3 Steps Doctors Can Take To Stop Trading Time For Money
We get an education (for much longer if we’re doctors), work 40+ hours a week for 35+ years then retire and HOPE we’re healthy enough to enjoy it all withOUT running out of money.
Sounds more like a Nightmare on Elm Street rather than a dream!
Who wants to live like this?
Why is the American Dream supposed to be what we’re striving for? The good news is that you don’t have to follow everyone else’s dream.
If you want to be normal, and normal is middle-class and broke, then by all means keep on going. But if you’re ready for a CHANGE then read on….
Trading Time For Money
It didn’t take long after starting my practice to realize that trading time for money was for the birds. Especially when I wanted to spend the majority of my time watching our two boys grow up, compete in sports, attend their school outings, etc.
Since when was there a rule that said we always have to work like this?
To me, this is one of society’s biggest hoaxes.
I once heard a story about a 90 year old bed-ridden billionaire that wanted to give all of his money to a 25 year old in exchange for his youth.
The younger fella declined by saying, “What’s the point in having all of the money in the world if you can’t enjoy it?”
The old man could NEVER get his time back but could ALWAYS make more money.
Time is our #1 commodity and all the money in the world can’t replace that fact.
Time Limited
As a doctor, whether you realize it or not, your income (active) is limited by time.
Congratulations! This puts you on the left side of Kiyosaki’s CashFlow Quadrant as either:
- an employee (you have a job) or
- self-employed (you own a job)
This means that you HAVE to get up each morning, put on scrubs, treat patients and trade time for money which will ALWAYS limit your income.
Reread that again…especially the last part.
If you continue to practice like this then your income will always be limited.
Let’s break this down for you:
Each day, God only gives us 24 hours to do what we need to do.
- Sleep: We all need to sleep and most of us need 8 hours.
- Commute: If you live in a metro area then the average commute is one hour each way = total of two hours per day.
- Eat and chill: After a hard day treating patients, it’s time for a little R&R with the family and friends (grilling and chilling). This usually will take up around 2-4 hours per day.
After subtracting out these hours, we’re now left with 10-12 hours to trade our time for, you guessed it, income.
But keep in mind that no matter how much your time is worth to you in your current situation, there will ALWAYS be a cap imposed on you.
And that cap is TIME.
Do you want to keep running on the time treadmill exchanging hours for money?
No?
Most of us don’t want to either but have no clue what to do.
Good news. Sit back and relax and let me show you as it’s really easier than you think.
Join the Passive Investors Circle3 Steps To Stop Trading Time For Money
More than likely you ONLY get paid if you show up to work. I’m in the same boat too but have a game plan out of it.
Do you have a game plan?
If not, then let’s get you started on one NOW.
#1 Mindset shift
There’s a reason why one of the best selling investment books of all time has the word “Think” in its title.
If you’ve read Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich” then you understand why.
Hill interviewed the richest of the rich in the early 20th century including:
- John D. Rockefeller
- J.P. Morgan
- Henry Ford
Many of the traits that led to their success originated via a mindset shift FIRST including:
- Desire – They WANTED success; they didn’t wish for it
- Imagination – Hill claimed that, “Whatever the mind can conceive and belief, the mind can achieve.”
- Decision – The #1 cause of failure is LACK of decision making. You must decide specifically what you want first before proceeding.
Start off by replacing the beliefs that you MUST trade time in order to get money. Once you do this then you’ll begin to open up your mind to other possibilities that exist.
I don’t remember studying anything in college or dental school that said: “in order to make a certain amount of money $X, I had to work Y hours.”
Realize that there’s other ways of making more $$ which do NOT include working extra hours, getting a second job or seeing more patients.
No matter what career stage you’re in (recent graduate or seasoned professional), you have the ability to make small mindset shifts to begin transitioning away from trading your time for money.
Make it a point to change your thinking about wealth today.
Wealth accumulation is not about having money, it’s about having options.
Money gives you the option to do whatever you want, on your own time. Not somebody else’s.
That’s financial freedom.
#2 Be the best you can be
Focus on doing what you know (do) best. For most reading this, your skill could be dentistry, medicine and/or surgery.
To help free up trading time for money, you have to make dollars at first. The MORE you make, the quicker you can achieve this goal.
How do you do this? Become THE Authority/Expert in your field.
If you’re a dentist/dental specialist, become THE Dental Implant Authority.
If you’re a cardiologist, become THE Stent Guy.
How do you become an authority? Focus on what value you can provide for your patients.
Education is the key.
When you think of theme park, what’s the first one that comes to mind? Disney, right?
They strive to give their guests a memorable experience by providing an unbelievable amount of value during your visit.
Focus your efforts of doing whatever it takes to be the best at your God-given talents. If your state only recommends that you take 30 hours of continuing education a year, don’t do the minimum, double it instead.
People like to feel like they’re important. Make them feel this way and you’ll be amazed at what that can do to your business.
Have you ever stayed at a Ritz-Carlton, Montage or Four Seasons? If not, then I give you permission to treat yourself and then understand what it means for someone to make you feel important.
We love visiting the Ritz Carlton at Bachelor’s Gulch. We started going on an annual basis ten years ago.
Why? They make us feel important.
The morning during our first visit, we went to the downstairs ski concierge searching for our skis and poles that we rented the previous day.
He told us, “No problem, follow me.” He walked us to within 20 yards of the ski lift where he’d placed our skis on the ground with the poles next to them.
Talk about customer service!
We’ve never forgotten that moment and is one of the reasons we go back each year. It’s the little things that matter and can be so easily replicated in any business.
#3 Start learning about passive income and take action
You’re off to a great start with this step as you’re already here now, beginning the learning process.
Nobody is going to do this for you but YOU.
You first have to choose the route you want to go to help you stop trading time for money.
For me it was passive real estate.
There’s other options out there such as:
- index funds
- dividend stocks
- starting a new business
Once you pinpoint the route you want to take, then it’s time to develop a game plan.
How much money do you need to move away from trading time for money?
The best approach to this is by working backwards until your plan comes together.
But the key factor in all of this is you MUST develop passive income streams so you can get off the treadmill. Work MUST be done upfront so you can make the changes later.
Creating passive revenue streams is not a passive activity. Passive revenue streams take a lot of work and sacrifice up front, BUT when you DO build them right, they can generate you income for days, weeks, months, even years to come.
It’s not easy, but what is?
Start the process by planting seeds today, so you can harvest freedom for your life later.
“Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.” – Ecclesiastes 11:6
Active income is not scalable. Passive income is!
Don’t Miss Any Updates. Each week I’ll send you advice on how to reach financial independence with passive income from real estate.
Sign up for my newsletterYour Next Steps
Hopefully I’ve gotten you to start thinking differently about your future. Especially about a future that will allow you to claim back your most important resource: your time.
Start out by writing down what you’re hoping to achieve. I just got off the phone with a brilliant ENT surgeon out of North Carolina.
She recently joined our Free Passive Investors Circle and during our initial investor’s call, she informed me that one of her main goals was to spend as much time the next few years while her kids were still young.
Active investing was NOT in her future as she had NO DESIRE to becoming a landlord.
Being a doctor is hard enough. Why try to complicate things?
She was interested in passive investing as she wanted to retire in 12 years.
All it takes is a desire and then ACTION to start the process.
Are You Ready To Stop Trading Time For $$?
If so, join our Free Passive Investors Circle today.
You won’t regret it.
Additional Resources
If you want to hear more on this subject, check out my podcast interview:
Debt Free Doctor: Stop Trading Time For Money, with Dr. Jeff Anzalone
Are you an accredited investor that’s interested in learning more about passively investing in real estate?
Click HERE for more information