When I attended my first medical conference, my idea of getting medical professionals to come to our stand was to promote asset protection and wealth. It did work, but not as much as I expected.
Then, we put up a massive board in big letters on the second day. All it said was:
‘’DO YOU WANT TO PAY LESS TAX?’’
And suddenly, we were inundated with queries and people wanting to speak to us.
And since then, we have used the board at all conferences we attend.
But here’s the thing. Very rarely is this important.
Let me put it this way.
When you are on your deathbed, will you be remembered for, or will you be proud of, the amount of tax you saved? Is that what you would like the final minutes of your life to be about? Is that what you want your family and friends to remember you for?
I doubt it.
In fact, when you read interviews of people who have terminal illnesses or speak to people who are about to die, they rarely say the most important thing that matters to them is something they have probably chased all their lives. I have seldom met anyone who states that the amount of wealth, the tax they saved, or the income they earned was the most critical aspect of their life.
Many of you may know that I had a friend who died in their forties. He was a successful businessperson in a family business. He worked hard. He put the hours in. As a family, they also tried their best to keep the tax bills low.
He was then diagnosed with a terminal illness. During his last 18 months, I had more lunches with him than I had in the 16 years I had known him simply because, previously, lunch was secondary to running a business. In the final 18 months of his life, he worked out that the thing he chased all his life was not the most essential in his life.
I never had the guts to ask him how much of his wealth he would give away just for an additional 18 months, but his brother later told me he knew the answer. He told me my friend would give his ENTIRE wealth away in exchange for just an EXTRA 6 months of life.
Bonnie Ware was a palliative nurse. She cared for those who were dying and identified five regrets they had. Number two is “I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.”
That is why I often think that medical professionals’ obsession with taxes is misguided.
I always say what you do with the money you save makes a difference rather than the money itself.
Using that money to buy more clothes or a new car is not a legacy. If you spend it on a holiday with family, it has the potential to be memorable. But holidays are short-term and not consistent.
Most family and friends want you to be there – consistently.
I have another friend—he is in his sixties. In his and his wife’s prime, they worked seven-day weeks very hard and invested in wealth. This hard work and investment created massive wealth. His children had pretty much everything they needed or wanted, including going to one of the best schools in Brisbane. There is no doubt that his children have the careers they do because of his hard work. But guess what?
His children are very grateful and appreciative of what their parents have done. Still, they often tell their parents that when they were at school or when they were teenagers and felt they needed their parents, they were hardly around. And because that time has passed, it can never be recovered.
Now I know what you are thinking. MediSuccess and my blogs constantly discuss earning more and building wealth. So, are we changing our tune?
Not really, because I will also tell you that we concentrate on working fewer hours so that when that deathbed moment comes (and it will come), you don’t have the regrets that Bonnie Ware talks about.
If you have read my book, you will have read about my cousin, who died aged 38. She died with a regret that she could have gone to Fiji and did not. I was 34 at the time, and that was when I realised the value of time.
To be honest, I should not have to convince most of you. I appreciate that child speech therapists rarely deal with death, but most GPs do. They see terminal patients all the time, and I am sure conversations come up. So, I do find it surprising that GPs are among the hardest-working doctors and work the longest hours.
I was fortunate to be invited to attend the AMA Foundation of QLD gala event recently. At the event, three students received a hardship sponsorship from the foundation. When I caught up with them, I only gave them one bit of advice: Don’t chase the money. Don’t get obsessed with taxes. Value your time. Okay, so that is three pieces of advice, but you get what I mean.
They will only be successful in those three bits once they have figured out that swapping hours worked for money is a bad deal.
I was in my mid-30s when I started working a 4-day week. I now work about 3 days at most with about 12-16 weeks of annual leave. During that time, I have been fortunate to create wealth.
Most of my income and some of my wealth have come from the hours I work in my business.
But I have income and a large chunk of wealth that has nothing to do with my work hours. Because of that, I can work fewer hours but have the same income and, funnily enough, pay less tax, too.
And this is where all medical professionals should be. That is where you should be.
But even though I am a tax agent, I rarely concentrate on paying less tax. At the end of the day, I value my time more than I value the tax savings, the income I earn, or the wealth that I build.
And that is only because I have decided to listen to the people who know what matters, and they happen to be dying or have died. You either listen to them or you don’t.
If you don’t, you may regret it. If you do, you may find that you ceased being in the rat race and are suddenly happier, content, and fulfilled. And last time I checked most of my clients want that.
Being fulfilled by working less hours is step 3 of our nine steps to work less, earn more and build wealth. If you would like to know more, contact hitesh@medisuccess.com.au or call 07 3172 0819.
