Building Wealth Beyond the White Coat: Real Estate, Freedom, and Family with Dr. Alex Schloe | Ep31

Michael Hersh, MD

[00:00:00] 

A lot of physicians reach a point where they feel like something is missing. You're still practicing. Your life mostly works. And from the outside, everything looks fine. But inside it's a different story.

Maybe it feels like the most important decisions have already been made. Maybe you've thought about leaving medicine to create something new, or maybe you're just curious about building something of your own without walking away from what already matters.

Well, hey everyone, and welcome back to the Better Physician Life Podcast. Today I am talking with Dr. Alex Schloe. Alex is a family medicine physician and Air Force veteran who, like a lot of doctors, started asking hard questions about money, autonomy, and how work fits into the rest of life. Over time.

That led him into real estate investing and entrepreneurship, not as an escape from medicine, but as a way to create more stability at work. And at [00:01:00] home. He now hosts the Physicians and Properties Podcasts and co-hosts the RAL Room Assisted Living podcast, where he talks with other physicians about what actually works when it comes to investing, ownership, and building something alongside a clinical career.

Alex is also a husband and a father, and that perspective shows up clearly in how he thinks about risk, time, and responsibility. Alex, welcome to the show. Awesome. Michael, thanks so much for having me. So glad to be on the podcast and I love everything that you're doing for physicians. We need more and more podcasts just like this, so thank you so much.

Oh, I can't tell you how much I appreciate that. And so, I'd love to jump right in. So, you know, real estate and entrepreneurship have become a pretty big part of your journey. I'm curious, like when the idea of building something outside of clinical medicine first showed up for you. Yeah, I think it was always something kind of in the [00:02:00] back of my mind.

I have an identical twin brother. We've always been really entrepreneurial. We were always like shoveling the neighbor's driveway when it snowed and mowing grass, and we had like our little circuit of lawns we'd mow once a week every summer. And we were always just into entrepreneurship and hard work.

And I think my dad really instilled that in us in terms of the hard work and money was always kind of this taboo, stressful topic in our house. And so I always knew once I grew up, once I had a family of my own, I never wanted them to worry about money. I never wanted them to have those financial pressures, which led me to family medicine 'cause pay is incredible.

 Just kidding. But I always, wanted to be a family medicine doc and, I love that. AndI think about financial kind of, you know, quote unquote freedom as a way to let you practice medicine how you want to, and maybe that's, you really wanna specialize in primary care, but you know, the pay is not gonna be as high as, say, a surgical subspecialty.

Well, maybe, you know, working on some alternative income streams can kind of fill that gap for you. Or maybe. You want to practice part-time and be more present with your family. And so [00:03:00] I always kind of was thinking about some of that in the back of my mind. And then it really started when I got into residency, and I bought my first house.

It was a physician loan, which is a no-money-down loan, mortgage product for a primary residence. And I remember it cost me $58 out of pocket. There was one fee that they couldn't cover, and I'm super cheap, so that $58, I was like, man, I don't know about this, you know, and was pretty stressed about it, which is hilarious.

Looking back, 'cause I was buying like a $200,000 house for $58. But that was kind of the start. That was always the plan of real estate, and just kind of grow that portfolio over time. And then I was really fortunate to meet some amazing partners and start buying more real estate deals. And we did a little bit of everything.

Short-term rentals, long-term rentals, house hacking. And then I'm involved in some other projects like boutique hotels, mobile home parks, but really are. Passion and our focus now is assisted living. And that's what our main focus is at this point. And the podcast, you know, Physicians and Properties really came out of the fact of, I wanted to document my [00:04:00] journey along the way.

And my goal was, Hey, how can I do this? The four years of active duty time after residency that I owe, how can I create enough financial freedom that I can practice medicine how I want to when my active duty service commitment is up, and then the podcast became a way to interview awesome people like yourself, and also share my journey along the way.

So it's been a whirlwind, but it's been such a blessing. Yeah. And I imagine, right, like you've learned so much along the way, right? Some of this is probably like drinking water from a fire hose. Like, how did you balance all of this with your medical career and deciding to kind of do both? Yeah, I think, you know, just finding little pockets of time, especially in residency, was really important.

Like, Hey, you know, on the drive to work, I'm gonna listen to a BiggerPockets podcast or the White Coat Investor, or some of those other, really awesome resources that are out there, and just try and soak up as much knowledge as I could, you know, with the demands of residency. And I love to read. I've always loved to [00:05:00] read.

I mean, even in residency, almost every night I was into the night reading a book. And a lot of times that was Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and the BiggerPockets books, and some of these other financial books. And so that really helps. So just kind of finding the time to get educated.

'cause I don't know about you, I didn't get any financial literacy education, real estate education, business to owning nothing in medical school. And so it was, really helpful to kind of self-educate while still focusing on being a really good doctor and then get started with that journey in residency and then, you know, kind of expedite that from there.

Yeah, I mean, spot on. I think I was just talking with my wife about this earlier about, we are always learning so much, and I think it also builds a little bit of skepticism, right? Because I think physicians are sometimes targets both in the financial industry and in the real estate industry.

And so sometimes we have an experience that kind of pushes us one way or the other. And, rather than [00:06:00] taking those as learning opportunities, which happen a lot of times, it just makes us skeptical about the whole thing altogether. And that certainly, you know, has happened to be when it came to financial planning, one very well-known financial planner, who was actually an insurance salesman, was my introduction into financial planning, and it really impacted my view for a very long time about who I could trust. And now, as I've had a chance to kind of go along in my journey, look back at that as a learning opportunity and experience an investment in my future knowledge and things like that.

Have you had to navigate similar things in terms of the skepticism. Yeah, absolutely. You know, I think, the physician's brain is such an incredible tool and, we're so grateful to be blessed with this incredible brain and the ability to reason through and think through and be so analytical and take all this information and absorb it and distill it down.

And I think that sometimes gets in the way, too. And so I think [00:07:00] that, the praying of physicians is definitely A real thing. I haven't personally experienced that, but I've talked with tons and tons of people, and tons of physicians, and that's a very real thing.

And, it's unfortunate because I think we're preyed on the fact that we don't have that financial literacy and education. But, you know, I think the more interesting space is, in some of the physician communities posting things like, I tell you what man, there's physicians that are just brutal, and, like I posted in a, pretty big physician finance group.

And it was just like, Hey, this is what I've been working on for the last year. What's everyone else working on from a real estate and entrepreneurship perspective? And man, the comments on there were like, why are you even a doctor? Like if you want to do real estate, you shouldn't have been a doctor.

And I like all this stuff and I'm like. Hey, you can do both, right? Like, I'm not telling everybody to leave medicine. I'm just saying, Hey, here's a path where you can practice medicine how you want to, and it is okay to have other passions in life. And so it's been an interesting journey for sure. And I think sometimes physicians are other physician, entrepreneur, real [00:08:00] estate investors, worse critics.

We could talk about this for so long. 'cause I agree. I think, a lot of those groups that have like community in the name or group in the name it, it oftentimes doesn't feel that and it doesn't always have that supportive feel, and that can be really challenging to those of us that are actually looking for support and kind of that general group mentality where we can all, again, rising tides raise all ships want to be in it together with a group of people. And sometimes that can be challenging. And for physicians, again, who bring this healthy level of skepticism, it can be even more challenging. And so I'm curious, is that something that when you are thinking about physicians in real estate, like how do you address the skepticism there?

Yeah, I think it helps being a physician, and I mean, I'm always on the side of that [00:09:00] Go-Giver mentality, right? Like, I want to give as much as I possibly can. And I genuinely believe that and feel that and know that, like the more I can help others, it's gonna come back, you know, multifold and I'm a Christian, and of cours,e that's like, you know, biblical principle from that perspective is just serving others.

And I think that, it's just having that mentality and always be willing to help. I mean the whole reason I started Physicians and Properties, the podcast, was I was having a bunch of other docs who were coming and asking me like, Hey, what are you doing? Like, tell me more about this real estate, you know, and that healthy skepticism.

Right? And, it was really beneficial for me to be able to like share my journey and then. That's led to some really cool conversations and hopefully at least one or two docs lives have been changed through the podcast. And if that's the case, like it's completely worth it. And so I learned very early on that there's gonna be haters no matter what, and no matter what you do.

And just ignoring that, you know, and realizing like, Hey, I know my heart, I know the good that I'm trying. Trying to do. And I know there's tons and tons and tons of physicians who could really benefit from some degree of freedom in their life and getting back some control that's been taken from them, from the healthcare system or whatever [00:10:00] their job may be.

And so that's my motivation from that perspective, is like, Hey, how can I just help as many physicians as possible? Yeah, and I think that's a great perspective. I think we get to be an example of what's possible and just by putting yourself out there and demonstrating, kind of how you have been able to create the life that you want to shift things in a way that fits how you want to do things. The fact that you have people coming to ask you, Hey, that looks really great, how do I do that? But it's also hard, right? As somebody who does this as well, right? Putting ourselves out there to be that example, there is some vulnerability that has to go along with it, right?

We have to share, and we don't just get to share all of the things that went really well. Sometimes we are out here sharing all the things that didn't go well. And that can feel very vulnerable. How has that been as an experience for you? Yeah, it's been interesting for sure. You're exactly right.

And you know, I think one thing that I [00:11:00] first kind of had that realization on the podcast was you know, I used to have a little bit more time, and I would do just like 15-minute free calls for whoever wanted to sign up. And it was wild to me to hop on a call with someone who'd been listening to the podcast and they're like, Hey, and I've never talked to them before.

And they're like, Hey, how's Jack? How's Owen? How's the camping trip? How was, and I'm like, wait, how do they know all this? And then I realized like, oh, it's because we talked about on the podcast. So it's like, it's really interesting. I was really fortunate to speak at a conference in Indianapolis a couple months ago, and it was really people coming up like, Hey, I've been listening to your podcast for the last two years, and like, it's so cool to meet you and almost kind of like treating you like a quote unquote celebrity and God forbid the word influencer, you know, and, it's just really, really interesting.

It's an honor to be able to be in the rooms and have those experiences. But you're right, like that vulnerability I have found, just being truthful and being honest. On the podcast or in conversation, like those are the conversations that really matter. and those tend to be the podcast episodes that do the best.

And, you know, I'm really excited. I just recorded one with a friend Dr. Kyle [00:12:00] Stephenson, yesterday. And we talked a lot about like the fails that we had in 2025 in real estate and entrepreneurship, and we were very vulnerable it's not all sunshine and rainbows. You know, real estate and entrepreneurship are, you know, it's not easy.

It's not a get-rich-quick scheme. It takes time, it takes hard work, it takes effort. And so yeah, I think, being willing to share that only helps more people grow faster and excel more quickly with less risk. Yeah. And just piggybacking on what you were just said this entrepreneurship is nothing like medicine.

And. I was in a call earlier today where we were talking about the predictability of medicine, right? I know that if a patient that I am seeing in clinic cancels, there's another patient that can easily fit into that slot. Entrepreneurship doesn't work like that at all, and success in entrepreneurship is really being able to pivot quickly to see where things aren't working, to be able to shift and adjust. And I think for like a [00:13:00] doctor's mindset who enjoys like stability and everything just kind of flowing in a very particular controlled way. It's very different for entrepreneurship. And so getting back to those physician communities like you were talking about right. It's easy to understand why physicians might think that another physician doing real estate or starting a business is like an escape hatch . And it couldn't be further from the truth because it is so much more work ongoing to continue to grow and adjust and to change. And all of the feelings that come up with that.

And you really have to be highly motivated and dedicated to the thing. In addition to practicing medicine, how have you balanced those? Like how have you made that work for yourself? Yeah, that's a great question. I couldn't agree more with everything you just said. It is definitely two different hats for sure.

When I think about balance for me, and I think just the term balance is hard. Like [00:14:00] it's hard to figure out what does balance even mean and what does that even look like? And that's something that, I've always kind of, you know, struggled with how to handle that well.

I think for me, the top of my priority always is my family. And I genuinely believe that. So it was like, an example was when I was working in clinic. It was like, I'm gonna do everything in my power to leave as soon as I can, which was 4:30 in the military, and have all my notes done.

I'm not bringing the computer home, I'm not doing work at home. It'll be there tomorrow. There's always gonna be more work. All of us can relate to that. There's always gonna be more emails and more notes to write and more. Inbox messages and everything else. So I was like, Hey, I'm gonna work diligently, get as much done as I possibly can.

Then I'm gonna go home. I'm gonna put my phone on the counter in the kitchen. I'm gonna spend time with my boys and my wife, and like that time is theirs. And that time sacred. There's like, no. Instagram reel or app or phone call or text, it's gonna like, take me from that. because that's what's most important.

And then when I was practicing full-time, it was like, once I got the kids to bed and spent some time with the wife, then I was like, Hey, now it's time to work. And it's. You gotta sacrifice and do some late nights, [00:15:00] and that's just part of it. Now I'm seeing, like we were talking about before the podcast, like now I practice medicine part-time in direct primary care, typically about two days per week.

And then the rest is working on real estate and entrepreneurship and, Parkinson's law is a real thing, man. The work expands to the time you allow it. And so now I'm trying to figure out balance again of like, what does it look like being more of a full-time entrepreneur? How do I balance that?

How do I set up the schedule? When you have just that open calendar, like it's. Crazy how quickly that can fill up if you don't have those guardrails in place. So that's not a great answer, but those are some things that I've done along the journey and, a long-winded answer to say like, I'm still really working on it right now to try and figure out how to, balance it more successfully.

But I will tell you what Michael, it's really cool that, you know, it's a what, a Wednesday at 3:23 and we're recording this podcast. And before this I was like wrestling with my son outside and kicking the soccer ball, and I'm like, this is pretty awesome to have the opportunity to be able to do this. A hundred percent.

Yes. that is amazing. And I'll highlight, right, it doesn't sound like you [00:16:00] went from working five days a week to two days a week. There was probably some kind of slow grade changes that went along the way. And I think a lot of times when physicians are thinking about financial independence, they may think it's a shift.

From working full-time as a doctor to not working at all. And the truth is that there is a lot of gray area that can exist between those two ends of the spectrum. Yeah, absolutely, Dr. Tom Burns used to stay, if you're familiar with him in the physician finance space, he's awesome. And he would say, you know, I'm trying to think exactly how he would word it, but it would basically be like financial sum freedom, right?

Maybe it's just like, Hey, let me invest in this deal where I'm gonna get a couple hundred dollars a month in mailbox money. I'm a limited partner on a mobile home park investment or assisted living, or whatever that is, and I'm getting some mailbox money. It's like, Hey, cool. Maybe that just bought me, like saying one or two less patients.

[00:17:00] Or doing one less moonlighting shift, or whatever that may be, it brought you a little bit of freedom. And then over time, that continues to snowball and snowball, and then you can create the life that you really wanna live. I was fortunate in my scenario, I had some paternity leave in the Air Force still, and, some terminal leave.

So I had like. Three months of just paid time off, which was absolutely glorious. And then was able to, you know, go on some really incredible trips with the family during that time and then kind of roll into it. But yeah, all the time I talk with physicians and they're like, oh, well I don't want to go from seeing clinic five days a week to not working at all and sipping mai tais on the beach.

And they think that's gonna happen immediately. That's a long road in between that stage. And you know, the weight of that golden stethoscope is heavy and however, you can generate some freedom and get that ball rolling. It's just gonna be more and more flexibility down the road. And we haven't even talked about the benefits of like, okay, if you have this alternative income stream coming in, it's also protective.

Like, God forbid what if something were to happen and you were to be disabled [00:18:00] and you can't practice as a surgeon and. Maybe you have disability insurance, but only pays out X amount, when now you have this other alternative income stream that's helping to supplement as well. So there's a lot of benefits to it, and so many different ways that you can invest to make it more passive to fit a full-time physician lifestyle.

So it's really a way to create the life of your dreams and if that's practicing full-time, great. If that's quitting medicine, awesome, but like, whatever's gonna really fill you up and help you be fulfilled. And I think a lot of folks also. Struggle with the weight of the white coat and like identity, right?

Like what does that look like? If I'm not a physician anymore, am I giving up on my patients? Or if I go part-time, am I giving up on my patients and making access terrible? And, like the way I look at it is a lot of times. Some degree of financial freedom is gonna make you a better doctor, right?

You're gonna be less stressed about seeing more patients, you're gonna have less of the financial insecurities, and you know, fears that are in the back of your mind while you're taking care of patients. It's gonna make you a better doctor over time. And so it's just something that you have to [00:19:00] accept and go from there.

Yeah, I agree, the identity piece is huge, and I think that what plays into that identity piece comes in the fear of failure, like trying something new and worrying about like what if this doesn't work? What advice do you have for physicians who are considering anything, trying something new, but have that fear of like, if I do this, what happens if it doesn't work?

Yeah, I think it's crazy how imposter syndrome rears its ugly head again, right? Like, I know I've had it as a doc and still do, right? And still kind of struggle with that. And same with entrepreneurship. And so that is just something that's gonna happen, and that's a mindset shift that takes time to work on.

When you're talking about, say, a real estate investment's a perfect example. Like say I have the opportunity to invest 25,000 in this real estate project and I don't know, maybe it's gonna gimme 10% returns. I'm just using simple math. Like, as a physician, we are fortunate that we make pretty good income.[00:20:00] 

And so, worse comes to worst. Hypothetically, that project goes completely to zero and you lose $25,000. Like you're not gonna be financially completely ruined from that forever. It's gonna hurt, it's gonna sting. That's a lot of money. But you can work some shifts. You can pick up an extra shift, you can go from there.

And so I think a lot of the analysis paralysis that people have is like. Well, what if I just lose all of this money? Right? Well, it's like, be smart, do your due diligence. Invest only what you can afford to lose, and then just see how it goes for you. And then you're gonna see once that first like direct deposit hits and you see that money that was made while you were sleeping.

Then you're like, oh man, I gotta get more of this. It's like an addict, right? It's like, Hey, how can I keep growing this snowball as much as I can and still, you know, keep getting this alternative income stream or passive income. Yeah. And I think recognizing that physicians are high information decision makers, we really love to have all of the information.

But also knowing that if you want something to change, if you [00:21:00] want something different. Eventually, you have to move in that direction with the information that you have, knowing, as you were just saying, that it's not a dead end. At the other end of that, there are lots of options, right?

There are physicians who are considering reducing their clinical hours. Well, what happens if reducing your clinical hours doesn't work out financially, or you just don't like it? You go back to working five days a week, right? So just knowing that all of these decisions are not one-way streets that you can pivot, that you can change, kind of brings us back to.

Entrepreneurship as I was mentioning at the beginning, relies on being able to adjust and pivot and change. Well, the same is true about the life that you wanna create, right? If you don't try new things, you never get to know what that life is gonna be like, and if it doesn't work out, you just pivot and change again.

Yeah. A lot of times, everyone's biggest fear is their present-day reality. Right. It's exactly as you mentioned. Like, I'm already working five days a week. [00:22:00] I'm gonna cut back to four days a week, man, what if everything just falls apart? Okay, I'm just gonna go back to working five days a week.

I'm already doing it , and you know, family medicine, there is no shortage of very high-paying family medicine jobs that exist out there. So I know if everything just completely fell apart, I could always go back to working full-time. Or I could always just get another job, and that would be very simple.

And I think it's worth it. And I will say, having experienced the alternative, man, having the ability to design your life how you want, gosh, the grass is so much greener on this side. And it is just absolutely beautiful. And like I mentioned, I mean, just being able to be there for my kids and take them to school and take them to, you know, juujitsu and wrestle 'em in the yard or go play or have.

Every meal with them. You know, it is awesome. And right now I look at it, my five-year-old, like he thinks I'm super cool and wants hang out with me 10 more years, he's not gonna want to. And so, maybe in 10 more years, I go back and practice full-time. I don't know. But for now, like, gosh, I just love it [00:23:00] and love that time with him.

Now it seems like a lot of the progress that you've made has been surrounding you with people who can help. And I know as male physicians, there can be a lot of stigma around kind of like asking for help and putting yourself out there, even though a lot of times it is the fastest way to get to where you want to go.

What has that been like for you in terms of asking for help, surrounding yourself with people who can help, things like that? Yeah, I personally love being the dumbest person in the room, and the poorest person in the room, 'cause then I, like, I know I'm in the right room. Right? And that's something that took a lot, you know, I would describe myself kind of as an extroverted introvert.

Like it takes a lot of energy for me to go to that room. Once I'm in there, I'm like, I'm ready to work it, and it's good. If that makes sense. And so it took some pressure and some understanding to be willing to put myself in those situations, but man, it's so good.

And, you know, getting in some form [00:24:00] of community, whether that's a mastermind or a community or like, Hey, here's. Three docs I'm gonna meet with in the doctor's lounge, or whatever that may be, can be so life-giving and can really expedite your process so much faster. And I'm grateful to be a part of a couple of different mastermind communities that have just completely changed my life, who, it's been worth every penny and then some, and made me so much more money, so much faster, and provided such genuine amazing relationships that I would've never had and forced me to level up. I was really fortunate. My buddy Brian Lubin hosts the Action Academy podcast. He's got a mastermind. He's an amazing guy, incredibly generous, and he just flew all of us, his closest friends, to Cabo for his birthday weekend.

And we're hanging out and I'm sitting there, and Cabo and this. Beachside Villa Mansion, thinking like, this is awesome. This is the life I gotta figure out how to do this. but also surrounded by all these people. And I'm like, here I am. I'm a doctor who thinks like, oh, cool. I'm a doctor, right?

Surrounded by all these people who are doing absolutely amazing things on a way bigger scale than I could have ever thought was a magic. [00:25:00] I could have ever imagined unless I was in that room with them and now they're all great friends. And so you just never know what's gonna happen with relationships and with connections.

And I think the best thing you can do in 2026 is figure out, hey, what is that room that I know I need to be in that's gonna help me level up? And get in that room regardless of how uncomfortable it's gonna make you feel. And that might even just be virtual. It might be Zoom, it might not even be in person, but it can really just completely change the trajectory of your life and the trajectory of your legacy and your family for years to come and for generations to come.

And so I'm incredibly grateful for that. And a huge proponent of like community is so important. Relationships. Are so important. The information for basically everything you could ever want is out there, but the implementation and the community like that is what you really need to succeed. Yeah, and I think for a lot of physicians, I know this was me for a very long time, who just had convinced myself that this was as good as it got, and I just needed to figure [00:26:00] out how to be happier.

Within the confines of this is as good as it gets. And to your point, when you surround yourself with other people, regardless of what they're doing, people who are either where you want to go or you're interested in it, kind of blows the lid off that sometimes we put on ourselves for life, and it shows us what's possible, right? Like you and I talked about being an example of what's possible and we still need to surround ourselves with people who are examples of what's possible for us beyond that. And if you were to ask me, what's the point of life? Like, why are we here? It is that kind of growth. It is pushing through a lot of the expectations and the things that we are putting on ourselves to get ourselves to the life that maybe we never even could have imagined for ourselves. Yeah, I 100% agree. I think a lot of times folks have that [00:27:00] mindset of financial freedom or I just wanna lay on the beach and sip mai tais, that I don't think that's any physician, right?

Like, look at all that we've gone through. All the training, the late nights, the crazy call, the holding the retractor in surgery in some weird position where you feel like your arm's gonna fall off for hours. Like, just think about everything that you've gone through. Chances are you probably don't want to like just quit and sip mai tais on the beach.

Maybe I'm wrong, but like I know for myself, I'm gonna be learning forever. I'm gonna be building forever, and I'm just gonna make sure that fits into the life that I wanna live. But it's something that I'm gonna continue to do on and on. And I think a conversation that you and I had on my podcast was amazing.

And we were talking about male physicians in particular, and kind of like yeah, asking for help and mental health and those side of things as well. And I think that the more I've asked for help, the faster I've grown, and the faster my life's changed for the better.

And it takes a lot, I think. We have a lot of pride as men and also as [00:28:00] physicians. And it's like, you know, we think we know probably more than we really do. And you know, I think we're always right, especially if I'm talking to my wife, and then, really, we're humbled ofte,n and we need to be, and I think that helps us grow.

So anyways, yeah, it is a fun journey that I'm grateful to live and grateful to share with others. And I agree with you. I think number one, you might enjoy like sitting in a hammock and reading a book for about a week, but after that, you're gonna start getting bored. So, as you think through, like, what are your plans?

Like, what do you actually wanna be filling your time with? And as we've kind of highlighted here. It doesn't have to replace medicine. It can if you want it to, but it doesn't have to replace it. But be intentional about where do you want it to go? What do you want to fill your time? And a lot of physicians have trouble thinking through that.

And there are tons of resources out there to get people thinking, but it sometimes it just starts by exploring your interests. What do you like? What lights you up? What's interesting to you? So. Yeah, and I think we were put on this earth [00:29:00] to serve others to do a lot of good. And that doesn't necessarily have to relate just to medicine, but for a medicine example, one of my buddies here in Colorado Springs, he's a family medicine physician, got out of the Air Force, started his own practice, direct primary care, and essentially built the practice up in such a way.

He's gonna be able to go to Thailand for a year and do mission work. And that's like that his passion to just like go out to Thailand for a year and provide fantastic medical care for that population. And so maybe your dreams are adjacent, but like, I promise you some degree of financial independence is gonna make that much more of a reality and really gonna open your eyes up to a lot of those possibilities.

And one other point I'll mention is, you know, I think, sometimes folks struggle with the mindset of like, does it all come back to money or I'm worried. I don't want to be that type of person who is, making more and more money and really focused on that, but I think if you think about the type of people that we are right in the heart that a lot of physicians have, we should strive to make as much money as possible [00:30:00] because I firmly believe that the majority of us are gonna do more and more good with that.

I'm a firm believer of like, my goal should be to make as much money as possible because that is gonna be a tool to provide more and more good and change more and more lives than I could if I wasn't. And so I think it is okay to have that mindset of like, Hey, how can I make more money? And maybe that is clinical, maybe that is an entrepreneur, there's just a lot of opportunities out there.

And just like you mentioned, taking some time to like really sit there and think through what do I want my life to look like? What about my dream life to look like in one year, three years, five years? And what are those steps that I'm gonna have to take along the way to, hit those? Amazing. Well, as we start to wrap up, is there anything that you would like, to provide as a final takeaway or things to leave people with?

I think we've really hit it. If you listen to this, you know, it's early 2026, I'd be thinking about, okay, have I done my goals, right? Have I really sat down and thought about what do I want my life to look like in one year, three years, five years?

Really take some time and do that. Like I'm talking. [00:31:00] Take some hours and do that and really figure out what you want that to look like. 'cause that's gonna be a roadmap. And then if you have that, then you're gonna be able to kind of fill in the gaps along the way of, what do I need to do? How much income do I need to generate?

That's gonna even give you clarity on like what potential investment opportunities or asset classes may help me reach my goals. And then work your way back. And you know, it's like that old saying, how do you eat an elephant? It's just one bite at a time. And before you know it, you're gonna have done it.

You know that elephant's gonna be gone, and you're gonna be like, wow, I did it. And trust me, it is worth it. So, if you're here listening, like one, you're already in the right place listening to this podcast. If you got any value, please, you know, give Michael a five-star rating and review, 'cause podcasts are super hard to grow.

And then just keep listening 'cause these are the conversations that can really change your life. I mean, your advice and takeaway is spot on. Literally earlier today on a coaching call where somebody asked me to get very granular about what my goal was, and it became very clear that I didn't want to give a [00:32:00] number because if I had a number, it meant I had to make a decision that I didn't wanna have to make.

And so this is the benefit of coaching, right? Like I don't. Just give coaching. I receive coaching, and it's one of the most challenging parts is coming to terms with like, oh, I see why I was resisting this. But there is so much benefit in getting that clarity that you were referring to. It really does help to establish like, what is the real goal, because when your goals are just for lack of a better term, loosey goosey. You don't really have something solid to hang your hat on. It becomes so easy to change and adjust them and not really hold yourself accountable. So I love that takeaway. I think you're spot on. 

If you have gained something from this, I'd love for you to tell the audience how they can listen to you and learn more about you and your work. Awesome. I appreciate that. The podcast is Physicians and Properties. That's where we teach physicians how investing in real estate and entrepreneurship can give you the freedom to practice medicine and live life how you [00:33:00] want to.

So that's a lot of sharing my journey and interviewing other amazing physicians in real estate and entrepreneurship. If you're interested in kind of the assisted living side of our investing and our real estate side of things, that's through The RAL room. And, you can just Google theralroom.com and that'll come right up.

And then I'm the only Dr. Alex Schloe, I think, who's doing real estate and entrepreneurship and family medicine. So if you Google me, you'll be able to find me, and I'm just more than happy to help anyone. It's seriously nothing, gives me more joy than like being able to connect with physicians and hopefully add a little bit of value.

This has been incredible. It is always wonderful to talk to you, Dr. Alex Schloe. Thank you so much for being on the podcast. To the audience, thank you so much for listening and I'll see you on the next episode of the Better Physician Life Podcast.