What Business Are You In?

Back when I was in Acupuncture school in the mid-90s, I don’t remember exactly where but I came across an interview with Ray Kroc, the man who made McDonald’s what it is today. In 1974, he asked a group of MBA students, “What business do you think I’m in?” They replied, “The hamburger business.” Kroc smiled and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m not in the hamburger business. I’m in the real estate business.”

That got me to thinking, because I never thought of myself as a business person. I got into Acupuncture because I wanted to help people the way acupuncture helped me. It didn’t just relieve my neck pain or help with my insomnia (which it did). It woke me up. Over the period of a few months as my pain subsided and my mobility increased, I noticed my mood and outlook was shifting. I was less angry. I was a little less reactive. And for the first time I began to think seriously about what my life was really about.

So on the cusp of graduation, I thought about what business I was really in. On the outside, I was in the Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine business. That seems pretty straightforward. But what am I really up to while treating people with acupuncture? What is my practice really about? What am I after? What would be the ideal result people get from receiving treatment from me?

It seemed natural to think about the ‘deeper’ benefits that I got out of treatment as a patient. After almost a year of mulling this over as well as paying close attention to when I lit up the most in the treatment room, it finally occurred to me. I want to help individuals free themselves from unnecessary suffering. That was it. Freedom.

Now as I write this my inner rebellious and cynical 18-year-old is rolling his eyes and groaning at me. But that’s what’s in my Heart. As hokey as it seems, that is what I’m about. I didn’t chose it consciously. It’s what I uncovered underneath all the layers of my ego.

So I ask you, “What business are you in?” What are you really up to when you’re doing what you’re doing? This can be while you’re playing with your kids, spending time with friends, or at your job. This will show up in your presence and is connected to what is deeply, irrationally, illogically important to you. It is there, ‘behind’ or ‘beneath’ everything you’re doing. It may be something you understand. Or it may not make sense to you. But it will feel “right “. It will feel like ease and a soft sense of excitement and energy in your body.

So while you’re going about your day, today and every day, ask yourself, what am I really up to? What am I really about? What do I ultimately want to experience? What have I been reaching for all these years, either inappropriately and destructively, or in constructive and rewarding ways?

Be well!