P eople or businesses that can properly anticipate their circumstances become masters of circumstance. Anticipation is a key ingredient to success. Information feeds anticipation. How docs one get good at it? Stock pickers, real estate investors, and all sorts of speculators, or would-be speculators, try to make their fortunes by predicting trends. Since no future is certain, opinions differ, and a free market is formed where winners and losers live and die by their judgment. One doesn't (or shouldn't) invest one's money in trying to anticipate trends outside of his/ her field of expertise. Uninformed speculation can leave you broke. The more information one has, the better one can anticipate. The future is created by our actions today, both individually and collectively. Our actions today arc based upon our values, or lack thereof. When individuals or groups take action against their values, they suffer. So, in short, to a large extent, success relies upon having a chosen field of expertise, having clarity of values and applying them in action professionally, and being well-informed, so that you can make short- and long-term decisions that lead to higher levels of success. Problems occur when people, in our case chiropractors, become fatalistic about the future. This leads to a sense of resignation and impotence. These people live in fear and are motivated merely to survive. Leaders who like to prey on this weakness use terms such as, "Like it or not...." In other words, they imply that the condition of the current and future chiropractic world is cast in stone, and we are powerless to do anything about it. Of course, if you look back in time, you can see the sequence of events that led up to any pivotal event that changes the course of things. "Like it or not, the future of our profession lies in managed care." Oh really? The future of chiropractic is what we make it. Your future is what you make it. So, how does one "make it" happen? The short answer is: Clarify your values, Become an expert on the history and current trends of your field, Anticipate market forces and cultural perceptions, 4. Plot a course to express your values within the context of these forces and perceptions. Comittment is the Key Of course there are a lot of additional details and issues, but the idea is that, if you are smart and committed, compromise on core values is an unnecessary part of professional evolution. As a matter of fact, compromise of core values leads invariably to devolution. An example of this would be chiropractors whose values were steeped in lifetime, family wellness care; but, when group health insurance moved into HMO's that didn't pay them, they devolved their practices into PI mills, which no longer reflected their values. Further, in places like New Jersey, PI got revamped and virtually nothing was left of these practices. Commitment comes from a purpose that drives you. Smart comes from being well informed. It's the well-informed part I would like now to address. This is where, I feel, many field practitioners fall short. Many don't belong to any organizations (though they should), don't attend meetings (though they should), and don't read journals. How can you anticipate anything if you don't know what is going on? Many chiropractors I consult with have "To Read" piles of journals on their desks. These piles turn into "To Read" files, which turn into "To Read" boxes that go into long-term storage. Sound familiar? The joke is that you still think you are going to read this stuff. The bottom line is that chiropractors who discipline themselves to keep up with current events maintain focus and make good decisions. They call this the information age. Information has always been, and always will be, extremely important. So often, when things happen that shake up the field, chiropractors come to me and ask, "How could this happen?" My response is usually, "Didn't you see it coming, so that you could do something about it?" The best thing that could happen, as a result of reading this article, is that you make a commitment to get and stay informed. Join an organization, go to meetings, and become a trends expert in your field. Don't become a victim of circumstance; instead, be a master of circumstance. Patrick Gen tempo, Jr., D.C., Co-Founder and CEO of the Chiropractic Leadership Alliance, in Maywood, NJ, is a 1983 graduate of Life College. An internationally renowned chiropractor, lecturer, and consultant, he has helped thousands of chiropractors achieve success and balance in their lives. Dr. Gentempo is also co-creator of the practice and life-changing Total Solution program. For information about CLA seminars, products, and services, call 800-285-2001, or visit www.subluxation. com.
