What if pursuing wealth and pursuing purpose aren’t competing goals, but two essential components of a fulfilling career and life? When I speak to fellow physicians about their financial lives, the conversation usually focuses on either:
- The strategies and tactics of building wealth
- The purpose to which we would devote our lives if money weren’t a factor
It is rare that I have a conversation that encompasses both. And it’s not necessarily because physicians are only interested in one and not the other; often, it’s because physicians have been taught to think about the two as entirely separate topics. While our medical organizations, our conferences, and our publications often address the roles of finances and purpose in our careers, we almost always treat them as separate topics, as if they were created for two completely different audiences.
That separation of wealth and purpose is an obstacle to our growth. I believe we must see these as two parts of the same conversation. One is a question about strategy: intelligent and practical, but directionless without a mission to give it meaning. The other is a mission: inspiring and beautiful, but unsustainable without a real-world financial strategy. I would love to see more physicians embracing both in their lives.
If you are on a mission to create a positive impact on your patients, families, and communities, make sure you can always do so on your terms and not someone else’s. Building wealth is a powerful tool for building and protecting the professional autonomy to serve the world on your own terms. For example, a physician who loves practicing medicine but is burned out by their current employment model may discover they don’t need to choose between medicine and protecting their own well-being. They may simply need enough financial margin to eliminate the parts that conflict with their values while preserving everything that they love about medicine. A financial plan can be a powerful tool for professional autonomy, even if money is the last thing that motivates you.
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I don’t define being wealthy as having a certain net worth. I define it as having options: the option to say no to work that pays well but conflicts with your values; the option to spend more time with people you love; and the option to do meaningful work simply because you want to, not because you have to. Clarify your mission; then build the financial foundation that frees you to live it on your own terms.
Stanley Liu is the only prominent practicing cardiologist who also practices as a 100 percent fiduciary, fee-only financial planner in the United States. He is the founder and principal financial planner at DocEmpowered, LLC, a financial planning firm dedicated solely to physician financial wellness.
His career pivot into the financial side of physician wellness began with a choice between walking away from his career as a beloved academic cardiologist and telling his young son he could never walk him to the school bus stop in the morning. Liu chose to walk away, creating his own financial plan to ride out an 18-month, 20-mile noncompete with his family and emerging on the other side with autonomy he once only dreamed of. Today, he practices medicine sustainably and with purpose as a self-employed cardiologist. He eats breakfast and dinner with his kids every day, salsa dances with his wife, and is a dedicated volunteer, advocate, and philanthropist for his community.
Liu also became a licensed financial planner, earned a Certificate in Financial Planning from Emory University, and passed the CFP examination, one of the most highly respected accomplishments in the financial planning profession. As a financial planner, he has helped physician clients across the United States reclaim autonomy in their lives and careers while staying true to their highest values.
Liu is a highly sought-after speaker for his expertise in financial planning and his unique ability to apply it to the physician community as a trusted peer. His insights have been featured in Medscape and PracticeLink Magazine, and he has been an invited speaker for multiple medical societies, including the American College of Cardiology, the American College of Physicians, and the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography. He brings his audiences a rare perspective on the underrated connection between physician wellness and financial planning.
His mission is simple: Give every physician the financial power to serve their patients, families, and communities on their own terms. He shares more on his DocEmpowered blog, LinkedIn, Facebook, and X.
