
He Trained Me to Be a Surgeon. Now His Wisdom Is Shaping My Children | Dr. John Flood, D.O.
In this episode of Doctors Investor Club, I sit down with Dr. John Flood, D.O.—retired orthopedic spine surgeon, U.S. Army veteran, mentor, and my father-in-law—for a conversation that's part of the upcoming book we're writing together, Legacy RX: Build Wealth, Live Free, Leave What Lasts. After 33 years in orthopedic surgery, including years of military service in Japan and South Carolina, Dr. Flood retired in 2022 with hard-won perspective on what success actually costs, what money is really for, and what remains once the surgeries, titles, and paychecks are gone. We discuss the financial discipline that let him retire on his own terms, why chasing income at the expense of family is a losing trade, and the faith and values that shaped his 40+ years in medicine. 🔑 What You'll Learn: ✔️ Why orthopedic surgeons have lost 40% of their real income over the last 20 years ✔️ The danger of spending like your income will always go up ✔️ How to protect family time inside a demanding medical career ✔️ Why "slow and steady" investing beats swinging for home runs ✔️ The power of starting to invest early and letting compounding work ✔️ How he funded 5 kids' college educations without touching his own pocket ✔️ Lessons learned from getting burned on a bad real estate deal ✔️ Why living below your means matters more than ever for young physicians ✔️ How rising overhead quietly erodes physician income over a career ✔️ Why "caring" for patients matters as much as "curing" them ✔️ How faith shaped his approach to medicine, marriage, and mentorship ✔️ His honest advice to his 25-year-old self starting out in orthopedics ✔️ His personal definition of wealth after a full career and retirement ✔️ Why he now measures success in time with grandkids, not possessions ⏱️ Timestamps: 0:00 – Orthopedic surgeons have lost 40% of their income 1:30 – Welcome back to the show 2:46 – Meet Dr. John Flood 2:54 – Getting into medicine and orthopedics 6:30 – Choosing a spine fellowship 9:05 – 33 years in practice, retiring in 2022 9:19 – What success looked like early in his career 12:04 – Protecting family time as a busy surgeon 14:44 – When medicine becomes your identity 20:41 – How medicine has changed over his career 24:59 – The study: orthopedic income down 40% in 20 years 26:04 – Why you can't go crazy once the money starts coming 29:54 – Learning to invest on a military salary 33:26 – Living frugally: two Mazda 3s instead of a Porsche 38:36 – Advice for young physicians drowning in debt 40:18 – What he'd do differently investing-wise 42:20 – Why singles and doubles beat home runs 44:14 – Does a "retirement number" really exist? 48:54 – A costly lesson from a bad real estate deal 55:57 – Caring for patients, not just curing them 1:02:04 – Advice to his 25-year-old self 1:03:40 – His personal definition of wealth 1:05:19 – Giving back with time, not just money 1:06:44 – The one lesson he hopes his grandkids learn 💥 About Dr. John Flood: Dr. John Flood, D.O. is a retired orthopedic spine surgeon who practiced for 33 years, including service as a military physician in Japan and South Carolina. He retired from surgery in 2022 and now shares the financial, professional, and faith-based lessons from a full career in medicine. He is a contributor to the upcoming book Legacy RX: Build Wealth, Live Free, Leave What Lasts and continues mentoring physicians on building a life—and legacy—that lasts beyond medicine. 📲 Learn More: 🌐 LegacyRx Conference 2026: https://legacyrx.co 🌐 Doctors Investor Club: https://doctorsinvestorclub.com 🌐 Connect with Dr. Kyle Stephenson on social media to stay updated on expert insights and strategies, and schedule your personalized consultation today to start building your path to financial freedom: 🔍 Instagram: @dr.kylestephenson 🔍 LinkedIn: Kyle Stephenson, D.O. 🔍 Schedule a call & access resources: https://linktr.ee/Dr.KyleStephenson


















