Entrepreneurship Archives

Master the 33 strategies of War

The only way to successfully escape or transition from a dead-end career in Medicine…is to stop thinking like a Medic.

Instead, think like a military strategist who deploys tactics and manoeuvres to overcome obstacles and defeat insurmountable foes.

One of the fastest ways to do this is to devour “The 33 Strategies of War” by Robert Greene.

Read it, listen to it, take notes from it…and you’ll suddenly see a clear path open to you as you apply these strategies in your current situation.

Stop thinking like a Medic, and start thinking like a military strategist.

This is a taster from Escape Velocity: a personalised email course that guides medics step-by-step in how to successfully make the transition from being stuck in medical school…to living a life of happiness, freedom and fulfilment. Admission is by invitation-only. Click here to apply for your FREE invite.

Seek first to understand…

How To Drop Out Of Medicine

…then to be understood.

One of the most crucial lessons from Steven Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, especially when it comes to recruiting your parents as allies in your transition from a career in Medicine into the Work you were created to pursue.

Dare to feel where they’re coming from and looking at the world from their perspective (don’t worry about losing your sense of self or desire for freedom…that’s built into you)

Or as Stephen put it:

Seek first to understand, then to be understood.

The golden rule

How To Drop Out Of Medicine

The Golden Rule: He who has the gold makes the rules. — Anon

You have no money, and therefore you have no say in what you do with your life.

Worse, you are in debt and you are financially dependent on others who want you to become a Doctor and fulfill their dreams…never mind the dreams you have for yourself.

What do you do?

One thing:

You need to make your own money…and a lot of it.

I’ve proven this the hard way over 13 years with a wife, 5 kids, unemployment benefits, odd jobs and jumping through hoops for family just to make ends meet.

Bottom line: you need to make your own money…and a lot of it.

The same brainpower you’ve been using to cram biochemical pathways and learn the branches of the brachial plexus and the components of the coagulation cascade…

That same brain power needs to be deployed on getting some financial literacy really quickly.

Because whoever controls your money, controls you.

And when it comes to your parents/guardians/society etc, if you’re dependent on them for your finances, then you’re going to have to jump through their hoops and put up with their demands…until you change the dynamic by making some money.

This section will give you the condensed version of what is covered in the Escape Velocity module on money.

Punchline #1: you can make a lot of money right now using the time, energy and knowledge that you already have.

Punchline #2: making your own money is an important step in getting your parents et Al to support you emotionally in pursuing your dreams.

Punchline #3: you can make a lot of money right now…and you need to.

10 years in 6 months?

How To Drop Out Of Medicine

A challenge from Peter Thiel, founder of PayPal (and the guy who offers $100,000 to kids who choose to drop out of college to start a business):

What would you have to do to accomplish your 10-year goals in the next 6 months?

Again, worth thinking about.

Wanna come out and play?

How To Drop Out Of Medicine

When you were a kid, you (usually) needed a grownup’s permission for your friend to come out and play.

Now…you don’t.

You are connected to over 3 billion people, and you have the ability to ask any of them if they wanna come out and play.

Wanna come out and play?

Wanna make a movie about a raindrop trapped on a window ledge?

Wanna do an interview with me on my podcast?

Wanna help me build 25 schools in Eastern Liberia?

Wanna start a T-shirt business on Etsy?

The Internet is one big street where you get to knock on any door/tap on any window and ask whoever’s inside if they want to come out and play.

Many people will say no, because they don’t know you/trust you (yet) or don’t want to play whatever game you’re inviting them to.

But many more people will say “Let me grab my coat” and come join you outside to play…especially if you show up as a real person who cares about connecting with them.

It all starts with asking:

Wanna come out and play?

The Pursuit of Happyness

How To Drop Out Of Medicine

Borders bookstore on Tottenham Court Road was my sanctuary.

I felt lost, confused and uncertain about who I was and where I was going after being kicked out of medical school.

So I headed for the bookstore to find answers and spend time with hundreds of advisors and alternate universes on the shelves of Borders.

One of the worlds I collided with was the world of Chris Gardner, author of The Pursuit of Happyness.

I didn’t read the book from cover to cover, but I skimmed it for a couple of hours like a pebble skipping the entire length of a pond.

And one of the parts that stuck with me was the idea of enrolling in God’s university. I took a photo of that passage that is still one of my screens avers. ..a photo that outlasted the now extinct Borders bookstore.

Here’s the photo:

Photo.

And here’s the excerpt:

Others may question your credentials, your papers, your degrees. Others may look for all kinds of ways to diminish your worth. But what is inside you no one can take from you or tarnish. This is your worth, who you really are, your degree that can go with you wherever you go, that you bring with you the moment you come into a room, that can’t be manipulated or shaken. Without that sense of self, no amount of paper, no pedigree, and no credentials can make you legit. No matter what, you have to feel legit inside first.

With all the pressure that medical school/family/the world puts you under to earn their approval and validation…just imagine what would happen if you spent even half that energy on approving yourself first.