Exuberant Expressions - 2009 

Midway Geyser Basin and Firehole River

Yellowstone National Park

Summary:

Fulfill Your Needs and Desires

It is commonly familiar that it is in those quiet moments when our mind is free to wander, that we are the most creative. This simple discipline can be beneficial as you plan your end of career. 

That is when you can create a window of opportunity for creating your roadmap prior to embarking on the next great phase of your life. This is the guide that will take you in the direction that you want your life to go…with confidence.

When the time comes, you will initially find that the time you have at your disposal is seemingly unlimited compared to your previous lifestyle. That can be a fallacy. Like other vacuums, there's a natural tendency for it to be filled. 

Will you create the a la cart menu of your life? Or will you simply react to what life presents you?

To help answer that for yourself, it is useful engage in deliberate, purposeful thi...

Waves of Joyful Anticipation

New Smyrna Beach, FL - 2008

Plan Now, Prosper Later

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, your family, are also going through a transition.

The ...

This painting by John Trumbull (1756-1843), depicts the moment when the first draft of the Declaration of Independence was presented to the Second Continental Congress on June 28, 1776.

 The Seldom Declared History of its Writing

The summer of 1776 was a time of escalating conflict with England.  It was a dangerous time for the American colonies and in particular, its leaders.  Military and political uncertainties abounded.

The conflict between the American colonists and British soldiers that began in April, 1775 had grown into the Revolutionary War during the summer of 1776.

In the meantime, there had developed a significant movement in favor of Independence from England.  Delegates to the Continental Congress were faced with the necessity to vote on this critical issue.

In order to do so, the Continental Congress met in Philadelphia for the purpose of voting on the question of independence. To accomplish that, there was a parliamentary and political need to draft a resolution up...

Flowing Amidst Enduring Nature - 2009

Little Pigeon River, Great Smoky Mountains N. P.

The Reciprocity of Service and Satisfaction

I have previously discussed the importance of expressing gratitude to those who have had a positive influence on our lives. Our expressions of heartfelt gratitude creates joy for those who have given of themselves for our benefit. It also provides satisfaction to ourselves.

Early Experiences…a Prelude

Early life, while in college, I would visit my high school. It was fun to reminisce fond memories. But my strongest motivation for those visits, was to seek out my teachers and mentors. To simply see them again and more importantly, to express my gratitude to them. I recall very well the great smiles on their radiant faces. 

I learned from those early experiences how gratifying it was to acknowledge those who were an important part of my education and development.

As my years of education and training continued, I had opportunities to teach and mentor y...

Kenai Fjords National Park, AK - 2012

The Relationship Between Feeling Relevant and Your Purpose in Life.

The personal feeling of relevance is closely intertwined with the actualization of your potential and more specifically, the fulfillment of your purpose in life.

Perhaps, it is most commonly thought of as a sense of pride in oneself, in part as a result of a lifetime of accomplishments, both personal and professional. This is particularly the case when such accomplishments were attained in the service of others.

The need to feel relevant is an integral element of the human experience. It is a desire that knows no boundaries: age, sex, race, language, geography, occupation or vocation.

It is widely experienced and yet it is ultimately quite personal.

The Companions on My Journey: Purpose and Relevance

My career as a Plastic Surgeon unexpectedly came to an end due to colon cancer and other medical problems. Happily, years later, I am cured, healthy and well.

At that time in m...

Daring Vision

Sentinel Rock, Yosemite National Park - 2008

How the Making of a Photographic Masterpiece Relates to the Creation of Your Future Lifestyle 

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.

I am, by nature a serious person, yet strive to not take myself too seriously.  Certainly, there are some things in life like faith, family, country, etc. that require serious respect and ap...

The Snake River and the Teton Range - 2008

Grand Teton National Park, WY 

 Change and Transition: How They Can Affect You

Change and transition are words that are often used interchangeably. However, these two words have different meanings and what they describe have distinctly different purposes.

My personal experience with change and transition illustrates this point.

Lessons Learned in My Journey

Years ago, I was diagnosed with colon cancer and then developed other medical problems. Together they created a change that ended my Plastic Surgery career and triggered my End of Career Transition. Thankfully, years later I am cured, renewed and fulfilled in my new career. 

My successful Transition did not occur spontaneously. It was the result of sustained, focused and deliberate effort over a period of time.  That effort was directed at a particular envisioned outcome: to achieve renewal and experience fulfillment. The means for achieving that outcome was the process of the Transi...

Bursting with Expression

USA - 2011

An Often Unspoken, Yet Real Personal Concern

The anticipation and experience of your End of Career is a major life Transition. It will present you with number of unfamiliar challenges in addition to financial concerns. 

Whether you undergo a succession, sell your practice outright, close it or give notice to your employer, there are numerous matters that will require your attention.

Some of the challenges will be obvious to you, others not so much so. They are profound and common, yet often unspoken. Some can actually cause you to delay key decisions and will impede your progress.

Reasons I Encounter 

As a consultant and coach to medical professionals and other highly accomplished individuals concerning their End of Career Transition, I know there are obstacles that prevent individuals from ending their career and transitioning to the next phase of their lives. These are some of the less evident, but important reasons:

• Not knowing how to go
...

Expression of Love

Home, FL - 2009 

Honor Mom…from me to mine, from you to yours.

Summary:

• I am confident that each of us has reasons to be grateful. Beyond life itself, there is our world of people that each of us can think of that warm our hearts and cause us to smile.
• Sometimes, we want to thank them personally, in the manner that we were taught when we were growing up. To express our heartfelt gratitude. To do so brings joy to those who have given of themselves for our benefit, as well as satisfaction to ourselves.
• Our expressions of heartfelt gratitude graces those who have given of themselves that we may live a fuller life. It is in saying thank you, without reservation, that we help reaffirm their belief in us.
• To gracefully express genuine gratitude it's one of the core gestures of a wholesome life.
• We benefit others and ourselves by reorienting ourselves from passive awareness to affirmative, grateful expression.
• Be confident that as you express yourself, an
...

North Shore, Kauai - 2021

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 joy of 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 awesome! 

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 is also a time to apply the skills and wisdom you have developed over the course of you...