We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Melissa Kalt, MD. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Melissa below.

Alright, Melissa thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

As a medical director and physician on the Best Doctors™ list in the US, I quit my job to follow my Why.

I went into medicine because I wanted to help people — to be of great service. It was rewarding and I was good at it, but at times it was frustrating because there are some conditions just not solved by traditional medicine.

All became clear when I started studying trauma. First, I tackled traditional medicine’s approach to trauma. Then I moved on to Eastern and energetic medicine. I was amazed that so many things — fatigue, headaches, chronic pain, and so much more, were impacted by trauma. And I was even more amazed that releasing the trauma often improved the symptoms.

I couldn’t keep it to myself.

In 2016, I started my first business — almost like a side hustle. I worked with clients using eastern and energetic modalities to release their trauma with fantastic results.

Then it happened.

On December 8th, 2017, I awoke with the most solid inner-knowing that I was to give three months notice at my doctor job, just three weeks later. Every cell in my being felt alive and full of joy. I had about 30 minutes until I had to get up and I decided to lie in bed and really anchor this exquisite feeling of excitement into my body, so that when the fear set in, I’d still be brave enough to put in my notice.

That fear never came.

I gave my notice on December 29th — and incidentally found my now husband later that day (another great story for another time.)

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hi, I’m Dr Melissa. I’m pretty sure I was born on fire. I’ve always wanted to change the world.

At first, I thought that was by being a doctor, so I went all in, became board-certified in internal medicine, pediatrics, and lipidology, and achieved a coveted spot on the nation’s Best Doctors™ list.

Something was missing. I felt I was an entrepreneur at heart, but running a private medical practice isn’t profitable.

After my in-depth exploration of trauma and success using various eastern and energetic modalities, and my personal experience of narcissistic abuse, I knew I had something new to offer the world.

Now, at the intersection of entrepreneurship, personal development, and past narcissistic abuse, I help others not only heal, but learn to leverage their experience of past trauma as a springboard to accelerating success in all areas of life.

I work with entrepreneurs and creatives who have completed therapy and moved beyond the draw of the toxic relationship in their past. They are flipping, amazing powerhouses creating amazing things in the world. And, they find that they are often their own worst critic. They can be super confident in one area and unsure in another. They struggle to make decisions or second-guess the ones they do make. Perhaps worst yet, they attract new narcissists and other toxic people into their life, creating an endless supply of drama.

In this business, I am a category of one. Most people in the narcissistic abuse recovery space either have only clinical knowledge or are still processing their own trauma — and it’s palpable in their work. I’m unique because I have both personal and professional experience with narcissistic abuse, I’ve processed my anger, hurt, and pain from my past trauma, and I provide information in a clean, clear way. I’m also an entrepreneur, which I refer to as personal development on steroids. I don’t help people become resilient. I help them become Antifragile — on their path to becoming the truest version of themselves.

In addition to my full suite of programs and services to help individuals heal from narcissistic abuse, I’m super excited about my new program — Antifragile Rebels. Antifragile Rebels is more than just a program. It’s a community for the troublemakers, disruptors, and rebels who want to change the world.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Growing up, I was the ultimate over-achiever. Achievements brought great praise and I internalized them as self-worth. I became a perfectionist in order to achieve. I now refer to myself as a recovering perfectionist.

It’s taken a lot of time to unlearn that story.

In business, my attention for detail is an asset. Our masterclasses, courses, and programs are high quality. And I’ve learned business is no place for perfectionism.

I refer to entrepreneurship as personal development on steroids for good reason. I’ve had to push well beyond my comfort zone, doing things often, no always, before I feel ready. I’ve learned that moving fast is better than waiting until something is perfect. I’ve learned there’s no such thing as failure.

And maybe most importantly, I’ve really learned to let go of the need to “get it right” the first time — particularly with my marketing. I do my best with what I know today, then split test, review metrics, and improve.

I’m aiming for that 1% improvement each day. A year from now I’ll be 37X better than today.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I’ve always been fascinated with becoming antifragile. Resilience is great — you get knocked down, you get back up. But when you’re antifragile, through adversity, you gain. You end up stronger, wiser, and greater in the face of stress, adversity, and chaos.

My most recent example was summer 2022. I had avoided Covid throughout the pandemic, until I didn’t anymore. I caught it twice within about a 2 week period following a death in the family. I was knocked out hard — in and out of the emergency department and doctors’ offices, monitoring my oxygen level at home, trying to drink enough fluids to stay hydrated with my fever. My focus was on healing and survival, not my business. All told, I was fully out about 6 weeks.

Then I developed medium-Covid (the precursor to long-Covid). I was now able to breathe and had gotten off the steroids, but I slept about 18 hours per day. I had enough cognitive bandwidth to do three things per day. With minor kids at home, three things could easily be sign a school form, pay a bill, and take a shower.

Thereafter came long-Covid, with 10 hours of sleep overnight and a three-hour nap each day. Suddenly, I could start doing some work again, but only for a few hours per day.

Prior to this illness, I had been writing an article nearly every day, publishing three videos per week, and working with group and one-on-one clients. I’d just expanded our team from two to four. As my ability to work slowed to a halt, the team was able to take over.

Because I’ve produced so much content, they were able to repurpose the hundreds of articles and videos we have to keep things alive.

In the few hours of cognitive bandwidth I had each day, we created systems, online courses, ebooks, and client attraction systems to keep our business moving forward without the need for me to be active in it all day, every day.

By summer of 2023, I had recovered. My cognitive function recovered. I no longer nap. And the systems, courses, and books free me to be flexible with my time moving forward.

I didn’t just bounce back, I became antifragile.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://melissakaltmd.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melissakaltmd/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melissakaltmd/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-kalt-md/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/melissakaltmd
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/DrMelissaKaltMD/
• Other: Medium https://medium.com/@MelissaKalt