Make it a great day!

Dr. John Gordon

Today’s tragedy in Japan is difficult for me to understand how people endure and respond to such devastation. So many people lost everything they own and every one they loved. My thoughts and prayers go out to those people. I will now be very careful about how I will look at events and my complaining about trivia in my own life. Peace to those in Japan.

Dr. John  Gordon

It happens in a few seconds, this “clicking”. It’s a spontaneous process that typically occurs on an entirely subconscious level; in a moment, we develop a trust – a bond – that can last for years… or even a lifetime.

But what happens if you aren’t putting your best self forward 100% of the time? If you’re withholding your truest persona from those you meet, you will never be able to honestly “click” with another individual. After all, that person can’t possibly get to know who you are if you aren’t presenting yourself in the most genuine way possible.

I am urging you to seriously consider how you can foster this kind of “clicking” by a) getting to know who you really are; and b) allowing yourself to be that person without apologies. When you present your most authentic self to all you meet, you’re more likely to “click” with like-minded souls, which will have tremendous benefits, such as fostering a stronger sense of:

· Giving

· Caring

· Creativity

· Openness

· Spirituality

At our Kansas City cosmetic dentistry office, we use the concept of showing our sincere faces in order to naturally “click” with patients and their families. In a few seconds, everyone who walks through our door has a complete understanding of who we are – and the impressions we make often lead to amazing “clicks”.

My cosmetic dentistry team and I have made many friends by doing the right thing and treating everyone with respect and honor, ensuring that we always “click” for the right reasons. Try it yourself and see what happens. I predict that you’ll feel that wonderful “click” sensation daily if you do.

Fortunately, it’s made easier thanks to the Internet. As of the writing of this post, I have been blessed with over 200 Facebook friends between my two pages. Some are individuals I’ve been friends with “forever”, others are those whom I’ve met once or twice, a few are people who “found” me after we’d been absent from one another’s lives, and many are patients from my Kansas City dental practice.

I know a lot of business people, including cosmetic dentists like me, resist making meaningful friendships with customers. They feel as though that invisible barrier between the public and private must never be crossed; but in creating this kind of wall, are they perhaps missing incredible opportunities?

I’m sure you know me well enough to realize that I do not fear the unknown. I am not afraid to call a patient a friend and get to know him or her; consequently, I’ve been encouraging my team members to boldly go where no cosmetic dentistry team has gone before (with apologies to Star Trek for lifting their intro!) This means giving them the green light to move beyond an acquaintance relationship with our clients if they so desire and move into the realm of friendship building.

Of course, this will have some major ramifications. All change does. So in the next blog post, I’d like to discuss some of the short-term and long-haul results that turning patients into friends can have.

Until then, I encourage you to connect and reconnect with people… you never know when a true friendship may arise!

John

A potential patient comes to me, desperate for a new smile. Maybe he wants to investigate getting porcelain veneers… maybe she wants to learn about whitening procedures… regardless of the exact method about which they are curious, they all have one thing in common. They want a change.

Best of all, they are excited about the change! They’re tired of sitting back and doing nothing. They want to use cosmetic dentistry to change them forever. It’s thrilling for everyone – the patient, me, my team.

But then comes the fear.

What fear am I talking about? It’s the Fear of the Unknown. And it begins to plant its toxic seeds into patients who begin to wonder what a new look will mean for them. Will they have to change their personalities to fit their new smiles? Will the procedure cause them to seem like someone they’re not? Will they even like their grin after it has been perfected?

This is perfectly human, this desire to retreat into the shadows and never take steps forward. But cosmetic dentistry is a whole different ballgame! When it comes to giving someone a renewed smile, I’ve never seen anything but positive outcomes!

Fear of the unknown is a given when dealing with people. Yet it should never stop someone from looking or feeling his or her best. That’s one of the reasons my team and I spend so much time getting to know our clients. They know they can trust us.

And in the end, when they see their new smile, any fear they had instantly melts into joy. It’s a wonderful moment to behold!

Though I cannot erase all their worries, I feel my role is to mitigate their concerns as much as I can in my capacity as a cosmetic dentist and someone who is a missionary for life and people. For one individual, that could mean making his smile gleaming white. For another person, it could mean turning her mouth into a picture-perfect grin.

If you’ve been feeling down in the dumps, I encourage you to take some proactive steps to help yourself. None are radical, nor do they have to be expensive. But all will get you to a happier place.

• Help someone less fortunate than you. Doing so has a way of changing your perspective dramatically.
• Pinpoint areas where you can make a positive change in your life. Would it behoove you to return to school? Take piano lessons? Organize your home? Get into shape?
• Exercise every day. I’m not talking about losing weight here – I’m talking about maintaining a healthy lifestyle. If you’ve been a “couch potato”, it’s time to get outside.
• Write a thank you note… to yourself. Sounds hokey, doesn’t it? Try it anyway. Thank yourself for something (past or present or even future). While you’re at it, you can send someone else a thank you, too!
• Educate yourself regularly. Abraham Lincoln claimed to learn something new from every stranger he encountered. Try it for yourself. You’ll be shocked at how wisdom awaits!

You have the power to change a lot in your life. Get on with it and do what you need to do. I have faith that you’ll end up where you are supposed to be.

This time of year fills many people with a sense of renewal and rebirth; for some, that manifests itself in an activity that is widely known as “spring cleaning”.

Loved by those who crave an organized existence (and loathed by the kids who would rather be outside on their bikes than indoors cleaning out their closets!), spring cleaning is a ritualistic act of rejuvenation.

Let me suggest that this year, you take your spring cleaning one step further.

I’m talking about spring cleaning your life!

How do you go about doing this? I’ve developed a five step plan that I think will be a terrific starting point:

Step One: Get Back to the True YOU

Have you ever felt like you’ve gotten away from who you REALLY are? You know – that person who is the leader, the supporter, the mentor, the optimist, the good friend? It’s time to reconnect with him or her!

Step Two: Ditch the Toxicity from Your Life

If you’re surrounding by toxins, what happens? You start absorbing them (whether literally or figuratively). To spring clean your life, you have to rid yourself of all the toxic stuff that comes your way.

Step Three: Free Yourself from Past Regrets

It’s time to let go of regrets. We all have ‘em, we all hate ‘em and we all should forgive ourselves. Move forward and think before you speak, consider before you act and pray before you make a major decision that will affect you and those you love.

Step Four: Be grateful!

What are you grateful for? Is it that you got up in the morning? Is it that you have a wonderful family? Is it that your smile is FINALLY the way you’ve always thought it should be? Practice having gratitude daily and your attitude will change tremendously!

Step Five: Try Something New

Haven’t done anything new in a while? It’s time! Take a dance class (even if you have two left feet!), read a book a week, tutor a kid in your neighborhood. Get out there and challenge yourself! You’ll feel amazing!

John

So what makes a leader and how can you tap into your leadership potential?

First, it’s important to recognize what leaders ARE NOT. Doing so, we can get all the myths and misconceptions out of the way. For instance, leaders are not any of the items below:

• Leaders are not leaders all the time.
• Leaders are not dictators. There’s a huge difference. (Dictators are, at their very cores, insecure.)
• Leaders are not created by titles. (Call yourself expert, guru, president, Sherpa, whatever – that won’t make you a leader.)
• Leaders are not cruel.
• Leaders are not leading just to gain exposure, finances or power.

Whew! Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s talk about what leaders ARE:

• Leaders are learners.
• Leaders are supporters.
• Leaders are innovators.
• Leaders are observers.
• Leaders are promoters.
• Leaders are humble.
• Leaders are fallible.
• Leaders are mature.
• Leaders are capable of leading in almost any situation.
• Leaders are willing to get out of the way when it makes sense.

So how can you start maximizing your leadership abilities?

In every situation where you’re called upon to be a leader (or you could show leadership skills), evaluate your reasons for taking charge before moving forward.

In other words, contemplate WHY you’re leading. Is it for you, for others… or a mixture of both? Will you be willing and able to take a backseat role if doing so makes sense? Are you able to gracefully accept the criticisms of being the front person?

Every one of us can be a leader in a variety of situations and heaven knows we need more leaders in our world! Take a chance and show your strength of character and conviction today.

John

Rules of Thumb: 52 Truths for Winning at Business Without Losing Your Self

(Pay particular attention to Rule #1!)

3 Butterfingers candy bars. A gift from a patient.

In this video I talk to you “Smilers” about how fear affects our lives and prevents us from the potential of great joy and rewards. I also share a story about a young man who overcame his personal fear and challenged himself with cosmetic dentistry that will change his life.

Enjoy the video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Co44e8jodMQ

This year, I’m going to do something a little extra special, but not for my amazing wife, my incredible family or my talented staff. I’m going to do something, instead, for myself.

I can hear your reaction: “Wait, John! That’s selfish!” But I assure that it’s not. Let me explain…

In order to do something that makes me feel good, I’m going to do something that makes someone else feel good. In other words, I’m going to do a “good deed”. It’s a term we hear bandied about very little these days, and it’s time that we brought it back into our vernacular.

Why does doing a good deed help you in the process? It’s all based in the concept of reaching out to reach inward.  In other words, the more often you look outside of your own needs, the closer you get to who you really are.

And the happier you become.

For instance, if it’s snowing like crazy outside (as happened recently in parts of the northeastern United States), I can shovel my sidewalk and then go inside. What have I learned from the experience? That snow is heavy and it’s hard work to move it from point A to point B! But have I done anything special? Have I really done a “good deed”?

(Now, I suppose you could tell me that I did a good deed in terms of shoveling the walk and driveway for anyone who would need to pass through. However, I really had little choice in the matter; it was a necessity.)

In the end, I would wind up learning very little about myself and would probably not get much from the experience at all.

Yet if I go just a little bit outside myself and do something special, like helping a neighbor with his or her shoveling, too, I’ve turned a rather unexciting occurrence into a chance to do a good deed. In doing so, I’ll probably learn something about myself and wind up feeling satisfied that I was able to impact someone’s life in a small, but nonetheless meaningful, way.

That’s the power of a good deed done with a clean heart and no expectation of quid pro quo.

This weekend, the weekend of cupid, I encourage you to do one good deed. It doesn’t have to be major and it doesn’t have to take much time. It just has to come from a desire to move past your comfort zone a bit and make something easier for another human. I guarantee you’ll get more out of your good deed than you ever imagined possible… and it’ll be a Valentine’s gift to yourself that you can carry for the rest of your life.

In the meantime, I’d like to hear about a good deed you did lately… or even one you did a while ago that makes you smile.

Don’t be shy! I love to hear your comments and I try to respond promply to every one!

John