Marcie’s Mindfulness Moment | Peace in My Heart

I recently had the opportunity to spend some time with the Speakers Consulting Network group at their annual gathering in Kansas City, MO.  To say I was excited to expand upon connections made last year and to create new ones is an understatement. Not only is this a group of some of the most brilliant minds in our industry, their main foundation is built on HEART.  Collectively, they have a way of establishing comfort in a matter of about five minutes, and by day three…you have found at least 100 new friends! In other professions, groups like this simply do not exist out of threat of competition, jealousy, or a slew of other reasons.  I have been amazed by their graciousness and inspired by the love that exudes from their leadership team. At this event, we were sponsors. In other arenas, sponsors are often placed outside of the space left only to interact with session goers on breaks and before and after the content; often seen as a side item or worse yet, an after-dinner mint to the main entrée.  Not at SCN: we are the poached salmon perfectly paired alongside the filet mignon–included in their arena for the entire conference, encouraged to participate in the break-out sessions, invited to their awards dinner, and even given tickets for raffle prizes. SCN views us as their companions and honestly, it feels like family. 

As a sponsor, we are invited to share with the group for about 10 minutes- highlighting the ways that we can collaborate to help our dental office clients.  Several months ago, I was asked to convey our message of delivering peace. Now, most of my days involve speaking to people all day long, helping teams to solve problems– all from the comfort of my own home, wearing my cozy yoga pants.  I have presented to small groups of people before, but this opportunity, well…did I mention that this is a group of professional speakers? Do you have any idea how daunting and intimidating the idea of this can be… to stand up for the first time on an elevated stage –under bright lights–with cameras catching every angle in front of a group of some of the finest professional dental speakers in the country—without slide notes?!  I imagine we could equate this experience with showcasing a crown prep to a collection of the most renowned group of award-winning prosthodontists with the best lighted loupes and calibration devices that money can buy. However, since I had been welcomed with open arms by the group last year and have kept in touch with many of the 100 friends I made last time, I actually felt comfortable accepting this invitation to share how our teams deliver peace of mind to dental offices and the consultants that serve them.  As the days got closer to showtime, those warm fuzzy feelings that supported my decision to accept this challenge were being replaced by the story inside my head of how daunting and scary this task could be, with the fear of judgement looming. I acknowledged and worked with these feelings as they came up, using self-empathy and trying to replace them with memories of my connections and the experience I had last year. This helped temporarily and then I would find my thoughts drifting back to the story I was telling myself, and the process perpetuated.  I imagine this to be a “normal” reaction to a new experience and stepping outside of your comfort zone; an exercise in growth and learning to incorporate new habits. Once I made my way to the stage, in a carefully chosen outfit that would be incredibly uncomfortable worn in the lotus position– and equipped with a killer set of expertly crafted slides–I looked into the audience of familiar faces that were oozing with love and support, and the story of fear I had been telling myself diminished. I wouldn’t be human if I said it disappeared altogether, but once I expressed a little vulnerability about first time jitters and felt the empathy in the air, I was able to relax and soak up the experience I was having.  Two minutes into sharing, I found my way out of my head and into my heart because this group opened theirs to me.  I was able to find the comfort to express what I feel so passionate about- how eAssist truly delivers peace of mind.  Our hearts intuitively know authenticity and this group and their leaders definitely have ‘”IT”.

Dental Billing Tips and News for Pros; Edition #137