Tell me about your vision. So that's one of those
questions where you're like, wow, what part of
my vision would you like to hear about? You know,
I think as a younger person, I probably would
have answered this differently than I would answer
it now. My vision would be for like my work and
what I would be doing, you know, for money and
that kind of type stuff. I think as I've gotten
older, I really recognize how everything. you
know, is delightfully mushed up together. And
so you can't really separate anything out. And
so really my vision is to help people kind of
have the freedom to really kind of embrace their
best selves and do good things and leave the
stuff that doesn't work for them behind and to
really kind of step in to their greatness. And
sometimes that's hard to see for yourself. So
I like to help people find that. And whether
that's... working as a general partner in my
investment fund and trying to find great companies
to invest in or mentorship clients, helping them
kind of, you know. discover what's coming next
for them or at home with my kids or with my fairy
godchildren. I'm really just about helping people
kind of see the possibilities and really having
the freedom to kind of really get in there and
think about them, not in a kind of maybe someday
sort of a way, but today is the day kind of a
way. Why does your why? My why is just people.
I love people. I find them fascinating. I'm incredibly
curious as a person, always have been. I just
love to get to know people from everywhere. I
mean, I think I drive my children a bit bananas
because I'm always the lady kind of chatting
to people in front of the in the front of the
line, the back of the line meeting. I've never
met a stranger. And. And I just I love people
and I love to bring people together. I love to
connect people. I love to just sort of open people's
eyes to the possibilities that are out there
that maybe they might not have otherwise thought
of. That's great. And then how about this one?
Where are you going with your vision? I want
to preface this with you've got a great new book
out. It's getting it's getting well reviewed
and. you know this is very exciting like a very
new book so yeah like just a couple like just
out there a couple weeks um you know i i've been
very lucky and also have worked my push off to
create the sort of set of circumstances that
I kind of get to live in now. I went to medical
school in a very sort of traditional path. I
practiced very intense medicine in the hospital
and ICU for 15 years, then got involved a little
bit more in the business side of medicine, ultimately
as the strategic guide. chief business development
officer for a very large physician partnership.
And then I did sort of the whole kind of private
equity, ran a company there in the health tech
space. So I've had a lot of different interesting
things that have happened to me. But really,
the through line for all of it has been sort
of curiosity and an openness to see what's coming
next. And I think it's very easy for people to
sort of get. I won't say stuck in a mindset,
but think, oh, I've done this and this is what
I'm good at. And so I'm going to just stay on
this path. And that's never been my take on the
world. My answer is always yes. As I've gotten
older, I've added and I need to hear more about
what that really entails. But I'm just always
kind of open to things. And it turns out to be
really fun. I never in a million years as a baby
doctor, you know, finishing my residency would
have thought that. you know, I would be doing
essentially venture capital stuff or being a
mentor to startup CEOs or all of, never would
have occurred to me. But yet here we are. And
so I think, you know, my vision is really my
confidence in being who I am all the time and
helping other people find that and having a lot
of fun along the way. That's great. And that
is quite the journey. I mean, to get from here,
like med school is significant, you know, years
and years and years and years and years and years
of your life between school and residency and
all that kind of stuff. And the money that goes
into that and, you know, the hours that come
after that. It's a lot. On the other hand, it
gives you an ability to, you know, to think very
critically, to be a really, really good listener.
I mean, a good doctor is fundamentally a good
listener and a good problem solver. And so, you
know, yeah, I didn't have my first real job till
I was 29. But but along the way, I learned how
to really kind of connect with people deeply
because I'm. As a doctor, I typically would meet
people on their worst days, not on their good
days, to make them feel comforted by my presence,
to instill in them a confidence that I know what
I'm talking about and I know what I'm doing and
that I'm going to have their best interests at
the forefront of my mind. And so all of those...
skill that you really kind of hone in medical
school and in residency really are so applicable
to all kinds of other things. And so it's been
really fun to take that into a lot of different
venues and meet a lot of, you know, really fabulous
people all around the world. Tell me about your
offer that you have now currently. Well, I wrote
a book and the book is called The Fairy God Doctor's
Guide to a Good Life. And it really stemmed from
a conversation I had after I sold my company.
I was interviewed by a woman and she asked me
what my legacy was. And I was like, do you mean?
with my work. Like, I'm not sure what you mean
by this question. And she's like, no, your legacy.
And I was like, oh, okay. Well, I think of legacy
as like my family, my friends, the people I've
been able to influence. Like that's my, my legacy
is one of people and of, you know, kind of life
lessons and whatnot. And she was like, oh, I've
never had anyone answer the question like that.
And then we ended up, you know, kind of going
down a rabbit hole or two talking and she was
probably about 32 or so. and we just i started
kind of telling her my thoughts on you know what
does success mean what is satisfaction like which
one matters more all this kind of type stuff
and she said i wish you would write this down
i really need you to write this down and then
about six weeks later i had another person sort
of similar thing said god i wish you would just
write this stuff down and i thought you know
what But people have spoken. So I have my sort
of seven prescriptions for for for living a good
life. And so the books just come out on April
5th is when it when it came out. And it's just
been really fun to get to talk to people about
it and and to see what they take from it. There's
a lot of me in the book. I mean, it's pretty
I put it all out there because I think that's
the only way to to roll. And so it's been really
fun to kind of. I mean, nerve wracking, but like
put it out there in the universe and then kind
of watch watch the goodness come back. So it's
been really, really fun so far with that. So
you've got the book. You mentioned mentoring.
Do you have an offer around that? So I typically
do I have an offer? No, I don't. And that's intentional.
If there's someone who wants to work with me,
I like to sit and chat with them. Let's see if
we're going to be a good fit. And then we come
up with what works. I recognize that everyone
comes to this in a different place. And I do
a lot of. We'll call it give back coaching for
startup CEOs and whatnot, which I find really
rewarding. There are other opportunities to get
a little bit more intense, in which case, you
know, I have kind of a scaling offer. But but
it really just depends on what somebody is looking
for and how do I feel like I might be able to
be of assistance. So it's not like I have like
and for nine ninety nine, you can get this. That's
that's just that's not my style. Yeah, that makes
a lot of sense. what do you where do you want
to head with that as far as you know you know
i mean i have a lot of other day jobs so uh like
i said i'm a general partner in a large investment
fund that takes up a lot of time i do a lot of
uh kind of free consulting for startups uh that
is fun like i and uh so i my mentorship stuff
is is really special if these are people that
i really feel a connection to that I want to
work with. It's not my day job. How do you feel
like leaders find their vision? Well, I think
this is really can be a very tricky question
because I think many leaders don't have one.
They sort of assume maybe the corporate vision
position or whatever is supposedly theirs. I
think that that is. Is something worth spending
a little time locking yourself in the truth booth
to really kind of understand what you as an individual
have? And I think that can be challenging, you
know, in my sort of previous corporate life.
You know, you kind of feel like, oh, well, my
vision is supposed to align with the company's
vision. And, you know, I'm not actually sure
that that's true. And often there's cognitive
dissonance between the two. And that can be really
uncomfortable for people. And I think that leads
to a lot of, you know, sensations of. burnout
or feeling overwhelmed or what have you when
there is some discrepancy between the two. And
so I think if you're sitting in a corporate role,
you sort of say, okay, well, that's the company's
vision. What's my version of that vision? And
what more importantly is my vision for my own
life, not so much my workspace, but my whole
life. And so I would really encourage people
to sort of quit with the whole work -life balance
separation BS and really kind of understand that,
you know, you only have one life to live and
one vision and to try really hard to make sure
that your choices, you know, kind of support
that vision moving forward, whatever it might
be. And so I think that would be my kind of take
on things to be like, just because it's on your
sort of corporate, you know, PowerPoint template
doesn't make it your vision. What's your vision?
that's good and then this one too so specifically
because you're mentoring you know people that
are you know founders who are have a vision and
they're and they're going what do you feel like
why do we hide from funding well again i think
it's it's this um hustle kind of culture particularly
in the startup world where And I don't I want
to be careful that I don't say like that whole
startup bro, you know, kind of whatever. I mean,
I'll just say this. I think it's all bullshit.
And I think that there's somehow this kind of
artificial sense that you're supposed to be grinding
you and working yourself to the bone. And I mean,
it's just not sustainable. Right. And so, you
know, people worry about. building a runway of
capital they build an operating runway they do
all of this stuff for their company but they
don't think about building a runway for themselves
both in terms of time and energy and money and
then no one is surprised you know when everything
kind of suddenly falls down like you know startup
entrepreneurs have the highest divorce rate of
any entrepreneur they have the highest suicide
rate of any you know like Come on, man. So when
I'm working with folks, I'm like, and what are
you doing for yourself this weekend? And how
are you sort of setting these things aside? Like,
yes, a startup guy's got to really believe in
what they're doing and they have to really live
it, but not to the exclusivity of all of the
other facets, you know, that make our lives these
sort of beautiful projects. And so I think that.
Clearly, I have a little bit of an axe to grind
here. I really feel like leaders hide from funding
their vision because they think they're supposed
to hide from funding their own personal vision.
They're supposed to put it all for the company
and it's all for the company. And that just doesn't
work. It just doesn't. That's not the recipe
for success. And that's not the recipe. And I
guess I should say, I define success as a sustained
process, not just a... oh, I secured this funding
and now, you know, my wife has just left me.
Right. That's not success in my. Yeah. Yeah.
Oh, that's great. And one more. What tips do
you have for women? I have so many tips. Yeah.
I mean, the subtitle of my book is a prescription
for the working woman, although I think my prescriptions
apply to all comers. I think that having lived
most of my life in very male -dominated fields,
the kind of medicine that I did, and then also
being in business, private equity, et cetera,
there's a natural inclination to sort of think
that you're supposed to be one of the boys, that
you're supposed to act like all of those people.
And that really sells the other skills and the
other ways of thinking that I think many women
have really short. And so I would sort of suggest
that you lean into being a woman. I think women
are often more flexible in their thinking. I
think they're much better lateral thinkers. And
these are qualities that are really great to
have in leadership. I don't like the phrase multitasking
because I think you should only do one thing
at a time and do it well. But I do think that
women are capable of maintaining more. plates
that are spinning or more balls in the air. And
we could probably take that all the way back
to kind of caveman times. We were the gatherers,
right? So I remember where that bush is and this
bush, and I know how to create community because
we all have to go to gather the fruit together.
And maybe that sounds like a sort of gross oversimplification,
but I do think that there's something intrinsically
different. in how women work. And so I think
we should really embrace that more than we do.
And we try to all act like we're all the same
and we're not. And that's awesome. So. that would
be my tip is to just actually show up and be
yourself and to also not think that asking um
for help or you know a rearranging of this meeting
time or that meeting time is somehow a sign of
weakness i think that we're often even more uh
Nervous might not be the right word, but a little
bit more hesitant to sort of sort of raise our
hands to say that doesn't work for me because
we don't want to be kind of singled out in any
way. And instead, chances are, you know, if you
need that meeting to be pushed back half an hour
because you've got to drop your kids off for
school, seven other people in the room probably
need that same thing. They're just too afraid
to ask. So what if you were the one who went
first? And so so that would be my that would
be my other little. That's solid. You know where
of you speak. Oh, yeah. And then on the flip
side, you know, when you are the woman in power,
so to say, like, I think you have to be, you
know, remember when and be really, really. helpful
is not again, not exactly the right word, but
to just be mindful of all of the other things
that we all have going on, because everyone has
lots of other things. Right. And maybe the pandemic
kind of helped peel that back a little bit. And
I think in some ways made the world kinder, but
in many ways made maybe not so much. And certainly
not. I don't feel that same way now. So that
kind of kindness and consideration. It doesn't
cost anything. Thank you for being here today.
I'm really happy that you tuned in to Vision
Pros Live. I'm looking forward to seeing your
reactions as these episodes continue to move
forward. This is going to get more and more fun.
We'll have more and more engagement as well.
We'll invite people to participate in the show.
And thank you for giving us your time and attention.
Have an excellent time building out your vision
and becoming a vision pro yourself.