Physician Career Diversity and Matt Dancing Around the World

As physicians, it's easy to get stuck in a rut.

By nature and training, we're more prone to the "track" mentality, ie- this step leads to that step which leads to that step...you get the idea.

Many physicians I know are dissatisfied with their careers, but they have a difficult time trying to think of unique ways to use their talents.  They go to career fairs and speak to their physician colleagues but still can't seem to break free.

In my opinion, one of the problems we have as physicians is being waaay too narrow when we think about outside endeavors.  We only look at medical niches and don't even consider alternative areas.  We never take the time to read outside the medical field so we have no idea what others are saying outside of medicine.  We're all drinking from the same well, so it's no wonder we find it difficult to change perspectives.

As an example of someone with a very original career pursuit outside of medicine, I recently came across a video of a guy named Matt who filmed himself dancing in various locations all over the world.  Matter of fact, his video was so successful, Stride gum sponsored him to do a few more trips on their dime (note: this guy is not a professional dancer or anything like that...at best I would describe his dancing as an awkward, silly jig.  Matt simply describes his dancing as "bad.").  Matt is now a quasi-famous individual who does not have a "real" job, travels all over the world, and writes on his website entitled Where the Hell is Matt?

For those of you who might need a little bit of inspiration, check out Matt's video above and read his blog. If a guy can carve out a career niche dancing in remote locations around the world, then maybe there's hope for all the physicians out there who simply want a little career diversity.

Comments

[Jeff, Freelance MD]

Best four minutes I've spend in the last few hours. : )

[Greg Bledsoe MD]

Yeah, it's funny, but it really is an inspirational video. I think it's just the joy everyone on the video has while they're dancing around, and the fact that Matt's dancing in all these isolated places. Matt's blog is also rather interesting. I just think it's hilarious that this guy has turned a silly dance into a career pursuit. Amazing.