Stress Management Interview with Motivational Speaker & Life Coach, Jesse Brisendine

This show welcomes a special guest motivational speaker, Jesse Brisendine, who will discuss stress management and give several strategies on how to cope with stress in both the dental office and in one’s personal life. The show will close with Ruddle sharing a technique tip for managing anatomically difficult canals.

Show Content & Timecodes


00:50 - INTRO: Success by Design - New Year Goals
07:54 - SEGMENT 1: Interview with Motivational Speaker & Life Coach, Jesse Brisendine
34:16 - SEGMENT 2: Strategies to Reduce Stress
50:57 - CLOSE: Specific Scenario / Technique Tip - Snap-On Handles

Select PDF content displayed below. See Ruddle's complete library of downloadable PDF content at www.endoruddle.com/pdfs

See also Ruddle's complete Just-In-Time® Video Library at www.endoruddle.com/jit

Downloadable PDFs & Related Materials

Ruddle Editorial
Ruddle on the Radar: Success by Design
Jan 2011

For the most part, success is a choice and can be intentionally designed with the caveat that building and sustaining success requires a clear vision, genuine desire, and ongoing effort. Success can seem elusive...

Supply List
Ruddle on Shape•Clean•Pack
Oct 2017

Supply List - Ruddle on Shape•Clean•Pack

Disclaimer

This transcript is made available by The Ruddle Show in an effort to share opinions and information, and as an added service. Since all show text has been transcribed by a third party, grammatical errors and/or misspellings may occur. As such, we encourage you to listen/watch the show whenever possible and use the transcript for your own general, personal information. Any reproduction of show content (visual, audio or written) is strictly forbidden.

INTRO: Success by Design – New Year Goals

Lisette

Welcome to The Ruddle Show. I’m Lisette, and this is my dad, Cliff Ruddle. Today on our show, we have a special guest, Jesse Brisendine, who’s gonna talk to us about stress management. So, we’re excited for that, and we’ll get to that shortly. But first, we’re still early in the year, and probably a lot of you made New Year’s resolutions. Maybe some of you wanted to lose weight. Probably a lot of you do and get in shape. That’s a very common goal. And at the beginning of the year it’s interesting, because you’ll go into a supermarket, and there will be a display of health food. At health clubs, you might have to wait in line for the equipment, it might be so busy.

But then, a couple months go by, and the health clubs are empty, and you’re buying Easter candy at the grocery store. So, obviously, the goals did not work out how you thought they would. So, how – what can we do, to be more successful with our goals?

Cliff

Good question. Still workin’ on it. [laughs]

Lisette

[laughs]

Cliff

But for the most part, success isn’t an accident. It’s not an anecdotal, does not have to be an anecdotal, sometimes event. It really is a chance for us to build and sustain success by design, through vision and effort and perseverance. So, I think we should have the audience and I think ourselves, and my family needs to be thinking about this every day, because I’m always making goals, like you are. But we need to make goals that blow the lid off and give us an opportunity to have unusual success, within reason. It needs to be measured. But we can have a lot of success by design, if we plan.

Just a short story. Many years ago, at Harvard University, many decades ago, the Dean was addressing the graduating class. And what he asked is the class to make goals. He told them they’re gonna go forth, and they’re gonna make a difference in the world. They’ll actually change the world, and they’ll make a big statement for mankind. So, he asked them to make goals. Harvard’s clever. Many years later, 10 years later, they sent a survey out to the graduating class that the Dean had addressed, and they said, ‘You’re successful, whatever you’re doing. But what do you attribute it to?’

90 percent wrote back and said that they made goals. Seven percent wrote back, they made goals, and they wrote the goals down. And then, three percent wrote the goals down and additionally, put them in a conspicuous place, so that they were confronted with it on a daily basis. Well, interesting enough, at 10 years, the 3 percent produced more wealth than the other 97 percent combined. So, you could say, ‘Weren’t they lucky! Gee, they were lucky!’ There’s no such thing as luck. Luck is where opportunity and preparation meet. So, I think we have a good chance today to look at a lot of things, to get us a little bit better positioned to have success.

Lisette

I do think it’s interesting that 10 percent of those Harvard graduates did not [laughs] make any goals, but [laughs] that’s a separate issue. But then, also I would think that to be successful, you need to have a positive conversation in your head. Like, if you think you’re gonna fail, probably you will.

Cliff

If you think you can, you can. If you think you can’t, you’re right. So, positive conversations. I played a lot of sports, growing up. You played a lot of sports, growing up. Lori played sports. Now my five grandchildren are playing a lot of sports, some of them at a high level, very competitive. And they’ll often talk about things they’re studying and about sports psychology. And what we learn from sports psychologists, there’s always two conversations. In any endeavor, whether you’re a plumber, a carpenter, or an endodontist, there’s the inner game, and there’s the outer game.

The outer game in sports is the score. What inning is it? What quarter are we in? Who scored what? The inner conversation is going on inside, while you’re playing. So, while you’re standing there, chairside, doing this exquisite endodontic procedure on a patient’s it’s gonna be like a Board case. It’s fabulous. There’s a conversation. And if you’re talking about, ‘I don’t think I can’, or ‘I’m struggling’, or this – we begin to play down. We begin to play down to expectations, and we look for ways out. So, improve your conversation, improve your results, improve your goals.

Lisette

Well, say you make goals, and then, all of a sudden, there’s obstacles in the way that you feel are in the way of your goals. Then, what do you do? Obviously, make adjustments?

Cliff

Make adjustments [yelling through hands as though using a megaphone]! Life is about continuous adjustments. If you ever played sports, what you did earlier in a game, you might have to modify as the game progresses, to address things you didn’t know to plan for. So, that probably reminds me of – adjustments reminds me of another story. I guess I tell a lot of stories, don’t I? Many years ago, Phyllis wasn’t with me, I was on a long-haul flight. I was gonna be going from LAX to Singapore, then on to Mumbai. And so, she wasn’t traveling with me, so I get on the plane. We board up.

And there’s a very distinguished guy sitting beside me. He’s got badges and a uniform, a hat, everything. And we begin to get into a conversation, and he asked me what I do for a living, and I said, ‘I’m a plumber.’ And that wasn’t very interesting, and that kinda shut that down, because it’s an 18-hour flight We didn’t need to go into endodontics. So, what he basically did is, we turned the conversation to him, because, you know, I wanted to know everything that occurs in the cockpit.

Lisette

Because he’s a pilot?

Cliff

Yeah. He’s a long-haul pilot. In fact, he was flying to Singapore, to take a jet, a 777, to Seoul, and he was gonna be responsible for 2- or 300 people. So, anyway, he’s telling me about all this, and then he turned to me, and he said something that was very interesting. The audience’ll love this. He said, ‘Cliff, the planes are off course over 90 percent of the time.’ I said, ‘This is not what I wanted to hear.’ And he gave me a little pat, and he said, ‘Hey, listen. Don’t worry. It’s about adjustments.’ He said, ‘You know, we have all this technology and computers and algorithms.’ And he said, ‘We’re always adjusting, and that’s how the plane comes in and makes that successful landing.’

So, in dentistry, as an example, if we wanna be more successful, we have to make adjustments. Easy. By making goals, writing them down, putting them in a conspicuous place. You know, I like that Scottish Himalayan expedition thing I like to say, about ‘Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, magic and power in it.’ Get off your [bleep] and get goin’. [Background music playing]

Lisette

Because sometimes the hardest part is just starting something, and then, once you get going, it gets easier [laughs].

Cliff

Oh, yeah.

Lisette

Okay. Well, those are some good ideas. I know making goals and not achieving them can be a source of stress, at least for me. And so, today we’re gonna talk about stress management. Let’s get on with the next segment.

SEGMENT 1: Interview with Motivational Speaker & Life Coach, Jesse Brisendine

Lisette

So, probably one thing we all struggle with on a daily basis is stress. Work stress can impact your family life and your health. Family stress can impact your professional life. And stressing about your health can put strain on other areas of your life. So, today, we have a special guest, Jesse Brisendine, and he’s gonna talk to us about stress management. So, thanks for coming. We’re really glad you’re here.

Jesse

Yeah. I’m excited to be here. It’s awesome to be in a studio. I feel like I’ve been reading “The Ruddle Report” for 12 years now, so it’s really cool to be on the front lines and maybe make an appearance in the Report this year.

Lisette

Yeah. We’ve known you for a long time. What – tell them how we met Jesse.

Cliff

[Sound of katanas being pulled from sheaths, Cliff and Jesse clasp hands] You know, it was really great meeting Jesse, because it happened in a kind of a funny way. You’re thinkin’ I went to Jesse to work out and train, but actually, you started with Phyllis, I guess, 12 years ago.

Jesse

Yeah.

Cliff

So, after she had some lumbar surgery by a neurosurgeon, Chung, he said, you know, ‘You need to avoid future surgeries, and you’re gonna get into training.’ And he gave the name. Well, Phyllis bein’ how thorough she is, she had to check this name out with a variety of people. And Jesse’s name was on the short list. So, that started. And I’ve learned quite a bit about you. You’re a – he’s much more than a trainer, so I introduced him initially as I met him as a trainer. It’s – you’re gonna find out in this little segment the things he’s evolved to. One of the things that’s really interesting is, you probably don’t know this, but you’re responsible for where we are today. Have you thought about it like that?

Jesse

Mm-mm.

Cliff

Because you have an international audience, too, in your work, and you stay connected, and you do big shows. You’ve been to Vegas, TED talks and stuff. But you were always doing those shows, and Phyllis would come home and say, ‘He’s already shooting. He’s got an audience. Cliff, just get a mic. Get an iPhone. Come on, Cliff! Cliff!’ And ‘Jesse says you can do this, Jesse – Jesse’s got thousands of people.’ Well, anyway, we wanted to make a little studio. It’s next door to where I live, and so, you don’t know that. But I’m gonna give you credit publicly for putting a little match under my butt and gettin’ me goin’. Thanks, Jesse.

Jesse

Thank you. I love my matches. [laughs]

Lisette

Well, also, Mom is just way better now, than she used to be. I mean, she’s been seeing you for how long now?

Jesse

It’s gonna be 12 years, I think, in July.

Lisette

And I think that’s her most regular workout program that she’s ever had in her life. And she’s doing great with her back now. And we’ve heard about all these other things, like when she says, ‘Oh, yeah. I didn’t have my training with Jesse this morning, because he’s traveling off somewhere’, like you’re always all over the world. So, it’s just exciting. Like my dad was saying, we actually started to realize you’re a lot more than a physical trainer. That you also are a life coach and a motivational speaker.

And I just wanna tell everyone that he’s worked with over 4,000 people worldwide, teaching them to have a better mindset and to develop emotional strategies. He’s worked with Hollywood celebrities, Fortune 500 CEOs, musicians, entertainers, people from all walks of life. So, why don’t you just tell us, Jesse, a little bit more about how you got to where you are now.

Jesse

Yeah. My first career after college was getting into physical training. I was a classic example of growing up in low self-esteem, low self-confidence, and I stumbled into exercise and realized that it was such a transformative thing. And I started to think and feel better about myself. And I wanted to go in and give that back to people. And as I was doing training, I really started to get curious about human beings, you know, what is it – why do we do what we do?

What compels someone to stick with a nutrition program and somebody to fall off of it, even though they know they shouldn’t be eating the cupcakes and the Twinkies and all that stuff? What is it that causes stress, like we’re gonna talk about in a little bit, and why is it such a – for some people, they can manage it well, and others, it’s absolutely crippling to them? And coaching seemed like this really amazing venue I could go in, where if I really made it a mission to master human emotion and human psychology, and why we do what we do, then it would give me this platform to offer to a global audience and be able to work with people on specific strategies and how they can shift out of stress, work on how to develop a mindset and all that.

So, it’s been an amazing, amazing journey, and it’s brought me here now with you guys.

Lisette

Well –

Cliff

Well, Jesse’ll probably – he doesn’t know it yet, and given this morning, where we were getting our mics right, and we’re getting the lighting, and we were doing all this stuff, he probably thinks this is his last time. But he doesn’t realize that he’s gonna be a regular.

Lisette

-- [laughs] well, okay. So, maybe – I don’t know if you felt stress when we were trying to get everything set up to start [laughs] the show. We felt a little stress, because we wanted it to go smoothly for you. So, what – just tell us more, like why do we even have stress? What is stress, and what’s the purpose of it?

Jesse

Yeah. Stress is a really funny thing. So, stress, kinda as we know it, is this biological process that was evolved for us for, literally, survival, right? In caveman times, we had to decide if we were going to try to fight that saber-toothed tiger or run away. And it’s the fight-or-flight response. Now, we – stress as we know it today is almost a luxury. We – especially living in a first-world country like this, we have the luxury of stress. We have – we don’t have to worry about running water or not having enough food to eat or clothes to cover us up, if it’s ever cold.

And what that leads us to, then, is we have – we still have this biological, primal function inside of us called stress. And so, that still gets triggered, but the things that it used to be, about saber-tooth tiger versus us, that’s non-existent. So, now we start to allocate that to bills, to how many “likes” we’re getting on social media, to – you know, is my business doing as well as a colleague’s business? Is – what did my spouse say? Or why’d they say this? Or what does that mean? To what do people in school think of me, to am I wearing the right clothes, or – you know, whatever that might be.

And so, stress has become this really interesting thing, where we’ve personalized it, but we’ve also diversified it over the way that we use it and experience it. And we have so many more ways of experiencing it, because our lives have evolved to become so much more expansive. We have so much more stuff. We have so much more technology. We have access to so many more things that, when we were first designed biologically, evolutionary, whatever one’s belief is, we didn’t have that. We just had to worry about, are we gonna eat, or are we gonna be eaten? [laughs]

Lisette

Kinda like a virus that’s mutated [laughs].

Jesse

Yeah. It really [laughs], really is. That’s a great analogy for it.

Cliff

[laughs] Well, it almost seems like we’ve created a lot of our modern stress, huh?

Jesse

100 percent. It’s, I would say, 99.99999 percent of the stress – the day-to-day stress that we think is earth-shattering, heavy, end-of-the-world kinda stress that we experience, which it feels like that, is manufactured. Absolutely.

Lisette

What are the stresses that dentists have, maybe, daily?

Cliff

Well, in no particular order, dentists are pretty much just another person on earth, so we’re all people. But in the dentistry world, to get more specific about our tasks, it’s time management, people management, referral management, staff management. You know, staff comes in with their stuff, their baggage, and what happened to them last night. And you mentioned earlier about how it affects families. Every dentist can tell you stories about staffs.

And then, of course, there’s regulatory compliance, there’s new technologies that are overwhelming a lot of dentists, because should I get it? And if I get it, what’s the learning curve, and how long will I take to become proficient, competent? And will I lose business if I don’t? But if I do, it’s gonna cost a lot, and staff training, their personal training. Money, how they relate to money, how they see money. I’m just throwing out a few.

One thing I learned, and I’d like you to talk about this, but we always – a lot of times in dentistry we have the morning huddle. It’s not unique to dentistry. But we would start like at 7:00 a.m. So, at 6:50, we might have a 10-minute meeting. And in 10 minutes -- as endodontists, we see a lot of acute people, pain. So, you gotta have – do triage. And not all emergencies are 10s, and some are 2s. So, by having the morning huddle, we would look at the schedule for the day. ‘Oh, I see you’re on the schedule. You’re my next patient. No, there’s another one.’

By seeing the schedule and going through the schedule and what we’re gonna do on each patient, there was a certain calm. We already had played that day, and now, we just had to go back and replay it. But then, when the phone rings, and there’s an emergency, we already know where to put it. We’re not just gonna have the receptionist guess, ‘We’ll squeeze it right in here.’ So, by communicating, it seemed like our days, although they were pretty crazy days, still are, it really does set the tone for a more peaceful day. What do you think about communication and stress? You probably have tricks you should be telling me about. You’re holding out on me, aren’t you?

Jesse

Yeah. We’ll do kind of a play with this. So, hold your right arm out to the side. I just want you to hold it out and just leave it like that for a minute, while I talk.

Cliff

Just [laughs] leave it there forever? [laughs]

Jesse

Just leave it like that for a minute. This will be an active demonstration in stress. Much of our stress is manufactured, right? And what will happen with it is, we can often attribute it in interpersonal relationships to failures in communication. So, as I’m talking right now, your arm’s starting to feel fatigued, right? You’re startin’ to feel tension in your shoulder?

Cliff

Well, I actually have a little prop over here.

Lisette

[laughs]

Jesse

A little prop under there [laughs]? Except for the crane that we have above.

Lisette

He might not notice the adrenaline rush [laughs].

Jesse

Yeah. The adrenaline going. But we will just leave it there for a moment. You’ll notice that it’ll start to tense up, you’ll start to feel tight, and you’ll just keep – it keeps building. That’s what stress is, right? It’s like we go and we pick these things up, and we carry ‘em around with us, and we hold it, and we carry it, we carry it, and it starts to weigh on us over time. And we’ll keep carrying it around, and we’ll keep holding onto it, until finally, we say, ‘Okay. You can put your arm down.’ And it feels better.

Cliff

Wow.

Lisette

But you can feel the – it feels different, though. It feels like you were holding --

Jesse

It feels different.

Lisette

-- a heavy load.

Cliff

I was okay with my arm up, but when I put it down, it was like, ‘Nice break.’ [laughs]

Jesse

Yeah. So, a lot of times, in a dynamic like that, we’ll assume that somebody’s just gonna think to put their arm down. But you’re responding to my communication. Now, if I’m in a leadership today, like a dental practice or something, and I tell you to put your arm up, why would you assume that – that was my final instruction, so why would you assume to put it down? Because we’re taught and raised, you know, ‘Listen to your elders. Follow authority figures. Listen to instructions. Whoever – whatever the boss says, goes’, and all those kinds of things.

And so, people will go around and carry it around. We’ll carry around questions that we have, and we’re too afraid to ask, because we have this voice that says, ‘Well, it’s stupid to ask that question,’ or ‘You should know it already’, or ‘How ridiculous it is’, or ‘People are gonna judge you, because you haven’t figured this out.’ And we’ll withhold the – literally, the keys to helping us release some of the stress, because we lock it in, and we’re unwilling to communicate. So, things like doing the morning huddle is so great, and creating a leadership.

So, if you’re the practitioner, you’re running the practice, making it a very clear and encouraging place to ask questions. And when somebody asks the same question for the third or fourth time, you don’t give them feedback like, ‘[sighs] You should know that by now!’ [laughs]

Lisette

[laughs]

Jesse

But you encourage them, and you support them, the same way that you would a newborn, as they’re learning to walk. Because, for a lot of us, emerging into that world where we can feel confident asking questions and even more confident in our communication, it’s literally the process of learning to crawl, to walk, to run. And just because we know what we know doesn’t mean that somebody else knows what we know. And what can really create frustration and chaos and calamity in a professional relationship, or a personal relationship is, we assume that the person that we’re working with, we’re relating with, should know what we know. And more than that, that they should already have figured out what we’re thinking.

Cliff

[laughs]

Jesse

A lot of times, we run into that dynamic. Well, why – I’m just gonna go on and carry on, and they should – everybody knows what they – not at all. Not at all. We were talking off camera about the book, “Outliers”, and the incidence of airplane pilots and what they were dialing down to what was one of the biggest causes of airplane crashes. And their finding was a fault in communication between first officer and pilot, because culturally, you were – the first officers were taught to not question authority. So, even though they would see that there was something wrong that was gonna lead to probably a calamitous outcome for a plane, they wouldn’t speak up.

Cliff

Wow.

Jesse

So, communicating is so important. If there’s the slightest inclination that you should ask, ask. Ask. It will save so much stress.

Lisette

I’m hearing a couple things from both of you. First, I’m hearing that assumptions can be dangerous. And then, secondly, I thought it was interesting in the experiment that you didn’t really feel the strain on your arm until you put it down. So, maybe we’re walking around with a lot of stress all the time, and we don’t even know it or realize it, until that stress is alleviated. Then, we’re like, ‘Wow! I feel so much better now.’

Jesse

Yeah. When you guys had your practice, how many times did you have a patient come in, and they would talk about – you know, you’re doing work on them, and they would report it as being not really painful or something, but then, all of a sudden, when the work would be done, and the problem would be solved, they’d say, ‘Wow! This is so much different!’ Right? It’s the same with us as we walk around, and we get so used to a new normal, which is not how it’s supposed to be [in air quotes].

But we get so comfortable being uncomfortable. We get so comfortable existing in a relationship where there’s stress and tension. We get so comfortable going into work, always worrying about our problems and focusing on the obstacles versus the answers. And it’s not until we actually set it down, and we give ourselves permission to set it down, that we can start to look outside of it and say, ‘Wow! It feels a little better.’ ‘Wow! That feels really different, now that you did that. I didn’t realize it could feel this good. I didn’t realize I could feel this different, that I could feel this at ease.’ And we can, but we have to be willing to let go of some of the stuff we’re holding onto.

Cliff

Do we sometimes make this up because there’s something we benefit or we perceive we benefit from, by holding onto it? Is that a possibility?

Jesse

Absolutely. We are – a great example is, is we’re driving to work, and you’re on your way to work. You’re listing all the things to do, the never-ending to-do list, right? And that jerk on the freeway cuts you off. And when that jerk on the freeway cuts you off, you, of course, give him the one-finger salute, and you have to swerve and move. And of course, then, it makes you miss your exit, and now, it’s just really ruined your whole morning, right?

Lisette

[laughs]

Cliff

[laughs]

Jesse

So, you show up to work, and you’re – everybody’s, ‘Oh, what’s goin’ on?’ And you’re, ‘Oh, I’ve had the worst morning ever. This person just completely ruined my day.’ Well, now, let’s pause it there for a minute, and step back and look at this from a logical perspective. Was that person really parked off the freeway and sitting there timing it on their GPS that they were gonna drive through and intersect your car at that exact moment, that exact time, specifically to ruin your day? Not at all.

Lisette

[laughs] And there’s still a lot of day left. [laughs]

Jesse

There’s still a lot of day [laughs] left, too. Right? Yeah. But we make it up in our mind that that person’s out to ruin our day. And so, then, we’ve decided now that the day’s ruined, when there’s all this day left in front of us. And nothing could be further from the truth, but we’re assuming that that person is just over there, living their life, focused on being malicious to us. They have no idea who we are. They’re probably – just got a call that there’s a fire or something. But we’re so focused on our own life, and we make a story that helps us justify our emotions. So, stress serves this purpose, right?

It can feel really good to be angry, because anger causes a lot of tension in your body, and it feels good, just like when you put your arm down, to have that release. Well, when we’re tense, we’re angry, we allow ourselves to express out, sometimes the anger that we’ll feel in a stress response isn’t even anger necessarily directed at the driver. What we really are is, we’re really frustrated and stressed out about our husband, who forgot to pay a bill, or something like that. And now, the mortgage payment’s late. But we won’t go and say that to them, but we can direct it outward, like that, and that gives us an expression. It gives us a release to go on and kinda go back to our status quo new normal.

Cliff

I don’t know if this is gonna go anywhere, but I’ll just pitch it out there. You travel a lot, fly. I fly a lot. And have you ever noticed, there’s two kinds of fliers? So, I don’t care if you missed three planes, you slept in the airport last night, when you arrive at the event, ‘How’d it go? How was your flight?’ What do [laughs] most people say? I mean, I’ve learned to say, ‘We had a good flight, and we’re here, and we’re ready to go.’ But others will start to enumerate [laughs] all the details, the blow-by-blow indignities that they experienced. And it’s almost like, by doing that, maybe I’ll cut them some slack, because I feel sorry for ‘em? Is there any dynamics in this arena?

Jesse

100 percent. We’re always trying to meet our basic fundamental needs. And depending on what field of psychology you’re versed in, there’s different ways that we label ‘em. But at the core, all of us wanna feel important. We wanna feel like we matter. We wanna feel like we’re heard. We wanna feel loved. We wanna feel safe. And one of the ways we’ll usually learn to get that from other people is through complaining, ruminating on things that went wrong, dissecting all the problems. Because, like you said, there’s two fliers, and there’s a dramatic population that’s in this category. And so, what do we know? We know birds of a feather flock together.

And if I’m going somewhere, where I feel where I may not belong, I feel out of sorts, I don’t feel fully comfortable, how do I bond? Right? If I’m traveling on a bus over in Paris, and I hear somebody – all – everybody talking in French, and I’m thinking, ‘Gosh, I don’t speak any French’. But then, I hear somebody over there talking in English, all of a sudden, I know that there’s somebody immediately like me, and I feel safer. I feel like I belong. And what will happen is, you’ll see stress like that all the time. We will get significance from stress, because we get – we’re important. You know?

I come in, and we’re sitting here, but if I slouch back like this, [big sigh] oh! Right? It instantly draws more attention to my situation. Now, you may wanna look over and express compassion or a question. ‘How are you doing?’ And what I really wanted is, I wanted attention. I wanted – right --

Lisette

[laughs]

Jesse

-- all these types of things. And so, I use --

Lisette

Oh! [exaggerated sigh] [laughs]

Jesse

-- stress as a way to get that. It’s really interesting, what we do in our deeper levels of psychology and – this is why we’ll go through, and we’ll have the same things happen over and over again that stress us out.

We have too much of a pay-off off of it, to give it up, so we’ll hold onto it, protect it, even though, when we talk about it, we’ll say, ‘I know I should stop. I know I should stop smoking [while smoking]. I know it could probably kill me.’ But there’s a pay-off with it. And it’s instant [snaps fingers], instant gratification.

Lisette

One thing that causes me stress is just not feeling inspired by life. And I did notice something that you did, and I kinda followed it just briefly, not – I heard about it a lot from my mom. And it was this thing you did, called the “1 Year 1,000 Challenge”. Tell us what that – what it is.

Jesse

Yeah. I had this idea a few years ago, where I had – I’d gone through a couple personal tragedies, and it was just -- I found myself in this place where I was literally getting up, going, ‘What in the hell is the point of all this? You know, it’s just the same thing, over and over and over again.’ And I knew that I was very much responsible for creating that mindset I was in. I didn’t really have a lot of goals, or they seemed inconsequential, after – in light of everything that happened.

And I was talking to a couple friends about, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool to do some new things that you’ve never done before?’ And then, it escalated to, ‘Wouldn’t it be really cool to do, like, one new thing a week?’ And then, it became, ‘Well, wouldn’t it be really cool to do, like, 100 new things you had never done before?’ And I said, ‘You know, what would be really neat is to make yourself do 1,000 things you’ve never done before, in 1 year.’ And it’s not a bucket list, either. I think that’s really important to say. It wasn’t a, ‘Oh, I wanna go and do all these exotic things.’ It was really about being intentional in how you live.

It was being intentional and waking up every day with a purpose, a reason why you’re gonna get up, and that there was something that you were gonna do. And whether it was going by and trying the cuisine at that restaurant that you’ve driven by a million times, and you’ve always said you would stop, but you never stop, and you actually stop. Or it was going and volunteering at something or giving yourself the gift of an experience. Humans, we learn through contrasts, right? And we’re so blessed that we have eyes that we can see, ears that we can hear. We’re – our fingers are moving, our toes move.

I did one where I spent the day as a blind person, walked around with a blindfold, like that. It was so unbelievably surreal, and it gave me such a deep sense of gratitude for the things that we take for granted every day. And it was a really profound life-opening experience, because what I learned from that is, I don’t care how busy we all are. We all have time to live our life. We all have time to really sit down and decide what’s most important to us and get out there and engage in life beyond. But it takes taking that pause to do that. And ‘Well, I’m too busy.’

All of us go to the bathroom. Take a pen and paper in there when you go to the bathroom and write down some notes. Really! It’s like maximizing time. Don’t stress out about doing it. Just do it in the time where you’re gonna be focused on something else. And number two, you know, when people say, ‘Well, I can’t do all these things. It costs too much money’, or whatnot. One of my sub-goals with it was to try to do things as low cost as possible. So, the average came out to like $2.73 per experience, for the whole year. Right?

Cliff

Wow!

Lisette

Okay.

Jesse

Because even with – if I flew somewhere, almost everything I would do would be free. You know, go and see the cultural stuff, the stuff that we don’t think of, because we’re – we’re so quick to run over, and we wanna take our picture in front of – well, that sign’s like this. We wanna take our picture like this, in front of the Statue of Liberty, and throw it on Instagram or something.

Lisette

[laughs] You didn’t take a selfie of you doing every [laughs] --

Jesse

Yeah. No [laughs].

Lisette

-- thing on your list? [laughs]

Jesse

[crosstalk] and they still didn’t have the really good camera at that time. I was doin’ the [inaudible]. I do such a different thing now. And I have a selfie stick, everything else [laughs] like that, which, you know, selfies are – they’re more deadly than shark attacks. Talk about stress [laughs]. Yeah.

Lisette

Yes, nowadays, you – I see headlines all the time, someone died, taking a selfie. [laughs]

Jesse

Yeah. Taking a selfie. Yeah. More dangerous than shark attacks, lightning strikes.

Cliff

Well, this was meant to be a little bit lighthearted, but I heard you say several times in different ways, but not this bluntly, but ‘by changing things up’. We were on the phone the other day, and you talked about changing things up. It can give us a different perspective. So, doing different things. So, now, here’s the little joke. So, we as dentists, endodontists, we get to go places where man has never gone before. So, Jesse, can you tell me anyplace you’ve gone, where man has never been before? Because when you climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, there was a flag. And when you finally went to Nepal, and you did the assault, you saw people.

Lisette

You did – you did these things?

Jesse

Not yet.

Lisette

Oh, okay [laughs].

Jesse

I love where you’re going. I – the future-facing me [laughs].

Lisette

When you were on the top of Mount Everest [laughs].

Jesse

Yeah. Future-facing me [laughs]. In my shorts [laughs].

Cliff

The point is, you can go to the most remote beach, and you might find, well, somebody put some driftwood together and made something, unless it was, like, you know, seals or something. So, we as dentists, when you open up a tooth, and you go inside and do endodontics, I don’t care if it’s a central incisor, they’re all different. And you’re going into places where man has never gone before. So, you can keep your attitude. You can go, ‘Oh, jeez, I have to do another case.’ ‘I get to do something that nobody’s ever done before! I’m gonna go in and make the world better inside.’ [laughs] So –

Jesse

Mm-hmm. Right. Yeah. It is. It’s really – it’s as simple and as complex as that. Complex in that we have to remember the joy that got us to start with something in the first place.

Cliff

-- ah!

Jesse

And this is where – in the earlier segment, when you were talking about writing your goals down and making it in a place where you see it, I write down all the time, Post-It Notes, ‘Remember to be excited’, ‘Remember why you’re doing this’, ‘Remember’ – I’ll put – I do a lot of meetings with clients over Skype, Zoom. And so, I’ll have Post-It Notes right there about – a note about ‘Remember – remember’ – whatever it is that you --

Lisette

To smile? [laughs]

Jesse

-- yeah. ‘Remember to smile.’ ‘Remember the human being behind the problem.’ ‘Remember that there’s a little boy or a little girl there, who’s still trying to be loved and accepted and belong, behind the adult who is carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders now.’

Cliff

Awesome.

Jesse

And it does, it – we get in fixed positions, if you’re doing really fine work like this. Just opening up and sitting up, it changes the energy. It changes the dynamics.

Lisette

Okay. Well, speaking of changing something, maybe we should change something up and go outside, and you can talk to us out there about some –

Jesse

Yeah!

Lisette

-- strategies to manage stress.

Jesse

That’ll be fun.

Cliff

Jeez, do I have to walk a high wire? Am I gonna do handstands?

Jesse

Cartwheels.

Cliff

Cartwheels.

Jesse

We’re gonna start with cartwheels.

Lisette

You better go put on all of your braces [laughs].

Jesse

Yeah [laughs].

Cliff

So, I’m gonna guess we should all look at the camera and say, ‘We’re going to another scene.’

SEGMENT 2: Strategies to Reduce Stress

Lisette

[laughs] [Music playing] Okay. So, here we are, outside, and Jesse’s gonna talk to us a little bit about the strategies we could use so that we can avoid stress or at least manage it.

Jesse

Yeah. Important things to know, if we look at stress as an emotion, anger, sadness, anything, emotion’s created three main ways, through our physiology, our focus, and our language. So, how we’re holding our physical body, how we’re moving our physical body, what we’re focusing on, where we’re looking, where we’re putting our attention, and the language we use, the story we’re telling our self about our self or about the thing that is the object of our stress.

So, what we’ll do is, we’ll just play with each of those three right now, and just do some really basic things, and just observe subtle changes that you feel. And this isn’t necessarily a demonstration into magically wiping out all of our problems. What it is to do is, it’s to show that we can have instant [snaps fingers] change in how we feel, and if we can have instant change in how we feel, then, we can be – we can build in habits and routines to integrate those changes, to make long-term sustainable change.

Lisette

Okay.

Jesse

All right? So, just –

Cliff

I’m pretty excited. [laughs]

Jesse

-- good! I can see that. We’re gonna get – we’re gonna get you on the mat and do some cartwheels. I know you’re excited about that. [laughs]

Lisette

[laughs]

Cliff

Yeah. I’m probably – you got a paramedic around?

Jesse

Yeah. So, what you just saw there is a physiology change. Okay? You saw with just a joke or a body-language change. We laughed a little bit, and so doing, there was an emotional shift, right? We felt differently in that moment. Humor’s a great way to elicit a – one, reduction in stress response, but two, to trigger an emotional shift. So, another way we can do just a physiology, that’s not a surprise, but we can all see. So, everybody’s just slouched. We’re just gonna try to slouch. And notice how you feel. Right? On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being horrible and 10 being great, how do you feel, just in a taut [sounds like] position?

Lisette

Yeah. I’m thinking maybe slouching doesn’t look so good on camera [laughs].

Jesse

Yeah. It doesn’t. It doesn’t look good, and it doesn’t feel good. Yet this is how we spend most of our days, especially when we’re digital, right? So much like this, or we’re on our phones like this. I have this whole thing about, I think one of the reasons that you’re seeing so many emotional challenges with younger generations is just their world is here, which puts you in a physiological posture that is conducive for emotions like stress, depression, anxiety, and once you know it, that they’re experiencing more feelings [inaudible].

So, okay. So, here we are in a slouched posture, and it doesn’t feel that great. So, just go ahead and stand up tall, and think of just something that you really love to do, as you’re standing up tall. And just notice how your body language starts to change.

Lisette

What are you thinking of?

Cliff

I’m thinking, ‘Let’s do it.’

Lisette

[laughs]

Cliff

But, no, what I’m thinking about [laughs].

Jesse

Yeah! That’s awesome!

Cliff

Let’s go do it!

Lisette

I was thinking of paddle boarding.

Jesse

Yeah. And – now, notice how you feel in this posture. It feels different, doesn’t it?

Lisette

Uh-huh.

Cliff

Ready to go!

Jesse

Yeah. Absolutely. So, one thing is just a subtle change in your physiology. Just notice how your posture is. If you find yourself feeling stressed out, if you’re at a desk, just sit up a little bit taller. Or better yet, stand up for just a second. If you’re standing, stand up a little bit taller, or do a big movement with your body, just to move some energy around. And you’ll feel some sort of instant change with it.

Lisette

I know when I started working for my dad, one thing he told me was, ‘Before you answer the phone, do a big smile.’

Jesse

Yeah.

Lisette

And not, like, you know, a grimace, but an actually, genuine smile. And then, you’ll be in a better mood and be better able to deal with who’s ever on the phone.

Jesse

It’s – that’s so awesome, and it’s such a high-level strategy, because what most of us do is, we hang up the phone, and we take with us whatever emotion was on the last call, into our next one.

Cliff

Oh, yeah.

Jesse

Or we walk in with whatever was bothering us before, pick up the phone.

Cliff

You mean in the next patient? [laughs]

Jesse

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Don’t [laughs] wanna be that [emphatically] one! [laughs]

Cliff

Boy, you said somethin’ really powerful, because we as dentists oftentimes take something from that operatory over to the next one, to the unsuspecting patient.

Jesse

Yeah. Mm-hmm. So, if you’re actively practicing, three things you wanna do, between patient to patient. It takes 15 to 20 seconds to do it. Change your physiology. Smile. Stand up tall. Allow yourself to release the tension that builds up in your body naturally, when you’re working on a patient. Number two, change your focus, right? So, you maybe wipe out the image of that patient before and change your focus to something else that’s not related to what you immediately just did or are going to do.

So, think of Pop-Tart. Think of a dog barking. Something random like that, that triggers [snaps fingers] a different focal point for you. This is where we always tell people, ‘Don’t think of the pink elephant’, because a pink elephant pops up in your mind. And then, change the language about it. And it could be something just, ‘I did my best.’ And reminding ourselves, you know, going back to that joy that we talked about, inside, ‘I’m excited to serve this person. My reason for being here is this.’ If a company has a mission statement, a purpose statement, it’s a great time to recite it.

And if you as the owner of the business are not feeling the emotion behind that mission statement, that purpose statement, then it’s time to really look long and hard on that mission or purpose statement, or it’s time to really look within and see where did the disconnect happen, where you’re not finding [sounds like] it. So, it gives [inaudible] that. That whole thing takes 15 seconds, but it’ll make such a tremendous difference in the terms of how you go transition from patient to patient to patient.

Because we’ve all been on that other side of the door, where the technician, the doctor, whoever, comes in, and you can tell it’s been a long day. And they walk in, and they’re down, and they’re kinda [sighs], and you think – when you’re sitting there, you think, ‘Oh, sh’ – you know what. ‘I don’t wanna be here --

Cliff

Yeah.

Jesse

-- anymore, and I hope there’s no cutting going on [laughs], because it doesn’t look like [laughs] they’re havin’ the best day.’ So, give yourself permission to take those 10, 15 seconds.

Cliff

You should try the 7:00 a.m. appointment?

Jesse

Yeah [laughs]! Yeah. Right.

Lisette

I always schedule my appointments --

Jesse

I do, too.

Lisette

-- at the top of the morning, because I wanna get there when they’re fresh. [laughs]

Jesse

I have to – I have to tell you a funny story. I’ll tell off camera about actually scheduling an early surgery, and it wasn’t [laughs] –

Cliff

That also wasn’t –

Jesse

-- I’ll [laughs] save it. Yeah. I’ll save it for later.

Lisette

[laughs]

Cliff

-- but I like your comment about the third one, about changing your perspective. Because – you know this, but in the context of what we’re talkin’ about today, primarily dentists, I mean, we’re working in extremely small [laughs], small spaces. And so, we would get locked in, sometimes an hour, hour and a half, and millimeters make a difference. So, I have an operatory that looks out at the mountains. So, I look to look out. And in this case, we can see islands and a little water and the channel, and it gave me so much energy to go into the next room, ready to go!

Jesse

Yeah. And it – and so, that’s a great example. Let’s use this now, for focus. And so, if I – if I’m telling you who’s watching, focus on my hand, okay? Really try to just focus on my hand. Only focus on my hand. You start to forget about the world around you, and that’s a lot of times what stress is like is, we only see the problem that’s right in front of us, the thing that’s bothering us. Now, talking about changing our focus, right? The second way we can really shift our emotion. So, go ahead and – my hand’ll stay here, but instead of focusing on my hand, I want you to look at how beautiful it is, behind. And my hand hasn’t changed. It’s still here, but your emotional experience does, because now your focus is changed, right?

Cliff

Mm-hmm.

Jesse

We can be here talking to each other, having fun, but just in the turning and looking away, we’re gonna have a much different emotional experience --

Cliff

That’s very powerful.

Jesse

-- because of it, right? Because it’s just a subtle change in focus. It took two seconds to do that. It takes – it takes [snaps fingers] that fast, for us to be able to shift out of stress, some of the emotions that might hinder us. Even though the thing may still be here, give yourself the seconds to shift your focus, and feel something different, because what will happen is, you’ll be much more better equipped to deal with the problem than if you’re going after stress with more stress, it’s like this [pounding fists together]. And eventually, it’s – you’re doing a – an attrition battle. Who’s gonna give first? What’s gonna hurt first? Right?

Cliff

Okay. [Pulls Jesse’s fists apart, points to palm] So, there’s the world we see. There’s the world that is [points to horizon]. And they’re not always the same.

Jesse

Mm-hmm. They’re not always the same, and if you can give yourself permission to come back to this more open, what ends up happening is, there’s a communication point. Now we can see it from a different perspective. It allows us to give our self that release and come back with a much more resourceful emotional state.

Lisette

Well, in dentistry, I mean, if you’re having a problem, maybe you’re trying to bypass a ledge or something, and you’re just – keep failing, and you’re not successful with it, maybe reschedule that patient to come back at a later date? And then, you’ll be able to – like, I know when I play just any game or word game or something, if I am stuck for a long time, I’ll walk away, do something, come back, and I see the answer immediately.

Jesse

Yeah. Yep.

Lisette

So --

Cliff

Fresh perspectives.

Jesse

Absolutely. Every time. And I love it, because it’s – a lot of times, we have a business model, it’s about turning over chairs [sounds like] as fast as possible. But in so doing, you’re accumulating the very thing that’s gonna hinder your ability to perform at the highest levels. You’re building up more stress. You give yourself more pressure. You give – by doing maybe 1 less, your quality goes up 10-fold, and then, because quality’s increased 10-fold, your actual results, over the course of a quarter, a year, it’s exponential, the growth. In profitability, in terms of positivity, happiness, cohesion in the workplace, it’s remarkable, the difference.

And then, the last thing is language, right? So, we did focus, physiology, language. A lot of times, stress is manufactured because we’re telling ourselves a story either about ours self or about what somebody else is thinking of us. So, I’ll give you an example. If I say, ‘Hey, Cliff, that jacket looks – or that shirt looks really crappy on you’.

Lisette

[laughs]

Cliff

Thank you!

Jesse

You [laughs] – now –

Cliff

That’s how I change the conversation.

Jesse

-- yeah [laughs]. But – right? And when I say that, now you have all these choices in your mind about what you can perceive that. You can think, ‘Well, what a jerk! I had ‘im over here, I’m havin’ him on my show, and he’s gonna be over here, and he has the nerve to judge me on camera? And this jacket’s my favorite jacket.’ And, you know, all sorts of things.

Lisette

[laughs]

Cliff

Yeah.

Jesse

And it could get you really worked up, you could go tense, you could build stress. Or you could also say an alternative, like, ‘You know, I’ve known that Jesse guy for a while. He seems to be pretty good natured and fun, and that’s kinda cool he feels so comfortable with me that he could use me as a teaching example with it. I feel pretty stoked right now that he feels comfortable using that.’ Right? So --

Lisette

That’s interesting.

Jesse

-- right?

Lisette

It’s like what you were saying, like having maybe fear or insecurity, approaching a root canal, instead of looking at it as if, ‘I’m really excited about this. I’m not – this is a new opportunity. I’m going where no one’s been before.’ [laughs]

Jesse

Yes! Yes! Definitely.

Cliff

Yeah. And then, he mentioned this inside on the set, but a common comment I have heard thousands and thousands and thousands of times is, ‘If I would’ve known it was gonna go this easy, I would’ve slept last night.’ So, we make up stories, you know, and we practice the stories, and they become who we are [laughs]. And then, we cling to our stories, because that’s – gotta protect who we are!

Jesse

Yeah.

Lisette

I’m also hearing from you to choose your battles.

Jesse

Yes.

Lisette

Like maybe he doesn’t need to come back at you, really aggressive [laughs], attacking you for dissing his shirt [laughs].

Jesse

Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yes, because of what happens with that is, there’s – if the outcome is to try to demonstrate how we can release stress, but he comes back at me aggressively, and then, let’s say that I’m like, ‘Oh, whoa! This guy, he doesn’t even get what I’m trying to do!’ He’s out in la-la land.’ So, then, I have a story. So, I come back aggressively, and you think, ‘Well, this’ – and then, you think, ‘Oh, man. These two are completely out.’ So, now you’re refereeing the whole message [crosstalk].

Lisette

[laughs]

Cliff

But you know what my story is? He is very big.

Lisette

Yes [laughs].

Cliff

And I’m now thinking, ‘I’m gonna say, “Thank you. Comment is well taken.”’ [laughs]

Jesse

[laughs] Kick me in the shin.

Cliff

But back to your hand, sir.

Cliff

Yeah.

Jesse

I have said this for years, on stage. Your hand has two sides, breakdown, breakthrough. And you’re giving us ideas today to turn little upsets and how to manage those, it’s breakthroughs. I really like that.

Jesse

Yeah. I think – yeah. Just one final [inaudible] that you were sayin’, Lisa, about approaching a problem. We come in, and whether it’s a problem in our life, a challenge at work, and however we’re seeing it is gonna manifest itself in some way around it. We could do the most amazing job, but if we’re going through it stressed, fearful, we’re gonna beat up on ourselves afterwards. ‘There’s something I should’ve done’, or we’re gonna rob our self of the elation that could come from being really proud and knowing that you did amazing work, and you helped this person.

But if you change the story inside of your head, when you go in and approach it, now it’s like, ‘Oh, I can be excited to serve. I can be excited to help this person.’ Even though it seems like you’re doing the same thing, it’s actually dramatically different. Because instead of going through and trying to do this thing that I’m really worried about, I get to do this thing that I love. Right?

Cliff

Oh, that’s huge.

Lisette

Right.

Jesse

And we may still have some emotions, right? We may still get like butterfly feeling, and where we once used to label that as stress, we might just start to label it as passion. Because when we fall in love, and we meet somebody for the first time, what happens? Our palms start to get clammy, we get a rapidness in our heart, our stomach might get tight. Well, it’s kinda the same thing we talk about when we’re really stressed out about having to meet someone for the first time or going into a presentation, when your palms get sweaty, your heart starts to flutter, you get this [slapping hand on chest rapidly]. And so, in one situation, we label it as stress, and it’s something really bad. But in something else, we label it as magic, excitement.

Lisette

So, the words you choose to describe it in your head --

Jesse

Yes.

Cliff

Your experience.

Lisette

-- or to other people is gonna make a big difference.

Jesse

Yeah. Yeah. And if I just find the thing that you thought was stressful all along is really passion knocking on your door. You’ve just gotten so disconnected from it, to calling it stress and all this stuff, for so long.

Lisette

I also heard you say a very important word inside, and do you know what that word is, that I’m gonna come back to you now?

Jesse

Mm-mm.

Lisette

Starts with a G?

Jesse

What’d I say?

Cliff

G.

Lisette

Gratitude.

Jesse

Gratitude, yes.

Cliff

Oh, he’s filled with gratitude, isn’t he? He’s grateful.

Lisette

I think that probably a lot, just being grateful and choosing to focus on the things in our life that we’re happy with, instead of the things that are causing us problems all the time, could have a lot to do with it.

Jesse

Yeah.

Cliff

I’ve gotten a lot out of this session, because telling one on me, personal, I don’t really have any stress [laughs] in my life. And when I do, I made it all.

Lisette

[laughs]

Cliff

I loaded my wheelbarrow, and now I have to struggle, to try to push my wheelbarrow. And I’m now 72, so the word is ‘Learn to say “no”.’ Because when you’re doing too many things, the focus is diminished, and now you can’t see the seams on the ball, the rotation on the ball, the speed of the ball. To be one with the ball needs focus. So, maybe say ‘no’ a few times in your life, and focus on those things you love, and the harder you work at, the better you get, and the more successful you are, not so bad.

Lisette

Maybe don’t buy another wheelbarrow. Just, like [laughs], lighten the load on that one [laughs].

Cliff

Yeah.

Jesse

Yeah.

Cliff

I really liked – I learned quite a bit today. You know, we know these things. There’s that old expression, the Yiddish expression, ‘If you would’ve listened to your mom, you wouldn’t be here today.’ But you’re telling us common-sense stuff about life, and a lot of us have just forgotten it.

Jesse

We get [inaudible] we get so busy being busy that we forge to get back to basics.

Cliff

Because we’re really important people. We have a lot of things to do.

Jesse

In our own heads!

Cliff

Yeah [laughs]. Exactly.

Lisette

Yeah.

Jesse

And our problems are even more important than that, but I love – the gratitude’s so important. Ground yourself in gratitude. I promise you, whatever is going on in your life, we don’t have bad days. We have bad moments. Even in the worst –

Cliff

Oh, very good.

Jesse

-- days of our life, there was probably something really great that happened before. The fact that you woke up, you win the lottery, because there’s a million-plus people that didn’t get the same thing as you. But we don’t think that way. We think, ‘Aah!’ And yeah. So, grounding yourself in gratitude, if you can get in the habit of just waking up and thinking of two things you’re grateful for, whether it’s a roof over your head or a warm blanket, it’s really powerful. And, you know, just for the record, I like your jacket or your shirt.

Lisette

[laughs]

Jesse

I’m – I like it. It looks good on you. I can see you’re stressing out about that [laughs].

Cliff

[wipes imaginary sweat from brow] Well, I was thinking I was gonna have to take it off, but I was worrying a lot about taking it off because how it would look.

Lisette

Well, thank you very much for --

Jesse

Yeah. Thank you, guys. This was awesome.

Lisette

-- coming and talking to us about this. I really – I can say --

Cliff

Thanks, buddy.

Lisette

-- I learned a lot. It’s good to think about these things, because sometimes we just get too busy, and we don’t even think about them. So, I – that’s it for the main body of --

Cliff

Before --

Lisette

-- our show.

Cliff

-- before you do that, do they know how to get a hold of him?

Lisette

I’m sure we’ll have a lot of information on our website --

Cliff

Okay.

Lisette

-- including a link to his – Jesse’s website, too. So, you’ll be able to find Jesse after this show.

Cliff

Remember, if he helped Phyllis, he can probably help them.

Lisette

[laughs] So, we’re gonna close the show today. My dad is gonna give you surprise technique tips. So, thanks for watching.

CLOSE: Technique Tip – Snap-On Handles

Cliff

Well, I really hope you enjoyed the last segment on stress management, because now we’re gonna go clinic, and I have a technique tip. And I think it’s gonna reduce your stress quite a bit, in certain kinds of cases. So, if we look at this maxillary second bicuspid, you can see it has a dilacerated root, very, very [laughs] – very, very serious curvature. And I started thinking, way back then, this is how I break down a hard case. I would always ask myself, ‘Do I have the training? Do I have the technology and know how to use it and have proficiency? And then, do I have the desire? Do I have the determination? And can I be my word?’

So, the tip I wanna talk about is how to work some of these deep curvatures and not have to worry and have a lot of stress about, ‘Will I break the instrument? Will I ledge? Will I block?’ So, if we look through this case a little bit, you can see, we had a plan, careful access, done the pre-enlargement early, so I can pre-curve the file, guide the pre-curved file through the pre-enlarged canal, and make the curvature, fit the cone, and pack it. But I had a plan. Now a lot of you are thinking, in this age of rotary instruments, the last 20-some years, that the impression becomes from listening to teachers that everything can be done mechanically.

Well, you know what? You need to have a few more ideas in your toolbox, because sometimes it’s not an anatomic challenge. Sometimes a case has been referred, and the dentist can’t get to length. And this dentist thought there was a ledge or a block, but he didn’t know if he did it, but he was thinking, ‘Refer.’ So, refer was a great idea. That lowered his stress. By referring it to me, I was able to find out that actually, deep, the canal bifurcated, went two different pathways, had a common portal of exit. But look at all the anatomy. Look at all the anatomy on the post-op film.

So, there was a plan, but it started off with not being intimidated, having training, having some ideas, having the technology that could help me. And one more case, and then the tip. Ha, ha! I’m building to the tip. 90 percent of my practice, for 40 years, was like re-treatments. So, that means that out of every 1,000 patients that came to see Cliff Ruddle, 900 had already had endodontics. In fact, many of the cases had had surgery. So, I got used to that world, way back in the ‘80s and the ‘90s, and so, I got lots of cases like this. And this is a ledged canal. If you look at the distance from the outer wall, the PDL space to the obturation material, and then, if you look from the obturation material, over to the other PDL, the obturation material is not centered in the root.

And obviously, I had more than one view of this tooth, so I already had a plan and an idea, and that’s reducing stress, okay? When you go into case, and you hope you can do it, come on! Hope’s good in church, but it doesn’t work in the operatory! You gotta be trained up, technology, have a plan, have the right team, and boom! Work really hard. Some of these cases take time. You notice the shape of that lesion of endodontic origin. You can notice the lesion is centered on the portal of exit. You can notice that we’ve made a very tough curve up here.

Now, how did I do these cases? What is the tip? Well, most of you, because you are efficient, you wanna do a good job, you’ve migrated to NiTi years and years ago. Some of you, more recently. Some of you grew up on NiTi, okay? Then, of course, NiTi got better, because it got heat treated. So, our files became more flexible and more resistant to cyclic fatigue fractures. And so, all of a sudden, the world is, ‘Every case can be done with a rotary file, just like all the people I train with show me.’ But that’s not real-world endodontics!

If you wanna really be in there and have a plan and reduce your stress, the tip could be, ‘Did you know that you can take handles – you can buy these handles, and you can have them oriented with the head of the instrument, and you can put ‘em on?’ And you can convert a mechanical file, mechanical handle, to a manual file, by snapping on these handles. Suddenly, you’re going, ‘Well, that’s great, Cliff. I got a handle on that, but it’s still NiTi, and NiTi has shape memory.’ Course, with heat treatment, we know that shape memory has been massively reduced, because we can take our fingers on some of these newly heat-treated instruments, like ProTaper Gold, and we can curve ‘em with our fingers, and they’ll relax a little bit. But they tend to hold the curve.

But if we really wanna know a little – another little bit, so we can go – first tip, convert mechanical to manual. Second tip, now use the orthodontic bird-beak plier. This is as ubiquitous in an orthodontic office as a 10 file is in a general dentist’s office. So, we can use this. Notice it has a tapered – a tapered platform, and then, it has a flat platform. You can place the file anywhere you want, along the platform. Close the plier and pull the handle through a radius. Let’s take a look. Grab it. Wherever you grab it will determine the radius of the curvature. Pull it through a curvature. And this is just regular NiTi. This has no heat treatment.

And so, sometimes in ledge management, a little stiffer file is useful, because once you get it by the impediment, it’s stiff enough to hold that shape, and it carves out, and it can reduce many ledges to where it’s just a smooth-shaped canal. All right! So, the tip of the day is, some of these tough cases anatomically, some cases iatrogenically, ledges, same cases pathologically, resorptive defects, need to have special care. And we need to have an idea that can seal the deal and can negotiate in a much safer, and lower our stress, and live to learn something, and then to take it to the next case. [Background music]

So, I’ve enjoyed this little segment. I hope you have, too. And I hope this tip helps you shape those curvatures and those re-curvatures. And until next time, use this tip, and manage your stress. [Music playing]

END

Disclaimer

The content presented in this show is made available in an effort to share opinions and information. Note the opinions expressed by Dr. Cliff Ruddle are his opinions only and are based on over 40 years of endodontic practice and product development, direct personal observation, fellow colleague reports, and/or information gathered from online sources. Any opinions expressed by the hosts and/or guests reflect their opinions and are not necessarily the views of The Ruddle Show. While we have taken every precaution to ensure that the content of this material is both current and accurate, errors can occur. The Ruddle Show, Advanced Endodontics, and its hosts/guests assume no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions. Any reproduction of show content is strictly forbidden.

DISCLOSURE: Please note that Dr. Ruddle has received royalties on and/or continues to receive royalties on those products he has designed and developed. A complete listing of those products may be found at www.endoruddle.com/inventions.

Watch Season 11

1:11:03

s11 e01

Delving Deeper Again

Financial Investing, the Tooth or Implant, Accessing & Flashing Back

02:11

The Ruddle Show

Commercial Trailer S11

Watch Season 10

1:02:43

s10 e01

Delving Deeper

Progressive Tapers & DSO Troubles

1:01:23

s10 e02

The Dark Side & Internal Resorption

The Resilon Disaster & Managing Internal Resorptions

56:14

s10 e03

Advanced Endodontic Diagnosis

Endodontic Radiolucency or Serious Pathology?

1:05:51

s10 e04

Endo History & the MB2

1948 Endo Article & Finding the MB2

59:40

s10 e05

Collaborations & Greatness

Crown Removal vs. Working Through & Thermal Burns Q&A

58:25

s10 e06

Vital Pulp Therapy

Regenerative Endodontics in Adolescents

1:08:49

s10 e07

Endodontic Surgery & Innovation

Surgery Photo Review & Exciting New Technology

49:25

s10 e08

Clinician Influence & Fractures

Swaying Treatment & Radicular Root Fractures

00:55

The Ruddle Show

Commercial Trailer S10

Watch Season 9

51:55

s09 e01

Moving with the Cheese & Delving Deeper

A Better Understanding of Change & File Brushing

59:18

s09 e02

The Dark Side & Post Removal

Industry Payments to Academics & Removing a Screw Post

49:02

s09 e03

3D Tomosynthesis

Special Guest Presentation by Dr. Don Tyndall

1:03:30

s09 e04

Controversies & Iatrogenic Events

Sharing Knowledge Pros/Cons & Type II Transportations

51:49

s09 e05

File Movement & Learning

Manual and Mechanical Options & Endoruddle Recommendation

58:02

s09 e06

AAE & Endo/Perio Considerations

Annual Meeting & Root Amp, Hemisections & Implants, Oh My!

1:07:27

s09 e07

Knowing the Difference & Surgery

Case Discernment & Lateral Repair

1:01:26

s09 e08

Fresh Perspective & Apical Divisions

Fast Healing & Irregular GPM and Cone Fit

00:36

The Ruddle Show

Commercial Trailer S09

Watch Season 8

54:40

s08 e01

Endo/Perio Considerations & Recent Article

Crestal/Furcal Defects & ProTaper Ultimate

1:00:50

s08 e02

WaveOne Gold

Special Guest Presentation by Dr. Julian Webber

58:27

s08 e03

Microscope Tips & Perforation Management

Q&A and Crestal & Furcal Perf Repair

1:03:58

s08 e04

Knowing the Difference & Calcification

Esthetic vs. Cosmetic Dentistry & Managing Calcified Canals

50:09

s08 e05

Tough Questions & Sealer-Based Obturation

The Loose Tooth & Guest Dr. Josette Camilleri

1:01:22

s08 e06

AAE Discussion Forum & 3D Irrigation

Trending Topics & the SLP EndoActivator

58:14

s08 e07

Working Length & Microscope Tips

Determining Accurate WL & Microscope Q&A, Part 2

54:01

s08 e08

Artificial Intelligence & Common Errors

Incorporating AI & Endo/Restorative Errors

01:30

The Ruddle Show

Commercial Trailer S08

Special Reports

1:35:01

special e06

SPECIAL REPORT: RUDDLE ON DISINFECTION

As Presented at the John Ingle Endo Symposium

48:47

special e05

SPECIAL REPORT: THE KISS PRINCIPLE

The Importance of Simplicity & Getting Back to Basics

51:45

special e04

SPECIAL REPORT: RUDDLE ON RUDDLE

Personal Interview on the Secrets to Success

52:52

special e03

SPECIAL REPORT: PROTAPER ULTIMATE

The Launch of an Improved File System

36:27

special e02

SPECIAL REPORT: COVID-19

The Way Forward

Watch Season 7

51:31

s07 e01

Articles & Preferred Access

Writing Projects & Ruddle’s Start-to-Finish Access

1:01:29

s07 e02

Patient Protocol & Post Removal

CBCT & the Post Removal System

57:51

s07 e03

Avoiding Burnout & Ledge Management

Giving New Life to Your Practice & Managing Ledges

50:07

s07 e04

Start-To-Finish Endodontics

Special Guest Presentation featuring Dr. Gary Glassman

47:02

s07 e05

Laser Disinfection & Obturation

The Lightwalker vs. EdgePRO Lasers and Q&A

52:19

s07 e06

Extra-Canal Invasive Resorption

Special Case Report by Dr. Terry Pannkuk

54:18

s07 e07

GentleWave & Microsurgery

Every Patient Considerations & Surgical Crypt Control

45:40

s07 e08

Artificial Intelligence & Endodontic Concepts

Update on AI in Dentistry and Q&A

00:53

The Ruddle Show

Commercial Trailer S07

Watch Season 6

47:48

s06 e01

Comparisons & NSRCT

Chelator vs NaOCl and Managing Type I Transportations

55:57

s06 e02

Special Guest Presentation

Dr. Marco Martignoni on Modern Restoration Techniques

50:41

s06 e03

International Community & Surgery

Breaking Language Barriers & MB Root Considerations

46:19

s06 e04

Launching Dreams

ProTaper Ultimate Q&A and Flying a Kite

52:01

s06 e05

Rising to the Challenge

Working with Family & Managing an Irregular Glide Path

45:47

s06 e06

Controversy… or Not

Is the Endodontic Triad Dead or Stuck on Semantics?

49:35

s06 e07

Endodontic Vanguard

Zoom with Dr. Sonia Chopra and ProTaper Ultimate Q&A, Part 2

54:32

s06 e08

Nonsurgical Retreatment

Carrier-Based Obturation Removal & MTA vs. Calcium Hydroxide

02:07

The Ruddle Show

Commercial Trailer S06

Watch Season 5

1:03:57

s05 e01

Common Endo Errors & Discipline Overlap

Apical and Lateral Blocks & Whose Job Is It?

53:04

s05 e02

Post Removal & Discounts

Post Removal with Ultrasonics & Why Discounts are Problematic

58:38

s05 e03

EndoActivator History & Technique

How the EndoActivator Came to Market & How to Use It

59:36

s05 e04

Gamechangers

New Disinfection Technology and Q&A

53:47

s05 e05

Exploration & Disassembly

Exploratory Treatment & the Coronal Disassembly Decision Tree

52:40

s05 e06

Advancements in Gutta Percha Technology

Zoom Interview with Dr. Nathan Li

53:35

s05 e07

By Design... Culture & Surgical Flaps

Intentional Practice Culture & Effective Flap Design

1:01:35

s05 e08

Workspaces & Calcium Hydroxide

Ruddle Workspaces Tour & Calcium Hydroxide Q&A

49:52

s05 e09

Cognitive Dissonance

Discussion and Case Reports

52:14

s05 e10

50 Shows Special

A Tribute to The Ruddle Show’s First 5 Seasons

01:04

The Ruddle Show

Commercial Intro S05

Watch Season 4

55:16

s04 e01

Tough Questions & SINE Tips

Who Pays for Treatment if it Fails and Access Refinement

54:02

s04 e02

Endodontic Diagnosis

Assessing Case Difficulty & Clinical Findings

50:12

s04 e03

CBCT & Incorporating New Technology

Zoom with Prof. Shanon Patel and Q&A

56:53

s04 e04

Best Sealer & Best Dental Team

Kerr Pulp Canal Sealer EWT & Hiring Staff

49:44

s04 e05

Ideation & The COVID Era

Zoom with Dr. Gary Glassman and Post-Interview Discussion

59:00

s04 e06

Medications and Silver Points

Dental Medications Q&A and How to Remove Silver Points

53:40

s04 e07

Tough Questions & Choices

The Appropriate Canal Shape & Treatment Options

53:15

s04 e08

Q&A and Recently Published Articles

Glide Path/Working Length and 2 Endo Articles

46:19

s04 e09

Hot Topic with Dr. Gordon Christensen

Dr. Christensen Presents the Latest in Glass Ionomers

50:44

s04 e10

AAE Annual Meeting and Q&A

Who is Presenting & Glide Path/Working Length, Part 2

00:52

The Ruddle Show

Commercial Intro S04

01:43

The Ruddle Show

Commercial Promo S04

Watch Season 3

48:42

s03 e01

Treatment Rationale & Letters of Recommendation

Review of Why Pulps Break Down & Getting a Helpful LOR

52:27

s03 e02

Profiles in Dentistry & Gutta Percha Removal

A Closer Look at Dr. Rik van Mill & How to Remove Gutta Percha

48:10

s03 e03

Artificial Intelligence & Endo Questions

AI in Dentistry and Some Trending Questions

58:54

s03 e04

How to Stay Safe & Where to Live

A New Microscope Shield & Choosing a Dental School/Practice Location

48:20

s03 e05

3D Disinfection

Laser Disinfection and Ruddle Q&A

48:28

s03 e06

Andreasen Tribute & Krakow Study

Endodontic Trauma Case Studies & the Cost of Rescheduling

55:22

s03 e07

Ruddle Projects & Diagnostic Imaging

What Ruddle Is Working On & Interpreting Radiographs

1:05:24

s03 e08

Obturation & Recently Published Article

Carrier-Based Obturation & John West Article

55:48

s03 e09

Retreatment Fees & the FRS

How to Assess the Retreatment Fee & the File Removal System

1:00:42

s03 e10

Research Methodology and Q&A

Important Research Considerations and ProTaper Q&A

00:44

The Ruddle Show

Commercial Opener S03

01:05

The Ruddle Show

Commercial Promo S03

Watch Season 2

51:43

s02 e01

ENDO 101: WAVEONE GOLD

Product History, Description & Technique

51:42

s02 e02

Interview with Dr. Terry Pannkuk

Dr. Pannkuk Discusses Trends in Endodontic Education

58:21

s02 e03

3D Disinfection

GentleWave Update and Intracanal Reagents

1:04:53

s02 e04

GPM & Local Dental Reps

Glide Path Management & Best Utilizing Dental Reps

1:01:10

s02 e05

3D Disinfection & Fresh Perspective on MIE

Ultrasonic vs. Sonic Disinfection Methods and MIE Insight

53:03

s02 e06

The ProTaper Story - Part 1

ProTaper’s 20+ Year Journey as Told by the Creators, the 3 Amigos

57:53

s02 e07

The ProTaper Story - Part 2

ProTaper’s 20+ Year Journey as Told by the Creators, the 3 Amigos

1:06:40

s02 e08

Interview with Dr. Cherilyn Sheets

Getting to Know this Top Clinician, Educator & Researcher

1:13:21

s02 e09

Broken Instrument Removal

Why Files Break & the Ultrasonic Removal Option

49:01

s02 e10

3D Obturation & Technique Tips

Warm Vertical Condensation Technique & Some Helpful Pointers

01:05

The Ruddle Show

Commercial Promo S02

00:44

The Ruddle Show

Commercial Opener S02

Watch Season 1

45:30

s01 e01

An Interview with Cliff Ruddle

The Journey to Becoming “Cliff”

52:35

s01 e02

Microcracks & the Inventor's Journey

Ruddle Insights into Two Key Topics

47:17

s01 e03

Around the World Perspective

GentleWave Controversy & China Lecture Tour

40:29

s01 e04

Endodontic Access

What is the Appropriate Access Size?

52:13

s01 e05

Locating Canals & Ledge Insight

Tips for Finding Canals & the Difference Between a Ledge and an Apical Seat

53:14

s01 e06

Censorship in Dentistry

Censorship in Dentistry and Overcooked Files

50:22

s01 e07

Endodontic Diagnosis & The Implant Option

Vital Pulp Testing & Choosing Between an Implant or Root Canal

55:30

s01 e08

Emergency Scenario & Single Cone Obturation

Assessing an Emergency & Single Cone Obturation with BC Sealer

49:36

s01 e09

Quackwatch & Pot of Gold

Managing the Misguided Patient & Understanding the Business of Endo

58:05

s01 e10

Stress Management

Interview with Motivational Speaker & Life Coach, Jesse Brisendine

00:56

The Ruddle Show

Commercial Opener S01

Continue Watching

01:23

Behind-the-Scenes PODCAST Construction

Timelapse Video

02:21

CHECK IN with CLIFF

08.31.2023 Update

03:27

CHECK IN with CLIFF

02.02.2023 Update

01:56

CHECK IN with CLIFF

03.03.2022 Update

01:53

Happy New Year

2020

01:52

Behind-the-Scenes Studio Construction

Timelapse

The Ruddle Show
Season 11

Release Date Show Get Notified
03/06/24
SHOW 91 - Delving Deeper Again
Financial Investing, the Tooth or Implant, Accessing & Flashing Back
Watch
04/03/24
SHOW 92
Title Coming Soon
05/01/24
SHOW 93
Title Coming Soon
06/05/24
SHOW 94
To Be Determined
07/03/24
SHOW 95
To Be Determined
08/07/24
SHOW 96
To Be Determined
09/04/24
SHOW 97
To Be Determined
10/02/24
SHOW 98
To Be Determined
11/06/24
SHOW 99
To Be Determined
12/04/24
SHOW 100
To Be Determined
Thank you for your rating
Thank you for your comment

Note: Comments are moderated and may take some time before they appear on the website.

Thank you for your question

Note: Submitted questions have been forwarded to The Ruddle Show team for future follow up either directly or within an upcoming show. Please be on the lookout! In the meantime, you may enjoy our Just-In-Time portal at endoruddle.com/jit for additional content, including FREE downloadable PDFs and educational videos.