There is a dental practice that I drive past every now and then. It has a wonderful back-story.

After realising that the current location could not accommodate their growth, the owner-dentist purchased a new site and built a beautiful new practice. And he did it all in secret so he could surprise his team.

Whenever I drive past this practice, I have thought about the excitement for both the owner and the team on the day of the reveal. Wonderful stuff.

A couple of years ago, some graffiti was scrawled on the external sign of the practice. The times that I have driven by this practice since I have been intrigued as to why the graffiti is still there.

At the start, I am sure the owner and team felt enormous pride in their beautiful new practice. Surely, the offending graffiti would have been swiftly removed had it appeared during the months that their regular clientele was visiting the new premises for the first time.

Graffiti is a relatively easy thing to clean up. There are companies who you call and they are out within days, restoring your facade back to normal.

So, why leave the graffiti untouched?

If you were to spill tomato sauce down your white shirt before leaving the house, you would change into a clean one.

If you inadvertently parked your car under a tree filled with birds and found your vehicle was covered with bird poop, you would not drive around that way for weeks. You would clean your car at your earliest convenience.

So, why leave the graffiti untouched?

Just as your attire and car are an extension to your image, so too is your practice. And just as you have standards for the way you present yourself to the world, you should also hold a high standard for your practice.

So, weed that garden, repair that fence…and remove that graffiti. Make a better impression.