Thank you!  From the bottom of my heart, to all those that visit this website, come to the Center for our courses and have participated in our activities like the Mentor Group, thank you!

We had a team meeting today on the State of cerecdoctors.com and here is where we stand.

• We have approximately 1.5 months of capacity in our courses for the rest of the year. Shayna is booking some courses into January now. We haven’t even finished June yet. In 2012 alone, more than 1,500 dentists will have come to the Center for CEREC training,.

• Every month, more than 12,000 unique visitors visit this website and spend, on average, close to 11 minutes online each time they visit. They participate in cases, watch videos and learn.

• Our Mentor Group is full. These mentors help us in our courses, on the website, participate in field trips, product evaluations and more. We continue to work hard every day to provide a great experience for them all. We have a special Las Vegas mentor meeting planned in October. Next spring: more field trips and the IDS trip. Tons and tons of activities.

Now I don’t post this to brag or boast, but I would like to share some perspective with all of you. Last year, I made a decision (much to the chagrin of my wife and kids) that I was going to move and work full time at Scottsdale Center. Imtiaz had been trying to get me here for years, but I was never able to convince my family to move. Last year – I made the executive decision to just move and take a chance on what might be a good opportunity in Scottsdale. Mind you, there was an invitation to move, but not much else. It wasn’t as if the Center or anyone else was going to guarantee anything for me. No practice, no income. Just move to Scottsdale and I think you will do well. Ummm, OK, I’m in!  :)

You see, I had a thriving practice in LA. All of my family was in LA. My parents lived 10 minutes from my house and my in-laws about five minutes away. I have more than 30 first cousins, most who live in LA. My wife’s family was even bigger.  Life was good. Life was comfortable. However, in 2011, I think I was on the road for 43 of the 52 weekends teaching and lecturing. I was missing my kids’ soccer practices, parent-teacher conferences. I was missing watching my girls grow up. I was missing spending time with my wife.

There was no way I could continue this. Nor did I want to. So we made the move. Packed our bags, sold the practice and moved to Arizona in the hottest summer on record in the past 50 years.   My wife really struggled the first few months not having the support of her large social circle. My older daughter was bullied in her new school by a couple of rancid kids. It was tough. There were numerous times where I regretted selling the practice and regretted making the move to Scottsdale to pursue what seemed like a dream opportunity.

Well, here we are 10 months later. Wife and kids love spending time with their dad at home. The kids are thriving at their schools. And even though I’m further away from my family, I’m closer to them because now when we visit LA we get to spend quality time together. No longer am I living out of suitcases in airports. I’m actually enjoying my weekends off.

There was no guarantee that things would succeed. The courses, website – all could have been a flop when I decided to take a plunge. Yes, I could have just bought a new practice and started over, but after being debt-free in the practice in LA, starting over didn’t seem like a possibility. Regardless, through the support of my team at Scottsdale, my partner Armen and all the faculty and friends through this site, we just didn’t survive, we are thriving.

I look forward to going to work each and every day. I enjoy learning the business side of things from Imtiaz. I enjoy learning the clinical side of things from Frank Spear and Gary Dewood and Bob Winter and all my other colleagues at the Center. I have a great team to work with in Liz and Shayna and Danielle and the rest of the Scottsdale team. 

So thank you to all of you for making the huge risk such a success. I hope that we continue to grow and have a positive impact on the entire CEREC world and beyond. I appreciate you all letting me share this with you as I am truly blessed for all my friends and family in life.

I think you were put where you were supposed to be Sam. There is a plan, but its never what we think it is. What a huge decision you made and plunge you took. The future Cerece dentist of the world need this and you. Cerec is only going to grow leaps and bounds EVERY month and year. You are the root to making sure Cerec is what its supposed to be. From one of those 43 weekends on the road a year, one of those weekends you (and your presentation) are the reason I bought a Cerec. That Cerec purchase, this website and mentor group have changed my life and they make me a better clinician everyday. So thank you to dedicating your life to this, and being so humble about it all. I told you at dinner that night, you could be as snoody as you wanted to be, because you one of the few on top of Cerec, but you are just as humble and down to earth as ever! Hope your wife is getting used to Phoenix by now, she is a great person! Seems like things are going great, you deserve it. Hard work pays off!
Great blog.... might inspire me to take that huge financial risk and buy that xg3d LOL

Sam,
It's one thing to invest and take chances with careers and finances, many we know have done that. But I want to say thanks to your willingness to take a chance regarding your families well being. Looking back, you knew that there was risk of things not quite working out as hoped by your family. That kind of risk in itself tells us all involved in the Scottsdale Center what kind of character our leaders are made of. I for one am so glad things are working out.
In appreciation,
Mark

The fact that you have the opportunity to work with someone such as Imtiaz is as close to a guarantee of success as any. Love the cerecdoctors.com site, keep up the excellent work. Alan

Thank you all for the kind words. Its been an amazing ride!