With so many great holidays to celebrate this time of year, there is one holiday in the bunch that will forever be my favorite– my anniversary! It’s the anniversary of my farewell from a high intensity career in dentistry. It has been 4 years, and it is so hard to believe that so much time has already passed. It’s fitting that it all came to fruition around Thanksgiving, because gratitude is the one feeling that never wavers. I know I made the right decision, and I’m so thankful those days are behind me. What does waver, though, is my perception of...
Have you ever noticed how sometimes the most simple discussions can bring about the most unexpected moments of clarity? While hanging out with a friend a few weeks ago, he reminded me of an old memory we shared. He is a high school teacher, and several years ago he had a student in his class with very bad teeth and very little money. She needed serious help, and he felt so strongly about helping her, that he paid me to do her dental treatment for her. As we reminisced about how amazing that story was, I realized that I had...
How’s your luck? For years I believed that I had bad luck. It was true. I never won anything. Whenever there was a drawing or a lottery, my name was never drawn. It seemed like the same lucky people always won over and over. When I was 8 my sister won a highly coveted Cabbage Patch Kid on the Point Pleasant boardwalk by placing her $1 bet on the word “son” on the roulette wheel. The very next round I wanted to place the same bet but was talked out of it because it would never hit again. Guess what...
Yup, I got sucked in again. Just when I thought my days of entering more contests were over, temptations of a big win lured me in. In case you don’t know what I’m talking about, I’ll go back to the very beginning. This whole blog started because during desperate times of wanting change, I mustered up the courage to enter a silly little contest. My task was to make a short video showcasing my skills in order to win a travel show host gig. If you knew me then, you would see that I am the last person who would...
I never thought I’d say this, but I’m actually having fun with my new business. Work isn’t generally something we associate with “fun,” and I didn’t choose to do this because I thought it would be “fun.” I’m sure there are people who choose this for that reason alone. People decide to go into this type of business for all sorts of reasons. Some do it for the money. Some want to dream big. Some are lonely and are just looking for social interaction. Some even do it for the personal development. I have a friend who did it because...
After I decided to take another scary leap out of my comfort zone, I then had to figure out how to get started. I had no idea how to do network marketing, and because of previous experiences, I was really insecure about it. I had never done anything like this before. I secretly felt really excited about this new challenge, but at the same time, I was torn. I had a lot of old feelings and negativity to undo. I was so uncomfortable with the fact that I was starting a relationship marketing business, that I’m not sure I approached...
The last thing I ever expected in my life was a phone call from my sister asking me to look into her new business and try her product. Like I’ve mentioned in the past, she and I were always very skeptical about the network marketing business model. We’d never seen anyone succeed at it before. We had only seen people waste their money month after month. But when she called me, she explained that her friend she had known for years had just started with this company and was indeed having real success. This changed my sister’s perception of MLM’s...
You might wonder why joining a network marketing company was such a push out of my comfort zone. I was never any good at marketing. In fact, I have always shied away from it simply because it never interested me. But it’s more than just a lack of interest. It really comes down to the fact that I’ve always worried that if I asked others for business, or favors, or help that I would inconvenience them; and the last thing I ever wanted to be was a nuisance. Add to that the very common personality trait we dentists have: we...
If you are seriously thinking about making the move out of dentistry, don’t miss this next post. In the past I’ve shared some tips about how to break free emotionally, and today Rick from Rick’s Rome is back to share some great practical tips about how to get the process started. I know many of you loved reading his inspirational journey to find happiness, so here’s part 2 of his guest post on life after dentistry! ****** What about some practical advice for people looking to change? Well, every situation is different but there are a few things that you...
When you envision yourself years from now looking back on your life, what do you see? Do you see a life well-lived, or are you filled with regrets? In the book The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying: A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing, author, Bronnie Ware, explores this very subject. As a palliative nurse caring for patients during the last months of their lives, she had the chance to learn the most common things people regretted in their own lives. I haven’t read the book, but an article on The Guardian recently caught my attention. I guess I’m...
