Experiencing Your Wildest Prosperity by Defining Your Non-Negotiables

Dr. Summer Kasmel
Experiencing Your Wildest Prosperity by Defining Your Non-NegotiablesExperiencing Your Wildest Prosperity by Defining Your Non-Negotiables

Welcome to the tenth episode of The Story Project podcast, I am your host Joanna Scott and I am so excited to finally have my dear friend Dr. Summer Kassmel as my guest! Thank you for making time for this conversation, Summer! 

I love starting these interviews with how we first met. We met at my first Dental Success Summit with Mark Costes maybe back in 2018 in Arizona. At the time we were contemplating purchasing a dental practice and exploring the world of ownership! We instantly became friends as you were so kind and friendly, chatted with us about what that endeavor would be like. Fast forward, we’ve had the honor of helping you rebrand and create a new website for your Dental Assisting School in Vail Valley Colorado called Vail Valley Dental Assisting School where you train students to be certified dental assistants. The school also has a track for doctors who want to start their own dental assisting school. We’ll dive into how both of these programs work later but just wanted to say how much our team enjoyed working on those projects with you! 

Q. Tell us about how you got into dentistry and the story behind who inspired you.

Dr. Kassmel shared a story about her dentist growing up, Dr. Hook, who in so many ways was one of the people who inspired her to jump into dentistry. As a child Summer was always curious and asked questions of her dentist, who might have been annoyed at points, but told him she wanted to be a dentist! His response is something she’ll always remember. 

“You don’t want to be a dentist Summer, you should just marry one.”

Summer continued by sharing that she also had a teacher tell her she didn’t have what it takes to practice dentistry. The combination of both of these men and their lack of encouragement boosted her determination to go to dental school and she’s never looked back since. 

I’ve had the honor of connecting with Summer Kassmel every couple of months to catch up and I consistently leave so inspired to elevate how I take care of myself, my dreams, and ambitions. To truly live the life I want to live and spend my time doing things I want to do. Our conversation continues as we discuss: how to navigate the complexities and challenges of handling growth in the business so we don’t lose ourselves in the process. 

How can we achieve our wildest prosperity? 

  • Practical Solutions: Creating a robust system on the home front
  • Non-negotiables for you and your family (identify them, make a plan)
  • Mindset Solution: Discovering and finding clarity around your deepest needs as a human/woman
  • The difference between scarcity, abundance, and prosperity
  • What does prosperity mean to me? (deepest needs/getting away alone)


I hope you’ll jump right in head first to listen or watch the full version of this incredible interview. I took away dozens of actionable steps to try and I know you will too as we embark on another season of entrepreneurial growth together. 

Dr. Summer Kassmel  I cannot thank you enough for taking this time to share your story and heart with us and for being on The Story Project podcast. I enjoyed our conversation! Find Summer at https://www.daschools.com and at the Dental Success Summit in June! 

It would mean the world to me if you subscribed to this podcast and left a review! I love this amazing tribe of people in dentistry willing to share their stories. 

Let’s be fearless together my dear friends. See you next time.

subscribe on your favorite platforms.