#169: Dr. Lynette Charity: Fixing People & Lifting Them Up

OVERVIEW:

Jason A. Duprat, Entrepreneur, Healthcare Practitioner and Host of the Healthcare Entrepreneur Academy podcast chats with Dr. Lynette Charity, MD, anesthesiologist and keynote speaker. Dr. Charity shares her own struggles with fatigue and depression after a long career in private practice. She gives advice on how to continuously pivot your career and the value of coaching as you make these shifts. 

 

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:

• Dr. Charity was one of the first African Americans to attend a white high school in Virginia. She was also a first generation college student and went on to become a doctor. 
• Her goal was family practice. She did an externship in anesthesiology and went into OB and Neuro anesthesia. She was an Army captain and eventually joined a private practice. Dr. Charity’s motto: adapt your career to the times. 
• She knew medicine was her calling. She also knew it wasn’t supposed to kill you. Her coping mechanisms were uprooted and her depression blew up. 
• After forty years as a private practitioner, Dr. Charity was fatigued and frustrated. As a result, she became a standup comedian talking about anesthesiologist comedy, what it’s like being a black female and depression. 
• Dr. Charity believes it’s cathartic to share self-deprecating humor and to realize the world is okay if you can laugh.
• She began giving TED talks to let physicians know about the realities of depression and having suicidal thoughts. 
• Physicians are not exempt from suicidal ideation. Dr. Charity shares how hearing her mother’s voice in her head broke her cycle of depression.
• As you make transitions from healthcare into other arenas, you need coaching to learn from others who went before you. Coaching is key to anything you want to do. 
• As budding entrepreneurs, figure out what you can do, get coaching and understand the business aspect.
• From comedy, Dr Charity transitioned to public and keynote speaking. Her advice is to put yourself out there. Have a good website, a demo reel showing what your niche is and a message that resonates with people.
• She started with a boutique speaking bureau and learned the business of public speaking. During COVID, Dr. Charity has transitioned to podcast interviews and virtual presentations. 
• Bring your passions to light. Don’t be a slave to the bedside. Access credibility by sharing knowledge. 
• Learn what your message is, put it in a format that’s understandable, add some humor, and tell a story about yourself. 
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• Dr. Charity talks about her book “Seven Strategies to Become a Healthier, Happier Healer” as she advises people to move out of their own way and to navigate far away from the naysayers.

 

3 KEY POINTS:

1. Don’t listen to the voices in your head and get help for yourself—only then can you dedicate yourself to helping others.
2. Investing in coaching, gaining confidence and marketing yourself are keys to being a successful entrepreneur.
3. There are so many other things out there you can do if you’re feeling burned out, unhappy and unfulfilled.

 

TWEETABLE QUOTES:

“[If you need help], go get it. We can’t help anyone if we are dead.” - Dr. Lynette Charity

 

“Nobody speaks like you do.” - Dr. Lynette Charity

 

RESOURCES:

Dr. Charity’s website: https://drcharityspeaks.com/

Dr. Charity’s on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keynotecharity/

Dr. Charity on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/public-speaker-physician

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