[New Doctor Specific Post]
Okay, you made it through school.
The world is your oyster, well…maybe.
If you have read through our recent book, “I Graduated…Now What?” then you have thought about or even determined your career path option. That is awesome, that is exactly what you should be doing.
Maybe you have decided you want to buy an existing practice or perhaps even want to open up your own practice.
But look at yourself…honestly.
Are you working step by step through a well-defined plan to make owning a practice happen? Or are you considering another route – to start as an associate to get some experience? If so there is nothing wrong with that, IF it’s part of a bigger plan.
But, again with all honesty, are you looking at associating because you are a bit afraid to go out on your own and risk everything to start up your own practice?
Well…you should be! That is natural.
Just don’t let that fear paralyze you and prevent you from going after your burning desire.
In my 20 years as a chiropractor and 40 years as a businessman/entrepreneur when it comes to meeting someone and knowing they took a certain path that has left them unfulfilled – it is almost always painfully obvious why, because they reacted to fear instead of following their dreams.
Knowing how rewarding practice ownership can be it saddens me to see chiropractors that take the path of least resistance out of fear of the unknown.
So, which is it going to be for you?
You are right now potentially at one of the most important crossroads of your life. Maybe a little bit of advice from someone who’s been in the trenches and trained more than a 1000 chiropractors on various aspects of running a successful practice.
• Obstacles and fears aside, define exactly what you want in your career right now. Better yet write it out on a piece of paper
• Continue by writing out the path towards your ultimate goal in practice and life. Sure it might change over time but don’t worry about that right now. Include everything from where you want to live to the type of business model you want to have
• Consider the worst case scenario and make sure you are at peace with it. If you went for that goal and you failed miserably, where would that put you? Would life be over? Would you have to bag groceries for the rest of your life? No, of course not. What would you do as a backup plan?
If you had only a 10% chance of winning the lottery would you buy a ticket, or many tickets? Of course you would! Those are great odds! Now, even if opening your own practice (in whatever form, as outlined in “I Graduated…Now What?”), had only a 50% chance of making it (being ultra conservative here) isn’t that still pretty good odds? When I went to school only 50% of the students that started finished. You have already beat those odds.
The point is that you have but one life and it’s going to go by way too fast. Do you want to be a person who tried and got a result (whether is be failing or success) or be a person who never really chased their dreams?
Believe me, whether you shoot for the stars or keep your feet on the ground failure will still be part of your path. But with each setback comes a learning experience that makes your next attempt more successful. So, if that is the case, why not go for it?!
And by “go for it” I don’t mean jump right out there and take out huge credit card loans and open a huge and expensive practice and just “hope and pray” it succeeds. No, I mean to define what it really is you want out of your chiropractic career, set a plan to make that happen and follow that plan – fighting off those fears that naturally pop up all along the way with confidence, power and determination.
Just don’t take the path of least resistance because it’s the easy way out. You’ll never be happy with this choice and you risk getting stuck. I have seen it all too often and it truly is a shame.
This gift of chiropractic, let alone of life, is nothing to be timid about. You have it, live it and live it under your own terms. Never let fear dictate your future or your happiness. Look around at how many people do, vow right now that won’t be you and take the next step.
