As Dr Paul Midha makes it into the final five of The Apprentice, we hear how he feels to have made it this far and why he is so overwhelmed by the response from the dental community.
Hi, Paul. Welcome back!
Hi, Gaby. Well, thank you for having me back. Life’s changed just a little bit. But I’ve got to say, I’m enjoying every single moment of it. It’s just so nice to share it with all my loved ones as well, and they’re really loving the process too. I feel like it’s all given us a big lift up.
I really enjoyed the North of England Dentistry Show – it was just so nice to be with the dentistry community and see how much they back in me. This is really nice as you don’t want to ever disrespect the profession. You always want to maintain integrity. So as I said, much love to the general community. You’ve always supported me throughout my whole career. A massive thank you from me.
How is it been generally since we last spoke in terms of the reception from the profession?
It was good to be at the North of England Dentistry Show as a lot of people don’t know what I’ve actually done in my career other than just The Apprentice. I got to do that lecture and it was nice because a lot of people are asking me about my journey in terms of buying a dental practice, getting the second one, diplomas that I’ve done and the teaching that I’ve done.
It was nice to show that professional side of me – that I’m not just someone who is randomly going on The Apprentice. I always say that all I’ve ever wanted was to be the best dentist I could possibly be.
Making it to the final five is a huge achievement. How does that feel?
When we were in the boardroom, the pressure was on mainly Phil – I just wanted to make sure that I do the best for him because I really wanted him to make it through the final five. So when we found out we won that task and we were automatically through, I could not stop smiling. I was smiling from ear to ear. Sometimes in life you have a core memory – I will never forget that moment when we found out we were through.
I know you also received some great comments from from Lord Sugar and Baroness Brady about your TV selling.
I don’t think a lot of people realise how hard it is to actually present on TV selling. We thought it’d be easy. You’ve got an ear piece in your ear, you’ve got Flo and Phil just screaming ‘down your price, start prices up, do this, do that’ – all while you’re trying to say something else.
You’re literally just looking at yourself in a camera and you can’t gauge anything, so you’re just hoping it will go well.
What advice can you offer up to others in dentistry?
Always make sure you’re pushing yourself outside of the boundaries that you feel comfortable in. Life is meant for new experiences to allow you to grow. So just keep pushing yourself. They say that the biggest fear is the moment you’re just about to jump – take the leap of faith.
Whenever I’m making a decision in life, for example, when going on The Apprentice, I always ask myself, is the best outcome more desirable or worth it in comparison to the worst outcome? So, you could say best outcome is winning the show, worse outcome could be going out first. Is it worth that risk?
And let’s say you say no. I then ask myself, how would I feel in 10 years time if I didn’t take that opportunity? And if the answer is with regret, then you know what to do.
Watch and listen to the full interview above.
Read Paul’s first interview with Dentistry.co.uk here:
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