As you think, you travel; and as you love, you attract. You are today where your thoughts take you. You cannot escape the results of your thoughts, but you can endure and learn; can accept and be at peace. You will realize the vision (not the idle wish) of your heart, be it base or beautiful, or a mixture of both, for you will always gravitate toward that which you secretly most love. Into your hands will be placed the exact results of your thoughts; you will receive that which you earn — no more, no less. Whatever your present environment may be, you will fail, remain, or rise with your thoughts, your vision your ideal. You will become as small as your controlling desire; as great as your dominant aspiration.

Law of Attraction

Law of attraction says that all your thoughts, all images in your mind, and all the feelings connected to your thoughts will later manifest as your reality. In other words; everything you have in your life now has been attracted to you through thoughts in your mind.

Understanding And “Consciously” Implementing The Power Of Thought

If you would like to read the entire article on The Power of Thought please visit our website at: www.schustercenter.com, click on FREE NEWSLETTER link for our complimentary subscription to our bi-monthly newsletter, The Schuster Perspective. Every 2 months you will receive our newsletter via a .pdf file that you can download and read at your leisure. We cover dental management, investing in a troubled time, doubling your net profits, dental team development, case presentation and much more. If you are new to our blog site, please take a look at us while you’re on the website for our schedule of events and seminars throughout the United States. 3.5 AGD credit hours apply to any attended event sponsored by The Schuster Center.

Employees ARE Assets – NOT Liabilities!

I received a wake-up cup of coffee in the form of a direct mail “letter” and I simply am compelled to respond. Normally, I can’t take the time to read a 4-page formatted letter, but since if was from one of our wannabe competitors, I was curious. Then by the 4th page, I was downright appalled at his message to dentists to FORSAKE your employees so you can make ALL THE MONEY and that money is the ONLY IMPORTANT thing!

If ever someone had something so wrong, this letter is a perfect example. I hope his direct mailing list was short because I don’t want to think of the damage this may have done to the profession we represent and their employees!

If there’s coffee in the cup that this letter is serving, it’s straight black with no cream and definitely no sugar! In fact, it was brewed in a witches cauldron along with toad’s ears and snake tails.

BEWARE Dentists! Don’t drink it!

The old adage, “You get what you pay for!” is repeated in the book referring to employees of a business in, The Vital Corporation, by Garry Jacobs and Robert MacFarlane. I suggest that the direct mailer of whom I’ve been referring, read at least Chapter Nine, Energizing Your People: An Inexhaustible Resource, before sending out any more coffee cup letters of this nature.

I know times are tough – very tough – right now. But below is just common sense information:

No matter what business you’re in (even dentistry), models and protocol must be followed for a business to be successful. All business owners want to make money and create a sustainable business because they “love” their business and spend so much time in the office working at it. It’s gratifying and rewarding to do something you love and get paid for it. Making money makes the business run, which makes the owner happy and successful.

But for God’s sake, don’t do it on the backs of your employees – as the direct mail piece I received suggests! The fellow who wrote this must be a direct descendant of Ebenezer Scrooge. He argues that YOU are in business solely to make money and therefore reward yourself first, the employees can have the crumbs. “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”

Well, if you are in business only to make money for yourself, then ask the man or woman business owner who is having problems why he or she has now started putting his/her personal money back into the business to keep it going? Why he hasn’t fired every employee but keeps them on because in tough times – a company needs to pull together, not apart.

To be a “smart” business owner you must look at your employees as “assets” – not “liabilities”. Freezing pay raises and raising only employees whose performance you deem “beneficial” is blind bigotry and frankly stupid. If people don’t perform then you know what you have to do. If you keep them, they deserve raises.

How do you think your employees will feel when they do not get raises or see some “favorites” getting raises? Then, to add insult to injury, you drive up in your brand new mercedes, talk about your vacation home, new boat, etc. while they are driving 10-year-old cars and can’t buy the things they need for their children because you tell them the business can’t afford to give them a raise? Apparently, the business can afford to give YOU everything YOU want!

How disgruntled do you think they might get? How much goodwill do you think is going to be spread in the office and even to your patients? How soon do you think their work habits are going to deteriorate – resentment taking over instead of friendship and camaraderie?

In a service business you are “in service” to others. In dentistry you are very much “in service” to others. Dentists should be astounded at their ability to help someone whose health may be failing; as well as educate them on the importance of systemic whole-body health which includes a healthy mouth.

The employee of a dental practice is there to help as well. Health care professionals aren’t simply in health care for the money. And if they are, they shouldn’t be. A dentist must also educate his employees and reward them. The dentist, or business owner, can sure make the big bucks, but he must be willing to share a piece of the pie.

Can you hug your mercedes? Car manufacturers don’t make them as one-seaters. Must be they expect you to share with family, friends and those you love; and IF you’re a good business owner, you will begin to love your employees.

Author’s Note: “I’ve been there, I know!”: Prior to working in-house for The Schuster Center starting in 1998 (the Center was one of my clients since 1981), I owned a graphic design business employing an office of 8. All worked for me and my business partner for 10 to 14 years. As the traditional graphic design studio lost clients to the electronic age of “in-house” computers for graphic design, many graphic arts industries failed to grasp the rapid technological changes taking place. When this happened in my business and as clients dwindled and revenues declined, some of my employees chose to move out-of-state or retire. I found jobs for the rest. I still receive thank you notes, text messages and phone calls from most of them every so often. One, who was my office manager for 14 years and now lives in Denver, became a best and life-long friend.

Brenda Penwell, President

25 years with The Schuster Center! Whew! That blew by fast!!!

Congrats go out to our own Brenda Penwell, President and CFO of The Schuster Center. She just celebrated 25 years with the company!

Brenda has worked tirelessly over the years to help create the vision of Dr. Michael Schuster as The Schuster Center endeavors to “spread the word” in helping dentists throughout the country reach their full and limitless practice potential.

Brenda has been instrumental in helping develop our Dental Management Program. She developed our Life Planning program. She teaches and travels, lecturing dentists throughout the country on how to successfully manage a dental practice. She also teaches team development and keeps a sharp eye on our company finances and management. In other words, one busy woman!

Brenda’s office was filled with streamers and balloons when she arrived to work. It was decorated so gorgeously by two of our staff members it looked as if we had hired an event planner to stage it. Pictured is Brenda amidst her blow-up balloon numbers 2 and 5. Everything done is silver – naturally.

The staff greeted her with flowers and cards. Dr. Schuster may have slipped her a new Mercedes but we haven’t seen it yet. Of course, I don’t think Brenda would give up her classic 1980 SL450 – silver naturally. (She plans ahead!)

Only thing that hasn’t gone silver around Brenda is her hair – clever girl! Stay young, stay strong, we need you and love you. Now where is that gold Mercedes for the 50th coming up?

The economic slowdown has created a general sense of insecurity and restlessness. It is often during the hardest times, rather than the most peaceful times that you find a purpose that gives you meaning. As dentists and business owners, purpose and peace must prevail. Albert Einstein once said of life, “It’s simple, but not easy.”

Every day brings a choice: to practice stress or to practice peace. Finding inner peace does not require hours of daily practice. You don’t have to stand on your head or sit in a meditative position. All it takes is a little willingness and common sense. Life is a precious gift to be savored, not an endless series of chores to complete while you complain about your “practice life.” Remember, your to-do list is immortal. It will live on long after you are gone.

It is impractical to believe that peace is some distant goal, attainable only by a few fortunate souls blessed with good genes, superior brain chemistry, plenty of money, or a calling to become a monk. Peace has not deserted even the craziest and busiest among us. The most basic fact about being human is that peace is our own true nature, our fundamental state of mind. There is a Buddhist saying that peace is like a sun that’s always shining in your heart. It’s just hidden behind clouds of fear, doubt, worry, and desire that continually orient you towards the past or future. The sun comes out only when you’re in the present moment.

The happiest and most productive people are passionate about life. They radiate an infectious enthusiasm that makes “business” a pleasure rather than a problem. Passion focuses your personal energy. Without purpose, energy tends to remain scattered. Periods of letting go are also critical to the creative process. The history of invention and discovery are filled with stories of people who work with enthusiasm, but can’t quite get to that “Aha!” The answer usually comes when they stop thinking and striving. Einstein had his greatest “Aha!” (related to his theory of relativity) while sailing on a boat one weekend after spending many fruitless weeks laboring in his study.

One workable strategy for maintaining peace (sometimes defined as productivity and profitability) over the long haul is to learn how to relax and take care of yourself. There are literally thousands of ways to relax. This week put aside an hour a day to relax in whatever you enjoy. You will find that instead of constricting the amount of time available for you to get things done, the day will seem to unfold in a more languorous, spacious way. The to-do list will still get done, and you will live to tell about it.

Learn to take care of yourself. Think of a person whom you love and respect. For the next week, each time you forget to take care of yourself, pretend that someone dear and precious lives inside you. Honor that person; treat them with all the respect they deserve. If you adopt this daily practice, little by little a strange and wonderful transformation will occur. You will remember how to be good to yourself. And you will experience how much more creative and productive you are when you know you are worthy of your own care and love.

Peace is not a distant goal. It is already within you. Release the sunlight of your spirit by learning to relax and take care of yourself. Practice peace – you’re worth it!

Okay, I’m writing a book (of several individual stories). Isn’t everyone? It’s a book for children ages 1 to 99. I consider myself 12 even though chronologically you can add 50 years! Seriously, don’t we all think we’re about 18 even though some of us might be much older? I don’t think the “kid” spirit ever leaves us.

Back to my book: One of the stories in it is the story of a “miracle” of two ocean creatures who are very different yet become friends by dreaming like-minded dreams and helping one another. They each had a dream of leaving the ocean to see the rest of the world. The problem: they didn’t think they could breathe the air; but, as anything can happen in a story, they made it – leaving the ocean behind – for a spectacular adventure – because they believed in miracles.

I also recently watched a movie (chick-flick as you guys call it) called “Leaving Normal” with Meg Tilly and Christine Lahti. It is older, released in 1992. Again, about two very different types of people which somehow manage to bond on a long trip across the USA, ending up in Alaska. Sometimes by fate or accident, miracles do happen and people help one another by just being themselves – mistakes and all.

Miracles happen every day around us, in every way if we just look – in the air we breathe, the beauty on this fantastic planet – our ever changing sky, brilliant sun and twinkling stars – the variation and colors of our plants and flowers, animals and insects. Also in the miracle of birth, the way we love one another and react to each other on this home – our planet.

So why do we just seem to hear only the bad news most of the time? That sensationalism and fascination with crime and corruption are the mainstays of today. Why not choose to ignore the bad and only publish the “good” people do for one other? Why does it appear that we have lost our way?

Many say our moral compass has lost its “N”, “S”, “E” and “W” (Normalcy, Sensitivity, Ethics and Wisdom); that the compass needle only points to the letter “G” for Greed. Have our intrinsic values, morals and ethics been stripped away because we keep wanting more, more, and yet more? Are we now moving so fast due to technological advancements that we don’t have time to stop and think about what is really important in life? Missing the miracles happening in our own lives?

Some of us older folks point fingers at the younger ones at the lack of integrity we see. But it wasn’t too long ago that other older folks pointed fingers at us – the baby boomers – who shed the trappings of government and social mores for sex, drugs and rock’n’roll – so we were told. Well somehow, a heck of a lot of us out there made it through that time. So, I think you younger ones will, too.

Problem is you are destined to make the same mistakes we did. First, we gave it all up. Then we worked ourselves silly to try to get it all back and then some. But who are the ones who are remembered in our history? The one’s who “had a dream” like Martin Luther King. The one’s who helped the poor and lived without anything, like Mother Teresa. And yes, Jesus, who preached peace from within, love of one another, it’s better to give than receive, seek and find spirituality, not materiality.

In a society where FREEDOM is among the biggest blessings we have in our beloved country, how do we not get into the trappings of CAPITALISM that plays a huge part in our economic system? The tone has been set since we were all very young: One can have anything if we work hard enough, believe in it hard enough and sacrifice family, friends and peace of mind to work tirelessly behind the grindstone.

This is true of all of us. What does it mean for you, as a dentist – years of schooling, marriage, children, family, friends and now a practice and patients? All seemed quite the “American dream”. Small practice in the beginning, then more chairs, then a move to a new practice, maybe you bought a building – huge, shiny new office, more patients, more employees, bigger is better right?

Large dollars coming in, large dollars going out, a new home, vacation home, fancy cars, children’s education, boat, CE classes, specialized training, big expensive vacations – dollars getting stretched? Those larger dollars beginning to look like monopoly money? Do you feel like the conduit for receiving money and passing it on for bill payments, with nothing much going into your pocket or a savings plan and no quality time for family and loved ones?

Whoops! You’re on the fast track, or, what we like to call, the “fake” track. You’ve made your bed and you thought you were happy in it. Now, some years have gone by. You’ve missed special children’s events; a soccer or softball game, a play, maybe your child’s first baby steps, maybe even a divorce under your belt. And every day you have to go to work to feed that large monster you’ve created – your “American monster dream”. What on earth are you going to do now? You can’t think about retirement let alone plan for it. You’ve got too much debt, too many responsibilities. You’re not happy because you know you can do better dentistry and help you patients but you don’t have the time to apply what you’ve learned. It’s sitting on the shelf along with your life!

And what about your patients? Well, they lose out completely.

Maybe you hired a consultant or two to help you. They came in, assessed your needs, told you what to do, gave you a big fancy binder full of “how-to’s” and then drove off with their check. Where did you start? Oh, you didn’t – same old, same old?

If all of the above sounds pretty “right on” do you want a really true, honest to God answer on how to fix this mess? Are you willing to work as hard to get out of this mess as you were to get yourself into it? Are you ready to be honest with yourself and look at what really is important in your life? Are you willing to have your feet held to the fire by a coaching department who will do just that?

Are you willing to take back your life and this time enjoy it?

The answer: The Schuster Center.

We are a “business school for dentists”, but not only that. We are people who help people – all different kinds of people from all over the United States. We care and we guarantee your success. We have the numbers to prove it and the years behind us – all 32 of them. We’re a place with good people work for the benefit of others. We’re not working out of our car, using other people’s material – we’ve created our own.

How did I, a graphic artist and sometimes writer, get involved with Dr. Michael Schuster? By fate and accident – about 29 years ago he walked into my business office – two unlikely people who would probably never have crossed paths. Yet here we are, creating a better life for dentists each in our very different way and watching this process work for thousands of dentists who believed in miracles.

Yes, I’ve seen many miracles here. Want to be one?

We are told all of the time that we are the best kept secret out there. We don’t mean to be. We’re a small company who just cares about helping dentists. That’s Dr. Michael Schuster’s vision. He has a story and he wants you to hear it if you’re tired of the rat race and want to DOUBLE YOUR NET PROFIT while simplifying your life. Believe in miracles, be a kid – find your joie de vivre – again!

God Bless,
Happy New Life!
Vicki

P.S. Write me if you want more information about Dr. Michael Schuster and The Schuster Center. Or see our website at www.SchusterCenter.com and make up your own mind. Make sure you go to the testimonial section and listen to what others have said about us. We have to “toot” our own horn a lot of times, but it’s sure nice when others decide to do it for us! (vicki@cfpd.com)

Silver in the hair, gold in the teeth.

Stones in the kidneys, sugar in the blood.

Lead in the feet, Titanium in the joints.

Iron in the arteries, and an inexhaustible supply of natural gas.

I never thought I’d accumulate such Wealth!

–The Schuster Center offers serious practice management education, but occasionally enjoys a good laugh or two.

On the wall in our coaching department hangs a quote from Einstein–

Three Rules of Work:

Out of clutter, find simplicity

From discord, find harmony

In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.

I pass by it every day many times, but today I stopped to read it.  I was waiting to speak with Dr. Schuster while he was taking time for discussion with someone else.  The wait caused me to stop and look up and there was this sign on the wall that I see every day.  Today it jumped out at me.  It said, “Read me!” so I did. More than that, it begged me to take heed so I am.  I am trying.

It is always this time of year as the holidays approach that life can get hectic, and schedules can fall apart, and ahhhh…stress enters the once calm life!  How does that happen?  Is it the clutter of life?  How can I find simplicity?  Am I in discord?  How can I find harmony?  Will my difficulty really bring opportunity?

The holiday season should bring joy and celebration. Yet instead it brings frazzled nerves and crazy emotions.  There are three areas that trigger this holiday stress: Finances, Relationships, and Physical Demands.  Relationship stress has a way of boiling over during the holidays as our expectations succumb to disappointment.  The cost of travel, entertainment, and gift giving leads to overextending the budget.  The commitment to all of the holiday events along with the guilt of eating all those holiday sweets surely taxes our physical well-being.

All this stress doesn’t have to rob you of your joy this holiday season.  Prepare yourself spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically before the stress arrives so you will be able to ward it off ahead of time.  When it comes to relationships, you are only in control of yourself.  Come into relationships with no expectation from the other person.  Give your family and loved ones some slack and if you are feeling down, talk with a trusted friend.  Get counseling to find some strategies to help you cope.  Take your finances seriously and plan for the holidays in your budget.  Set monetary limits on gift giving and consider giving to charity in someone’s honor as an alternative gift.  To maintain your physical well-being, keep your exercise routine or start one if you haven’t had one recently.  Eat those holiday sweets in moderation and get outside for some fresh air. Remind yourself that it is okay to say “no” sometimes so that you are not over-committed.

Recharge your inner spiritual batteries.  Take the time to read, pray, meditate, listen to music or just take a power nap.  Remember the “Reason for the Season!”  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7)  Put the Lord first this Christmas.  You will find this is the best “de-stressor” of all time.

Barb Stackhouse

(Special thanks to Family Life Radio for their Inspirational Messages)

As I pulled into the parking lot today, I noticed the flowers blooming on our shrubs outside The Schuster Center.  I am reminded of the beauty that surrounds me on a daily basis and how sometimes I miss the beauty because of being too busy.  I love the outdoors and I love planting and growing things.  I guess you can never take the farmer out of the girl from Indiana.

The garden in my backyard is growing and I will soon have vegetables for some healthy meals.  While the rest of the country is preparing for winter and gathering their final crops, here I am planting a new garden and waiting for the harvest.  In this part of Arizona we have a spring garden and a fall garden.  The summer is too hot for the garden and everything dies off.

Just like our lives and perhaps your dental practice, in order for new life to spring forth, a period of dieing off must happen.  We have to be willing to end the “old way” to make room for the new.  Have you gathered the harvest and begun the planting process for the new to come?  If you are seeking change, a plan for transition is needed.  Happy gardening and Happy creating!

Barb Stackhouse, RDH, M.Ed.

Practice Development Coach and Faculty Member
The Schuster Center

Fear of Success is evidenced in all human behavior.  It is insidious, unconscious and evidences itself in how the vast majority of us SELF-SABOTAGE almost every good thing we attempt to do.  A book that is by my bedside, (to remind me of how procrastination is a form of SELF-SABOTAGE)  The War of Art, is so important that we all have to be reminded every day how our own ‘self talk’ prevents us from accomplishing what is most important to us.

 “It’s to our own self benefit that we become the best human beings we can become.”

Just think of the excuses we dentists can trump up in our minds for:

• Not working out
• Not eating the right foods
• Not taking that drink of alcohol
• Not smoking that cigarette
• Not saving money

This is simply amazing. The major reason that so many of us have problems overcoming the Fear of Success is that we don’t believe we deserve SUCCESS.  Ask yourself:

• Why do we start something good and then don’t finish it?
• Why do we start a weight loss program and gain the weight again? 
• Why do we save money and then lose it?
• Why do so many really high income actors invest their money and lose it?
• Why do great athletes or star performers have a great run of success and then end up in alcohol or drug rehab?
• Why do so many politicians, seemingly on top of the world from a power, prestige and character standpoint, end up caught cheating on their wives?
• Why do so many people do great in business only to end up in failure.  (Read the Introduction to The Science of Creating Wealth™)

Right in front of your eyes you see dentists SABOTAGING themselves in every arena of life.  Why?  The reason WHY is primarily because: “You don’t think you deserve it.”

Fear of Success is in the Unconscious Mind. To conquer the Fear of Success, you must be aware that it exists.

• To lick it I must be aware of my ‘self-talk’.
• Background – Family of origin and what was said to you when you were growing up
• Any past failures are imbedded in our subconscious mind and often block us from creating the success we want in any arena. 
• We also rate ourselves in various arenas in our lives.  These ratings are mostly unconscious and often limit the perception of our success.
• In other words, no matter what we accomplish or achieve, it is never enough.  If I don’t think I’m successful, then I’m not.

Fear of Success is just as paralyzing as Fear of Failure.  Many dentists fear SUCCESS because it tests their current limits and makes them vulnerable to new situations.  Even worse, trying something new exposes weaknesses and forces us to deal with our inadequacies. Success at anything always involves changing something, usually the way we think. Often Success involves new responsibilities and new challenges that threaten our safety.

If you think Fear of Success isn’t important, then ask yourself why you continue to procrastinate in:

• Starting a long overdue program of business improvement for your practice
• Starting an exercise program of working out an hour every day
• Initiating a savings and investment program that ensures you won’t lose money
• Taking a long overdue Sales Course for the dental practice
• Focusing on how you can be more productive both personally and professionally as a dentist

Fear of Failure and Fear of Success are two of the most dominate unconscious forces in all of our lives. No one is exempt. More important than all little tricks to work on your mind is this single thought…

No matter how successful you or I become at anything, if we don’t believe in our hearts and souls that we deserve it:

1) We’ll never start whatever we need to start.

2) We’ll get half way through it and quit.

3) We’ll achieve SUCCESS and reverse it.

Amazing isn’t it? Just how much in believing We Deserve It! impacts our entire life. Whether we START, or START AND QUIT or START, GET IT and REVERSE our SUCCESS is all dependent on whether we think we DESERVE IT OR NOT!

Although many dentists and team members plan and make goals for their practices, many don’t operate their households with a planned goal. In trying to survive from week to week and from month to month, many people overlook an important personal management tool – budgeting. Would you ever go backpacking into the Arizona desert in July, without determining what supplies you might need? Of course you wouldn’t. Then why would you take one of your most important adventures, starting or managing your home finances, without a clear picture of what’s ahead and what resources you will need to get there?

The objective of the fiscal responsibility is to teach you how to manage your professional and personal monies. Budgeting can give you a map of expenses that are known and help you plan for expenses that cannot be anticipated.

Once you have all of your figures together, you have to start asking questions such as: How much control do I place on my spending each month to achieve the desired profit? What purchases are coming up for me in the future? Can I afford to take my vacation this year?

Once you have completed you budget you will have one of the most effective personal management tools of all – something that you can use each month to check your progress in achieving your personal dreams.

In its simplest form, a budget is a detailed plan of future receipts and expenditures. Right from the start you can validate the activities that you have planned for the coming year. Knowing what your personal activities cost and when such expenses will occur will help prevent any unexpected surprises that could lead to financial problems.

Once the period for which you have budgeted is completed, you can compare actual results with anticipated goals. Get into the habit of making this a regular part of your personal routine. You may find it takes discipline at first, but the rewards are high. You don’t have to do anything elaborate, just a simple comparison of your budgeted figures to your actual results. Then begin by asking yourself “why” they are different. Were your expenses higher than you anticipated? If so, do you need to look for ways to cut costs? Don’t blame the budget, use the information constructively and improve your budget the next time around.

The next step in preparing a budget is to determine whether you can achieve your personal profit goals. To do this, you must project your fixed costs and your variable costs. From these three figures, targeted profit, fixed expenses, and variable expenses you can determine your required level of income.

Fixed expenses are those costs that regardless of personal income generally stay the same. Several examples are mortgage payment, insurance, car payments etc.

Variable expenses vary with income. Several examples would be entertainment, travel, groceries, and clothing.

During the year the budget provides you with one of the most important personal financial management tools. For example, by looking at the year you can anticipate peak periods and months where personal profits may be restricted. It helps you anticipate your schedule better so you can make good decisions about special personal purchases or activities.

Through the process of budgeting, you will gain greater self-awareness by developing a deeper understanding of your cash flow needs. This will lead to improved personal performance and an enhanced quality of life. Through this process you will become more self-aware and committed to take action in route to your personal financial success.