“The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.” - Warren Buffett I’ve watched countless dentists waste years chasing skills that don’t matter. They’re everywhere. At every conference. Every study club. Every weekend course. Learning everything. Mastering nothing. Wondering why their income stays stuck. Meanwhile, I’ve been ruthlessly selective from day one about what I develop and what I ignore. Not because...
8 days ago • 13 min read
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." - Albert Einstein I lost a $56,000 full arch case because of a conversation I never heard. The consult went perfectly. Patient understood the treatment. Loved the outcome photos. Was excited about moving forward. Left saying “I just need to discuss with my wife.” Three days later, they cancelled. Went with another practice. I was confused. The case presentation was solid. The clinical explanation was thorough. The pricing...
15 days ago • 13 min read
“You can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore before you decide to be happy.” - Nightbirde I was terrified before placing my first implant. Properly terrified. Hands shaking. Heart racing. That voice in my head screaming “you’re not ready for this.” I’d done the courses. Practiced on models. Observed cases. Had a mentor reviewing my treatment plan. The case was ideal. Single posterior implant. Perfect bone. Low risk. On paper, I was as ready as you can be for a first case. But I didn’t feel...
29 days ago • 10 min read
“Success is not always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.” - Dwayne Johnson I almost quit six months into building my first practice. Not because it was failing. Because I’d lost momentum. The initial rush of opening had worn off. The honeymoon period with new systems had ended. I was grinding through the messy middle where nothing felt exciting anymore. Revenue was plateauing around $150,000 monthly. Not terrible. Not great....
about 1 month ago • 13 min read
"We cannot become what we want by remaining what we are." - Max DePree I've never seen myself as "just a dentist." From day one, I understood I was running a business that happened to deliver dental services. Not a clinician who reluctantly dealt with business stuff. That distinction completely changed my trajectory. While my peers were figuring out how to be better technicians, I was studying business models, patient psychology, revenue optimisation, and leverage. Not because I was smarter....
about 1 month ago • 15 min read
“A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” - John A. Shedd I nearly walked out of my first implant surgery course. Not because it was bad. Because I was fearful. We were about to start hands-on work on models, and I could feel my hands shaking. Everyone else looked calm, confident, ready. I felt like an imposter who’d accidentally wandered into the wrong room. I remember standing outside during the break, seriously considering just leaving. Making up some excuse...
about 2 months ago • 14 min read
“The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it.” - W.M. Lewis I watched a patient walk out last week knowing I’d see him again in six months with a fractured tooth that could have been prevented. I’d explained the crack. Showed him the radiograph. Discussed the treatment options. He understood everything perfectly. “Makes sense,” he said. “Let me schedule that crown when I have more time.” He wasn’t objecting to the treatment. He wasn’t questioning the...
about 2 months ago • 13 min read
“People don’t decide their futures, they decide their habits and their habits decide their futures.” - F.M. Alexander I lost a $65,000 full arch case last year because I explained the treatment perfectly. Let me say that again: I lost the case because my clinical explanation was flawless. I showed him the failing teeth. Explained the progressive bone loss. Detailed the implant protocol. Discussed material options. Outlined the timeline. Presented the investment clearly. He understood...
2 months ago • 14 min read
"Your reputation precedes you, but only if you systematically engineer it to." - Anonymous Ten months ago, I changed one thing about how I practise dentistry. I didn't get better clinically. I didn't upgrade equipment. I didn't hire a marketing agency or start running ads. I just started documenting my cases properly and deploying them across multiple channels. That's it. In those ten months, I've had patients drive 90 minutes from outside Brisbane specifically to see me. People show up to...
3 months ago • 8 min read