Embracing the Journey and Expressing Gratitude

It’s the holiday season. A time to celebrate each other with gratitude. 

We face daily challenges in life. But let’s take today to pause and dive into the journey that brought us here. Not just the moments of success, but also the challenges, mentors, and pivotal experiences along the way. As physicians, we often move from one milestone to the next, rarely taking the time to appreciate how each step shaped who we are and what we have. 

But these experiences defined our path in medicine. They’ll also prepare us for growth beyond clinical practice. They can set the foundation for exploring new avenues, like our specialities here at Passive Income MD: entrepreneurship and real estate.

Just recently somebody told me that I should have gone straight into business right out of college. I was flattered, but I had a realization. If my path was different, I wouldn’t be who I am today. So I’m grateful for my journey. Medicine was an essential part. It wasn’t just a job. It was a time of growth. A time that prepared me for everything I’m doing today.  

By focusing on gratitude for where we’ve been and where we are today, my hope is that you gain a renewed appreciation for the journey you’ve taken (and are taking). And with that, I hope you gain a deeper understanding of how this journey empowers you to create the life and career of your dreams.

The Importance of Gratitude

It’s important to recognize the resilience, growth, and self-awareness that your journey through medicine brought. Doing so can uncover the insights and gratitude to fuel us in our current roles while inspiring us to explore new ventures. 

In some respects, cultivating gratitude is essential for physicians. Medicine is an environment of high stress and responsibility. Reigniting our sense of purpose and reminding ourselves of the strength it took to get this far is sometimes only possible through pausing to feel a sense of gratitude. 

So, let’s model gratitude here. And I encourage you to take this model with you going forward to practice gratitude regularly. Let’s explore how key moments in the medical journey have prepared us not only for patient care but also for greater autonomy, financial independence, and the pursuit of personal passions through pathways like entrepreneurship and real estate investing.

Challenges and Growth

I can remember when I was trying to get into Medical School. At that time, it wasn’t as simple as choosing schools and applying. It was a link in a much larger chain. After Medical School, there would be residency, fellowship, and beyond. Each step was a major challenge, and we knew that one choice would affect the next. 

The Formative Years

At times, it’s hard to remember what I went through. I wonder if the same is true for you. The sacrifices, sleepless nights (in those really uncomfortable Call Room beds), and rigor of medical school and residency are all too real. 

These experiences teach resilience, discipline, and critical thinking. And while it was tough—and we would probably not want to go through it again—kudos to those of us who came through the process. It was an important moment on the journey to where we are now. It takes a special person to have the strength to come out the other side. 

Pivotal Learning Moments

Residency taught me to deal with things that were beyond my control. Medicine can be humbling in that way. We’ve all made mistakes. Maybe is trying to put in IVs or something else. Even with the best intentions, things don’t always go our way. 

The key is to figure out how to learn, how to do better, how to fix it for the next time around. Failure is an opportunity for growth. That’s a life skill that not many people come to earn, but it’s baked into the physician’s journey. 

Gratitude for the Journey

Rather than viewing our experiences as hardships, it’s important to consider them milestones that strengthened us for each new phase of the journey. We’ve been made strong, resilient, and able to deal with challenges outside our control. Why should we be thankful for that? 

When it comes to starting or running a business, or when it comes to investing, there’s so many things that are outside our control. Even if you try your hardest, things happen. I had a rental property where half the units burned down (thankfully everybody was safe). I got stuck in the loan, and everything seemed to be crashing down on me. But, thanks to my training as a physician, I got creative and persistent. Now that building is one of my best properties. So, even though there was a stretch where things were not ideal, I’m thankful for it making me stronger. 

Mentors Who Made a Difference

Another thing that medicine taught me is how reliant and dependent we are on each other. As doctors, we are not usually the smartest person in the room when we’re at staff meetings—and that’s a good thing. We are surrounded by mentors who make a difference in our lives. 

The Role of Mentors

We wouldn’t be where we are without the incredible mentors who guided us along our journey. I’m sure you can think of a few that helped you on your way to become a physician (or after you started practicing). These are people who not only teach skills but also believe in us when we doubt ourselves. They taught us that we belong and gave us the confidence to stay on the journey. They taught us compassion and how to make better decisions. 

Gratitude for Mentorship

It’s easy to forget that our mentors shaped who we are as doctors—and people, for that matter. Recognizing their impact helps remind us of the importance of having guidance and support. That makes me thankful for all of you and the members of the Passive Income MD community who are there to guide each other. 

And when we branch out into new endeavors—such as pursuing our passions, starting a business, investing in real estate, or something else entirely—it’s a helpful reminder that those things have support systems, too. Seek them out and continue to grow. 

Mentors Prepare Us for New Directions

The lessons I learned from my mentors don’t just apply to medicine. They gave me confidence as a person and helped me more fearlessly explore new fields. They’ve been instrumental in my journey to financial freedom through multiple streams of passive income. 

What Medicine Has Taught Us

I’m also grateful that medicine also opened my mind to how fragile life is and how things can change in an instant. When you’re working with patients in critical situations, you recognize that things can shift immediately. It puts everything else into perspective. 

We may start a business or invest in real estate. We’ll give it our best go and make data-informed decisions, but we can recognize that, while important, they’re not life critical. 

Unique Skills from Medicine

As doctors, we have a very unique set of skills unlike any other profession. Medicine has taught us time management, risk assessment, adaptability, and resilience—skills that apply to every area of life. And these are just a few. 

If you have your own practice, it’s also taught you how to run a business. 

Medical Skills that Support New Ventures

The skills we’ve learned on the job are the very qualities that give us access to what it takes to be successful entrepreneurs and investors. Whether it’s real estate, starting a business, or something else, we have the ability to analyze, manage risk, and thoughtfully approach anything we pursue. 

We’ve made tough decisions in tougher situations with a lot more on the line, and we handled them with confidence, compassion, strength, and intelligence. There’s nothing stopping us from thriving in other endeavors. 

Gratitude for New Journeys

It’s important to recognize that the path we’ve taken to medicine doesn’t end with clinical practice alone. It’s a foundation that allows you to move toward something new. Maybe that’s a new career, a side hustle, leveraging passive income to achieve financial freedom, or a combination of those. Regardless of that path, it shares one thing in common for all of us: It’s the life we truly want. 

From Clinical Practice to What’s Next

Finally, I’m grateful that my journey has led me to Passive Income MD. If I can help people in some small way to make progress with their goals—to create their ideal life through financial freedom or personal growth—then I’m doing what I want to do. 

Choosing to Pivot

As physicians, we’re trained to manage immense responsibility. We’re trained to think critically, make data-informed decisions, understand our limits, and succeed with the information we have access to. Guess what? Those skills directly translate to success elsewhere. And while it may seem scary to get started on a new journey, these very same skills are key components to making that initial adjustment. 

Medicine has given us a foundation from which to explore new revenue streams that bring autonomy. Passive income from real estate, for instance, allows us to make decisions from a place of freedom, not pressure. 

Turn Gratitude into Growth 

Gratitude for your journey is about recognizing the strengths and resilience you’ve built. Embrace those qualities. They’ve prepared you for success in medicine, and they can lead to your success in any future you have envisioned for yourself. 

Whether your goal is financial freedom, work-life balance, or something else, remember that your journey has prepared you for more. You’re equipped to pursue the life and career you truly desire. 

When you make a gratitude routine, put it into practice. Take actionable steps. Got an awesome idea for a business? Considering passive real estate investing? You are more than prepared to hit the ground running. Don’t simply dream about your future life; start making it a reality. You can do it. How do I know? You’re a physician. 

But even we can benefit from a support system. Check out our awesome like-minded community of physicians exploring personal and professional growth, whether through medicine, business, or real estate. It’s called the Leverage and Growth Accelerator Community. We help each other recognize strengths, grow, develop, and inspire one another with expert-lead sessions, engaging workshops, and many more resources. 

We hope to see you there. There’s one last thing I’m grateful for: You stopping by today. Thanks for being part of this community. A very happy holidays to you and your family, from our family to yours.

Happy holiday season, everyone! Stay determined, reflect with gratitude, and use your strengths to take actionable steps on the journey to your dream life!

Peter Kim, MD is the founder of Passive Income MD, the creator of Passive Real Estate Academy, and offers weekly education through his Monday podcast, the Passive Income MD Podcast. Join our community at the Passive Income Doc Facebook Group.