the path with humanitarian efforts is key in cleaning up some of the world’s problems and mess.
Practice tip of the week
From now until our fundraising and toy raising deadline, wear a Love Has No Color tee shirt one day a week. Your patients will notice immediately and your donations will soar. By focusing on our fundraising and gift raising each week, there will be less stress towards the end. Some people are putting sayings on their masks. Maybe you could customize your shirt by putting a sash on it that says, ‘donate now’. Your patients will get the idea. It is so easy to slip into the paralyzing lethargy and obedience demanded by the mass hysteria. It is so easy to wait until next year, etc. These kids can’t wait. We must be ever vigilant that we don’t let our guard down and be swept up into the mass hysteria. Saying what can’t be done takes no courage. Running away from problems takes no courage. It takes thermal amounts of courage to do things in difficult times.
From the Mind of Miyagi
From certainty to uncertainty…the hero’s journey. What would you do if a patient flipped out when they saw the doctor not having their mask up over their nose? What if this was in full sight of your practice members who are in your office to get healthy? People that throw fits in public are a sight to be seen. They were already angry before they came into your office. The event, however trivial, triggered the already present anger.
This patient doesn’t know and doesn’t care that this Chiropractor hasn’t been a part of the required medical procedures that most people of her generation have been a part of. The development of health is a huge part of this Chiropractor's life. She is considered an outlaw because she hasn’t participated in medical indoctrination and won’t be doing it with her own children. She is a real enemy of the people because of her health and her beliefs. It doesn’t matter that she graduated at the top of her class with perfect board scores and really goes the extra mile for her patients.
Imagine a world that gives rights, political leverage, economics, and mob mentality to people who insist on playing the sick card. Welcome to the new normal. A victim of something that didn’t exist 6 months ago. There are so many cards to play in offices ranging from single mothers to elders on fixed incomes, "will you work with my pediatrician", and perhaps the most famous of all, "I can’t afford it."
In any time in history, the more you wander away from the certainty of your parent’s hearth, allowances, being paid to be sick, social dogma, mores and values, institutions, and disease worship, the more attack and aggression you will run into from people you don’t even know and people you know all too well! Think of the crabs in a box metaphor. Imagine having freedom from disease. Most people will dissuade you from even uttering those words. Having certainty in uncertain times takes great courage and fortitude. The very people we attempt to help will thank us in some very unusual ways, like with our female Chiropractor described above.
Doesn’t it seem silly to you when you see the behaviors of people that you looked up to, like celebrities, parents of friends you had growing up, politicians, and athletes, in uncertain times? Like scared little children, they listen to others in authority who know nothing about health. Their behavior is so predictable, yet bizarre when exposed as not knowing certainty in uncertain times. How can we as Chiropractors help with this mess? Be certain in uncertain times. Grow with people who are interested in health, no matter what political party they hail from, what religion they happen to be, what race they happen to be, etc. We are all connected, we are all in this together.
DCME confidential
Question 1: I am running into more and more people who are not opting for level 2 care. They say their spouses are out of work, insurance doesn’t cover it, etc. What is the deal?
Answer: It’s not the people, it’s you. You are losing altitude. DCME care is not for everybody, even in TNR. It takes a special type of person who doesn’t let external factors get in the way of serving people in difficult circumstances.
Question 2: The spouse of a DCME wants to have periodic sit-downs with me to discuss the progress. Should I do this?
Answer: No can do. DCME cases are ruled by great relationships of trust, not negotiations, analytic thought, or comments from laypeople and other doctors. Miracles do not have staff meetings, human resource departments, etc.
