Enthusiasm

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart.” said Paul of Tarsus. Work at it with enthusiasm he might have added. Enthusiasm shows. It shows to family, to friends, to staff, to patients; it is a deep-seated quality that leaves a lasting positive impression. Excitement, on the other hand, is a quick flash of light, a momentary boost that quickly abates.

Question yourself---are you excited about your practice as this new year begins or are you enthused about your practice and its possibilities for this year and all the years to come? Choose enthusiasm, and if it’s missing, question yourself about what it would take to generate that “TGIM” (Thank goodness it’s Monday) attitude that you might have experienced when you first began practice. Further, talk with advisers, with peers, with staff, with family to explore ways of recapturing ENTHUSIASM with capital letters. You’ll be glad you did!

Studies of America

A bit of fascinating history about our country: In 1831 the French lawyer/judge, Alexis de Tocqueville, visited the United States in order to better understand this experiment in freedom, this nation that followed no heretofore used mold for governing and government. Upon his return to France, de Tocqueville wrote a book, Democracy in America, the best definitive study of American culture and the American Constitutional system published up to that time. One of his most frequently quoted passages reads:

“I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers, and it was not there; in her fertile fields and boundless prairies, and it was not there; in her rich mines and her vast world commerce, and it was not there. Not until I went to the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”

Do we Americans who love our country dare to ask ourselves now----How good are we?

The Purpose-Driven Life

“Whether leading in business, education, politics, or family, character always trumps charisma. What we desperately need in our leaders today is strong character.” Written by Rick Warren, author of the best-selling book “The Purpose-Driven Life”, this statement applies equally well to dental practices. The practice that is led by a dentist of strong character will succeed in ways that the practice led by a dentist willing to compromise on matters of principle can never achieve. Core values such as honesty, integrity, fairness, selflessness, and a servant’s heart are essential in leading the practice that reaches its potential.

The Importance of Improvement

How could anything uttered by a French philosopher sometime in the mid-1700s apply to our lives and work today? Francois Voltaire, 1694 – 1778, warned that we must not make “the perfect the enemy of the good”. Think about that statement. While you’re waiting to make your practice, your staff, your patient care, your life outside the office PERFECT, (the way you were taught in dental school things must be) the opportunity to reach and maintain GOOD might slip away. Improvement in any aspect of your life or your practice begins now with one step to progress to GOOD. And from GOOD one can strive toward PERFECT.