Yup both those things happened...⁣

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And now I am a brand ambassador for Balenciaga who spends his days chilling on the Riviera⁣

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Ok that part was a joke… ⁣🤣

But on a serious note, I really don’t want to make it out like leaving dentistry was easy - or even something that I think is necessarily all that advisable⁣

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It was defo a journey that didn’t happen overnight...⁣

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How it really started was through simply trying to reduce my reliance on dentistry...⁣

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(Maybe just overshot it a little lol)⁣ 🤷

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I almost didn’t write this post - but I know there are people out there who feel the same. I thought it might be a bit unfair to not share a few of the things I’ve learnt in the hope it could help others in some way⁣

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Many of the things I did in order for the above to occur scared the hell out of me at the time⁣

(E.g. posting my first few videos on social media, hosting events/public speaking, resigning from my clinical role as a dentist to name a few...)⁣

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However, I’m a big believer in personal growth and busting out of comfort zones - so I knew it was all part of the process⁣

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Dentistry is an AMAZING profession⁣

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It’s seriously a gift and a blessing to be able to perform some of the wizardry that is possible with modern clinical techniques⁣

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And I quite enjoyed it when I was still practicing clinically - zero regrets for sure!⁣

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It was a true privilege to practice in the profession⁣

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However, truth be told it wasn’t the thing that lit ME up with excitement⁣

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Mainly I was just following a natural curiosity to learn about finance/money and this led me to see life slightly differently⁣

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The more I learnt the more I wanted to know⁣

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It became a journey in and of itself⁣

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And as with any journey there were obviously lessons⁣ 📖

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I wanted to share 5 of the things I wish I realised sooner that I feel were revelatory for me in the hope they could inspire others too…⁣

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1. Learning How Money Works⁣

I put this as number 1 because it truly was a huge revelation for me. Learning what money really is rocked my boat big time. It caused me to challenge a lot of the things that I did on a daily basis and question a lot of my beliefs/concepts of how the world worked. I had to make sense of it all and this is what led me to dig deeper.⁣

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(How it began was reading up on fiat currency if anyone is interested)⁣

2. Being Open Minded To New Info That Challenges Our World View⁣

In my opinion, this is a great trait to have. There’s a deluge of ways we can learn in this modern world. How this manifested for me was reading books and books and books (followed by some more books)⁣

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This took a serious time investment however for me it was a fun process (for the most part)⁣

Most of the good stuff in life compounds - knowledge is no exception. I try really hard to have an open mind every day to what more knowledge I can gleam. “Golden Retriever” energy is something that I have when it comes to learning ⁣

3. Invest In Yourself⁣

Finance is cool and great – it’s more for the long term however⁣

Yes, mentors played a big part - I’ve had a fair few in my time. They really challenged what I THOUGHT I knew and what I thought was possible. If someone has learnt lessons that would normally take decades to learn… then I do as much as I can to spend time with them. This is to collapse time and accelerate my own journey. ⁣

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This is particularly true if they have achieved certain things that I’d like to emulate in terms of success.⁣

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Financial freedom does not have to be something that needs to wait until we are of retirement age⁣

4. Say Yes To The People With The Right Energy Who Are Aligned With Your Goals⁣

There are SO many amazing people on this earth who are willing to help and see things as a collaborative effort. Create space for the right people and they will come to you. All the best things are built through teamwork.⁣

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Play positive sum games in which everyone can win together – a cool lesson that the author Naval Ravikant taught me (his book “The Almanack” is full of pearls)⁣

5. Seriously Make The Effort To Be A Good Dude/Dudette And GIVE More Than You Take From The World⁣

I’m sure this one is self-explanatory – I always knew this however have come to appreciate it more and more as the years have progressed⁣

I really feel if you try hard for others and do good enough times you'll be rewarded⁣

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Anyways this post isn’t really to say "look at me" ⁣

I’m certainly not perfect or the finished article (far from it)⁣

I just know some people out there who might like to know there are other alternative paths⁣

And I wanted to share a few things I realised and wished a younger version of me would have known sooner⁣

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I WOULD NOT consider myself an expert on finance⁣

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But the cool part is the right people who believed in the same things I do and could supplement what I knew came into my life through this community⁣

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And that’s why I have to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone that is on here ⁣

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There’s even more to be announced on that front in due course - looking forward to talking more on this over the coming months⁣

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Excited for the future for sure⁣

Hope everyone has a smashing weekend and speak soon⁣

Much love ❤🫶

- Dr. James⁣

P.S. Sun tan incoming in the photo⁣ - any moment now 👀

P.P.S. Balenciaga merch on the website⁣