When you think about practice success everything is defined by numbers, dollars to be exact, and it’s just not a fair comparison. Numbers don’t matter until you have the context around the numbers.
I can say the same thing about the dentistry. You go to any gathering where doctors exist and they all start talking about cases, procedures, and new technology – and none of that matters until you have the context.
They say don’t judge a book by its cover. Well I say don’t judge a practice by its numbers – alone. You get to decide the contents of your own life and practice, regardless of how the wrapper looks to outsiders.
That is why there is so much power in the Four Freedoms – if you are unsure what those Four Freedoms are, you can watch my the full virtual seminar on-demand for free right now – and why the only way to achieve them is by doing things radically different (and better) than everyone else.
If you want more of the same then be just like everyone else. If, on the other hand, you want something more unique then be more unique.
I’ve never understood why someone, especially a doctor, would want to own their own business then just try to be like someone else. The entire reason to do it is to make it your own and use it to create the life you want; not just to have a job where you pay yourself.
And even then, they likely aren’t paying themselves enough. So, what gives? How did they (possibly you), end up here with a practice that mimics every other doctor in town.
It’s because the individuality provided by the Four Freedoms doesn’t happen by accident, it’s not automatic – it only happens by design.
When I talk about the Four Freedoms, these are the things you must design; not just the clinical dentistry and your physical space. You have to design your life, your business, your money, your time, your team, and of course your patients.
I always say that you want to be a doctor who practices on purpose. Perhaps I should change it to say a doctor who practices by design.
And this design is not one out of the cookie cutter mold of the industry or templated by the insurance companies. Most doctors think they have to make a choice between a corporate practice with tons of patients or a small independent practice barely making a living – high volume or no volume, in other words.
Instead of realizing that you can actually design every aspect of your practice to match your vision, to fulfill your potential, and to give you the best of all worlds.
I’ve talked about the math many times and I laid it out precisely in my Radically Better Way To Practice Dentistry Training where I took each of the Four Freedoms and I showed examples of how it all works.
The broader and more important question is why then don’t more doctors design something radically better for themselves versus just continuing to try to incrementally outwork rising inflation, increasing wages, and lower reimbursements.
Most doctors believe that they have to sacrifice less life for more money or choose more life for less money.
Nonsense. You really can choose more life and more money.
It’s counterintuitive, which is why most get it wrong. They are copycats of bad ideas, replicas of unsuccessful models, and imitations of unprosperous people.
Stop delaying your future, your dreams, your desires, and your everything else. If you want it then find a way to make it happen.
So, if it’s actually possible, why do most doctors stay stuck? I will tell the two reasons…
Fear – and – Guilt
Those are the only options when someone decides, “Yes, I want something different,” but then does nothing it takes to deliver on their goals.
Doctors fear lots of things… Success. Failure. Responsibility. Criticism. The list goes on.
Mostly they fear all the “what ifs.” Instead of committing to do whatever it takes to make something happen, they think of all the reasons why it won’t or can’t or shouldn’t – and then they go out to prove themselves right.
If you want to know how to live out the Four Freedoms in your practice and in your life, then answer this question for each of them and then do what must be done to achieve your goals…
“What would you do if you knew you could not fail?!”
With Insurance and Your Fees
With Profit and Your Overhead
With Time and Your Schedule
With Team and Your Culture
How about for your life, your family, your bucket list, your hobbies, your clinical dentistry?
If you expect to have pushback raising your fees and problems dropping insurance then you will. If you think patients will never say yes to comprehensive treatment then you’ll never present it. If you think you can’t limit your hours because you’ll lose patients then you’re right. If you are at the mercy of your team because you are fearful you’ll lose them when things are ‘this bad’ then you will forever be held hostage.
And by the way I cover this in great depth in my Radically Better Way To Practice Dentistry training which you can watch instantly, for free of course, right here…
The next reason was guilt. Does someone feel deserving of what they receive. Guilt is not someone else’s problem, no one can fix that for you. Only you can get rid of it by feeling worthy and being valuable enough that you actually earn greater results.
Good news… you can’t receive what you do not deserve. You can only get what you earn because you earn what you get.
Stop feeling guilty about having a better life, bigger house, nicer car, longer vacations, more exciting memories.
You took all the risk, you put it all on the line, you provide for so many others, and you are the creator of more prosperity than you realize. Be proud of it, find power from it.
Remember this: you having less doesn’t help other people have more. No one will be better off because you are worse off.
In fact, it is always the other way around. The more you have, the more you can give. The more you earned, the more patients you helped. The more you succeed, the more other people benefit. The better off you are, the better off everyone else around you will be.
Guilt is an internal feeling of self-worth. Go to work on yourself and know this: the world, your patients, team, community will only value you insomuch as you value yourself.
Guilt and fear are not just the destroyer of dreams, they simply guarantee the dreams will never become reality. Once you let go of guilt and you dispel fear, you are going to see the path to achieve everything you could ever imagine.
You help other people design their lives through their health. Don’t you think it’s time you put a little more deliberate time and intentionality into designing your own?
And in case you need it, I’m here to help. Smart doctors have taken that cue and allowed me to design their dentistry to fulfill their dreams.
As I’ve said before, what else would the point be if not that.
Answering Your “Radically Better” Questions
After the virtual seminar, I received a number of questions related to the Four Freedoms. I’ve taken some time to record my answers to the first two Freedoms.
Insurance Freedom Questions…
Can you give me some ideas on how to ease into this transition away from insurance?
Specifically, what kinds of things could I do regarding overall patient experience to offset getting or help me get rid of insurance?
How can I get my patients to understand that their health shouldn’t be limited to only what insurance and their co-pays will cover?
Financial Freedom Questions…
How do I respond to the “I’ll think about it” answer a patient gives after hearing the treatment plan?
When I present the treatment plan, what’s the best way to keep health and the investment required linked, yet independent?
What do I do if I’ve finished treatment but the patient stops making payments?
Exactly what should I be expecting from Hygienists when it comes to creating treatment?
How much should I get up front with every treatment plan?
Got more questions? Just reply to this email and I’ll address it in an upcoming video.
