How Hiring a Life Coach Saved Me 1 Million Dollars

A few years ago, I was done with emergency medicine. The overwhelming shifts, waiting room and hallway medicine, endless documentation... all leading to emotional and physical exhaustion. I dreaded every shift. I dreamed about finding a different career, something that wouldn’t leave me drained and depleted. Something that enlivened me, where I could still use the skills I had honed during my 20 years in medicine. Every time I turned off my alarm and rolled out of bed for another day of work, I thought about walking away.

And I almost did.

But then I hired a life coach.

That decision didn’t just keep me in medicine—it saved me over $1 million in lost income and retirement savings. More importantly, it helped me find something I never thought was possible in emergency medicine: ease. I know what you're thinking, “that is laughable because we have the hardest job in medicine,” but I am proof it is not impossible. 

The Cost of Burnout

Burnout isn’t just emotionally exhausting, it is expensive!  The financial impact of leaving medicine is huge and can not be overlooked. I was facing leaving EM and losing out on years of high income. At the time, I didn’t see it that way. I just knew I was miserable. I told myself, “No amount of money is worth this.”

But what if you don't have to choose between your well-being and your career?

This is the million-dollar question. This is what I wish someone had said to me when I thought there was only one path forward. You don't have to choose.

How a Life Coach Changed Everything

I had never considered life coaching before. Therapy, sure (doing that too!). Venting to colleagues? All the time. But coaching... I just didn’t really know that much about what it could do for me. 

Working with a life coach helped me:

• Identify the real cause of my burnout. It wasn’t just the hours; it was the lack of boundaries, the perfectionism, and the belief that I had to sacrifice myself for my job.

• Redefine my relationship with medicine. I learned that I could still practice emergency medicine without letting it consume me.

• Create strategies to protect my time and energy. I set boundaries, learned to say no, and stopped overextending myself.

• Find ease in my work. Instead of constantly feeling like I was drowning, I found ways to move through my shifts with more calm, clarity, and confidence.

• Reignite my purpose. I remembered why I went into medicine in the first place and discovered new ways to make it fulfilling.

Finding Ease in Medicine

One of the biggest gifts of coaching was learning that practicing medicine doesn’t have to be so hard.  We are literally trained from early on in our training to think our job is really really hard, and we hang on to that belief to our own detriment. 

I used to think that struggle was just part of the job—that exhaustion, frustration, and overwhelm were unavoidable. But through coaching, I realized that I had far more control over my experience than I thought.

I stopped over-documenting.

I stopped taking on unnecessary tasks.

I stopped carrying the emotional weight of every patient encounter.

I found ways to move through my shifts with less stress and more ease (and even a little fun!). And that changed everything.

The 1 Million Dollar Decision

Through coaching, I gained several more years of a physician’s salary. Even if I eventually transition out of EM, I can maintain financial security and mental well-being while I figure out my next steps.

Burnout had convinced me that quitting was my only option. Coaching helped me see that there was another way.

Investing in Yourself Pays Off

Hiring a life coach felt like an extra expense at the time, but looking back, it was the best investment I ever made. It kept me in a career that I wasn’t ready to leave—it just needed to look different. It gave me the tools to make my work sustainable instead of soul-crushing.

If you’re feeling burned out, I’m not saying coaching is the only answer—but I am saying that before you make a drastic decision, consider investing in yourself. You are worth it!

You might just find the ease, balance, and clarity you’ve been looking for. And the return on investment? It could be far greater than you ever imagined.