Our Heroes
The most popular heroes might be the wrong heroes. I don’t mean Superman or Spiderman.
My Hero!
They are still amazing. I’m talking about the ‘real’ people in our life. We too often elevate the exciting and the extravagant in life to celebrity status. The lavish lifestyle is often what makes it to television. We put conspicuous consumption on the altar. It creates buzz. But the real successes in life are more often pretty boring, simple people. They aren’t flashy, and they don’t drive the newest car. They measure success in a different way. Not by an excessive lifestyle, the standard that others see. But by a standard that is more satisfying, though less flashy.
There are, of course, true signs of success. People who create financial success have both good business offense and good business defense. Offense is creating income – anything done to increase what you bring home. But defense is vitally important. Defense is doing things to limit expenses. It includes such things as budgeting and planning.You cannot win the game with excellent defense, but you certainly can lose with bad defense.
Someone may have high income, but, if he lives a high expense lifestyle, he may never accumulate wealth. He may have new cars, expensive clothes, a large house, and take great vacations. But he doesn’t hold on to what he has created. His income doesn’t translate into wealth.
Plan to Win!
Someone else may have moderate income, and great control of their expenses. They can generate incredible wealth. This happens mostly over time. Just like in the story, ‘The Tortoise and the Hare.’ The flashy hare has speed, but no game plan. He is beaten by a better gamesman, with better strategy.
Have you ever wondered why you see the same person jogging every day? He’s already in shape, surely he doesn’t need to be out there all the time. But, the reason why he’s in shape is exactly because he’s always out there. His routine, his schedule, his regularity, have made him to be in shape. He could be one of your heroes.
My point is that creating success of any kind is really pretty straightforward. It doesn’t require a secret strategy or some miraculous insight. It requires a plan, and faithful execution of that plan.
And therein is the problem. We might have been taught how to plan. We might be able to create a strategy for success. But success is only 20% strategy, while it is 80% behavior. The breakdown is in actually doing what needs to be done. If you can change your behavior, and you can maintain that change, you can do nearly anything that you plan.
And so it is in health. People want to feel better and be healthier. They already know many of the things they need to do to get better. But none of those things are exciting. None are fun. They all take time, effort, and dedication. Discipline. What a drag. There’s no shortcut to hard work. When you’ve been doing the wrong things for years, it is very difficult to turn things around to head in the right direction. You really have to be dedicated and focused.
In my particular practice focus, structural correction, the hard work is in correcting spinal structural shifts. When the foundational structure of the human body is compromised, it represents a primary condition in the body. With time, primary conditions create secondary conditions such as pain, reduced mobility, muscle soreness, and many more. These structural shifts have often been creating problems for years, and sometimes decades. The longer the time, the more difficult to repair.
But structural shifts are often correctable. The process takes dedication, focus, cooperation, and time. It takes offense and defense. It takes strategy, planning, and execution. It cannot be done without intent and purpose.
This type of commitment is a common element in success. Whether it be in health or finances, working through the plan from start to finish is what yields results. The successful have ways of thinking about everything, a philosophy of life, that sees things differently than everyone else. We can learn from them.
Save with Your Shoes!
The wealthy have another tendency that serves them well and separates them from others. They consider ‘life-cycle’ cost, instead of ‘up-front’ cost. As an example, a wise man might purchase a pair of shoes that is more expensive initially, and then have them resoled several times over their useful life. He spends less over time than someone who throws the worn shoe out and purchases a replacement. His strategy is offensive and defensive.
In health care, the lack of strategy often forces people to make decisions in a crisis. Sometimes a condition is so bad, the only choice left is extreme and expensive. Planning ahead could potentially prevent this. Conservative solutions always exist prior to the emergency, where time is limited. Work to find these solutions.
Consider your heroes. You can model yourself after the glamorous. You might indulge now at the expense of tomorrow. Or, you could be like the quiet, simple people. The ones who have a plan, and who win. The ones who consider tomorrow in their strategy, and the ones who consider the ‘life-cycle’ cost. If there is something that needs to be changed, invest the time necessary to decide how to attack it. And then, do what needs to be done, and keep doing it until it is completely done. That, my friend, is success.
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Dr. Scott Allen graduated from Life University’s College of Chiropractic in 2004. He ranked high academically, a tribute to his dedication and passion for his work. Initially, he practiced just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. After several years in private practice, Dr. Allen moved back home to South Carolina in 2007, and relocated to Columbia in 2009.
Dr. Allen has studied and trained in several advanced structural corrective chiropractic techniques. He maintains a unique focus on the upper cervical spine. He has developed an analysis system using proven indicators to identify a person’s primary structural shift. It is this exacting and definitive focus that allows us to target and resolve complex structural issues.
