Tidying Up: 10 Ways to De-Clutter Your Career

Based on book sales, it seems more and more people are interested in tidying up. Getting rid of the junk and stuff in your house that is no longer interesting, useful or sentimental frees you in many ways. The act of throwing 30 T-shirts in a garbage bag and throwing or giving them away is a metaphor for a philosophy that dates back through the ages and is a fabric of many religions. The Unclutter Hall of Fame includes Buddha, Thoreau, and many more. It feels good and will make you happy if you have a Not So Big Life.

Physician entrepreneurs should pay attention and think about tidying up some things:

1. Let go of their past. Get rid of toxic thoughts that will get in the way of moving forward.

2. Let go of the banana. A group of monkey hunters set a trap. It was a box with sticks placed just far enough apart to allow a monkey to reach into it and grab a banana placed inside. When a chimp appeared, sure enough, it reached inside, grabbed the banana and would not let go. He was trapped and captured.

3. Let go of all those old hoodies, obsolete computer stuff, and books you never read.

4. Let go of people who are wearing you down.

5. Let go of a job or a career that is no longer making you happy.

6. Let go of non-performing assets in your pension plan.

7. Let go of obligations you made out of guilt.

8. Let go of a non-entrepreneurial mindset.

9. Let go of the need to make more so you can spend more.

10. Let go of your grumpy attitude.

The art of letting go is a core entrepreneurial and life skill. You need to learn to even divorce yourself and make yourself disappear. The three-year survival rate of founders whose companies have been funded is 50%.

Now is a good time to prune the dead branches and broken limbs that are weighing you down to make room for new growth in the spring. Don't forget to get a receipt from Goodwill.