Trevor Blattner's passion away from the dentist's chair

Dr. Trevor Blattner is a thinker. Methodical. Thoughtful. A diagnostician in dentistry and questions such as: What�s life about?

The dentistry part might not surprise readers. After all, he is well educated as a endodontist. A graduate of the University of Kansas, Blattner went to dental school at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and attended the University of Maryland in Baltimore to earn a Master of Science degree in Oral Biology with a certificate in endodontics. After three years on the East Coast, Blattner and his wife, also a dentist, returned to Cape Girardeau to open his practice and be close to his family.

A product of Cape Girardeau Central High School, Blattner knew by his junior year of high school a career in healthcare was in his future. He worked part-time at Saint Francis Healthcare System and sought input from surgeons, thinking surgery would be a possible career path.

Over time he realized his priorities and interests better aligned with dentistry. He could diagnose problems, provide pain relief to patients with aching teeth and still have a work-life balance that other medical fields would not provide.

While at Kansas, Blattner received a bid to become a Beta, and in addition to studying for school also was a voracious reader.

�I would say those were four years of my life that were pretty crucial years,� Blattner said during an interview at his office.

�That�s where I started doing a lot of the reading. I read �Mere Christianity� [by C.S. Lewis] during those years. I read a book called �Think and Grow Rich� [and] �Man�s Search for Meaning.� These sorts of books where I�m trying to figure what life�s about and my purpose in it. Also [I read] the �Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren.��

Blattner counted those years of reading, learning and self-reflection as moments that put him on a path to help others � whether it was with their root canal or personal development.

But it didn�t solve everything. He dealt with feelings of inadequacy from high school through dental school. Would he ever measure up to the standards he set for himself?

�I tried to fill that void with athletics, with accomplishing things. I played competitive sports. Had some success in that. I would say I overachieved in that because I wanted so badly to be recognized. Academically, too. It was devastating to me if I got anything other than A�s. I just made it my mission that I got perfect grades all the time.�

He knows it was self-inflicted pressure. And it came to a head in dental school.

A Christian by the age of 14, faith has played an important role in his life. But while in dental school he realized the need to dive deeper in his relationship with God.

�Being a Christian and being a mature Christian are two different things for sure,� he said.

Recently Blattner started a podcast called �The Top 1 Percent,� launched a website where he writes blogs and is promoting a book soon to be released.

�The major driving force for me is I like to help people do what they want to do in life,� he said. �I don�t know where it stems from initially, but when I was in the Beta house I was one of the pledge educators. That was one of the coolest things that I did at that time in my life, to be a mentor to the incoming freshmen throughout the entire freshmen year. What it meant to be a Beta. What it meant to stand for something that was a little bit bigger than yourself.�

He liked the opportunity to help others.

�Learning and teaching are two of my favorite things to do. And I just love personal development and leadership development and growing spiritually. All those things together are my passions. The ultimate goal is to help people live a life that maximizes their potential. We�re all born with God-given gifts. It�s up to us to either use those gifts or squander those gifts.�

He references Scripture where Jesus says to be �in the world but not of the world.�

�You got to be in the world and influence the world for the Kingdom of God rather than being of the world and being influenced by it,� he said. �I think the best way to influence people is not necessarily by reprimanding them or telling them something, but to show them what life can be like if it�s aligned with God.

�I happen to think that living life in alignment with God is both spiritual and taking responsibility for the gifts you been given and honing those gifts so you can use them for the Kingdom of God.�

Blattner says everyone has more potential than they give themselves credit for, whether it�s in business, parenting or leadership roles.

�You should always be pushing yourself to reach that next level, the top one percent, to make an impact in the platform you have.�

Why the name �Top 1 Percent�?

He admits the financial implication is catchy, but that�s not the entire picture.

�The meaning is constant personal growth to try to reach the upper limit of whatever your capabilities are.�

Download his podcast and you�ll find a range of interviews. There are the local ones, such as one with author David Limbaugh. Then there are others with business experts outside this market who are making a difference.

Down the road he wants to create online learning tools and courses to help others with personal productivity, leadership and goal-setting. He hopes speaking will become part of the platform, too.

But for now, it�s one day at a time. One book at a time. Slow. Methodical. And hopefully learning and teaching others something along the way.

Lucas Presson is the assistant publisher of the Southeast Missourian.