Woody Allen once said, “If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans.” I guess God was laughing at me last weekend because my big plan didn’t work out. I’m very lucky that I live in a place where I can hop in the car and arrive at some of the most beautiful spots on earth within an hour. Last weekend we had a plan to wake up early and drive to a beautiful hike in the Rocky Mountains. When we arrived at our destination, we quickly learned that the only remaining parking was a good 2...
Have you ever thought that maybe you didn’t want to help people for a living? Seriously, tell the truth. If you have had that thought, you know you’d never tell anyone, and in fact it’s pretty tough to even admit to yourself. I felt that way for a long time. There, I said it. In a recent conversation with a client, he shared with me the ideal qualities of his dream job. Although he doesn’t yet know what the job is, he made a great list of what is important to him. As he was rattling off his list, he...
I’m shocked to announce that Nola has run out of wisdom to teach me. I know it’s surprising. I never thought a butt-sniffing, poo-eating creature as amazingly clever as she is, could ever run out of wisdom, but Nola is out of ideas. Luckily our walks together have led me to another source of wisdom… the podcast. After walking in silence every day for months, I’ll admit I kind of got tired of hearing my own thoughts over and over. I got bored with myself, so I decided to multi-task and learn something new during that hour. Of course I...
How do you feel about change? Do you love it, or do you fear it? I love change! You know why? Because without it, I’d still be that same person I was 6, 10, 15 years ago. I would still be stuck exactly where I was. Change is scary for all of us, but I can’t imagine my life without it. Over the past 5 years you’ve followed my career journey, and I’ve been so fortunate to follow yours. It’s hard to believe so much time has passed since we started sharing our stories in November of 2011, the month...
Can you tell by now that Nolabees has a lot of energy? She requires a lot of activity in order for me to stay sane. I never miss my daily walk with her. I can’t, or she’ll torment me all day. I have to admit, though, I do love my walks with Nola. It gets her out, and it gets me out too! I love to see how happy it makes her. And let’s face it, it makes me happy too. It gives Nola a chance to interact with the world, and every day she entertains me with a silly,...
People say that they’ve learned the most in life from their experiences as a parent. I think I get it. I learn a lot from my child, too, even if my child is a dog. I’m amazed at how much you can love your little one. Sometimes I love her so much that I want to eat her up. I know that sounds weird, but you know exactly what I’m talking about. I’ve heard you say those weird things too. Then there are times when she does something that pisses me off so much, that I almost hate her, for...
In recent weeks Nola has been teaching me how to move on from conflict. She is a pro, but do I have it mastered? Not even close! However, I do feel like my response to a recent event was a great first step to mastering this craft. In my last post I mentioned my success leaving behind a bad experience I had. Here’s what happened… On my way to the gym, I was trying to turn right at a red light. There was a lot of traffic that day, intensifying my impatience. When I finally saw an opening, I quickly...
In my last post I marveled at how easily Nola is able to immediately let go of another dog’s aggression toward her. I even gave myself a little pat on the back for being so relaxed about it too… as if I’m always so calm, cool, and collected. It wasn’t until I read this comment from a reader, that he reminded me that I’m not always as skilled as I’d like to think I am at “shaking it off.” He said: If dentistry taught us something, its being able to move on after that last excruciating conversation with someone who’s...
We all loved reading about my friend, Ritu’s story about her decision to sell her practice and take a break from clinical dentistry for a little while. It was great to hear from several of you who have also made your own changes and are inspiring others! I’ve asked Ritu to write one more post. In the first one, she shared her story to let you know why she chose to sell her practice. Since she just wrote the amazing book, The Energy Shift: Increase Your Energy and Do More of What You Want Every Day, I asked her to...
One of the great perks about blogging about my dental career is that I have met some amazing people along the way. Not only are they inspiring, interesting people, but they are also people who have decided they want something different out of life. They are people who have decided to take risks to bring more joy into their lives. They are people who have decided not to settle for their existing conditions because it’s easier to stay put than to change. I’m thrilled that one of those amazing people is now my latest guest blogger! Her name is Ritu,...
