“My father was an Irish immigrant, who by his upbringing did all of the work on the house or cars by himself. Since I was usually holding the light or assisting in some way, I watched him go through the process of figuring out what was wrong so that he could fix it. It was what I knew to be diagnosis.”
Dr. Gene Clerkin, DC at Monadnock Natural Health, opened his first chiropractic clinic in 1994 and through his father’s lessons about diagnosis by determining a “root cause,” the integration of functional medicine in his work became inevitable. When Gene first started, he focused his practice on stress and personal growth. Meanwhile, he was spending a tremendous amount of time exploring countless modalities in a quest to find answers for his own health.
“I developed an autoimmune condition and would be in bed two weeks out of every month. It was a real challenge to the practice not only from a standpoint of functionally being there, but also when conveying to somebody that I could help them with their health. I struggled with that. But in my mind, I knew the body can get better.”
In his hunt for solutions, Gene attended a functional nutrition training seminar that gave him clarity and purpose. He took what he learned and launched a free trial for a handful of his chiropractic patients and the results were phenomenal. But his decision to incorporate a functional medicine approach in his practice came at the expense of his freedom and he knew he needed support.
“I was running around like a chicken with the head cut off. I was working long hours and I couldn’t do it. I was struggling for a way to put it all together and that’s when I ran into the video of Charlie on Facebook. And for the first time, I could see how I could get there. I could see a vision.”
Gene is not only a veteran in the industry but has also graduated from FPC’s three-year course and is currently enrolled in the Next Step program. Like many, he has experienced highs and lows throughout his career and it wasn’t until his third year with FPC when he finally felt everything “click” and come together.
“Some people get into this and they’re like, boom; reaching their goals in their first year it seems. I was going on and it was a struggle. I found doing seminars challenging and walked around with my script in my hand. There were times where I was down to almost no money. Then, I finally felt it all come together right around March of 2020.”
“It was like a punch,” Gene said, inferring to the hit his practice took due to the pandemic that emerged that same month. “There were no new people at all. Having help with transitioning to webinars and being a part of FPC, if I didn’t have that, there’s no question that I would have gone under for sure. I would have lost the practice.”
Throughout his 27 years in business, Gene has gained a sense of centeredness and acceptance for the up’s and down’s that occur in life and in his practice and “stick with it and have faith” has been his M.O. from the start. He is hitting his “best month ever” goals repeatedly and respects the time that it takes to evolve and urges other practice owners to do the same.
“It doesn’t go as fast as you want it to and there’s going to be times when things don’t go your way. Stick with it, stay the course, and roll with the punches. I’ve always been a steady and slow starter. It took me time but I’m getting there and I’m ok with my pace.”
Gene noted the evolution of his goals and referred to them as “moving targets.” He explained that success lies in what you get out of your experiences and your journey and stated that freedom is the ultimate conquest.
“I want my practice to be at a place where it can run without me. I like spending time with my kids and my family and I’d like to develop my other interests. I like to write and play music. That means freedom because that means time.”
Educating our community is a crucial component for those involved in the changing lives mission and Gene’s passion is truly remarkable.
“If we embrace wellness our society will thrive, and if we don’t it will crumble. There has never been a more important time to spread the message.”
Are you ready for your own success story?
If you are, I have good news! We can get you results like this. It won’t be easy, nor will it happen overnight, but I’ve seen it happen so many times that I can tell you that’s it’s possible.
You’ve got to be hungry, driven, up for the work, listen more than you talk, complete more than complain, implement plans more than you announce them, and show up daily with a beginners mind. If you’re ready, it’s time to get to work!
