“Being a dad means being there for your pups through thick and thin, teaching them, playing with them, and showing them love every day. It’s the greatest adventure of all.”
―Bandit Heeler

If you have young children, you might be familiar with the cartoon series Bluey.  For those unfamili...

“Once you accept your flaws, no one can use them against you.”

   Tyrion Lannister, Game of Thrones

I like to tell the story about the evening I met my wife.  We were out to dinner with a group of people, and she was sitting across the table from me.  After a friend made an annoying com...

What is this self inside us, this silent observer,

Severe and speechless critic , who can terrorize us

And urge us on to futile activity

And in the end, judge us still more severely

For the errors into which his own reproaches drove us?

   T. S. Eliot, The Elder Statesman

In...

“Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend.”
―Theophrastus

Fact: No one will value your time as much as you do. 

Time is undoubtedly our most valuable and limited resource.  Every day, so many people and things vie for our time.  Our families, friends, patients, hospital ...

“Monday is like a math problem.  Add the irritation, subtract the sleep, multiply the problems, divide the happiness.”
―Unknown 

Work dread.  You know the feeling even if you didn’t know it had a name.  It is that sensation in the pit of your stomach when you realize that the start of...

“Realize deeply that the present moment is all you ever have.”
―Eckhart Tolle

Q: “Daddy, will you play with me?”

Me: “Sure.  What do you want to play?”

Q: “Let’s play dolls.”

Me: “OK, sweetie.  Let’s play.”

Moments later, I start checking my phone, and my thoughts begin to swirl.  ...

“When you squeeze an orange, you'll always get orange juice to come out. What comes out is what's inside. The same logic applies to you: when someone squeezes you, puts pressure on you, or says something unflattering or critical, and out of you comes anger, hatred, bitterness, tension, depress...

“The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.”
–Sydney J. Harris 

During a recent conversation with my physician coach, I found myself reflecting on my favorite part of our family vacation to the Caribbean. We snorkeled, swam with turtles, rented jet skis, held starfish, and...

“There” is no better than “here.” When your “there” has become a “here,” you will simply obtain another “there” that will again look better than “here.” 

― Jack Canfield, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Stories to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit 

Physicians are not strangers to the ...

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”
– Anne Lamott

While coaching a physician, we started talking about his upcoming vacation.  He and his wife had planned a two-week South Pacific trip, which sounded incredible.  As he spoke about his break, he t...

“Sometimes the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritance.”
―Ruth E. Renkel

It is incredible to look back at your life and recognize the critical moments that led you to become the unique human being you are today.  Many people, places, and things needed to come together ...

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

I stumbled upon the Financial Independence Retirement Early (FIRE) movement when I was extremely frustrated with medicine.  Retirement seemed like the best solution for my physician burnout.  I’m not sure I completely understo...