It is 2006. You have had a month or so to clear your head after that New Years party you wish you had not attended. This is a great time to put your priorities in order, to state what you believe. I am not going to tell you what to believe. That is your problem. But, here is a short example that you can use as a template

What I Believe By Dr. Montgomery Vickers
I believe that the 2006 version of Dr. Montgomery Vickersoptometrist, healer, businessman, writer, guitarist, father and husbandis smarter than he has ever been. And if this is true, I also believe its a very good thing nobody figured out how stupid I was before 2006.

I believe that in 2006 I will be more financially successful than Ive ever been. That said, I believe that I better buy a lottery ticket because nobodys beating the door down to buy contacts this week.

I believe that hard work is good. OK, hard work is good most of the time, but right now Im tired, so please substitute the words peanut butter fudge for hard work in the previous sentence.

I believe that computers were invented by eye doctors to drum up business. Its the best practice builder ever. But lets make the screens smaller and blurrier, OK? Oh, and thanks to the dude who invented scrolling the news and weather under the TV show you are trying to watch. You make prescribing new glasses a breeze!

I believe that I can count on two hands the number of patients who simply did not show up for their scheduled appointments on Monday, January 9, 2006 ELEVEN. Oh, did I ever mention my interesting left hand?

I believe in miracles. In other words, I believe that Mrs. Jones will actually be very glad that her glasses will not come in before her daughters wedding.

I believe that there are things in the world of optometry we will never, ever understand, such as ...

1. Why insurance companies think eye health and vision are unrelated.

2. Why staff members think its good when the afternoon schedule goes to hell in a handbasket: Now I can get my work done! Huh?

3. Why some patients come in with a golfball-sized lid cyst and say What bump? and others are panicked into an emergency office visit on Saturday because they have a hair growing out of their eyelid. (Its an eyelash, Mrs. Smith.)

4. Why, after 26 years of keeping my nose clean in optometry, I cannot move to another state to practice unless I retake Boards to prove to the new state that I still know all the crap I learned in optometry school, which I soon found was useless the first time I saw a real patient in a real office!

5. Why presbyopic contact lens wearers would rather go back to wearing glasses full-time than just put work/reading glasses over their contacts when they are at the office.

6. Why contact lens sales reps try to convince you to charge cost for their lenses.

7. Why a brain surgeon who makes seven figures a year wears $3 +2s to read your MRI.

My wife always tells our kids these wise words: If you believe it, you can achieve it. My son has rather unsuccessfully applied this credo to online poker for several years. In our profession, we quickly learn that one must believe something, and if you believe something, you will achieve something and what that something is may surprise the heck out of you, doc!

As for me, I believe I will now eat some more peanut butter fudge.