The Hardest Thing You’ll Ever Do

Follow the yellow brick road.
Follow the yellow brick road.
Follow the yellow brick road…

In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy is told—more than ten times by the Munchkins—to “follow the Yellow Brick Road.”

You, too, have a financial Yellow Brick Road to follow. Here’s what it looks like:

• Buy or start a practice. Work hard to make it excellent. Become an exceptional clinician and leader.
• Find your ideal working “pace,” and sustain it for as long as you can.
• Embrace the “one house, one spouse” principle.
• Live modestly below your means. Pay off your debts. Invest the surplus every month into a low-cost, passive strategy (if you hire us, this will be mutual funds—or ETFs—held at Charles Schwab).
• Stay the course. When you’re ready to retire, sell your practice to another doctor, passing your legacy forward—to benefit both them and the patients you’ve long served.

That’s it. That’s the Yellow Brick Road to peace and prosperity for dental practice owners. PFG’s “secret sauce,” spelled out for the world to copy (we hope they do). Simple, effective, and proven to yield an abundant life.

But if it’s so simple—why don’t more doctors follow it?

Great question. And one I’ve spent my career trying to answer.

In fact, I’ve devoted my professional life to two things:

1. Defining what the Yellow Brick Road of financial success looks like.
2. Helping doctors get on it—and stay on it.

I’ve also become a student of what pulls doctors off the path. Here are a few common detours:

1. The excruciating pain of watching someone dumber than you make money.

The internet is packed with people who seem to be crushing it! It’s hard to watch someone you consider less intelligent—your brother-in-law, your neighbor, a YouTuber—“kill it” with:

• Bitcoin
• Real estate (especially short-term rentals)
• Or some other flavor-of-the-month scheme

It’s tempting to veer off the road to chase similar wins.

2. You’re the trophy buck.

If you have “Dr.” in front of your name, the world assumes you have money. You are a prized target for every slick salesperson, shady investment pitch, or “can’t-miss” opportunity.

Everyone looking for investors has your number.

3. The Yellow Brick Road is… boring.

Your career is like driving from Dallas to Minneapolis. Early on, it’s all city driving—school, specialization, marriage, kids, buying a practice, a home, building a building.

Then suddenly, you’re out on the open road—Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa. Miles of straight road and cornfields. This is the part of life where you’re working, saving, and investing in boring, passive portfolios.

It’s also where you build the most wealth. But it can feel monotonous. Eventually, even the most disciplined doctors feel the urge to jerk the wheel off the interstate and take a detour.

Don’t do it.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road.
Follow the Yellow Brick Road.

Because, because, because, because, because…
Because of the wonderful, abundant life this boring road yields.

So stay on the road!
Ignore the noise. Resist the shortcuts. Don’t let envy, boredom, or distraction pull you off the path. The Yellow Brick Road isn’t flashy, but it’s faithful. And it works.

The next time you find yourself drifting, call us. Helping good doctors stay on the road is what we do.

Because there’s no place like home—and this path will get you there.