Ahead of the Curve

Exclusive to AJCC from the ICA

ICA President’s Column

 

By CJ Mertz, DC

     Dr. C.J. Mertz is the newly elected ICA President. He is also the Executive Director of ChiroUSA as well as founder and head coach of the prestigious Waiting List Practice chiropractic training organization.

 

            Our history is marked by events that have led to dramatic increases on the utilization of chiropractic.  Events such as the start of Palmer Chiropractic College, licensing chiropractors within every state, and Wilkes taking on the medical profession.  Of course, all of our greatest stretches of growth have been met with intense resistance.  The opposition coming both from outside and within our profession.  If during these times, our focus concentrated around the opposing forces, I am certain none of these events would have succeeded.

            They succeeded because, not succeeding wasn’t an option.  The key is knowing where you want to go, then making up your mind and being ready to do what it takes to win.  A good friend, who is a racecar professional, taught me how he was trained to drive at high speeds on an oval racetrack.  He said when you come into the turn; your speed could be in excess of 170 mph.  The natural response is to focus on the wall in front of you, which leads to panic for fear of crashing.  You put your foot on the break and down shift which not only loses all positive momentum, it can actually be more dangerous.  You must train your mind to look at the far side of the curve, only then can you stay confident and focused on where you want to go.

            We must train ourselves to focus ahead of the curve if we are going to take the leadership role in the wellness revolution.  There will be those who oppose this movement both outside and within our profession.  It is only natural, but let us not focus on “the wall.”  If chiropractic is to take its rightful place as the leaders of the wellness revolution, we must win over the most important person of all, your neighbor.

            Legislation will always have a role in helping chiropractic strengthen and support the path of the practitioner as well as the patient.  But we will not reach our promise land through legislation first or litigation first, but rather by educating the public first and winning their hearts and minds.  People have always been the force for advancing civil rights movements and other crusades whose purpose is to create a better quality of life for others.  There are so many battles to fight but none are more important to the future of chiropractic right now than making subluxation a household word in the hearts and minds of your neighbors.  It is only through a grass roots movement of public awareness and transformation to the principle that will ultimately generate the inertia needed to slingshot chiropractic into the leadership role of the wellness revolution.

            Very soon, the ICA will be releasing its vision quest and the details to the beginning of the most comprehensive and relentless public relations campaign in the history of chiropractic.  We have a moral obligation to educate the public about vertebral subluxation.  Our standards must be set high enough so that we don’t quit until subluxation is a household word for every one of your neighbors.

            A chiropractor told me two weeks ago that he had a new patient come in for his appointment.  When the patient completed the entrance form, the doctor and his team were blown away.  You see, the patient listed as his chief complaint; vertebral subluxation.  The hundredth monkey has finally been seen and it is only a matter of time before chiropractic practices all over the world have a waiting list in order to see the chiropractor.  The ICA is committed to lead the chiropractic profession in driving effective and principled marketing into the living rooms of the people in your community.

            We’re not looking for donations, rather an army of rapidly building membership, made of partners who want to contribute through their membership fees to advance this campaign.  Maybe you have never been part of national association (or international) or you used to be but became disenchanted — I truly understand.  The new ICA will surprise you in our commitment to serve our members and to advance the principles of our great profession.  Feel proud again to be a chiropractor, and align yourself with ten thousand other chiropractors that are fired up to make a difference.  The best way to “guard it well” is to put it in the hearts and minds of every person in your town.  Let’s work together in making subluxation a household word.

            Visit www.chiropractic.org or simply call 1-800-423-4690 and find out how to get involved.

            Until next time, practice with passion.