Living the Good Life

The smiling face you see in this picture belongs to my son Rezwan, who managed to score great seats for the Olympic gold medal hockey showdown between the U.S. and Canada. (He grew up in Vancouver as a rabid hockey fan, so you can imagine where his allegiance lies—and how elated he was at the outcome.)

I love this picture. I love the look of unabashed joy on my son’s face. I love knowing that this snapshot captures a moment he’ll treasure forever. Most of all, I love the way it captures Rezwan’s spirit—his energy and passion for life.

I have a lot of reasons to be proud of Rezwan. He’ll be graduating soon with a master’s degree, he sits on the board of Spear Education, he’s been instrumental in the development of the Winter Lab at Scottsdale Center, and of course he is a featured presenter of Young&Motivated. But what really makes me happy and proud—aside from his business and academic success—is seeing the high level of engagement he has with life.

That’s really what the Young&Motivated program is about, and it’s how it got its start. It grew out of the coaching I gave my sons as they grew up. Like most parents, there was nothing I wanted more—even more than my own success—than for my kids to be successful. And the way I measure success is by that level of engagement with life. I love the work I do in dentistry, but even more than that, I love life. That’s what I wanted to instill in my sons (and help them instill in other young people): the idea that success in business is not an end in itself. We work hard and do well so we can enjoy the full measure of what life has to offer—whether it’s being with family, traveling, or sitting rinkside for the biggest hockey game of your life.

Take another look at that picture and ask yourself: what makes me feel like that? Think about what makes you feel truly alive, and ask yourself if you’re doing the things that will prepare you to embrace success—and life—at that sublime level.