What is there in life after career? To be honest, this is one of the major issues that doctors and other health care professionals are facing today. Let's face it. Anybody who has been in a private practice or a healthcare career ten years or more especially will tell you, almost consistently, that their view of practice and their personal role in it has changed dramatically over what it once was even a few short years ago.

Some of this of course is just a shift in different attitudes as we age, but in my opinion some of this also is deeply rooted in the amount of challenges that we are faced with, with ever increasing frequency.

Not long ago, most health care professionals, chose one career pathway, and simply stayed on that very same path for forty years or more. Some just retired from work entirely.

And no doubt, some of you reading this right now have never even thought about retirement or a life after work or practice. Perhaps you are new to this, and the idea of doing something totally different with your life seems very distant, not necessarily a priority. But in reality, the vast majority of doctors and health care professionals are already in their 30s or older before they start becoming financially stable. Many of us, are now, or will be even older than 30 by the time we reach that same point due to rising prices of education. And let's not forget about the costs associated with starting a private practice. Next, for most of us the years spent from 30 to 45 or 50 are spent raising families, as well as paying down physical, emotional and financial debt that's left over from early in our careers.

Now, add to this the unforeseen circumstances such as those associated with work, a significant illness or disability of yourself, spouse or close family members, living the lifestyle you and your significant others imagined when you were younger, the natural physical and emotional changes of growing older, unforeseen divorce, and the ever evolving practice landscape... I call this collection of life circumstances health care professionals face simply, the "changes".

Well, I hope you see where I am going here. Are you going through the "changes"? For some reason, years have gone by since you graduated and life isn't quite what you had imagined it to be.

One of the major consequences of this, that I see every day in consulting, are people in their early 30s to mid 50s who have a very difficult time producing the fun and fulfillment in their practice, that not too long ago seemed natural and easy. Indeed, these are the major issues that led to the development of the Perfect Practice Platform.

This is also the reason why, for years, I have advocated that caregivers play hard and often, work and practice on their own terms, while at the same time finding out precisely what's right for them, RIGHT NOW. This includes professional practice structure, finances, lifestyle, and perhaps most especially professional and personal fulfillment.

Now, I can also tell you that those who study and implement the Platform concepts have accepted and dealt with the "changes" in a far more effective manner than those who resist, assume the world is still the same, or simply dig in their heels and refuse to believe that the playing field as well as the rule book is radically different than it was even a few short years ago. But there's way more to it.

For many of us who chose a health care pathway, our entire identities are wrapped up in our careers or private practice. This is a well-known fact. This is also why we're sometimes blind sighted by the future. There are certain personality profiles, and early life experiences that force us to become who and what we are as caregivers today. This is certainly not all bad. Unfortunately, those who fail to recognize this are also the same people that have a very difficult time dealing and adapting with the "changes". This is precisely one of the core issues, which our company, Perfect Practice Web, was founded upon.

There is also another very significant issue here. That is that most of us are living far more active lives and longer in years than our parents, and certainly our grandparents.

Howard Stone, the acclaimed author of "Too Young to Retire -101 Ways to Start the Rest of Your Life" correctly calls these the bonus years. For a lot of us, the bonus years could be as long as 30 to 40 years, maybe even longer! Unfortunately, a lot of health care professionals are amongst the worst in preparing for their bonus years. This quite frankly is due to the attitudes and perceptions about the "changes" we have just discussed.

With all this said, I have some practical suggestions.

1. Recognize that the pace of the "changes" you will deal with does not slowdown, and most likely will accelerate.

2. Do your best to develop a comprehensive game plan, on a continuous basis for the rest of your life, starting from where you are right now. Use the concepts and philosophies of "practicing on your own terms" as the facilitative tools they were designed to be. You can do this from any point in your career. Of course, the earlier you start, the better.

3. Identify your attitude and perception about money that may prevent you from building your wealth. Seriously, failure to thoroughly explore these issues is inviting certain disaster.

4. Acknowledge the value of interacting with other like-minded people such as our membership on a regular basis. Personal growth is often accelerated when you're fully absorbed in quiet reading and study, but especially while attending teleseminars like "Breakthrough Sessions" and most especially mastermind and live events.

5. Seriously consider working with people like myself and join various focus groups designed exclusively for health care professionals. By doing so, you are literally saving yourself from years of stress and thousands of dollars.

6. Enjoy the process of self-discovery and personal growth. Remember, you are part of one of the most gifted groups of human beings to ever walk the earth. Enjoy your patients. Love your families. But most importantly, plan now how you'll live your life to its fullest, no matter how old you are. Start now!