The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence. -Albert Einstein
I’ve not met too many renaissance men in my lifetime, but I feel confident saying that Dr. Antonio Smith fits the bill.
Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Antonio landed in Indiana after weighing the options for where to practice medicine. Although he initially wanted a more urban area, a mentor suggested relocating to a rural area where physician shortages are at critical levels. And for Antonio and wife Leiya, the move has been a positive one.
The pair have settled into life in Princeton with their son Luka while Antonio works as a hospitalist at Good Samaritan Hospital in Vincennes. Recently stepping into a leadership role at the hospital, Antonio has added a liaison role with hospital leadership, working with a task force centered around quality improvement, administering performance evaluations, and plenty of paperwork to his already full plate.
And if that’s not enough to keep him busy, Antonio also explores the world of blogging, self-improvement, and small business development. Most recently Antonio has been exploring microbusiness structure and working on business plans and marketing for The Bearded Doctor – a line of beard care products that will eventually be available locally and online.
So where does all of this energy, curiosity, and creativity come from? According to Antonio it’s the opportunity to focus on a challenge. As a hospitalist, he’s a generalist; a jack-of-all-trades. But developing a business gives him the opportunity to zero in on a product, talk to customers, and develop a solution to their problem. Antonio equates it to working on a puzzle; it’s a challenge but that’s where he thrives.
As a member of the HUB 127 for nearly two years, Antonio has taken advantage of the flexibility that comes with 24/7 access, especially for the kind of hours that a physician keeps. But even more than that, it’s the atmosphere of the HUB 127 that benefits his work the most: “Environment is everything. Even though I have a pretty nice office set up at home, oftentimes it’s very hard to just focus and get into that deep work state. It’s a lot easier to get in the zone here. And it’s nice being around other people who want the same things for themselves. They want to be productive. I feed off that energy.”
Coworking spaces are also known to promote a healthy work-life balance. As Antonio says, “When I’m home I want to be a husband; [HUB 127 membership] allows me to separate those things.”
If you’d like to follow along with Antonio’s journey as a doctor, a husband, a father, and an entrepreneur, check out his blog: https://www.beardeddoctor.com/.
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