Define Your Vision!

There is one thing that you can do right now that will change your life and your practice for ever. It only takes a couple of minutes and costs you nothing. But this one thing will be more valuable to you than any CE course you will ever take or any amount of articles you read. Dentists will spend their entire careers perfecting their craft but can still fail to be successful by missing this one important element.
So what is this one, amazing, life-changing thing?

Your Vision!

Now this is different than just your dream in your head of becoming wealthy or famous or whatever. Those thoughts are important but when they are stuck in your head they are just dreams. The chance that they will come to fruition is slim. As your life moves along, your big plans stay in your head and you become frustrated when you don't make any progress.
So how do you translate your big dreams into a big reality? That's what we'll talk about in this article.

First: Write it down. Don't type it, write it with your hand. Sit down with a piece of paper and a pen. Close your eyes and picture where you want your practice to be in 5, 10 or 20 years. Don't be conservative. Go wild. Dream big. Write down everything you want from life and from you practice. The more details the better. This is your Vision Statement
Second: Read your Vision Statement as often as possible. I recommend every morning before you start your day. You can break it into bullet points to read through it easily.
Third: Do something every day that advances you toward your vision. Whether it is a CE course, learning a new procedure, setting goals, complimenting your staff, saving money, etc. The list is endless. But do something that moves you forward.
Fourth: Share your vision with your team. They need to know where you are going so they can move in the same direction. You'd be amazed at what they will do when they know which direction you want them to be going.
Fifth: Stick with it! It is easy to start but most people do it for a week and then put their vision in a file cabinet. It won't work as well when it is filed away. Keep it at the front of your mind and it will take you to the front of the pack.

Remember that any dentist can become anything they want. Most fall into the group that slowly grows their practice over 20-30 years. They do the required CE every year. They become clinically very good, treat their patients well, treat their staff well then retire. And there is nothing wrong with any of that. As long as it is your vision of how you want to practice. But just make sure you never settle for something less than the your vision of greatness. You can be whatever you want to be. You can have the practice you've always wanted. You can start today.
Do it!