Relationship Status with My Dentist - It's Complicated

This was originally written and posted on 5/11/11. I've reposted due to technical difficulties.

I've been telling my brain for the past few days it's time to get out of mini-vacation mode and back to business. Today is the day it finally decided to listen.

Let me bring you up to speed on a couple of things:

• I had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend in San Antonio with my sister and The Girl. Seventeen years ago on Mother's Day, God blessed me with the most beautiful little girl in the world. She loves to tell people she was "my gift".

• My root canal saga still isn't over. I can't get the impression made for my crown because the ragedy ass tooth is still healing. I'm ready to be done with this already! Despite having to eat mashed potatoes for like a week straight and only being able to chew on the right side of my mouth, I did manage to find a great dentist. And no - he's not paying me to write this, nor do I get a discount of any kind. I have the receipts to prove it.

I was reclined back in the chair watching the Oprah Winfrey Network (the hygienist already had it on my station when I got to room #2 - my room). When Dr. Gupta walked in, the first words out of his mouth weren't, "So...how does that awful cavity invested tooth of yours feel?"

He came in and much to my surprise began the conversation by saying, "Donna - you haven't written a blog in over a week!". What the hell? Who died and made him the blog police?!

Just like any other dumb crimimal would do, I started confessing. Explaining about how I didn't take my computer out of town and I don't have web capabilities on my phone. I truly wanted to be unplugged and connected to my family. Something I intend to do more often.

I know...you want me to answer the burning question, "How did your dentist know you had a blog?" That's not the typical dentist-patient kind of conversation. I'll spell it out for you:

HIS JOB as my dentist is to educate me on his expertise and how that relates to me as his patient. My job is to ask questions so I clearly understand expectations - his and mine. I have to know what he does and why he does it so I can go out and refer business to him. Not because I have a financial incentive to do so, but simply because that's what we as entrepreneurs and small business owners should do. I'm pleased to say that since my initial visit in April, I've sent him seven new patients. That's how exceptional customer experiences and word-of-mouth works. For me at least. If you do a great job and treat me like I matter, I go out and become one of your biggest advocates.

 MY JOB is to find the opportunity to share what I do with anyone who'll listen. I can't dismiss anyone. Meaning, I couldn't say to myself, "Nah..he's my dentist..he could care less if I'm a blogger." I have to toot the horn and not worry about people tuning me out. The checker at Wal-Mart got my autograph in 2008 when I went in to buy copies of Redbook magazine. I bought about 10 of them and he asked why I was buying so many. Not only did I tell him I was in the magazine, I held up the line and flipped to my feature and showed him.

You miss out on opportunities when you judge and over analyze. You miss out on opportunities when you allow fear of rejection to consume you. You never know when that one person you tell is going to be the person. The person who takes you from almost famous to an eleven-year overnight success.

photo: United Planet