Medical School Archives | Page 7 of 8

Overdose through your ears (aka becoming an Audio junkie)

The Tim Ferriss Show. Mike Rowe’s The Way I Heard It. Brian Clark’s Unemployable. Pat Flynn’s Smart Passive Income Podcast. Starting From Nothing. School of Greatness. AWMI. WTF podcast. Jim Rohn. Darren Hardy. Krista Tippett’s On Being. Zig Ziglar. Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History. The James Altucher Show. The #AskGaryVee Podcast. Seth Godin’s Startup School. Creative Mornings. Save the Cat. Indie Film Hustle. Go Fork Yourself.

Load up your phone/ipod/mp3 player with thousands of hours of “good stuff”…just click and add it all.

Then hook up your earphones…and press play.

Keep your headphones attached to your ears.

Use an app like Rocketplayer that will automatically start playing the moment your earphones are plugged in.

And keep listening to the good stuff 24/7.

Stuff that inspires you, feeds your vision, provokes you to take action, paints a positive picture of life outside of Medical School.

How you turn that picture into reality isn’t the point.

Right now, you’re just trying to undo years of brainwashing that would keep you from even imagining another life where you don’t feel trapped and miserable.

In other words, we’re setting up an IV drip for your soul through your ears.

And we’re infusing you with stories, ideas and different voices who you may not agree 100% with.

But what these different voices will do is recharge your passions, revive your curiosity, joy and desire to be more than they say you are…and more importantly:

Give you different options and choices on how you can engage with the world.

So grab your headphones, subscribe to all those podcasts (and others)…and then click play.

As of now, you’re trading your addiction to misery, frustration, whining, helplessness, self-prescribed binging on alcohol/sex/drugs/Netflix…for an addiction to life transforming audio.

You are an Audio junkie.

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.

Knowing when it’s time to walk away

How To Drop Out Of Medicine

“Winners never quit, and quitters never win.” — Vince Lombardi

That’s the lie that Seth addresses and dismantles in his short book, The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When To Quit.

The book pretends to be about quitting. But really it’s about how you can become the best in the world.

And the way you do it is by quitting every dead-end situation that you’re pouring your life into, and focus that time/energy/joy/etc into finding and conquering a Dip.

From Seth:

Best-selling author Michael Crichton quit as he was on his way to a career at the top of his profession. When he gave up medicine, Crichton had already graduated from Harvard Medical School and done a postdoctorate fellowship study at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, guaranteeing him a lucrative career as a doctor or as a researcher. He traded it for the unpredictable life of an author.

Crichton had no stomach for cutting people open, and he decided he didn’t relish the future a medical career would bring him, regardless of how successful he might become at it. So he quit. Crichton saw that just because he had already gotten into Harvard, already earned a fellowship — already made it through the Dip — he didn’t have to spend the rest of his life doing something he didn’t enjoy in order to preserve his pride.

He stopped cold turkey and started over. If he can quit, can you?

Click here to check out a free 11-page preview of the book.

The best time to quit medical school was before you even started. The next best time is right now.

But you’ve only got 1 year left

How To Drop Out Of Medicine

Just one more.

Those 3 words are the engine that powers every industry that’s built around addiction.

Slot machines in Las Vegas, Big Tobacco, soft porn, food porn, alcohol, drugs, social media, the job industry…

The goal isn’t to sell you on becoming an addict. Nobody would take that deal.

Instead, it’s to sell you on buying “just one more” ticket…”just one more” drink/cigarette/video/minute checking out your friends updates on Facebook.

Just one more.

And once you’ve bought enough “just one mores”…you end up with a habit where you stop counting the number of times…because it’s now part of your identity.

When you hear “but you’ve only got 1 year left”, the implication is that once you complete the year…that’s it. Game over. You’ve completed the course and you’re free to do whatever you want.

Sadly, that’s not the case.

Just one more year of medical school…followed by just one more year till you finish your residency…followed by just one more year to get your postgraduate…followed by just one more year till you save enough money to pay for your new baby…followed by just one more exam to gain a special certification…

Meanwhile, the elastic band of your sanity and emotional equilibrium is being stretched ever more…until one day you suddenly snap.

It’s the line from Hotel California:

You can check out anytime you like/But you can ne-ver leave.

The good news is that you can leave…and there are some really practical steps you can take to make your escape a reality.

But it starts by understanding what’s really going on when you hear the phrase “but you’ve only got 1 year left”.

Because even rubber bands have their breaking point. And when you sense you’ve reached yours…stop, and consider alternative options.

Don’t just quit, because there’s a smart way to do it.

But do understand that in Medicine (&Vegas et al)…there’s no such thing as “just one more”.

8 myths about Medical school (and becoming a Doctor)

How To Drop Out Of Medicine

Doctors make more money than Dog walkers
Respect and high-esteem from all your patients
Always have a job
Spend your life making a difference
You can be a Doctor and follow your true passion at the same time
Borrow the money…you’ll be able to pay it back easily once you qualify
Being trained to help patients…it’s not just 40 years of managing disease
Medical school is committed to bringing out the best in you

Good news #1: You weren’t wrong to believe these lies; you were just lied to by those you trusted…as they were by those that they trusted. Like the investors Bernie Madoff conned out of $65 billion.

Good news #2: Once you realise you were lied to, you’re free to make different decisions and choices based on what you actually want, and on what’s actually true.

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.

You are not a failure if you change plans

How To Drop Out Of Medicine

That’s the brilliant gem from Alex, when he wrote the post:

The Most Important Thing I’ve Learned in Medical School (and It’s Not Medicine)

Changing plans isn’t a sign of failure. In fact, changing plans is the only way to achieve success.

Nokia started as a paper mill…until it transitioned to be a mobile phone company.

Amazon started by only selling books…and then expanded to become the multi-billion dollar Everything Store.

Google started as just a search engine…and grew to fulfil its vision of ” all the world’s information in just one click”.

You started life out as a foetus living in your mother’s womb with webbed feet, a tail, an umbilical cord and a placenta. When it was time for you to be born, you got rid of everything that was unnecessary for your new phase of life in order for you to thrive in your new environment.

Just because you start somewhere doesn’t mean you have to stay there.

Remember: you are not a failure if you change plans.

You’re not the only one (staring at the sun)

How To Drop Out Of Medicine

I’m not the only one starin’ at the sun
Afraid of what you’d find if you took a look inside
Not just deaf and dumb i’m staring at the sun
Not the only one who’s happy to go blind — Bono

Cindy quit in 3rd year to become a teacher and start a family.

Roshaan quit in his 4th year, to pursue a lifelong passion for astronomy, despite the lack of support or esteem from his community in Pakistan.

Michael graduated from Harvard Medical School, did a postgraduate fellowship study at the Salk Institute of Biological Studies…and then quit to become a full time science fiction writer…creating novels, movies and franchises such as Jurassic Park, ER, The Andromeda Strain, Twister, and many others.

Ali also went to Harvard, became a Doctor, and then quit to pursue a career as an author…publishing the #1 rated dating book on Amazon for 4+ years: The Tao of Dating.

Peter wanted to fly into space…but went to medical school to make his parents proud. He launched a space company in his 4th year, graduated after promising the Dean he would never practise medicine…and launched the $10million X Prize, Planetary Resources (an asteroid mining company), just to mention a few projects.

Lisa, Ernesto, Pau, and Graham each abandoned a career in medicine to pursue a path that led to a role as Phoebe in Friends, leading a Marxist revolution in Argentina, 2 NBA championships and a career as a professional basketballer, and the founding of Monty Python.

Pamela qualified as a Doctor, but quit the traditional pathway to build a medical practice designed by her patients.

Maria walked away from medicine 4 years after qualifying. She told TEDxJohannesburg it was the best thing she ever did.

You’re not the only one…and you’re in great company.