A Master in the Art of Living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labor and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation.

He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing.

To himself, he always appears to be doing both.

— François-René de Chateaubriand

I don’t know if Dr. Bill Strupp, Dr. Bob Lowe or Dr. Brock Rondeau has ever seen this quote before, but having spent time with all three of them, I am pretty sure they would agree with it. These three clinical mentors of mine are all excellent clinicians and, by Chateaubriand’s definition, masters of living.

What does it take to be able to make the practice of dentistry as much play as it is work? The answer is different for everyone. For those three dentists that I’ve mentioned, it is their pursuit of restorative excellence. For another one of my friends, he knows exactly what he has to produce per operatory-per-hour-per-day to achieve his financial goals. It’s not a huge goal — it’s $277 per operatory-per-hour-per-day, although he has more operatories than the average dental practice. For him, the game is to be organized enough to meet his goal on a daily basis.

Recently, I was surprised at how much fun I had surgically placing my first implant. The placement will be featured in a future issue of Chairside^® and will also be featured in the appropriately titled DVD presentation, “My First Implant.” As you will see, there is so much technology behind the treatment planning of that case, that there was virtually nothing that could have gone wrong. It was shockingly easy to place, and overall, much easier than even a single crown prep.

It was hard for me to see a distinction between work and play with that implant. It was one of those times where I thought, “Do I really get $1,000 for doing that?” Here’s hoping your work can be your play as well.