Even if you have help from friends, family and colleagues, at the end of the day, it's up to you to make your business work.

Having the traits of a lucky attitude may help you take action when you feel stuck.

Some of my most painful memories stem from the many goodbyes I’ve endured – leaving Zimbabwe after 3 glorious years in rural practice, leaving my home country South Africa to move to the US, leaving my family practice after 9 years, amongst others.

Two recent encounters with solo medical practices demonstrated to me the stark contrast between a medical practice business model stuck in the 20th century and that of one that has boldly stepped into the 21st century.

How long does one have to be a practicing physician before it becomes obvious that a clinical career isn't the right line of work? It depends. Hear how one plastic surgeon explored his passion for writing by investigating the field of medical communications ... and a new, non-clinical career was born.

Clinical medicine is becoming increasingly left-brained, organized by evidence-based medicine and guidelines. Any right-brained activities we might engage in are relegated to just a few moments of our day. How then do we then satisfy our natural human craving for creativity in our work?

As a formerly idealistic pediatrician whose eventual disappointment in clinical practice led to her leave medicine altogether, Maggie Kozel, MD, has put into words what I felt about being a practicing physician and have been unable to express adequately. I invite you to listen to my interview with Dr. Kozel, where we explore what life is like after medicine.

As physician business or medical practice owners, we are equally likely to go from youthful idealists starting out in practice, or our newly discovered nonclinical business, to blasé and even somewhat jaded practitioners of our crafts. By approaching our work instead with the Zen Buddhist concept of a "beginner's mind," it instantly reveals a marvelous perspective with which to step back and re-evaluate our businesses, and even our lives. Here's how.

Physicians are smart, well-trained professionals who are not in the habit of asking for help. They're accustomed to being viewed as the problem-solvers, rather than the seekers of advice or assistance. So why would they consider physician coaching? Here are more than a few good reasons.

It's time to shine a spotlight on Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and look at what these new entities might mean for your physician career. I sense the foundations of medical practice as we know it has begun to shift, and the field is wide open for physicians with a creative, entrepreneurial or leadership drive.