The Academy of Comprehensive Esthetics (ACE) is hosting a Conference on Marketing and Social Media in Tampa (http://www.cvent.com/events/ace-tampa-2011-conference-on-social-media-marketing-for-dentistry/agenda-336007de9b5942ae96f337601fba4815.aspx) on April 1-2.  This meeting is an extraordinary opportunity for dentists and their teams to learn how to harness the potential of utilizing Social Media, such as Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, and many others to communicate with existing and potential patients.  If you aren’t already signed up, check out this link, and plan to attend.  The information will be valuable, and the event will be fantastic.

Last weekend, I was fortunate to attend an elite Invisalign users conference in Chicago.  What an amazing company!  They are always innovating and introducing new techniques and approaches to further perfect treatment results for our patients.  So often the focus of Invisalign has been cosmetic in nature.  As a dentist, I realize that the functional aspect – having straight teeth to improve chewing, decrease the wearing down of teeth, making teeth easier to clean, and improving overall comfort – is even more important. 

Making one’s smile LOOK nicer is a really nice byproduct of these other things.  I need to do a better job of addressing these functional issues with patients because I know that we can help a lot more people than we are currently.  I can’t wait to get back to the office! 

The group of dentists in attendence was outstanding, and we spent a lot of time comparing notes and evaluating cases together to learn from one another’s expertise.  This one weekend will make my team even more proficient in getting results.  Dentistry is SUCH a great profession because there are SO many ways for us to impact people’s lives!

Have a fantastic week!

Jim

Dr. Jim Arnold

Northwest Indiana Cosmetic, Family, Invisalign, and Sedation Dentistry

Smiles By Arnold & Associates

www.SmilesByArnold.com

219-926-5445 (Chesterton)

219-531-8914 (Valparaiso)

Naperville Cosmetic, Family, and Invisalign Dentistry

Smiles By Dr. Gibson & Associates

www.SmilesByDrGibson.com

630-357-3333 (Naperville)

Well….  I am on the road for the third weekend in a row.  It’s just “that time of year”, I guess.  It’s SOOO hard to be away from Sarah and our amazing kids, but I don’t EVER want to be “just another dentist”.  SOOO many dentists do a course or two and then rest on their laurels for the rest of their careers. 

I’ve devoted over 2000 hours of my life (plus travel, etc) over the past 8 years to be the  best that I can be in dentistry and life.  My team has been INCREDIBLE during that time, too – allowing me to drag them all over the country to learn and grow professionally and personally.  It’s just really hard to be away from home so much. 

PLUS – training is just about impossible.  Last weekend, I had to do a 3.5 hour bike ride on a stationary bike at my hotel in Orlando.  Today, I did a 90 min ride in Dallas on another stationary bike. To make matters worse, it was a TIME TRIAL.  I warmed up for 30 min, rode HARD for 30 min (as hard as i could), and cooled down for 30 min. 

How effective is triathlon training when 30% of  it has to be on a random stationary bike?  How effective is the running when it has to be short and slow due to an Achilles tear and pain?  This is all so challenging and frustrating. 

I look forward to being home for a few weeks with my awesome family.  I look forward to a few great weeks of training – on my OWN bike. 

The AACD meeting in Dallas will be great.  I just needed to vent a little bit!  Thanks for listening! 

Jim

Well, I’ve been on the road WAY too much lately, but I attended another fantastic conference in Orlando this past weekend.  As hard as it is to be away from Sarah and our kids, it was well-worth having attended.  A lot of what i learned was an affirmation of what we’ve been doing for years, but I did pick up some great new ideas.  Now, we just need to find the time to implement them!

Balancing professional, family, and training responsibilities is becoming increasingly difficult.  To stay with my plan, i had to spend 3:30 on a hotel stationary bike this past Saturday.  In order to get to my class on time, I had to get up at 4:30 AM to do it.  THAT was a really boring 3 and a half hours! 

Yesterday I left the house at 5:10 AM for my Masters swim workout, went straight to the office from there, and didn’t get home until about 6:15 PM.  I needed to do 45 minutes of strength training while the kids were with Sarah at Swim Club, and then it was time to put them to bed.  I ate dinner at 8:30 and went to bed right afterwards. 

Today is similar with workouts “book-ending” a really long day at the office.  4:45 AM Computrainer bike session and 6:15 PM run….

Jim

www.SmilesByArnold.com

www.SmilesByDrGibson.com

I think that our new sign came out GREAT!  Stop by to check it out and say “hi” if you are in the neighborhood! 

Jim

SmilesByArnold & Associates

Northwest Indiana Cosmetic and Family Dentistry

www.SmilesByArnold.com

219-926-5445

SmilesByDrGibson & Associates

Naperville Cosmetic and Family Dentistry

www.SmilesByDrGibson.com

630-357-3333

We spent Spring Break at the beautiful Westin-Kierland in Scottsdale and had a great time.  This resort is totally family-friendly with a huge pool, lazy river, water slide, kids’ activities, and a sandy beach.

Add in a great adult pool with lap lanes (yea!), some great family-friendly restaurants, and an awesome outdoor mall across the street, and this is the ideal spot for family vacations.  We look forward to returning again next year! 

Jim

Arnold Family in Scottdale

Jim with his beautiful girls

Sarah with our goofy boys

Jim with his sweetie

SmilesByArnold Team with Dr. Paul Homoly

I spent all day Friday and Saturday at a great seminar put on by Paul Homoly in Chicago.  I had eight team members with me, and we all learned a ton.  Several of us went through this program four years ago, so it was a great review – and affirmation that we’re doing a lot of things well.  It was the first time for several others, and it will improve their already excellent patient communication and customer service.

It’s just such a good idea to get out of the office periodically to spend time learning together as a team!    I appreciate that they all took time away from their families and other activities to go to the course.  It’s nice to have a team that is so committed to being the best that they can be! 

Jim

SmilesByArnold & Associates

Northwest Indiana Cosmetic and Family Dentistry

www.SmilesByArnold.com

219-926-5445

SmilesByDrGibson & Associates

Naperville Cosmetic and Family Dentistry

www.SmilesByDrGibson.com

630-357-3333

Wow!  I am beyond thrilled that I was able to run 45 minutes along the lakefront this morning with very little Achilles tendon pain.  That seems like a minor miracle at this point.  Yea!!!

Now, I am in Naperville for the day to get some work done, do some training with the team, and participate in an interview and photoshoot for New Beauty Magazine.  We are being featured in the July edition, so we are all very excited.  If you’ve never seen this magazine, check it out at Barnes and Noble, Borders, or any other major bookstore.

Later today, I have a 60 min bike ride and 60 min strength workout with my trainer.  Big day!  It is REALLY hard to squeeze 13 hours of training into my week.  It’s hard to believe that my coach, Adam Zucco trains about 30 hours/week!  I have no idea how he does it….

Have a fantastic day!!!

Jim Arnold

SmilesByArnold & Associates

Northwest Indiana Cosmetic and Family Dentistry

www.SmilesByArnold.com

219-926-5445

SmilesByDrGibson & Associates

Naperville Cosmetic & Family Dentistry

www.SmileByDrGibson.com

630-357-3333

Oops!  I forgot to include links to some of his television appearances.  Additionally, you can learn more about Garrett and his book, Killing Sacred Cows by visiting his website at:  www.GarrettBGunderson.com.

Check Garrett out on these

Media features below:

ABC News Video 1

ABC News Video 2

ABC News Video 3

Garrett Gunderson wrote the New York Times Best Seller, Killing Sacred Cows.  It is an extraordinary book that dispels many of the myths that plague the way that we were taught to view our personal finances.  Unfortunately, these financial myths have become so deeply entrenched in our society that people consider them “untouchable” and ”undebatable” – OR “Sacred Cows”.

Garrett has become a good friend of mine, and he has agreed to share his incredibly valuable time with us this Thursday evening on a teleseminar answering your most important questions related to personal finances, business finances, loans, debt, retirement plans, investing, and whatever else you are wondering about.  His goal is to share a LOT of knowledge with all of us in a short period of time, and you, my friends, are all invited to participate in the experience. 

All you need to do is follow this link to ask Garrett a question and to register for the call:  https://efys.infusionsoft.com/link/4359f46e0/325aa0. 

I assure you that this will be time very well spent and could help you take your personal financial situation to the next level.  Please check out just a couple of his television appearances by following the links below, and you’ll see why many well-known entrepeneurs around the world are flocking to him for advice. 

You can register at NO

CHARGE right now……

http://www.asktogetrich.com

I hope that many of you can make it for the call. 

All my best,

Jim

SmilesByArnold & Associates

Northwest Indiana Cosmetic and Family Dentistry

www.SmilesByArnold.com

219-926-5445

Smiles By Dr Gibson & Associates

Naperville Cosmetic, Invisalign, and Family Dentistry

www.SmilesByDrGibson.com

630-357-3333