I met a billionaire. More specifically, billionaire skateboarding celebrity dentist Jon Marashi. OOOOOhhh.
First time I’d ever been in a room with a known billionaire. Working on A-listers like Matt Damon, Tom Hanks and rock singer Pink.
Courtesy Instagram @DrJonMarashi
And you know how it made me feel?
Like I was in the room with any other dentist, human, person. Not an ounce of difference. But I couldn’t help but notice the jealousy, want and awestruck faces of the other dentists near me.
His life started just like any one of us, as nerdy dental students. Braces and all. In the first 10 years, Jon simply focused on bettering his skills in cosmetic dentistry. Sought out mentors in the NY arena to teach him their ability to bond ceramic. Even had a cushy job coming out of dental school. Nothing unusual at all.
He eventually found his way to LA. Los Angeles not Local Anesthetic. First just getting by with a scrappy associateship. Then buying and owning a practice in southern Cal. He did well enough at this point that he could’ve settled and mailed it in until the end of his career.
But instead of doing so, Jon would find a tiny 1400 square foot office in the middle of LA proper near Hollywood. Paying near an arm and leg for a dilapidated practice.
In his mindset, even though he was completely set for life, by taking the chance to put you in the midst of all these celebrities, by law of numbers, you’d eventually catch one walking into your office. And he wasn’t wrong. It’d begin with one celebrity, then another and it would multiply as word of mouth would spread, Jon and his team would be recognized as an exceptional dental office.
Cher would ask Jon why he wore such frumpy dental clothing to work, since she ran her own fashion wears, she fashioned him a custom white coat. That’s the power of networking.
BTW Jon is not a billionaire from doing dentistry, but by a very well timed venture investing into a direct to consumer clear aligners company named BYTE. Sold it for a cool Billion dollars with a capital B to your favorite markup supplier Dentsply/Sirona.
The day after he had sold BYTE, as set for life as he was, he still went into the dental office and drilled a few teeth. That is a dentist that still loves what he’s doing.
It’s special when someone finds their passion. And in Jon’s case, he did enough of the right things for long enough that he got rewarded for it. The reason why I wanted to tell you Jon’s story is that he has developed his celebrity lifestyle by design. It was never a straight route, but one of meandering and stumbling.
Put enough right ingredients together and try out different techniques and you’ll eventually get a gourmet cake. He put in the ingredients of taking a chance on himself, putting himself in a specific location, asking for help, and learning the cosmetic dentistry necessary in that glam and glitz world.
Think about if you’re at where you want to be right now? Are you putting enough of the right ingredients together for a cake or is it for a souffle? Know the difference and your decisions will lead you to the outcome you deserve to thrive with.
Lam