Living with Urgency —Why Tomorrow Isn't Promised | Dr. David Fajgenbaum

05/13/20 • 67 min

3 Listeners

Finding Mastery with Dr. Michael Gervais

This week’s conversation is with Dr. David Fajgenbaum, a groundbreaking physician-scientist and disease hunter.

The timing of his insights is incredibly relevant for us right now.

David is best known as the ‘doctor who cured himself’ – he received his last rites while in medical school and nearly died four more times battling Castleman disease.

To try to save his own life, he spearheaded an innovative approach to research through the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network and discovered a treatment that has put him into his longest remission ever.

Now, he is spreading this approach to other diseases like COVID19.

David is also one of the youngest individuals ever appointed to the faculty at Penn Medicine and the top 1 percent youngest grant awardees of a highly-competitive National Institute’s of Health grant.

As someone who’s been on the verge of death multiple times, David has a unique perspective... he shares how it’s altered his approach to life.

David likes to refer to it as playing in “overtime.”

In his words:

I’ve been in overtime ever since I had my last rights read to me. Think about overtime in sports. In overtime, all of a sudden there's this incredible clarity and purpose that comes with every tick of the clock. You can make a mistake in the first quarter of a game and you can make up for it, but if you make one wrong move in overtime the game's over. And I think that's the perfect analogy for how I feel every day of life. It’s not that I'm afraid to make a mistake or a paralyzing feeling, but it actually gives me clarity. I can hear the clock ticking, I know that I have this awful disease, but it helps me to focus on what's important and what's not important.

And that really sets the tone for this conversation.

We discuss the preciousness of life and why it really comes down to having clarity of purpose and making sure you take the proper actions to back it up.

David also shares how his lab is approaching finding a cure for COVID-19.

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We're able to keep growing and creating content for YOU because of their support. We believe in their mission and would appreciate you supporting them in return!!

To take advantage of deals from our partners, head to https://www.findingmastery.net/partners where you'll find all discount links and codes mentioned in the podcast.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week’s conversation is with Dr. David Fajgenbaum, a groundbreaking physician-scientist and disease hunter.

The timing of his insights is incredibly relevant for us right now.

David is best known as the ‘doctor who cured himself’ – he received his last rites while in medical school and nearly died four more times battling Castleman disease.

Now, he is spreading this approach to other diseases like COVID19.

As someone who’s been on the verge of death multiple times, David has a unique perspective... he shares how it’s altered his approach to life.

David likes to refer to it as playing in “overtime.”

In his words:

And that really sets the tone for this conversation.

We discuss the preciousness of life and why it really comes down to having clarity of purpose and making sure you take the proper actions to back it up.

David also shares how his lab is approaching finding a cure for COVID-19.

------

Please support our partners!

We're able to keep growing and creating content for YOU because of their support. We believe in their mission and would appreciate you supporting them in return!!

To take advantage of deals from our partners, head to https://www.findingmastery.net/partners where you'll find all discount links and codes mentioned in the podcast.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Previous Episode

Decoding Disruptors: Leaders Navigating the Unfolding, Unpredictable Unknown

We are in a unique moment in world history. From the devastating loss of life to the financial fallout to the closing of borders, businesses, industries and schools, we are collectively confronted by a reality few of us could have ever imagined.

Decision-making leans on precedents and guiding principles, but how do leaders react when there are no precedents to follow?

I had a series of conversations with friends inside our community to better understand the approach of those who effectively lead during moments of great stress, strain and uncertainty. I wanted to distill insights about leadership while we are still in the middle of the crisis, while it’s raw.

During crisis, leaders are called upon to rely on their preparation, respond in the moment, and locate the opportunity in a future that has not yet arrived. And they have to do these all at once with limited information and the well-being of others hanging in the balance.

I’m honored to be doing this project in partnership with Microsoft and Compete to Create. We hope you appreciate the applied insights of these leaders as much as we do.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Next Episode

Exploring Our Limited Understanding of Reality | Deepak Chopra

This week’s conversation is with Deepak Chopra, a world-renowned pioneer in integrative medicine and personal transformation.

Deepak is the founder of The Chopra Foundation, a non-profit entity for research on well-being and humanitarianism, and Chopra Global, a modern-day health company at the intersection of science and spirituality

TIME magazine has described Deepak as “one of the top 100 heroes and icons of the century.”

He is the author of over 89 books translated into over forty-three languages, including numerous New York Times bestsellers.

His 90th book and national bestseller, Metahuman: Unleashing Your Infinite Potential, unlocks the secrets to moving beyond our present limitations to access a field of infinite possibilities.

Deepak also has a new short form podcast called - Now for Tomorrow. I had the chance to be a guest and we stitched it onto the end of this conversation so I hope you enjoy it.

In this conversation, we explore big questions -- about the nature of reality and consciousness.

We discuss why it's so challenging to use language and sensory information to try to makes sense of the true nature of what is.

How can we understand reality when what we see and hear and feel is not complete?

My hope is that you'll leave this conversation with a different perspective on the way you think about what is real.

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Please support our partners!

We're able to keep growing and creating content for YOU because of their support. We believe in their mission and would appreciate you supporting them in return!!

To take advantage of deals from our partners, head to https://www.findingmastery.net/partners where you'll find all discount links and codes mentioned in the podcast.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.