Comments on: What People With a Net Worth of $5M+ Do That Other People Don’t

By: Gregory Tomc

Gregory Tomc — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 18:03:43 +0000

Your site is fantastic. I tell my med school friends every day “medicine is a business,” but they just chuckle at me.

By: Smith

Smith — Sun, 20 May 2007 23:11:16 +0000

Hey, Just thought I’d write to say congrats on another well written post. You seem to have a great view that is very different to some of the other more generic med blogs I have read. I enjoy your opinion and I hope you continue to keep writing.

Thanks

Smith

By: Half MD

Half MD — Sun, 20 May 2007 03:02:27 +0000

The New York Times hosts the first chapter of The Millionaire Next Door at http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/s/stanley-millionaire.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

It’s worth a read into some very practical advice into amassing wealth. Note: it does not suggest the high-stress entrepreneurial work that Hoover is suggesting. It’s more of a save and slowly grow approach.

By: Someonect

Someonect — Sat, 19 May 2007 21:05:07 +0000

i would have to agree with you that medicine is a business. most do need to think outside of the box. in my particular field, most in private practice make 2-4 times their income from the practice investments (surgicenter, MRI, X-ray, etc.). I think many think of people making money “practicing medicine”. the money is made in the investing in the practice of medicine.

this tautology confuses me though. the definition is “my passion is having/accumulating money. Therefore anything that I do to accumulate money becomes my passion.”

it says if i accumulate money doing it then it becomes my passion. hoover what the point i think i hear you making is that if i have a passion for something and i accumulate money doing my passion. i guess it is just semantics.

By: Hoover

Hoover — Sat, 19 May 2007 18:33:06 +0000

How many urologists have a passion for gentalia?

Exactly my point. Probably very few have a passion for genitalia. Thus, urology is just a job with good pay.

Those that are extremely successful financially by and large got that way by doing something that they loved to begin with. Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Sergy Brin and Larry Page of Google … I could go on.

It sounds to me like you misunderstood the post.

Tautology: my passion is having/accumulating money. Therefore anything that I do to accumulate money becomes my passion.

Let’s assume I’ll pay you $1,000 per hour to dig ditches by hand with a shovel for 12 hours per day. You would be doing great financially, but would you really be passionate about digging ditches? I’d have to say “hell no.”

So, digging ditches becomes a job that pays really well. A lot like the urology example that I gave above. By not being truly passionate about something you typically don’t put in 110% day in and day out. And unless you’re really lucky, that’s what it takes to break the top 1% of income earners in the U.S.

The bottom line is that the most financially successful people are those that created wealth by doing something that they are genuinely passionate about to begin with. No, I’m not going to dig up data to prove the point, but use some common sense and just look around at financial success stories.

It sounds to me like you don’t want to admit that this is true. Perhaps deep down you know that medicine is just a “job” to pay the bills and you’re scared that you’ll never find your true calling. I don’t know.