President’s Message
There is always room for quality
Lately, I’ve been working on being more mindful of what I consume. Input is directly correlated to output. One of the ways I accomplish this is to consume content that aligns with my values and what I’d like to see in my future.
James Clear is a great example of an inspiring content creator. He’s authentic and promotes resiliency. Let’s face it. All of us will face challenges that we will need to rebound from. It’s not “if” but “when.”
When I saw one of my favorite financial bloggers, Nick Maggiulli, quote James Clear, my worlds collided. I can’t paraphrase what Nick had written and still do it justice. Please enjoy this excerpt for yourself:
“One time I saw someone ask James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, “What’s the point of writing a book when there are already so many books out there? Isn’t the market oversaturated?”
Clear agreed that this was true if your book wasn’t any good. But, if your book is good, it won’t matter. As he concluded, “There’s always room for quality.”
Anytime someone asks me whether they should start a blog, write a book, or launch a business, I’m reminded of Clear’s idea. After all, he’s right. No one complains about having more quality in the world.
Listening to Taylor Swift doesn’t make listening to Beyonce worse. Warren Buffett’s wisdom doesn’t detract from Jack Bogle’s. Greatness never crowds out greatness.
Reading this was incredibly inspiring to me. One could apply this to your optometric education or to starting your own optometry clinic. Above all, every single one of us could apply this to how we provide care to our patients.
There is always enough room for high-quality optometrists in our communities. Not enough of our neighbors are benefitting from our services. Our profession is vastly underutilized. We have the ability to improve our community’s health, safety, happiness, and productivity when we practice at full scope.
What is one thing you can do this week to provide better care for your patients? If it’s aligned with quality, there will always be room for it.
Proud to call you colleagues and friends,
Lauren Haverly (OD’14)
President
The Ohio State University College of Optometry Alumni Society
