Have you ever noticed that you seldom have to tell a young child to dream big? When we are young, we naturally enjoy the freedom that imagination brings and we see possibilities everywhere. Kindergartens are full of boys and girls who know they are going to be doctors, or archeologists, or space ship captains – or maybe even all three at once. They are not concerned at the moment with what obstacles might stand in their way. As far as they’re concerned, there are no obstacles. That’s the power of naive thinking.
Things change, of course, as we mature and we come to appreciate the realities of life, the implications and complications that come with each decision. That’s a good thing, too; a big part of being an adult is learning how to deal with complicating realities.
But just because we understand more now, that doesn’t mean we should ever lose the innocent part of ourselves that knows how to dream without limits. Too many people outsmart themselves in this way. They analyze every possible obstacle and then use those complications as a reason not to get going on their dreams. And let’s face it, if you look hard enough, you can always find reasons not to do something.
People who enjoy the most success tend to approach it the other way around. They don’t give too much weight to all the obstacles from the beginning. They recognize risks, sure, but when they are confident about a vision, they take action and then tackle the obstacles as they come. Look at innovators like Steve Jobs, Richard Branson and Elon Musk and you see that sense of childlike innocence within. It’s the part of us that still wants to dream big and isn’t going to be dissuaded so easily.
I can point to similar experiences myself. When I had the idea to build this education campus in Scottsdale, it really came down to me looking out over a large patch of dry desert dirt and saying, “This is going to be a world-class destination for dental education.” There was no shortage of obstacles – starting with the fact that I didn’t know if the land was available – but as far I was concerned those were details to be conquered.
There were many, many more details to be conquered along the way and many of those obstacles were quite difficult indeed. But anything worth doing comes with challenges. In fact, the greater the vision, the greater the challenges we’ll face. But I never for a moment regretted what I had set in motion.
So my advice to dentists is to let yourself be naive again. Think about the dreams you have always had for your career, your facility, your clinical development, your team and your patients. Think big. Think ideal. And then do what so many people will never do: Get started. I promise you won’t regret it.
(Click this link for more articles by Imtiaz Manji.)
