Rising Onward

The Teton Range, Grand Teton N. P. - 2021

The Path to Preparedness

Part two of a series…

The End of Career is one of those major life events for which it is critical to prepare well in advance.

Early on, you will recognize that the magnitude and scope of the challenge is significant. As a result, you will realize that to achieve a successful Transition you will need to devote focused effort over a significant period  of time. These inevitable, initial questions will arise: 

• How do I begin? 
• What should I do? 
• In what order should I do it?

I am confident that you have learned long ago, as I have, that great achievements require great preparation.

The First Step of the Path 

To begin, there are three major concerns for which preparation is essential.

The first of these is to prepare yourself, personally, to enter the next great phase of your life. As you do so, it is important to keep in mind that your spouse and in unique ways,...

    Sunset Begets Sunrise

   Smoky Mountains N. P. - 2009

Pondering, Planning and Preparedness

Part one of a series…

A common life experience is the feeling of uncertainty that arises from an inevitable, yet unfamiliar change. The kind that looms large in your horizon and accompanied by significant challenges. 

There are some challenges that minimize your feeling of uncertainty by virtue of education, training and devoted effort to a particular achievement. Most often, your education and training occurs relatively early in life, prior to launching your career. Then there are some events for which it is usually very difficult to prepare far, far in advance.

(With the recognition that there are a variety of practice settings, the model described here is that of a solo practitioner, as there are many elements of that which apply to other types of practices.)

Timely Training

A prominent example is the end of your career. My experience as a consultant...

Path and Pinnacles 

The Teton Range

Grand Teton National Park, WY - 2021

Considerations for the Solo Practitioner or Physician Otherwise Employed

When the time comes that you begin to seriously consider ending your medical career, you will find yourself thinking about a variety of personal and professional concerns as well as matters related to the business of your practice.

The myriad of concerns that you will have to address will vary significantly according to your type of practice. Nevertheless, across the spectrum of practice types, there are some common matters, duties, and tasks that must be accomplished. 

It is my personal experience and from consulting/coaching, that you will need more than just knowledge about the unknown you are about to embark upon. You will need and greatly benefit from applying a method for planning and executing a successful End of Career Transition.

Insights Into the Model

In this article, I discuss a triad of plans that comprise my...

Clear Path in Plain Sight

Carson Canyon, Sierra Nevada - 2013

When to Create Your Strategy and How to Execute the Tactics

Your future End of Career is an event about which it is natural to experience feelings of excitement as well as some concerns.

As the time comes closer, the concerns may become more prevalent. A major reason is the recognition that this is an event for which you did not learn about during college, professional school or even training beyond that. For most, it is something you begin to learn about when you think you need to.

But how do you know when the right time is early enough or perhaps too late?

As you try to answer that question, it becomes apparent that indeed, it is very difficult to determine when to begin to prepare when there is so much that is unfamiliar. It is virtually impossible to make an informed decision to begin to tackle those questions and challenges when the necessary scope and duration of preparation is unknown.

The reality is that because...

Transient Colors, Indelible Memory 

Sierra Nevada - 2018

Sometimes the Obstacles Are Not Financial

There are several, major matters that are important to consider as you contemplate your End of Career Transition _{TM  .}

For many, a primary concern is whether or not they are financially ready.

Whether you are or not, there are other major matters that are important to think about and deal with. 

There is More to Prepare for Than Financial Planning 

There are often certain obstacles to ending your career voluntarily that have virtually nothing to do with financial matters. 

Three common concerns often seem to take a backseat to financial matters.  They are critically important and should not be ignored. I have previously written about two of these. I pose two of them in the form of a question I am often asked:

• What will happen to my identity?
• Will I be relevant anymore?

One article is written to suggest a way to develop clarity about your identity as it...

Tranquil Transitions

Makua Bay, Kauai, HI - 2021

Choose Your Language, Change Your Perspective

The end of your career is one of the most significant events of your life. It is a time when you may feel joy, pride, excitement, grief, regret, uncertainty, and other feelings that are unique to each individual.

You may be looking forward to this new phase of your life with stressful uncertainty or joyful  anticipation.  As it is for others, it is also a time when you may experience a sense of loss of what you are leaving behind. 

An optimistic view is that this is a moment of your life that presents you with the opportunity for ongoing personal achievement that is manifested as renewal and fulfillment.

My Life and Lessons

I have experienced some of those feelings and many more. 

My life experience includes three lessons and observations.

One, is my own end of career Transition. It was difficult and painful. But it provided me the challenge to grow, evolve and...

Aspen Splendor 

Bridger - Teton National Forest, Wyoming - 2013

Your Advisors Are an Important Element of Your Personal and Professional Success

When people think about their personal and professional success, it is natural to think that it is largely the result of their own effort. Upon further reflection, they usually recognize how they benefited from those that cared about their well-being, advised and mentored them.

Personal guides that probably influenced your life are personified by parents, family, friends, teachers, consultants, coaches, professors and mentors. Sometimes you may learn pearls of wisdom from those you barely know. There are times when your other best friend, a book, illuminates your life.

My Giants and Gratitude

I have benefitted immensely from all of the above, initially during my lengthy, formal education. I recognized early on the enormous value they bestowed upon me and I thanked them accordingly. As time progressed, I felt gratitude even more deeply...

Transition in Balance

Sierra Nevada - 2019

The Need for Discernment and Balance to Achieve Personal Fulfillment

It is a common life experience that sometimes you may have to forgo satisfying a desire in order to commit time, effort and perhaps financial resources to fulfill a necessity.

This is more frequent during those earlier years when life’s responsibilities required such choices. It often meant that wants or desires that were considered non-essential were put off. Perhaps they were never fulfilled, but hopefully, simply deferred and remembered in the well of your memory.

The fulfillment of myriad responsibilities whether at home, work or community, springs forth from the nature of your character. Your cumulative experience and satisfaction derived from meeting your responsibilities further strengthens and develops it. Your focus on various achievements becomes a way of life.

Visions of Change

As you begin to envision life after the end of your career, your perspective...

Waves and Light of Change 

Gulf of Mexico, Florida - 2009

Your Freedoms, Your Choices…To Do or Not to Do

Your end of career is approaching. 

Your vision of this new phase of your life is becoming ever more clear. 

You are growing more confident that the dreams born of your imagination will become a reality. 

Your smile reflects joyful anticipation. 

You take a deep, deep breath that parallels the satisfaction you feel for what you have accomplished in life.

You feel deeply the conviction that you have earned the life that your aspire to live…and it really feels good! 

Well earned, well deserved!

 As I wrote these words, they seemed to flow easily. They describe my own life experience and that of others I have guided through this phase of their life’s journey. 

 A Time for You and New Feelings

This is your time for dreaming, planning, executing and experiencing the emerging reality of it all. Amidst the excitement, it...

Renewal

North Shore, Kauai, Hawaii - 2021

 A Personal Tool to Create a New Lifestyle

One fine morning with coffee in hand, you still savor that last sip of your custom brew.  You feel peaceful. Then a fleeting thought stirs up an awareness that you are thinking more and more about your future End of Career and your new life. You smile and feel warmer inside…and then you feel a twinge of angst.

You may feel mixed emotions: joy and apprehension. They swirl around your mind stirred up much like the sweetener you blended into your coffee.

You wonder whether this is a common experience, how successful people deal with it and perhaps when you should begin to resolve what seems like an emerging dilemma. 

You sense that you must do something. 

A Fictional Character that Reflects a Real Person 

The following is the common story of Alex, a fictional character like many accomplished individuals from all walks of life that I am familiar with.

Alex is at that time...