Coincidence, connection and conferences I'm not attending

1. I'm writing this blog at around 09:00 on Friday morning, not the usual 06:30 - because I fell through the door at 21:30 last night after a 4.5 hour drive home and I'm exhausted. Sometimes you have to ditch the routine and get some sleep;

2. Which means that I'm not going to be at The Dentistry Show over the next 2 days. That has cost me an expensive hotel room with no refund on cancellation - but the decision to get back home was based on workflow - it's more important that I spend the next few days working ON my business, even though the FOMO will be hard to take;

3. The plan being that, by the time I board my ferry to Dublin on Monday, I'll have made massive progress in my business planning and preparation for Q4 and for 2025 = peace of mind;

4. Small world story #1 - I met with two dentists in London yesterday, to offer some insights on the pleasures and pains of partnerships. The first a long-standing friend and client, the second a meeting for the first time. My new connection and I said hello, shook hands - and she immediately explained that her sister knows my wife through the dog rescue charity that they both volunteer for. That was a lovely coincidence - but wait until you hear my next story;

5. Small world story #2 - Last night, whilst driving home from Surrey to Cheshire, I had a call booked at 19:30 with a potential new client - we have never met but earlier on Thursday I had taken a look around the website at a beautiful new business in the South East. At 19:00 I pulled in to Oxford Services on the M40, to fill the car and grab a sandwich. As I walked to the check out, I stood to one side to allow a lady to pass through the door - she stopped, looked at me and said "Chris - it's me" - and it was the practice owner whose photo I had seen on the website earlier. She was en-route from the Midlands back to the South East after a family visit. Now can somebody tell me the chances of that? Because she was driving with two small children asleep in the back of her car, we couldn't stop there - and so agreed to talk 30 minutes later and set back off on our journeys, me North and her South. I'm sure a Lloyd's Underwriter would give me very good odds on that never happening;

6. Two days ago I started reading Oliver Burkeman's "Meditations for Mortals" and I wish I could stop work and finish it in one sitting (which, for the cognoscenti, is the irony - because I can't and won't). I enjoyed "Four Thousand Weeks" but for anyone out there this morning who is feeling overwhelmed - please just buy the book and start - it is liberating;

7. Since the webinar I hosted last week on "Chairside Dentistry" with Marcos White and Raj Juneja, I've been in so many conversations about "Scan-Design-Print" same-day results. One of the most exciting developments in dentistry that I've seen in 30 years;

8. Back to my October newsletter - further evidence this week that whilst the NHS remains broken and the corporates have their wagons circled (and sacrifice lambs) that the smaller, independent, owner-managed practice has a clear and competitive advantage in a growing marketplace. Make hay;

9. Sober October is off to a good start - it's so annoying to feel so much better, so quickly;

10. So I'm choosing to work this weekend again (although there will be a marathon training run tomorrow) - there is so much to do.