Macon

Are you ashamed of your smile? You're not alone. Let's face the facts. Some of us were blessed with a gorgeous figure, wealthy parents and all of the little "extra's", while the rest of us have to work either smart or hard to get the things that we want in life. That means that for those of us that have a weight problem, we must watch what we eat and constantly be working out in order to maintain a healthy body weight and appearance. If we want those little "extra's" that life has to offer then we have to do more in order to get them. However, our smile is something that we can do something about. Believe it or not, it does not cost a fortune to visit a Cosmetic Dentist to get your teeth fixed or get Professional Teeth Whitening. Read on.

The main reason that most people don't go to the dentist to get their teeth fixed is because they don't have any Dental Insurance and, therefore, are afraid that they would have to pay the full amount out of pocket. Does this sound like you? Have you made this same excuse in the past? Well, I've got news for you. Dental Insurance does NOT cover Cosmetic Dentistry in the first place, no matter how long you hold the policy. Dental Insurance is more designed to provide you with low cost dental maintenance work such as cleanings, x-rays, ect. It also covers some major dental procedures after a considerable waiting period of anywhere from 6-24 months, depending on the procedure and even then you're still required to pay a deductible.

There are now other options besides Dental Insurance that can potentially save you over half off of your costs for Cosmetic Dentistry procedures. The good news is that they're also very affordable. These alternative plans are called Dental Discount Plans.

Discount Dental Plans are just exactly what they sound like, a discount for dental services. It works like this. You join the plan for a low monthly or annual fee and then you can begin seeing dentists within the network of the plan usually within two business days. These dentists are the same as any other dentist that you've ever seen in your life. They have chosen to be a member of the network in order to receive benefits that come with their membership and also to be paid immediately upon performing procedures for the discount plan members.

You see, it takes time for dentists to be paid with traditional Dental Insurance plans and it's often a big hassle with all of the policy restrictions, having to pay someone in the office to do the claim paperwork and then, on some occasions, not getting paid at all because of a dispute with the insurance company over a procedure that they performed that wasn't covered under the policy. This sometimes leaves the dentist "holding the bag."

The discount plan allows the patient to be seen for practically any dental service or procedure at a discounted rate. The patient simply pays the reduced fee at the time of their appointment. No billing, no exclusions, everything is covered unless it's a procedure that was begun by another dentist that isn't completed. There are no age limitations or other restrictions that you would have with a Dental Insurance plan. Also, many of these Discount Dental Plans offer Cosmetic Dentistry at a substantially discounted rate. What are you waiting for?

What Are You Waiting For? Find Out The REAL Truth by Visiting Discount-Dental.net or by clicking on Cosmetic Dentistry. Joe Stewart is a former Life And Health Insurance Agent that now works for himself by providing expert information to consumers.

As a child growing up in the 1950s, my earliest influences were the Three Stooges, Abbott and Costello and Laurel and Hardy. I also loved the comedy team of Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. They starred in a series of outrageous comedies: The Road to Zanzibar, The Road to Morocco, etc. I identified with Bob Hope because he was silly, made goofy faces and had amazing timing. I grew up wanting to be the next Bob Hope.

I was always a pretty funny kid. But unlike many children who choose to grow up and act like little adults, I chose to keep my zany and crazy personality. In fact, my comedy timing got better as the years went on. Is it any wonder that I evolved into the class clown in school? Or that I was elected the wittiest kid in my senior high school class?

As an actor, I was a natural. It really didnt matter whether I was playing the nerd, the sidekick or the clown. I owned the role and I owned the stage. I remember a review I received for my role in Alls Well That Ends Well by William Shakespeare. The reviewer stated that, Mr. Stevenson took a peripheral role and turned it into the performance of the evening. And I had, because when it came to acting, I was absolutely fearless.

Many years later, after I left acting and Hollywood behind and I started giving speeches, I found myself experiencing something that I hadnt felt in a long time fear. Every time I got up to give a speech, everything Id learned as an actor and performer disappeared. It was replaced by insecurity, self-doubt and tentativeness.

At first I didnt get it. Having experienced total confidence and absolute fearlessness in acting, it was strange for me to be so nervous in this new context. Then one day it hit me; there was no play, no script, no character to hide behind. As a speaker it was just me: my words, my thoughts, my opinions. There was no place to hide.

Flashback to 1968: I remember sitting at the lunch table in my senior year of high school. There were six of us who always sat together. And more often than not, Id get on a roll and have everyone laughing hysterically with my witty comments and zingers. Even as I was doing it, I knew I had a special talent. Then the bell would ring and wed all rush off to class.

I can still see myself walking away from my friends towards class thinking to myself, That was amazing. I was so funny. I wish I knew how to capture that and do it whenever I wanted to - like Johnny Carson does.

Back then I had no ownership of my talent. It was raw and random and uncontrollable. As a speaker in the early days, I had no ownership of my role as a speaker. I was renting presentation styles and content elements from other people.

But, there was something different that happened when I told a story! The context of telling a story rekindled my acting and my comedy talents. Before too long, my speaker buddies asked if I could teach them some acting and comedy skills. I called my class Story Theater. Looking back on it now, it was a natural progression from actor to acting coach. From being directed, to being the director. And lo and behold, my fear went away.

Teaching Story Theater was intuitive. It was easy and natural. And unlike all of the other presentation styles and topics Id tried on in an effort to be perceived as a credible expert and professional speaker, with Story Theater I didnt have to rent something else. I owned it. Id found my essence and what my area of expertise really was.

For many years, and by way of hundreds of speeches as a professional speaker, I had been working my way back to that state of total confidence and absolute fearlessness. Ive changed topics, let go of material that didnt work for me and moved closer to my core competencies and natural speaking style. Ive evolved forward into a mature and graceful version of the zany, crazy clown that I was as a child and teenager.

Last Friday I gave a keynote to a group of human resource professionals from all over the world, about The Story Theater Method. I was as funny as I used to be in high school, and I realized that I had finally captured what used to be so elusive.

For years, I rented my space as a speaker. Now I own it.

When you step to the front of the room as a speaker or trainer, do you rent the space, or do you own it? Are you renting a presentation style that is a version of your idea of appropriate and professional or do you experience total confidence and absolute fearlessness? Do you hide behind content and PowerPoint? Is your personality stifled by your perception that if you really showed up, you wouldnt be accepted?

That was my fear. It was based in shame and self-doubt. By returning to my true essence, I found freedom. It was hard to trust myself. It was scary. And it didnt happen overnight. It took time, courage and perseverance. I had to try and fail, and try again.

We cannot change the world until we are willing to change. I challenge you the next time you step in front of a room full of people own it. Own your talent, own your style, own the space. Claim it all for your own, with total confidence and fearlessness. Never rent again.

Own it!

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Doug Stevenson, president of Story Theater International, is the creator of The Story Theater Method and the author of the book, Never Be Boring Again. He provides keynotes speeches, corporate training and individual speech and story coaching.

His 10 CD - How to Write and Deliver a Dynamite Speech audio learning system, is a workshop in a box. It contains an 80-page follow along workbook. Learn more at: Dynamite Speech Home Study Course

Some of his clients include: Hewlett Packard, Century 21, Volkswagen, Oracle, The Department of Defense, GlaxoSmithKline, The American Medical Association, The Irish Management Institute, Amgen, The Denmark Ministry of Finance, UPS, The Internal Revenue Service, The National Education Association and many more.

Doug can be reached at 1-800-573-6196 or 1-719-573-6195 or at: http://www.storytheater.net

Subscribe to his RSS feed on his blog at http://www.dougstevenson.com