Yup both those things happened…
And now I am a brand ambassador for Balenciaga who spends his days chilling on the Riviera
Ok that part was a joke…
But on a serious note, I really don’t want to make it out like leaving dentistry was easy – or even something that I think is necessarily all that advisable
It was defo a journey that didn’t happen overnight…
How it really started was through simply trying to reduce my reliance on dentistry…
(Maybe just overshot it a little lol)
I almost didn’t write this post – but I know there are people out there who feel the same. I thought it might be a bit unfair to not share a few of the things I’ve learnt in the hope it could help others in some way
Many of the things I did in order for the above to occur scared the hell out of me at the time
(E.g. posting my first few videos on social media, hosting events/public speaking, resigning from my clinical role as a dentist to name a few…)
However, I’m a big believer in personal growth and busting out of comfort zones – so I knew it was all part of the process
Dentistry is an AMAZING profession
It’s seriously a gift and a blessing to be able to perform some of the wizardry that is possible with modern clinical techniques
And I quite enjoyed it when I was still practicing clinically – zero regrets for sure!
It was a true privilege to practice in the profession
However, truth be told it wasn’t the thing that lit ME up with excitement
Mainly I was just following a natural curiosity to learn about finance/money and this led me to see life slightly differently
The more I learnt the more I wanted to know
It became a journey in and of itself
And as with any journey there were obviously lessons
I wanted to share 5 of the things I wish I realised sooner that I feel were revelatory for me in the hope they could inspire others too…
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- Learning How Money Works
I put this as number 1 because it truly was a huge revelation for me. Learning what money really is rocked my boat big time. It caused me to challenge a lot of the things that I did on a daily basis and question a lot of my beliefs/concepts of how the world worked. I had to make sense of it all and this is what led me to dig deeper.
(How it began was reading up on fiat currency if anyone is interested)
- Being Open Minded To New Info That Challenges Our World View
In my opinion, this is a great trait to have. There’s a deluge of ways we can learn in this modern world. How this manifested for me was reading books and books and books (followed by some more books)
This took a serious time investment however for me it was a fun process (for the most part)
Most of the good stuff in life compounds – knowledge is no exception. I try really hard to have an open mind every day to what more knowledge I can gleam. “Golden Retriever” energy is something that I have when it comes to learning
- Invest In Yourself
Finance is cool and great – it’s more for the long term however
Yes, mentors played a big part – I’ve had a fair few in my time. They really challenged what I THOUGHT I knew and what I thought was possible. If someone has learnt lessons that would normally take decades to learn… then I do as much as I can to spend time with them. This is to collapse time and accelerate my own journey.
This is particularly true if they have achieved certain things that I’d like to emulate in terms of success.
Financial freedom does not have to be something that needs to wait until we are of retirement age
- Say Yes To The People With The Right Energy Who Are Aligned With Your Goals
There are SO many amazing people on this earth who are willing to help and see things as a collaborative effort. Create space for the right people and they will come to you. All the best things are built through teamwork.
Play positive sum games in which everyone can win together – a cool lesson that the author Naval Ravikant taught me (his book “The Almanack” is full of pearls)
- Seriously Make The Effort To Be A Good Dude/Dudette And GIVE More Than You Take From The World
I’m sure this one is self-explanatory – I always knew this however have come to appreciate it more and more as the years have progressed
I really feel if you try hard for others and do good enough times you’ll be rewarded
Anyways this post isn’t really to say “look at me”
I’m certainly not perfect or the finished article (far from it)
I just know some people out there who might like to know there are other alternative paths
And I wanted to share a few things I realised and wished a younger version of me would have known sooner
I WOULD NOT consider myself an expert on finance
But the cool part is the right people who believed in the same things I do and could supplement what I knew came into my life through this community
And that’s why I have to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone that is on here
There’s even more to be announced on that front in due course – looking forward to talking more on this over the coming months
Excited for the future for sure
Hope everyone has a smashing weekend and speak soon
Much love
– Dr. James
*NOT FINANCIAL ADVICE
