Recently I attended the ADA meeting in Las Vegas and prior to the annual session for the ADA was our annual meeting for the ADMC. (Academy of Dental Management Consultants) Our keynote speaker this year was Mr. Bill Rancic. He will always be one of the best speakers I have ever heard speak!

Maybe you are asking “Who is Bill Rancic?” In case you missed the first episode of Donald Trump’s Reality Show, The Apprentice. Bill Rancic was the one person that Donald Trump chose to live in New York and mentor for one year. Bill Rancic was Season 1’s first winner of The Apprentice.

Donald Trump chose Bill to be his right-hand man, out of a competitive pool of 250,000 applicants to be crowned the original Apprentice. Bill has worked for and been personally mentored by Donald Trump for years and has traveled with Mr. Trump across the US and internationally.

Bill is a true American entrepreneur. At the age of 23, he founded the internet-based company, Cigars around the World, in a 400 sq. ft. studio apartment.The first positive trait that I noticed was his Authenticity. If you ever have the chance to be in a room with him, you will understand what I am talking about! Bill just “Is who he is”.

In 2004, the first episode of The Apprentice aired and Bill Rancic was chosen to be “The Apprentice” to Mr. Donald Trump. The last runner up, Kwame Jackson, was “fired” by Mr. Trump.

So why did Mr. Trump choose Bill Rancic to be The Apprentice? I will share only a few reasons and there are two specific lessons that I learned. There are two which stand out for me.

LESSON ONE

The first lesson I learned is about “Change”. I think this word really stood out to me because I consistently talk to dentists who are not dealing well with this economic strife we are experiencing in this period of time. I ask my clients: “What ideas or thoughts do you have to improve your current outcome?” And I will ask, “How can I support you?” Many dental practice owners will tell me: “I want to wait it out” and others will say “I will just accept it for what it is.”

But I ask you, “Does this sound like something you really want to hear?” Let me ask you this, “Do you want to just let your dental business BLEED?” I don’t mean your patients’ mouth’s bleed but your cancellations and your decline in New Patients. “Is this what you really want in your dental practice?” And “What can be done to reduce the BLEEDING today?!” Read on, maybe you will understand the lesson I learned and I want to share with you today.

Bill was up against Kwame Jackson, in the finale episode of The Apprentice. Why did Mr. Trump pick Bill Rancic to be The Apprentice? Kwame made his decisions based on his college education. Rancic claimed to win The Apprentice because of his “out-of-the-box” thinking. Rancic told us that when things are not going well or running smoothly, it is important to make a change. He said that it is important to make wise decisions early on and not wait to make a decision. Rancic believes that his ability to “think outside-of-the-box” is what made him a winner.

As dental practice business owners, it is also important to know when to make changes in your day-to-day business strategies, systems and functions when they are not working. I ask you now “Are you willing to just accept the BLOODY MESS?” “Or are you willing to create systems that can make a change and add additional streams of income to your dental practice today?”

LESSON TWO

The second point that really stands out to me is something else I heard Bill say: “When you reach success, never forget what got you there.” I said it in the beginning and I noticed immediately, that no matter how much money Bill earns and no matter how much fame he accomplishes, he is still that boy who had a grandmother that taught him how to cook blueberry pancakes. He is from a middle-class, Chicago, Illinois neighborhood. “He is what he is.”

Bill believes the American Dream begins with an idea. This idea can be one like most kids have. It’s called selling lemonade from your own lemonade stand. You mark the price at 25 cents for a glass of lemonade. Once you have the idea, you need to work hard and never give up. I remember one day last summer when my granddaughters and a young neighbor boy wanted to sell lemonade. We went to the local grocery store and bought everything necessary to make the lemonade. The kids had to add up what it cost to buy the ingredients and then they split the money earned minus the money they borrowed from me to buy the ingredients. They worked hard but their cute smiles and eagerness to earn a dollar made it a lot easier to sell $10.00 in lemonade! Of course they had to split that $10.00 – 3 ways! They were left with just under $3.00 each and their smiles turned a bit sour at the end of the hard work. I am certain they will never forget how much fun they had that day. I know they will sell Lemonade again one day soon!

I believe that little boy down the street will be named “Most likely to become a Millionaire in the next 15 years!” That boy has a fire inside of him and at the young age of 8 he has the will, the drive, to learn what to do, so he can be on the top of his game!

BE EQUIPPED

You have aspirations and you must be equipped with the correct knowledge to make your ideas, and your dreams, work for you. Once your dreams become a reality you will smell that sweet smell of success. Most of my mentors do not know my name, and probably never will, but they have made an impact on my life that will always be a testament to them.

I want to say to you, those who are my followers, that you need to create a plan and you cannot wait any longer to put a working plan into action today! If what you are doing today is not working for you, then you need to make some serious changes. Change the direction of the sail on your sail boat.

Stop the hemorrhaging now. There are many experts who know the shortest path to get you where you want and need to be. Don’t wait another day! Always remember today and tomorrow, the exact path you took, to get you where you want to be.
Knowledge + Power = Success

And I know, speaking for myself, I will never forget where I came from; just a middle-class neighborhood in a suburb of Los Angeles, California, with a dream to one day become a dental hygienist. That dream became a reality about twenty-five years ago. I now have bigger dreams and larger goals in life now! But…I will never forget…

Remember without the first idea, your dreams can not become reality. What is your plan for Success in 2012?