Boy, the feedback I got from yesterday’s message was super!
(Yesterday’s message: “The time is NOW!”)
I’m thrilled to see so many were energized and motivated.
There was one response in particular that I really got a
kick out of, and I’ll share it with you. Here it is:

“The time is now for what?” (that’s the whole reply)

This witty quip came from a dentist whom I’ve given the
sentimental nickname of “Dr. Smarty”.

OK, “Dr. Smarty”… I like your style! You’ve challenged me,
and you’ve hit on something that requires attention. And
that is the concept that, even when you may realize that it’s
time to do something, you may not be sure of what it is you
need to do!

My “backatcha” answer to “Dr. Smarty’s” question is, of course:

“For whatever it takes for you, that’s what.”

Although it would be incomplete and unfair to leave it at that,
it’s a good start to the long answer.

You see, I intentionally left yesterday’s message kind of
vague because I know that, deep down, there’s a whole list
of things that YOU already know you need to do to keep that
dental practice of yours humming, growing, and thriving. Those
things you need to do may be different than what others need
to do.

But, for whatever reason, you haven’t implemented yet. I wanted
“that thing” that’s in the front of your mind to be THE thing
you decide NOW to start, to get going, to take advantage of.

“Dr. Smarty’s” response, while partly in jest, raised the
issue that many dentists may feel a little uncertain as to
where exactly to start in order to shake things up and hit
new levels of growth and success. Maybe you’re not sure?

Well, let’s find out! I want YOU to tell me what you think
your BIGGEST CONCERN is right now in your practice. What
is it? What’s keeping you perplexed, maybe even awake at
night? Let me know now!

I want you to go to the webpage below and answer the question:

What’s the single biggest concern you have right now about
your dental practice?

I’ll give you until Tuesday, March 3 to enter your answer
at this webpage:
http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=9EppZ&m=1f0nLmKj9KVhOT&b=vZyE2iTxlOXSI6KAEWhUDg

Once I compile all the responses, I’ll share the results
with you. Then I’ll begin to plow through each issue
one by one, in the interest of helping you tackle some of
the biggest hurdles you face!

Remember, use the LINK to enter your answers…do not reply
to this message. I appreciate your involvement.

All my best,
Chris

Dr. Chris Bowman
Dental Insiders Alliance
www.DentalInsiders.com/patientattraction

Last time I shouted out to you that
“It’s Not “THE Economy…It’s YOUR Economy!”

While the information in that message is
critical for you to take to heart, you’ll
also want to be aware that you’ll likely
face fierce RESISTANCE to this outlook on
several fronts.  Your mettle will be tested
every step of the way.  Being ready to face
that challenge is paramount to your success!

My major point:  There will be many who will
FIGHT your efforts to improve YOUR economy,
both literally and figuratively.

Examples of the RESISTANCE you’ll experience:

- Our new President has come out swinging AGAINST
“profits”.  Every time the word “profit” is
mentioned by Obama or virtually anyone in our
government, descriptive words such as “obscene”,
“exorbitant”, “unnecessary”, etc. are used.  The
word “profit” is being assigned a very negative,
even evil, connotation…primarily as a way of
pandering and appealing to the majority who don’t
own businesses or whose profits are suffering.
Class warfare at its finest.

Don’t think this attitude is relegated only to
large corporations.  That’s just the beginning!
Be prepared for politicians to begin attacking
more industries other than banking and finance and
oil as being “unfairly” profitable.  Health care
professions are NOT exempt!

- Expect the media to follow suit with this negative
approach toward free market capitalism, which is
no doubt under fire already.  Having “profit” as
an “enemy” serves the media well, because they can
generate endless stories that play on the jealousy
of those less ambitious and less successful.

- Neighbors and friends…even other dentists…will
try to “pull you back” every time you try to surge
forward.  They will try to contagiously spread their
doubts and fears to you, so that your success won’t
make their lack thereof look so bad.  Misery loves
company.  Ignore their negative influence.

- Your own dental TEAM may be harboring the same
sentiments about success and profits.  Plus, some
of them may fear failure so much that they inhibit
practice development and growth.  This holds true
during good times and bad, but more so when under
economic pressure.  Keep your antennae up for negative
emotional cues and SQUASH them instantly with your
positive messages of CONFIDENCE.  A solid BONUS
SYSTEM based on hitting challenging goals should
boost their motivation to excel.

- Now, what about YOU?  Are you holding yourself back?
Sometimes that hardest thing to do is to fight off
all the negative, paralyzing influences that invade
your psyche on a daily basis.

It’s crucial for you to isolate yourself from all of
these obstacles that inhibit your progress…and
aggressively destroy them when they appear in your
path.  This is no time for giving in to the prevailing
sentiments of the time!

As the captain of your practice, you guide the mood
of the crew and the direction of your course.  Being
sure that your mindset is SET properly is the key to
overcoming any resistance you meet along the way toward
your goals.

One last thought…please don’t mistake resistance for
negative feedback.  Sometimes when you face resistance,
you may think it’s a sign you’re on the wrong path.  The
fact that you’re meeting resistance may actually be the
sign you need that you are PRECISELY on the RIGHT path!

All my best,
Chris

PS: If you haven’t figured it out already, it’s worthy to
mention that being a dentist/entrepreneur/leader can feel
like a very “lonely” job.  That said, you’re always going
to be better off NOT embarking on this journey ALONE!  I’m
here to help, and I highly recommend that you seek and
find mentors and peers that share the success mindset, and
can help you reach higher levels of achievement than you’ve
ever imagined.

Dr. Chris Bowman
Dental Insiders Alliance
www.DentalInsiders.com

As Christmas approaches tomorrow, and people
from around the world are celebrating Christmas
and many other religious holidays, I want to
take this brief moment to wish you and your
family and friends a very:

Merry Christmas!

Happy Hannukah!

Happy Holidays of ALL varieties!

And I also want to THANK YOU for connecting with
me and being a part of my professional and personal
community.  Whether you are a Preferred or Elite
Member of Dental Insiders Alliance, a long-time
subscriber, or a relatively new subscriber, I
wish you all the blessings and joy of a wonderful
holiday season!

I look forward to communicating with you even more
after Christmas, and into 2009 and beyond.

Take care…and keep your eyes peeled for Santa tonight!

All my best,
Chris

Dr. Chris Bowman
Dental Insiders Alliance
www.DentalInsiders.com/googleadwords

I just had to send you this quick note about Olivia, my sweet little fireball 19-month-old.

For the past month or so, Elizabeth and I have been “warning” little Livy that her pacifier is going to go bye bye.  She has only ever used it when sleeping, but she really likes it…it’s part of her nite nite routine.

“Passie bye bye!” she started to say herself, about 2 weeks ago.  Pretty cool, I thought.  She’ll drop the habit no problem, because she understands it, right?

Well, kind of.  Even though we’re now successfully getting her to sleep quickly without the passie, it still took us several nights of:

“WAAAAHH…PASSIE BYE BYE…WAAAAHH…PASSIE BYE BYE!”

It would’ve been so easy to just plug it back in to keep her “happy” for the short term.  But that would’ve made it much worse later to kick the habit.  So we fought through, and she would calm down and sleep great.  No thumb sucking either…yeah!

Actually it took us a little less time and was easier than I thought.  So it got me thinking.

How many old habits am I hanging onto in my practice?
How many old habits are my team holding onto?
How many old habits are YOU holding onto?

When you get right down to it, it’s not THAT bad to get rid of old habits and develop new ones…but it does take some effort and discipline, as well as PERSISTENCE.

But the payoff is often HUGE, and worth the trouble.

So…when you’re considering implementing positive changes in your practice, but you’re uncomfortable in letting go of the false security of the old way of doing things, just say to yourself:

“Passie Bye Bye!”

All my best,
Chris

Dr Chris Bowman - Dental Insiders Alliance
www.DentalInsiders.com/testdrive

Well, the Olympics are almost over, and whether you’ve been watching or not, I’m sure you’ve heard many of the great stories about the athletes and teams…and also some not so great.

While taking in all the action over the past 2 weeks, I decided to compile a list of lessons that we can all take away from the Beijing games.  No way is this a complete list…but a good one to draw from nevertheless.

Lesson #1: “Never give up.  Don’t EVER give up!”  These words were originally spoken by legendary college basketball coach Jim Valvano, shortly before he died of cancer.  They rang true during these Olympics.

Countless examples of not giving up abound, but my favorite occurred in the swimming “Cube”, where Michael Phelps won a record 8 gold medals.  Twice during his quest his back was against the wall, and he faced an almost certain defeat.

In the 100m butterfly, Phelps dug deep in the final 20 meters, behind the Serbian challenger.  Even his stroke rhythm was off a bit, but he somehow got his hands to the wall 0.01 seconds earlier than his challenger!  That’s the slimmest margin possible.

During the 4 x 100 freestyle relay, it was Phelps’ teammate Jason Lezak who pulled off the best relay split EVER to save gold for the USA by only 0.08 seconds, beating the trash-talking French team.  HAH!

It would’ve been so easy to give up and accept silver, but the Americans refused, and it paid off big!

Lesson #2: When team is involved, it’s ALL about TEAM.  The above story is a great example of the good that comes from great teamwork.  Here’s what can happen if the team doesn’t pull together.

On Wednesday night in Beijing, the men’s AND women’s 4 x 100 sprint track relay team were favored with the Jamaican teams to compete for gold.  But, in the semifinal heats, BOTH the men’s and women’s USA teams did the unthinkable: they DROPPED THE BATON!

It doesn’t matter that the Americans had some of the fastest sprinters in the world, and a great chance at gold.  They had no chance to win because they didn’t work TOGETHER.  Maybe they needed more practice, more repetitions, to get the baton pass “down”.  Whatever the reason, they didn’t do it, and they were disqualified.

The same thing has happened to our men’s basketball team during the past 2 Olympics.  No question they had the best talent…they just didn’t play together well enough to beat outmatched teams that did. Luckily they got the message this year and are playing very well under COLLEGE coach Mike Krzyzewski (coach of my rival Dookies…I’m a Tar Heel you know).  Bottom line is they’ve swallowed their egos in the name of TEAM…and they’re winning big as it should be.

Aside: Think about how you can apply these principles in your dental practice.  How can you get your TEAM to work together better, to perform like champions?  When things are not going as well as you want, do you DIG DEEP or settle?

Lesson #3: Rethink your paradigms.  Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, monstrous ego aside, has dominated the 100m and 200m events, setting world records in BOTH…and even after “shutting down” at 90 meters in the 100!  Man, if he had only kept going…

Bolt is 6′5″, and about 5-8 inches taller than ALL the other world class sprinters.  Previously, guys his size would never have been considered for the 100m or 200m.  But Bolt’s coaches saw something magical in him, and he has changed the way people think about the physique of a sprinter.

Lesson #4:  Be honest.  Sure, push the limits.  Take advantage of every opportunity to stack the odds in your favor.  Even go against “the norm” or generally accepted “conventions”.  But don’t be dishonest, because you’ll lose any temporary gains you got by cheating.

I predict that within the next 30 days, the Chinese gymnastics team will have to forfeit at least 3 gold medals, and perhaps several more, because they competed with gymnasts who are under the age limits for the Olympics.  The Americans will win most if not all of those medals after the Chinese are DQ’ed, adding to our own haul.  It’s a shame, although sadly not surprising.

China has made several questionable moves involving these games. They originally had made numerous promises to clean up their air pollution, but have done very little.  Their human rights record is atrocious, and reminds me of the days of “Mother Russia” during the Cold War era.  And now they suit up a bunch of 12-13 year olds, falsify their passports, and pass them off as 16…crazy.

Ironically, this was done in the interest of “looking good” on the international stage.  Although I think the Beijing Olympics have overall been beautifully done, there will always be this dominant stigma that they won’t be able to shake.

OK, that’s it for now.  Please share YOUR “Olympic lessons” with me, and I’ll post them for all to see.  The contributor who posts the BEST Olympic lesson will get a valuable surprise gift from me! Simply post your reply to DrChrisBowman@DentalInsiders.com

All my best,
Chris