Aspen Elegance - 2019

Sierra Nevada, NV

The Benefits of Proactive Preparation

When the time to transition from your practice draws closer, you will likely start thinking about when and how to prepare. Questions will arise about personal, professional and practice matters.

Whether you're in group practice, a solo practitioner or otherwise employed, there are important professional matters that are necessary for you to address.

When to Begin?

It’s very difficult to know exactly when is the right time to begin to plan, primarily because this is an unfamiliar experience. It’s surprising to physicians how involved and time consuming the process can be. Consequently, they often wait too long to begin to develop their plans, let alone implement them. So, when is the right time to start planning and preparing?

Here’s a tip for timeliness: At the core, the process of transition is a very personal endeavor. It really begins when you begin thinking about it more often than you’re used to. ...

The Alaska Range - 2015

Alaska

Resilience

When the topic of human resilience comes up in writing or conversation, it’s natural to think about strength, toughness, adaptability, flexibility, etc. These attributes are commonly associated with an individual’s character, personality and is reflected in his responses to significant challenges.

In the course of your life, you may encounter major trials, trauma and perhaps tragedies. I refer to these as “life’s exclamation points.” They have in common that they often elicit resilience born of urgency and at times, the desire to survive.

Endurance

There’s another human quality that is the companion of resilience. The kind that is not readily evident in a person’s response to occasional crises. That attribute is endurance.

While resilience is a manifestation of flexibility, the ability to “bounce back,” endurance is the will to persist toward a grand goal, deliberately and purposely…sometimes over a long period of time. 

Endurance is a ...

Factors That Can Affect Your Perspective

It's common for physicians to look forward to their End of Career Transition. Yet, some don’t look forward to it for a variety of reasons. They share a degree of apprehension born of many concerns that coexist with their positive aspirations.

I know physicians that have one or the other perspective. However, more commonly, they experience a blend of both. As I reflect on my personal experience, understanding of human nature as well as that of the transition process, it's not surprising.

However positive the outlook, besides financial and other questions, there are usually other preoccupations that need to be resolved. These questions and answers reside within you and it's up to you to identify and answer them. You will benefit, as doing so will help you achieve your renewal and fulfillment that is the essential purpose of a successful transition.

The Personal Experience

The End of Career Transition is not an event. It's a process that can b...

Transition to Triumph - 2013

Grand Teton National Park, WY

The Time to Think 

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

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

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 desired lifestyle after the End of Career. Now 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…with confidence.

The best time to study a map is before you begin your journey.

The Illusion of Abundant Time

When the moment arrives, you may find that the time you have at your disposal seems unlimited compared to your previo...

Splendor Amidst Transition - 2013

Carson Canyon, CA 

 On Planning and Prospering 

When you start thinking about preparing for your end of career, personal and professional matters will likely come to mind.

Whether you're in group practice, a solo practitioner or otherwise employed, there are important professional matters that are necessary for you to address.

When to Begin?

It’s very difficult to know exactly when is the right time to begin to plan, primarily because this is an unfamiliar experience.

I have discussions with colleagues who find themselves in the initial phase of their planning. It’s often the case that they have waited much too long to begin to develop their plans, let alone implement them.

This is a tip for timeliness: The process of transition really begins personally when you begin thinking about it considerably more often than you’re used to. When you find yourself in that situation, your transition has already begun. That’s a clear signal to begin planning...

Autumn Splendor - 2017

Sierra Nevada, NV

You Come First

The impending end of your career comes with a blend of thoughts and feelings that vary widely. They reflect the temperament, personalities and circumstances of those of you that are anticipating your transition or actually going through it.

Pondering and Planning

I know that the thinking that is applied to planning in a timely manner can range from minimal to substantial and proactive. In the case of the former, the results are all too often a much less favorable outcome than what could have been. In the latter instance, they are described by success.  Either way, at some point, the results become evident.

The feelings that you will likely experience can also vary widely: from joy of anticipation to downright dread. It is often that the former is experienced by of those of you who plan proactively, whereas the latter is more likely the outcome for those who do not.

In my previous article I discussed “The Big Picture.” That ...

A Solid Path Amidst Evanescent Obstacles - 2019

Sierra Nevada, CA

Timing: First Things First

Your End of Career Transition involves a multitude of matters that require thoughtful, timely planning in order to experience a smooth and successful outcome. They include personal, professional and practice preparations…in that order. This article addresses the solo practitioner practice model. Knowledge of preparation for this type of scenario has the broadest usefulness to other practice types.

As you read this, please review references to previous articles that discuss these topics in greater detail.

Unfamiliar Realities

There are two major realities that you should be aware of and consider as you plan and prepare.

The first is to acknowledge that your End of Career Transition is a process, not an event. It begins as a very personal experience when you find yourself thinking about it more often than usual. As time wears on, a myriad of questions will probably preoccupy you. Among the...

Glorious Expression - 2009

Florida

Summary:

An Unspoken but Common Challenge to Your End of Career

The anticipation and actual experience of the end of your career is a major life transition. It will present you with unfamiliar challenges in addition to financial concerns.

Some of the concerns will be obvious to you, others are not. Yet, they are profound, common and often unspoken.

These are some of the less evident, but important ones:

• Not knowing how to go about the process of transition. 
• Not clearly distinguishing Who you are as an individual vs. What your title has been…your sense of identity and how this is relates to your transition.
• Not knowing What you will do in the future that fulfills your purpose and desires in a balanced manner.
• Not having the confidence that after the end of your career you will continue to feel relevant.

In this audio I discuss these and, specifically, why the topic of relevance is important to you now and as you approach your end of car...

Equanimity Reflects Tranquility - 2021

Buffalo River, ID

Summary:

To Experience Tranquility and Equanimity As a Way of Life…is to Live

When it comes to time, our choices and perceptions, there are three things that differentiates us as individuals:

• How we choose to use the precious time of our lives.
• How those choices reflect the value we attribute to how we use our time.
• How we perceive the speed at which time passes.

As your choices and perceptions are uniquely yours, you can change them. 

Your perception of time and how you experience your life are related to the degree that you have a sense of tranquility and equanimity.

This may not come easily, especially for great achievers. It may require a personal discipline of deliberately practicing your sense of tranquility and equanimity. The goal is to live peacefully in harmony within yourself.

Some things to consider:

• Focus and favor your allocation of time on that which you know is essential to accomplish. 
• Consider
...

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...