How I Achieved Financial Freedom

You may know my story already. 

Or you might be new to Passive Income MD. Either way, my journey could resonate with your own financial goals. For me, and perhaps for you, that story starts with feeling financially stuck—getting spun in the hamster wheel of medicine. Thankfully I was able to step off that wheel and able to achieve financial freedom through  multiple streams of income. I want to share it with you, inviting you on the path to financial freedom. 

Along the way I’ve learned many lessons. And it’s these lessons I want to share with you today. You, like me, are taking the necessary and intentional steps to live your dream life. We want to do meaningful things. We want to travel, pursue our passions, and spend time with the people that we love. 

And it’s my hope that you’ll find some value in my experience that may help you accelerate your journey. 

The story starts, of course, in medicine. 

The Promised Land?

There was this general feeling in medicine among my physician colleagues that, as doctors, going through life as a medical professional would get us to that promised land: financial and personal well being. I felt that way, too.

It was a long road, but we had arrived. It started with med school, then residency, and then moving on to our various specialities. For many doctors, that journey takes ten to fourteen years—not a small time commitment. 

For me, I pursued OB anesthesia. Then I landed a great job—my dream job, really. When that happened, I thought I was completely set for life. It’s what I had been working towards all of those years. Things would be perfect from now on, I thought. Financially, my career, my relationships—everything would shake out how I had hoped. I wouldn’t have to worry or think about anything else. I worked incredibly hard, and I achieved what I set out to achieve. 

I was on the path to financial freedom. Or so I thought. 

Medical professionals are facing all sorts of challenges right now. For me, it started just after becoming a partner. At first, I thought it was another milestone that secured my future. Promises were made, but there was no follow through. I was still working nights and weekends. My income wasn’t going where I thought it would. And like many doctors, my medical income was my only stream of income. 

I realized that life in medicine wasn’t the golden ticket that perhaps it was a generation ago. The financial and personal security it seemed to promise was not all it was cracked up to be—and is possibly an illusion. 

Working conditions in medicine have changed. Whether regulation, administration, compensation, or struggling with burnout, physicians are facing a new reality in modern medicine. Most of us will probably admit that these changes are not necessarily for the better. 

I felt stuck, and I wanted more control over my time and my financial future. But nobody was going to do that for me; I had to figure out how to do that on my own.

Forging My Own Path

It’s difficult to think your whole path is set—that you’ll live a great life—only to have that rug pulled out from underneath you. But when your foundation is shaken, you realize that it’s time to figure things out. It’s time to set a new path. 

When things changed in medicine for me, there was a lot of uncertainty. Did I need to find another job? Did I need to find another way to create income through investing? What if I make a mistake? These were big questions to ask. 

So what I did was start talking to as many people as possible who had achieved the things that I wanted to achieve. 

There’s an old saying that you never want to take advice from someone you don’t want to be like. And the opposite is true, too. Take advice from people who have some aspect of the life that you want to emulate. 

When you see colleagues who are doing well financially and also have a balanced life—who spend time with their loved ones and pursue passions—those are the people you want to talk to. That’s what I did. 

Success leaves clues. And as I started talking to these physicians, I learned that they were investing in real estate. They had figured out how to create other streams of income outside of their medical income. That helped them take back control of their lives and shape it into something they always wanted but couldn’t achieve with one traditional income alone. 

They also helped me understand that, as I set myself on my own journey to passive income through real estate, mistakes would be inevitable. It made sense. That’s what happens in medicine. IVs, central lines, or whatever it may be. As a doctor, you’ve had to learn how to adapt to challenges. 

So instead of just being fearful and not doing anything about my situation, I adapted. It became clear that the challenges and mistakes along the way were necessary and part of an education to get me to where I wanted to be, which was financially free. 

With little-to-no knowledge but a clear understanding of what I could risk (how much I could invest without putting my financial future in danger), I started investing in real estate. 

Once I made that leap, I reflected on why we physicians aren’t always ready. It was a mindset issue. Many physicians want to get their MBAs, which end up costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, but they can be fearful of investing $25,000 to learn about real estate investing. But with a mindset shift, you can create life-changing passive income. 

My first investment was $5,000, and it started generating additional income for me outside of my medical income. My next real estate investment did the same thing. And so did the next. Pretty soon, I was generating several streams of passive income. That’s when I started to think about time and money. 

Unlinking My Time From My Money: Financial Freedom as Time Freedom

As doctors, we need to show up to get paid. We need to see patients in the clinic. 

Sure, that earns us money to do amazing things, like go on vacation. But when we go on vacation, it’s a double-whammy on our wallets. On the one hand, we have to pay for the vacation. On the other hand, we are spending time away from work not generating income. What this tells us is that with a traditional medical income, our money is linked to our time. We only get money when we put in the time.

But time is our most precious resource. It’s the only thing we can’t be back once it’s gone. All of that time I was spending at work was time I wasn’t spending with my loved ones, pursuing hobbies, or having amazing life experiences. 

That’s when I reshifted my focus. How could I unlink my time from my income? The answer was passive income. 

The term itself—passive income—seems to convey making money in your sleep, like there’s no work involved whatsoever. But that’s not the case. It does take a fair amount of work upfront. Over time, it can build and grow. And once several streams of passive income start growing and coming in, eventually your medical income can be replaced. And then passive income can continue growing, possibly multiplying your medical income. 

Once that happened for me, my time started to unlink from my money. It wasn’t about generating wealth for the sake of it. It was about building a system—a money machine—that created more time for me. I could work how and when I wanted to. I could spend time with my family when I wanted to and take them on amazing adventures. I could pursue new projects and companies. And that’s what I did when I  developed Passive Income MD. 

Starting Your Own Journey

Do me a favor and consider this thought experiment. Think about everything you’ve learned in the medical field. It’s a lot. Don’t you think you’d be capable of learning how to grow several streams of passive income? 

Doctors are the best students out there. We are great learners. And we take measured risks all the time. Whether you know it or not, you are primed with the skills required to successfully create passive income through investing. And little-by-little, you will start to see it grow. 

But you don’t have to go it alone. We’ve created communities where physicians come to learn, support each other, and discuss opportunities on this journey. You’ve already found yourself here at Passive Income MD, but we have a lot of other communities that could serve your various goals.

That includes the Leverage and Growth Accelerator Community, a group of physicians who are committed to a life of personal growth and fulfillment. And if you’re looking to boost your education, take a look at the Passive Real Estate Academy, where one-on-one coaches can help you set and achieve your goals. And if you want to meet in person, join us at our annual and growing Physician Real Estate and Entrepreneurship Conference (PIMDCON). 

Join a circle of people who are thinking differently, who are there to help each other out. In the end, we are all working toward the same thing: living life on our own terms. If that is a goal you want to achieve, we are here to support you. Start small, but start now. Don’t delay your dream life. We hope to see you soon. 

Until then, stay inspired and keep taking actionable steps toward your goals. 

If you’re interested in more, subscribe to our newsletter for more content that will help you in and out of medicine. As always, make it happen!

Peter Kim, MD is the founder of Passive Income MD, the creator of Passive Real Estate Academy, and offers weekly education through his Monday podcast, the Passive Income MD Podcast. Join our community at the Passive Income Doc Facebook Group.

Further Reading