ENUF, by Dr. Ogi Ressel

Wednesday, February 18th 2009

Warm hellos and wishes for a wonderful year,

As strange as this may sound, I longed to get back to the office, to write
my THOTS, plan PEP for 2006-7, communicate with doctors, and restore
some law and order to the post-holiday chaos.

The first week of January has always been a time of flux. It is a time 
where we make a conscious decision to right what is wrong in our life.
A time of change. A time of hope.
A time of wisdom and a time of insight. It is also a time of promise - this
is where we make a solemn promise that this year will be different.
This year we will prosper.  We will not go quietly into the night. No!  
Not this year. We will make a difference. Yes!

How?
Well, that's the problem.

Many doctors I speak with have wonderful aspirations, amazing goals, and
tremendous plans - especially at this time of year! Wonderful! But it takes
more than wishes, hopes, and dreams to change your life.

Patrick Gentempo once said: " You cannot solve a problem with the same
level of thinking that existed when the problem was created."

So....we need different thinking and a different approach in order to win! 

But...here's what I see:
Doctors start the New year with great panache, hope, expectation, and a
positive mindset.
This optimism is quickly replaced with the same-old, same-old that they
experienced last year, and the year before, and the year before that.
Why? Well...nothing has really changed.

The doctor is still using "tools" and "procedures" and attitudes which do
not resonate with his patients, his community, and even himself.  You cannot
do the same old things, the same old way, and expect a different result.
But, we do exactly that! We expect amazing results doing the same old things!
And we are surprised, and even amazed, that we are not reaching the goals
that we believe we should have achieved - long ago!

And here is the worst part of it:
Slowly, we begin to realize and believe that we are mediocre and that we will
never have the life that we have dreamed about!  So we lower our expectations
believing that this is all we can accomplish - and we try to be "satisfied" with
this new level of our life, and even justify to ourselves that it is Ok and that
we are actually happy with our state of being.

Michelangelo once said: "The greatest danger for most of us is not that our
aim is too high and we miss it, but that our aim is too low and we reach it."
Words spoken over 500 years ago, and yet they could have been uttered only yesterday.

There is nothing more degrading to a chiropractor than the false realization
that he has reached all there is. That, this is all he can be. That there is no
more he should want out of Life. ...And that there is no more Life that he
can give in return.

For many doctors,  the problem is simply the "tools" and "procedures" they
are using.
Many of these are outdated, dishonest, "sales-pitchy," too "slick," pressurized,
marketed, and just plain offensive not only to patients, but also the doctor.
So why use them?
Well.. that's what many have been taught.  

I speak with hundreds of doctors each week and most have been told that t
hey can get all the new patients they can handle usin some of the tools I
mentioned above.  So they put these things into play - and it's not happening
they way they envisioned. ...and slowly a bit of desperation begins to seep in.

This is the point where doctors will try anything in order to stave off this trend,
including stooping down and prostituting their integrity and self in order to survive
and support their family.

Have I missed anything?

I say ENUF!

I firmly believe that being a chiropractor is not a job which fills your hours from
8 'till 5.

It is not a career. No.
It is a calling.
And furthermore, you did not chose to be a chiropractor.

Instead, I firmly believe you were chosen!

Think of this for a moment. You were chosen to help many. So, what's stopping you?

Here's what I suggest:
Take a good look at yourself in the mirror. See the amazing person tha
t you really are.
Look at your hands. See the most amazing instruments of healing there are!
Gaze out at your comminity. Realize that these peaople all need what you
have, and there are some out there that you have not seen yet.
Decide to take your whole office on a tour of a local children's hospital close to you.
See all the kids in there that need your help. Yes, this is probably the place
to put on your Captain Chiro costume and run up and down the hallways
adjusting all the kids!
Save a few lives! If not you, then who?

This year;
Commit to excellence.
Commit to being the best,
Commit to no shortcuts.
Commit to take no prisoners.
Commit to help all.
Commit to prosper.
Commit to give back to your community and your profession!
Commit to get really pissed off with the way things are.
Commit to change and welcome it.

And for those doctors who have been thinking about the PEP Program,
commit to being part of it!

I promise to teach you no sales techniques of any sort, no BS, no "slick",
no pressure, nothing dishonest or distasteful, and nothing which will violate
your integrity in any way!

I will teach you to excell, to be the best, to see tons of children and their parents,
to have fun, to laugh, and be the doctor you have always wanted to be - all with
great honesty, integrity, certainty, and clinical excellence!  

To start, please visit our newly re-designed website; www.practiceevolution.com -
rummage all through it and do the Practice Health Mini-Check up on the home page.
It will give me an opportunity to see what challenges you are facing in your practice
and what monsters are hiding under your bed. We'll have a great chat on the
phone....and I'll give you some suggestions you can use right away.

My hearfelt desire is to see all DCs practicing with greatness and be sought after
by their communities: To practice from the perspective that patients need you,
and not the other way around!

Warmest wishes for a truly amazing year!
Dr. Ogi Ressel