WHAT STARTED THE REVOLUTION:

Ever felt like there “has to be a better way?” I know I sure did. In fact I “bought in” so hard to societies standards that it turns out I was living someone else’s life.

Growing up on that rural hobby farm all I knew was what I was told. Work hard, keep your nose to the grindstone and be grateful you have 3 square meals a day. So I did what I was told.

Wasn’t much but it was enough. When I took the time to look up from the work I was doing it seemed to be what every other blue collar worker in the area was doing so … Must be right.

But then something happened. My brother went off to University. How the hell did that happen? As a sibling I sort of missed the fact my brother was bright and had a 90% average in high school.

Guess he could go to University if he wanted. But if that dumb son of a bitch can get into University… could I?? Almost never thought about it. Nobody in my little rural world went to University.

But how would mom and dad pay for University I wondered. They won’t/can’t my brother told me. They have no money but you can get loans from the government. Made sense to me.

So I went to University … The same one my brother went to. Where else would I go? I usually did what I saw others do or what I was told. That way you didn’t make waves.

But what to do with this University education? Dr. Bill seems to have a nice life and enjoys what he does ….. Maybe I could do what he does? But what really does a chiropractor do? I will ask Dr. Bill.

“I got in” … Holy shit … I remember thinking that day I got the letter from the chiro college saying I was accepted. I was proud of myself that day. But not to proud … Dad says that is a sin.

First day of classes at CMCC and I remember thinking to myself … There are a lot of bright people in this class. How am I going to survive? The way I was taught, I told myself, head down and grind it out.

So that is what I did for 4 years. Put my head down and ground it out. Did well too. Finished near the top of my class. Now what the heck am I going to do about practice?

Let me do what Dr. Bill did/does. Better to do what others do. Safer. That is what i had learned. So I set up two small town practices from scratch, put my head down and went to work.

Fast forward several years and Shelley and I now have children, a house, a mortgage, cars, a boat, a vacation property, some money in the bank.

I have it all? Then why am I unhappy? Why do I feel like my life is passing me by as one day blends into the next? Is this all there is to life and business?

So I did what I tended to commonly do … Do what others did. Kept hearing speakers on the platform say that the key to success was more volume. So I continued to build the volume.

300 pv/week …… 400 pv/week …….. I still remember the first week we served over 500 pv/week …… short lived euphoria followed by wondering why nothing important seemed to change.

The sun still rose in the East, the mountains didn’t move and the seas didn’t part. Must not be enough volume. So we built to over 600 pv/week. Nope that wasn’t it.

Great opportunity. My business partner wants me to look after his patients while he is away. Served my volume and his. Almost 1,000 pv/week for those two weeks.

The definition of hell:

“on your last day on earth, the person you became will meet the person you could have become”

– Anonymous

EUREKA MOMENT … THIS SURE AS SHIT ISN’T “IT” FOR ME.

This is hard work. I am tired at night. Not sure I served the 980th person that week as well as I did the 1st. That sucks. Sure as hell was not the kind of father, husband, friend and team leader I wanted to be.

Damn now I am really “lost.” What is the key to success and happiness because these experts and leaders in my profession sure don’t seem to have it figured out for me.

If they aren’t right about volume … What else aren’t they right about? But if I don’t listen to others and do what they do then who do I listen to? What do I do? I am confused.

I remember reading about “the wee small voice within” as a guidance tool. That is for crazy people … Isn’t it? What do I know about success and running a business?

I am just a small town farm boy with deep roots in blue collar working folk. How could I know what is best for me? What I want? Or could I ?

The idea was so foreign and unusual it both frightened and exhilarated me. Do I really know what I want and how to get it? How do I access this information? How do I listen?

Easy to listen to others tell me what to do through their words and actions but this … this is a whole new world. Maybe it would be OK to have others who live in this world teach me how to access it?

Seems like a subtle difference as I am still listening to others BUT … I am listening so I can learn how to lead myself in everything from silent prayer to living a successful life in my ideal.

So that is what I did. I read, researched and went to seminars and retreats put on by people I would have at one point labeled crazy or quacks. They weren’t either. They just had a different frame of reference and different world view.

But it turns out that this journey inward was not going to be easy and completely straightforward. Apparently I had accumulated a lifetime of “debris” in my mind and heart that blocked my connection to this other part of me. Seems like most everybody does.

A collection of judgments, stories, hurts, fears, limiting beliefs, guilt and shame that have been layered on by well meaning but unaware friends, family, teachers, siblings and society.

People that wanted the best for me but didn’t take the time to get to know the “real” me or never bothered to ask what I really really wanted and believed. They just heaped on their wants and beliefs.

Once I started looking I realized there was a lot of stuff blocking me. Going to take awhile to work through these layers but I was confident the juice would be worth the squeeze.

And that my dear friends has made all the difference for me.