Author: Dr. Vince Gutierrez, PT, cert. MDT

After having dedicated 8 years to growing my knowledge regarding the profession of physical therapy, it seems only fitting that I join the social media world in order to spread a little of the knowledge that I have gained over the years. This by no means is meant to act in place of a one-one medical consultation, but only to supplement your baseline knowledge in which to choose a practitioner for your problem. Having completed a Master of Physical Therapy degree, the MDT (Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy) certification and currently finishing a post-graduate doctorate degree, I have spent the previous 12 years in some sort of post-baccalalaureate study. Hopefully the reader finds the information insightful and uses the information in order to make more informed healthcare decisions. MISSION STATEMENT: My personal mission statement is as follows: As a professional, I will provide a thorough assessment of your clinical presentation and symptoms in order to determine both the provocative and relieving positions and movements. The assessment process and ensuing treatment will be based on current and relevant evidence. Furthermore, I will educate the patients regarding their symptoms and their likelihood of improving with either skilled therapy, an independent exercise program, spontaneous recovery or if the patient should be referred to a separate specialist to possibly provide a more rapid resolution of symptoms. Respecting the patient’s limited resources is important and I will provide an accurate overview of the prognosis within 7 visits, again based on current research. My goal is to empower the patient in order to take charge of both the symptomatic resolution and return to full function with as little dependence on the therapist as possible. Personally, I strive to be an example for family and friends. My goal is to demonstrate that success is not a byproduct of situations, but a series of choices and actions. I will mentor those, in any way possible, that are having difficulty with the choices and actions for success. I will continue to honor my family’s “blue-collar” roots by working to excel at my chosen career and life situations. I choose to be a leader of example, and not words, all the while reducing negativity in my life. I began working towards the professional aspect of the mission statement while still in physical therapy school. By choosing an internship that emphasized patient care and empowering the patient, instead of the internship that was either closest to home or where I knew that I would have the easiest road to graduation, I took the first step towards learning how to utilize the evidence to teach patients how to reduce their symptoms. I continued this process by completing Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy courses A-D and passing the credentialing exam. I will continue to pursue my clinical education through CEU’s on MDT and my goal is to obtain the status of Diplomat of MDT. Returning back to school for the t-DPT was a major decision for me, as resources (i.e. time and money) are limited. My choice was between saving money for the Dip MDT course (about 15,000 dollars) and continuing on with the Fellowship of American Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapists (FAAOMPT) (about 5,000 dollars), as these courses are paired through the MDT curriculum or returning to school to work towards a Doctorate of Physical Therapy degree. I initially planned on saving for the Dip MDT and FAAOMPT, but life changes forced me to re-evaluate my situation. The decision then changed to return for the tDPT, as my employer paid for a portion of the DPT program. My goal for applying to and finishing the Dip MDT and FAAOMPT is 10 years. This is how long I anticipate that it will take to finish paying student loans and save for both programs, based on the current rate of payment. I don’t know if I will ever accomplish what I set forth in the mission statement, but I do know that it will be a forever struggle to maintain this standard that I set for myself.

Police ride along for the day

The Joliet Police Department was gracious enough to allow me to do a ride along. I had an eventful night and learned about adrenaline and the following adrenaline dump. I was so exhausted and only did half a shift.

If you get the chance to go on a ride along to see how well they work together and how well they patrol the area, you should take the opportunity to see the city from a different perspective.

Raise your game!

A recent conversation inspired this video.

We, as professionals, need to lose the mindset of technician and up our mindset to Doctor. This means no more 3x/week for 4-6 weeks. This means no more 4 units plus one modality per visit. This means no more selling patients on gym memberships or buying products from Amazon or the front desk.

Up your game to the Doctor level that we are at. Be a consultant. Figure out what is right for the patient, and sometimes this means that it isn’t PT.

Don’t cower to productivity demands or the “we need to keep the lights on” argument. You are a Doctor…act like one and keep your patient’s needs first.

You got a choice: right or not so right

As a father and husband, the topic of ethics and morals has a deeper meaning for me.  I need to make choices that will allow me to sleep at night.  I can’t afford to be passive in my profession because I have multiple sets of eyes watching my every move.  The best way to influence the future is through decisions that I am making today.  My wife may not like that I am posting this picture, but it’s done with love so that should override all.

Enjoy today’s article.

Moral Distress is knowing the right thing to do but being unable to do them because of internal and external constraints.

Flood gates are opening now. This profession is full of good people that want to do what is right, but are torn between collecting a paycheck or doing what is right for the patients.  This is a huge deal!  I hear from therapists all over the country that after long conversations just shrug their shoulders and say, “what can you do?”

 

What you can do is stand up for what is right.  In print, it doesn’t come across as well, but either stand up for what you believe in or bend over and take it.  If you chose to bend over, just know that you have a choice! You are not forced to make the decisions that you are making! There are other places that offer a paycheck!

 

I walked out on a job at lunch, albeit not the most professional thing to do but the right thing for me, because I could never wrap myself around to performing the acts that the corporation wanted me to perform.

 

The meek shall inherit the land…don’t take this literally.  Stand up for what is right for the patients! Stand up for what is right for the patients! Stand up for what is right for the patients!

 

The profession of physical therapy has the potential to be a great career choice, but unfortunately so many are experiencing burnout, helplessness, and exhaustion because of this moral distress.   Can we stop doing this to ourselves?

33% of nurses will consider leaving their profession because of moral distress

I’ve already read about PT’s leaving the profession and spoke with PT’s that left because of this issue.  I don’t feel bad for them.  They stood up and walked out.  That was right for them.  I feel sorry for the people that don’t have the ability or internal strength to make that decision, but instead struggle in silence.

“When students encounter microethical dilemmas, the risk for moral distress is present because they are confronted with making a decision between two choices: speak up and advocate for quality patient care or remain quiet and permit the substandard practice to occur.”

I left this in as a quote because it goes well beyond schooling. If you are a member of the public and reading this…I apologize for what I will say.  If you are in healthcare, you already know this.  Shady stuff is happening in healthcare.  People are asked to do things that aren’t ethical.

example 1

example 2

example 3

I got tired of copying and pasting, but I could do this all day

Those choices never go away.  If anything, the chasm between the choices grows with each decision made.  For instance, standing up for one thing, in my opinion, will allow you to find your voice and draw your line in the sand.  It will be easier to draw that line and that line will become deeper each time it is drawn.  You learn more about yourself from standing up, which makes your ethical radar stronger over time.  It will become more apparent when your ethical button gets pushed and again you will have to make a decision.  Long story short, it never gets easier.

Top two reasons for having ethical dilemmas among nursing students was 1. I wasn’t in charge and 2. I didn’t have enough information

Unless you are the founder or an executive, I got news for you   YOU AIN’T IN CHARGE! This feeling of being subordinate never goes away until you reach the top of the mountain and there is only so much room at the top.

I get that some people don’t want to make decisions because they feel that they don’t have enough information, but there is a solution to that…go get the information needed in order to make a decision.

It’s not hard people…it takes a little more work.  As a PT, we spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to enter this profession.  We study for 7 years to become doctors.  No one is afraid of work.  We may be afraid of learning the information because then it will force us to make a decision that makes us uncomfortable.

It’s my opinion, based on multiple conversations with other professionals, that there are a lot of PT’s that are comfortable.  Unfortunately, those that are comfortable also have a lot to complain about.

Thanks for reading.  I appreciate that you took time out of your day to read my rants and hear my thoughts.

 

Excerpts for this blog were taken from:

Krautsched L, DeMeester DA, Orton V et al. Moral distress and Associated Factors Among Baccalaureate Nursing Students: A Multisite Descriptive Study. Nursing Education Perspectives. 2017;38(6):313-319.

Monk and the Merchant: a personal perspective

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Part 2 of the Monk and the Merchant.

five “Take responsibility for problems that are the result of your own bad decisions. Don’t displace the blame”

 

I’ve taken accountability for my actions for as long as I can remember.  Growing up, my dad was a huge influence on me.  There were many sayings that he would consistently use and I’ll list them here to give you an idea what growing up in a household with my dad was like:

  1. If it was after 6 AM and I wasn’t awake, this phrase would always come out “You’ve already slept away half of the morning…Are you planning on sleeping your life away?”
  2. “Either get busy living or get busy dying”
  3. “We send you to school, buy you books and THIS is what we get?!”
  4. “I just don’t understand…and I don’t think I ever will”

Mind you, I started hearing these phrases at an age of 5, probably sooner, but that is the earliest recollection of these phrases.

 

I haven’t always made good decisions.  When I was 13 I was caught shoplifting.  I was a chronic shoplifter and I kept it hidden from everyone.  I would steal for no other reason than the thrill of the challenge.  It didn’t matter what I would steal, as I would typically throw it away or give it away later.  Mind you, these were bad decisions and I don’t condone it.  I was making mistakes and it took getting caught to actually see the error of my ways.  I was actually proud of myself for getting away with it for so many years prior to getting caught.  My mother couldn’t understand and we had a long discussion about this.  She tried to understand the motivation.  My dad on the other hand didn’t even try to understand.

 

Let me paint you a picture.  My dad is a Vietnam Veteran.  He was a Medic for the 101st Airborne (Screaming Eagles).  He was a light sleeper and would wake up every night at 1 AM to do a check throughout the house.  He would wake up between 3:00 AM and 3:30 AM every day, even on weekends.  When I got home from getting caught shoplifting, my mom woke up my dad to inform him of what happened.  He pulled me into the room and had a short conversation with me.  There was no punishment.  He simply said, “Son, I’m disappointed in you”

 

You have to understand my background.  I am the youngest of seven and the one that was supposed to stay out of trouble.  Those words that my dad, my Superman, said to me that night completely changed my life.  I have never done anything and would never do anything to make my dad feel disappointed in me again.

 

I had to pay back a $2,000 fine to the place that I was caught and have been straight-laced since.

Principle six “See challenges as stepping stones, not as obstacles”

Joliet Junior College is the oldest community college. One of the few classes throughout my academic career that was my bane was Chemistry 101 with Dr. Matthews at JJC.  I dropped this class twice, although the second time was because someone stole my lab work for the semester and I wasn’t able to complete all of the work on time.  I was working 2 jobs (Sam’s club from 3-9 PM and Eagle [no longer exists] from 10PM to 6AM).  Because of all the hours that I was putting in, I chose to take one semester of just chemistry with Dr. Matthews and made it through with an “A”. Knowing that I could tolerate discomfort made the rest of undergraduate “easy”.

Principle seven, “Be meek before God, but Bold before men.”

Getting back to some of the prayer conversations that I had with God (I highly recommend the series  of books regarding conversations with God), I was humbled before God when making my decision for a career. In this career, I have had to stand my ground many times.  As someone that cares deeply about the profession of physical therapy, I stood my ground many times and lost multiple jobs because I wouldn’t sacrifice my morals.

Principle eight, “Live debt free and below your means”

Hello Dave Ramsey! This is where the Ramsey influence comes into play.  I actually purchased this book at EntreLeadeship One Day.

 

You know that saying, If I knew then what I know now then there would be so many changes in life.  Like many, I am coming out with student loans and made some poor financial decisions over the years.  I am now digging out of the hole of debt.  Luckily, we have a big shovel to start digging out of the mess.

If you are in debt, this is a great plan to start following.  I paid off more debt in the previous year than I did in the 5 prior.

 

Principle nine, “Always keep to your budget”

This is something that is very difficult and takes practice.  It takes time to understand fixed and variable expenses.  Trying to cut fixed expenses is hard, but there are companies out there that work to reduce fixed expenses such as Bill Shark.  This company reduced our internet and phone bill.

Variable expenses such as going out have been greatly reduced as my family is attempting to get out of debt.  I’ve been out of school for 10 years and still have student loan debt around my neck.  We are planning on getting out of debt in the next two years, all except the mortgage for now.

 

Principle ten, “Loaning money destroys relationships”

I’ve never borrowed more than $20 dollars from friends or family because the guilt of being in debt to them changes the relationship.  I don’t think that it affects everyone the same way.  My brother has owed me $100 dollars for years and it’s just never going to be paid back.  I realize that, and it was the best $100 dollar lesson I could’ve learned.

Principle eleven, “set aside the first ten percent to honor God”

I have been much better at this over the years, but am no where near tithing.  Honoring God doesn’t mean that I have to give to the church.  I now donate to so many of the local charities and purchase gifts for kids in need during Christmas.  This was the first year that I did the kid’s gifts, but it felt great.  The thought that a kid wouldn’t have a gift to open is heartbreaking.  Pairing that with the fact that the only gifts that this particular kid wanted was winter clothes, jackets and boots made me sad.  Knowing that there are kids in this country that don’t have the basic necessities is heartbreaking.

I realized that giving to others is selfish in that the way that I feel after giving hasn’t been recreated by anything else I’ve done.

 

Principle twelve, “Understand the power of partnership”

The ship that won’t sail is a partnership. Understanding the power of partnership is important.  This principle goes beyond business.  A marriage is a partnership in which both individuals work to make the unit stronger over time.  I am still curious as to the power of the business partnership because one person always has more leverage than the other.  This leverage can be dangerous to the partnership because it can always be held over the other’s head.  If there is a 50/50 partnership, which includes 50/50 work ethic, I may be convinced otherwise.  I just haven’t seen it yet.

 

Thanks for reading and I hope you get something from the links provided in the article.

McKenzie Method and back pain

I recently just read a case study, which I will be referencing a lot in the future paragraphs, regarding the use of MDT in the treatment of a patient with pain.  This is not uncommon, but what makes it special is that that the patient has a diagnosis of recent transverse process fractures in the spine.  Hope you find it interesting also!

 

First, Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT) is also known informally as the McKenzie Method.  You can read more about the method with this link.  Also, this method is used by therapists all across the world as seen  here. Finally, if you are looking for more in depth information on the method, it can be found here.  There is so much information out there regarding MDT that there is no need for me to go back and explain it all again.  Read the previous stuff that I did. 

Patient characteristics

  1. 24 y/o female referred with left sided back pain
  2. 10 week previous involved in accident in which she was hit by a car while walking
  3. Transverse processes fractures from L2-L4
  4. Evaluation occurred about 10 weeks following accident

Examination:

  1. PT and MD agreed to patient generated forces only
    1. This is important! The most important part of this statement is the communication that is taking place between the PT and the physician prior to the patient entering the clinic. Also of importance to note is the trust that the physician has in not only the therapist, but also the method, as the patient was specifically referred for an MDT assessment. 
  3. Left low back tightness and numbness constantly
    1. Pain was intermittent
  5. Sometimes worse with sitting and tenderness when sitting against a hard-back chair, sometimes worse with activity and waking a few times per night due to pain
    1. The above is also important as this indicates high irritability as the symptoms can be constant and pressure can increase the symptoms. Also, the patient is waking during the night, which is historically correlated to an inflammatory process, but can also be position related. 
  7. The patient was better with standing, walking and lying
    1. This could mean that the patient has a directional preference for extension, prefers to be unloaded or is better with movement. The only way to figure out how these variables play a role in her symptoms is to start playing/manipulating the variables and watch the outcomes.  This is no different than any other science-based projects.  We have the opportunity to work with patients that trust us.  We have a responsibility to work with the patient in order to educate them as to the process of attempting to narrow down the variables at play regarding the symptoms.  Once the patient is agreeable to working together, we can change the inputs to the brain and assess the outputs in terms of physical changes and perceived changes from the patient. 
  9. Worse with postural correction, but no worse with using a lumbar roll.
    1. Postural correction, when performed according to the book is a hands-on technique and in doing so may be too much for the patient to tolerate. The fact that the patient is no worse with a lumbar roll means that extension, in and of itself, may not be bad but increasing the range in a loaded position may not be preferable at this time.
  11. Patient was issued back bends, repeated extension in standing, after the first session due to her complaints with flexion based movements and improving with standing and walking.
  12. Visit 2 overall unchanged and the patient was instructed to lean against a countertop to provide a fulcrum to lean against during the movement. This is, theoretically, to allow for increased force during the movement.
    1. The worst response to any movement that I can see in the clinic is “no overall change”. If we can’t change the patient’s symptoms or movement patterns, or strength, then it is hard to predict if the patient will respond to therapy over the course of care.  If the patient gets worse during the evaluation, it is not good/bad, just a response.  The thought is that if the patient is able to change for the worse, then the PT should be able to create a change for the better.  It’s simplistic thinking, but in the presence of a mechanical and not chemical issue, it is a common response to see in the clinic.
  14. Patient was better with either the countertop version of backbends or when doing pressups
    1. This is a version of progression and alternative versions of the same exercise. For example, the thought is that during a pressup, the patient is able to move further into the range of extension than during a back bend.  This may be because of eccentric loading of the global flexors or because of gravity assistance during the pressup on the lumbar spine.  I haven’t seen any research that definitively states why, but these are the thoughts.
  16. By the third visit, the patient reported 80% improvement with no pain.
    1. This is very common to see when a patient presents with a mechanical response and is categorized as a derangement (see all of the links above). It’s not uncommon to reduce symptoms in less than 7 visits. 

 

The big picture lessons from this case are:

  1. Don’t be afraid to assess a patient systematically.
  2. Communicate with other members of the health care team.
  3. Be willing to change your plan when something isn’t progressing accordingly.

Elenburg JL, Foley BS, Roberts K, Bayliss AJ. Case Report: Utilization of Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT) for the treatment of a lumbar pain in the presence of known lumbar transverse process fractures: a case study. JMMT. 2016;24(2):74-79.

If you are having back pain and want to be evaluated by a certified MDT therapist, you can find me here.

What’s it mean to be a PT part I

 

 

As professionals, we are all supposed to practice in accordance with the core values and within the Code of Ethics.  Having conversations with PT’s all over the country regarding unethical situations makes me think that some in the profession could use a refresher.  Especially those (me included) that may not have been paying close attention to this information while in school.

Principle #1: Physical therapists shall respect the inherent dignity and rights of all individuals.

It’s unfortunate that there are people that make bad decisions in life.  There are cases of PT’s acting inappropriate with patients. Here’s a recent article regarding a PT that was found to act inappropriately by his state board.

Moral of the story: patients have inherent rights as people.  Although we are in a position of trust, we must never do anything to compromise that trust that patients place in us.  Patients are coming to us at a vulnerable time in his/her life and we must acknowledge that.

  1. Physical therapists shall act in a respectful manner toward each person regardless of age, gender, race, nationality, religion, ethnicity, social or economic status, sexual orientation, health condition, or disability.
    1. It’s been published that some students receive lower grades during a clinical correlating with race.
    2. PT students may not feel comfortable treating the older patient with the same principles as the younger patient per this
    3. Another study speaks to the disparities among races for receiving medical care for knee

 

I guess that I have been naïve all of these years.  As a minority that comes from a blue-collar family, I never paid attention to this and have not seen it personally.  We have to take into account our  implicit bias at all times.  For instance, I recently attended a health fair at the local Spanish Community Center and the people were so surprised that a Mexican from “the neighborhood” was able to earn the title of Doctor.  This type of bias affects every generation that gets infected with this negative thinking.

  1. Physical therapists shall recognize their personal biases and shall not discriminate against others in physical therapist practice, consultation, education, research, and administration.
    1. I thought that a lot of these principles were common sense and part of being a good person, but apparently there are a lot of people who have these biases in healthcare.

 

 

THIS IS THE FIRST IN A SERIES OF POSTS THAT I WILL BE DOING ON THE CODE OF ETHICS AND CORE VALUES.  FOR SO LONG, I’VE ATTEMPTED TO LIVE THESE CORE VALUES OF OUR PROFESSION, BUT THEN I HAVE COME TO REALIZE THAT SO MANY OF MY STUDENTS COULDN’T RECITE THEM.  TO ME THIS MEANS THAT THEY HAVEN’T BEEN INTERNALIZED.  AS PROFESSIONALS, WE NEED TO ACT LIKE PROFESSIONALS AND AT LEAST BE AWARE OF OUR CORE VALUES AND CODE OF CONDUCT.

A personal synopsis of the Monk and the Merchant

My take on the Monk and the Merchant

Let me first say that I read through the first 30% of the book and got nothing from the book.  I was tempted to put the book down and just be done, but remembered that it was recommended by Dave Ramsey for a reason and just continued to trudge through it until the book piqued my interest.

This was my first lesson from the book: If I can build up my reputation and gain the trust of people, I will be able to lead them.  Had I not trusted in the words of Dave Ramsey, the author of many books and a highly ranked  podcast, I would have stopped reading.  If I can gain the trust of people in my immediate area and truly am altruistic in my teachings and business, then I can also achieve this type of success.

“Principal one: work hard and God will prosper you”

Hard work has never been an issue. As the son of a laborer, who never missed a day of work unless he had a fractured bone, work is expected. I never thought of work as performing God’s will. We were given the ability to bless those around us with our talents and through those blessings we receive thanks in the form of dollars. This aligns with Rabbi Daniel Lapin‘s theory that those that are paid much are only paid much because they affect many people. Watch the video here.

“It’s easy to have an idea. But it’s another thing to commit time and effort to it. “

This very much describes me. I have the attention span of a squirrel. If it can’t be done in 20 minutes, it’s probably not going to be done. Doing things like writing the blog, scanning paperwork into the computer system at work, creating presentations etc. etc. are not my strong points. In an average day I have so many ideas that it’s hard for me to even capture them. Acting upon those ideas is where I have difficulty. If anyone has ever listened to Barbell Shrugged I can very much relate with Mike Bledsoe. If you haven’t listened to it, I highly recommend it.

“… There are a lot of great ideas. But if we allow the negative influences of others to stop us, then we will never accomplish anything.“

This one is a great quote but doesn’t necessarily apply to me. Naysayers and negative influencers provide more fuel for me to perform the activity that they’re telling me that I’ll fail at. I think that if a person is so easily swayed by a negative influence, then the idea that they have is not very convincing. It’s easy to fight for something that you internalize, but hard to defend a fleeting thought against pressure from those held on high.

“So, the first principle is basically, ‘Seek God and decide what you want to do, and then do whatever it takes to make it happen.’ Oh, and work hard at it.”

I like that the quote mentions seeking counsel in God.  A long time ago as a student at Joliet Junior College, I was torn between going to medical school and becoming a teacher.  My prayers were answered in that I was to go to school to become a teacher.  During these prayer meditations, God spoke to me not to just become a teacher, but to also follow the path that it takes me to have an impact on many people.  At the time, I assumed that this meant that I would be able to affect many at once with my time as a teacher, but alas, I was wrong.  The path from studying education led me back to healthcare as a PT.  In this field I have influenced over 18,000 people with a blog, over 60 students, thousands of patients and multitudes of people through volunteering my time in this profession.

By the way…none of that would’ve happened without hard work in the process.

“Principle two: Financial prosperity is often connected to soul prosperity”

It’s so simple.  It doesn’t have to be difficult. Find that thing that lights up your heart and follow it.  It will not let you down!

I’ve never had a single position for more than 7 years and even that’s a stretch if you consider how many times I left that position and return.  Again…squirrel.

I have an obsessive demeanor.  I do that what I enjoy and do the hell out of it.  At some point, the joy dissipates and then goes away altogether.  At that time I go find something else that lights up my heart.  Some people love challenges; some people love helping others; some people love to be recognized; some people love to be paid.

Go find that thing that makes you smile. I find it incredible how many people that I come in contact with that do not know what makes their heart sing.  It must be hard to live like that.  How can one ever be satisfied? Happy? Complete? If one never finds that “thing” that makes their eyes shine, heart sing, and face light up, how hard must life be?

There are many ways to help people. Many ways to be challenged. Many ways to be recognized etc.  Once I feel completed at one version of helping others it’s time to move to a different version of the same theme.

It does become harder as one has more responsibility because each move affects more than just you.  For instance, it was easy to transition from pushing carts at Sam’s club (helping people) to putting on tires (helping people) because I had no responsibilities to anyone other than myself.  It was a much harder decision to go from a financially lucrative position at a local hospital to a private company with less financial incentive.  I had to have a conversation with my wife and we discussed how it would affect our family.  In the end, this change has allowed me to help more people than I ever could had I stayed at the hospital.

“Principle three: A man must do whatever he can to provide for his family”

This goes hand-in-hand with the last principle.  I have to provide for my family and that ranks right up at the top with personal satisfaction.  Because of the decision to leave the financial stability of the hospital, I’ve taken on a second job to try to narrow the gap between what I used to make and what I make now.  Again, work is not the problem, but other problems do arise.  For instance, it is now one additional day that I am away from my family.  One additional day that I don’t get to recharge.  One additional day in which I have responsibilities outside that of just my family.

We must question our decisions and determine if we are on the right track.  I am sure that I made the right decision to take the job at the lower paying position, but not sure if I need to keep the second job or choose a different path.

“Many men have robbed themselves of their destiny because they have allowed discouragement to rob them of their dreams”

I’ve been blessed throughout my life.  A good friend, Mary Jones, described my life like this. It goes beyond me though.  I’ve been blessed with a support system that treated me fair and always encouraged me to just keep going forward.

Not everyone has been as blessed and we all start the race at a different starting line, but we all must run.

Principle four “Trials develop your character, preparing you for increased blessings.”

As long as you don’t stay down, you will grow stronger and more resilient.  When you become stronger, more people will follow.  I’ve had many trials in life but was too dense at the time to know that quitting was an option.  I was too dense to know that there were other possibilities and that failure was an option.

These trials and difficulties, we all have them, have led me down the path.  We all have fears and skeletons in our closets that push us or create chips on our shoulders.

 

HOW one responds to those fears, skeletons, and chips will define WHO one becomes in life!

Excerpts from The legend of the Monk and the Merchant

Overnight success

If you’ve never heard the saying that one works for decades in order to become an overnight success, then you’ve heard it here first.

I’ve been in PT for 10 years and am now getting mentioned in conversations with people that I’ve looked up to for years. At one point, someone was shocked that another student didn’t know who I was. I find it comical.

As the son of a laborer, especially one that worked in the sewer systems, I have always had a strong work ethic. For 10 years I’ve kept my head down, avoided causing any waves and just worked. I worked through a divorce. I worked through a fainting episode. I worked through a cardiac issue. I worked. It’s what I’ve always known. I guess I’m just too dense to know any different.

One thing that I am realizing after all these years is that I gained a lot of knowledge by working with patients, working in study groups and working at night by reading journals. I worked hard and now I’m starting to speak out more from behind the computer.

I have a lot of passions for this profession, but this profession is just that…a profession. At some point I will leave it and move on, but while I’m here, I want to have an IMPACT.

Jim Rohn said “If you let your learning lead to knowledge, you become a fool. If you let your learning lead to action, you become wealthy.”

I’m starting to take action. For those that follow my blog, keep your eyes and ears opened because I am creating a CEU that will encompass our profession, but I believe that it will transcend our profession.

I am not doing this for the money. I am sick of hearing the negatives of our profession. I chose to look at these negatives systematically to try to determine how I can help. I think I know how to create waves and make an IMPACT.

see you soon…hopefully in a class near you.