The Life-Altering Decision I Made on My 44th Birthday

If your business isn't working the way you expected, it's not because you're bad at business. It's because no one ever taught you how it actually works. We were trained to master algorithms in medicine, but when it comes to revenue teams and growth, we were never taught anything. We weren't even told to figure it out. We just assumed somehow we'd know. Like it would magically make sense.

But it doesn't.

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Hi, docs.

Welcome to the Entre MD Podcast, where it's all about helping amazing physicians just like you embrace entrepreneurship so you can have the freedom to live life and practice medicine on your terms. I'm your host, Dr. Umna.

Well, hello, my friend. Welcome back to another episode of the entremd podcast. I know I say this a lot, but I just want to say thank you that you keep coming back to.

Listen and learn and grow. And maybe you're one of the people who sent me a PM just to say, man, Dr. Una, look what I did because of the podcast episode or you left us a review on itunes. I really, really, really, really appreciate you of this recording. We're heading quickly towards half a million downloads. And I, I mean, like, I didn't see that one coming. I. I didn't think of that when I started the podcast. I really just did it to serve, but you're the reason why. So I want to tell you thank you and thank you for being a part of the movement. And I want to invite you, give you a challenge to embrace it even more. You know, I talk to doctors a lot and there's a lot of pain out there. And entrepreneurship is such a powerful, powerful fix for it. I see, you know, students from the entrepreneur Business school and how they're turning their lives around, not just business, because the way you do one thing is the way you do everything. And when you start growing as an entrepreneur. It really does filter to all aspects of your lives. So you see doctors buying their dream homes, having more time off to be with their families, taking control of their personal life lives, building routines that are, like, perfect for their mental health, building solid relationships, learning to celebrate life and celebrate what's working. This is all in the midst of running a business and living life and being moms and dads and all of those things. So there's so much work to be done. People need to know about the options we have as physicians. Like, our options are limitless. And so I want to ask you, like, I know you're doing it. I know you've been so supportive, but I want to ask you to do even more. We have our work cut out for us. We have a million physicians to reach. And so if they're associations you could share this with, if there are groups you could share this with, if there are forums, you know, for you could share this with, if there are, you know, places that you're like, oh, my goodness, Dr. Una needs to come speak here, or I'd love to buy X number of copies of the entrepreneur method book, like, whatever it is you can do. I want to invite you to do just that. This is going to be a different kind of episode because really, I am just going to be sharing, like, straight, straight, straight, straight from my heart, something that is going on with me personally, some reflections that I have, and I will just treat it like a buffet.

You can do with it what you will. But I really wanted to take you behind the scenes at the time of this recording.

My birthday was last week. I turned 44, and it was, you know, it was really so great. I mean, like, you know, just the gratitude, you know, I'm here, gratitude. Looking back and seeing how my life is turning out, the absolute, I mean, unbelievable honor of being able to help other humans and especially help other doctors. It's. I mean, it really is something. It does leave me speechless, you know, and so sitting in the gratitude of all of that. And it was really overwhelming, not in a horrible way, but overwhelming. The. The number of people who reached out, you know, whether it was, you know, texts or WhatsApp messages and Facebook messages and Facebook posts, live videos, and, I mean, it was a lot of stuff. And. And it, you know, people talking about life change and to live a life that matters, you know, which is, for me, yeah, I think people are maybe different a little bit, but for me, that's almost like a love language.

For me, it's almost Like a love language. Like I really do want to leave this earth empty.

I want to leave it all out there and help as many people as I can and be a blessing to my generation. That's, you know, that's the way I think about it. And you know, my husband really celebrated me, my kids did. It was really a beautiful day. But I did stop somewhere along the, along the day to, you know, think about, you know, okay, so I have a new 365. So what, what am I, what am I going to do with it? I started thinking about, you know, what would be, what should I be doing? And there are two conclusions that I.

Came to, but I'll talk about one of them here. And it's this concept of really going.

In all in and playing the long game.

And I'm going to try and explain.

It as, as clearly as I can, but I believe it's something that, I mean, maybe you become aware of or maybe you choose to do that with me as well, you know, but is.

About playing the long game.

And the way I got it is.

Like, you know, you spent a lot of time doing things that give you immediate or short term wins. And that's not to say I haven't lived strategically with a long game. This is a call to even up level that, right? And so for instance, I may say I'm going to start working out, I'm going to start walking more and all.

Of that, but really what I have.

My mind set on is these 20 pounds that I want to lose. And the impression I walked away with is, no, like you need to travel, right? Like you hear me talk about my 90th birthday a lot, right? Like you need to Travel to your 90th birthday and you need to say, what level of strength and stamina do I want to have then? What do I want to weigh then? How healthy do I want to be then? And then I come back here at age 44 and I start living in a manner that will make that possible for me at 90.

So it's thinking all the way like.

Yes, of course in doing that you are going to have immediate wins and you're going to have short term wins, but you're going to have the right long term wins. So it's like living that far in the future, having that perspective so that today I can do what matters that far in the future. And this is in all aspects of my life. You know, I teach about the nine areas of life and so I wanted.

To pick up some, pick some examples, right? Like so you can see. You know what I mean? And, you know, that's kind of what I'm committing to do, right?

Like, so there's the example. So first of all, there's the example of character, okay? So character is one of those things, you know, in the quadrants, like urgent, not important, not urgent, all of those things. Character falls in the. In. In the quadrant of important, but not urgent at all. Like, you're probably like, what is she talking about? Character, Right?

But the concept is this.

Your brilliance and your skill and your expertise can take you to the top, but it's not what keeps you at the top.

Right.

What keeps you at the top is your characters, those virtues, right? Like integrity, right? Like, those are the things that. That keep you up there. And when you're up there, that's not the time to cultivate those. That's not the time to start building those. And so if I want to live a life where I'm going to have a lot of impact, it means that I'm probably going to have a lot of influence, which means I'm going to be in a lot of big rooms. And when I get to those rooms, that's not the time to build integrity. That's not the time to build the, you know, the strength of character so I can withstand pressure.

That's not the time to build a.

Character where people may talk bad against you, but you can still hold your own. You can still be at peace. You can still, you know, like all of those things.

And so it's like, if you're going.

To be that person all the way there, age 90, then come back here and start building those virtues now, right? There's pressure that comes with influence. There's pressure that comes with success. Cultivating the habit of peace, like living at peace, like inner peace, right? The character of joy, right. Of love for people. Like, the reason why I do what I do is not because revenue is not at the top of that. Wanting people to know me is not at top of that. Wanting to be viral is not at the top of that. It's love for people. You know, like, I really do love physicians, and I want to see them thrive. I want them to see them unstuck. I want to see them competing. I mean, like, we've been told all kinds of things. I can imagine bad deals being called doctor deals. I want to see us compete on all kinds of stuff, stages with any entrepreneur out there and win.

I want to see us live out.

Our potential because we are these brilliant people and we're Just a skill away, right? From being all we can be, right?

Just business skills.

And so, so to keep that way, it's always at the forefront. Like, he's always leading. Like, we can have all the other stuff, but this needs to lead, right? So it's character. So see what I mean by long game, you're like, yeah, you know, that sounds like a lot of work with not a whole lot of returns right away, but there are a lot of returns. But character. The second thing is health, right? Like my mentor would say, your, your, your body's your earth suit. You know, once you wear it out, you have to leave. Once if you destroy it, you have to leave. And so how do I want to be at 90, right? Like, do I want to be strong at 90? My friend, my dear friend, Dr. Ali Novitsky would say, you know, we'll be carrying our groceries at 90, right? Like you want to be able to be able to do that. It doesn't start at 90. It starts now. It's playing the long game now. Like, so what, how do I need to treat this body? Because this is the deal. Think about, like, I've been an entrepreneur now for 13 years. So the years, the years do add up. I've been an entrepreneur now for 13 years, and there is a depth of wisdom and a depth of understanding, expertise and brilliance that comes from consistent strategic action over time compounded, right? And we're only at 13 years. And I think about it, what would that look like when I'm 50? When I'm 60? When I'm 70? When I'm 80, right. But the thing is this. I rob the world of the gift of that. If I don't take care of my body, right? Like if I, if I don't, if I'm not a good steward of this body to say, fully understand that I need this body to continue to do what I do. So I'm playing the long game not to lose a pound. Now I'm playing the long game to preserve this body so I can be here and be strong enough and, and you know, like to do what I need to do. Okay? Okay. So third thing is, is like the attitude, the attitude towards skill development, the attitude towards skill demand.

So think about it, right?

Like I talk about the on trendy business school being the number one business school for physicians, producing more six and seven figure entrepreneurs than any other business school, right? I talk about us competing on, you know, any stage as entrepreneurs are coming out on top. I talk about all these things I feel. And this is not for everybody. This is just me, right? I told. This episode is a me episode. My reflections. I feel a responsibility of being a vision board, of being a mirror for the physician community. And a lot of the goals that I set and a lot of things I do, it's so that some other physician can look and say, wait a minute, apparently doctors do that, right? Like, doctors do that. So I can do that. A lot of the things I would do. And so because of that, if I am going to fulfill my role or my assignment as being a vision board, of being an example of what is possible, then I don't have time to be mediocre. I don't have time to not develop the skills. If I'm going to be on some of the biggest stages, then I need to prepare to be that kind of speaker, right? This is the time to do that. If I am going to say, like, we're, you know, we're the ones helping doctors, Bill. Six, seven, you know, and eight is right at the tip of my tongue. I just can't wait to help someone cross the eight. So I can add it in, add the framework. But we're working on it. Okay, so if I'm going to do that, then I have to develop even a higher competency at helping people, right? I have to be able to help them get results faster. I have to help them get results bigger. I have to help them overcome their limited beliefs faster and find their handcuffs and get rid of them. And so the entrepreneur business school is always under construction. The people who joined it at the beginning, which was July 2020, will tell you the product they have now is completely different from what they started off with. But I have to commit even more to building skill and becoming really good at this. Right? Becoming really, really good at this. If at 90, you know, like, I'm going to be this great philanthropist, then I have to become great at wealth creation. Like, these are skills that, because I'm playing the long game, I pay the price now to develop that. They're important, but they're not urgent. They're not urgent at all. The fourth one is financial stewardship. And the way I look at it is, okay, so I know I'm going back to 90. It doesn't have to be 90, but if I go all the way there, I want to be able to say, this is what I was able to give to support the causes that I believe in. And I'll just tell you right off the bat, like, for me, I'm. I'm working for millions and millions of dollars. That's what, that's what I want that to be. You know, I don't have a final number now, but it's going to be millions of millions. And if that's the case, if that's the case, then. Then I need to get good at stewarding it, right? Because it's not so much how much you make is what did you do with what you made, Right? From what I make, I should be able to take care of philanthropy. For what I make, I should be able to leave, you know, inheritance for my kids and for my grandkids. For what I make, I should be able to, you know, provide myself, my family with a really, a really great life and all of that stuff. I have to learn that, right? Like, so there is a part of making the wealth, but what of stewarding the wealth or administering the wealth, multiplying the wealth and, and all of those things, like how for the people who function at that level, how do they do that?

Learn it now.

Learn it now. The fifth one is, you know, is networking. I am so keenly aware that people are the shortcut. You know, when people say there's no shortcut to success, they lie. There is a shortcut to success. It's people. And so if that's the case, I need to be thinking, okay, this is where I'm going to when I'm 90, at least this is the picture I have. Who are the people that will get me there, but who are the people who are there? And I'm strategically. Now, these relationships could take me a year, two years, three years to finally build them. But I need to start building those. Knowing where I'm going, it's going to be uncomfortable. I'm going to have to talk to people that may seem way out of my league. I'm an introvert, so, you know, but networking is a skill. It's not a personality type. Right? But I'm gonna have to develop all these relationships. I'm gonna have to ask my way there, I'm gonna have to network my way there. I'm gonna have to be in certain rooms.

You know what I mean?

But, yeah, so this, the whole, the overarching concept is take a look at who you're gonna become. So this is me now, right? This is my reflection, who you're going to become, and then spend the next 365 days becoming that person, right? Like, take a look who, who that person is, what they did, what they accomplished, all those kind of things, what kind of life, all of that. Then Come back here and retool. Reinvent yourself. So you become that person, right? And it doesn't mean, like, you completely become that person, because we're talking 90, but you've made, like, significant strides. And so. So, yeah.

So for the next 365 days for.

Me, or 365 days of reinvention. So it's project reinvention. And, yeah, it's gonna filter to everything, Everything I do. I've always been on this journey, kind of sort of, but just gonna take it up a few notches for this year. And I want to invite you to join me, you know, reinvent yourself when. When you change. When I change, everything changes. Everything does. And let's do it together. Let's do it together. And I will pause and say this. And this is not. It's not a sales pitch. This is just what it is if. If you're a physician entrepreneur and you listen to this podcast that you love this podcast, and you share it and you're. You're taking action on the things and you're creating wins for yourself and all of that, and you know there's more. Right. I want to invite you to a place of reinvention, and that place is called the Alternative Business School. I need to think about any win you could have created from this podcast. I want you to multiply it by 10 or multiply it by 100. That's what you get in the business school. And it will be such a game changer for you. It will set the stage. The stories from the school, they're unbelievable. That's the truth. I listen to them. They are unbelievable. Where you watch someone who's like, I don't think I can start a practice, go to 4,000 patients in 18 months. That's crazy. When you see somebody come in and say, you know what? This is the year I want to cross a million dollars. And they get it done in October.

You know what I mean?

Like, with months to spare, when you watch somebody come in and replace their salary as a coach while working full time, I could go on and on and on. There is a place for reinvention. So it's open. It's open. We changed it to a rolling and rolling admission so people don't have to wait. It's open for enrollment, but there is an application. Go apply on trimdy.com forward/business. Go apply. That's not for everybody. But if you're listening to me and you're like, I love the podcast, I listen to the podcast. I take Action on it. I'm creating wins. What if Those wins were 10 times faster? What if they were a hundred times faster? We've had calls where on one call, the doc is like, these last two minutes. This is worth my entire tuition for.

The year for the untrendy business school.

I want you to think about that, right? So entremdate.com forward/business apply. I would love for you to be on this, Jordan, with reinvention with me. So really, you know, for me, I'm thinking about my life. February 28, 2024, after I would be done with this phase of project Reinvention. And I would like to meet her. In fact, I'll tell you something funny before we get off this episode. I was just working out and I'm recording this in Miami. The hotel room in Miami came in for a mastermind. And it was such a crazy trip. I mean, we had a two hour delay. We were on the plane. We had not left Atlanta. I live in Atlanta. We had not left Atlanta, but we were on the plane and we were stuck there for a little over two hours because there was some. I don't even remember what they called it, but some kind of hold in the airport we were going to. But regardless, I said all that to say I did a lot of sitting, you know, and after that I had some calls to do. And so I didn't get my workout done. And so I just go into the, into the, into the bathroom and play some motivational music, you know, and, you know, some motivational talks, you know, when people are yelling at you like, you can do this, you owe you, you know, things like that. And so I'm working out and I started saying something that was so funny. This is why I'm telling you. I started waving at myself in the mirror. I waved at myself and I said, bye, girl. Bye, girl. And I did that saying, this version of you is about to be gone, and there's a new version that's about to emerge. I was telling myself in the mirror, like, bye, girl. It was fun. But you can do that too. You can do that because there's a you you've never met. There's a version of you you haven't met. There's a version of you the world hasn't met. There's a version of you your marketplace hasn't seen. And that version of you is a version that changes the world. So join me because that's what I'm going to be doing. And let's make the next 365the greatest. So thank you for listening. And this is one of those that I would really like for you to send me a PM and let me know what you got out of it and what you're deciding to do. Have a conversation about that. I think that would be a lot of fun. So I am at Dr. Una Chukuso D R U N A C H U K W u on Instagram and on Facebook and you know, let's chat about it.

All right, I'll talk to you.

I'll see you the next episode of the OnTarimity podcast.

Hey, if you love listening to the Ontramity podcast, I want to invite you to to join Entre MD On Demand. It is my signature subscription program that gives you access to a library of business courses designed to help you do one thing as a physician entrepreneur, and that is to thrive. Just head out to entre.com on demand and I'd love to have you join us.

See you on the inside.