Sometimes life offers you so many opportunities that it’s hard to say no.

How do you balance what you want to do with what you should do?

Many times in my life I’ve chosen the responsible route. And other times, I pushed the boundaries to see what I could get away with. When I was really unhappy in dentistry, I decided to take four 1-week vacations in one year. I was so worried it would crush me financially, but it worked just fine! It had no impact on my finances. At other times, I’ve been so committed to my work, that I haven’t allowed myself to make plans with friends, take trips, or even exercise.

Life is all about finding a nice compromise between the two. Too many no’s can prevent us from living, and too many yes’s can be exhausting.

This past year I said YES a lot– maybe too much– even when I wasn’t sure it was the safest answer. There were so many dental events that I wanted to attend. FOMO got the best of me, and I decided to push boundaries and go for it!

2023 was a year of being a Yes Woman.

I know what you might be thinking. A Yes (Wo)Man is someone who agrees with everything in order to please others. That can imply weakness or a lack of sincerity. I get that, but based on my own life experiences and the movie, “Yes Man,” I interpret the meaning differently.

To me, a Yes Person is someone who says yes to opportunities.

I spent much of my life saying no to opportunities because of fear or obligation– especially in dentistry. Because I felt so stuck in my dental career, I didn’t believe that it was possible or that I was capable of succeeding at any other work. This kept me stuck, blind to the abundance of opportunities around me. In the movie “Yes Man,” the main character also starts out stuck in a rut, always saying no. When he falls under a spell that forces him to say yes to EVERY question, he finally begins living. He experiences joy, adventure, and even falls in love.

When I started saying yes, my life changed too.

It’s about saying yes to life and to opportunities that will expand your world. But I’ve also learned that too much yes pushes us too far and becomes unsustainable.

Maybe we can find a happy medium, a place where we say yes to opportunities and yes to boundaries all at once.

2023 has been my year of YES. I said yes to every in-person event I really wanted to attend. Some offered the opportunity to speak, and others offered a chance to hang out and have fun supporting my dentistry friends and their communities.

It was exciting to lean into that dream I imagined for myself upon leaving clinical dentistry and starting a remote business– the vision of working from anywhere. But I also experienced the challenges. It was sometimes chaotic and overwhelming as many of the events occurred within a short time frame, requiring me to limit office hours for weeks at a time.

Plus, just like the time I took 4 weeks off in one year, I was worried about paying for it.

So, I said also yes to a different opportunity, a chance to learn how to travel for free using points. My good friend Roger, the MilesMentor, taught me how to make it work.

In 2023, I flew to dental events in:

• Philadelphia
• Phoenix
• LA
• Turks and Caicos
• Philadelphia again
• New Orleans
• Charlotte

How ever did I swing it?

In a word: points.

Flights were expensive in 2023! When I searched for tickets to Turks and Caicos, it was over $1300 round trip! I struggled to find anything to Philadelphia for less than $500 roundtrip. In the end, I was able to use 116k points plus $245 to pay for all my work travel in 2023. I saved around $3000!

Plus, I had the chance to enjoy the first class airport lounges before many of these flights– for free!

Learning how to find the best rates for domestic flights has been a fun game. I’ve learned how to rent a luxury car for less; and next May I’m already booked to fly from Colorado to Kenya for Safari N Side Gigs in business class for only 104k points and $170. That alone is saving my husband and me $8000 per person.

But more than a game, it was a lesson that we can still do fun, amazing experiences for less money.

This is exactly why I share this with you. It’s about creating a lifestyle. There are incredible experiences you can buy without money. We’re so often trapped by the golden handcuffs of dentistry, but there are ways to live a great life and earn less– especially if you love to travel. It is possible to do a lot of it, in style, without breaking the bank.

So there. We’ve just removed one more barrier keeping you tied to the golden handcuffs of dentistry and created one more step to adding more fun and freedom into your life.

If you want to learn how to travel more without worrying about having to do that extra full mouth rehab to pay for it, click here to join the MilesMentor program. As an affiliate sponsor for Lolabees Career Coaching, they have shared a special discount for my community. Use the code MMSideGig to get 25% off a membership that will teach you all the travel tricks and hacks to enjoy more of life’s greatest experiences.

Together, we want to help you do more of what you want in your life.

Sometimes we have to experience extremes in order to recognize that coming back to the middle is best.

As 2023 was the year of YES, it’s time for me to take a little break in 2024. 2024 will be the year of NO for me. While I had a blast connecting with great friends and supporting their dentistry communities, I’m ready to slow down for a bit. It’s time to focus on saying yes to the most aligned opportunities while also practicing sustainable boundaries.

What do you need more of in 2024?