I just spent the past four days at the San Diego NACHC CHI 2014 conference. A National Association for Community Health Centers, they focus on healthcare for the undeserved, often un-insured, population. A wonderful group of people commit themselves to this cause, often with little funds or resources. Needless to say, it’s always a great conference and this year I’ve taken away quite a lot of perspective.

While there, I was able to get out early to run along Seaport Village (there’s something magical about running by the water!) and after long conference days, got on the floor and did some hotel yoga to stretch out my limbs.

One of the sessions I attended really blew me away: Customer Service and Work Life Balance in Healthcare. It’s not a topic you usually hear about in healthcare – or in the corporate world. As one of my colleagues so appropriately pointed out: It’s a term that we like to throw around, but not necessarily implement.

In a nutshell, the presentation was delivered by a charismatic Dr. who had, throughout the years, become extremely passionate about providing good customer service to his patients, which in turn helped with his overall outlook on life. Treat people with respect. Live each day as it may be your last. Have fun and give yourself permission to have fun…and take that mentality to wok.

His energy, his passion for living! It was truly inspirational!

I tried to think of his day to day…seeing sick, tired, unhealthy, terminal patients who look to him for reassurance, medical advice, therapy, often a miracle. And he does it all with compassion, respect for those he works with along with his patients, and a thirst for life that is truly rare. He stressed living your dash – you can’t control when your dash starts (your birth date) or when your dash ends (your death) but what you choose to do to fill the space in between is under your control.

It made me think about how I live between my dash…since gathering the courage to move to Denver, I think I’ve filled my dash with the right things. Things I’m passionate about, things I enjoy, things that improve the quality of my life. What am I doing to inspire? To give back? To contribute to the things I’m so passionate about?

We’re all on our own path, but if everyone contributed more to their own happiness, filling their own ‘dashes’ with positive, fun activities, spreading positivity – what would that world look like!?

All-in-all an amazing conference….and I took away a fabulous lesson: Fill your dash with as much positivity, happiness, fun, excitement, adventure as possible!!!