672: You Never Know What You Could Do Without Trying Hard - Dr. Tuyen Nguyen

It’s easy to think your goals, your dreams, and what you aspire to do or be are so far away. Dr. Tuyen Nguyen thought that too. Many years ago, he moved to the United States, and with a lot of hard work and dedication, the doors he always wanted to open were his to step through. If you’re feeling challenged, in a rut, or aren’t sure what’s next, get some inspiration here. Learn more in Episode 672 of The Best Practices Show!

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Main Takeaways:

Don’t settle. 

Opportunity is everywhere. 

You’re going to achieve what you want to achieve.

Dedicate yourself to studying your craft. 

Take a step by step approach to building your confidence and achieving your dreams. 

Life is a blessing. 

Quotes:

“I told myself I came here to have a better life and I will try my best so I don’t settle for less. I want to be educated. I have to have a career, a job that has some education. If there is less education or more education, I would choose a higher education career than not. That kept me going. And I was at the bottom of my life. Not having enough to eat. No money and no future. I saw no future in my life at the time in Vietnam. So I could only go up.” - Tuyen (12:57—13:39)

“I was the hardest working student in that class, the class before me, the class after and probably many other classes.” - Tuyen (15:16—15:26)

“My first employer offered me a job. A guaranteed job for $10,000 a month with 44 hour work week. And I was so excited. That was a year before I graduated. So I went there to work full time; more than full time 55 hours. Seeing patients per week plus almost 2 hours writing charts. So if you add all of that I’d work like 66, 67 hours per week, non stop. I had only about a half hour lunch and I worked a 12 hour day for 3 days and an 8 hour day for 2 days. I commuted 2 hours a day and I lived there for 5 nights and I did that for a year and a half. When my first baby was born I was still doing that, but then my employer opened another clinic, closer to my house, within driving distance to get home every night so I transferred my job.” - Tuyen (15:56—17:11)

“I didn’t know if I could do a four year degree. Then I accomplished my dental degree. And at that time I never thought that I’d be a sole owner. I thought maybe at best I could be a partner. But then it happened that I could be an owner myself…I worked really hard, as always and I was also lucky to have a good program with good patients to grow that business. In two years I over grew that practice such that I couldn't handle the workload…So in early 2008 my wife and I bought some land near the office…and we started to gather ideas to build my dream office. It took me 1.5 years to gather all of the information…in Summer 2008 we dug the first hole and Thanksgiving time we moved in. Four and a half months from start to finish, my dream office.” - Tuyen (17:29—19:23)

“In my country I didn’t make much money at all…My parents were entrepreneurs doing a lot of other things…But over here it’s different. I’m a professional. I’m a dentist. Working hard as a dentist is different than working hard in Vietnam, earning pennies to live by every day. So the change? I feel privileged to live in America because there are plenty of opportunities to seize and try with. Whether you can be a medical doctor, a dentist, a lawyer or anything or even if I am a plumber I would be my own owner of a plumber company and I would work hard. I will do my best. I would have a comfortable life…So no matter what you do there will be opportunities for you to get a loan to open a business and work hard. You’re going to achieve what you want to achieve. You can set your schedule. You can work as hard as you want or as little as you want and you have options to do so. Back in Vietnam, we do not have an option there to work hard and to earn money, to live comfortably. That is sad to hear, but it is the truth right now.” - Tuyen (22:48—25:02)

”I dedicate myself a lot to studying, to learning, to improving myself. I got involved in study clubs. I got involved with global diagnosis education. I got involved in an implant business. I learned from Dr. Rutgart a lot. All my implant education I learned from other dentists out there in the country and I got networks to connect them, on Facebook and Instagram and all that.”  - Tuyen (26:44—27:26)

”Back in the day when I came here to America, I was so confused not knowing what I could do…I would never have imagined that I could be a dentist. I tried out little things. I got some A’s in community college. And then I got good grades to transfer to apply to get into dental school. I knew then that I could accomplish a 4 year degree on a hygiene program. When I first came, I wasn’t sure if I could do that so if I didn’t try hard I wouldn’t be accepted to the dental hygiene program. So that’s the message. If I hadn’t tried hard before the hygiene program and going to dental school I would not have become a dentist. So if I didn’t reach for the stars then I wouldn’t become a dentist. I couldn’t imagine that I could become a dentist but because I kept trying, I built up confidence from one level to the next, to the next and that’s how I gained my confidence and achieved things in life. So that’s the message: you just don’t know what you could do unless you try and try hard. Look for opportunities around you because I couldn’t imagine becoming an owner of a dental practice. But here I am. I’m an owner with 18 employees.” - Tuyen (28:03—29:44)

”When a door is closed in your life, look out for other open doors and yes you will find them. Especially in this land of opportunity. America. USA. An example: when I was 17 years old finishing high school I was applying to medical school. It’s not like the process we do here. It’s totally different. Apply meaning I took an exam, a very hard exam composed of math, biology and chemistry. And I need to get a 23 out of 30 to get into medical school and I scored only 13. I was so mad at myself. I failed and I thought the world ended there. I could only take the test once a year and I failed 3 times, the chances are I won’t get into medical school. So I thought the door was closed forever. I went on to become a goldsmith. I had no doors open. I came over here. I thought I’d become a businessman, a nurse, a mechanic, a math teacher. All those doors I explored. But then the hygiene door opened and then the dental school door opened and then the ownership of a dental practice opened. And then the opportunity to build a big dental office opened. So one door opened after the next but with all my heart and soul trying and working to see those doors and walk through those doors to where I am right now. You have to try hard when one door is closed.” - Tuyen (31:21—33:59)

”I am looking for a dedicated, hardworking doctor who is willing to learn. To come in to work 4 days a week. The moment that person is comfortable with the flow then I will do 3 days a week. That is my goal, so that I can dedicate more time to work out and sleep in and learn more and do more challenging stuff. I am learning to do block grafts right now from Dr. Zastrow in Germany. That’s my goal next. I want to do better gum surgery. And quicker, more efficient surgeries so that I can tackle sites for implants…In 10 years I’d like to transfer the ownership to either one of my kids and/or another associate and then I can just work 2 days a week until I cannot work anymore. I enjoy teaching. I am getting involved in part-time teaching in residency programs in Minnesota. I love teaching. I love teaching and I will teach more. That’s my next chapter.”  - Tuyen (35:12—37:01)

”LIfe is a blessing. And the blessing that we may not know is we are living in the USA. I know that there are many other problems out there in the country, but all things considered, the pluses and minuses. I do have a chance to compare this country to my country and 10 other countries that I have traveled to, this is still by far the best place to live, to work and to enjoy life.” - Tuyen (37:37—38:19)

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction. 

1:52 Tuyen’s journey from Vietnam.

15:56 Starting in dentistry.

17:24 Tuyen buys an existing dental practice. 

21:26 Cultural shifts. 

26:44 Dedication to studying. 

27:51 You never know what you can do without trying hard.

31:06 When doors close. 

35:06 The next chapter. 

37:14 Final thoughts. 

Dr. Tuyen Nguyen Bio:

Dr. Tuyen Nguyen migrated from Vietnam to start his version of The American Dream. His story inspires anyone to believe that if they dream big, put in long hours of work, and never give up, they too can live the life they’ve always hoped for.

Born towards the end of the Vietnam War, Dr. Nguyen grew up when the Communists took over the country. His dreams of a better education finally became a reality when he found a way to migrate to the United States. He left Vietnam, traveled to the Philippines in 1992, and moved to the United States in 1993.

Dr. Nguyen started his education in the U.S. at a community college. He considered nursing, teaching, business, and being a hygienist as possible career paths. Eventually, he decided he wanted to be an electrical technician. He made his way to Saint Paul College to gain the knowledge and skills he needed. Then, one of his prime supporters convinced him that he was capable of doing more than engineering. He was encouraged by his peers to aim higher in the career field several times.

Dr. Nguyen completed dental school in 2002 and embarked on acquiring his own dental practice, a dream he had in 2005. He didn’t want just any regular dental practice — he wanted a comprehensive dental practice with the latest technology, such as 3D cone beam, X-ray, hard and soft tissue lasers, and intraoral cameras. With the latest technology, he could leverage his newly acquired professional skills in order to offer the best service to his patients. That dream of a state-of-the-art dental practice saw the light of day in 2009 when he organized a grand opening for the revamped dental practice he bought years earlier. 

Join Dr. Nguyen on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SoftDental 

Learn more about Dr. Nguyen’s practice: https://www.softdentalmn.com