Here’s the short answer: No.

Here’s the longer answer: No.

So my question, really my challenge to you, is why bother stressing about it?  Can you change it by complaining about it? Or by railing at the people who voted for Obama?  Or criticizing Romney for running an ineffective campaign?  What does that get you?  Temporary relief, perhaps, but no tangible solution.

The simple fact is that many of the things that we focus on in business, and in life, are completely out of our control.  And we waste a considerable amount of energy grousing, critiquing, and pontificating, and it’s all for naught.

Did you convince a single person to vote differently in this election?  I know I didn’t.  Many of us can’t even convince our own spouse not to cancel out our vote.

The ADA can’t even get Congress to take the dental equipment tax out of the Affordable Care Act, even though we don’t benefit financially from any provision of that Act.

You can’t control the NASDAQ or the Dow Jones Average, or income tax rates, or the European debt crisis, or the unemployment rate. So are any of these things worth stressing about?

Here’s the short answer: No.

Here’s the long answer: Focus on those things that are in your control. Every highly successful business person I know, and I am fortunate enough to know several multi-millionaires and one or two billionaires, all do the same thing: they focus 100% of their energy on those aspects of their business that are within their control, and they don’t waste a single calorie on anything else.

Why?  Because with every successful business, you make your own economy.  I’ll say that again. YOU make your OWN economy.  And everything that takes your energy away from that depletes you, distracts you, and diminishes your persistence, determination and, perhaps most of all, your creativity.

A dental practice is still a phenomenal business model, but more than ever you have to adapt new techniques, new services, new technologies.  And you have to incorporate marketing principles into your behavior and environment.  But once you do, you can weather any economic storm.  It’s being done by your peers every day.  You can tell who they are.  They’re the ones who don’t have time to sit and talk about how bad things are these days.  They’re too busy making money, and having a great time doing it.  Because they’re in control.  It’s a good feeling.

Don’t get me wrong.  I know this is a hard habit to break.  But once you start catching yourself, and questioning why your energy is going in the wrong direction, you’ll get stingy about how much time and energy you let it steal from creating your future success. So where do you start?  My book, I hope. Then, if you already offer Invisalign, why not add Six Month Smiles to your repertoire?  Digital radiography will make it easier to do case presentations and store the data digitally while reducing radiation. Cone beam technology will vastly increase the range of implants you can do yourself. Same day restorations with CAD/CAM like CEREC are an enormous patient benefit. The answers are all around you.  If you can’t find them, then get a good coach. Look into the Takacs Learning Center; Fortune Management; Jameson Management, Spear. And start building your economy.

I wish you all a satisfying year ahead!