“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
What is a story? When I think of a story, I think of a fairy tale. An imaginary account that has been concocted for...
“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...
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...
“Alone, we can do little; together, we can do so much.”
ā€•Helen Keller
For all its traumas, one of the most incredible gifts bestowed upon doctors is the community created during medical training. When I think back to my Internal Medicine...
“Sometimes you are in the middle of your destiny before you even know it has begun.”
ā€•Sarah Holman
As a native New Yorker, I always thought Chicago was the “Second City” because it was inferior to New York. I would go out on a...
“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,...
“Your goals are the road maps that guide you and show you what is possible for your life.”
ā€•Les Brown
We ask our children to wonder and dream, and they do.
- What do you want to be when you grow up?
- If you had a million dollars, what would you do...
“Life is about taking chances, trying new things, having fun, making mistakes, and learning from it.”
ā€•Unknown
As I settled into the new identity of physician coach, I struggled to find ways to express my thoughts and ideas. I know most people are captivated...
“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
ā€•
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...
“There is a lie that acts like a virus within the mind of humanity. And that lie is, ‘There’s not enough good to go around. There’s lack and there’s limitation and there’s just not enough.’
The truth is that there’s more than enough...
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
We are taught from an early age to avoid comparing ourselves to others. Then, we are sent off to school,...
“The Hospital Will Not Love You Back.”
–Vagabond MD
During a recent physician meeting, one of my partners began talking about physician satisfaction. He said it in a very matter-of-fact way. He spoke about how our current way of doing things...