remember
When asked to give decent advice in working with other humans I try to touch on a few things that cannot be understated. Here are some.
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” - Aristole
“There is no excellence in all the world which cannot be separated from right living” - David Starr Jordan
“Be where you are otherwise you may miss your life” - Buddha
“That (hu)man is a success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much, who has gained the respect of intelligent women and men and the love of children who has filled his niche and accomplices his task, who leaves the world better than he found it whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem or a rescued soul, who never lacks appreciation for the earth’s beauty or failed to express it who looks for the best in others and gave the best he had!!” - Robert Lewis Stephenson
YOU have chosen a NICHE, it has a MOAT (doctors barely want to do what we do)
Emergency Medicine closes very few doors you can retrain, train on and build a MOAT around and area of excellence some of the most notable EM doctors have continued to build area of expertise and excellence.
1* —we only have one asterisk
-you will never rise to the occasion only fall to the level of your training
- but treat your life as a whole you only get one
- Spend time on the things you value
Jeff Cooper FACEP shared this with me as well as Dead Reckoning(which is a sailing term for aiming wide by a long margin of the port so you can turn appropriately into the port when you see land) know where you are with purpose if the airway is difficult put the blade in the oesophagus and come out very slowly the cords will fall to You.
It is better to have a system then it is to be smart.
Only one person has to remember everyone has to forget.
“Seek Simplicity, but distrust it” - Alfred North Whitehead - be sceptical always
“Unifying Principals” Agree that simple clear and wholly important concepts set the world right, Fairness, Equity etc…
Allow space for religion to be supported not supplanted; The utter absurdity of Fight Club inquisitor “if you could pick a fight with one person throughout history who would it be?” answer “I would fight Ghandi.”
When advocating a position always put the patient/other first - Seek to Understand; then to be understood, In a resolution both parties should win and have their needs met. Treating others how you want to be treated is easy and essential. (This is the rule in every major religion the rest of the books are commentary) Scheduling etc…
Worth: Value your time, habits, knowledge, no one else will hold this in as much regard, Know what your time is worth. You have the most control over your thoughts.
Money is a tool. Taxes are a duty. Live within your means, don’t spend money you don’t have, keep capital working evaluate yourself like a business, R.E.A.L. Revenue, Expenses, Assets/Equities & Liabilities. Biggest liability is yourself Value INVESTING: Median, MOAT (NICHE), Management, & Margin of Safety Happy to talk about this more.
The secret to life is avoiding “chess with pigeons” an ancient monk was asked what is the secret to life and he said “Avoiding arguments with the “Dunning-Kruger club.” The inquisitor replied “That can’t be it” The monk apologized “You're right I am mistaken” as he bowed and walked away. AVOID ultracrepidarians - be sure you aren’t one
Set your circle of influence with as much care and precision as you set your NICHE
Sphere of Competence - Socrates said “Knowledge is a sphere, inside the sphere the things we know, the edge of the sphere is what we know we don’t know, outside the sphere is what we don’t know we don’t know Thomas Carter opined “there is a inner sphere like a donut hole of things we used to know and can safely look up”’ the sphere of competence should be ring fenced, it can be honed, focused, expanded but where an expert can be deployed they should be.