When things are in flux as they are today (change is good, remember?) it's tempting to do nothing. The tendency is to freeze. But waiting for a clear sign, while understandable, is a form of hiding. It's the least courageous choice.

Remember the parable of the talents? The servant who buried his so he could return it intact to his master was castigated and had it taken from him and given to the wiser servant.

Same here. This is the time for bold action. Commit to a direction and then make it the right one by what you do to support it afterwards. Decisive action, especially now, will be handsomely rewarded.

Times like these are designed to discourage those who aren't fully committed; to weed out the dabblers, the tentatives and the uncertains. Nothing tests your commitment like the winds of change.

Act! Doing so creates the very direction and guidance you've been waiting for.

Even though I no longer follow the media's interpretation of reality, even a quick glance, long enough to identify that the airport's monitors are tuned to CNN, reveals the latest fear mongering: swine flu. How delicious. On top of the financial "slipping and checking" that has infatuated the media, they can now fill the airwaves with something even scarier: an infectious disease. This is what advertising executives dream of, bent on reaching as many eyeballs as possible.

I don't give the medical-industrial-media complex enough credit for some type of conspiracy. This is merely their worldview, played out on glowing phosphorous screens around the world. As usual, their perspective turns everyone into a potential victim and little is done to put the current outbreak into perspective. Like virtually every other threat, armies are gathering for the obligatory "War on Swine Flu."

You and I know it won't work. Even if it appears to work, it won't work.

One classroom has 32 students. The other 16. Who gets the better education?

The one with the better student/teacher ratio, right? Not necessarily. The classroom of 16 students is resigned, unwilling and disengaged. The 32 had to apply, were hand selected and grateful for the opportunity. Still convinced that the smaller class size gets a better education?

How badly do patients in your “classroom” want your explanations, meaning making and educational message? Patient education isn’t just about your intention, the methods or the tools you use to share the truth about chiropractic. Each patient’s attitude is important too.

What a patient wants affects how accessible they are to your educational overtures. Patients who want more (more health, more vitality and greater well-being) tend to be more available than those who want less (less pain, less disability or less responsibility).

Which type of patient are you attracting? Those who want more or those who want less?

During some recent speaking gigs, and frequently during my telephone consultations, I will casually observe to chiropractors that your consultation is more important than your report of findings. I generally wait to see if I get any objections. I don’t. So either I’m onto something or my assertion is being dismissed as simply one more raving of a non-DC who doesn’t know what it’s like to actually practice chiropractic. It wouldn’t be the first time that such an accusation has been leveled.

No matter, I believe it anyway. Here’s why.

Are you a thermometer or thermostat?

A thermometer simply responds to the environment. A thermostat changes the environment by directing resources to heat things up or cool things down. A thermometer is reactive; a thermostat is proactive.

If you've allowed your practice to be hijacked by fear or scarcity (reacting), leaning towards the thermometer side of things (down when the numbers are down, up when the numbers are up), consider these suggestions:

Manage your state. You may not be able to change the world, but you can change how you choose to react to it.

Focus on others. Worry less about yourself. Only as you enthusiastically serve the needs of others will your needs be met.

Ask for help. Everything you need is available. Everything. But you have to ask. Ask!

You're supported. You practice in a world governed by the Law of Cause and Effect. If you don't like the output, change the input!

Little did Houston soccer mom Robyn O’Brien know that by feeding her fourth child some scrambled egg for the first time it would unleash her unbelief, anger and result in The Unhealthy Truth: How Our Food is Making us Sick -- And What We Can Do About It.

Turns out Robyn’s daughter had a severe allergic reaction to the eggs. The rest of the book describes the process of uncovering the effects of genetically modified foods, bovine growth hormone, soy, the role of Monsanto, aspartame, corn syrup and the other aspects of our food supply. Chiropractors will be familiar with much of the content and the collusion between Big Pharma, Big Agribusiness and the FDA. The research citations are extensive and impeccable.

As a side note, Ms. O’Brien mentions, almost in passing, that her daughter had had a vaccination prior to her reaction to breakfast eggs—yet didn’t connect the dots.

This mother’s research to uncover the truth about food additives will especially interest patients who are awakening in their understanding about the business of food.

In the same way that many blur spirit, faith and religion, many confuse the principles of chiropractic with the practice of chiropractic. Many intraprofessional arguments and the polarization that produces competing chiropractic organizations, stem from attaching different meanings to the same words.

When you hear a colleague use the term philosophy, ask, "What do you mean when you say 'philosophy?'"

Or when a colleague uses the word manipulation ask, "What do you mean by 'manipulation?'"

Same with patients.

"…Driving me nuts." "…sick and tired." "…can't afford." "…get better." "…results."

When you profoundly listen, patients use words or phrases that are loaded with meaning and significance. Catch these terms, especially at the consultation, and ask for clarification. When you do, a new level of understanding and influence emerge.

With thousands of words at their disposal, their choices are powerful clues about their fears, concerns and expectations. True healing begins here (hear).

If you’re one of those inclined to make decisions by drawing a line down the middle of the page and listing the pros and cons, you must read How We Decide and abandon this practice immediately! Author Jonah Lehrer begins by describing the decision-making process of a NFL quarterback finding a receiver in the midst of a defensive rush. My palms got sweaty as he continued by describing the decision-making process of the United Airlines pilot who lost an engine and all hydraulic pressure and successfully landed in Sioux City in July of 1989. He uses these and other decision-making processes to describe left- and right-brain function, the role of the amygdala and other fascinating aspects of judgment and choice. If you’ve ever “choked” by having too much information or lost at poker, you’ll find this delicious little book sheds new light on how we humans make decisions. You might even take away some insights about how patients make decisions and what you must do to make their future health more important to their limbic system.

This last week I became aware of two aspects of chiropractic and Medicare that are sobering, to say the least.

The first came as an email from one of the state chiropractic organizations promoting membership in a chiropractic advocacy group to influence the direction of the national health care debate. Ostensibly, to make sure Congress doesn’t limit access to chiropractic, while also expanding the coverage of services offered by chiropractors that are reimbursed by Medicare.

The other was a 36-page document from the Office of the Inspector General entitled, Inappropriate Medicare Payments for Chiropractic Services dated May 2009. Since many believe that the so-called health care reform will be an enlargement of Medicare, I thought it wise to read this document and get the general mood of the legal arm of the Department of Health and Human Services.