1-There is a difference between a leader you want to follow and a leader you need to follow.

2—Many want society to accept them, but ironically, we can only assume those like us.

3-You can appear very dangerous to those who live their lives based on the reality and narratives they have created.

4-Most grown adults are frightened children inside.

5-You can appear very dangerous to others who live their lives in a lie.

6-You can fit in best in reality by validating others’ self-deception.

7-The more honestly you speak, the less others like being around you.

8-Your presence can spark the part that others may not like to look at.

9-Every truth you speak may threaten others’ identity.

10-Pride cannot coexist with peace.

1-You can be shaped by pain or by love.

2-Be mindful of a mentor that provides knowledge versus wisdom.

3-Great difficulties and struggles brings great wisdom.

4-Wisdom is infinite, from the vision that others never see.

5-Thirty percent of people in your work environment complete seventy percent of the work; seventy percent of your associates are doing just enough to get by and not so little to be fired.

6-Not everyone deserves a place in your life or your heart.

7-You can hear others’ words; it’s more important to not ignore their actions.

8-There will be truths in life that you will not be able to unlearn.

9-Once life awakens you, you can never go back to ignorance.

10-There are truths in life you cannot ignore, nor escape.

1-Whoever is cold to you is not entitled to your warmth.

2-Forgiveness does not require that the person be in your physical space.

3-You will encounter many individuals in your life who are so broken that you will be able to see into their souls.

4-Many times in your life, perception is reality.

5-Many in life will dislike you because you do not serve their interests.

6-Titles may not always reflect accomplishments.

7-Imposter syndrome is far more common than you realize.

8-Your superpower to get through life is to make it your mission to understand adaptive neuroplastic resilience.

9-I cannot explain this; sometimes, when one of my patients dies, a small part of me dies with them.

10-When disrespectful to others, do not count on them being respectful to you.

1-A true friend’s trust is not recyclable.

2-A scorpion can shed its shell but will never change its instinct.

3-The person who previously harmed you always carries a weapon.

4-There will be no shortage of friends who pray for your downfall.

5-The road to success is never linear.

6-My strength throughout life has been to master “crisis competence.”

7-It took me a long time to realize that I am responsible for their lives; they are not my patients; they are a part of me.

8-Many times, you need to speak about topics that will make others uncomfortable.

9-True strength is not loud; it’s silent.

10-Those individuals who cannot control you will be frightened by you.

Moniker is a nickname or pet name. I have picked up a few over my career, so I need to share these with the rest of the world. This passage is dedicated to all those who called me less-than-noble names and were assholes (I thought you knew)

So this is for all the “tobacco chewing-, Skoll-spitting, donut- eating, trailer park living, cheese whiz sucking, cousin-marrying assholes that gave me their own terms of endearment, I thought you knew?

Sorry, not sorry….

1) Renegade-apparently, when I showed up at this world-renowned hospital, only minimal care was dedicated to cardiovascular diseases. I started doing lots of heart procedures, and they said I was a renegade for doing all these life-saving procedures. “We ain’t a Heart hospital.”

2-The wolf” from pulp fiction by Fronden surgical intensive care unit” because of constantly cleaning up the mess of others and cleaning up the dead bodies.

3- Magic hands, I really don’t know why the operating room nurses call me this.

4- Robodoc- because when I was on call, I did not fuck around.

5-Swiss Army Knife, i was used over so many disciplines of cardiovascular practice.

6-Big dog-One of my patients called my Physician associate and said she was sorry she did not make it to my clinic, “Last Night we got FUCKED up, drunk, smoked some weed, and did some COKE, can you let the ‘Big Dog’ (Dr. Durand) know.

7-Batman from Frondren Surgical Intensive Care Unit, they would always call me. I would leave the call room, see the patient, write orders and notes, and disappear back to bed, so they called me “BATMAN”.

8-Superman- A new faculty member had worked, she called me one morning, and knew I was willing to do procedures on high-risk patients. She called me and told me exactly what she wanted me to do (although she never did one, and I thought this shit better work), so she named me “SUPERMAN”!!!!!!!!

9-Mr. President- When Kanye said he was going to run for president, I told one of the schedulers that I was throwing my hat in the ring. From that day forward, she called me “Mr. President”.

10-“7-11- Because no matter what time of the morning the nurses came in , they called me 711, I was always open for business.

11-Redneck doctor-One of my patients started talking about hunting and guns, and I had a deep discussion with him about firearms. Every time he came to the clinic, he asked to be seen by “THE REDNECK DOCTOR”.

12-Pablo Escobar, Pancho Villa, Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, I came in after a weekend on call with a big ass mustache; they called me all the above.

13- Call me anything you want but you cannot call me a loser.

1-Do not let the pressure delete the moment of saving a patient’s life.

2-The beginning of excellence starts with your preparation.

3. Discipline is a habit only you can cultivate.

4-Preparation yields the outcome you strive for.

5-While others try to make you what they want, be who you were meant to be.

6-Your personal growth can reveal gaps in the development of those close to you.

7-Speak the truth even when you are the most uncomfortable.

8-When you stop begging for respect, people will give it to you.

9-The strongest of minds do not tell you; they do not need to show you. They express their strength with restraint, indifference, and calmness. They do not ask for respect; society just gives respect freely.

10-No humans are perfect; many individuals just hide it better.

1-Live for your excellence and not the mediocrity that others expect from you.

2-So many times in life, the lessons come before the experience.

3-In corporate parlance: You define a problem, you become the problem.

4-Never root against the underdog.

5-You learn the most when others expect a lot from you.

6-Sometimes, many things can be easy because everything else is so difficult.

7-Call me anything you want, but you cannot call me a loser.

8-There will be moments in your life when you need a certain level of toughness and grit to go out every single day and excel at doing what others do not want to do.

9-You learn the most when your associates expect the most from you.

10-Real strength is when you never have to show it.

1-Seeing and accepting someone for who they are can be extraordinarily difficult.

2-Many times in life, you will meet people who refuse to meet you where you are.

3-Many times in your life, your perceptions may not be reality.

4-Your character is not defined by how many times you fail; it’s defined by your refusal to ever give up.

5-As a heart specialist, I see and experience my world as;

Responsibility

Accountability

Liability

6-Be quick to listen and slow to speak.

7-Choose to love with intention, not agendas.

8-Relationships die for lack of effort.

9- Stop seeing reality through the lens of your past and start seeing life through endless positive possibilities.

10-Healing isn’t soft; it’s uncomfortable all the time.

1. The person you need out of your life is the one who wants to remind you of who you were.

2-A major day in your life is when you realize your happiness does not depend on others or their validation.

3-Letting go of your previous harms doesn’t make your past easier; it adds clarity to the present.

4-You can spend your life being everyone’s everything only to end up being nobody’s nothing.

5-People will reveal themselves in the ways they failed you.

6-You cannot let go of your past when you repeatedly replay your past in the present moments.

7- Those who meet with loud voices who are confident and charming live in fear: fear of being discovered, losing control, and no longer being able to manipulate.

8-There will be many times when your heart and mind disagree.

9-The right people in your life are going to grow with you, step aside and obstruct you, or impede you.

10-In the corporate world, many will project their limitations onto you.

1-One of life’s greatest betrayals is the one we commit against ourselves, against our mission in life.

2: Your weaknesses invite manipulation from others; your strengths expose their failings.

3-I have grown so used to being uncomfortable that I no longer know what comfort feels like.

4-Every problem in your life has a solution.

5-Leadership is not dominance; it’s direction.

6-It’s not just about your past; it’s about who you’re becoming.

7-Never turn warnings into promises.

8-People reveal themselves in the ways they fail to be there for you.

9-You need to believe in yourself because the world will never believe in you as much as you need to.

10-Treat your excellent man well, and you have nothing to worry about; treat a worthy man poorly, and all you will worry about is other women.