Hi All,

I thought that this subtopic might be good to post to have a running thread. Hopefully, many will find it useful and add to this over time.

About a month ago, I was told by my dentist to see the Periodontist. I know this guy and he is a neighbor of mine. I do have full faith in him.

Well, I wrestled with the idea for awhile and then decided to make the appointment. The day for my visit was quickly approaching. Ah... do I really want to go through this again? I needed to and did so back in 2007 for another issue I was having. All went fine then but the process was tough. So he comes that day, and poof, I go in as planned.

I'm kind of different I suppose, as I always find it relaxing to sit there and think. This time, it was going to be an extraction of two teeth and have an implant post put in. Yeah.. so here I am, coming from and Engineering discipline, thinking I could surely save some coin if I wait and let these two come out with a little of assistance on my behalf. Yeah.. but I didn't of course.

When I got there and was seated in the char, Jim notified me that there is nothing to worry about as he does this all day long. It's merely what he does. He does and lives well. Heck this procedure proabably paid for the engine of his newly acquired Land Rover. So the process begins.

As he's doing this procedure, I mentally or visually in my mind, follow what he's doing. Simple enough. Then I started to think. simple enough, okay, but what if. What if ? He's trained, certified, does research, etc. He knows what to do.

Then as normal, it's not something that I never talk about, not even to my wife, but I began to relate this to the market and different companies. Here, we're attempting to get the knowledge and education of what to do and to be tops in this field. I tied what we do to the Periodontist. He knows what to do with different situations. If this, then that. Likewise, we have a set of rules that guide us.

Does this mean that you will never do wrong just because we have a set of rules. Probably not. If so,,, I would like to meet you ! As most professions have come to know, the learning process never ends. Keep learning !

With these market corrections over the past few years, we have had ample time to hone our skills. IBD research section, Product Coaches, reading the paper daily, surfing many charts of various companies, writing and reading from the community section;  Go to meet ups. Go to IBD seminars, and on it goes.

Here's the point. When your postion goes wrong, don't beat yourself up. Learn from it. Move on. What did I not do ? What could I have done differently ? Revisit that chart later and ask yourself many questions. Some of the rules I employ often, others are not so familiar and have to revisit them to refresh myself.

It truly is life long learning with what we do. I surely wish I had someone guide me when I was 18 ish. Perhaps you've got someone to coach ? It's a great skill when your in your later years. I do hope that you find what we do exciting, when you're right as well as when your not.

I hope that you keep learning and applying, learn and apply, as well as get enthused each and every day.

-Enjoy,

As normal, please let me know what you think.

-Tom