We had the good fortune of connecting with Diane Neman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Diane, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
As a mom of 2 small kids, a marriage I prioritize, and my parents who spent half of every month living next door, Work-life balance is my most essential priority. I spent about a decade in intense academia: double majoring in college followed with dental school and residency. It was one of the most unbalanced, stressful times of my life. Dental school was all-in. We lived and breathed studying, usually falling asleep in the library and then staggering home for a shower and cat-nap before heading right back to the dental labs, libraries, and classrooms. There was always this constant threat that if we didn’t hit certain grades, or meet certain quotas of procedures performed and dollars earned with patients, that we could be kicked out. And that did actually happen to some students. In retrospect, I think that those years of constant stress and imbalance traumatized me. So after graduation, as both a newlywed and a dentist just starting out in private practice, I really needed a mental break and tried to balance my work and personal life by not taking on crazy hours. I worked about four days per week, which gave me the other three to recover from the physical strains of my job, catch up on paperwork, enjoy married life, and actually have a social life. I continued to work until about eight months into my first pregnancy, at which point I took my maternity leave, gave birth to my daughter, and stayed home with her full-time. Then, a series of events led us to move from NY, where my practice was based and where I held my dental licensure, to Miami. To go back to work, I’d have to be relicensed in Florida, which would mean taking the Florida board exams, which in turn would require a lot of studying and time. Not to mention the investment of time and resources in order to establish a new private practice. With all of that to consider, as well as the transition of our entire life as a family into a new state, and having my daughter with me full-time, I decided to hold off until she was old enough to go to preschool. I was lucky that my income wasn’t mandatory, so that I could choose that option. But life has a way of throwing you curve-balls, and as soon as my daughter was in preschool, I found out I was pregnant again! At this point, my mom-brain was getting fried, plus the instinct to pick back up with my career was starting to tug at me! It was also around this time that my husband and I were coming to terms with our health. I had been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, a hypothyroid autoimmune condition; my husband discovered that he was pre-diabetic. I gave birth to my son, and in the first few weeks of nursing him, I enrolled in the Institute of Integrative Nutrition program online, to study holistic nutrition and health coaching. It was an awesome, deeply informative program, and just the beginning of my new obsession with nutrition! Eagerly, I sought out more information, soaking up every new class and lecture like a sponge! Meanwhile, putting the things I was learning into practice led to an in-house health transformation. Our new healthy lifestyle reversed my husband’s pre-diabetes and allowed me to holistically manage my autoimmune condition. We both lost a ton of weight, had more energy, and felt better than we had even in our 20’s! My passion for nutrition, and the transformative powers of a healthy lifestyle, continues to grow, and I want to help others find the same success that I found. Plus, as a dentist, I had gone through the same curriculum as that of med school students, giving me a deep understanding of physiology, the human body, disease and prevention, and medicine. And I had spent years actually treating patients who didn’t just come with a set of teeth! They came with a slew of health problems, medications, physical and psychological conditions, and chronic illnesses. So becoming a wellness coach, with all that it entails, was a very organic, natural transition for me. But raising my kids was, and is, my number one priority, so I built the career slowly. Learning every day, seeing a small handful of private clients, sharing my knowledge with my small base of followers on my health-focused Instagram account… that was the way I worked in the early years while my kids were really little. Once I saw how much I was able to help my small group of clients, my itch to do more and scale up grew! And by the time my children were ready for school, I was ready to go full-time. After years of 100% work followed by years of 100% family, it was time to really calibrate the right balance that would allow my career to work without sacrificing my family life! After all, even though they’re school-aged, my kids are still little, at 4 and 7 years old. And it’s hard! Some days I have to lock myself up in my office and work all day, and I do miss out on spending a couple of hours in the afternoon playing with my kids. Other days, especially Sundays, we get to go on adventures together, and I’m able to focus completely on them. During the week, I organize as much work as I can for an hour or two before they wake up, a few hours after they are asleep, and while they’re in school. That leaves me time to pick them up for school and spend a few hours together after school—unless I have a meeting, which does happen sometimes. But we always have dinner together and our bedtime routine together, no matter what. I work weekends too, so on a typical Saturday, I’ll spend the morning with my family, and maybe retreat for a couple of hours into my office during lunch. It’s one big juggling act, but I have found that what works best is quality time, rather than quantity. I did quantity for years, and oftentimes, I was drained, not present and just going through the sleepless motions of motherhood. Now, and especially as a health coach, I prioritize sleeping and keeping my energy high, so that I can keep up with life. And because I’m juggling time, I make sure that during the time I have with them, I’m laser-focused, fully present, and engaged. And the same for when i’m working—I’m all in. When I’m coaching a client, I’m laser-focused on that person. When I’m creating content, I’m laser-focused on what I’m working on. So I would say my golden “tool box” for keeping balance is really intense dedication to organization (every hour in my calendar is accounted for), and the ability to laser-focus on the present moment.

Please tell us more about your career. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
I think most people are shocked about my career switch. They ask things like, “How did you go through the hell of getting into dental school, four years of dental school, residency, practice, only to totally switch careers!” But I would never be able to be where I am professionally, if it weren’t for those experiences. They gave me the tools that set me apart—discipline, mental fortitude, extensive background medical knowledge, and real-life experience working with patients. All of that is what makes me good at what I do. I have years of learned medical knowledge and treating patients under my belt. And the nutrition part? Well that’s my passion so learning that is a blessing and a bonus in my life! At 36, i’m getting my masters degree in applied Nutrition, which feels crazy because I really never thought I’d be back at school! No success comes easily. It’s hours upon hours of hard work, many sacrifices along the way, late nights, early mornings. But when you love what you do, and I do, it all comes together. When I see my clients transforming their lives, and I’m actually helping, it all makes sense to me.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Usually my friends come to Miami for the beaches and the fun restaurants. And Miami beaches are pretty incredible! So if they’re with their kids, I’d organize some fun family beach days by us in Sunny Isles. I’m lucky that I live right on the beach in a full service building with beach amenities, so we usually invite our friends over and the kids all have a blast swimming, paddle boarding, and we have a delicious lunch at our restaurant on the beach. If they’re solo, and want a younger, cooler vibe, I’d bring them to Soho Beach House, where I’m a member. It’s fun to spend the day at their beach and poolside. I love their upstairs restaurant, and Cecconi’s, because there are just so many healthy food options and they’re very accomodating. Compared to the rest of the country, Miami is in full bloom, partying as if Covid never existed! And now that more people are vaccinated and tired of being cooped up, everyone wants to go out and just let loose. I’d probably take them to one of our popular outdoor beach clubs like Joia, with good food and music. I’d spend a few days showing them some of the awesome and different neighborhoods in Miami that have just bloomed and blossomed. Definitely a day walking around Wynwood—the wall art, galleries, and little shops are super cool and edgy. Brickell City Centre, PAM, Miami Design District, Little Havana… There’s so much cultural flavor in Miami, it’s intoxicating! And every neighborhood is so different, from the new modern skyscrapers of Brickell City Centre to the art infusion of Wynwood and Miami Design District, and the cultural beauty of Little Havana. In the evening, with so many new restaurants and “hot spots” popping, I’d bring them to Carbone, Perl, Kyu, and Mandolin, just to name a few. If they’re really into music, our favorite DJ -DJ Behrouz has his own late night spot Do Not Sit on the Furniture with arguably the best lineup in the country! Plus, everyone wants a boat day, so I’d pool together a few couples and try to find a good deal on a boat for half the day, to just be out on the water, jet skiing and other water sports. We could pull up somewhere for lunch: we really love the Lido at The Standard hotel—the vibe has always reminded us of where we used to spend summers, in Montauk, New York.


Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My father. My dad lived and breathed dentistry, with such an incredible work ethic and passion for the craft itself and for his patients. His devotion to them, to their treatments and their care and the technical aspect and everything that came with it, that was my example growing up. On our annual vacations to Aruba in the 90’s, my dad would always pack a suitcase full of dental journals and magazines (this was before iPads and accessible online publications, of course). He would spend the whole week reading through them, expanding his knowledge and staying up to date in the field, ordering the newest technology and materials so that he could give his patients the highest quality care. My parents came from Moscow as refugees in the late 70’s without any money, and within a very short time, he built a mini dental empire all on his own (well, and with the help of my mom, who got an internship at Seventeen magazines to support them!). It was all because of his combination of work ethic, drive and just being a visionary. So my dad had me helping in his practice by the time I was12 years old. My first task was collecting patient files (all paper back then) for scheduled appointments. It was only natural that his passion was going to be contagious. The office, the patients, the materials, the sound of drills and suctions—all of it was second nature and home to me, which is why it was an obvious decision for me to enroll in dental school myself. Years later, we worked in private practice together, which was an experience that brings me so much nostalgia. Dentistry will always be in my blood, in my soul and I’m grateful to him because he brought me into that path, which eventually led me to my current path. I learned my work ethic and my devotion to patients from him, and my ability to imagine greatness in my career through him. I would always ask him these fantastical questions, building empires in my head about how my career would look. And he would smile and say “Anything is possible,” or “If you can imagine it, and create it in your mind, you can do it.” That may sound cliche, but to an impressionable 21-year-old, those words were truly inspirational, and gave me confidence. And my dad continued to be a major source of support along my path every step of the way, always helping with advice and encouragement.

Website: www.dianeneman.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.dianeneman/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianeneman/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/drdianeneman

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nemandiane/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9cKDhhJIYx3ftyWJ3_Fjbg

Image Credits
@gabbybarbosaphotography

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