HOW TO NOT FAIL AS A DENTIST - Introduction

INTRODUCTION

“I MADE DESPITE THE ODDS”

by Dr. BAK NGUYEN

Wow, this is my 46th book within 23 months. Crazy is my new normal! Since the launch of Dr. Bak’s brand with the event back in April, the pace is just picking up.

Since, I managed to publish 7 books on Amazon, adding to my first title, CHANGING THE WORLD FROM A DENTAL CHAIR, published by a professional editor. And 21 titles on Apple Books.

On the matter, I have to thank Apple for their trust and support since they started to distribute my book in 51 countries hours after my submission. That gave me a big boost in confidence and encouraged me to push until I gain the same status with Amazon. That took 3 months, but Amazon is now publishing my books with 24 hours, both on Kindle and Paperback.

While I kept writing, I ordered a few paperback copies. There arrived within the last two weeks. I have to tell you that it is an emotional moment to hold your words in your hands. It is something to see them on a screen, but to hold the physical copy is a personal satisfaction hard to describe.

“Emotional intelligence is the key to advancement. ”

Dr. Bak Nguyen

Logic and hard data are giving me so much more. I know that from September 2018, I have submitted 931K + words to my Automated Grammar Checker software. Some chapters I submitted twice, and some were from my co-authors.

Even if you subtract them from the equation, I would have written nearly 900K words since September 2017… Yes, I am publishing my 45 titles one at a time, some have never been submitted to the Automated Grammar Checker software.

I am pretty confident that I will either start or finish the end of this fall having written 1 Million words! 1 000 000 words, that’s a milestone in someone’s life. Oh, have I told you that I am a dentist?

A dentist practicing 3 to 4 days a week and seeing from 20 to 30 patients a day. The craziest days, I have to see nearly 40 patients! I am neither bragging nor complaining. I am simply stating the facts.

I worked too hard, building a practice of nearly 20 years to be appreciated but my patients. I also know that my success is because I have their trust and that I am of use and I can lose that trust in an instant if I am not there 100% at each moment of my line of duty.

“I take my duty very seriously. Over time, I learned to laugh about everything else, starting with myself. ”

Dr. Bak Nguyen

This is something that you will hear from most people who know me. My trademark is a genuine smile and a kind heart. In my youth, I loved to see myself as a warrior, a conqueror. Life made a doctor and a unifier out of me.

Since I accepted that, I am surfing on happiness and success, delivering… happiness and success! Since the day that I fully accept my destiny, I changed from Dr. Nguyen, the loved dentist to CEO and senior managing partner of MDEX & CO, the industries’ disruptor to become Dr. Bak, the writer and motivational speaker.

I told you, crazy is my new normal. I know, the first question through your mind is: do I sleep? More than you know! I am simply focused and dedicated, laser focus.

Having to joggle with more than one function, I have to master each task first and learn to manage my workflow.

“The only thing that matter is to do better tomorrow than I did today.”

Dr. Bak Nguyen

This primarily means never to accept that I’ve reached perfection at any point. That, in other words, means not to be satisfied with how I did things yesterday either. This is a trap that so many of us fall into as we reach recognition.

We have worked so hard to master and to perfect our craft and skill that, sooner or later, we arrived at the top of our field. Congratulation, but that’s just a step, not an end.

If the most difficult task was to start, the second most difficult task is not to slow and stop as you reach an apogee. Yes, AN apogee, not the apogee! Actually, I managed to accomplish that much in so many different fields since I learn not to care for the labels.

Apogee, top, elite, those are all carrots to help keep you motivated. As soon as you’ve reached your goal, they change overnight from carrots to burdens, since you will now try to stay still on the top.

Picture that situation for a moment: are you more stable standing on the top of a mountain on foot on each side, standing against the wind and the weather?

“I prefer to be either climbing the mountain or skiing downhill, at least, the mountain will be my support and the wind, my ally.”

Dr. Bak Nguyen

It’s a choice, but the force of Momentum is real, and something we can all benefit from. And Momentum does not stand still, even at a TOP!

In my case, I have the luxury to jump from one field to the next, transferring my Momentum from one function to another. I am very passionate and dedicated as I see my patients, not caring about neither the clock nor the task, I will listen and get things done, to their satisfaction and mine.

I won’t lie, some cases are more difficult than others, but since I do not see the labels, I just realize that some took a little more time than others. I applied the same dedication to writing, going all-in in a book until I get the job done and then, leaving without regrets or second thoughts for the next volume.

Literally, I achieved in the last 24 months more than I did in the first 40 years combined. And I am still seeing the patients under my care. If anything, it made me a better dentist since I am more open and have more subject to share with my patients.

HOW TO NOT FAIL AS A DENTIST came on the table as my strategist, Kevin Mayor and Nick Leger tried to conciliate my various nature. They have been given the mandate to draft a future for Dr. Bak, the CEO of Mdex & Co, the company promising to reform dentistry to a more human approach.

“Changing the world from a dental chair.”

Dr. Bak Nguyen

That’s a pretty bold statement, and with the months passing, more and more people are joining in the philosophy and the logic. I have written PROFESSIONAL HEALTH, a book dedicated to open a dialogue among dentists, doctor and nurse to open up and talk about the emotional issues. But the fall, Dr. Robert Durand, professor of dentistry at the University of Montreal is joining forces with McGill University to direct a research on the evolution of the states of mind of dentists throughout their career.

I launched that initiate and managed to have the federal government to advance half of the funds. The profit coming from the sale of PROFESSION HEALTH, at least my share, have been vouched for a foundation to keep supporting that research.

That is my way to share with my community of peers. On the other hand, I have built a company to better serve the daily needs of dentists and how to better improve their overall quality of professional life. We are in our second year of implementation, and the successes are lining up.

A year ago, we had projections and hypothesis. Today, we have numbers and case studies to back our saying, both on the patients’ side and the dentists’ side. I am proud to report that at the time of this writing, we are actively working on a second location.

So I’ve spent the last 20 years of my life helping and treating people. The last 2 years, I have expanded the scope of my work to include my dentists peers. Some welcomed my help and point of view, some rejected it. That’s fair, it’s part of the game.

Why not give everyone your secret? That was Kevin’s and Nick’s question. Why not just give to all the dentists the means and knowledge that made my success, even if they are not part of Mdex?

Why not? I took us a friendly evening around good food and lived music, and we shook on it. It was time for me to take all that I have learned writing books and conference and apply to what I know best, how to treat a patient and find happiness at the end of the day.

“Success is a mean, happiness is a result.”

Dr. Bak Nguyen

Within the next chapters, I will revisit each of the intelligence that I have learned and mastered throughout the years to be Dr. Nguyen. I will cover from what to do in the chair and the operation room to how to negotiate a lease and a mortgage.

From marketing to continuous education, from patients acquisition to staff recruitments, there is much on the plate of a dentist. You don’t have to do all of it, but at least, I think that you should know what it is about and then, be able to make an educate and informed decision.

We are dedicated and trained to be the best. That’s how we became dentists. We are hardwired to look for ways to improve daily, but some pieces of knowledge are simply missing from our culture, some mindset., fundamental in business, are alien to our nature, some key principle that if we learn from the first time on the field, will be quite heavy to bear.

Just like mastering surgery, this is about applied knowledge and craft. To succeed as a dentist means so much more than to have received our licence, it means to serve passionately the people, not the system as we were in back in school.

“Too many confuse the system and the people even if the difference is obvious. Over time the lines blur to the point of merging.”

Dr. Bak Nguyen

If you are starting your career, this is a great guide to know and understand what is waiting for you ahead. If you are a veteran, HOW TO NOT FAIL AS A DENTIST is a great way for you to improve on your position and renew with your passion to serve as a dentist. I am not saying that I have all the answers, just sharing with you mine.

I am writing HOW TO NOT FAIL AS A DENTIST as a book, but Kevin and Nick have great plans in motion. They are planning to make those into seminars and online courses, available to all, wherever you are in your career and in the world!

This is MILLION DOLLAR MINDSET applied to dentistry. This is HOW TO NOT FAIL AS A DENTIST.

This book is not about understanding THE DIFFERENT FACETS of what it means to become a DOCTOR IN DENTAL MEDICINE

Dr. BAK NGUYEN