Hello and welcome to season two of Dentistry Support the Podcast with your host, the kindhearted and infectious Sarah Beth Herman. We're back for a new season and ready to pack a punch. In every episode, we'll be sharing you quick, impactful insights into the challenges our dental community and leaders in all industries face.

Expect a little bit of flair, a few laughs, and you might even recognize a friend or two. Because of you, we are the number one podcast in dentistry and number one in management and business, and we couldn't be more excited. To keep bringing you practical wisdom and leadership with a servant's heart all delivered in just enough time for your commute or morning team huddle.

We are glad you're here, so let's get into it. Please welcome your host, Sarah Beth.  Welcome back to the 

show. Today I'm sharing a few things that are pretty close to my heart, a couple of stories that I just want you to know about because maybe you need help. Maybe you need to know that somebody else has also been through this.

And I'm also sharing something that I created just for you. The Ultimate Leadership Resilience Playbook. It's not just a guide to help you lead other people. It is an actual blueprint for leading yourself through any challenge. any obstacle, and any unexpected twist that life throws your way.  As leaders, we often talk about resilience, like it's a skill that you either have or you don't.

Here's the truth I want you to hear.  Resilience is built in the trenches. It's built in the moments when you're pushed to your very limits. When the world seems like it's actually caving in and you have to make choices, like, do I keep going or do I just give up?  I've been there and I know so many of you have too. 

You've had big wins, you've faced losses that took your breath away. Let me tell you, it is in those moments that leadership is truly born. And today, I'm going to walk you through five steps. To build resilience as a leader. Plus, I have a few bonus tips that I've learned along the way that I want to share with you.

Let's not just talk about leading a company or a team. Let's talk about leading yourself to live the life that you were meant to live. Because if you don't claim it, someone else will. This is your life, your moment, your time,  and I want to help you step fully into it. You know, I see it every single day, people waiting, waiting for something to happen, waiting for life to hand them an opportunity to make them successful, to give them everything they think they deserve without putting in any real effort. 

And it frustrates me to no end because that's not how life works. You can't just sit on the sidelines and expect the game to be played for you. You can't wait for someone to come and save you. I often think about how we are created to be.  Like, the fact that we were created to be something. To become whoever we were destined to be. 

From the very beginning,  there's potential inside of all of us. But so many people never ever reach it because they're too busy waiting. Waiting for something external to change their lives. When in reality, the change has to come from within.  Here's what I see. I see people holding onto excuses. I didn't get this opportunity.

I wasn't handed that advantage. It's easy for them, but it's not easy for me.  Let me tell you, that is the kind of thinking that keeps you stuck in mediocrity.  While you're waiting, someone else is working.  While you're making excuses, someone else is putting in the effort. And you want to know the truth?

Life is not going to wait for you to get it together. I've been in rooms where people have said the rudest, most ridiculous things about me, and I've heard, of course I'm friends with Sarah Beth. She's successful. She's going to take me where I need to go.  Or she's going to give me money. Or she'll take me on trips.

She'll pay my way because she made it.  Let me be clear, that's also not how this works.  I didn't get where I am by waiting for someone to hand me anything. I earned it. Every bit of success, every opportunity,  it was through hard work, relentless effort, and refusing to wait for life to happen to me. And here's what I want to say to every one of those people. 

First of all, I have other friends that told me what you said, and that's how I know this. So if you're listening right now and you were one of those, shame on you.  You can't expect to ride someone else's wave of success. You can't sit there and think that just because someone you know, you're related to, or you were once an acquaintance of, has made it, that they're somehow, for some reason, going to now carry you along for the ride.

If you didn't earn it, you don't get to claim it.  And every one of you that's listening that hasn't had that happen to you, I need you to remember what I just said. Because you're going to run into people that are going to assume your money. They're going to assume your space. They're going to assume your belongings.

Because they somehow know you.  The truth is, unless you're willing to face the hate, unless you're ready to hear people criticize, judge, and tear you down, you are not prepared for what real success demands. I've heard the hate. I've heard the negativity. I've heard the gossip. People who want something for nothing will always try to pull you down. 

But here's the thing, the moment you decide that you're not going to wait for life to happen to you, that's the moment everything changes. You don't wait for opportunity, you create it. You don't sit on the sidelines hoping that someone will give you a chance. You get out there. You work harder than anyone else.

And you take what's meant for you. If you're listening to this and you're tired of waiting, then I want you to hear me loud and clear. This is your wake up call. Stop waiting for someone to tell you it's your time. Stop waiting for someone to open the door for you. You were born to live this life, not to wait for it.

You've got to put in the work, you've got to take the risks, you've got to face the challenges head on, and most importantly, don't expect anything to be handed to you. You've got to go out there and claim it every single day. Let me give you a mantra that I want you to carry with you from this very moment forward. 

Goes like this. I'm done waiting. I'm done watching. This is my life, and I'm going to live it better than anyone else. Here's another truth that I want you to know.  While you're resting, while you're waiting,  your competition's working.  They're putting in the hours. They're not stopping, and they're getting stronger.

You don't get to sit back and let life happen. You have to outperform your competitors. You have to push harder.  Don't let them have a minute to celebrate because you took your foot off the gas.  If you rest too long, you lose momentum.  Sure, weekends are for rest. But rest doesn't mean letting yourself go completely.

You rest to refuel, but you never stop.  There's a difference between resting and quitting. And the minute you let yourself get comfortable, someone else is passing you by.  Let's talk about the first step in the Ultimate Leadership Resilience Playbook.  It's embrace change. And I mean truly embrace it with open arms even when it feels like the ground is shifting beneath your feet. 

Change is not your enemy. Change is your greatest teacher. In 2021, I made one of the biggest decisions of my life. My business had grown 175 percent after the shutdown and opportunities were pouring in. We landed our largest client ever, nearly six figures a month. It felt like I was on top of the world.

Everything was aligning and it felt like I could not lose.  But here's something I learned  in that year that I thought I knew it all.  Just when you think you've got it all figured out, life loves to throw a curveball.  A few episodes back, I spoke about this very client. This one that was paying us nearly six figures a month.

The one that made me feel like I was on top of the world. I spoke about them because they were one of the largest clients we had and one of the most amazing and incredible success stories we ever had.  Their CFO is who originally had found us. And we collected almost nine million dollars for them in a very short amount of time.

And it was incredible work that my team performed. Like truly collected, got the money from the dental insurances. Their CFO resigned very suddenly, and they didn't know how to justify the expense of our company. So they decided that they were going to leave us.  I was devastated.  This loss of this client meant that we had to let go of team members, and I was left wondering, what now? 

I had hired all of these team members and trained all of these team members and prepared them to support this group.  And now this group was leaving  what I learned throughout business or what I have learned, I guess you could say through business is that sometimes change happens because it has to close one door to open an even bigger one, a different one, a more extravagant one.

But it's very hard to see that in the moment. You have to learn to embrace change even when it breaks your heart  because every setback is truly a setup for something greater.  If I hadn't gone through the loss of that office, I wouldn't have learned the resilience that built me into the leader that I am today.

The one that led me to keep all of those team members that were on that office out of faith.  The one that led me to keep all of those team members that were on that group practice out out of faith, out of the faith that God would provide the exact business that I would need to keep that, that team on staff.

You see, when I hire people, I don't just hire them because I want to make sure I have enough employees. I hire people because I want to provide a life for others outside of mine. Yes, they're going to work for it,  but I want to provide that. So if I have to terminate people, I take it personally because my business is personal.

I take it personally because that's a life I can no longer provide for, and I take that personal.  Change isn't happening to you. It's happening for you.  Let it mold you. Let it teach you. Let it fuel your next move. Change isn't your enemy. It's the force that shapes you into the leader that you were always meant to become. 

Step two is all about fixing communication gaps so that we can build trust.  As leaders, we can't afford to have cracks in the foundation of our communication. Trust is everything. Without it, you can't lead. Without it, you're just managing tasks. You're not inspiring people. When we worked with that huge group practice, The only reason we were able to handle such a massive account was because we closed every communication gap.

We didn't leave room for doubt, for assumptions, or for misunderstandings. And even after that client left, I realized the importance of internal communications within my own team.  When there's a gap between you and your team, you have to be the one to close it. No one else will.  Communication is more than just talking.

It's about listening. It's about transparency, it's about showing up with vulnerability when needed and making sure that every person on your team knows that you see them, that you hear them, that you've got their back. Build bridges, not walls.  Communication is the bridge that carries your team across any challenge. 

This brings me to the third step in the playbook,  cultivating a positive mindset.  Let me be real with you, there are going to be days when everything feels like it's falling apart.  You are going to have wins and you are going to have losses,  but your mindset, that's the one thing you can control. It's the one thing that will make or break your ability to lead. 

I have struggled with mindset many times. Talking to you right now, I know that the truth about me is that I struggle with mindset still. I can give all the wisdom in the world, but sometimes things really knock me down. And I've got to have the emotional wherewithal and the emotional intelligence to get back, dust it off, and keep going. 

After we lost that huge client, I could have stayed in the negative space. I could have focused on what we lost, on the team members that we had to let go, on the missed opportunities, trying to search and find for the answer as to why. But what I learned is this. As a leader, your mindset sets the tone for your entire organization. 

If you're focused on the negative, so is your team.  But if you can find the light in the darkness, you become the inspiration they need to keep moving forward. And let's be honest,  there are no easy days in leadership. You have to wake up every morning and decide to find the positive. Even when it feels impossible.

Because that's what leaders do. We set the tone. We find the hope. We inspire others to see the vision. Even when the path isn't clear.  Resilience is rooted in mindset.  If you believe you can rise, you will. And your team will rise with you. Don't tell me you don't want accountability. Don't tell me you don't want to manage a team.

Don't tell me you're not a leader. Don't tell me any of that. All of that is a lie. If you want to tell me that you're not a leader in your position, if you want to tell me you don't like leadership, you don't like management,  your mindset's off.  Resilience is rooted in mindset.  If you believe you can rise, you will. 

And everybody around you will rise with you.  That's a tough one for parents, right?  If you're a mom, if you're a dad, if you raise anyone,  not even just humans, animals, you know when animals are scared of you, you know when children are scared of you, you know when children act out and why they act out.  We all have a reason to reflect, right?

Our mindset is everything.  The fourth step is one I know we all struggle with. I struggle with this for sure. Time management.  But I'm not talking about filling your day with busy work or cramming more into an already packed schedule. I'm talking about managing your time with intention so you can avoid burnout and keep leading at your highest level.

The truth is, weekends are for rest. But if you rest on the weekend and let yourself go completely, you're giving your competitors time to clap because you stopped.  They'll outwork you if you let them.  And as a leader, you don't have that luxury.  You have to outperform your competition. Not just in work hours, but in how effectively you manage your time. 

You've got to be strategic. You've got to be intentional. Don't let time run you. You run your time. Set boundaries. Block your time. Protect your energy. Should I say that again? Protect your energy.  Protect your energy. If people are taking it from you, block them on social media. Hide their posts. Don't text them.

Remove them. Delete the old text you had so you don't see them in your text threads.  Protect your energy.  When you're intentional with your time, with yourself,  you leave room for what really matters. And that's how you avoid burnout and keep showing up for yourself and your team.  You can rest, but you can never quit. 

Manage your time, or your time will manage you.  This last step, this next one, it's, it's a game changer, I think. I'm going to say it and you're going to think I need a massage.  But hear me out.  I want you to prioritize self care.  And when I say self care, I'm not talking about something that you do when you're already burnt out. 

I'm talking about something  I'm talking about setting yourself up for success from the start. Because here's the thing.  You really matter.  Your goals really, really matter. Your vision, it matters. And if you're not taking care of yourself, you're setting yourself up to fail.  To be the leader you were meant to be, you've got to know who you are and what you want.

You have to show up for yourself first. You have to literally create the vision of who you want to be. Write it down. Grab a notebook.  Leadership isn't just about pouring into others. It's about filling yourself up so that you have something to pour from.  You need to invest in yourself with the same intensity that you invest in your team.

You've got to put your head down and go. Put yourself in rooms that challenge you. Put yourself in situations that stretch you. Don't wait for permission to succeed. Get out there and take what is yours. You were meant to live this life fully. To lead boldly.  To live an impact that actually lasts. And yes,  that means weekends are for rest, but don't rest so long that you lose sight of the mission. 

You've got to outperform your competition. And it starts with showing up for yourself every single day. Self care is not a luxury.  It's actually the foundation of your success. If you don't show up for yourself, who will?  It's the same thing I was saying in the beginning of this episode. You can't just wait for life to happen.

You can't just wait for someone to take care of you.  If you're waiting for self care to happen, you're no better than the people who are waiting on the sidelines, waiting for success to come, waiting for the money to pour in.  Who will? Who will send you the luxury? Who will pay the bills?  The answer is always the same.

You.  Before we close this episode, I want to give you  three bonus leadership resilience tips. These are in the playbook. And I want you to take a look at them,  but let's talk about them for just a second.  Celebrate your small wins.  Leadership is a long game, and it is easy to focus only on the big milestones. 

But what I've learned is that celebrating the small wins is what keeps you moving forward.  Don't wait until the end to acknowledge progress. Celebrate every step,  no matter how small, because those are the moments that build momentum for you.  Build a support network.  No leader succeeds alone. You need a support network.

People who understand your challenges, who push you, and who believe in your vision. Surround yourself with those who lift.  Commit to continuous learning.  Resilience isn't about staying in one place. It's about growing, learning, and evolving. The moment you stop learning is the moment you stop leading.

Commit to continuous growth and seek out new challenges and never stop expanding your knowledge. That's how you stay ahead.  The greatest leaders are not those who never fail, but those who never stop learning.  I want to leave you with one final thought.  This is your life.  You were meant to live it fully and you were, you were designed to live it fully. 

You were built to lead with purpose and to build something that matters. I don't want you to let anyone or anything stop you from stepping into the leader that you were created to be. This is your moment. You were meant for this.  If you're ready to take your leadership resilience to the next level,  the Ultimate Leadership Resilience Playbook is for you.

And it's filled with everything that we've talked about today and so much more. I want you to download it, apply it, and watch your leadership and your life transform. You can actually get this playbook for free  by clicking the link in the show notes and entering in the code I have listed there. You'll get it for free.

It's just for you. I just want you to have it. Grab your free copy today and let's lead ourselves. To the next level together. Your that's good moment for today is to remember that resilience isn't just about surviving. It's about thriving. It's about living the life you were meant to live and leading with purpose and power. 

You got this. I want you to go get after it right now.  In just a couple months, I'm launching Blueprint to Breakthrough.  It's a 16 week container,  and I'm giving the first five people who enroll a free ticket. Each of you a free ticket to bring on your business partner to take it with you, your spouse to take it with you, your best friend to take it with you,  because I want you to take next year to the next level. 

This container is going to take your business from blueprint to breakthrough. Even if you already have your business in works, but you just want to get to the next level, it's going to be perfect for you. Pretty soon you'll be able to get on the list to be the first to know. When open enrollment begins. 

I want you to be part of it with me. Thank you for joining me on this episode of Dentistry Support the Podcast. I'll catch you on the next episode. 

Thank you so much for tuning in to this episode of Dentistry Support, the podcast. If you want to get in on the conversation or have something to share, join us on our Facebook group, The Dental Collaborative.

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