This decade of life has revolved around coming to terms with betrayals of the body. Following the first year of the pandemic, I sold my both my beloved surf kayak as well as my stashed in bushes on the beach workout kayak because the lifting and loading was taking a toll on my back. In comparison to many people I …
A Good Week Defined
Last Sunday, I flash-froze my gonads in the Pacific during a modest swell, and while it was not the most comfortable experience in the water, there were several good rides on my bodyboard and the camaraderie of the blue-lipped surfer in the lineup, the only other person willing to paddle out at dawn on this particular winter day. Monday morning …
On purpose
I was reviewing my notes from the physician finance conferenceĀ I recently attended, and one of the interesting aspects is that my notes on finance were scant, while my notes on purposeful living were substantial. This is yet another by-product of having cultivated financial literacy and developed an investor policy statement – once money is properly understood and given tasks that …
Time With My Tribe
I attended the largest physician finance conference in the US in 2020, when the pandemic lockdowns unfurled in real time. I gave a talk and led a panel on burnout at that time. After my talk, I called home. My wife informed me that the kids’ schools had closed indefinitely and suggested I might want to return home earlier than …
New Shoots, Dead Branches
My son and I took a road trip to visit the home I grew up in this past weekend for a celebration with family. My youngest sister is due to deliver her first child, and she and her husband recently moved back to my home town to have more support in place. Over a year after the loss of my …
The Evolution Of A Financially Literate Physician
I started this blog in 2016 to document and share my journey toward financial literacy, to maintain a writing practice, and to hold myself accountable to my publicly stated goals. Early on, I was thrilled to nerd out over cool strategies like front-loading my retirement contributions each year, backdoor Roth IRAs, and conceiving of creative ways to fund a child’s …
Loosening The Purse Strings
Planning international travel with my wife and kids is one of my greatest pleasures out of proportion. When you plan something far out in the future (whether a trip or a purchase) and spend time anticipating the joy it will bring you over a long delay period, you enjoy it all the more when it comes to fruition. I can …
Hardship Is Relative
Back pain led me to sell my beloved surf kayak that first summer of COVID. Ever since, I’ve been riding a bicycle nearly every day I’m not working. It was hard to give up the kayak. It led me to accept that my body will have different activities it can tolerate at different stages. Understanding that everything is by its …
Lessons In Impermanence
When I was 17, just before my final year of high school, the Painted Cave Fire consumed over 600 structures, including our family home. First lesson in impermanence. As I watch the destruction and suffering associated with the Palisades Fire in LA, I track those friends and family under mandatory evacuation, while still others spend sleepless nights with the flames …
Reverse-Engineering My Life
I recently reinvented my work schedule. It was an idea that began to marinate months ago as my father faded away in front of me, gaining momentum in his final days. It required taking a big risk, and being willing to live with the consequences if things did not go my way. The decision to act was rooted in the …