"A college degree no longer can be relied on
to get a descent job or a degree of success
like it used to. In the same fashion the medical
profession no longer offers a satisfying and
fulfilling professional life as it used to. So,
help your kids find the path to what they
were gifted to become."
The greatest problem that parents have today is trying to, or learning how to, encourage their kids to think in terms of hope for their own future. There are ways to do that in a very
effective way. Your advice and suggestive support about this should begin even at five years old.
I write these things not because I am educated in childrearing, but because these are a series of mistakes I made with my kids as they grew up in my absence--practicing medicine too intently.
It’s nearly impossible to alter the mindsets of adults, especially physicians, and persuade them to open their minds to new ideas and sustainable information that contradict their mentally self-limiting and imbedded set of rules they live by. On the other hand, kids are quite the opposite, minds wide open to new and different ideas that schools and colleges fail to fulfill.
Just think about how much of an effect that you as parents could have on your kids and how that can reflect back on you in many beneficial ways. If your son or daughter could start a business in high school that would pay their own way through college by themselves, wouldn’t that be an overwhelming emotion to experience?
You could then plan your own future and keep your saved-up retirement money for your own benefits, instead of being forced to use up all that money to pay for college and even support the kids who don’t get jobs and move back home.
Remember, when you grow old and need to be cared for, having a son or daughter who can easily handle the issue economically would be a God-send.
As it is today, college-grads can’t get jobs and often move back home, parents lose their long term jobs, retirements are obliterated to some degree, and success in life becomes questionable. These effects are evidenced in the media every day.
The K to 12 schools today have become so weak in teaching the essentials that private schools are popping up everywhere that do teach effectively. Most don’t think about it, but the reality is that you can’t do much of anything today, without money. All money originates from some kind of business entity. Wouldn’t it be smart for our schools to teach business courses… but rarely do that?
Unfortunately, colleges don't do that either.
Similarly, why don’t colleges insist on business courses being required for college graduation degrees? It’s a tragedy in education that persists unattended. Even if college is to prepare kids to get a job (in some business), wouldn't a business education be an astounding addition to
their advancement?
Such things above are formidable reasons to take some action for the benefit of family as well as the kids themselves. It’s critical especially for doctors. Their income and salaries are dropping to the point where they can’t afford to send their own kids to college and many, maybe over half, have no retirement funds and work till they drop.
Most beliefs are derived from inadequate information...
One of the great improvements in education has been popularized in the last decade. It’s
called “ENTREPRENEURSHIP.” The word entrepreneur has been batted around so much that
it’s now boring to listen to. Most people, even physicians, don’t know what it really means, or
how it works, or what it was derived from.
The interesting fact about entrepreneurship is that it has silently existed in humanity since
the beginning of mankind. Now it has been given a name and has risen to the top of the business world’s attention. Why? Because our society and those around the world are experiencing an economic crisis that will eventually crash--need to know.
It’s another way (mindset) for every person to reach their maximum success using the power
of their human mind and intelligence rather than their allegiance to the promises of higher education and the rapidly fading industrial commitment to provide benefits and retirement for long term employees. The values concerning the issues of personal responsibility and self-determination that used to be held in esteem have eroded away.
The “herd-mind” has taken on the belief that all people should be taken care of by our government, that the rich should give their money to the poor, banks and industries must be
bailed out when needed, and the catastrophic national debt does not have to be paid off.
Anyone who actually believes that our government can be depended on to balance the
national budget and reduce the welfare system handouts is foolish and lacks the understanding
of what is happening today.
Entrepreneurship is evolving in our society today because it’s a means for personal success, even survival, without having to rely on education and the industrial complex. It’s like entrepreneurship is the one reliable last resort that will have to replace higher education, which has become far too expensive to get especially when the accumulated educational debts are nearly impossible to pay off in a lifetime of work.
Think about how the mind of an entrepreneur works, in case you don’t fully understand what
it’s all about. You might say to yourself, “I know that for any problems that arise, any barriers
that show up, and any crisis that emerges in my life, there are solutions. I just have to find the answers, solutions, and appropriate responses that will solve those issues.” At first most don’t believe it.
They can’t believe it because their minds tell them that it can’t be done. And that happens because of all of the self-created restrictions and limitations you have made in your life. Your pattern of thinking becomes a mindset you hold forever. You are your worst enemy.
You don’t know your ultimate limitations, so you stop where you are now and tell yourself,
“That’s the best I can do. I’m satisfied enough and comfortable enough to stay at this level.”
This is what is known as your “comfort zone” or “box” you put yourself in mentally. Only you
can ever change that.
In a religious sense, you may believe that a life of righteous living gets you into heaven. However, nearly every theologian, Bible expert, among others explains that it only happens if your have faith in Christ. Meaning that perhaps you don’t accomplish something, when you don’t follow the right path to get to it.
All of this requires an open mind, the ability to be open to all possibilities, and to consider
the new ideas being presented to you.
The greatest tragedy in the practice of medicine is the erroneous belief that a business education is not necessary for medical practice success. True success is not limited to your “comfort zone.” Whatever your idea of success is, it’s far below what your capabilities are. It’s not my idea, but I believe it. It’s the concept developed by most experts who research what success means at the deepest level.
Medical doctors don’t believe it, so why would their kids...
If you don’t have the time, the motivation, the common sense to recognize your responsibility to redirect your kids to a better path to follow, who will? I made that incredible mistake with my kids. I just let circumstances determine their path. My two sons were using drugs already in grade school. I never knew that until many years later. In my OBG practice I was gone most of the time so it was easy to avoid my family obligations. But you have the opportunity to do a lot better.
If you as a physician believe that business knowledge is a non-issue, then what does that tell your kids? Ever thought about that? You should.
What is an absolute necessity, if you care about how your kids turn out in life, then at least provide them with the tools and resources to manage their lives much more effectively than
you have. Your choice may be to let others teach them, those who absolutely are interested in your kids future.
Certainly public grade school and high school won’t do it. They teach kids nothing about
money and business management, business principles, business world, self-reliance, responsibility, self-discipline, communication and influence, or success. As a physician you have very little time to teach your own kids about those important factors.
Those factors are the basis of the ongoing problem all physicians have to come to terms with. Do you find yourself more dedicated to your medical practice business management than you are to your family obligations? Is it more important to be the best physician in town, or the best father in the community? If you take the middle road like most of us have done, you likely will have incessant regrets on both sides of the issue. Then you ask yourself if all of it was worthwhile?
Regrets are present throughout our lives and are connected to many other aspects in our lives than just our medical practice business success and family obligations. Regrets certainly make us more aware of options we had and didn't see. And that we did not apply our due diligence to at the time to make better decisions. We teach ourselves lessons because of those regrets.
You could pick a college for them that is oriented towards business education. The
interesting conclusion I have come to about physicians lack of a business education is that
unless a college student or more importantly a medical student has been introduced to business principles and marketing strategies first, they will never know how important business
knowledge is to their medical practice, future, income, lifestyle, family obligations, and
success in medical practice.
Therefore, medical students, without that factor in their minds, will not only believe the medical education dogma of, “You don’t need a business education,” is a fact, but also will
create a mindset that can’t be removed after medical school. To me, that says kids must be introduced to business very early in life… starting in grade school if at all possible. Today
that can only happen in private schools, maybe.
What should you do for your kids?
My experience tells me that you may be well beyond the time when anyone can convince
you that you need a business education, even if you only have a few years left in medical
practice. If you would like to get a business education the inexpensive easy way while
continuing to practice medicine, I can tell you how… a topic for future discussion on this website.
David Fagan, wrote a book titled, “Guerrilla Parenting: How to Raise an Entrepreneur,” that can be a great starting place for coaching you kids about business and entrepreneurial thinking.
David has created many successful companies, Icon Media Builder, Guerrilla Parenting Company. He has a passion to teach kids and parents about an entrepreneurial life. He was the former CEO of Guerrilla Marketing and worked with the Jay Conrad Levinson, a renowned marketing expert.
He had a new TV show called The Hollywood Entrepreneur: Celebrity Business News.
Find it on Time Warner Cable and Verizon FiOS, Channel 45. College is not for everyone, is
his belief… and I believe it as well.
It’s probable, judging from the impressive college student recruiting reports, that colleges
have a need to reform education. College education will need to move from the liberal arts to much more narrowed curriculums to meet the job market requirements.
David goes so far as to state to some parents, “You know what? You’d be better off
spending $5,000 doing a small business loan for your kids, helping them explore their
talent, than you would spending $50,000 or $250,000 on a college education.”
For the last five years, David has hosted his own Young Entrepreneur Summer Camp, which
has been featured in Forbes. It’s a $4-$5,000 week long summer camp in California… for
age 11 to 15 kids usually. They don’t get lectures. They group and create businesses and all
that goes with running businesses with some coaching. The workshop experience is what brings out the talents and creativeness of kids. Their minds at that age are like sponges and are ready
to absorb anything thrown at them.
The most efficient enemy of learning are the words “I know.” It also happens to be the exact words almost every physician I come into contact with today. And it’s the perfect example of a
fixed mindset, unfortunately.
Another millionaire with an urge and passion to educate kids along business lines is Robert Kiyosaki. He has a program for educating kids about business that he doesn’t advertise to any degree. His recent book, “Rich Dad's Rich Kid Smart Kid” is dedicated to parents and teachers
everywhere. To make a point, he focuses on a government study, of every 100 people at age 65, one is rich, four are comfortable, five are still working, 56 need government support or family support, and the rest are dead.
Job security is now a laughable matter. Education is more important than ever. However, the issue is not a general education, but an education narrowed to the specific interests of the student.
Look at the medical profession education, for example. There’s an extraordinary amount of new and old medical information that no medical student is able to learn or comprehend. After practicing for a time the medical education they learned begins to slip away, hence the need for CME education, which should be limited to their own specialty.
Bouncing from medical school into a residency program, skipping an internship, is the way
go get more doctors into practice sooner. The way to reduce the medical education knowledge
is to require first year medical students select an area of interest in a specialty and proceed to educate the student in that area only.
My suggestions for you to consider for your children and teenagers...
- Google the key words-- "Entrepreneur Summer Camp", or Club, or Network
You will find a large number of such children and teenager summer camps dedicated to educating young people all over our nation today--2022--ages 6-18--some on college campuses and others nearby them.
a. Teen Enterprises Academy
b. JA Young Entrepreneur Summer Camp
c. Stem Summer Camp
d. Acton Children's Business Fair - Your two week summer vacation from your medical practice business could be combined with your kids business/entrepreneur camp education. The entrepreneur summer camps fit into that
quite well. - Your purpose is to provide your kids with economic and business education that they will never be taught in the public or private school systems, at least to my knowledge.
- With your kids exposure to the business world, money management, and critical elements that they will use for the rest of their lives to great advantage.
- Many teenagers are able to start their own businesses once they learn about how to do do that. Some that I know, pay their own way through college today, and did in the past as well.
- It requires that both parents support their efforts and provide continuous help and encouragement. Practice business comes first, but the spouse can do the job and learn along with the kids, even start their own business.
- Exposing your young kids to what business and marketing are all about is new and stimulating to them enough to want to attend the entrepreneur summer camps annually.
- Because nearly all physicians have never been exposed to the importance, value, and advantages of a business education, it has led them to the medical practice business ignorance that they have no reason to learn about, and is responsible for the nationwide financial struggles all practicing physicians have today. When your kids get that exposure and knowledge early, they will endeavor to learn more and become financially independent faster than a speeding bullet.
Comment...
If I had had all the business knowledge that I have now, I would have become a millionaire
in medical practice many times over. You can do that yourself by using what I give you to
learn and add to that even more yourself when you get the itch you can’t scratch
about business.
----Professional Probe----
"Kids already use computers, why couldn't
they manage some business knowledge along
with the other technology?
Articles © 2013-2022/CGG INVESTMENTS LLC. All rights reserved. #72, 3-16-22
