I’m an early riser, most people in my life know this about me.  I feel that it’s the only legitimate time that I get to myself.  I workout, watch the television shows that I want to watch and drink coffee while the house is quite and everyone else is asleep.

A couple of days ago, I was working out in our basement.  Normally I will turn on some YouTube videos, sometimes I watch financial advice, motivation videos or sometimes just music videos.  This particular day, I wasn’t feeling anything in particular so I just turned on a mix video of classic rock.  One of the first songs that came on was “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC. Everyone knows this song but something hit me different this time.

Between the ages of 14-18 I played legion baseball back home and the CD that was played at the field before every game and between innings was AC/DC Live, basically their top hits blasted over a loud speaker.  I think I could recite the entire CD verbatim.

As I’m in my basement working out all of a sudden I have a tear running down my eye because I started to think about all of the good times and situations that I grew up with based around a CD that has not a lot of meaning to anyone. The primary position that I played/excelled at was pitcher, I was always instructed that as the pitcher you are essentially in control of the game.  The pace in particular, everything revolves around how fast or slow you want to work.

As you age, things start to get more complicated.  Adult responsibilities start to pile on (mortgage payments, running a business, kids and everything in between). I think the thought process that was going through my head with a tear running down my face was, life was so simple when you are in high school, you may not realize it but it really is. I woke up in the morning, maybe mowed a yard or two and then went to the baseball field and did this for years.  Nothing really complicated about that.

Practice can be the same way.  You can make it as simple or as complicated as you want it to be.  More, more, more in every sense is common place in the profession. More patients, more therapies, more services and always looking for the next best thing is normal within the profession.  I think we have found our happy place and plan on staying this way for many years to come but the pull and temptation is always there.

Simple is actually easier to operate and keep track of. We offer things in the office that I feel benefit a wide variety of patients without high pitch sales and pretty much explain themselves.  Living simply as a business owner can be a little more complicated, you have responsibilities and other people’s livelihoods depend on you showing up to work and providing quality care for patients.  It’s a little bit of pressure that can get to you at times.

I have heard “Thunderstruck” many times since I quit playing baseball but there was something about it on an early Thursday morning that caught me.  Life can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be and there are unforeseen circumstances that arise but I’m finding out that just rolling with it is probably your best option.

Business ownership can be a lonely place, not a lot of people truly understand business ownership especially healthcare, but we will aim to keep it simple for everyone and makes everyone’s life a little easier along the way.