PRESIDENT'S MESSAGES | SUMMER 2003By: Craig Dial, CRT
Have you ever been in a competition where there were ribbons given out for first, second, and third place, and you worked as hard as you could to win first prize, but did not make it? Even though you thought you did everything right, you gave it your all, someone else was better and won. When I entered my own homegrown produce into my local county fair, I tried my very best, but nevertheless, came in at second place.
This experience led me to think about our profession of dental imaging. Second place is a good place to be. If you are first, you may have nothing to aspire to; you are already at the top, therefore there is little room for improvement. When you are second (or third), there is always room for growth. Second place represents that you may not know it all; and that there is plenty of room to improve yourself towards being the best you can be. Being second also means that you are good at what you do, better than some, and not as good as others, and that being talented at something can make you feel better about yourself. As a person in second place, you can continually strive to become better at what you do, because no one can be the best at everything. Someone may be better than you on understanding terminology, anatomy, advanced imaging protocols, better communication skills with doctors or patients, good phone voice, or better management skills. But we all can strive to have these as our goals in mind to become better in every area of our profession. Second place can keep you humble, wanting to try harder next time. So now I can work the soil a little more, add some more amendments, and prepare for next years county fair. Who knows, maybe next year I will receive that blue ribbon, but I would be thrilled if I can just hold onto second place. 
Craig in front of his "prize winning garlic" at the Placer County Fair (red ribbon)
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