Dr Joel Gould Joins Us On The Steve Jobs Inspired Join Up Dots Podcast
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Introducing Dr Joel Gould
Dr Joel Gould is todays guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots free podcast interview.
He is an entrepreneur, businessman, author, and cosmetic dentist.
A man with hustle muscle running through him and a desire to be the best that he can be.
As he says “I am the classic, typical won’t take no for an answer guy.
I am a PROBLEM SOLVER; I won’t limit myself, or trust almost anyone’s opinion of what I can achieve.
This level of self-confidence arose solely from hard work, dedication, experience, and a willingness to be open to anything.
To never say never, except to say never say never.”
Now if this sounds like a guy who was born with confidence, and complete awareness of what he can achieve, then think again.
This is a guy who was influenced heavily by the upbringing he received from his father, and the shocking diagnosis at the age of 14 that he was suffering from Crohns Disease.
How The Dots Joined Up For Dr Joel Gould
He is also a guy who was battered and bruised through the recession of 2009, and lost everything he had worked so hard to achieve almost overnight.
He moved from a two million dollar house into a one bedroom apartment, and from that point on wards started fighting back
And now everything seems great in his life.
He has a thriving practice in California.
Is the author of the book “The Perfect Smile“, and appears as a recognised expert on tv and media.
So how did this native of Winnipeg, Canada, find himself building his dreamlife in California, USA?
And does he accept the lessons life has thrown him as part of the game, or just unfortunate moments in his life that he didn’t deserve?
Well let’s bring onto the show to start joining up dots, as we discuss the words of Steve Jobs in todays Free podcast, with the one and only Dr Joel Gould
Show Highlights
During the show we discussed such weighty topics with Dr Joel Gould such as:
Why he remembers never feeling comfortable living and growing up in Winnipeg.
The reasons he would spend much of his time gazing out of the windows thinking “I’m out of here!”
Why he would spend hours queuing up in freezing conditions for the latest Depeche Mode, New Order and Smiths albums as a child, and loved the thrill of being different in his tastes.
How even after 25 years he still loves the practice of dentistry, and is enthused by pushing the boundaries of what he can achieve in this field of medicine.
And lastly….
Why so many people struggle with their smile, and need help to bring their appearance into line.
Their careers and self-development achievements can often depend on it.
Books By Dr Joel
How To Connect With Joel Gould
Return To The Top Of Dr Joel Gould
You can also check our extensive podcast archive by clicking here– enjoy
Full Transcription Of Dr Joel Gould Interview
David Ralph [0:00]
Today’s show is brought to you by podcasters mastery.com, the premier online community teaching you how to podcast like a pro. Check us out now. podcasters mastery.com
Intro [0:12]
when we’re young, we have an amazing positive outlook about how great life is going to be. But somewhere along the line we forget to dream and end up settling. Join Up Dots features amazing people who refuse to give up and chose to go after their dreams. This is your blueprint for greatness. So here’s your host live from the back of his garden in the UK. David Ralph.
David Ralph [0:37]
Yes, hello, everybody. Yes, I might be in the backyard in the United Kingdom. But today’s guest is in, I suppose the dream scenario. He’s in California, America, running along the beach with all the Baywatch ladies bouncing around in front of him is going to be the perfect conversation to bring you to almost the 400th episode of Join Up Dots and he is a guest who is Quite simply an entrepreneur, businessman, author, and Cosmetic Dentist as well. I think he’s the first dentist we’ve had on the show a man with hustle muscle running through him and a desire to be the best that he can be. As he says, I am the classic typical won’t take no for an answer guy, I am a problem solver. I won’t limit myself or trust almost anyone’s opinion of what I can achieve. This level of self competence arose solely from hard work, dedication, experience and a willingness to be open to anything. And to never say never, except to say never say never. Now, if it sounds like a guy who was born with competence and complete awareness of what you can achieve, then think again, this is a guy who was influenced heavily by the upbringing he received from his father and a shocking diagnosis at the age of 14 that he was suffering from Crohn’s disease. He’s also a guy who was battered and bruised through the recession of 2009 and lost everything it worked so hard to achieve. almost overnight, he moved from a $2 million house into a one bedroom apartment. And from that point onwards, started fighting And now everything seems great and he’s live. He has a thriving practice in California is the author of the book The perfect smile and appears as a recognised expert on TV and media. So how did his native of Winnipeg, Canada find himself building his dream live in California, USA? And does he accept the lessons life has thrown him as part of the game or just unfortunate moments in his life that he didn’t deserve? Well, let’s find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Dr. Joel Gould. How are you Joel.
Dr Joel Gould [2:31]
Fantastic. Thank you so much. I sound pretty impressive from your your intro. I’m pretty excited to even speak with myself tonight.
David Ralph [2:37]
Well, yeah, you’re pretty impressive to look at as well. You’ve got a kind of Vin Diesel kind of attitude of about Yeah.
Dr Joel Gould [2:45]
Well, I’d like to, I like to think that but maybe a kinder, gentler Vin Diesel attitude.
David Ralph [2:50]
If you could be any action hero I wasn’t even expecting to ask is which one? Which one would you be who would be your You’re the one to go to
Dr Joel Gould [3:00]
Well, it’s got to be Iron Man because Elan Musk is larger than life character, somebody who I would definitely be impressed to have a two minute conversation with so no doubt, Iron Man it is
David Ralph [3:12]
because I always say to my mates that Iron Man and Batman early too, but we could all become as long as you’ve got enough money and you can fight, you could actually make yourself into Batman and Iron Man.
Dr Joel Gould [3:24]
I would agree with that. I would say that probably You’re right, Batman would be a younger version, but you know, things evolve. So I agree with you. That’s, that’s pretty good.
David Ralph [3:32]
That’s what we need to do get enough money and then create our own superhero powers. That’s what we’re going to do. And you you obviously have got your own superhero powers because you started with such humble beginnings in many ways. And you’ve you’ve gotten to where you are now. Was it always part of the master plan? Or do you look at it now and think, Wow, this has been a hell of a journey.
Dr Joel Gould [3:53]
Well, sometimes I look back on the way I thought back in the early days and think how, you know, how could I Where did I get that? idea that, you know, I would just pick a path that I thought would be appropriate, and then just do it. So when I look back on my younger days, I think, you know, I guess, you know, stupidity or, or not really understanding the limitations of the world made me be able to become whatever I wanted to be and you know, in so many different ways. And I think back to the days that I sat at my desk, you know, looking out the window at 40 below weather hearing my friends play ball hockey down the street, you know, I’d be painting or doing some some art project or reading or going through my imported collection of records, thinking, you know, I want out of this town, and how am I going to get out of here as fast as possible? So sort of from from that point on, I remember just deciding what I needed to do. And solving the problem is a good choice
David Ralph [4:47]
to be stupid, isn’t it really, as Steve Jobs said, famously, stay young, stay foolish, and when you you don’t know what you don’t know you’re more willing to throw caution to the wind somehow.
Dr Joel Gould [5:00]
You know that that’s for sure. There’s so many things that you could say about that just just the whole idea that when you’re young, you haven’t had all the failures and all the people in your life telling you what you can’t accomplish. So I think that maybe it’s a it’s much better to really not listen to a lot of advice. If you have some independent thought ideas. You know, I think that, you know, I probably only took advice from from a select View few people, one of them being my father. And, you know, aside from that, I really kind of disregarded what people in general were doing and saying, because I just disagreed with them. I just thought, hmm, I’m not interested in that or whatever. So I it came at a really early age and I think it came just from not being happy and comfortable in my setting, and not really understanding why why didn’t I fit in? Why didn’t I want to be out there playing ball hockey, and you know, why would I want to leave a perfectly good city like what to pick?
David Ralph [5:52]
And do you understand now looking back on it joining up your dots? Do you realise now why you didn’t fit in?
Dr Joel Gould [6:00]
You know, I do believe that I think that just generally the way I see life and the way that pieces of reality come together for me is just different. When I look at the situation, I could describe it completely differently than almost anybody else just because of my sort of unusual perspective to how I look at a problem. I sort of think like when I think back and say why would I Why would I have made these choices? I tend to think I look at a project like from above, I see I see it from above, and I see all the independent parts and how they come together rather than looking at it, you know, in one dimension or two dimensions staring right at it.
David Ralph [6:32]
So is it is it astounded you go back to Winnipeg, are you really in for the sunshine?
Dr Joel Gould [6:39]
Winnipeg is a wonderful place to grow up in. I have no family left there and I have no reason to return. You know, those memories will be with me forever. I did. Laughter leaving Winnipeg at the age of 19. I did experience a lot of the rest of Canada and Canada is a fantastic country and I do love it. But California What can I say? This is the most the most impressive have a place to live and think the world knows it. And I’m thrilled to be here. Although I do go very often back to Vancouver, Canada to visit my sister and, and some friends and business associates.
David Ralph [7:11]
I’ve spent quite an odd time in California and I know it is one of those wonderful places that you can be on the beach and then two hours later, you can be skiing and it’s kind of got everything, but it’s got taxes, isn’t it? It’s not cheap to live there.
Dr Joel Gould [7:25]
No, it’s not. And what’s funny is you know, when you live in Canada, the income taxes are quite high and you know, moving to California, there really wasn’t much of a break in taxes. So it’s a very expensive place to live. But you know, there’s only one California and there is a cost to everything. And you know if you want to be in a place like this that has all these incredible features to it, there is a price
David Ralph [7:48]
and I suppose that’s the price with where you live generally isn’t it because part of your day the big part of your day is creating beauty at a price. Did you see that before Cuz it’s such a beautiful place to live, people want to look more beautiful there.
Dr Joel Gould [8:06]
You know, well, that’s interesting. I don’t think necessarily, you know, I think that the further west you go in North America, the the more open people’s minds are to, to what reality they could live in, you know, I in New York is fantastic and it’s a place where I love to visit, but LA and the West Coast is a place where it’s easier to be. So you know, I would say that the the beauty that surrounds here, it’s, it’s pretty fantastic. And I think that it’s the competition, the pricing of living here and how hard it is to make it in LA, that makes people strive towards having that outward appearance. And truthfully, you know, one of the things that I’m been sort of focused on these days is wellness dentistry. And what is that? That’s the the mind body all over health connection and the truth is, when the body is healthy, it looks physically better period. And then you know, that’s, that’s a that’s a natural selection. Evolution type of talk.
David Ralph [9:02]
Now I was going through your site and you do remarkable work. And this might sound like an insult, but it’s it’s there’s a compliment in there. But you end up with a product that actually looks natural it. You see so much from the UK, we see programmes where people have gone and had plastic surgery and stuff. And to be honest, it looks dreadful and you think, God did I ever think that they can sort of go back in time Barry Manilow, there’s a name boy, but with the work you were doing, it didn’t look like it was dentistry. It kind of looks natural. It’s a big part of your thing, not to leave them with those kind of mouths as soon as they open you know that they’ve had work done.
Dr Joel Gould [9:45]
Well, that’s that’s absolutely what the whole point of what I’m trying to do is and you know when my first and I hope the most interesting notable quote is that all dentistry is cosmetic. And you know, dentistry isn’t just teeth. dentistry is the the mouth, the face and all associated structures. And I think that everybody wants to look their best. And what someone’s perception of looking their best is varies from country to country. And from time to time. One of the goals that I always had with my career is really just true honesty. And I’d never want to make somebody look unusual when I can restore them to maybe a younger, more fresh version of themselves. So all of the treatments that I actually do in my office, they’re all reversible. So I don’t want to do any modification to someone’s face that can’t be reversed. Because as we age, things shift around. And then the other thing is that great dentistry and great cosmetic dentistry is that what is dentistry that you don’t see, it’s one that is harmonious with the human body and has a natural look. And there’s definitely a higher degree of effort and energy and experience to be needing to be put in to always have that natural appearance, but it’s possible and you know, being in LA, this is One of those places where you’re you can be in Beverly Hills, and you can be on the edge of the insanity of the celebrity. And the paparazzi is waiting for somebody to come out of their plastic surgeon’s office. And at the same time, being a doctor of the mouth, I have to be held in reality, I valued my profession, and I want to, I want to do a service to my profession rather than than belittling it. And doing you know, some change to that’s going to be not a natural look. So one of the key elements that I practice when I do all my dentistry is I want nobody to be able to say to that patient, you look like you’ve had work done. I want someone to say Wow, you look for fresh, you look great. You look younger, you look amazing.
David Ralph [11:41]
And then do you ever double take when you’re walking along the street and people walk past you? Do you ever sort of look at them and think oh my god, did you do do it? Do you have the same obsession with bad work as we do?
Dr Joel Gould [11:53]
I think so. I think everyone does. And what’s funny is that since I’ve been a dentist for so long since I was 23 years old, you know When I meet people, I don’t immediately look at their mouth or assess them physically I am who I am. And you know, something will always catch my eye just like anywhere anyone else, something that’s out of proportion with what we consider normal will always catch my eye. And I think, you know, it does look strange. If someone’s doing that to themselves for the attention, then that that’s technically okay. But I think we all can, can rationalise that, you know, good cosmetic work should be natural looking. No, no one really I don’t think wants to look weird.
David Ralph [12:27]
So so let’s sort of frame where you are at the moment before we start taking you back in time because it has been a journey that you’ve been on. Are you where you want to be? Or are you still on the journey forward? You seem to be having so much success at the moment, it seems like a dream life in many ways, but is this just part of where you want to go to?
Dr Joel Gould [12:45]
It is really, you know, after having so my, this is my 25th year in the practice of dentistry. And because I’ve had such a huge and wide variety of dental practice experience, you know, I’m at that level where I look around and I look to see you know, when The next phase of my life and which is somebody who’s been established, I’ve been here in Manhattan Beach for 15 years. I have two other practices, one in Santa Monica and one in Northridge and have a group of five dentists. And you know, one of the key things that I do is mentor and train my associate dentist. So right now I feel like I’m just actually building the foundation for my real future, which, you know, being Canadian and living in America and having lived other places, then California, I feel that I have a global brand modern American dentistry, it’s bringing dentistry into the modern age, and it’s really changing people’s perceptions of the terrible nightmare scenarios of you know, marathon man and, and all these really terrible dental torture aspects to say, hey, dentistry is something that every single person has to have and deal with every day of their life. Even people without teeth, they have mouths and they have to deal with all these issues. So what can I do to simplify and to make the general public experience better and not you know, dreading to come to the dentist? And not being worried about being scolded and shamed and, and you know, I I’ve designed specific and unique ways to interact with patients that are really to make them feel comfortable. And the craziest thing is it all comes down to just treating somebody like your brother, your sister, your mother, do for your patient, what you would have done for yourself knowing everything that you know. So I have this philosophy and I have so many things that I’m working on. And I really feel like this is just the beginning for me, I have my own. I’m actually starting next week, my own Radio Podcast myself, which is guaranteed to be the most exciting half hour online podcasts about dentistry in existence. That’s my promise to everybody. I’m not going to scold and tell people to floss their teeth. I want to bring to light the the interactions of basically dental health and general health and how does that interact with who we are and what we want to accomplish today and, and how easy I can make it and want to make it for everybody to understand dentistry is not something to despise and fear so In that vein, I’ve got a lot, I’ve got products that I’m working on, I have some media stuff that I’m working on. So I’m really excited this is I feel like sort of a reincarnation of who I am as professional. And I’m excited to see where I can take this and you know, that that’s part of what being in LA is all about. What happens here does tend to set the style and trend and I really want to be one of those trendsetters
David Ralph [15:21]
and can you see a time that you actually won’t be having your hand in somebody’s mouth, you’re literally be the sort of figurehead to the company.
Dr Joel Gould [15:30]
You know, that’s, that’s probably a fantasy that every dentist has at some point in time. The truth is, I would miss not doing the clinical work. But, you know, the more cosmetic work I do when I say cosmetic, I mean, complete dental work, the less I want to be, you know, in my office doing the day to day, you know, fillings in that but I love my profession. And yeah, I would love to know, after 25 years, I don’t know that I have another 20 years of you know, leaning over into someone’s mouth. It is a physically demanding job, but at this point in time, you know, I I’m operating on a, you know, day to day week to week basis, because I’m excited thinking about, you know, joining up the dots. I’m looking into the future. And I’m scratching my head saying, which direction Am I going to go in? And when I look back on where I was at right now, will I will I be able to see, oh, you know, I missed the idea that I should have focused more on my product, or I should have focused more on my cosmetic work or you know, I don’t know. So I can’t really say that the future is interesting. And, you know, I’m excited to see how this is going to go for me.
David Ralph [16:30]
So if we do take you back and start so connecting your dots, what was the first thing that the young Joe wanted to be? What was it like an ice hockey player or something very Canadian based? What would be your early influences?
Dr Joel Gould [16:45]
Well, you know, it’s Canada. There’s no doubt that every single child will play hockey at some point in time. You know, and I was a great athlete at the age of seven or eight. I retired from hockey after falling on someone’s skate and probably crying for three hours and I defer to my brother who was a superstar athlete. So you know I had a little bit different interests I read a lot and I was you know, like I said I painted I collected records I my favourite memories or least favourite memories are going taking the bus downtown in Winnipeg and having to transfer once and having to you know, buying buying the latest I was really into the British music imports and I would would pay so you know, 17 or $20 for a British import and I put that record inside my jacket because in Winnipeg when it’s minus 40 degrees Celsius, which is very common, a red vinyl record will snap. Yeah, so you’d have to keep it insulated next to your body so I would, you know, take my treasure home in my jacket, transfer one stand outside for 45 minutes in the freezing cold, you know to be able to go home and put it put a new record on and sit down and do something
David Ralph [17:50]
creative. I bought a vinyl in a Madrid ones and I carried it around and it literally was a flowerpot by the time I got home so I know Your problem so what what type of year were we talking about when you would be going out searching for British vinyl?
Dr Joel Gould [18:07]
You know, it would have been the Gosh, the late 70s, early 80s. I graduated high school 1984. And in Canada, we had, we definitely had a limited American influence, we had more of a British influence, which is interesting, you know, the the Trudeau government of the 70s in Canada, want to Canada to have its own identity. Right. And they did a lot of great things. And you know, one of the things that we do see from that is that a lot of Canadians have come to America, and we’re able to grow because of those Canadian culture protection laws. So that’s interesting, but it would be about, you know, maybe 1979 1980
David Ralph [18:38]
and what kind of music were you going for? Let’s really get back into the passion.
Dr Joel Gould [18:43]
Okay. Well, that this I would have, I would have stood in line for an hour for the latest Smith release or the latest new order or Depeche Mode. It’s funny when they talk about 80s music and I think back to those days that was not the popular music. It was whites, Whitesnake and Van Halen and you know, you could Beat up and shoved in your locker for even mentioning somebody like Depeche Mode. But now in retrospect, that seems to have been the popular music of the 80s. And what’s funny is I remember coming to Los Angeles as a kid probably 11 or 12 years old and tuning into kr o Q. And my sister and I and my brother, we would actually record on cassettes because it was music that you really couldn’t hear almost anywhere else. And I thought, you know, how exciting would be to live in Los Angeles and to be able to have karaoke, playing on my car radio.
David Ralph [19:28]
I actually live about two minutes away from where Depeche Mode grew up in a town called basit and Essex, so they’re their local boys done good but, but that is the kind of music really but does get a cult following. It’s the kind of stuff but dads will like and their sons would like because of their dads and when you see like the Smiths and the cure and Depeche Mode. They can still feel stadium it’s amazing after all that time.
Dr Joel Gould [19:56]
Yeah, it’s pretty incredible. It’s a it’s a surprise. You know, I remember at the time It was music that, you know, the general public was saying this is horrible. This will never last, you know, and sure enough, here it is.
David Ralph [20:07]
It’s always gonna last. You can’t be a bit of Depeche Mode. You really can’t. Oh, totally agree. Oh dear listeners, I think he knew that he was Depeche Mode, go over to iTunes or wherever and get one of their albums. But what I want to do now I want to play one about a motivational speeches that really sort of takes us from that moment in Winnipeg, where you’re starting to think there’s more to life than what I’m seeing. There’s more to life, what am I allowing myself to get? These are the words of Jim Carrey.
Jim Carrey [20:34]
My father could have been a great comedian, but he didn’t believe that that was possible for him. And so he made a conservative choice. Instead, he got a safe job as an accountant. And when I was 12 years old, he was let go from that safe job. And our family had to do whatever we could to survive. I learned many great lessons from my father, not the least of which was that you can fail at what you don’t want. So you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.
David Ralph [21:01]
Words that inspire you, sir.
Dr Joel Gould [21:03]
Yes, and no, I think I may be the dissenting voice on on that quote, because I do love it. And I think it’s fantastic. But, you know, part of who I am, and what I’ve accomplished. And I guess, you know, maybe this is a quote that I probably would have a better feeling for if my life was different. But, you know, I did mention that my father was a very powerful guy. And he wanted to inspire me to be whatever I wanted to be, except that he had very strict rules and that you had to have a backup plan. So for myself, you know, I didn’t want to be an artist or an architect. And his idea was that you need to get a profession because once you have that degree, you can work at it. If you don’t like it, you can do whatever you want. But if you have a problem, you can always fall back on that. And that’s one of the things that will always stick with me even long after his passing, is that what I can accomplish is pretty much anything that I want but, and it happened to me happened to be more than once that I made some missteps and I did something that is didn’t work out the way I wanted and had anticipated. And yet I had the ability to fall back on my profession in my career and was able to sort of get my get my feet back on on the ground and start working and you know, saving some money and moving on to the next phase of my life. So, the reality is, even though I totally agree with that, and I will definitely always wonder till, you know, I don’t know for how long what my life could have been like, if I would have followed my dream of being an architect or my dream of being an artist. And, you know, part of me says, Well, you spent a lot of time working at Starbucks or as a waiter, you know, while you had projects that were not working out, but you know, I’ll never know what things could have been like. But the truth is that after all this time, I’ve really fallen in love with my profession. And there’s no no way to view those comments and say that he was wrong. Because I guess you know, when you’re 23 and you make a life choice to choose a professional career based on you know, I chose it for myself, but I took advice, and it’s interesting. I’m more in love with my freshmen now than I ever have been in I would say that I love that advice. And just, you know, a good backup plan never hurt anyone I might one of my favourite things to think about is don’t quit your day job. And I’ve done it before and I have not been happy. So it you know, I like to take risks, but it’s always nice to have a good fallback position.
David Ralph [23:16]
So, do you like the creativity that you’ve got in your role now? Or do you like the nurturing because one of the things that I was very aware of looking around your site, there’s a lot of aftercare but you you get to your patients. What’s the element that sort of thrills you the most?
Dr Joel Gould [23:33]
Well, you know, the, the instant gratification of doing a smile transformation and that’s, you know, one of the things I talk about in my book is something called smile, dissonance. And that’s really when, you know, you, you’re born, you, you you have your own physicality and your teeth develop a certain way. And it’s so many people go on and do these incredible things with their lives. They get an education, they go in, they achieve, and they become a completely different person. And they’re still stuck. With the same teeth, and it’s a real disconnect, that they can’t even exceed themselves and accept who they are, because they have a major part of them. And that’s their mouth and their smile, which is such a huge part of who we are, that does not equate to who they have become. And so when I get one of these people, and I get to change how they look and to catch up their physical outward appearance and their confidence to the person that they have become, that is by far the most rewarding, exciting thing that I can do. And I know that’s my favourite project. And maybe when you see on my website, you’ll see that the cases that I’ve worked on and you know, people who have who are good working, good intention, people who have fallen out of you know, good luck or had some issues. And what I love about it is that because dentistry is something that I can do so easily. I have this incredible machine here in Los Angeles, all over the west side of LA. And I can do these smile makeovers and I can do treatment for people and it’s Something that, you know, to see their reaction to see who they become when they have this new smile. That’s the most exciting thing that I can do that and I would say also the mentorship and watching my dentist as I work with them starting to see that they have the skills, both dental and socially, to really become superstar dentists, you know, in my company, modern American dentistry. One of the things you know, that I’m kind of proud of is that I make modern American dentists These are great guys, when they get out of dental school, to kind of you know that things have changed a lot, they end up with a lot of debt. There aren’t a lot of great opportunities, any major centres, you really have to learn how to dig for a good opportunity, you have to fight for it and you kind of have to carve it out and create it for yourself. So the the, the feeling I get for helping these guys and setting them up and helping them become high quality dental providers. That’s probably the most exciting those two things are the most exciting parts of my profession at this point in time.
David Ralph [25:52]
Because that lady that you’re talking about on your website, she ended up with a very nice smile but I thought she had an A very nice smile to begin with. It didn’t look like it needed to be done. Did you? Do you have people that come in where you kind of go? Well, actually your wife, your wife, he’s just he’s just you being you.
Dr Joel Gould [26:10]
Well, not okay. Not really most you know, it is. It’s funny because the photographs that I you know, I recall her she was very upset with her teeth. She would not ever smile she kept her hand in front of her mouth and it really was holding her back but um, you know, I’ll never do anything that’s completely outrageous. The craziest thing I’ve ever done is you know, style veneers after an actress for different patients who wanted to look like that actress, but they genuinely had something that wasn’t ideal. And, you know, this is America and our bodies are ours to do with what we please. And if somebody wants to, to augment their smile in a certain way, as long as it doesn’t sort of go outside of the bounds of being a professional and want you know, doing no harm to patients. I’m always open to work with people, you know, people do all kinds of crazy plastic surgeries that I wouldn’t do if I was a plastic surgeon. But you know, that’s up to those individuals. I really don’t get a lot of people who come to me and don’t need work and really want it. So it hasn’t been an issue.
David Ralph [27:08]
Is it? No, just a mental aspect? Or is there not an issue somewhere along the line in these people? For example, I’ve never once considered if you said to me now draw your teeth, even though I see them every day, I wouldn’t be able to. They’re just there. And is it not a psychological issue that makes people want to do this?
Dr Joel Gould [27:30]
You know, there’s definitely a huge psychological component, but we can’t discount reality. the oral cavity I want to get technical oral cavity is where we receive nourishment. It’s how we communicate. This is the entryway to the body. This is a very important area. And you know, if I can, I don’t know if people will will recall this, but there’s a drawing a very famous drawing of the human homunculus, which is a graphic representation of sensory innervation of the body. And you may recall it’s a it’s a funny looking man with a giant tongue. Huge lips, and very big hands. And so the mouth is a very unique place. And it does reflect health. And so when we have a situations that are less healthy than ideal, there’s a physical component to it that comes into play. And it goes back to the sort of nature of natural selection that we naturally like, you know, cemetry and we’re drawn to a whiter smile than a darker smile. So these are things that are sort of more physical. And, you know, the the crazy thing about dentistry is that it’s not really just, you know, teeth teeth that are aligned were better and they’re healthier in general. They’re easy to keep clean, but some of the things that people don’t realise is that there’s a conclusive link between diseases, especially Alzheimer’s, heart disease and diabetes, with having good oral health and good oral health is a wide range of different things. But periodontal disease will initiate and advance Alzheimer’s disease, the clinical studies are they’re there. And so, you know, everyone is different. Some people are fixated on their hairline or waistline. So people are fixated on their teeth. But in general, you know, A healthy smile, meaning clean, healthy teeth. That’s important. And everyone’s perception of what their perfect smile is, is completely different. Some people, I see teeth all the time that I know, I would want to look better, but the people who have them, they’re very happy, and they’re healthy. And that’s all I can really ask for.
David Ralph [29:20]
Now, one of the words you’ve used a lot is ideal, making things ideal is that a decision but you do on a daily basis to try and make your life ideal and, and kind of structure it exactly as you want to be?
Dr Joel Gould [29:35]
Well, you know, I think part of being a problem solver is looking at every situation when it isn’t ideal and saying, you know, this situation doesn’t suit me because it makes me uncomfortable. It makes me this or that. And when I look at it in situations that aren’t ideal, I want to say how can I improve this and I guess maybe that’s part of my, my superpower is that, you know, when I see something that just seems silly, I won’t just say oh, wait Whatever I’m going to say no, if you’re going to make me participate, then I refuse to be part of a silly situation. So I’m kind of a control freak. And you know, as as I think a lot of CEOs are, in that, if somebody doesn’t want to do things my way, and they have a different way, I’ll go along with them. But if their lack of planning and for lack of conceptualising, the whole issue properly is going to result in me being stuck somewhere being unhappy somewhere or getting hit with a giant bill, then I’m out. Thank you very much, then I’m going to I’m going to exert my idea of ideal so yes, ideal, you know, it’s a sliding scale, and what’s ideal for one person isn’t ideal for the next person.
David Ralph [30:39]
So 2009, you found yourself in a less than ideal situation, your business had been hit by the recession? You You’re on the way back, you’re on the slide. How did you turn that around? Was it just mental strength, or did you use your network that you’d built up
Dr Joel Gould [30:59]
will probably agree combination of all that, you know, being Canadian in the US, I’ve always had to be financing creatively. Because I know that most people would think that just you know, any Canadian could just come into America and and things are fine because we blend in. But you know, as a foreigner I’m before national I’m, you know, I’m an immigrant to this company, things that have to do with finance are very, very difficult for me. So anything that I need to do, there’s always an added step of difficulty. But you know, it goes to connecting the dots is that all of these crazy things, some really, you know, difficult situations that came my way have turned around to make me more resourceful. So when when that recession hit in 2009, and I literally lost everything. You know, the one thing that I had to sort of speak look at myself in the mirror and say, Okay, this is a confidence game from here on in. Nobody needs to know that you’ve lost everything. Your employees don’t need to know that every time when payrolls coming around your sink, sort of scrambling to think how am I going to make payroll this time Am I going to take an advance on my American Express account? Or, you know, what am I going to do? And definitely all the experiences of my life made that that period, you know, be sort of livable, but it was pretty terrifying, you know, running, running businesses and having people whose livelihood depends on me, and not having them know all these crazy things. You know, when, when your mortgage from one property gets sold to a bank that you’re with, and they start to consolidate and see that you have too much credit or what they believe is too much credit, you know, myself and so many people just we had our lives just taken away from us my line of credit of $100,000 from Wells Fargo, was taken away overnight. And that was a line of credit it run up to $100,000 in paid down to zero many, many times. No, I’d never even comprehended that one day I could wake up and it will be gone. So I think that what I had to do was simplify my life that included moving into a one bedroom apartment and putting all my things in storage. And it’s solidified my understanding that things are not important. It’s all about relationships, friends, family, and your health and your quality of life. And money is fantastic. And the more money we have, the more security we have. But when all that goes away, you really fall back and go back to the basics and say, Who am I? And what what happened here? What can I learn from this? Was I in at fault? What could I have done better? So it was one of those periods in my life where, you know, I can reflect on it. And it was horrific. And I had a lot of a lot of friends who went through this with me, as a lot of people did in 2009. And I think just really falling back to the basics of hard work, simplifying, being honest, putting in extra hours practising what I was doing, and trying to focus really on my business.
David Ralph [33:36]
Now, obviously, at a time you felt that you were, I’m sure you felt but you’d hit rock bottom. But of course, you were still in a in an apartment. How far down? Do you think that you could go and still keep who you are today?
Dr Joel Gould [33:51]
And probably it comes again from from being that that kid in Winnipeg who, you know, just was saying, How do what’s the fastest way out of this town? and solving that problem, I think that I would really fall back onto those hard times. You know, I had a patient who came in one day and said, oh, wow, look at you. You live in Venice. And you’ve got to practice in Manhattan Beach. And, you know, I feel so sorry for you just kind of mocking and I thought you don’t know the struggles. And the the difficulties I’ve had, you don’t know what it took for me to pick myself up out. And know the hours in the days out in the frozen North when I had to do all of those those incredible lessons. They made me a much more resourceful person and all those hardships and difficulties. I they doesn’t matter what happened to me when I thought about my worst case scenario before investing in real estate, I did see myself potentially as being staying on a friend’s couch. So I guess that I didn’t fall as low as I could have. But I guess I was always, I always knew that I had the love and support of my friends and family. And then even my worst case scenario, I could go back to Canada. But these are things that, you know, doing what I’ve done and carving out and creating spaces. myself to exist in that part of my personality. It just really wouldn’t let me be defeated. I don’t think
David Ralph [35:06]
the key thing to Join Up Dots that we talk about every day and you’ve already alluded to it earlier, is the fact that your worst times in your life are actually the learning periods. That’s that’s the experience that pushes you on to bigger and better things. When it did go pear shaped as we say, in the United Kingdom, it went wrong. How long did you mourn for it? Or did you just literally battle back straightaway? Was there a time when you sat on the sofa and you didn’t shave for four days and you you just let yourself go or where you literally on the battle from the word go?
Dr Joel Gould [35:40]
Well, probably both. I did all of that. I you know, I took it took me a long time actually having so part of my my perceived failures, which you know, anyone can judge is having left Vancouver and Canada and not having stayed and kept some of my investments and things that I was doing, and it was very difficult. It took Probably 10 years to get over coming back to Canada and looking around and saying I really blew it, I should have done this, I should have done that. And so I do a combination of, you know, getting up right away and fighting back immediately. But at the end of the day, sitting back in my chair, relaxing, watching, you know, john stewart or, or contemplating the world and saying, Wow, I feel really sorry for myself because I made some dumb choices. And I’ve you know, affected my life in a negative way. So I would say that probably multitasking is good. So I could be both. I didn’t go through a period where I just sat and did nothing. But I went through a long period where I was depressed and unhappy with all the craziness that it sort of happened to me or in for me and no caused by me. So both both are true.
David Ralph [36:44]
Are you in a better place because of it? Because you’ve seen both sides of the coin. Now, have you moved on to a better position?
Dr Joel Gould [36:53]
Well, I think that probably ignorance is bliss. And so technically, yes. I’m in a better Place, let you know I’m in a much better place because part of of what I’m doing today is a direct result of all of the insane, crazy, unusual things that happened to me and all those, those terrible mistakes. You know, and as a leader here at my office is one of the things I make my employees understand is that a really a mistake is is not a bad thing as long it’s only bad if you don’t learn from it and if you don’t change and grow. So it’s very important for me, I’m not an excuses type of person, I’m an apology and explanation and fix the problem type of person.
David Ralph [37:31]
Well, let’s play the words now of a man who made a lot of mistakes but still left us with a powerful legacy Steve Jobs.
Steve Jobs [37:39]
Of course, it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college, but it was very, very clear looking backwards. 10 years later. Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something your gut Destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well worn path. And that will make all the difference.
David Ralph [38:14]
So if we take your Iron Man costume off just for a moment, what do you really trust in in those words that he’s talking?
Dr Joel Gould [38:22]
Well, I couldn’t, couldn’t agree more with what he’s saying. And it’s very inspiring words. But you know, I’m a little different than a lot of people and I sometimes get into trouble because, you know, viewing things from a scientific point of view. I really believe that we really are the makers of our own destiny and that life is a series of choices that we make, and our ability to follow through and to practice and to accomplish is really all that we have. And one of the things that I’ve seen over time, you know, as technology, you know, pushes back the cover on all the terrible things that go on in the world. You know with video cameras. is now everywhere. Nobody can get away with anything, which is a great thing. Except that you know, for myself, I think that what I always want to think about is all I have to fall back on is my integrity. And if I do something that’s inappropriate to someone else, that that is huge, a huge issue for me, because I believe that everyone’s equal, and I believe that everybody should help when they can. And I don’t see enough of that. And I just think that if people will believe in themselves and invest in themselves, and most importantly, add, the one ingredient that I see lacking from so much that I see around me, and that is effort and elbow grease, if people are willing to put a little bit of hard work into their lives, they can really accomplish anything. And you know, putting your trust in, in a higher power is great. You know, I think God helps those who help themselves and I think that everybody should be entitled to their religious views, and I respect all religions having come from a sort of pseudo religious background. I have no issue with that. But ultimately, it’s what we do here every day, what we accomplish. And how hard are willing to work? I think that makes our world come together in a way that can be the best that we can have.
David Ralph [40:06]
So do you think that we live in a world now of entitlement, people feel that they should get the quick route to stuff?
Dr Joel Gould [40:14]
Yeah, there’s no doubt there’s no doubt it’s definitely you know, we see it, we see the it’s the instant gratification generation, you know, you want it, you see it, you have it. And I think that is a big disconnect. And even if with mentoring some of my dentist, you know, I sometimes if a dentist doesn’t make it in my programme, I think it’s pretty bad because I’m very thorough in giving people multiple chances to improve. And so the shocking thing is, and I can’t believe that somebody who spent eight years of their life to become a professional, doesn’t have that same motivation, drive and energy to put in to what it takes to be successful in your career in your life, you know, in your everyday existence. So yeah, I think that the amount of work that’s required for people to achieve success, it I don’t think it’s it’s knowledged I don’t think it’s known at this point by most people. They don’t But not understanding the thousand hours. theory that, you know, we talked about for the for Bill, Bill Gates and that type of thing where people don’t see they see rags to riches and they assume Oh, you know, I can just make millions of dollars right away. They don’t see all those hours of hard work and the failures and how difficult it is for people who are successful to really gain that success.
David Ralph [41:22]
It’s a lovely story, though, isn’t it? The overnight success and even on things like American Idol that they do a few songs. I mean, they’re suddenly playing Madison Square Garden. There is a backstory isn’t there? There is that preparation? Well, some of them get up on stage and it looks like they haven’t practised ever. But more often not the ones that win it like they’ve they’ve done they’ve paid their dues.
Dr Joel Gould [41:45]
Yeah, no, I totally agree at what’s what’s funny is it actually I don’t watch that show, but I do occasionally watch to show the voice. I think it’s so well done. And what I love about that show is it takes people who maybe technically have raw talent, but have no idea how to put it together and they literally On a crash course for success with all these mentors and experts who are training them, and I love to see the transformation that these incredible people go through seeing somebody, you know, week after week and seeing, this is what you can achieve if you have the right help at the right time. If you have you know, as a kid, I had a math tutor, because I was failing in math. And I learned at an early age that if you can’t do something, well, you’ve got to outsource it either go to a class or hire a consultant to come and teach you. So I love those shows when they show a transformation in somebody and you can see that the the actual work that they put in training in the practice as a performer is really paying off.
David Ralph [42:38]
He’s the problem solving for you again, isn’t it?
Dr Joel Gould [42:41]
Yes, yes, it is. If you’re crummy on stage, you got to practice figure out break down what’s not going right for you, and work on those aspects of your performance.
David Ralph [42:50]
So in the words of Steve Jobs is a question that we ask all the time is what what is your big dot when you look back over your life, what was the moment or series of moments that really These dots eat you on the path that you are now, the moment when you thought, yeah, this is what I want to do.
Dr Joel Gould [43:05]
Um, you know, I think that looking back again, what I recognise is that I think one of the biggest mistakes that people can make in their life and how they’re conducting their lives, is giving others their powers. And what I mean by that is I see the world a certain way. And when I speak with somebody or interact with somebody, I automatically give them the powers of perception that I have. So I immediately give them the power that they’re seeing the world the way I see it. And that’s been really a tragic part of a lot of my mistakes. I’ve worked with people or trusted people who I believed understood things the way that I understood them. I gave them my powers, and they didn’t have them and they let me down. And so I think that, you know, where was the moment where I realised this? You know, I can’t I honestly can’t even say there’s been so many times where, you know, I think that I have all the life’s Mystery solved, and then something will happen where I’m like, wow, okay, so there’s one more case where I didn’t recognise that I gave somebody the powers that I thought they had and they couldn’t accomplish what I needed them to do because I didn’t do a good enough job of finding out that they didn’t understand or helping them to do what I needed them to do. So it’s one of those things that there’s no real easy answer I life is, you know, it’s change. And you know, those who can’t change and grow, they get left behind and stagnant. So I guess maybe the power to change.
David Ralph [44:19]
You’re fascinated about the journey, aren’t you? You’re fascinated that you can construct something remarkable and magical, all by your own efforts.
Dr Joel Gould [44:30]
Yes, that that that I guess, I guess you do a pretty good job of pulling out the, the essence of what someone’s like. And I think again, it comes from you know, when you live an hour to for the American border your entire life, you know, you have a chip on your shoulder about your big brother. And I felt you know, I felt like I was nobody from nowhere and you know, wherever I went there was you know, no help wanted, you know, even graduating from dental school, there was no jobs. Oh, too bad. This is the worst time in the history of Canada for dentists there are no jobs. So think that that you know Being able to conceptualise something, or coming up with an idea, and then be able to create that idea by just investigation and collaboration and hard work. I think that’s probably been the most incredible, fantastic part of what I love about life, you know, and part of that is looking at my success. How did I come here? And how did I accomplish all these crazy things, even in the face of having lost everything in 2009? Yeah, I would say that that’s the most exciting part of life for me is, is the possibilities. You know, a lot of people have a hard time. They they know what they want, and they have a hard time getting there on the opposite. I don’t know what I want, but whatever that is, I know how to get there.
David Ralph [45:40]
How How do you because that that is a fundamental and that is the gonna be the nugget of gold in this episode. How do you do that?
Dr Joel Gould [45:48]
All right. Well, I was I was just thinking about making a joke and talking about scalar energy because I did listen to previous podcast, and I love that type of talk. And, you know, I think that um, how do you Do it think that if everybody had the education that I’ve had, you know, when when you have to go through a professional programme, it’s not just the programme itself, it’s the actions that you have to take to get into a high level professional programme, as well as being able to complete it. But what people don’t understand is, you know, sure medical school or dental school is hard. But the, the level of organisation that you have to have to be able to even get into these schools creates the person who can be successful because when you think about, okay, I want to apply to dental school, and then you research what’s required. There’s so many different aspects of that, you know, you have to have interest and you have to have references and you have to have experience and being able to see what’s you know, if you have a goal, say I want to do this, go investigate all the requirements and then break them down and figure out, Okay, this is what they need to accept me into their programme. That’s easy, the the there’s an outline right there. Now I have to actually accomplish all these individually. tasks, they’re gonna allow me to be part of this, you know, further programme. And I think that it goes back to the laziness issue or the, you know, not willing to put the effort and energy in, you won’t be able to do anything in life until you actually learn it. And that means sitting your butt down. And, you know, putting the work in, you know, when you see people who are successful out there, saying, Oh, it looks so easy for that person or this person, you don’t know, the hours that they spent literally doing the work and doing the research. And I think that that’s the secret of the universe. And that’s the secret of scalar energy is that, you know, if you put the effort in and you are really willing, and really want to have success, as long as you’re not gonna lie to yourself, and as long as you’re gonna understand that when you have a hard time that you need extra help, you can really accomplish anything. You know, some people have it easier, and they have more resources at their disposal. Some people have a harder job at accomplishing whatever they need. You know, I myself I was lucky in that I had a stable Home, and the ability to you know, get an education without the stress of worrying about, you know where my next meal is coming from. Although it was a little bit tough, but you know, not like a lot of people face. So I think that everyone has their challenges, but everybody has to follow the same rules and regulations. And you know, you can work harder or you can work smarter. If you figure out how to work smarter, you will work really, you know, it won’t be hard, and you can accomplish more. So it evolves when people say, Oh, just work smarter, not harder. Yeah, that’s great. It’s like buy low and sell high. Sounds great. Yeah,
David Ralph [48:32]
I know, doing this show at the moment. It’s getting easier and easier and easier only because of the last year and a half of the very, very hard and that’s that’s the beauty of it, isn’t it? You you you toughen up on the journey and then you enjoy it more when you get there. Now, no doubt
Dr Joel Gould [48:49]
no doubt. What’s funny is that you know that so this next stage of my life and I were how I met Clint Arthur is doing some media training, and he’s got a fantastic programme. You know, to to To help you to become a better version of yourself and become media friendly, and, you know, there’s all the, you know, Tony Robbins and personal power. And you know, that’s never really been my thing because I’ve had my own work ethic and I haven’t needed someone to inspire me but having somebody show you, you know how to, to get to the next rung on the ladder, by learning something is incredible. And having that, that practice and seeing when you put the time and effort in how quickly you can evolve and change, you know, watching my television performances from my first terrible one to my last not so terrible one, really incredible just seeing the changes that anyone can make, if they’re really willing to invest the time and really open themselves up to the hard work that comes along with any success in life.
David Ralph [49:44]
You know, it is golden, these hills Dr. Joe, you’re sharing it, you’re sharing it? Well, this is the end of the show now and this is the part that we called a sermon on the mic when we’re gonna send you back in time to have a one on one with your younger self. And if you could go back in time and speak to young Dr. Joe, what age would you choose and what advice would you give well Gonna find out because we’re gonna play the theme tune and when it fades you out. This is the Sermon on the mind
Unknown Speaker [50:13]
with the best bit of the show.
Dr Joel Gould [50:28]
All right, Joel, you’re a nice kid. But you need to be more patient. Every single thing that you want to do and accomplish is all doable. Firstly, don’t think small think a little bigger. Yes, you’re from the middle of nowhere and that’s okay. But there’s no laws, no restrictions holding you back from doing anything that you want to do. Don’t think small, think big, but think big, and work hard at it. Have more patience. Everything that you thought to be true was actually true. You were just a little too impatient and didn’t stick with your ideas, philosophies and concepts. If you would have had more patience, you’d probably be a happier person. So work hard. And take your time and be patient.
David Ralph [51:14]
How can our audience connect with us a
Dr Joel Gould [51:17]
very easy, easiest way is to find us on the web at modern American dentistry.com. They can also tune into my new radio show at four radio and that’s fo r e radio. I look up Joel Gould, have a podcast starting next week. And those are the best ways to contact me. And that’s pretty much it.
David Ralph [51:38]
We’ll have over links on the show notes. Dr. Joel, thank you so much for spending time with us today. joining up those dots and please come back again when you have more dots to join up because I do believe that by joining up the dots and connecting our pasts is the best way to build our futures. Dr. Joe gold. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thanks for listening to today’s episode of Join Up Dots brought to you exclusively by podcasters mastery.com. The only resource that shows you how to create a show, build an income and still have time for the life that you love. Check out podcasters mastery.com
Outro [52:14]
now, David doesn’t want you to become a faded version of the brilliant self you were wants to become. So he’s put together an amazing guide for you called the eight pieces of advice that every successful entrepreneur practices, including the two that changed his life. Head over to Join Up dots.com to download this amazing guide for free and we’ll see you tomorrow on Join Up Dots.
