Next Level to Success

“You have been assigned this mountain so that you can show others it can be moved” Mel Robbins

For most of a decade, Denise was part of our extended Temple City Dental Care (TCDC) family. Ultimately, Denise, Registered Dental Assistant (RDA) would join her sister Dani, RDA to become a dynamic duo Sister Act and a force of positive power to be appreciated.

On a great day for Pediatric Dentistry, Denise began her dental assisting career in a thriving local pediatric dental practice; she also assumed the role of showing Dani the ropes on following her footsteps into dentistry. And from Day One, I can visualize Denise being a student/observer of success.

In 2002, following a demonstration by me illustrating the dangers of being too busy being busy, Dani returned for an interview that didn’t happen 24 hours earlier. It was an opportunity that changed everything. Dani would become a Dental Assistant of the Year, a Team Leader, and my current business partner/dear friend…training Dental Assistants.

In 2011, on a great day for Temple City Dental Care, Denise joined our dental practice. Denise and Dani are close sisters, batting #9 and #10 in the 12 sibling Williams family lineup; leading up to 2011, they'd even shared an apartment. Denise would join Dani and our team in celebrations outside of our office. When the opportunity arose, I jumped at having Denise join our team. In retrospect, Denise undoubtedly had way more to celebrate than joining Temple City Dental Care; I attended Denise’s wedding and marriage to Aaron that same year.

Denise was like an NFL first round draft choice. We took the best candidate, and we’d figure out the position later. Even though Denise had been a clinical dental assistant for 14 of her 16 years in Pediatric Dentistry, our need was administrative. On one day I can still vividly remember, I saw Denise making a telephone call out to a patient while smiling from ear to ear. It wasn’t a practice management myth after all; I’d seen the smile with my own two eyes. And I smiled to myself while glancing into the future

Denise would prove to absorb our considerable trainings like a sponge; she would become our top marketer, video producer (I still can’t believe we didn’t win the Lambo), event coordinator, chamber of commerce ombudswoman, and of course, treatment coordinator.

When Denise shared her interest in becoming a consultant/trainer/coach, my response was, “Our office is your lab, go for it.” Denise responded by recruiting and coaching up an RDA clinical assistant and an in-service training dental assistant student into a well-oiled admin team while recovering over $100,000 in uncollected revenue in her spare time.

Per our agreement, following my selling the practice and retiring from providing dental care, Denise left the practice and focused 100% on her business, Next Level to Success.

Last weekend I attended a retreat in Murrieta, California, a few miles away from a 2011 Temecula wedding and a Native American reservation where Grandma Von Bulow was born and raised. The setting was idyllic.

The retreat, Recharge to Succeed, was conceived, researched, and meticulously designed, marketed, and delivered by an award-winning speaker who’d recently presented to a packed house in two sessions of the 2026 California Dental Association Convention in Anaheim. The presenter that day was an ADA speaker and webinar leader, an Aligntech speaker, and coach/consultant for dental practices and businesses outside of Dentistry from coast to coast. The retreat leader had once been an extended family member; maybe that’s why she even consented to speak to my Pasadena American Academy of Clear Aligners (AACA) Invisalign study club…twice.

Every time Denise Williams-Jones speaks, coaches, or offers up a weekend of possibilities, she lives up to the title of her company, Next Level to Success. And I don’t know anyone who is more authentic in living the journey and being the bravery to bring people together, supporting one another in search of discovering a blind spot or risking a scary action to transformation with all involved growing during the process.

So being in the company of eight smart businesswomen in an open, welcoming environment created by a one-time extended family member, I was moved by the experience. I was moved by the heart-to-heart freedom of expression. I was also moved to emotion reminiscent of my Uncle Bill, who in later years would tear up seeing a figure skater make an unexpected landing. It felt good being in the company of new friends and best friends and feeling free to emote without covering up.

A continuing thought, or soundtrack, was a Native American proverb, “Listen, or your tongue will make you deaf.” I realized the more I listened, the better I communicated.

So, thank you, Denise. I couldn’t be prouder of you. From your research, intestinal fortitude, attention to detail (from the beautiful location to awesome food, yoga sessions, massages, group discussion topics, photography, nature walks, cold plunges, and sound bath sessions), your ownership of commitment shone through from the first sunrise to the ride home.

In a bit of a role reversal, I’m blessed to be part of your extended family.

Congratulations Denise, I’m a big fan who’s excited about your success and your continuing journey, always to the next level.