“You might have periodontitis.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a gum disease that damages the soft tissue and destroys the bone that supports your teeth. It happens when you’re not diligent with your teeth hygiene. I’ll prescribe a mouthwash and please, come back in one month from now. If you had come later, you might needed surgery.”

After I left my dentist’s office I Googled periodontitis.

Damn…

It leaves your teeth naked.

You brush them, and they bleed every time.

Your friends see a skeleton’s smile when you laugh.

People stay away from you because you creep them out.

All that because you weren’t diligent enough with your teeth.

One day, out of the blue, you go to the dentist and he says you need surgery or else…

And you know what?

The same thing applies to your job.

Things look OK for a while.

You don’t love working there, but at least it pays the bills.

Plus, you work harder than others so this gives you a safety net.

Or so you thought…

One day, you’re fired because the company is downsizing. Yes, you’re a hard worker. But those other guys and gals are friendly with the boss so they can’t let them go.

Out of the blue, you’re without a job.

Now, like your gums, you are exposed.

You can’t pay your bills, your rent, and finding a new job in this economy looks impossible.

You felt safe and didn’t think prepare yourself for a situation like that.

If it hasn’t happened yet, you’re lucky.

But you know the danger is there.

It will happen.

And when it does, you must have in place a solution.

Sincerely,
Joseph Smith

P.S. I went back to my dentist and my teeth were in much better shape.

The gums were no longer inflamed and the bleeding I had when brushing, stopped.

I didn’t do anything new

But this time, I followed the instructions on how to wash them the right way.

Turns out you need to apply more pressure when brushing them and hold your toothbrush a certain way.

I was already washing them, only now I did it better.

It’s the same when you build your business.

There’s the way you do things.

This way brings OK results.

There’s also a way to do things a lot better.

This will bring phenomenal results.