05/01/2026 Joel Lang, DPM
The Success Trap – When Achievement Becomes Your Prison
When I first opened my practice I had a great
mentor, Dr. Charlie Turchin, a diamond in the
rough. He taught me that if I could not earn a
living in 50 weeks, working 52 would make no
difference.
Another mentor was my practice management
professor at the New York college, Dr. Elizabeth
Roberts, who taught me to practice on my first day
the way I wanted to be practicing 10-20 years
later. Don’t start one way, thinking that someday
you will change. You probably won’t (though in
some ways I did).
Combining these two pieces of advice, I decided
that I wanted and deserved a 2-week vacation each
summer. Though I opened my office in mid-April, I
still took a 2-week vacation (that I could not
afford) that July and my colleagues, some of whom
never took vacations, thought that was crazy. In
33 years of practice, I never failed to take a 2-
week summer vacation except for the occasional
summer that I took 3 weeks and once even 4 weeks
when I took my family on a cross- country road
trip.
I also worked Saturday mornings at the beginning,
but never liked cutting my family out of their
weekend time with me. So slowly I began to
discontinue those hours. At first, I worked every
other Saturday and then morphed into one Saturday
a month and eventually cut Saturday hours
completely.
I also realized that few patients really wanted to
have doctor appointments over the Christmas
holiday or the Friday of Thanksgiving. So
eventually, I took another week off between
Christmas and New Year, as well as a 4-day weekend
on Thanksgiving.
I never wanted to work evenings, so my practice
hours always ended at 5:30 PM. To compensate, I
started my hours on Tuesdays and Fridays at 7:00
AM (7-9 AM became my busiest hours). On those days
I ended my hours at 3:30 PM. Eventually, I cut off
Fridays at 12 noon to 1 PM to lengthen my
weekends.
I also wanted one day off during the week, so I
never had hours on Wednesdays. At first I used
that time to visit other offices for advice and
practice experience, but eventually eliminated
that as well. Occasionally, I would schedule
hospital surgery on Wednesday.
One last mentor was my 5-year-old daughter, who
came to me one evening while I was doing office
paperwork in the evening and quietly asked,
“Daddy, do you have to work every night?” I knew
immediately I was experiencing a child’s wisdom.
That was the last time I ever took work home from
the office.
Generally, I never saw more than 15-20 patients
per day (4 days a week) over my entire career .
Sometimes less, rarely more. My average work week
was about 30 hours. I had time for hobbies, my
kids’ school activities and pursue many personal
outside activities (never golf – it took too much
time). Yet, somehow I managed to make a living,
support my family, be a present spouse, an
involved father, and still retire comfortably at
the age of 59. I never allowed myself to fall into
the trap of expensive cars, jewelry, houses,
clothes and hobbies that would force me to run
faster and faster on the treadmill of life. Travel
was my one indulgence.
Don’t waste your time trying to impress others,
some of whom you will only meet once and most of
whom are far more interested in themselves than
they are in you. I also believe that there is no
“first place” in heaven for the person who worked
the greatest number of hours.
I totally agree with the article that the only
thing preventing you from enjoying the fruits and
privileges your success is yourself. I recommend
you reassess your activities and give up the ones
you think you need, that drain your energies, and
replace them with ones you really enjoy and
enhance your life. In return, your life, your
outlook, your self-worth, your relationships and
your longevity will improve.
Podiatry is what you do, it is not who you are.
Don’t confuse the two.
Joel Lang (retired), Cheverly, MD
