3-12-01 shared by Dr. Perman (masters9@aol.com) Dear Doctor: Dr. Bob Hoffman recommended a marvelous book to me, and I'm recommending it to you -- "Failing Forward" by John C. Maxwell, which we honored by naming it the first Platinum Service Option Success Book Of The Month, January 2001. "Failing Forward" is about turning your mistakes into learning experiences, so you can benefit even when you don't get the result you want immediately. Maxwell provides literally hundreds of examples, concepts and references on using your failures to your best advantage, including lots of theory and technique on how to actually do it. For example, he credits David Bayles and Ted Orland with this story, demonstrating how failure can be beneficial. "The ceramics teacher announced on opening day that he was dividing the class into two groups. All those on the left side of the studio, he said, would be graded solely on the quantity of work they produced, all those on the right solely on its quality. His procedure was simple -- on the final day of class he would bring in his bathroom scales and weigh the work of the "quantity" group; fifty pounds of pots rated an 'A,' forty pounds a 'B,' and so on. Those being graded on quality, however, needed to produce only one pot -- albeit a perfect one -- to get an 'A.' Well, came grading time and a curious fact emerged: the works of the highest quality were all produced by the group being graded for quantity. It seems that while the "quantity" group was busily churning out piles of work -- and learning from their mistakes -- the "quality" group had sat theorizing about perfection, and in the end had little more to show for their efforts than grandiose theories and a pile of dead clay." You must be willing to make mistakes if you expect to become a master, and this is one of the reasons there are so few masters. Most of us have associated pain with making mistakes, instead of recognizing them for what they are -- opportunities to notice areas that need attention, and do something constructive to move in the right direction. Learn to harness your frustration and disappointment and focus on what distinctions you made that can help you improve your weaker areas. Any other energy you spend is probably wasted. So many chiropractors want to increase their new patient flow, but don't realize that they must be willing to make enough attempts to develop their learning curve. That means that you may have to talk with lots of potential patients and make some or even many mistakes along the way, refining and correcting as you go. You may have to give many presentations before you hone your skills to the point that you get great results -- but how sweet the victory when you know you put so much into getting there! Maxwell says the only way you can get ahead is to fail early, fail often, and fail forward. I agree -- take some risks, get out there and try some stuff that's outside your comfort zone, push the envelope a bit, and you'll find yourself growing because of it. Dennis Perman DC, for The Masters Circle P.S. We have many wonderful products and services to help chiropractors build better practices and lifestyles. To find out more, please call 1-800-451-4514, or visit our website at www.themasterscircle.com. Thank you for your confidence and support!