Being Unstoppable with Ferhan Ahmed – IC016

Jaz’s Introduction: In this episode, we have Ferhan Ahmed. Now Ferhan is an awesome clinician. And he wrote this book called ‘Unstoppable’, which is a great contribution because it does so much for charity. But it’s one of those books, which is very much in the realms of personal development. I’m a sucker for personal development books, I love anything in that genre of personal development. So the reason I like this book by Ferhan, is that it’s personal development book, but it talks to me. It talked to me as a dentist, because he is a dentist, turn medic. And now he focuses on full arch implant work. And it was very inspiring. I think it’s something that you know, we need to focus more on the non clinical sometimes, be it the mindset. So what do you expect to gain from this episode is to explore a little bit about your learning style, what is your learning style, and really focusing on bigger picture type stuff. And one of the biggest takeaways, I think, is the power of visualization. Now, let Ferhan do the honors explain a bit. But yeah, the times where I use visualization is like, macro visualization, like bigger projects, like, when I’m developing the podcast, I’m visualizing things, when I do public speaking, or lecturing or whatever, I am going to be doing some visualization in my head, I would have given that talk, my eyes closed and when I’m in bed, and I would have spoken to people how I’m going to look, how I’m going to say things, what I’m going to say. So a lot of times I’ve rehearsed things in my mind, but also, like, if I’m doing a surgical wisdom tooth that is just beyond my comfort zone, I will mentally rehearse that surgical procedure. Or if I’m doing anything complex, multiple crowns, things that are just stepping out of my comfort zone, I’m always rehearsing it in my mind, what could possibly go wrong? How am I gonna accept the instrument for my nurses hand? Like to this tiny little details. So one big takeaway from this episode is the power of visualization. Anyway, hope you enjoy this interference cast with Ferhan, and let’s become unstoppable.

Main Interview:
[Jaz] Ferhan Ahmed, welcome to the Protrusive Dental Podcast, my friend.

[Ferhan] Thanks, man

[Jaz] We already had a little spicy intro there. So I already get so much value here. We talked about morning routines already. We talk about productivity so I know it’s gonna be one of those at a million miles now but in a good way. I mean, all quite positive. I know I’m with you, now. I’ve seen you on Instagram. I know that you fly around to different clinics and you mentor them on implants and complex dentistry. Which is amazing. So tell us, for those who don’t know who you are, a little bit more about what drives you and your passions. And we’re going to get into more of it. I feel like I know you already because I read some of your book now. So tell us a little about yourself for the listeners.

[Ferhan]
Yeah, thanks, Jaz. My name is Ferhan. And I see myself, I initially saw myself as a dentist, then I went through a phase in my life where I saw myself as a medic and then add kids and as a father. And then I, it’s a question I’ve been really asking myself, What do I see myself as? And I just wanted one word. And the word that came to my mind was creative. I want to be a creator. That’s what I want to be known as, that’s what I feel is I can be most closely aligned with, yeah, I teach, I mentor, I’m a dad, I’m a husband, I’m a son, I’m a brother. But what is closest to my heart is someone that’s the people who come and think ‘Yeah. He’s quite creative. He’s always looking to do something innovate and create.’ And as I’m going into the fourth decade of my life, that’s what I want to really focus on and being a creator. So yeah, I’d love to think of me as a creative or a creator. But most people know me as an implant dentist, and I have a passion for education and training within implant dentistry. And that really stems from impact. That’s one word that I think about most days, and that’s impact and what impact you know, I asked myself the question for what impact are you having? What impact are you wanting? And in 10 years time, what impact have you had, and the pandemic and it was, you know, none of us really expected it and it changed everything. It was an unforced rest at home, three months, and I was like, What am I going to do? And I was like, you know, I’m going to make the absolute most of this opportunity. And for me, I’ve always felt my impact comes from the work I do. So I was an implant dentist that rehabilitated a lot of people with filling or denture wearers, rehabilitated them and give them fixed teeth. And really, how I felt, how can I ask myself the question, How can I have a bigger impact? Well, how much full arch implant dentistry can I do and do. It’s tiring. It’s physically, mentally draining. And so I could do maybe four cases, five cases a week. That’s 20 a year, that’s 240. 20 a month. 240 a year. But what if you could train a thousand dentists to get the predictability, the reproducibility and the consistency that you can get with the full arch implant dentistry, then the impact will be bigger. And so that’s where the online program came from. That’s where the when one to one mentoring comes from, that’s where the live courses aligned with it online. And the community I’m trying to build within full arch implant dentistry is coming from, it’s all based around one word, impact, that I can from 10 years down the line, look back and think yeah, I did all I could to have the biggest impact that could around this particular area within implant dentistry. And that’s for full arch implants. So yeah, impact your career.

[Jaz]
How did it develop into that? So you went from dental school to medical school, most people who do that have got Maxfacts in their mind? So what made you opt away from the typical maxillofacial route and treating oncology and being a restorative consultant that and I’m thinking, okay, you know what, I’m going to go into implantology and private practice. Yeah, so

[Ferhan]
I suppose it’s the best way to look at it is doors, you know, we all have a vision to get to an endpoint. And that may be door 10. But I always looked at life, just taking a small step, and just going to door two opening that door and see what happens. And then opening the next door after I’m through door two settle, let’s see the opportunity. And so when I thought about doing medicine, I was in the environment around maxillofacial consultants, and they inspired me, they impacted me, and I wanted to be like them. And so for me to be like them, I had to pursue a second degree. And that happened to be medicine. And I went down to Liverpool and did a full year of postgraduate degree. However, I also was aware of that, it’d be okay not to follow that career. I was okay with that. Because one of the other reasons I want to do medicine was just that, seeking more knowledge to be a bit different, to just better myself. And so I went down to do medicine with the proviso that yep, I could do maxfacts, or it’d be just good to have a medical degree, it’s never going to hold me back. It’s always just going to be an advantage. It’s going to make me stand out from the rest. And what’s the worst that could happen? Yeah, four years have gone, but I’ve got a degree, and it’s a worthwhile degree that will just add to my dental ??? And so that’s really the sort of medicine came. I did. And then once I finish, I’m also one of those people once I start, I don’t stop, you know, so yeah, there were times where this is tough, you know, working on calls and nights, weekends in between, in between all the learning that was going on struggling with money, but I was like, no, no, I got to keep going, got to keep going and then come towards the end, it’s a big relief, you’re like, great, and then you have to kind of do the foundation years, just to get the full registration on to the GMC, etc. And then an opportunity arose for me to step out of that journey into becoming an official surgeon. And I had an option and I chose the option to join a group of dental practices that were growing and become a partner. And that was it. So really, I was at, you know, door three, I went through and I had a couple of options. And I choose one that involved stepping away from the training pathway to becoming a maxillofacial surgeon. And a going towards where I would be much more independent, I’d have much more that freedom to do what I wanted and not have to fit into a system. And it was simple as that. And I look back now and feel that it was the right decision. However, I’m also that type of person that’s just optimistic and just grateful for what I have, that if I’d gone down the career of a maxillofacial surgeon, I would have, I feel I would have made the most of that. And I would have looked back but yeah, this was the path that I was meant to follow. And it’s all good. But at this moment in time, you know, I’m very fortunate for everything that I have around me, and that sort of freedom to do what I want and see work when I want work with who I want. And that ability to, you know, support my family. So yeah, very grateful for that.

[Jaz]
Well, there are many young dentists listening who may be pursuing a full time Master’s or medical school could be living just like it was for you. So just give us a bit of advice to those people who may be pursuing a MClinDent as well for example, right and that’s very immersive time away from family, time away from earnings. So the LOE, loss of earnings factor comes in. What advice can you give to them, you know, in your, the most darkest moment during your medical training, when your friends around you are earning and spending and holidays and that kind of stuff, and you are still a perpetual student that never ends. What advice can you give to those who are in the midst of that?

[Ferhan]
Well, what I would say about that is a motto that I hold dear to my heart is always put learning before earning and learning and upskilling. And increasing your knowledge is immensely, immensely powerful, and it will never hold you back. But what I do see is, especially now within dentistry, medicine, there’s such an abundance of courses, training programs, qualifications, you have to be careful, and make that decision wisely. Because it’s a huge investment. And not only of your time, but financial investment. But you’ve got to think about your return on investment. And once that course is completed, or once you’re on that course, really, how is that going to, you know, sort of propel your career forward? How are you going to utilize the skills that you’ve learned, and really sort of push on? And I see this all the time, I’ve been involved in teaching and attending numerous courses, and clinicians turn up to these courses ill prepared. And what am I mean by is ill prepared, they’ve not really prepped themselves on how they’re going to move forward, once they’ve learned this new skill. So for instance, they’ve done a bone grafting course, and then they come up with a bone grafting course. And then they don’t actually apply any of the skills, the knowledge you’ve learned until a year later and then they forgotten to, you know, what I say to clinicians that I work with is you’ve got to be continuously learning and looking to apply simultaneously. Otherwise, it’s pointless, it’s pointless to get involved in training upskilling, if you’re not going to be applying it, and the application doesn’t just happen on its own. It’s active, and sometimes it’s not in your control. So let’s take example, implants. Now, you could be, most clinicians are associates, they work in a practice, and there’s a principal or with a corporate. Now, the question, Is that practice environment going to help you get the work in? Are they going to market for you? Are they going to build a team around you so you can support implant patients? What’s the point of doing an MSc in implant dentistry, if there’s no plan to get patients in, you’re not going to have that opportunity to reinforce the learning. And so really what it is, it’s just sitting down and planning around formal further education and how you’re going to apply that. So really, it’s about that and really think taking this holistic approach to training, and really thinking about return on investment, because that’s what’s really important. So you can fork out 50 60,000 pounds for MSc, loss of earnings, investment in the course. But are you getting that money back? And how long is it going to take you? Otherwise, you know, please don’t do it. That would be my advice.

[Jaz]
Now, as I say, you know whether it’s a big program, like you mentioned, or if it’s a smaller course, I mean, nowadays, I mean, I did so many courses in my first five years. But nowadays, I definitely agree with you. Before I book onto any course now, I will make sure that I have got a couple of Crown Lengthening patients, for example, it’s Crown Lengthening course, ready to be treated on when I come back from that course. Or if it’s a composite course, now I’ll make sure that for example, I’m looking forward to doing Dr Kostas, injectable composite course. But I know that once I’ve got three or four patients lined up who are in treatment plan for that, and they’ve agreed, the fees agreed, and they’re ready for it. Only then would I go on such a course. Now my mentality’s changed a lot. Whereas before I was very much exposing myself to new knowledge and stuff. I think now, especially with the current environment, definitely you have to make sure it’s applicable. First thing and you mentioned about the whole working to learn not to earn. I was in one scenario when I got back from Singapore, where I was offered two positions, one in Harley Street and one in Windsor. And both had good principles and good support networks enough, but was told by my friend Biju , Biju Krishnan if you want to work with this principal, you will make a lot of money, but if you’re working for the other principal, you might not make a lot of money, but you’ll learn a lot more and I definitely picked the one to learn a lot more. So I worked in Windsor with Dave Winkler, I think is one my you know, that’s why I think we’re a bit quite similar, similar ethos. And I echo that for all young dentists listening. The next question I had was a

[Ferhan]
Sorry, just on that note, and I couldn’t agree with you more in some of these missions when I worked with them on a one to one basis. I have really frank conversations with them, and I openly disclose how much I make. And I openly have disclosed the history, the evolution of my earnings. And I’ve said This is what’s happened to my earnings over the years, because I’ve done this, this, this, all you do is just copy that. I have invested, I’ve invested. And now I bear the fruits. It’s a no brainer. You know, it’s not about short term gain. It’s a long term sustained gain. And yeah people see me flying about working. That’s choice. I’m at such a fortunate position now, when I don’t need to work anywhere near five days a week to have a really good life. And that’s because of all the effort that I’ve made in the past. And now it’s purely like it’s a choice. I thrive off the high paced environment that I work in. But if you just, you know, sort of invest the time, where the focus isn’t, how much am I making, what percentage are my own, and actually thinking about the people and the exposure you’re getting. Then it will honestly, it will always bear fruits, if you have that sort of open mind to opportunities. You’ll never regret it. Never.

[Jaz]
Absolutely agreed. And on that similar theme, you go from these posts and courses and you apply. And yes, you might be doing a training post like a DCT posts, you’re not earning as much. But you look five years later, and you’re earning way more potentially, than your colleagues because you’ve been through that hardship, you’ve been through that struggle, and you gain that, a-mass that knowledge. And like you said, every opportunity to learn as one, you know, from your book is one you should take. And so one of the other things that you talked about in your book is a power of visualization. And I really liked that because on a macro level, I used to even do this before I became a dentist because before even getting to dental school, that’s all I wanted to be, I wanted to be a dentist, that was my big dreams, I was age 14. And so I used to visualize myself with an offer in my hand or visualize myself at dental school. So that’s like the macro level thinking. But I also like that mental rehearsal, you mentioned that whereby, before a big procedure, I always close my eyes, and I jot down the exact equipment I’ll use as in when I use it so I can then give that to my nurse so she knows exactly what I’m gonna need at what point because I’ve already mentally rehearse that, you know, that case, that procedure. So I’m a big fan of that. So just tell us a little bit expand more about the power of visualization, in terms of yielding better results for you as a clinician.

[Ferhan]
Really, Jaz. It’s exactly what you’ve said. And for me, when I would particularly as you start to take on more complex cases, it becomes more important that you know that you really are able to visualize everything in front of you. And almost, you know, I’ll close my eyes or the night before a big case. I’ll be in bed, and I’ll just think about it. And then I mean, I don’t know if you’ve seen the Queen’s gambit? We’re, what’s her name? Martha? Melissa?

[Jaz]
Is that the one that chess right? [Ferhan] Yes [Jaz] Yes. So she’s laying down and seeing all the chess pieces above.

[Ferhan]
Yeah, that’s exactly what happens. Yeah, I can lie in my bed. And I can see the bone. Because we’ve worked everything out in a CBCT. And we’ve planned it on a CBCT until I can see exactly what it is that I’m doing, because we’ve got a 3d render. And sometimes actually, we print those 3d renders. So I can actually hold the bone. And it’s about closing your eyes, or actually, you get, you do it so much, you can do it with your eyes open, you just see it all, how you’re going to create your incision. And the steps you’re going to go through to create your incision, what instrument you’re going to have in one hand and the other, and how you’re going to paint brush the tissues, open everything up, control the hemostasis, how your assistants going to position their instrument so you’ve got the correct access, be able to visualize everything. It’s critical step is specially in the learning. And as you upskill in a particular procedure, then it gets to a point where now if I was doing simple, in a lot of full arch work, I don’t do that. But when I’m doing anything complex, or anything that I don’t do on a routine basis, I go back to a have to have to mentally rehearse that, visualize it in front of me happening. And that’s not once. That’s multiple times. And back to what you sort of say there’s writing out. Yeah, I’ve been there where I wrote every single step out the local administrating eight cartridges of articaine at this point, at this point, at this point, everything all written out. And also it’s really nice to then share that written sort of rehearsed treatment protocol with the team. So they’re aware of exactly each step. Because what we must remember is that we’re only as good as our team, especially when we’re doing big complex surgery, your assistant and other team members that are in the room need to be aware of each step, because I get into this state of flow when I’m operating. And I don’t want anything to sort of bring any sort of jeopardy to that system [Jaz] Disrupt that [Ferhan] Yeah, disrupt that flow that I’m in, because it just, it can throw you off. So I don’t want any disruptions, we follow the silent corporate protocol, we have very calming music in the background. And everybody knows exactly the steps involved, what their role is. And then all being well. That’s how you execute the procedure. So that’s, you know, I really can’t emphasize the importance of visualization when it comes to surgical procedures. But like you sort of mentioned, it’s, there’s visualization professionally, but there’s also personal visualization. And so I will often visualize, if you look at sort of read books by David Goggins, ‘Can’t Hurt Me’, he talks about, he has a visualization mirror, a board, that people talk about visualization boards, where they take a picture of their dream house they put it up, they take a picture of their dream car, they put it up, the clothes they want to wear for the holidays, they want to go, and you really, if you start to look at these things every single day, then you start to believe that’s where you should be, that’s the house you should live, that’s the holidays you should have, that’s the car you should drive. And then when you start to see yourself living that life, then it’s just the way the world works, you’ll start to sort of be follow that path that will lead you there. I mean, I’m a big believer in that.

[Jaz]
So am I, Ferhan. So am I and I do practice it. And you know, you just mentioned briefly about how I know I told you, I like to write it down, you said you like to write down, I read in the book about you being you know, you’d like to watch videos, and then write things and draw things. And so I first realized that I’m a visual learner, when I realized that every time someone not Indian or not English mentions their name. And I’m like, Wait, how do you spell that? Or how do you spell this? And then when they spell it, in my mind, I’m sort of writing it out. And then when I have the visual and mental image of it, that’s when I’ve absolutely going to etch it and pronounce it perfectly from then onwards, basically. So I know I’m a visual learner, a visual person in general. How else can people figure out what kind of learning styles there are? Because for you, as an educator, you need to also suss out what kind of learner someone is, but how can you assist learners in finding out what their learning style is because one of your inner themes in a book and one thing I, you know, we’re both very passionate about is the importance of lifelong education. So I think the sooner we figure out what kind of learner we are, the more empowered we can be.

[Ferhan]
Yeah, so sort of going back to when I really discovered learning for myself is back to university days. And you go through this sort of journey of discovery, where you’re trying to figure out the best way to learn this essay or biochemistry, physiology that you need to write, it’s hard to learn anatomy. And as soon as you go through a process of trial and error, working out and actually realized that I was, I liked colors, I like writing things down repetitively, I like to have big chunks of text, and then start to break them down. And then work out acronyms. I love to, I used to have a friend that I used to pair up with an a great way of learning is I would teach him something, he would teach me something back, we would stand up in front of each other and go through just describing what we’d learned over the last hour. And that reinforced learning. So it’s really discovering yourself having that self awareness. And looking back, because without realizing, you probably know what it is that is the way that you learn in the bit, you know, sort of your specific a learning skill is and learning technique is, and it’s just sort of taking a moment thinking, I went through university, I’ve done this, this is how I learned. I didn’t enjoy that. You know, I remember, actually now that you’ve sort of asked this question, I used to have a tape recorder. And I used to record like chapters in a book. And I used to go to sleep, because I don’t know where I read this. But I have it. If you can listen to something while you sleep, it sort of sinks into your brain. I don’t know how true this is. But during dental school, I recorded hours and hours of content that I would have on a tape recorder and I was walking. I would just plead to myself and reinforce learning, reinforce my learning. I don’t know how much that had an impact on me. But now I mean, I’m an avid listener of podcasts, including your podcast, podcasts in general, audio books, because audio is another great way that I liked to learn. So different ways, and it’s about discovering it. Are you visual? Are you audio? Do you like the print? Or do you like to get creative with your learning where you start to record yourself seeing things, summarizing it, but another one great way to learn is, I think this is one of the best ways to learn, I find myself and when I work with other clinicians, they also find this really helpful is, is teaching others. When I get up in front of people, and I’ve given them a lecture, one of the first things I like to say to them as I want three takeaways. I want after we finish this step of teaching, I want you to take away three things, and I want you to write them out. And I’ll ask you at the end. So three takeaways from this lecture. The other thing I like to see is you have to approach this learning as if you want to teach it to someone else in 40 hours. And what that does, it deepens our understanding on our concentration during that period, when we approach it in that manner where the thought process, I’m going to have to teach this to someone else and how would I do that, and then go and do that. And I think that’s really powerful. So these are some of the things that I sort of bring up when I’m lecturing, when I’m lecturing, teaching other clinicians that this is the type of approach, but it is discovery, it’s self awareness. And it’s trial and error. It’s reflecting what works, because we all are individual, and I really believe learning should be personalized. And it’s my responsibility as an educator to understand the clinicians I’m working with, how it is that they learn, or it’s my responsibility to help them discover how it is that they learn. Because you can be a phenomenal clinician, surgeon, whatever it is that you do, but you can be a poor educator. And I think they’re two different roles. It’s not that they can’t be aligned. Absolutely, they can be aligned. But they’re two different skills. And that’s my approach to it.

[Jaz]
You mentioned you listen to podcasts, well, do you do this thing, which I do where I listened to the podcast at two times normal speed or 2.2 times? Have you know, is that the kind of thing that you practice as well?

[Ferhan]
100%. Absolutely. Because what that allows you to do is listen to the double the amount of content, so I drive a lot. And when I say I drive a lot, I do about 40 to 45,000 miles on the road, every year. So I drive a lot, I get through a lot of audiobooks. I get through a lot of podcasts, and I listen to them at [Jaz] Driving University. [Ferhan] Yeah. And it’s really amazing how your mind, your listening capacity, becomes quickly trained to listening to audio books through audible, or podcasts at to two and a half speed. And actually my online module,

[Jaz]
The first time you do it, it’s like what the hell is this, but then it becomes so easy. And now I’m creeping up more and more and more and still saying that now when I listen to people speak, like, why he’s speaking so slowly, but because I’m so used to listening two times that everyone else seems really slow.

[Ferhan]
Yeah, no, I think it’s really worthwhile. And it’s amazing how quickly you adapt to listening to things up to two and a half speed. What’s funny is sometimes I’ve had a passenger in my car, and I’m listening to a podcast, because I don’t mind who’s in the car. I was like, Yeah, I’m listening to this. I’m gonna finish it off. And then they’re like, I can’t make sense of it. I was like, Yeah, you’ll be fine, you’ll get used to it [Jaz] Gibberish [Ferhan] Gibberish. Yeah. They’r like, how do you understand that? I was like, Yeah, it’s absolutely fine. But yeah, I think that’s what

[Jaz]
My wife’s the same when she’s in the car actually. It is and you pick it up. So that for those who listen to this podcast right now, come on, crank it up already go to two times, you’ll get more episodes, I promise you that. I only got through to up to about Chapter Four in your book. So I want to say of the rest of the chapters. What is the big takeaway, a big lesson or something that you’re really passionate about in the rest of the book? Because I covered a few themes that you talked about in the book already. What is the main takeaway message that yoy want to get dentist to know that you’ve covered in the book, that you think would really be impactful for those listening now.

[Ferhan]
The main message of the whole book is the title, it’s ‘Being Unstoppable’. For me, that means having this inner drive which is so deep and consistent, that you keep going regardless of challenges, and it’s striving for those goals and dreams that you have. So that’s the main theme and the reason why I sort of a the message behind the book And it was created because for me, there’s different ways I can feel I can have impact. And I just had this opportunity, you know, when the student appears, when the student is ready, the teacher appears that be missing. So I didn’t realize I had a book in me. But I encountered an opportunity and someone was there to help guide me and, and bring it to fruition. In terms of other themes through the book that I’ve, that you’re going to come on to. One is mentorship, and having mentors and heroes, I am very fortunate in my life, my career, not just from school, but all the way up to today, I have had people that have been profoundly influential in my career, and have allowed me to become the clinician I am today. And for them for to them I am forever grateful, I wouldn’t be here without their guidance, their support, and mentorship and having heroes in your life. So people that you look up to, maybe they’re not, you don’t have a direct link to them. But you look up to them, you’re inspired by them. And you look at them, and think to yourself, yeah, I can strive to be to get to that level, because that we need those types of people in our life too. So I think that’s a really important aspect. And then the final chapter talks about charity. And that’s something that’s very close to my heart. Back in 2014, a group of colleagues set up down to eight network, their friends based around where I grew up in Glasgow, a lot of us were at dental school together. And the sort of aim of the charity was to help children in conflict areas with basic dental care. And so we’ve led numerous missions to Africa, Middle East, Asia, where we treat people that really wouldn’t have access to basic dental care. And when it comes to charity, I think it’s so important to be able to give back, not only give back, when you get to a certain level and help people along the way, I think that’s important. But charity, we’re giving back and helping those less fortunate as dentist within a really privileged position, comfortable, earn well, it’s important to give back. And one of the sort of aims of the book is to hopefully raise my target is 50,000 pounds sell, that I need to sell around 10,000 copies of the book. And I’m hoping to build a dental clinic in Kashmir. So it can provide basic dental care for a community of children in a particular area. So I think charity, mentorship is two themes that you want to make. [Jaz] That is absolutely brilliant. [Ferhan] So I mean, yeah, again,

[Jaz]
I just want to say, Ferhan before you continue to just get on that message, you know, it’d be great. If you’re going to do I think you will achieve that number. Because that’s such a wonderful thing. If you could do that, to build that dental *clinic in Kashmir is a wonderful thought to be able to do that as one say for the perfect for those who maybe are new to this book, or you know, I know it’s launching soon at the time of recording. I know it’s launching soon. But one thing I liked about it was that that people there’s a lot of people who talk about motivation, there are people talk about visualization says you know, I’m already attuned to that. But coming from you, someone who’s walked the same path that I walked before coming from a dentist, or wet fingered practitioner, it made it much more relatable. And then you have the sort of comparisons to actually real life dental scenario. So that made it come much more to the surface for me. So that’s why I’d recommend that book to all the dentists listening right now. And of course, with with an amazing aim that you have here. Your everyone should be rushing out to get this, and we’ll put the Amazon link on the blog post as well, for sure.

[Ferhan]
Wonderful. I really, really appreciate that. But yeah, so I would love to hit that target and build the dental clinic. And then, you know, it’s about sort of, again, back to that one word, impact, where I’ve managed to create a piece of written work, if that can then go and help other people and it can be a lasting legacy where the impact is ongoing, it’s consistent, and it’s hopefully talked about, it’s all the more rewarding for me and I’m hoping that it will then inspire me on to do more and more. I like anything when we’re pushing ourselves to try to be as creative as possible. We rely on people accepting what we’re putting out and what we’re doing. The clinicians I teach, you know, I want feedback from them, that I’m doing a good job, that I’m making a difference, that I’ve had an impact on them for them to upskill and sort of do the work that I plan to teach them and they’re doing it independently, that’s massively important, because then that sort of pushes me to do more, to become more myself. And so it’s a two-way process where the teaching side it’s to be I rely on the clinicians I’ve worked with to spur me on to be better. And then in terms of the, what I’m trying to create through written or through audio or through pictures, I rely on feedback from other people to see what works, what doesn’t work, how I can change things, to have that bigger impact. That’s really, really important to me.

[Jaz]
How do you plan to reward yourself because one things he talked about was we do all this visualization, mental rehearsal, but then when you actually achieve something, okay, after you’ve rehearsed it, sometimes I’ve been guilty of not rewarding myself, whatever. And I’m slowly working on that. But how do you intend to reward yourself once you get the launch out? Because it takes a lot of work to produce something like this.

[Ferhan]
Yeah, probably. I don’t, I think it is important to reward yourself. But I just, you know, sort of going back probably what I’d say is good. You know, I talked to myself and it. Well done. That’s good. That’s done. What’s next. And if you’ve read any of the books by Tim Grover, on ‘Relentless’, and so Tim Grover, if you’ve not heard of him is the guy that coached Kobe Bryant, and Michael Jordan. He’s got a new book out, I forgot what it’s called. But he’s got one book called ‘Relentless’. I’m pretty sure got ‘Relentless’. And it’s a phenomenal read. And it’s like, what he said about Kobe and Michael Jordan really resonated with me, did work their socks off, did when the NBA that year did get the ring, and then they’d be like, right, okay, I’m after number six. And then I’m after number seven. And so for me, it’s like saying to myself, yeah, that’s great. You’ve built a community of a hundred Implant Dentist that you’re working with, you have the books in print, it’s been launched. For me, it’s what’s next? It’s what’s next. And, yeah, I see. Yeah, great for him. That’s cool. You know, I see Well done, that’s an achievement. But for me, it’s always what’s next. And, you know, I’m not one of those, I should take some time off. I should, you know, buy myself something nice. That doesn’t do it. For me, it’s for me, it’s what’s next. And then I suppose the reward really would be as coming up with something better next time, and being able to push myself to be better continuously. That’s my, that would be my reward with I’ve done something right. So how am I adding to that? How’s it, How am I going to make this better next time? How am I going to create something bigger? That’s really what sort of drives me. And that’s, that’s my reward, if I’m able to do something better next time.

[Jaz]
Brilliant. Now, I know you’re into really into your books, as well as the mind or the audio books you just do. In fact, funnily enough, when I was reading about visualization, I was preparing a quote to share with everyone here, as I turned the page, that exact same quote was was the one you had on the top of that chapter ready, which was, everything is created twice, first in the mind. And then in reality by Stephen Covey. So I was really glad you shared that. But tell us about your favorite because I got a section on the on the website for books and whatnot. Just shout out some of your favorite books. So you mentioned about the Hal Elrod’s book The Miracle Morning, we can obviously, we can also do a shout out to 7 Habits of Highly Effective People since you got Stephen Covey’s quote there. You mentioned Relentless. What are your other favorite books to drive us?

[Ferhan]
So Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich, absolute classic. Yep, I’ve got a pile of books here. I love a Tim Ferriss. I’ve got the 4-hour workweek there. That’s a phenomenal book, you need to let me go into my audible and remind myself.

[Jaz]
All right, while you’re doing that, then my last question was going to be while you’re doing that, is just tell us, just so you can think about it is you’ve got a whole bit on communication with patients. And then we haven’t really touched on that theme. So I’d like to get from your, extract from you your biggest communication tip that you can share with us.

[Ferhan]
I think empathy is absolutely crucial, especially in our line of work as clinicians where you step back and really try to understand your patients why it is that they’ve come to you and what it is they really want. It’s not white teeth. It’s not straight teeth. It’s not what the patients come in. It’s not. Patients are there for a reason. And it’s more than just white teeth, straight teeth, shiny teeth, whatever it is. Patients want confidence. They want the ability, they want comfort, they want confidence. They want to be able to offer a lot the patient I’m managing we want to have function, to eat with comfort. And it’s empathizing towards patients about the difficulties that they’re going through with their dentition, which is really such a crucial part of the face, the smile, and it’s really trying to understand patients, when it comes to them presenting in your clinics. So I think that is absolutely crucial. So having that empathy and being able to give your patients’ trust. And that, yeah, it’s hard initially as you’re a young practitioner upskilling, gaining experience, but it comes. And it’s something that you need to work on, reflect on, and always look to improve and evolve, beginning patients’ trust. And then when they trust you, you know, that’s really when the magic happens when patients come in, and I just, you know, after years and years of having patient interactions, it’s such a relaxed part of the work I do, we can just sit there relaxed, give the patient a smile, and just go, how can I help you? Or what can I help you with? Or I understand that this is a problem, how is it that I can help you with that. And it’s nice to be in a really kind of calm, comfortable place internally as a clinician, when you’re having that conversation with patients. And it’s hard to describe it, and see what it is that changes. But something happens when you start to develop that and it becomes that that’s the clinician you become. And then patients sense that, patients sense the comfort and the peace that you’re internally, sort of that what’s going on inside you when it comes to that conversation, they sense that. I don’t know what it is, but they sense it. And when they sense, they like that sense that this clinician is putting me at ease, he’s understanding, he’s empathizing, I trust this guy. And then they’re like, yep. And when they trust you, they accept your treatment plan, they accept your advice. And then you that’s the start of a real strong patient-clinician relationship. And that’s what we want. Because at the end of day, we can never predict how treatments going to, with 100% certainty how the treatments going to go. But if you have that trust, then patients are much more accepting of potential hiccups that can occur during that journey. Now, let me see where that

[Jaz]
Whenever I think of trust before we get that out. Whenever I think of trust, I remember somebody Raj Rattan, my old training program director during DF1, taught us about trust. And it’s interesting thing he said, trust with patients, you earn it in little drops. So you earned it in drops. But when you lose it, you lose it in buckets. It’s one of those things basically. So you have to keep working, keep earning that trust. And with some patients were more trusting Yes, it’s easier. Others you just have to you know everything about you the environment, you’re in the way you present yourself, the voice tone that you produce, the confidence that you have in yourself. And it’s not like egotistical or overconfidence, it’s just like, reassuring the patient that you know what, you’re in safe hands, and we care. And on that topic of care while you’re just getting those books out, Is what I liked was that you still get nervous before big procedures and you talk about this because same here, right? When I’m doing multiple preps or large provisionals, and stuff, very different the nature of what you’re doing. But I still get little bit nervous. And the reason we get nervous beforehand is because we genuinely care about the person at the end of that treatment. And we want them to have a good result. So it like you said that the day you stop getting nervous, there’s a day you might stop working, because that’s when you maybe you’ve lost that sort of feeling, that connection. So it’s important to have that human side about you.

[Ferhan]
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. The response, you know, I will never lose something. And that’s the trust that patients put in me every day to inject them, to cut them open, to drill away the bone, to start drilling into their bone, to screw in metal screws into there. That’s a hell of a lot of trust. And it’s easy to forget that, really easy to forget that because we’re just getting to this circle, and we’re just on repeat all the time. But it’s a big thing for a patient to come in, sit down, open their mouth, and go. That’s fine. You know, Dr. Ahmed, you just crack on. The big, big responsibility that we have as clinicians when patients do that, and we must never never forget that. And it’s an honor. It really is when patients trust us like that. And I think that’s something that we need to step back and think about on a regular basis. So yeah, so and sort of going back to the nerves and even when I’m doing sort of straightforward treatment, I still am like right here, I’ve got to perform, I’ve got to do my best. And I will often often say that to the team in the morning, if we’ve got a busy day of surgery ahead, Said, You know what, I’m not doing this on my own, we all need to perform here, we’re going to do our absolute best. And so we start the day with a team huddled, discussing this. And often talking about actually how lucky we are to be doing this type of work, and the trust that patients have with us. And it’s not just me, it’s the whole team. And then at the end of the day, reflecting on the work, and a meeting to the team, you know, thanks a lot for everything, because I couldn’t have done it without you. And we’ve done a lot of good work today. And if I go back to, I did a couple of cases with a colleague in London on Saturday. And the first patient was a denture wearer, 90 year old denture wearer. And she came in, and what is the flap, putting four implants, give her a fixed set of teeth and we changed her life. The second patient came in with a filling dentition, we took out our teeth, we put in four implants, we give her fixed teeth. And we changed our life. And I said at the end of the day to the two girls, the nurses that were working with us, I said, you know, we’ve done some immense work today. And you too, should be really proud, we’ve changed lives. And don’t forget that this is not anything taken lightly. This is life changing treatment, and you had a big partners. So thank you [Jaz] That’s a really good way to put it. [Ferhan] And I’m very fortunate. I’m fortunate for the people that taught me to be able to do the work I do. And I’m feel fortunate that I can do it now and teach others. And I hope I never forget that. Because it’s a privileged position to be in. So if onto books, I manage myself in my audible. But but so I’ll give two books that actually I talk about on a regular basis. The first one is ‘Atomic Habits’ by James Clear. Phenomenal book, because it’s our habits that really set the tone for who we are and who we become. And it’s having good habits. And James Clear, does it present it beautifully in his book Atomic Habits. I also encourage you to subscribe to his newsletter, which comes out every week. And it’s 3-2-1. 3 thoughts and from himself. 2 thoughts from others. And one question he asks you, it’s phenomenal. I always look forward to every week. And it’s all based on his book Atomic Habits, and really helps you sort of create these good habits into your life and the best way to go about it. And these habits, absolutely then lead to the hopefully the life that you want to create for yourself. The other book that I wish I’d read when I was 15, is Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and it is Robert Kiyosaki, and the importance of being financially aware and financially conscious. And he talks about passive income investing. And I’ve I read this is two years ago, and it’s been immensely rewarding. It’s been the best sort of 799 I’ve ever spent.

[Jaz]
Yeah, I read that in my late teens. And you’re right. It’s a huge impact that book has

[Ferhan]
Well, I read right into my late 30s. And I honestly read that book and thought, Where have you been? It’s been out for like, 20 years. I was like, where’s this book being widened? I read it before. I wish I’d read it earlier. I really feel like be set. And you know, I’m very comfortable. I’m not complaining. But I’d be really set financially if I’d read this book earlier. And so for young clinicians out there I think it’s important to be a financially savvy, a plan for the future, invest and save. And that book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad was instrumental in me changing my a financial

[Jaz]
I might have to read it again. I know you inspired me to read it again, I think.

[Ferhan]
Yeah, it was brilliant. It was brilliant. And so two books, but yeah, I’m an absolute junkie for books and always looking for recommendations. And I follow you know, sort of podcast wise. I’m a big fan of podcasts. Yours of course number one, but then there’s a podcast by a Tim Ferriss, Srinivas Rao. There’s Shane Parrish, Gary Vee. I mean, these guys are ?? I listened to religiously on a weekly basis.

[Jaz]
We would so much commuting you have the luxury of having so many different podcasts and stuff and books it listen to. That’s awesome.

[Ferhan]
Yeah. And it’s had an immense impact on my life on these these podcasts listening to these individuals and learning from them, and back to a book and the power of a book. It’s amazing. The value you can, you get from a book that’s maybe 1099, 1299 or 799 an audible, it’s the best [Jaz] How much is yours? [Ferhan] I think it’s 1399 on Amazon,

[Jaz]
Man, that’s so. If you’re a young dentist or any dentist, you should definitely check it out.

[Ferhan]
Yeah, all the profits, go to Dan, do nothing, all that comes away from the 1399 is the cost of printing the book, the rest all goes to to building this dental clinic in Kashmir hopefully. So yeah.

[Jaz]
I hope you all have success with that. And that, guys, f you’re listening, and you’ve been inspired by finance tips, and you want to check out the book, I hope you bring it out an audio book, man, I think you should because you listen to so much audio, but you should totally bring it out an audio book.

[Ferhan]
Yeah. So that’s in process, I will bring it an audio but it’s available [Jaz] Amazing. [Ferhan] It’s going to be available on Kindle. And then I’ll bring out an audiobook where you get to hear my Scottish accent and I will read the book out.

[Jaz]
Excellent. Well, mate, thanks so much for coming on. And I wish you all the best with that because it’s a great little thing for us, you know clinicians to have someone to look up to like you to share those similar themes that you might have heard before, but in a way that’s so relevant to us and like even reading about your background and your ups and downs, medical school and how you come out the other side, what inspired you, your family and stuff. So again, thanks so much for sending that over. And great for you to share so many gems yo say on this episode, and I look forward to meeting in real life one day.

[Ferhan]
Yes, I hope so. I look forward to it. Thank you so much. Thank you for your time. Thank you for having me on.

Jaz’s Outro: Thank you so much for listening all the way to the end. Hoped you found some value from that. Ferhan, thanks so much buddy for coming on. This book ‘Being Unstoppable’ is something they should totally get because it’s a so much charity. And also there’s a lot of great stuff in here for all clinicians that we can learn from and implement. This episode was just a small flavor of what you can get from this book. Please do share it with a friend if you found it helpful, and I’ll catch you in the next episode. Same time, same place