1. Physical and emotional traumas can silence an individual or drive them to great heights; only you have the power to decide.

2) When you give permission to someone to make you bitter, sad, or angry, “ they own you. “

3) Sometimes, I am kidding/not kidding. You need to see the look on my face when I say this to you.

4) I don’t remember what age or how many times I remind myself that if you want a behavior to continue, reward it.

5) Diversity in the corporate world is a paradox. The narrative is based on the ideology that race, gender, and sexual orientation are welcome in the corporate world. My views about this have never been in concordance with corporate values. Diversity to me is not about any traditional definition; it’s about the diversity of thought. The underbelly of the diversity of thought is counterintuitive to the corporate culture of having the same opinions, beliefs, and mannerisms to be accepted in the circle.

6) M & M (morbidity and mortality), a tradition in medicine during the informative years of my medical training, no longer exists in today’s world. The event was always held very early in the morning and presented by junior residents to junior and senior faculty. The meetings involved a synopsis of patients’ cases with complications, including deaths. The sessions were intense and required your ability to withstand extreme criticism and ridicule. Only those with the most complicated emotional armor can withstand the level of disapproval by the public pointing out one’s faults. “Wimps need not apply. “

7) A title or a corner office in a C-suite does not guarantee your respect or influence of those who report to you.

8) I have had far too many medical decisions that I have had to make alone. Apparently, I can challenge the central dogma with calculated risk. Over twenty years ago, there was one example of a woman destined to die shortly. Her family made plans to transfer her to hospice. A well-trained friend of mine was recruited to work with me. She asked me why I was starting this woman on medications when she was going headed to hospice to die. No one on any team or the nurses on the floor supported my decision. When requested to present my decision to the team meeting, I was delighted to present my argument.

I knew there was no argument about medical care, so the narrative I decided to present was one of moral hazards? Ethics

“It is our fiduciary responsibility to not only provide healthcare but also reduce pain and suffering as we transition our patients to the afterlife.”

I had my stone face and did not raise my voice as I understand that if I yelled, most people would seek shelter.

So my tone was one of my inner Steve Sherman when he played with the Seattle Seahawks.

“Don’t you ever disrespect me,” I told them I discussed this with our patient; the goal was not to prolong her life; the intent of the treatment was to allow her to breathe more comfortably so that she was not gasping for air but to die a comfortable death with dignity. Forty-eight hours later, she was smiling and breathing comfortably for her transfer to hospice.

9) We all see the world differently. We can also be utterly blind to the world around us.

10) I have been astonished by how many of my women colleagues have described a stare from male counterparts that treat them like puzzles they don’t want to put together.