Thriving right out of the gate.
Well, why you’re choosing me is a great question, but I’m very humbled that you’re asking me to be on the show. I think I had a lot of success right out of the gate, continued success now, and hopefully today we’ll dive into some of those reasons why so we have more people in our profession serving bigger and help them work with people in our communities. I think that being a doctor of chiropractic, sometimes we don’t play big enough. We don’t think big enough. We don’t dream big enough. Hopefully after today some people get inspired to do a little more.
I agree. I agree. One of the things, I met Dr. Eddie before he was Dr. Eddie, meaning while he was still a student at Life University. Eddie had one plan or path of where you were saying you wanted to go and then some really interesting opportunities presented. You took a different path. Tell the listeners a little bit. It’s not so much where you practice, it’s the willingness to change even from where you thought you were going to go. Tell the listeners a little bit about that.
Well it’s funny, because we do vision boards. I’m sure a lot of the listeners do. I’m sure you have or still do at some point. That vision board morphs, right? We had this vision over here and it’s big, big plans and big goals and big dreams and how we’re going to get there. It’s the extra steps we do after the vision, right? As things start opening up, everything falls into place like it’s supposed to. I’m a big believer in that. We were going to go to Nashville, we were going to open in Tennessee. We just, we love Tennessee. Then coming back home to her, were going to, we interned with our parents for three months up at Street Chiropractic, a really big clinic. Her grandfather was Dr. Stookey, which a lot of the listeners probably have heard that name before.
Being around here and seeing that, just that energy and that legacy, then we had the opportunity to step in after her father retired and make it our own and start to do what we want to do with it and just expand. As that opportunity came, because her dad … I told her dad, I was like, “We’re leaving in three months. We’re out of here, no questions asked.” We sat down for dinner and laid out the pros and cons because I do it for every decision. I still have the sheet actually in my desk right here. We went through those, and the pros outweigh the cons of what we wanted to create and where we wanted to go. This is where we are and we love it.
I think it’s interesting for the listeners. I am so fortunate. I know Dr. Eddie and his wife, Dr. Alice, and their family and the chiropractic legacy that Eddie’s talking about. What ends up happening is, I don’t think a lot of times the pro isn’t “Well, I’m just automatically going to step in and be accepted.” You still needed to take some action steps. That’s really what I want people to understand is, if you think you’re going over here and we’re building that, but this amazing opportunity comes and it doesn’t take a lot of time to pivot when you have the right mindset and right actions. I would love …
My background as a coach, Eddie, is I like people to understand what they can do. Can you share a few of the specific actions you took to get such a fast start because nothing was handed to you. A new opportunity presented but you, based on some solid principles that I know, but I want the audience to hear, you basically have created very quick success for yourself. Tell people about that.
When we got here, it was … The thing was, you’re not on a walk-in list so we don’t get a call in, if you’re just starting out in this practice because it’s so large. I literally had to go embrace the community. I’m out every day planting my flag, speaking to people, just letting people know who I am, what I’m about, why I’m here, and not selling them anything or trying to get them to come in like, “Hey, come see me for chiropractic care,” just being a genuine concerned person, talking to them about their problems, talking to them about their issues, figuring out where they want to be better in life. As you start to get to these people, they are just naturally going to be drawn to that. Law of attraction is real. When you resonate at a higher level and people were understanding, you can tell right now I get passionate talking about it. They’re drawn to you and then you have not only influence over them but their families and their friends. They send everybody in because you treat them for the right reasons.
I think the first thing I did was get out. My wife and I, we just got married, we moved up here. She didn’t see me a whole lot for the first six months to a year because if I wasn’t into the office, I’m networking at a golf tournament or I’m going to speak at an event or I’m going to go just meet people. I’m just going to walk around and tell people who I am and what I do. She was so supportive of that too. It’s a thing. It’s really important to have that support system from your significant other, whoever that may be to keep pushing you forward. It’s not easy. It’s not easy. You get kicked around and you get knocked down and, “Hey, can I really do this, and why am I putting all this time in? Then finally all those seeds get planted in those, those plants start to grow, and you start to reap the reward of service.
Well, and it’s really interesting you bring this up because I think, let’s face it, I love social media. I tease all the time. I still go back into Life University and I say, “I wish I was in practice at this point because I love the educational part of it.” The illusion continues be that, “Well, we can do all of that or we can get all that word out or do ads,” versus that knock on doors, shake hands. Right now, I get that you might not be shaking hands, but there is amazing eye contact for people even through the coronavirus. A lot of it, why do you think that that willingness and Alice’s support and other people, mentors, you’ve had great mentors and coaches along the way, and why is it still important even in the social media world to get out and network?
It’s funny right here. I didn’t even have social media until two years ago. We’ve been practicing five now. I didn’t use that at all. Right? I think people have to know, like, and trust you. Yes, you can do that through social groups on social media and you can drive patients in. There’s no better patient … Just like anybody listening knows, somebody you’ve already met, you’ve already had that initial contact conversation with … When they come in and they sit in your chair and then you start discussing why they got, why are they here, it makes that conversation so much smoother to get them under care and wellness-based or whatever. Hopefully, most people are wellness-based chiropractors listening this one. If not, as long as you’re seeing people and helping the spine get clear and [inaudible 00:00:07:14], that’s all that matters. I think that initial contact of knowing, liking, trusting people, it makes it that much easier to draw people to you.
I agree that works for all styles of practice. This isn’t about, there’s a right way and a wrong way. It’s, “How does this work for all styles?” Number one, I really liked that you’ve planted that idea of the book Never Eat Alone, and ramp that up, be very intentional about it, about meeting and connecting with everyone.
I think one of the biggest things too, that I failed to mention is when I got to the town here, I didn’t know anyone. I’m not from here. I’m from the South. This is the Midwest. It’s a whole different culture. It’s a whole different world and I actually started a networking group because you just got to continually get income uncomfortable, which you know. Growth comes through uncomfort. I started a networking group and I didn’t know anyone here. I started calling financial advisors and accountants and all these people like, “Hey, this is who I am. Can I take you to lunch? I got this vision for this group and I’d love to start it with you.” Then we built this group and it was a monster group. We had a lot of people come in and then make some really good connections, which I still take care of almost all those people today, their families. They always send people in still. We discontinued the group after everybody got so, so busy and we spread out our businesses, but it was a great starting point, just to get that initial leverage.
That’s a great problem to have, that everyone gets so focused on building great lives and families and their businesses thrive. That’s what we’re talking about. These are action steps to thrive. That doesn’t mean there weren’t certain days I’ll guess, that you still felt like it was work or you had to strive, because again, I think it’s not, “Oh well, it’s going to be hard work.” I think the word I like to use is very intentional, making those choices and being willing to really give your all to it.
When you start a group or you start anything that you’re going to do to try to build yourself in your business, you’ve got to go all in on it. You can’t just do it today and expect to do it maybe once a month and it’s going to work. It’s not. You’ve got to keep serving. It’s like working out. You can’t work out today and work out next Monday if you’re going to get in shape. It’s not going to happen.
Really? I’d like that, actually.
That would be great. If you can figure out how to do that, we’d have a line wrapped around the building. Just, I think that initial setup of just being the president of a group I’m just starting, in a town, I have no idea who anybody was. I think that was scary enough, but I always tell my wife, I’ll tell everybody that I coach too, “There’s no strength without struggle.” That initial struggle was what builds that strength or builds that achievement muscle as you go forward and you just become a goal slayer and you just start knocking them down.
Tell me then a little bitt. That’s a lot of the action that you took. Tell me a little bit about your mind, the mindset work you do. How do you, when there’s something looming, like, “I’ve got to reach out. I’m going to be the president of some group that I’m making up.” For somebody listening, it might be that they just even go out and start to introduce themselves in the neighborhood, or other people that might be that they, they’re changing the way that they practice. What do you do for mindset? What are two or three strategies for that? Dr. Eddie?
I got a lot of those. I think probably the, if we’re going to narrow it down to two or three, probably the most important ones are going to be for me, because I do it every day and I’ve done it for years, is getting up early and getting quiet. We live in a very chaotic world and we don’t have a lot of quiet alone time to be with ourselves and our thoughts to make sure we mold our mind. Doing affirmations in the morning. We all have negative thoughts throughout the day, all of us, no matter how good we are. Right? Doing those affirmations to counterbalance those negative thoughts, to put us on the path to success for not just today but for life …
I think gratitude journaling has been one of the biggest things I’ve ever done in my life personally. I see my mindset changed for the positive. Ask my wife. When we first got together, we had a lot of great things going on, but those three negatives, I would focus on and then it would become more negative. It was crippling mentally. Doing a gratitude journal every day, three things you’re grateful for and then given on the bottom one, one thing, you’re grateful that’s going to happen. It hasn’t happened yet. I think that was a really … You’re manifesting the future that way.
Visualization has been a good one, too. Visualize what you want your practice to look like, what you want it to feel like. How do you want it to smell? How do you want the vibration of energy to be? Visualize that every morning before you go to the office. How many people do you want to see that day? What type of people are you going to see that day? Well, I think, go ahead. We already have done it in our mind. By the time we get there and do it, it’s just second nature. I think those three are the biggest ones, if we’re going to, we’re going to narrow it down.
Well, and it’s interesting because what I like about what you’re describing as well, all of our listeners are not brand new startup practitioners and many of our listeners to this show … It’s about growth, and every week we have different guests, thanks to Chiro Secure, I want to put that thank you out there. Dr. Stu Hoffman and Chiro Secure is really focused on how they can just give and seek lots of great information. What you’re describing, these are life success principles. What happens though is, I see this where whether it’s somebody you’re five years in now, and I’m still sure there are days that you don’t feel like doing certain things or just like a workout. I tease about that, but for a lot of practitioners, sometimes five and 10 years in is where they actually feel like they are having to almost strive more or wait a minute, now something else has hit, like this crazy coronavirus right now.
I only talk about it because I’m really tired of talking and hearing about it. What happens is there is always going to be something that, if we’re not careful, it puts us back into that fear mode or we tighten up or that unknown. When those things hit, those tools you’re describing are helpful. What do you do as soon as stress hits? Everybody, every chiropractor is going through this right now. What do you do? How do you mindset wise and action wise, move into that thriving energy? That’s a different vibration.
Well, we all know that how the physical movement of the body is going to affect dopamine and serotonin, which are feel good transmitters in our bodies, right? Every day, I work out in some form or fashion because I have to keep my mind sharp. That’s one of the biggest ways I’ve found that I can do that for myself. That’s on top of doing daily rituals of attitude: visualizations, gratitude journaling. I’ve got a huge journal right here I write in every single day. I think that the fear and anxiety comes from not being prepared.
The preparation for separation is what I call it. Being prepared, preparing yourself for the day early enough that you can, whenever the coronavirus happens, you have the ability to adapt and you can make the right decisions right now. It may not be the right decision, but just make it the right decision. Do what you got to do to make that happen. I think the ability to adapt, to see how clear your mind can be. I mean, obviously even nutrition, we all know this, right? Exercising on a regular basis, but making sure … Your mind’s a muscle, as well. A lot of people don’t treat it that way, unfortunately, our patients included, some of the doctors that have no idea. It’s not like we’re making this up because this has been for decades, hundreds of years, people have been doing this stuff.
Isn’t it interesting that you were, that you used the word adaptation because basically what we do chiropractically, nervous system wise, is we enhance the body’s ability to adapt. Even right now, this week with chiropractic stress with a lot of people, even if they have been thriving, this really makes them question their sanity. Do I want to keep doing this? If we can really stay well ourselves, then we’re tapping into that ability to adapt, for sure.
I think the thing too is, we’ve got to focus on what we want, not focus on what we don’t want. With all the negativity and seeing maybe your volume went down this week by 20%, you can’t focus on that number. If you focus on that number, it’s going to continue to drop. Let’s focus on, “Hey, how can we use this to our advantage?” What I did with the staff yesterday was say, “Hey, if people are calling and cancel because of kids are out of school.” They close on a school’s bias. “Hey, if you haven’t got your kid checked, now would be the time to get them checked because it’s going to boost their immune system, help them be able to better defend against the virus if it ever comes to our town,” like just to maybe just flip the script and the narrative to better serve our families because they just don’t know.
Well, I know the shows are always so short. We could have this conversation for a long time. What I want to do though is show people, I think you have a copy of the book. Show some people a little bit about you, how people can learn more. We’ll definitely put that in the show flow, how people can reach out. Talk a little bit for a minute about the podcast, about the book, and how you’re using these tools to help other people.
My father in law and I, Dr. J LaGuardia … I got hurt two years ago, so I was out of practice. There’s a whole different show we can do on that and overcoming that hurdle.
Absolutely.
Then we decided to start a podcast because the message that we use and we’ve been so successful with in practice, a lot of people don’t know. There’s a lot of struggling chiropractors, and it shouldn’t be. We use this message, and this is the book here, shameless plug, Triple P Life, Your GPS to Success. We do men’s events. We do have a podcast called Power, Passion, Prosperity. You can download it on any way that people are listening to stuff: Spotify, iTunes, et cetera. We really dig into these success habits. We’ve had some really cool people on the show from financial gurus to how to better help your finances, your fitness, your fun, your family, your friends, every aspect of your life to make sure that you’re living not only successful financially, but successful every other aspect because that’s what we all know brings us more great gratitude and more fun.
It’s definitely that full spectrum life and what you’re doing, there’s just another example of doing for others, sharing some of these ideas. Myself, I recognize. I’m so thankful for the coaches and mentors and people I’ve been around, and I know that I’m putting words in your mouth, but for yourself, for Dr. J, the giving of these tools, my wish for everybody listening is that you have the level of success at one year and two year and five years that Dr. Eddie’s been through. Again, I think somewhere later in the year we’ll bring you back to have that conversation. What do you do when you can’t practice? May that not happen to any of you, but Dr. Eddie has been through it. other chiropractors I know have been through it. How do you stay so focused on where you’re headed and see yourself through it and use these same principles to thrive?
The people that are listening, if they don’t have a coach or a mentor, you’re not ever going to get where you want to be as quickly as you want to be without having 20 setbacks. Usually it’s an ego or a pride issue, is why people don’t reach out for help, but everyone in the world needs help in whatever profession they’re in to get there quicker and to do what they’re … All of us have a purpose on this earth and you should be thriving, everyone. Why a lot of people aren’t is because they don’t have that leadership or that just roadmap basically to, “Hey, this is where you are. This is how you get there. This is how you’re going to go about doing it. Here you go.”
Absolutely. That’s where, in closing, I can’t say enough thanks also to Chiro Secure for putting these short, succinct shows together, all the things that they do right now. Everybody, check your inboxes. Chiro Secure has provided amazing factual information about things that are right to do even within this stress of the coronavirus. Dr. Stu has been so supportive of myself through my career, so many people. They bring you in these little vignettes, coaches, input from great people. On that note, again, thank you Dr. Eddie. I do want to mention before we leave, thank you for bearing with us on some of the technical difficulties at first, and then also next week’s show, because this is a weekly show, Growth Without Risk. Sherry McAllister will actually be with you as the host next week. Thank you for your patience and attention and thank you again, Dr. Eddie. Have a wonderful day.
Pleasure.
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