Naomi gleefully told her dad she had met the man she was going to marry. The problem was she was only 12 years old.

But the advice he gave her before he passed away, the year of her 13th birthday, she took to heart: “Always make good choices. Then…make your choices good.”

How do you do that? Choose carefully.

Naomi and Jim Rhode have celebrated 66 years of marriage. They have raised three children, have eight grandchildren, and sixteen great-grandchildren.

Their 50-year-old, family-owned company, SmartPractice is passionate about one thing – helping dentists build “Healthier Dental Practices.”

They offer their health care professionals all the supportive supplies they need to successfully operate their practices – everything from dental chairs to exam gloves to dental floss. Even those dental reminder appointment cards we receive in the mail are generated by them.

While neither Jim nor Naomi are dentists, they found unmet needs in this wellness space and filled them. It began with Naomi offering inspirational messages at dental conferences, and Jim providing the back-office wisdom to build financial stability and financial independence for their practices.

That expanded from producing annual conferences to building the supply chain that supports all their dental needs. Even the three Rhode kids, grew up working with the business.

SmartPractice is still changing, moving, adapting, and growing. It’s now in the hands of the second Rhode generation – a privately held multi-million-dollar family corporation, with operations also in Europe and Asia.

But it all stemmed from Naomi’s dad, encouraging his 12-year-old daughter to learn that once she made her choices (whatever they were), she needed to do all she could to make those choices the right ones.

Jim is now 87 and Naomi is 85. They share their earned wisdom through consulting and speaking on a very selective basis.

We make choices all day long. Most are insignificant. A few are life altering.

Choose carefully. Then, do all you can to make those choices the right ones.