Imagine a cure-all that helps prevent cancer, weight gain and heart disease… one that can improve memory and athletic performance and even fend off colds.

Now suppose that this panacea is pleasurable. It’s not a daily pill, painful injection or bizarre-tasting tonic. And then imagine that only about 30 percent of you bother to take full advantage of this remedy.

You’ve likely guessed we’re talking about sleep, and you know your body needs it, yet you’re still depriving yourself.

Nearly 60 percent of you log fewer than the seven to eight hours a night that experts say is optimal, according to a recent Self.com poll. Worse, more than 15 percent of you get by on fewer than six.

“Sleep is no different from diet or exercise,” says Carol Ash, D.O., a sleep specialist in Jamesburg, N.J. We know that eating 10 percent more calories a day can add 15-plus pounds to our frame in a year. But we fail to understand that sleeping 10 percent less carries a similar risk for weight gain. In fact, women who sleep five or fewer hours a night are one-third more likely to gain 33 pounds over the next 16 years than those who get seven hours of slumber, the American Journal of Epidemiology reports.

And that’s just for starters. It’s best for our body to cycle through the five sleep stages four or five times a night: The first four stages are key to maintaining healthy metabolism, learning and memory; the fifth (rapid eye movement sleep, or REM) is important for regulating mood and forming emotional memories. Miss a cycle or two and our immune system, heart health, brain function and more can suffer.

Give it a rest! It’s time to get the curative shut-eye you crave.

by Patti Wolter, SELF

DesRoches Leadership Applications Workshop in Chicago

The ACT Dental Community sponsored the fourth annual Leadership Applications Workshop with Dr. Brian DesRoches at the Conrad Hilton in Chicago on February 4 & 5, 2010.  Dr. DesRoches (who specializes in Psychotherapy & Neurobiology) is credited with helping Dr. Frank Spear of the Scottsdale Center for Dentistry in learning about the mechanics and behaviors of the brain and its role in communication within a dental practice.

Dr. DesRoches is a master at teaching and facilitating the neurobiological method/process for transforming the culture of a dental practice. This is especially helpful for dentists who are seeking higher levels of listening, engagement, and fulfillment with their patients, team members, spouses and children.  In complex restorative dentistry the relationships and people management usually pose the biggest challenges and stress.

Dr. DesRoches is a master in facilitation.

Join us in August as Dr. DesRoches will facilitate his “Couples Workshop” for those couples that are looking to deeply enhance their communication process and learn applicable steps to conflict resolution and the science behind them. The course will take place in Minneapolis (limited to 12 people). 

Also mark your calendar for the Advanced Applications in Leadership Course in Chicago on Feb 6 & 7, 2011.   Be sure to get a seat soon!  These courses usually sell out well in advance.  For more information, please speak to Rachael Berman at 800.851.8186.

The week was filled with over 47 speakers, some of the brightest minds in dentistry, all given a challenge to present the newest and most applicable “Tricks of the Trade” in mostly time frames of 60-90 minutes. As a speaker you have to get to the point fast in that kind of time. This year showcased some of the very best inside and outside of dentistry:  John Kois, Avishai Sadan, Michael Fling, William Robbins, Jeffery Rouse, Carl Misch, Lorne Lavine, Maurice Salama, Darrell Cain, Joseph Kan, Jeffery Gitomer and so many more.

Take a peek at 2010’s program (click here). Next year’s SSC Symposium is January 17-22, 2011 at the Ritz Carlton in Key Biscayne, FL.

The Ritz Carlton - Key Biscayne

If you are looking for an amazing community of caring, committed clinicians presented at the highest level I highly suggest attending. I’ll be there. I hope to see you too! To register call the Seattle Study Club at 425.576.8000.

See you in Key Biscayne!

Kirk Behrendt

Pete Dawson shared a concept that has been burning in my brain ever since. He shared with us the Circle of Productivity.

The Circle of Productivity is the red circle (pictured below) that you have to stay in 90% of every day. You don’t always have to be making tooth dust, but you do have to keep a laser beam focus on having conversations and listening to patients about things that are meaningful to that circle.

Dawson's Circle of Productivity

If you feel like you are well below your goals or your days are filled or coated with unproductive residue, chances are you are outside of that circle more than 10% of your day.

Your practice runs at its most efficient level when the dentist is only doing what he or she is licensed to do, which consists of 3 things: Prepping, Diagnosing, or Administering Anesthesia (in some states). When you and your team understand the Circle of Productivity and work hard to make sure this discipline happens daily, you will find that your practice produces at its highest and most efficient levels.

Stay in the circle and away from your email and the front desk. It will make an amazing difference to your life and your numbers.

Have a great week!

Kirk

Coaching dentists over the last 20 years, one thing I have clearly observed is that dentists in their 30’s get tired around 5:00 pm, dentists in their 40’s get tired around 4:00 pm, dentists in their 50’s get tired before 3:00 pm, dentists in their 60’s get tired by 2:00 pm, and if you are in your 70’s you definitely need a nap right after lunch.

The number one thing that dentists don’t plan for is “getting tired.”

When you are young you feel like you can work forever. Fatigue and gravity will soon sneak up on you faster than you bargained for. That’s why it is critical for you to plan on getting tired in your career and to build a business plan and schedule that suits that.

Most dentists do it the other way around and build a building and then let the financial appetite of the practice grow to the point that they have to “feed the monster” every month. Isn’t it funny that this monster always rears its ugly head right before you run payroll?

Build a business model that allows you to be nimble and profitable, so that when your body and life changes, your business can change with it.

I love bumping into the 70-year-old dentists who are still practicing because they love it. A lot of times they tell me they are working because they noticed that when their friends retired from dentistry they usually died.

So it inspires them to work on their own terms, which are: 3 days a week from 7-1, they have a 40% OH, and most importantly they find meaning (or significance) in still serving the hearts of the patients they love. Beats meeting a 70 year old dentist who is still looking for a partner (or someone to buy them out) and most likely will die at the chair.

Life on your own terms is a beautiful thing…try it..I think you might like it.

Kirk

Bright-Shiny-Objects

Running your dental practice requires a lot of energy and focus.

Lately, I have heard a lot from dentists about finding it hard to focus with the amount of work that they have in front of them.  They share that they have charts piling up, systems to write, production to maintain, hygienists to hire, specialists to call and overdue career conferences (reviews) that they have to schedule with team members.  The list goes on forever. 

On top of that, their spouse is calling the practice adding to their “To Do’s” and commitments outside of work are starting to forge their way into much-needed sleep time.

All of these business “To Do’s” are important to the health and vitality of your practice, as much as the personal “To-Do’s” are important to having a happy life.  Getting these disciplines done has become a chore for most dentists.

A major problem in our Attention Deficit World that makes these disciplines harder is BSO’s (Bright-Shiny-Objects).  This problem is especially harmful for dentists. They love BSO’s.  BSO’s don’t nudge you off track…they drag you off track.

BSO’s can be unnecessary email, television shows, too many chocolate chip cookies (my #1 problem), surfing the internet only to forget what you were looking for, People Magazine, new computer equipment, etc. 

BSO’s are shiny in color but lack substance.  They easily distract you from the necessary disciplines that are essential to our everyday lives.  BSO’s can separate spouses, put weight on your body and your schedule, push back deadlines, and add unnecessary debt - but most of all they serve as fake recovery methods for the avoidance of pain (discipline) in our lives.

Be careful of the BSO’s that lack discipline, substance and productivity in your life.

Hope to see you at an event soon!

Kirk

Warren Buffet's 10 Rules posted in Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches

1.  Reinvest your profits. “Even a small sum can turn into great wealth,” Schroeder writes, if you’re disciplined to not touch your profits. Let the power of compound interest work for you.

2.  Be willing to be different. Don’t follow the herd. Do what is best for you and your situation.

3.  Never suck your thumb. Ah, how I could learn from this one. Buffett makes decisions quickly based on the available information. I tend to sit and stew about things. Acting decisively can give you an advantage and prevent procrastination.

4.  Spell out the deal before you start. I stress this all the time: Don’t sign a contract unless you’ve read it (especially not a mortgage). Read the fine print. Understand the what you’re getting yourself into.

5.  Watch small expenses. While it’s true that the big things matter, the little things do too. Frugality is an important part of personal finance. But this principle also applies when investing, which is one reason I’m a fan of low-cost index funds.

6.  Limit what you borrow. “Living on credit cards and loans won’t make you rich,” writes Schroeder. Sure, leverage can get you into a home or a new car, but too much debt is one of the biggest drags on your financial well-being.

7.  Be persistent. If you know what you’re doing is important and right, stick to it. Doggedly pursue your goals. Learn to “fail forward”.

8.  Know when to quit. The other day, I wrote about the danger of the sunk-cost fallacy. Just because you’ve already paid $10 to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, doesn’t mean you should sit through to the end. Be willing to cut your losses and walk away.

9.  Assess the risks. “Asking yourself ‘and then what?’ can help you see all of the possible consequences when you’re struggling to make a decision — and can guide you to the smartest choice.”

10.  Know what success really means. Success is different for each of us. Find what it is that brings meaning to your life, what makes each day important. Make this your focus. Buffett says: “When you get to my age, you’ll measure your success in life by how many of the people you want to have love you actually do love you. That’s the ultimate test of how you’ve lived your life.”

Good advice in any economy!

In 2001, a recent Princeton graduate named Timothy Ferriss started a little company that sold vitamins on the Internet. Things went well, but instead of trying to expand, Ferriss decided to work less, not more. He traveled incessantly and limited himself to just an hour of e-mail a week. He competed in the Tango World Championships in Argentina, he learned break dancing in Berlin, and he tackled juijitsu in Rio de Janeiro. Amazingly, his company did better than ever, which gave Ferriss the idea for a book proposal. Since it’s publication in 2007, The 4-Hour Workweek has become a bestseller and a cult favorite among entrepreneurs, a group not known for their relaxation skills. In the spirit of our January/February cover story–about online dating pioneer Markus Frind, who works just 10 hours a week–Inc.’s Max Chafkin asked Ferriss to tell us the secret of making money while playing hard.

Your book is called The 4-Hour Workweek. What do you mean when you say “work”?

Work is an activity that is financially-driven or one that you’d like to do less of. But it’s important not to take the title literally. The objective of the book is to help people regain control of time.

Your book has been praised by Netscape founder Marc Andreessen and venture capitalist Tim Draper. Why do you think it’s resonated well with hard chargers?

I think they like the idea of eliminating the non-essentials and reestablishing barriers. Many successful people, despite having made hundreds of millions of dollars, are still driven by guilt.

Guilt?

Yes, guilt that you’re not working hard enough. Guilt that you’re being lazy. Guilt that you’re not paying your dues. I’m all for hard work when it’s applied to the right things. But only when it’s applied to the right things.

So how do you get over your guilt?

You need to emotionally condition yourself to the point where you’re comfortable declining almost everything. That can involve media fasts or silence retreats, where you don’t talk for 24-to-48 hours.

Of all the people you’ve encountered since writing the book, who is best at managing his or her time?

Matt Mullenweg of Wordpress. He is very good at reducing situations that most people would perceive as complex to a single important action or question. He’s also a happy guy, which is important. I’m not impressed by ruthless productivity without emotional awareness. Another example is Marc Andreessen. He smiles a lot and he’s very good at saying no. He does it tactfully, concisely, and definitively.

What can an overworked entrepreneur do right now in order to work less?

Do an 80/20 analysis. Identify the 20 percent of activities and clients that produce 80 percent of your revenue, and then the 20 percent of activities and clients that consume 80 percent of your time. Then, set a reminder to pop up on your computer 3 times per day that asks, “Am I being productive or am I just being busy?” Another good activity is to take a piece of paper and list the worst things that could possibly happen. Then list the actions you can take to prevent those things from happening. And then list the ways you can minimize the damage. It’s very empowering to define your worst-case scenario. Entrepreneurs often find themselves paralyzed because of ambiguous fear.

Your book seems to me to be very much a product of boom times. Is it possible to have a good work/life balance in this economy?

To quote one of my favorite producers, Warren Buffett, “Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.” A recession is very bad for publicly traded companies, but it’s the best time for startups. When you have massive layoffs, there’s more competition for available jobs, which means that an entrepreneur can hire freelancers at a lower cost. And as larger companies cut budgets for services like printing, fulfillment, and advertising, you’ll find that service providers cut prices by 30 percent or more. All the infrastructure you need as an entrepreneur is currently available at fire-sale prices.

You seem to bring a pretty rigorous work ethic to your relaxation. Can not working become its own tyranny?

Certainly. If retirement means laying on a beach and rubbing coco butter on your stomach, about 48 hours of that will be enough for most people. You’ll want something new.

Why not just start a bar or a surfing school?

Converting your own passions into a job is the fastest method for eliminating any passion you once had. Let’s say you surf two or three hours every Saturday morning to decompress and it’s the highlight of your week. Now you decide you want to do that fulltime. You’ll find very quickly that once surfing is placed under the heading of “job,” you’ll no longer want to surf.

Inc.’s Small Business Success Newsletter

Life Lesson #7: Cry with someone… it’s more healing than crying alone.

Okay, let’s be honest here.  Everybody cries.  I don’t care if you put on the most macho persona in the world — some day, some time, you’re gonna experience something so sad that it brings you to tears.  And that’s perfectly all right.

However, it seems to me that crying, at least in American society, has been turned into something so private and verboten that many people are forced to hide their sorrow until they can cry in a room or car by themselves.

That’s sad.  (No pun intended.)

See, when you cry alone, you’re really only accomplishing half the goal of crying.  Sure, you’re expressing your feelings, but you’re not really getting anything back except a small sense of relief.  What’s you’re not receiving is a sense that someone else understands what you’re experiencing and is willing to hold your hand through it… and maybe even cry alongside you.

The next time you feel teary-eyed, allow yourself to cry with a trusted person — your spouse, your kids, your best friend.   It’s cathartic beyond belief and makes it that much easier to get beyond your grief.

Life Lesson #6: You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

From the time we’re little kids, we’re slowly encouraged to win.  Everything.

Maybe it happens subtly, as when our parents give us harder hugs for getting a prize than they do when we don’t receive a prize.  (Shouldn’t parents react in the opposite fashion?)  Perhaps it’s quite in-your-face, like when dad broods because a Little League game was lost.  Regardless, we learn to want to win.

And that’s okay.  Sorta.

The problem occurs when we take that “I-must-win-at-all-costs” attitude into every single conversation, especially on the job.  Rather than listening to the other person’s words, we’re plotting our next move to win.

But you know what?  I’m here to tell you that it’s okay to lose an argument.

It’s fine to change your mind or just agree to disagree.  It’s mature, it’s cool and it’s practical.

And you know what?  I’ve discovered that – sometimes — when you lose, you actually win.

• Visit the ActDental website for more inspiration!
• Check Kirk Behrendt out on Twitter!