From Sunset to Sunrise – 2013

The Teton Range

Grand Teton National Park, WY

The Practice of Equanimity

It is commonly familiar that it is in those quiet moments when our mind is free to wander, that we are the most creative.

For me, it is commonly during morning coffee or perhaps fly fishing on a beautiful river for trout or salmon.

There are other times when feeling the rhythm of my heartbeat and breathing is the only perceptible activity.

I usually make no effort to think about anything in particular. And yet, the more my mind wanders, the more meaningful are the insights, ideas and innovations that emerge.

I believe that this simple discipline can be beneficial as you plan your career transition. 

It is then that you will have a window of opportunity prior to embarking on the next great phase of your life. This is the time for you to create plenty of time and space to comfortably design your roadmap. The map that will take you in the direction that you want your life to go…...

Clear Path – 2022

Grand Teton National Park

 An Outlook for Renewal and Fulfillment 

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 career transition and your new lifestyle. You smile and feel warmer inside…and then you feel a twinge of angst.

These are 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 this emerging dilemma. 

You sense that you must do something. 

A Fictional Character that Reflects a Real Person 

The following is the gist of the story of Alex, a fictional character like many accomplished physicians I am familiar with.

Alex is at that time of his (or her) career when he sees his end of career wit...

Henry’s Lake – 2022

Idaho

Elements of a Balanced and Fulfilled Life

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

The desire to fulfill a myriad of 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 about life will evolve. You may find yourself ...

Yellowstone River, Hayden Valley – 2020

Yellowstone National Park, WY

 What Would Happen if You Couldn’t Practice Anymore? My Story.

I was 59 years old and thought I had many more years of Plastic Surgery practice ahead of me. I purchased the standalone office building of my dreams and undertook a major renovation, including a surgical facility. 

I knew I needed to plan for my succession. This was the plan, although my own end of career seemed distant…or so I thought.

I resolved to do so soon, but never got the chance. Some months after the grand opening of my office and I was settled in, I was diagnosed with colon cancer. It was a big surprise as I had been diligent about physical exams, screenings and my health in general. That and other medical problems ended my Plastic Surgery career.

I am well, thankful and happy that for a number of years I have been cured of colon cancer. My days of practicing medicine are over, but I was motivated to guiding physicians, who spend their li...

Bedrock of Serenity – 2022

North Shore, Kauai

Living Purposefully and Fully

To contemplate the passage of time and how you perceive it is a subject of wonder since the beginning of time.

Early humans pondered the coming and going of the sun and moon while keeping warm by a campfire near their cave. In the twenty-first century, we ponder and wonder about the same rhythms of life as we mark time on a digital clock.

The rotation of the earth on its axis that creates day and night is the same now as it was in antiquity.

The rotational march of the earth around the sun that creates the seasons and marks the years, is the same now as it was then.

So it is, that the objective march of time, was and is the same for all of us. 

But there are three things that differentiates you and I as individuals:

• How you choose to use the precious time of your life.
• How those choices reflect how you value your time.
• How you perceive the speed at which time passes. 

These three factors are ...

Flaming Gorge Reservoir – 2020

Utah

A Path to Readiness

The transition from your 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 also 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 know that you 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 family, are also going through a transition.

The second concern is to prepare yourself...

Mt. McKinley – 2011

Denali National Park, AK

Your Lifestyle as Art

Grand art born of great, visionary artists often arises from a spontaneous idea, an image in the mind’s eye.  The evolution of an idea that culminates in a tangible work of art, whether a painting or a photograph of a spectacular landscape, requires a blending of grand vision and the execution of exceptional technique.

Similarly, in order to create a masterpiece that will be your new lifestyle, you must imagine a clear vision of your future before you begin to create it. The path to doing so is to prepare yourself by creating and executing a realistic post career lifestyle plan that will guide you to making your new life an exuberant reality.

There are some things in life like faith, family, country, etc. that require serious respect and appreciation. Then there are others that stimulate a special sort of devotion. For me they are,  among other things, fly-fishing and landscape photography.

In the course of my tra...

Toward the Light – 2009

Florida

Preparing and Overcoming

The transition from our careers is a process that is an unfamiliar, major undertaking that we all face. It affects us in common and unique ways that include personal, professional and medical practice matters.

You probably have the ability to plan and prepare in a timely, proactive manner. This is the optimal approach that provides you the most flexibility to deal with matters you know about now, as well as those you do not…for the time being. It also creates some room to deal with matters unexpected and unwanted.

This is the essence of a planned transition, one that you can choose when to initiate on your terms.

In contrast, a reactive transition is one that begins when life thrusts upon you a surprising change that is often unwanted.

My Circumstance

A reactive transition was what I had to deal with, despite having made initial, preliminary plans for my own career transition. I can attest that it is an unpleasant, unwant...

Flying in Freedom - 2021

Rough-legged Hawk

Idaho

The Right Decisions Manifest Freedom

Perhaps you are at a point in your career that you can envision the transition to the next great phase of your life.

Your ideas and aspirations are becoming more clear. 

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

You have some concerns, yet your smile reflects joy of anticipation. 

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

You feel the conviction deeply that you have earned the life that your aspire to live.

Well earned, well deserved!

A New Dawn for You

This is your time for dreaming, planning, executing and experiencing the emerging reality of it all. Amidst the excitement, it is also the time to apply the skills and wisdom you have developed over the course of your career to this very special time of your life.

You will probably experience a variety of profound feeli...

Gallatin River – 2004

Montana

Path and Phases

The transition from your career is a process that is usually lengthy. When it is well-planned, it is typically executed in sequential phases that are comprised of tasks that build upon the previous ones.

The most challenging of these phases is usually the first. This is when you come to terms with the fact that your transition from practice is in your foreseeable future. It is natural for reactions to vary widely from joy of anticipation to apprehension and perhaps some stress. The experience is commonly a blend of both.

Regardless of how you perceive this phase of your life, you will probably experience a sense of loss that is accompanied by excitement about great anticipations. It is beneficial to think of this process as what it really is: a transition, rather than a “retirement.” The term transition emphasizes its purpose: to experience renewal and fulfillment, a form of positive transformation.

 Retirement closes doors; transitio...