Graduation Day

I love the month of June! The snow and cold of winter and the dreariness of spring turn into eye candy with flowering trees and bushes, spectacular annuals, and emerald green grass. It is also the time for graduations from high schools and colleges. Kids with their life and future before them – the world their oyster – listen to inspirational and motivational themes: Don’t be afraid to shoot for the stars. Don’t ever give up – the old story of if you get knocked down seven times you get up eight. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you won’t succeed.

So what if you could imagine yourself now –working in the dental profession – attending that very same graduation, listening to those same themes. Of course you are now older and hopefully a lot wiser with years of life experience under your belt. But maybe you are burned out, or tired, or jaded. Why not use this as a good time to rededicate yourself to being the absolute best dentist you can be. Or the most talented and helpful team member – whatever your job in the practice.

Mohammed Ali recently passed away. One of the greatest fighters all time, Ali is even more famous for his courageous battle with Parkinson’s disease. He wrote these amazing words that totally reinforce the graduation message. “Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”

The lyrics of Oscar Hammerstein from The Sound of Music convey the same indomitable spirit. Climb every mountain. Ford every stream. Follow every rainbow. Till you find your dream.

Hopefully good food for thought for all of us – no matter our age or station in life.