Reading time: 4 – 6 minutes

On May 5th, 2012 I had the unfortunate honor of attending my first military funeral.

U.S. Army Private First Class Mike Metcalf… assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 504th Infantry, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C…. died April 22 in Chazni province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.

He was 22 years old.

Close to 500 family members, friends, veterans, and active duty soldiers packed the church to say their goodbyes and honor this fallen hero. It was a service I will never forget for the rest of my days.

Freedom Riders (veteran bikers) stood, like statues, along the walls holding American flags. Songs were sung, including an original aptly named “Cowboy Mike”.

Friends choked back tears as, one after another, they shared stories about the amazing person: Mike Metcalf. An avid bull rider. A hockey player. A skate boarder. A tattoo fanatic. A magnetic young man who impacted people for the better no matter where he went.

“Mike lived more in his 22 years than most of us will ever do in 80 years.” said T.J. Fitzgerald, Metcalf’s friend. And it certainly sounded so, as I listened to everything Private First Class Metcalf stood for and achieved in his short 22 years on this planet.

“Mike lived by 3 rules”, said one friend.

Rule #1: Live every day to the fullest!

For most of us this is no more than a trite cliche. We hear it. We know it. But, we don’t do it.

I would even go as far as to say that for most people (chiropractors), they don’t even know what a day lived to the fullest would even look like. What does it even mean to live each day to fullest, many would be forced to say if they were honest with themselves. And, yet, we must realize how precious and fragile life really is. We’re not guaranteed tomorrow… or that tomorrow will be the same as today.

So, it’s worth you spending some time getting clarity on what it means for you personally, as a chiropractor, to “live every day to fullest”.

Rule #2: Don’t waste time on the things that don’t really matter.

Of course, this begs the question: what matters to you? What is most important to you in your life? What do you value above and beyond anything else?

If you can’t give an answer to all three questions, I recommend you set aside whatever time necessary to think about it and get clarity. There’s really nothing more important than deciding what really matters to you in your life. Once determined, it will help you weed out those people, activities, material items, and tasks that “don’t really matter to you”.

[Sidenote: this Rule has massive business implications for you as a chiropractor. When it comes to marketing and growing your practice, you should only be focusing on the things that really matter... that can really make a big difference... that can really have an impact. Everything else should be abandoned.]

Rule #3: Honor and respect those people who cross your path.

The Golden Rule. Treat others as you would want to be treated.

My personal philosophy is to try and leave others feeling better, uplifted, and filled with more joy after being around me. Leave them feeling better about themselves than before their interaction with me. I believe this is the real secret to personal joy – making others feel good.

After several friends and fellow soldiers shared their personal stories, U.S. Army Private First Class Mike Metcalf was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. Medals his mother accepted. The flag covering his casket was methodically folded by 6 soldiers, and also presented to his mother. Taps was played. And Mike Metcalf was carried out of the church.

The service concluded with a serviceman saying, “Wars are fought by man, but won by men like Michael Metcalf”.

[Note from Todd: I have never served in the military. Nor do I come from a family with any veterans. Regardless, I believe those serving in our armed forces should be praised and honored for the sacrifices they make to maintain our freedom and liberty. They, not professional athletes, movie or television stars, or famous celebrities, are the real heroes.]

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Reading time: 4 – 6 minutes

It’s interesting to note in the above info-graphic that there’s no “pie slice” for thinking.  Yeah, I said… thinking.

In our fast-paced, hectic society we often judge daily accomplishment and productivity on the sheer volume of things we’ve been able to do. Or complete.

Meanwhile, “thinking” is one of the most important, most essential, most valuable activities any chiropractor (entrepreneur) can do. (And keep in mind: reading, watching educational videos, listening to educational audios… these are not considered thinking. These are learning. And when you’re learning, you’re not thinking.)

What should you be thinking about?

Your practice. Your marketing. Your staff. Your metrics. Your systems. Your obstacles. And certainly… your goals.

Below are 26 different thought-provoking questions you should ask yourself, ponder, ponder some more, then answer (honestly).

I recommend you ask yourself one question a day. Spend about 20 minutes really thinking about it. Then answer it. And answer it in writing on paper for later reference.

Commit to this activity and I guarantee you’ll elevate your perspective, motivation, and discipline to a whole new level!

• What specifically can you do to become excellent and considered the best chiropractor? When will you begin?
• What can you do to double your income this year?
• What self-limiting thoughts or beliefs about yourself would you like to change or improve? How and when will you go about doing this?
• What would you like your net worth to be in 10 years?
• At what age would you like to retire?
• What are the three most important things you could improve in your life if you exerted greater self-discipline? When will you begin?
• What area or situation in your life should you challenge yourself to leave a comfort zone? How can you accomplish this?
• What is your biggest dream, hope, vision for yourself? What can you do to make this a reality?
• If you could wake up tomorrow having gained any on ability or quality, what would it be? How can you go about developing it now?
• What problem, if solved, would give you the greatest peace of mind? What specifically can you do to solve that problem?
• What could you do, change, improve or eliminate in order for your life to be filled with meaning and purpose?
• What three things are you most grateful for in your life at this moment?
• What do you value most in life?
• What is the one key thing you could do that would produce a quantum leap in your chiropractic practice? When will you do it?
• What is the one key thing you could do that would produce a quantum leap in your personal life? When will you do it?
• What one thing would would make the most positive impact on your life if addressed and changed?
• What one thing would you do if you knew you could not fail?
• If you could one thing with your life, and be guaranteed of success, what would you do? What steps can you take to make this a reality?
• What is the most important thing you’d like to achieve over the next 12 months?
• If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? What can you do today to start changing?
• What one bad habit would you like most to eliminate from your life? What steps can you take today to start ridding yourself of that habit?
• What is most important to you about having good health?
• Describe your fantasy vacation. What can you do today to begin making it a reality?
• What one skillset, if improved, would have the greatest positive impact on your practice and success?
• What would you most like your life to be remembered for?
• What would you like to be said about you at your funeral?

If you have a thought-provoking question I left off the list, and you think other doctors would benefit from pondering it, post in the comments section below.

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Reading time: 3 – 5 minutes

Today, I want to give you a “big idea” to ponder and think about as a chiropractor. And, after you read this… and grasp the concept… I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Let’s start with a question:

Where do you feel the biggest breakthroughs come from in a chiropractic practice?

Do they come from a killer chiropractic marketing idea or campaign?

Do they come from a unique product or “service” offering in your practice?

Or do they come from a fundamental change in your chiropractic business model?

I would argue for the latter. And let me explain why (and what I mean).

Developing a unique twist on what you offer and how you offer it as a chiropractor is really what is considered “product innovation”. It’s taking what is typically offered by the average chiropractor and making it better… making it different… making it unique. And this is how you separate yourself from every other chiropractor out there and differentiate what you do from them. And, even though this is a fantastic step… and a wise one for every chiropractor to take… it’s not where the biggest breakthroughs come from.

Business-model innovation, on the other hand… IS… where the biggest breakthroughs come from. In the case of chiropractors, business-model innovation happens when there’s a fundamental change in how you do business as a chiropractor.

For example: When chiropractors first started offering pre-paid care, that was a chiropractic business-model innovation. It was a change in the way chiropractors were “doing business”.

Same with the “cash practice”. When many chiropractors changed to a cash-based practice, that was a business-model innovation. Again, it was a change in the way chiropractors were “doing business”. And, for these doctors, these innovations in their business-model, became a game-changer.

Let me give you a couple more examples from some main stream companies to make this even clearer for you.

Example #1: Let’s talk about Netflix. Netflix innovated their business-model when they began offering streaming video viewing. This wasn’t a product innovation… a simple improvement of their product (i.e. better quality videos, faster DVD delivery, etc.). This was a fundamental change in the way they were doing business.

Example #2: When cell phone companies began offering cheap, or even free phones, as an enticement for customers to sign-up for a 2-year mobile plan, it was an example of a business-model innovation. Prior, companies were offering phones at full retail value. A free phone was a major innovation in how they were doing business.

Example #3: Spotify is a fairly new company (which I love). They provide music streaming for thousands and thousands of songs for one low monthly price. There’s no downloading needed. And no per song charge, like with iTunes. Spotify innovated the digital music business-model. They didn’t just improve the “product”. They changed the entire model of doing business and selling digital music.

For each of these companies… and hundreds of others who innovated their business-model… these innovations created monster breakthroughs. They radically changed the game for these companies.

It makes me wonder: What business-model innovation is going to lead to the next big breakthrough for chiropractors?

Quite honestly, I haven’t given this much thought. I certainly will going forward.

More importantly, though, it’s worth you pondering.

Just remember: Simply following the herd of chiropractors… and doing exactly what they do… will never lead to a big breakthrough in your practice. Big chiropractic business breakthroughs only come from innovation. And the biggest breakthroughs come from innovation in the fundamental way you to do business as a chiropractor.

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• 6 Keys To Peak Performance As A Chiropractor

Reading time: 2 – 3 minutes

He was a drunk. A degenerate gambler. A womanizer. A postal worker. A poet.

After years, and hundreds… probably thousands… of bottles of wine, vodka, and whiskey, his body appeared to have had enough. He was told his body would simply shut-down if he had another sip of alcohol. And so he was forced… at least temporarily… to stop drinking.

Needing something to fill the void of his first love, he turned to the “ponies”. The racetrack. Horse-betting.

Over time, he developed quite a knack for picking winners. Some days he got real lucky hitting exactas, daily doubles, and even trifectas.

He claimed he had several systems for making his picks. And on the rare occasion when he shared the one single thing all of those systems had in common, here’s what he said…

“With all of them I had to determine what the public play was and try to do the opposite.”

Similarly, this is also the one common thing you’ll see with most successful chiropractors – they do the opposite of what the majority of chiropractors do. Not necessarily intentionally. But, when you look at what the most successful chiropractors do… it’s almost always very different from what’s typically done.

It makes sense, though, right?

The “average” is called the “average” for a reason. The extraordinary… as in the extraordinary chiropractor, the extraordinary chiropractic practice, the extraordinary chiropractic income… is extraordinary because it’s not “average”.

Simply put: you can NOT think like the average chiropractors do… can NOT market like the average chiropractors do… and can NOT practice like the average chiropractors do…. yet… expect to achieve extraordinary results, growth, or income. It just does NOT work that way.

You need to do things differently. You need to do the opposite of the average. You need to be extraordinary to get extraordinary results.

Our drunk – Henry Chinaski, the fictional character from the mind of author, Charles Bukowski – knew that. And so must you.

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Reading time: < 1 minute

This is cool...

It shows how an interest in chiropractic has spread across the United States since 2004.

Plus, it gives you a comparison of interest (online) in chiropractic... year by year.

And, finally, it shows you a couple of exciting search words and phrases Google calls "Breakout" terms... because the volume of searches is rapidly on the rise.

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Reading time: 2 – 2 minutes

Now living in South Florida, it amazes me the level of dedication Floridians have to their football teams.

There are die-hards galore for every team: the Hurricanes, the Seminoles, the Gators, and of course, the Miami Dolphins.

As a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, I found great amusement this past season in the weekly beatings leveled against the Dolphins.

With a 6-10 record, the Dolphin’s coaching team certainly has their hands full preparing for the 2012 season.

If I was a betting man, I’d bet… even with a poorly performing “franchise” compared to other NFL teams… they’re going to step up their training, look for better additions to their coaching staff, and look to add some new players to their roster.

The last thing they’d ever think of doing would be to cut back on their coaching staff, their training, or their exercise facility to save money. No smart NFL team would do that, right?

Plain and simple: for the chiropractor struggling to get new patients, increase cash flow, or grow their practice, it makes no sense to cut back on things like marketing education or the implementation of new growth strategies. This is the equivalent of the struggling NFL team cutting-back on their training and their “growth strategies”.

I would go as far as to say that when a chiropractor is struggling, it’s the single most important time to learn more about effective marketing, leadership skills, and new practice-growth tactics and methods.

What is the other option?

Think about it.

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Reading time: 3 – 5 minutes

Google+ for Doctors: Make Big Online Marketing Gains Now

Guest post by Katie Matlack

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Reading time: 2 – 3 minutes

The best chiropractic ads – that produce the greatest quantity of new appointments and a serious return on investment – always feature and convey a unique and compelling promise.

The worst chiropractic ads – the ones that almost never break-even or produce any serious quantity of new patients – focus on the chiropractor and/or the chiropractic practice.

The reason for these outcomes is simple.

What Do The Best Chiropractic Ads Tell Prospective Patients?

Prospective patients want to know how chiropractic care with you will improve their lives and fulfill their needs. This is what they care about first and foremost.

They only care about you, your practice, your experience, and your approach to health and wellness if they can clearly see how it will help improve their situation and meet their wants and needs.

The best chiropractic ads spell this out in no uncertain terms.

The best chiropractic ads stand out from other chiropractic advertisements with a compelling promise to do just that in a way that is different and unique from what every other doctor is saying.

Of course to make a compelling promise you need to understand what prospective patients truly want. In other words, what are they hoping will change for them if they decide to get chiropractic care with you.

What Do The Best Chiropractic Ads Say About Chiropractic Care?

Remember, nobody wants to get chiropractic care. They want to experience certain benefits from getting chiropractic care. And, the best chiropractic ads highlight those benefits, and make a big, bold promise to deliver them.

[Note: If you're not confident in your ability to create profitable chiropractic ads, Dr. Michael Beck has put together a really nice package of 40 of the best pre-done, proven chiropractic ads you can use. They maybe worth a peek for you. You can see them here.]

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Reading time: 2 – 2 minutes

Even obscure niches and professions use education-based marketing to successfully generate leads and new patients.

For you as a chiropractor, education-based marketing (EBM) is one of the best ways to turn prospective patients into highly-qualified, eager office visits – and ultimately new patients. (It’s been a big focus for us in the Millionaire Chiropractic Club (MC2) lately.)

Through a series of educational messages (in the form of videos, audios, emails, or webpages) you’re able to show prospective patients exactly what makes chiropractic care with you, in your office, the best solution for them.

Below is an example of… of all things… an addiction rehabilitation facility using a simple EBM model with a free book giveaway:

In this case, the free book generates leads of people obviously dealing with some type of addiction they’re ready, or getting ready, to deal with – their ideal target audience.

The free book – I’m assuming – educates prospective patients on the best course of treatment for their addiction. And, of course, their facility meets all of those needs.

The folks who opt-in and request their free book will then get a series of follow-up communications offering to help them eliminate their addiction.

What makes this type of marketing model so effective is that it’s value-driven, educates prospective patients on why chiropractic care with you is perfect for them, and establishes you as a authority on chiropractic and wellness.

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Reading time: 2 – 3 minutes

As a chiropractor, having a Facebook Page is about to get a lot sexier.

Facebook has just announced that on March 30, 2012 all Facebook Pages will be upgraded to the new Timeline look and feel.

This gives chiropractors (and other Page owners) a variety of new patient engagement tools to use on Facebook.

Below is a 2-page PDF from Facebook that shows you all of the new features:

Take a peak right now at some Facebook Pages that have already updated to the new format:

http://www.facebook.com/TheBachelor

http://www.facebook.com/CaptainMorganUSA

http://www.facebook.com/Tiffany

http://www.facebook.com/MoreChiroPatients – you’re a fan of this one, right?? If not, go over there now and click like.

What I’m NOT Happy About…

Now, in all fairness… I will tell you… there’s one change that I’m not thrilled about. And here it is…

The new Timeline layout does NOT allow you to choose a specific landing page (tab) for non-fans.

Meaning: you can no longer automatically direct prospective patients, who aren’t fans yet, to a specific location within your Facebook Page that entices them to click the like button. You can still have that type of “tab” within your Facebook Page. Just not automatically displayed.

(Shameless plug: I’ll be releasing a full training video tomorrow for our Millionaire Chiropractic Club doctors on how to start using all of the new Facebook Page features and new layout right away. You can get that video when you get your MC2 membership today.)

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• Chiropractic Marketing Online Is About To Change…