SUCCESS STORIES

I was feeling overwhelmed, unmotivated, and trapped in my career. I would often cry on my commute to work because I didn’t know what to do. I had so many exit strategies for my current job swimming in my head that I felt scatterbrained and like I was going crazy. I wanted to talk through all of them and build a solid plan—whether that was staying in my dental career or not. I came across Laura’s blog, and after reading testimonials, the blog, and Laura’s story, I knew I had to work with her! I wanted clarity on whether or not I should stay in the dental field or work to transition out of the industry. I wasn’t sure what career options could be realistic for me to continue paying my monthly student loan bill long-term. Laura went above and beyond to help me achieve this goal! We delved into each issue, no matter how large or small, surrounding my lofty goal. Eventually all of these bits and pieces came together for a major “A-HA moment” in which I decided I would start my own travel business and slowly transition out of dentistry. Even after making this life-changing decision, we discussed how to navigate bumps in the road, how to juggle two careers at the same time, and how to stay motivated in the career I’m looking to leave. I felt so amazing and empowered after each call! This feeling carried with me between our calls as well. I saw more results than expected from our work together. Not only did I make a huge decision and began to pursue it, but I gained skills to improve my communication, confidence, and motivation. I’m thankful to Laura for helping me make tremendous changes in my life and for having such a positive impact on me. Sometimes it is enough just knowing that I’m not alone in feeling unhappy in my career, but our work together did so much more than that! I would 100% recommend working with her! This is an investment in your life! We as dentists and dental specialists have already made a huge time and money investment in our careers, but this investment is in OURSELVES.

When I found Laura’s blog, I was at a point of desperation in my career… I knew in my heart that I was miserable where I was and my health depended on making a change. I got to such a dark place while holding onto what felt so wrong for me. I knew I needed help. I knew I needed to change careers or change what I was doing in my career and either way, the decision was so big that I didn’t know where to start. I knew I needed guidance in sorting it all out. I decided to work with Laura because I knew she’d understand, given her similar experience. Beyond that, her voice within her blog post resonated with me so deeply. Not only did I know that I would get the help I was seeking but I also knew she was someone who would truly care. I deeply wanted to bring joy back into my life by gaining the strength to let go of what was no longer serving me, so that I could create space for the right thing to come in. My goal was MORE than accomplished working with Laura. Not only did I gain the strength necessary to let go of what was no longer serving me in an effort to make space for the right thing to come in…. but, I also gained an even deeper level of self-awareness that helped me to improve EVERY corner of my life beyond career alone… and I continue to use what I have learned with her every day. The best part of our work together was the way in which she helped me solve my own “problem”. It wasn’t as if I ever felt that she was pushing any sort of outcome, but rather she held space for me to discover what was best for me, and she helped me hear my own voice, and trust my own feelings, and recognize my own intuition. Through our work together, I reconnected with myself, I learned to trust my intuition and feelings and my own guidance system… I truly recognized what it is that I do or do not want and an improved sense of self worthiness resulting in a brand new career path within my field where I now get up every morning for work and look forward to it!!! THIS IS HUGE!!!! I have so much less stress and a true inner peace and joy for life again! There are countless things that domino from that as well: like the fact that I am committed to nourishing my body again, eating well and taking time for myself. I would absolutely recommend Laura to others because having a coach like her is a one in a million opportunity to improve the quality of one’s life no matter what a person might be going through. I think I could legitimately write a book about how my life changed during the window of time we worked together.

I felt that I had really reached that point where my mental health was suffering so much from my work that I needed to get help. I knew I had to make some hard decisions about whether to continue in this field or to look for a way to leave and looked for some guidance in the process. I remember reading Laura’s blog post 10 Reasons Why Your Dentist Probably Hates You Too a few years ago and feeling like someone else finally understood what I was going through, and that I wasn’t just crazy and the only one feeling that way. After going on her website again last year and seeing she offered career coaching, I knew Laura would be able to understand the unique struggles with the field and give valuable insights into it. I’ve explained my problems to other health professionals, but have found that it is hard for them to completely understand the situation due to them not working in Dentistry themselves. I wanted to gain some clarity and further insights into what I wanted for myself out of my work and life. I was in such a place of low energy and hopelessness that I couldn’t see straight. I didn’t have the motivation to try anything and I just felt stuck and trapped. The biggest goal I had was to dig myself out of that hole and to make the decision to either commit myself fully to this field, or think of a way to transition out of it. I accomplished this more than I would have ever thought possible when I was so lost in August last year. I feel like a lot of my core issues were tackled head on, in a very logical manner, and many valuable insights and ‘aha’ moments were shared. Now I feel like I’ve been given the tools and momentum to continue my journey forwards. Even when I myself wasn’t sure what I wanted to get out of a coaching session, the conversation was always guided to a topic that was meaningful and helpful to me in my journey. I felt like someone was holding me accountable for my progress and encouraging and supporting me along the way. After a lot of indecision and lack of progress in my career I finally made the decision to transition out of private practice, realizing that it wasn’t for me. I feel like I’ve gained a greater sense of confidence in myself and my own decisions and have shifted from a place of inaction to taking action. I would recommend anyone to work with Laura because she really understands the unique struggles of being in Dentistry, and from having been there herself, she knows all the right questions to ask, things to try and steps to take forwards.

A few years ago, I was recognizing the symptoms of burnout. Although everybody has a few off days here and there, this was different. It felt like being in a rut and not knowing how to get out. The biggest warning sign was when I started feeling apathetic toward my patients’ pain and anxiety. It just felt like too much to deal with. Working with a few consultants over the years, everyone had the same answer to my burnout question. Eat right, exercise, plenty of sleep…etc. Check, check, CHECK. I felt like they just didn’t get it. My first encounter with Laura was the now infamous post of “Why Your Dentist Hates You, Too.” Everything about that post resonated with me, and I’ve followed the blog ever since. It was important for me to work with someone who actually has experienced what’s it like to be a dentist. The average person thinks this is an easy job… We work indoors, take every Friday off, don’t even get me started about the salary! What most people don’t know is the silent pain most of us endure from the thousands of small cuts this profession delivers. I wanted to get out of the funk that was all-consuming. But I also was curious to talk to someone who had left the dental field to pursue other options. Throughout our work together, I learned quite a bit about WHY certain things about this job stressed me out so much. One of the main epiphanies was realizing how often I was taking on the patient’s problem and making it my own. By recognizing this, I approach patients in a more detached manner. This approach has made me a more empathetic provider and I don’t feel worn out at the end of the day. It was so helpful to hear first hand that IT IS OKAY to walk away from dentistry. Laura’s approach to thinking outside the box is great and unfortunately too many dentists think that their career has to “look” a certain way. I really enjoyed brainstorming about other options, even within owning a practice. Talking about what my schedule *could* look like helped me realize the potential for small changes that would make me enjoy dentistry again. There’s a lot that I can control right now to make practice better, and there is always the option for something completely different in the future. I’m not stuck anymore!

I worked with Laura to determine what was next for me career wise. Was I going to sell my practice and start a different career or stay in dentistry? I also wanted to explore how my skills as a dentist could be used in other careers that I may have not considered. I realized I couldn’t figure it out on my own, and I needed someone to help me find my way. I really was at a fork in the road and her decision making tool helped me decide which way to go. The best part of our work together was that we achieved our goal in a short amount of time. I enjoyed creating an action plan with her and enjoyed the accountability. I also enjoyed the natural flow of our sessions versus a rigid agenda. As a result of our work together, I was able to make a major decision about my career in dentistry. Once I decided to stay, she helped me to create an action plan to achieve my ideal practice. I really enjoyed working with Laura. She is so easy to talk to and made a difficult decision easy to make. I would highly recommend her services to any dentist who is thinking about leaving dentistry. It is well worth the time to explore this decision before you leave the career.

I realized that there was something unsettling within me as I planned the next step in my professional life, so I reached out to Dr. Brenner. For me, it meant doctorate education or work– two very different paths. I knew Dr. Brenner from my undergraduate years when I found her insightful blog. Reading it and then reaching out to her was very helpful. I could tell she genuinely cared and was ready to help by passing on her knowledge and experiences. Dr. Brenner went through a similar “aha” moment in her life, and because she was farther down the road in her dental career, I knew she was the uniquely qualified career coach for me to work with. After graduating, I wanted to make a decision that I had peace with. Working with Dr. Brenner helped identify certain roadblocks that were deeply embedded. At the end of the day, no one can make the decision for you, and it is a process that cannot be rushed. I am glad Dr. Brenner’s sessions were flexible to work according to my up-to-date situation and need. After working with Dr. Brenner a few times, I made a decision that I feel at peace with. Dr. Brenner was able to lead me through several exercises that were helpful for me to visualize the different paths that were before me. She is skilled in digging deeper, and she does so by being a good listener and following up with the right questions. Because of her skill in communication, we were able to make progress quicker than expected. I would recommend Laura’s service to anyone who is open-minded and ready to explore direction change in his or her career. In my experience, this has the potential to touch areas that are very personal, but the end results can be enlightening. Laura was there as an advocate each step of the way, but I had to be comfortable with not holding back. This was my first experience working with a career coach and I found it to be a great experience because of the mutuality.

I decided to work with a career coach because I knew I was at a crossroads in my life and needed clarity. I had made the wrong choice previously and wanted to grow in a different direction. I just wanted to ensure I was growing in the right direction. I had been reading Laura’s blog avidly and related well with what she felt about dentistry. She had successfully made the change and was incredibly brave in doing so. I felt like I could trust her judgment since she had experience leaving her dental career. My biggest goal was finding clarity of what I wanted to do, and some closure regarding my previous experience in the wrong career path.  This goal was accomplished, since we had talked about tangible goals. All of which I’m achieving and finally feel like I have direction again. The best part of working with Laura was getting to know her as a person, and seeing how easily we communicated. I never felt that I was pushed or rushed. If anything, I wish our sessions were longer. After working together, I found my confidence again in my career path and have clarity of where I want to go with life. This was a very difficult decision, and now I feel at ease. I would recommend her service to others, specifically those with a professional designation. I feel like her clients would benefit a lot from having someone who understands the opportunity cost associated with any professional program. It’s also difficult for others to trust a career coach who does not completely understand the difficulties or trauma associated with leaving a career or profession. I absolutely loved working with Laura, and I felt at ease working with her.

I decided to get help with my career decisions because I’m someone who benefits from talking things out– and with an objective partner there to reflect, ask questions, and push me, it helps in contributing to breakthroughs.  I was also getting a lot of “no’s” in my job search and wanted to calibrate what it was I was actually looking for. It seemed like a good time to explore what possibilities might give me energy and lead me toward a career and life more aligned to what I wanted to lead. Since Laura is a friend I’ve known for years, I knew I could trust her as my career coach. Working with Laura I really felt edified, encouraged, and uplifted during and after each of our calls.  I always felt clearer on what I needed to do, what I wanted to do, and appreciated the push to think about how I might change or influence my own inner energy.  Now I am clear on what I really like to do, what I want to do in the long term, and what small steps I can take in an ongoing way to continue evolving as it relates to my professional life. I would absolutely recommend working with Laura.  She pushed me, supported me, and helped me re-frame a lot of the unhelpful or negative thought loops that were holding me back in my job search.

I have always known what I wanted to do in my work life from graduating college in 1995 to the present. This particular time around left me at the end of a very toxic corporate environment that had me angry, confused and wondering what the hell is next after this? It was so tough for me that I was even thinking of a complete career change 20+ years into my career as a graphic designer. I felt I had hit a wall and was seeking help beyond my own perspective to solve a big life problem for myself. I truly feel that I have found the right life path so to speak, for the moment at least. I have added some new tools to the life toolbox that will help me in years to come. The most useful part of working with Laura for me was to learn to check in with myself and truly ask what I want out of life. It gave me a great process to live by and work on every day. I would absolutely recommend working with Laura because she has great energy, is a great listener, a clear and concise communicator, has good negotiation skills, and has a very worldly knowledge base. I came in skeptical about working with a career coach but came out a believer with a process to keep it moving forward!