What Is Your Obsession?

Has your practice become your obsession? How about medicine itself? Is it being known? Becoming influential? Maybe it’s taking down the corporate healthcare Goliath in your community. Or perhaps you’re determined to build an empire that spans the state, or even the country.

What is your obsession?

My last post was a reflection on the book Incorruptible, and I have to tell you, that book continues to stir my soul as I navigate the uncharted territory of being a novice business owner.

I seldom turn down a conversation. Whether it’s an opportunity for partnership, collaboration, or simply a way to earn some additional income, I’m usually willing to listen.

My acceptance rate for conversations is nearly 100%. My conversion rate, however, approaches zero.

Well, maybe more like 10%. But who’s counting?

Why is that?

As entrepreneurs, and particularly as Direct Primary Care practice owners, we’re going to encounter all sorts of opportunities over the course of building our businesses. Some will be genuinely exciting. Some will be financially attractive. Others will appeal to our egos, our ambitions, or even our desire to change healthcare.

And some will be nothing more than distractions dressed up as opportunities.

The challenge is learning to recognize the difference.

I would encourage you to think about how you’re going to evaluate these opportunities before they arrive. You don’t have to know what the offer is to know how you intend to approach the decision.

I’ll share how I measure opportunities that come my way. Not because I have it all figured out, or because I think my way is better than anyone else’s, but because this approach allows me to sleep at night and wake up the next morning excited about what the day might bring.

I’ve been doing this since I was a young, young woman. (Some of you are probably thinking, “But you’re still a young woman!” Well, thank you. I appreciate that.)

My process is pretty simple:

1. I pray about it.
2. I discuss it with my confidants.
3. I become still and try to make sense of God’s desire for me.

There’s usually no big aha moment. No sign in the sky revealing the answer. More often, it’s a stirring in my soul, a feeling in my gut, or a thought that I just can’t seem to ignore.

And somewhere in there, I find my answer.

Of course, this process is predicated on something much bigger. I already have a vision for myself, my family, and my practice. And that vision is rooted in what I believe to be my purpose.

So when an opportunity comes along, the first question isn’t how much money I can make, how much influence I might gain, or how impressive it might look to someone else.

It’s whether that opportunity moves me closer to my vision and purpose or pulls me away from them.

Then comes the prayer, the conversations, and the stillness.

Those steps help me decipher truth from fiction. A well-positioned sales pitch from genuine alignment. A distraction disguised as an opportunity from growth that actually serves a purpose.

And sometimes, the answer is no. Even when the opportunity is good. Even when the money would be helpful. Even when someone else can’t understand why I would turn it down.

Because not every good opportunity is my opportunity.

I think there’s tremendous power in looking beyond yourself when setting your course. In recognizing that your ambitions, your business, and even your success are not necessarily the ultimate destination.

So I’ll ask again.

What is your obsession?

And perhaps more importantly, is it serving your purpose, or has it become a distraction from it?