This is what it’s all about folks. They say, it’s not how you start but how you finish. Isn’t that just so true. Nobody remembers the rookie year or even your own first years of school – people remember the good times, the record breakers, the achievements that meant something special.
In our lives and professional careers one year begets the next and, other than memories, we have to live in the real time – in the present moment.
And what really matters is not only what is going on in your career right now but what’s going to happen next.
We have explored so many different options and possibilities each with their own pros and cons as each comes with different variables and customized decisions that you can make your own.
Here’s the thing: you can’t just sit back on your heels, flat on your feet, sitting on your ass and expect things to work out. You’ve got to keep pushing and making smart decisions if you want to go out on top.
I know for certain if you are reading this you have thought through the changes you expect to have happen in your career during the remaining years (no matter how many you plan to have). The way you envision evolving clinically and with your lifestyle; what you might like to do if you had more free time; or that you predetermined you will practice as long as your body is able, your mind is sound and your hand is steady.
I’m not really sure what you have thought about personally, how you feel you’ve done so far, what lies ahead and what has yet to be accomplished.
We can both agree on this: the final years ought to be the peak, the best, highest earning, most rewarding years you have. Finishing strong means something different to every different doctor, but it should be a goal for us all.
It matters because you need a vision for how you will transition from chapter to chapter all the way through the end (even if that’s far away for you or you hope it is). You can always change it but without a plan you will have no say in how it unfolds.
There are five areas I like to challenge my doctors on when it comes to this type of significant discussion and planning decisions. It’s not necessary to be in this order but it’s helpful.
1st – What do you enjoy doing most? What would you like to do more of? If you are going to stay in the game is there anything you would change or do differently than what you are doing right now?
2nd – If money were no issue, you had nothing to worry about and you could just do what you want – what would your relationship and schedule with your practice look like? What about outside of the practice?
3rd – When you think about your team, your patients and the future of your practice after you are no longer involved, do you have a thought as to how important your legacy is or the continuation of the practice would be?
4th – What would you do with more time for yourself or your family? Travel more, be healthier, more time with kids and your spouse, other interests or passions or charities? Finally, any bucket list items left (gosh I hope so)?
5th – After considering all of these questions and items… what is the number you need to maintain without suppression of your lifestyle but actually enhancement of it in order to compensate for this? What is the number you need in annual sustainable income? What amount of invested assets would make this possible? And finally how much more between that number and what you have today exist in your wealth and investment accounts or passive income sources today?
These are all considerations of finishing strong and making sure everything from now until the end is done on your own terms. Terms that facilitate and result in your experiencing, enjoying and achieving everything you have outlined in these 5 key areas.
Let go of limits; you deserve it all. Life is lived in the future, not back in the past.
Your practice and your career is your greatest investment of all that makes and has made everything else possible. If you factor in compounding interest in a bank account and you relate this to your practice, knowledge and career – then it should be worth more to you now than ever before. It should be providing you more fruits from your labor now than ever before.
Here’s what we are going to do – we are going to make certain that is exactly what happens.
Whether the light at the end of your tunnel is a year or a few or a couple decades, that only determines how much you have left to invest in your career. The longer you’ve been here, the more you should be rewarding yourself for it. The more time you have left to go, the more important it is to be proactive and clear minded about the future.
Work through these questions. Reach out to me when you are ready to finalize your plan and realize all of the happiness and prosperity it can deliver.
