Last week I told you about our garden clearing and fence work that we were undertaking at our farm.
We’ve owned the farm as a second residence for six years, but after selling our big Sydney home late last year we recently moved there to live there full time [which was always the plan].
The garden around the house at the farm was always private and secluded, with the house being positioned away from the road.
But some of the fences around this garden were in need of replacement. These fences separated the cattle paddocks from the garden, but had weakened with the passing of the years, and had also been allowed to “disappear” and be absorbed into some unmown sections of grass, lawn, and pasture.
In combination, Doug [the fence guy] and Dan [the arborist] and Jayne and I discussed the replacement and repositioning of some fences, as well as the tidying up of the garden area….
In Dan’s words, we were going to:
“Lift the canopy”
“Remove unnecessary and damaged trees”
“Remove widow-makers and other dangerous limbs”
And, following this, we would then be able to reassess where exactly we wanted to reposition any fencing.
The end result:
Rationalisation of the garden area and fences then occurred. This allowed us to perform an “exchange” of sorts , returning an un-used vegetable garden back into pasture, in exchange for a small expansion of the “quiet” garden area into another area of cattle paddock.
The end result?
As owners, Jayne and I now have clarity, following the clearing and re-assessment, of exactly what we can achieve in terms of the landscaping and of the architecture possible in creating a far more beautiful garden.
The “space” created by clearing, has allowed us to “walk the grounds” and really visualize the possibilities of what was really never ever imaginable.
It’s interesting, because the whole process was really a case of “trusting the force”.
Neither Jayne nor I could have imagined what a beautiful landscape we actually had there that had been allowed to become and to stay overgrown and unmanaged.
And we had allowed that to happen primarily because of our inherent fear of change.
“What if it looks bad?”
“What if he cuts off too much?”
We had to let go.
We had to show some faith.
And so we did.
And the change, the immediate change, is palpable.
Our garden is still a long way from being finished, but we now have a far greater understanding of what is possible, because we allowed someone with knowledge and vision to start revealing the beautiful swan that was hidden beneath our ugly duckling.
And….
How does this relate to dental?
Sometimes as practice owners, we don’t know what our practices can become because we are too “set” in our ways about what our practices have done so far.
And our opportunities then become lost.
Sometimes as practice owners, we know that we have a practice with potential, and even though we may know a “dental arborist” who can see exactly what our practice can achieve and become, we do not “listen” to our arborist and so one year from now, or two years from now, we end up with more overgrowth and more encroachment, and we feel more strangulation and entrapment.
And yet flipping the switch, and allowing the arborist to do his job, can truly be enlightening.
Is your dental practice in need of a chainsaw and a breath of fresh air?
Wasted potential is one of life’s biggest tragedies.
Opportunities not taken, and regrets of opportunities never acted upon, are two more of the real tragedies in life.
Having regrets about what might have been, or having regrets for never giving something a true go…these are feelings that can haunt our souls for long periods of time.
Sadly, some people cannot see the forest for the trees.
Letting a chance go past, without grabbing it with both hands and giving it time to truly blossom, and show… now therein lies a true tragedy.
With your practice, with your life, with your garden…. You must explore all possibilities.
And never say never.
Not without at least trying to see the depths of opportunity that stand in front of you.
Life is too short to not explore the opportunities of expansion and true growth…
*****
Linda Miles is coming to Australia in August.
Don’t miss this once in a life-time opportunity to see and hear Linda speak first hand…
*****
Need your phones monitored?
Are you concerned about the number of calls that are not being answered as best they can be?
You need Call Tracking Excellence.
For the cost of a less than one cleaning per week, you could have your phones being answered much much better….
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Call Jayne on 1300 387 044or email Jayne@theDPE.com for more details.
*****
Make sure you subscribe to my monthly Dental Water Cooler Podcast Series…. “The Ultimate Patient Experience”
Click on this link for all details
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Have you read my book , How To Build The Dental Practice of Your Dreams [Without Killing Yourself!] In Less Than Sixty Days.
You can order your copy here: Click Link To Order
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The Ultimate Patient Experience is a simple to build complete Customer Service system in itself that I developed that allowed me to create an extraordinary dental office in an ordinary Sydney suburb. If you’d like to know more, ask me about my free special report.
Email me at david@theupe.com
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