Firstly, I read Seth Godin’s blog every day.
I suggest you subscribe to it right now and receive it in your inbox everyday and get into a habit of reading it.
The blog I read today is called Patient Capital: How long is the long run.
Click the link above and read it, he wrote it for me specifically on the 9th January.
(Of course he didn’t write it for me, but it felt like he had).
I am not trying to make a return on capital for today.
I am not trying to make money today, to spend today, on stuff that I will forget tomorrow.
Sometimes it takes Seth’s blog to remind me of that and sometimes it takes a dog walk or a story from my Wife’s work.
So, that was number one. Number two, three and four, help tell the story of number one.
Two –
I received an email today, just before I read Seth’s blog from a young dentist who came to do part of their elective at our practice, perhaps 2 years ago, in truth I had forgotten about him or at least he was out of my mind for a while.
He would like to come back to the practice to see how we manage to balance a private dental practice and ethics because everybody else who does it, he think, doesn’t get it right.
We have influenced his career and helped him to go into a direction that is better for everyone else and not worse.
I told him that I am not sure I do balance things, but he is welcome to come back again anytime to see and to make a judgment for himself.
Three –
Some while ago (I cannot remember how long, maybe 2 years ago) I went to interview students at a local secondary school who were keen to be dentists.
The guidance teacher came to me at the start of the evening and pointed out one particular student who was mulling around, she said that there was a high chance that he would go “off the track” but she felt that he also had the chance to be brilliant if he had some guidance.
I interviewed him and told him that, straight to his face, no messing about, no mincing the words.
I told him to come and see us at our practice if he dared to see what would happen.
I told him that most of the people in the room could become good dentists, but he could become brilliant and change the world.
He emailed me this week and told me that he has an interview for one of the dental schools.
Finally –
I was walking my dog in the dark a few days ago.
She passed the entrance to a field which was too muddy to go on and someone was coming down the track.
I didn’t really want to speak to anyone else that day so I told her to walk on, but she sat down and looked and waited for the person down the track, it turned out it was one of my friends (who I know well) who was with his dogs, who I would’ve wanted to speak to and it made me laugh out loud and I told him that, I told him that Isla must have known.
(Isla is my dog obviously).
We walked up the lane a short way where he told me that the 12 days of Christmas blogs changed his life……
He told me that he had been anguishing and the discussions about insanity muscle and the little club that I have with my friend Carl inspired him to contact one of his friends who was in difficulty.
He then decided to set up a little thing where they go running on a Sunday again, because it used to be good when they were younger and he felt it would help his friend (and him) out.
He couldn’t thank me enough for what I had written and I told him I was amazed because I thought I had thrown those together in rush before the Christmas holidays.
He has also independently told my children the same thing.
Do you see it?
Do you see how the little things you do and the tiny acts of kindness causes a ripple effect which become bigger and bigger until they make a dent.
Sign up to Seth, he will help you do that.
Blog Post Number - 2257
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