Why Doctors Need Non‑Medical Books

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What's up everyone? This is Dr. TJ Yan. Let me ask you a question. How many books did you read last year? And I'm not talking about medical journal or CME articles. I'm talking about books that actually change the way you think about your life and your practice. Here's the truth. We spent over a decade reading textbooks, memorizing anatomy, learning procedures, but nobody taught us how to build wealth. Nobody taught us how to lead a team. Nobody taught us how to stop trading time for money. These ten books filled in those gaps for me. Some of them literally saved my practice. Some of them changed the way I think about money, about time, about what's actually possible. I'm going to go rapid fire, no fluff, just the books and why they matter for doctors like you and me. Are you ready? Let's get into it. Now, before I dive in, I already know what some of you are thinking. TJ, I don't have time to read. I get it. You're busy. But here's the thing. You don't have to read. So let me show you my phone. This is Amazon Audible. You can listen to almost any book that I'm going to talk about here, every book. You know, I spend a lot of time now basically listening instead of reading because I know we we don't have time. I listen in the car at the gym, even while doing errands. You can knock out a book in a week without sitting down once. So no excuses, let's go. So book number one, Richest Man in Babylon by George Classen. This book was written almost a hundred years ago. But the principles are timeless. It uses ancient Babylonian parables to teach wealth building. The core message though, pay yourself first. Before you pay your staff, before you pay your rent, before you pay anything, take at least 10% and set it aside. But here's what I really took from this book: the power of compound interest. Your money should be working for you, not just sitting in a bank account. Think about it. Doctors make good money, but most doctors are broke. Why? Because we spend like doctors before we've built wealth like investors. Diversify, such as real estate stocks, maybe invest in a startup, the gold. In our case, the income needs to multiply, not just accumulate. Book number two, Outwitting The Devil by Napoleon Hills. Now, this book has a wild history. So Napoleon Hill wrote it in 1938, but his family refused to publish it for over seven years. Why? Because he literally interviews the devil in this book. Back then, in a more religious American society, that it was too controversial. But here's why this book hit me hard. The devil's main weapon in this book is called drifting. Drifting is when you go through life without purpose. Listen carefully. Life without purpose, drifting. And you do what you are told, school, residency, job, and you repeat. Never stop to ask why or what do I really want? I've seen this in my coaching. I've seen it in my cadaver lapse. Some doctors commit, they take action, they have a burning desire, they go all in. But others, they drift back to what's comfortable. They wait for the perfect wave that never comes. You know another term, analysis, paralysis. Back to the brainwashed way of living. This book will wake you up. Find your definite purpose. Stop drifting. Quick note: if you get this one, get the audiobook. They use different voice actors for Napoleon Hill and The Devil. It's almost like a dramatic performance there. Really pulls you in. Next, book number three, the Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi. This was written by an undefeated samurai in 1645. He won over 60 duels to the death. And what it teaches isn't just about sword fighting, it's about strategy, timing, and mastery. I've trained in Japanese Aikido and Brazilian jiu-jitsu over 20 years. Martial arts has been incredibly influential to my life, my business, and my core values. So this book resonated deeply with me. The key principle master one thing deeply before you branch out. Go one inch wide and ten miles deep, not 10 miles wide and one inch deep. Sound familiar? That's exactly what I teach about niching down in your practice. Become the specialist of specialists. Master your craft. Then and only then you can expand. Surgery and business require the same strategic thinking, timing, precision, knowing when to strike. Book number four, Deep Work by Cal Newport. Here's the premise. The ability to focus without distraction is becoming rare. The rare things are valuable. You cannot build a seven-figure practice in between chart notes and phone calls. You cannot think strategically while you're constantly interrupted. So Cal calls it deep work. Focused uninterrupted time on cognitively demanding tasks. Everything else, that's shallow work, busy work. Doctors who win are the ones who protect their deep work time. They schedule it, they guard it ruthlessly. They turn off notifications. So this is discipline. And the days you do it, everything changes. Book number five, the 12-week year by Brian Moran. The book changed how I run everything. My practice, my coaching programs, my life. The concept is very simple. Stop thinking in annual goals. A year is kind of too long. By March, you've already forgotten your January resolutions. The urgency disappears. Instead, execute in 12-week sprints. That's your year. Four times the urgency, four times the focus. I learned this and immediately restructured my programs. The Prophet alchemy, 12 weeks. My mastermind cycles, we do 12 weeks in-person meeting. It forces action. It eliminates I'll do it next quarter. If you've ever said I'll fix my practice next year, you know that never happens. 12 weeks makes it real. By the way, if you're finding this video valuable, do me a favor, hit that subscribe button. It's free and it really helps the channel grow. Book number six, Who Not How by Dan Sullivan. This book asks one question that changes everything. Instead of asking how do I do this, but start asking who can do this for me. Say that again. Instead of how do I do this, who can do this for me? So your time is limited. You should be doing surgery, you should be doing consults. Everything else, find the who. Here's a framework that helps. The Eisenhower matrix, it's not from this book directly, but you've probably seen it. Urgent and important, do it. Important and not urgent, schedule it. Urgent but not important, that's where you delegate it. So most doctors are stuck doing urgent but not important tests all day. Answering emails, handling scheduling issues, putting out fires. Find your who. Protect your time. That's how you scale. So get this book. Book number seven, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lancioni. I just finished this book actually recently and it hit hard. It's written as a leadership fable. It kind of bookshows a story about new CEO fixing a broken executive team. But the principles apply to any team, including your practice. Lancioni identifies five dysfunctions that build on each other like a pyramid. At the base, absence of trust. People won't be vulnerable with each other. That leads to fear of conflict, fake harmony, no real debate, which causes lack of commitment, no buy-in because concerns were never aired. And then avoidance of accountability, nobody holds each other to standards. And at the top, inattention to results, ego, and status over team goals. Here's what hit me hardest. You can hire great people, but without the right system and strong leadership, dysfunction is inevitable. So most doctors never learn to lead. We learn to do. But this book teaches you how to lead. Okay, book number eight, never split the difference by Chris Voss. So Chris Voss was a FBI hostage negotiator. And what he learned negotiating with terrorists applies directly to your practice. Surprise, right? Patient consultations, those are negotiations. Insurance phone calls, negotiations, vendor deals, staff conversations, all negotiations. The key concepts, tactical empathy, truly understanding their word by listener and mirroring, repeating the last few words they said, labeling emotion, it sounds like you're concerned about dot dot dot, right? And here's a big one. No is not the end. When you say no, it's not the end, it's the beginning. This ties directly into what I teach about closing and ethical persuasion. Being a good listener, going deep, understanding what patients actually need. In my program, The Prophet Alchemy, we go deeper on these skills. In my mastermind, even deeper. Because this is how you help patients say yes to the care they need. Okay, book number nine, hundred million dollar offers by Alex Hermosy. If you're building cash pay services or treatment packages, this book is required reading. The core idea: create offers so good that people feel stupid saying no. So Hermosi gives you the exact formula. Maximize the dream outcome, maximize perceived likelihood of success, minimize time to result, minimize effort and sacrifice, stack value, don't discount price. So I'll be honest, I definitely credit my offer formula to Alex Hermosi's this book. It's core curriculum inside of my profit alchemy program. And when I help doctors build$3,000,$5,000, even$10,000 treatment packages, this is the foundation. It's about being salesy, it's about structuring your offer so the value is obvious. When you do it right, closing becomes easier. Book number 10, the AI Driven Leader by Jeff Woods. A couple of years ago, I went through the MIT AI executive program. Since then, I've gone deep, right? I've been building apps, I've been diving into automation, AI agent building, all of this. Why? Because my main focus is improving AI in healthcare. This book takes those concepts and makes them practical for leaders. The premise is simple. AI is not here to replace you. AI is your thought partner. You are still the thought leader, but now you can think better, decide faster, and execute more efficiently. Better, faster, cheaper. That's what AI enables. You don't need to be a tech expert. You don't need to code as a programmer. You just need to understand how to use AI as your strategic tool. The doctor who embraced this, they're going to win. The ones who ignore it, they'll be left behind. Remember what Darwin said. It's not the strongest who survive, it's the one who adapts to change. So guys, there you have it. 10 books that changed my practice and my life. Let me run through them one more time. Number one, richest man in Babylon. Pay yourself first, make your money work for you. Number two, outwitting the devil. Stop drifting. Find your purpose. Book of Five Rings, Master One Thing Deeply. Number four, deep work, protect your focus time. Number five, the 12-week year. Stop annual planning, execute in 12-week sprints. Number six, who not how, find your who, delegate everything else. Number seven, five dysfunctions of a team. Build the system, become the leader. Number eight, never split the difference. Master negotiation and listening. Number nine, hundred million dollar offers. Create irresistible treatment and packages. Number ten, the AI-driven leader, use AI to work better, faster, and cheaper. While several of these books are great complements to my coaching programs, especially the Profit Alchemy, the offer creation, closing skills, and mindset work. If you want to go deeper on any of these, there's a link in the description below. If you find this video useful, like, comment, and subscribe. It's free and helps the channel grow. I'll see you in the next one.