FREEDOM

My father died at the end of August. I have a lot of great memories of him but one really stands out. Before I tell you the story, I need to tell you two things about me to set the stage:


1. I have loved being outside as long as I can remember, and I especially love being in the woods.
2. From the time I stepped into five-year-old kindergarten until the time I graduated high school, I hated school with a white-hot passion.

I was in third grade, sitting in the library at Jones Valley Elementary school. I can only assume the school was designed by a sadist, because the library was positioned such that it looked out at Monte Sano Mountain and left me feeling like a prisoner whose punishment was to gaze all day at the place he most
wanted to be. Just when I thought the day couldn’t get any worse, the librarian told me I was wanted by the principal, so I trudged down to his office wondering what absurd rule I had broken. But I was surprised and delighted to see my father in the principal’s office; he had come to break me out for a day of work and play on some land we had in Tennessee. It was a wonderful day that I still think about 51 years later.

My father was a pediatrician, and he constructed his business such that he would have freedom to do the things he wanted to do. Mind you, he wasn’t trying to build freedom from anything. He wasn’t trying to minimize his work or get to an early retirement. He worked hard when he worked, constantly studied to get better, and loved every minute of it. But he wasn’t a slave to it; he worked the schedule he wanted to work, made as much money as he needed (but didn’t worry about accumulating a ton of wealth), and had time left over to spend with family and friends.

When I think back on his business, there were three specific things that allowed him to create this freedom:

1. He chose his clients carefully to maintain margin and cash-flow. He only accepted patients on referral and he didn’t accept insurance.
2. He was intensely loyal to his staff, and with a few exceptions they were intensely loyal to him, so he could trust them with everything other than his unique ability: diagnosing and treating patients.
3. He had the courage to define his own success. He didn’t care about having the biggest patient base or highest revenue; he just wanted to be great at what he did and be loved by his patients.

I want the same thing for you. I want you to have the freedom to spend your time and talents where and how you choose and to have a great time along the way. To get there, you’ll need a system and a coach, which is where I come in. Together we can build the predictability, scalability, and focus that will allow you to spend your time where you’ll add the most value and have the most fun.