A recent blog post on "4 Reasons Why Doctors Don’t Use LinkedIn," got me thinking about how to use the power of social media for medical practice promotion. By not participating in LinkedIn and other sites, physicians who want to grow their practices are missing an excellent marketing opportunity.

End-of-life care is a subject many physicians would prefer to avoid. For the medical profession, is it that we feel held to such a high standard that the death of a patient represents failure? Or, more crassly, does a patient's passing imply a lost future source of revenue?

Not being much of a soccer aficionado, I have nevertheless been captivated by the 2010 World Cup. While I hear many Americans bemoan the slow pace of the televised game, the low scores, and the vuvuzelas, I have been struck by lessons these matches have offered up for entrepreneurial physician business owners.

An old-but-classic video uses hysterical visuals to remind us what matters most -- and to take care of these priorities before attending to the thousands of mundane matters that distract us and occupy our attention each day.

Imagine a workplace where you were encouraged to experience autonomy, mastery and a sense of purpose. Now imagine creating a work environment that offered your employees similar gifts. That's the enchanting vision I discovered in a highly engaging and clever new video by author Dan Pink.

Joshua Tree National Park offers a glimpse into life on another planet. It’s a hot, demanding place that forces you to slow down and evaluate your human survival skills. On a recent weekend visit, I also realized these same skills are ones that all entrepreneurs and small business owners need to survive.