Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Denise Brown, Md. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Denise, appreciate you joining us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

I’m the daughter of two top-secret scientists. I grew up in Los Alamos, New Mexico, home to the Manhattan Project. My mom was a chemist, my dad a nuclear physicist. They worked at the same place, but couldn’t talk about what they did at work- not even with each other. At home, it was total focus on being with family and friends.

The ability to show up with concentrated presence- the same intensity they brought to their work- they brought home to my brother and me. Even though it was the 1970s, my dad was in charge of making breakfast and getting us to school. He worked from 9am-6pm. My mom went to the lab early, at 6am so she could be home when school ended. The push-pull of two stellar careers plus family never seemed remarkable to me, it just was how we did things.

You often don’t realize the gifts you’re given as a kid, but what gifts they gave me. To expect total partnership at home; to be totally immersed in the NOW whether at work, at home, or at play; to be secure in the knowledge that everything is possible.

As a physician ,then entrepreneur, now investor, my ability to go all in comes directly from my parents. I know that I can have it all, but I can’t do it all. My partners in the office, my partner (of 28 years!) at home, and my kids give me the support, energy, and passion to keep doing good for my clients and doing well for us.

Denise, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I started out in a traditional career trajectory – graduated medical school, did my residency at Stanford, started a practice. I quickly realized I wanted more- flexibility and time with my family. I made sure to be the architect of my time and talents. I built a practice of almost all part-time working mom doctors, so that we were each able to spend time with our kids.

I then took my model to a larger physician organization and began really going all-in on the concept that there is no work-life balance, just one gloriously messy life. By embracing that concept, and scheduling accordingly, we were able to make great strides in patient care and physician satisfaction. Eventually, I decided that this concept applied to a great deal more than how to arrange a medical practice. I started mentoring and coaching others around the idea that we can have it all- we just can’t do it all. This concept is the tenet of my book, the Fairy God Doctor’s Guide to a Good Life. I’ve distilled all my learnings into one spot- so that others out there might find the fun and the passion in the everyday, choosing satisfaction over success.

Eventually, I left the clinical practice of medicine, and became an entrepreneur- navigating an exit, and sinking into the world of startup consulting. One of the biggest challenges for founders is building and maintaining a personal runway- not just an operating runway. I love working with founders to help them architect their whole lives, not just their company’s life.

Consulting work took me to my latest chapter- as a general partner of an investment fund. Now I get to help build and (sometimes) fund runways. The Fairy God Doctor’s Guide to a Good Life shows how deliberate and conscious concessions create constant evolution. We are all spinning the plates of our lives- some we drop, some we pick back up. And some we throw against the wall! My book helps clarify what matters to you, how to go get it, and how to let others in to make it all happen. It’s a prescription for lasting satisfaction.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Patrick Lencioni’s Five Dysfunctions of a Team is probably my most re-read business book. If I could only have one on my shelf, this would be the one. The approach holds true at work and at home. Openess, candor, clarity, and high standards are what we all deserve!

Have you ever had to pivot?

I’ve made 3 major pivots in my career-
The first when I left traditional practice and became a “business person.” Why would I spend all that time in medical school and residency to hang up those spurs? I looked at it as an opportunity to add new skills and people to my universe. I ended up as the chief development and strategy officer for a company and took that company from $600M to $1.6B.

The second pivot was when I left that big company for private equity. I had outgrown my role, and felt stifled. I always want to be learning and growing- and felt sick to my soul when I realized that wasn’t going to keep happening in the corporate environment. I bet on myself, and it paid off.

My in-process pivot is right now! I’ve taken all that I’ve learned about working and playing hard, raising 2 boys, and being joyfully married for 28 years and put it all into a book, the Fairy God Doctor’s Guide to a Good Life. It’s both a gift and a prescription for others to find lasting sustainable satisfaction in every aspect of life.

Contact Info:

• Website: denisesbrownmd.com and thefairygoddoctor.com
• Instagram: @dvsbee and @thefairygoddoctor
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/denisesbrownmd

Image Credits

DrewElaine Photography