GetHealthHelp

A Christmas Story

 This month has been festive, with lots of good wishes for the next year. All I can think of is that it is better than last year, when Sandy damage still had many of our clients and friends without.  It is great to see the lights back on, both Menorah and Christmas decorations. This year, I took over as Treasurer for the Senior Umbrella Network of Nassau. It was a true pleasure meeting and talking to each member of this group of professionals. I also welcomed a new co-chair for the SUN Advocacy Committee, Rick Scher, Chiropractor and  owner of Care Connection Home Care. The Committee planned and executed a Safe Driving program and chose Avoiding Senior Scams as next year’s project.  Our first meeting is scheduled for January 14th, and all SUN members are invited to attend.  Call me if you are interested at 347-965-9222.

Back Talk

This week I want us to stop for a moment and take stock in where we are , what we are doing and what our plans are for the rest of this coming week/year. Regardless of your religious beliefs or unbelief’s, this week the world will celebrate the Christmas holiday and that will have an effect on each of us in one way or another, whether we personally celebrate the holiday or not. Based on this simple fact, I want us each to take a long hard look at what we have planned and make sure that we do something that will help us in our businesses and in our personal lives as well. That thing that I am going to focus on for my tip this week is the word “Priority”.

Priority

This means looking at and picking the most important things to do with our own personal time, with our families, friends and ultimately with our businesses as we prepare to close out the year. To help us focus on what I mean here I want us to look back in history at a story that most of us know, or have heard something about because it relates to the Christmas story and the birth of Jesus. I am using this story because it fits so well based on the season and upcoming holiday and it has and provides great metaphors for the points I want to make for this week’s tip of the week.

We will pick up the story as it starts in Bethlehem where Mary and Joseph are traveling and she is pregnant and ready to deliver her child. Since there were many who were traveling like them to come back to where they were from and register for a census for the government, when it came time to stop for the evening they hadn’t called ahead and made reservations like we can do today at the drop of a hat on our smart phones or tablets. Instead, they just stopped where they could and tried to get a room at the inn that they came across. Here is where I think the metaphors for my points start to really show up and I want each of you to consider how this may be affecting you right now based on some decision you may have made, or are making for tomorrow’s day in the office. Here is point number one:

Unfortunately, most people are living their lives in such a tiny, insignificant way because they’ve filled their lives with meaningless activity. We continue to do the same things over and over again each and every day, sometimes without regard for why we do them, or we just do them out of convenience, instead of making sure that we are doing the “right thing” by changing and potentially creating waves. Case in point would be the the innkeeper who didn’t make room for Jesus on the first Christmas. I’m sure he was super busy with a full Inn that was already loaded to the brim. He had food to make, linens to take care of, kids probably running around all over the place and a little out of control, not to mention those who were still showing up at his door asking for space that he didn’t have. I think most of us would have reacted the same way that he did when Joseph and Mary showed up at his door at night and wanted a place to stay, but instead, he sent them out to the stable with the animals and didn’t prioritize his choice. His actions didn’t keep Jesus from being born. His actions didn’t stop God’s purpose in history. It just hurt the innkeeper. He missed the privilege of housing the Son of God at his birth. Do you think that he might have responded differently if he knew that the baby boy that was going to be born in his stable that night would change history forever? In fact, that is why they call it “HisStory”! From there on, we name time as either BC or AC and the world has never been the same from a recording stand point again. I would think that looking back he would have given up his own room had he made a different priority out of the opportunity that presented at his door that night. From a marketing stand point, don’t you think he would have liked to have said that “Jesus was born and slept here in this bed in this room” ? Do you think any of us have ever made a “busy’ or “convenient” mistake like that in our lives?

So my question for each of us this week is how can each of us not repeat a mistake like this and miss an opportunity in our lives that might have an impact on the rest of the world? As each of us gets busy with work, family and friends, will we get so caught up in everything else, that we miss a chance to share the full story of Chiropractic with a patient who might become the one who refers hundreds of other patients to our practice? Will we be so caught up in the candy and cookies that our patients bring in to us that we miss those in our community that are going without basic food to eat, let alone preparing or having any food for the holiday? Are we going to be celebrating gifts of new clothes and things to wear and enjoy while others might need a coat or socks just to keep them warm at night? I know we can’t change the whole world or the problems of the whole world, but I think if each of us focuses just a little better this week on things that can and do really matter, we can make some changes in our own communities that can change our practices and our business model forever! With that in mind, here is what I suggest you do:

Follow Albert Einstein’s principle of simplicity.

Simplicity

“If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it yourself.” – Albert Einstein

The more complicated you have to make something seem, the more you do not understand the inner workings of it. Think about the best teachers that you have had in your life. Did they make even the most complicated topics full of vocabulary that you did not understand, or did they make it easier to understand by simplifying? This week, keep Chiropractic as simple as you can when you share and explain it to others and watch how much easier it is for them to then refer those they know in for care. Check out our new Report of Findings video online at www.backtalksystems.com   as you share the message of chiropractic with those who need the unique services that you offer.

Generosity

This week I want you to look at everything you are doing with your marketing plans and be as generous as you can be. I know that certain rules and regulations will apply based on the types of patients that you care for and the laws of your region where you practice, but maybe you can give out a gift card that offers the gift of a complimentary first visit for your patients to share with someone that they have been trying to get in to see you. You can put an expiration date on it, say within the next 2-4 weeks so they don’t delay and they go out NOW and offer a reason for someone to get in and try your services before they wait any longer and continue suffering the effects of ill health. Maybe it’s a two for one deal on a certain day that you are trying to build up. Or maybe you can offer a signed book, a customized calendar for next year, or an complimentary update exam that they may need to resume care again at your office and that cost is keeping them away. Check with your local licensing board to make sure what ever type of offer you make is legal and won’t get you into trouble, but be generous with your staff and with your patients during this holiday season and show them that you are a person who cares enough about them and those they know and care about as well. You can offer the gift of access to your services in a way that helps them start what can become a lifestyle choice for better health during this holiday season! 

I wish each of you a wonderful holiday season, regardless of what or how you celebrate and I hope we get the chance to continue serving you in the coming years. If there is anything we can do to help, just give us a call toll free at 800-937-3113 or visit BackTalkSystems.com

December 24, 2013 - Posted by Aging Icon | Uncategorized