Today, host Lorie Jones sits down with trailblazing biotech leader Dr. Sheila Gujrathi, whose journey from a physician in a family of doctors to biotech executive, author, and advocate will both inspire and challenge you.
Dr. Gujrathi opens up about forging her own path and making audacious career pivots from an upbringing guided by traditional expectations to breaking new ground in biotech and pharma. She shares how her passion for medicine evolved into a mission to bring life-changing therapies to patients around the world, and why authenticity, investing in yourself, and finding the right people are crucial for both career success and personal fulfillment.
This episode highlights the toughest lessons on the path to success—silencing doubt, rising above bad advice (especially when told to “fit in” or play small), and the real value of having champions in your corner—with actionable guidance on seeking opportunities, self-advocacy, and the power of lifting others as you climb. Get ready to be inspired and fearless!
Show Highlights:
- Pivoting from a medical family legacy to pursue a North Star. [04:55]
- The promise of immunology in biotech’s next-gen therapies. [10:56]
- Embracing authenticity over fitting in as an underrepresented leader. [15:29]
- Who are “your people” supporting and amplifying your true self? [19:57]
- “FIDS,” the internal glass ceiling, and three steps to freedom. [22:33]
- Why choosing people beyond job roles matters. [31:15]
- How self-empowerment boosts negotiation and mentorship. [35:30]
- Making a satellite fund work apart from your core portfolio. [38:09]
- Overcoming fear of visibility with the power of engagement. [40:10]
- Discover Dr. Gujrathi’s advocacy work and resources. [50:23]
To connect with Dr. Sheila Gujrathi on LinkedIn, go to https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheila-gujrathi-md/, or visit her website https://sheilagujrathimd.com/.
Click the link to check out her book The Mirror Effect on Amazon.
If you enjoyed this episode, please go to Apple Podcasts and leave a review!
For more information about Lorie Jones, go to https://fearlessfinancialadvisors.com/fearless-females.
00::01.72
Lorie Jones
Good morning, fearless females. So I’m so excited today. We are here to chat with Dr. Sheila Gujarati. She is in biotech and pharma, and she’s got a really interesting story that I just know you’re going to love. So I’m so excited. Thank you so much for joining us today, Sheila.
00:18.01
Sheila Gujrathi MD
Oh, thank you so much. I’m thrilled to be here.
00:20.54
Lorie Jones
So my first question is always, it’s either like the easiest question or the hardest question. And um it’s, what is your favorite book? Tell me.
00:31.10
Sheila Gujrathi MD
Well, I have a very strong spiritual practice.
00:34.93
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:35.19
Sheila Gujrathi MD
and a longstanding background reading a number of amazing spiritually oriented books. So I like to recommend The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer um because I think it’s just so beautifully written and it’s so clear.
00:51.42
Sheila Gujrathi MD
For those who are interested in learning more about, you know, what a spiritual journey could look like or what does that meant for me? um I studied Hindu philosophy and Vedanta ah all my life, but those texts can be quite dense. So I think, you know, Michael really does an amazing job of getting at kind of some of the similar principles and way of life that I that I pursue and my value. So I highly recommend that book.
01:15.73
Lorie Jones
I think I’ve heard that suggestion before, so I probably better move that up to closer to the higher of my stack of books, but that it sounds really interesting. It sounds like kind of ah an introspective or a thinking sort of book.
01:30.81
Sheila Gujrathi MD
It really is. And then just other books along the same genre, Eckhart Tolle’s books, ah The Power of Now and A New Earth. Again, just really wonderful kind of introductory texts to a spiritual way of life. And again, highly recommend any of those just for those who are interested in exploring or who have real interest in this area. They’re just so
01:53.71
Lorie Jones
That’s great. I always was see I actually use this as my book list. I use it as like what I should be reading. And, um and I’ll go through after, you know, after a podcast, it all and I’ll order everything that they’ve recommended in the last like three or four podcasts. So I never have to read books I don’t enjoy because these are always really great suggestions. So thank you. I appreciate that.
02:16.64
Sheila Gujrathi MD
It was great way to get recommendations. Wonderful.
02:19.28
Lorie Jones
I know. It’s so, so sneaky of me, huh? So um tell me a little bit about your journey. Tell me how you started out. Did you always know what you wanted to be? How did you end up where you were? is it a straight path? Just let us know a little bit more about you.
02:35.45
Sheila Gujrathi MD
Yeah. So I grew up um in, on the East coast in in the U S and I’m a, daughter of Indian immigrants. Both my parents came over in the 1960s and they’re both physicians and really excellent doctors. And so I grew up kind of surrounded by medicine my whole childhood and young adult life. So I was always very focused on becoming a physician. and taking care of patients. um I had watched my parents do that throughout, again, my my childhood. And so that’s really what I was going to do. Also, my brother became a doctor. So we were all kind of a family of physicians.
03:11.04
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And so I set out to do that. I was going to be a practicing clinician. I was going to do academic ah research, mostly on the translational side, kind of bringing new therapies to patients. And so I pursued, i entered a seven-year medical program at Northwestern. so i was accepted into medical school from high school.
03:30.23
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And it was an accelerated honors program. And then I studied engineering undergrad and biomedical engineering to, you know, give me some more scientific discipline. And then, um, and then I pursued a residency in internal medicine in the Brigham women’s hospital at Harvard, and then a fellowship in allergy immunology, rheumatology at UCSF and Stanford.
03:49.88
Sheila Gujrathi MD
So that was, so I was there, I was all in, I spent the first 30 years of my life really training to be a great clinician and and researcher and academic researcher.
03:52.29
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
03:59.86
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And that, so that, that was what I was going to do. And so, you know, so such a surprise to me that, you know, as I was finishing my training, I decided to make a major pivot in my career and actually decided to leave medicine, and the practice of medicine and ended up going into biotech and pharmaceutical organizations and, really dedicated my life now to developing novel innovative medicines through what we call that biotech industry.
04:28.34
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And so never thought that was going to happen. Didn’t have a plan. Wasn’t even aware that those were potential careers I could pursue and follow. But I’m so grateful that I did because I really ah just love my career. I love working with such amazing people day in, day out.
04:46.36
Sheila Gujrathi MD
I still keep patients at the center. of my thoughts and goals and decisions and they’re my North Star to help as many patients and their families as possible all around the globe.
04:56.48
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And my ability to have like even a broader impact than a practicing clinician, you know, day to day is is very meaningful to me, I really admire physicians i’m married to a physician. who is an ER doc, who is like the pit, he’s really a hero. um And so he sees patients, you know, day in, day out and saves their lives. And so I really admire physicians who are on the front lines and taking care of patients every day.
05:21.02
Sheila Gujrathi MD
i just feel like I found the right career for me to really leverage the way I love to be innovative. i love to learn new things. And then i I really do like to have this more global impact. And so that’s that’s really, i feel so blessed about my career.
05:36.46
Lorie Jones
Sheila, did you get kicked out of the family when you chose to not go? yeah Like everyone you know is a doctor. and Were they like, oh my goodness, are you kidding?
05:47.32
Sheila Gujrathi MD
Well, there was a period of time, yes, where I almost got kicked out. And, you know, I was told that I was making a huge mistake and throwing away such an investment I made in myself.
05:58.29
Sheila Gujrathi MD
But it was financial. It was time and energy and effort. um Obviously, my family was very invested in me becoming a physician as well. It was very much tied to my identity and my familial identity.
06:08.40
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
06:10.11
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And so and um and it’s also a very highly respected ah profession and you know the Indian kind of societal and cultural norms, as well as probably a lot of other um groups that you know do hold doctors in high regard.
06:23.70
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And so it was a lot to… you know, to have the courage to step away from all of that and break free and give myself a chance to explore other career paths. And at that time, this was, you know, 30 years ago, this just wasn’t done.
06:38.62
Sheila Gujrathi MD
i mean, nobody left medicine to go pursue industry. it’s ah It’s more of a tried and true track now, i would say.
06:45.47
Lorie Jones
Oh.
06:45.62
Sheila Gujrathi MD
But at that time, it was really considered the dark side and something that really wasn’t like as respected or understood, i would say.
06:48.86
Lorie Jones
oh
06:53.83
Sheila Gujrathi MD
so Yeah, almost got kicked out. But thankfully, they stuck with me and have been very supportive you know ever since.
07:03.01
Lorie Jones
Well, and the thing is, is like you’re saying biotech and and medical and like both of those sound like really smart, um educated things to do. And biotech is kind of a, ah you know, recently it’s been in the news. It’s super important and at the forefront of like research and technology. So so what, but that’s all I know about biotech. So what what is it that you have a ah bigger, um a bigger impact on more people just because you’re you’re working in that area. But what what do you do?
07:40.28
Sheila Gujrathi MD
Yeah. So basically what I ended up doing, I actually spent some time at a consulting company called McKinsey and Company, and that was a really well-known strategic management consulting firm. And what that does is it actually takes mostly um MBA, you know business graduate students, but also other graduate students. And for me, I came in as ah as a fully formed physician. um they you know we They take a bunch of really smart people and consultants, and we go in and we work with large and small companies on helping them solve pretty big, important problems that they are grappling with and wrestling with. And so through that experience, I got to work with a lot of large pharmaceutical companies, I got to work with their senior management and executive teams coming right out of my medical training. So it really shaped me to understand how impactful this industry is. And essentially, and then after that, I actually got a job on the commercial side to be in marketing, but quickly realized that I want to be on the R&D side.
08:39.86
Sheila Gujrathi MD
So i moved back into R&D and I was the medical leader and development team leader on multiple programs.
08:39.87
Lorie Jones
Oh,
08:46.35
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And basically what I have spent over the last you know two to three decades doing is developing innovative therapies for patients with autoimmune diseases and cancer primarily, as well as neurologic diseases.
08:57.69
Lorie Jones
well
08:59.68
Sheila Gujrathi MD
So but So basically, and what and I’m so blessed that I studied immunology. So this has been like an incredible coming of age for immunology, the understanding of the body’s immune system and how it can go awry.
09:13.72
Sheila Gujrathi MD
and basically lead to diseases when you think about autoimmune diseases. Also, how it can be harnessed to become effective therapies. And that’s what we’re doing in the cancer setting. We’re actually harnessing our body’s own immune system to fight cancer.
09:23.29
Lorie Jones
Thank you.
09:26.90
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And then on the autoimmune side for patients with multiple sclerosis and lupus and rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease, these are all considered to be autoimmune diseases. And what we’re doing there is we’re dampening the immune system of ah of a patient who’s the whose immune system has gone awry and is actually attacking itself. And so based on my knowledge of immunology, I can kind of come forward with different therapies that either rev up immune systems to help fight cancer or dampen immune systems to really get diseases under remission and hopefully reset them so that patients don’t have their immune system attacking themselves so they don’t have those autoimmune diseases.
10:05.91
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And it’s just been this amazing experience because now we have so many novel therapies that can take care of patients with these different diseases and they’re used all over the world. And so I’ve been part of developing the clinical plans, the development plans, running those trials, getting those drugs approved, working with the FDA and the the European ah medicine agencies to get these drugs approved and onto the market, but doing all the clinical trials, analyzing data,
10:32.25
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And now I’ve been working with you know early stage researchers to come up with even novel technologies, things that are using AI and machine learning, um using ah RNA and DNA and cell therapies, in addition to what we call the small molecules and large molecules. Small molecules you’ll take by mouth or pills, and large molecules are usually injections or IV infusions. All of these drugs and therapies and modalities are important for patients. So we have to you know employ all of this to try to figure out how to cure patients of their diseases. And so that’s what I’ve been doing for the last um you know three decades, and I’ve loved every minute of it.
11:08.57
Lorie Jones
Sheila, that is so cool. It’s like, it’s like you’re making, you’re making history or you’re making dreams come true. Like you really are the forefront of, of trying to help these people rather than just one person, one patient that is a time you’re trying to help, you know, cure cancer or, or, and these autoimmune diseases. That’s really cool.
11:32.70
Sheila Gujrathi MD
Yes, when I was working at one of the companies that I kind of, you know, was my initial, some of my early entry into biotech, it was an amazing company called Genentech in the San Francisco Bay Area, one of the first and largest biotech companies that were really developing these novel therapies, but they were called biologics. And we were basically, you you know, coding. how to have how to have proteins expressed by these different cell lines and then use those proteins, purify them, and then use those proteins as medicines for patients. And we used to talk about how we wanted to rewrite the textbooks for how we take care of diseases. And that’s basically what we set out to do. and that’s what we ended up doing. And that’s what we’re going to continue to do ah with the but within the biotech industry, all for really improving the lives of patients and their families.
12:20.25
Lorie Jones
And being one who sees the lives of those patients as they, you know, get cancer or, and that’s the one that I probably have the most experience with. It’s just, it’s truly amazing what you guys are doing there to, to help, um,
12:37.21
Lorie Jones
Maybe bring an end to this terrible thing. I keep saying I want to punch cancer in the face.
12:42.42
Sheila Gujrathi MD
yeah We all do. Right. All of us have been affected by this. You know, most of us have a loved one or ourselves who’ve experienced these types of terrible situations. And it’s so, so distressing.
12:55.45
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And, you know, we have we just have to keep at it and, um you know, and just making differences. And we have we’ve been making differences. And so that’s you know, that’s that’s such a true North Star for me. And it’s very meaningful.
13:08.23
Lorie Jones
Yeah. So Sheila, tell me a little bit about across your journey. Is there any investment that you’ve made in yourself that you’re like, oh my goodness, I’m just so glad I did that.
13:18.89
Lorie Jones
It wouldn’t, my my life wouldn’t have turned out the same if I hadn’t done that thing. Mm-hmm.
13:24.54
Sheila Gujrathi MD
Well, it’s been almost a continuous investment in myself. You know, it’s something that, so while I have absolutely loved my career and my my journey, it hasn’t always been easy.
13:36.44
Sheila Gujrathi MD
You know, I was oftentimes the only woman in a room. i was oftentimes the only person of color in the room. i you know, sometimes i didn’t have anyone who looked like me that were that I was working with or acted like me or spoke like me. And so I never really felt like I quite fit in.
13:53.18
Sheila Gujrathi MD
This was true when I was in academic medicine. um In terms of when you look at the walls of the Grand Rounds at these very prestigious universities and academic medical centers, there’s there there’s not a lot of people who look like you. like Actually, there’s nobody that looks like you on the walls or who are chairing these departments. And you’re really trying your best to fit in. And you were, for me, I was trying to be that model minority and embrace other cultures and traditions you know to you know to feel like I belonged. And so you know I spent my whole you know career doing this you know you know decade after decade, whether I was in medicine or whether that was in biotech, large biotech, large pharmaceutical organizations, and then smaller biotech working with different investors. you know And I think I just woke up one day, you know this is later in my career and realized, wow, like I really haven’t really been true to myself. And I think once you get into these higher echelons of leadership,
14:49.70
Sheila Gujrathi MD
It’s even more important to be authentic and because that’s where you derive true power.
14:54.44
Lorie Jones
hmm.
14:54.62
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And I started to realize that in order for me to be as effective as I can be, should be, and need to be in these senior leadership roles, I really needed to come back to myself.
15:05.72
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And so one of the biggest investments that I have made that I am so ah proud of is investing in myself and believing in myself and showing up as my authentic self, when I knew maybe that didn’t fit in, or maybe that was a little different than the norm of what I was experiencing around me, because then that’s when I could be most effective. And I knew it was the best thing for the business, for the programs I was working on, and ultimately for patients, is for me to bring all of myself to work day in, day out.
15:35.77
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And so the to that that’s what I would say is the the most the most important investment I’ve made is in myself and believing in myself.
15:43.48
Lorie Jones
I love that. I love the way you put that because, yeah, we do spend a whole lot of time trying to fit in rather than stand out and being authentically you makes you unique. It makes you stand out. It makes you who you are.
15:57.27
Lorie Jones
um but But how would you have done that earlier because you spent the first part of your journey and your career trying to fit in? And quite honestly, most of us do, don’t we?
16:09.98
Sheila Gujrathi MD
I think, you know, just knowing that the best thing I could do is to be myself earlier on in my career, I think I would have just relaxed more. i think, you know, my look back, even through my academic studies and through my early training, you know, I think I was just really stressed out all the time.
16:29.46
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And I see that in the younger generations. I have two teenagers, um you know, who have been going through, you know, so much trying to figure out their career paths, get into college.
16:33.35
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
16:39.71
Sheila Gujrathi MD
you know, all of these aspects and everyone’s again trying to fit in trying to check all the boxes, trying to do all the right things. and And they’re even told like, you know, they want to see differences in their applications.
16:51.67
Sheila Gujrathi MD
But it’s so hard for them. And, you know, and I think if I just knew, really knew early on how much just being myself would be such a differentiator and driver of my success, I could have been just more relaxed and embracing myself more as opposed to just being so stressed out that maybe I said the wrong thing or, you know, didn’t wear the right thing or, you know, just all these things that kind of occupy so much of our mind and energy.
16:53.53
Lorie Jones
yeah
17:07.21
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
17:12.15
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
17:19.45
Lorie Jones
Yeah. Oh, I love the way that you put that. And that and it is so true. Like if we could if we could be comfortable with who we really authentically were earlier, maybe we wouldn’t have to fight so hard during those those years to get where we were because…
17:36.09
Lorie Jones
We naturally maybe attract the people who were meant to come into our lives and into our sphere and in the journey that we were meant to go on because we didn’t spend so much time trying to act like everyone else, right?
17:49.59
Sheila Gujrathi MD
Well, that’s that’s exactly the the next point, which I’m so glad you brought that up, is that because then you really have to, then you really figure out like who are your people and finding your people. So for example, if you’re not fitting in and people don’t want to embrace who you are or honor that, then that’s really important information that you want to know as soon as possible because you actually don’t want to spend a lot of time building up those relationships that aren’t going to honor your authentic self and and and support you and be a mirror for you.
18:18.16
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
18:19.89
Sheila Gujrathi MD
i talk a lot about that in my book, you know, my TED talk. you know You want to surround yourself with mirrors, people who see you, hear you, understand you, believe in you, have your back, want to support you. And, you know, because you’ll find people who, you know, who don’t want that. And then you’ll find people who do. And you want to surround yourself with those people who do, because that’s the way we want to live our lives. You know, we want to bring all of us to the table.
18:42.58
Sheila Gujrathi MD
You know, we want to have a seat at the table and we want to bring all of us to the table externally and internally, and because that’s, again, when we’re going to live our thriving life. And and believe me, you’re doing your best work when you are yourself.
18:56.73
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
18:57.05
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And so, but through that journey, you’re going to find your people and then you’re going to surround yourself with those folks. I talk about building your personal board of directors, but getting more clarity on who those people are early in your career is is really, it’s such a career accelerator.
19:11.96
Sheila Gujrathi MD
Not again, just just for climbing up the corporate ladder, but for you to find what that personal journey is for yourself and what your vision is of what you can create in this lifetime. And that’s so I think that all of those are like the amplifiers that you want to bring into your life. And it is all necessary.
19:28.63
Sheila Gujrathi MD
But starting with yourself and understanding and letting yourself be yourself is so critical. And also, it’s ironically, that like a huge amplifier for your success, because that’s when you can build those trusting, authentic relationships.
19:40.63
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And we all know that relationships, you know, really make business, you know, so stronger and help you thrive in the business world.
19:40.67
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
19:47.76
Sheila Gujrathi MD
You need to let your guard down and be vulnerable. so that people can understand where you’re coming from and trust you more. And when you have all your guards up, you know it’s very difficult to develop trusting relationships.
19:53.70
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
19:58.32
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And so if you’re feeling threatened or not safe, like it’s not a great great place for you to be because you’re not going to, people aren’t going to really know who you are, and then you’re not going to be able to to thrive and and strive successfully in those environments.
20:12.81
Lorie Jones
Oh, that’s just like i I, could, we could just drop my, you know, right now. I agree. i think that is so important. And I love the way you phrase that.
20:23.35
Lorie Jones
So Sheila, did you ever get along your journey? Did you ever get some really bad advice? What’s the worst advice you’ve gotten? And did you did you take the advice or did you not?
20:33.71
Sheila Gujrathi MD
Well, think the worst advice I got was to fit in, you know, was to kind of, you know, play that game or, you know, realize that, you know, this is what, you know, this is what you have to do to fit in to get to that next promotion. I also was given advice, you know, many times that I would not, that I wasn’t suitable for certain roles, you know, that I would, like, I wasn’t the right person to be you know Be a leader in this organization or be a therapeutic area head or be a spokesperson for a company.
21:09.94
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And that you know I should go do something else and not pursue my dream. and And that was actually advice I got from you know respected leaders who were mentoring me you know in these organizations.
21:23.35
Sheila Gujrathi MD
and And I didn’t listen to that advice, actually.
21:26.68
Lorie Jones
Well, thank goodness, but why were they telling you this?
21:28.06
Sheila Gujrathi MD
Yeah.
21:29.80
Lorie Jones
You were so, you know, go-getter and all that sort of stuff.
21:34.81
Sheila Gujrathi MD
It was really shocking. And then I actually then started to, the the really damaging part was when I started to believe that advice, like, oh, okay, well, I guess I’m not a good drug developer or, You know, maybe I’m not, you know, set out to be an articulate communicator that can represent a company.
21:40.84
Lorie Jones
Hmm.
21:50.81
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And I just had no idea why that was, because I would look around me and I was making all these strategic presentations to senior leadership. but They were calling me to lead these teams. So I started feeling like like this is the whole gaslighting piece where you start to feel a little crazy because you’re playing some very senior roles. I had all the academic training. I had all the credentials. You know, I i absolutely knew how smart I was and capable and talented. And in fact, I was running around doing everyone else’s job.
22:18.42
Sheila Gujrathi MD
and then And then at the same time, you being told that you’re not going to be that external spokesperson or you’re going to, you know, and then you weren’t getting those promotions, even though you were playing those roles, you know, you start to feel like you’re going a little crazy. And then you start to internalize those You know, but that that conditioning or those things that people are saying to you and then they become your internal limiting thought patterns and beliefs.
22:40.14
Sheila Gujrathi MD
So it’s not that we wake up with all these internal these limiting thought patterns and beliefs.
22:40.57
Lorie Jones
They go around your mind.
22:44.42
Sheila Gujrathi MD
there’s a there is a There’s ah a process that we go through, which is internal doubts. I call them the fear, insecurity, doubt and shame, the fids.
22:54.34
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
22:54.65
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And the external environments that amplify those doubts or even create those internal doubts that we then internalize.
23:01.80
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
23:01.85
Sheila Gujrathi MD
So there’s this interplay that’s occurring for us internally and externally that you know many women and people of color, people of underrepresented groups or marginalized communities are experiencing.
23:13.66
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And then that becomes our internal limiting glass ceiling. So there’s an external glass ceiling and there’s an internal gas glass ceiling and we’re experiencing that. And then That causes a lot of people to drop out and opt out.
23:25.91
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And that’s what I think sometimes is occurring in these environments, because I see a lot of people leaning in but they’re hitting their head against the wall. And then they’re kind of confused and flustered and don’t know what’s what’s happening. And then they’re miserable. And then they decide, well, i just don’t want to operate like this anymore. And this just not worth it.
23:42.84
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And then they opt out.
23:44.28
Lorie Jones
which gets rid of a lot of talent and, um ah yeah you know, like maybe we’ve gotten rid of the person that could make the next big breakthrough in biotech or in finance in my position, you know, like,
24:00.79
Lorie Jones
that that that pushes people out of the room that really should have a seat at the table and could really make a difference. So how do you how do you interrupt that? Because I see that not just in your industry, but it happens everywhere. And you’re right, you know minorities and women, a lot of times we’re the ones who we hear those voices and then we just keep saying them in our head. Like, how do you interrupt that cycle? Do you know?
24:26.68
Sheila Gujrathi MD
Yeah, well, this is what I wrote the book about, honestly. um It was all about this because I had experienced this. This was my own personal journey.
24:32.78
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
24:35.64
Sheila Gujrathi MD
then when I decided, oh my God, when I first i realized what was going on, because it it took it took me some time to even realize what was happening, because I just was like head down, trying to prove myself, fit in, keep getting promotions, you know do a great job, like keep trying to hit the ball out of the park, right? like That was You know, because, you know, and my husband used to say that you have to be twice as good to get half the credit.
24:57.34
Sheila Gujrathi MD
But it was something I just realized and said, OK, well, that’s reality. That’s what I have to keep doing. And it’s like striving and fighting and struggling and doing all these things. And like I think one day i just hit a wall and I was like, I’m just like miserable. I’m miserable professionally. I’m miserable personally.
25:11.70
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And is this what life is about? Like, you know, and it didn’t matter how many successes I had. I still felt like I was always behind the eight ball. always felt like I had something to prove.
25:22.36
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And it’s exhausting, you know, it’s exhausting living life like that.
25:24.15
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
25:25.99
Sheila Gujrathi MD
So I think. When I just realized that, you know, it wasn’t just, again, the external environments I found myself in, it was how I was holding myself back because I was beating myself up all the time. I was so self-critical. I was, you know, nothing was good enough. And I was caught in that prism of perfectionism.
25:43.70
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And I had so much of the fear, insecurity, doubt, and shame, the fids that I was, you know i was living my life out of fear. And, you know i think that’s true for a lot of really high achieving women and minorities and just people.
25:55.51
Sheila Gujrathi MD
like This could be true for my male allies and peers and supporters too.
25:57.58
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
26:00.03
Sheila Gujrathi MD
Like many of us are, you know, McKinsey used to look for these insecure overachievers, you know, and, you know, many of us fall into those, into that kind of phenotype, but that’s just not a way to live a happy, you know, grounded life.
26:12.75
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And again, because I’ve had this really strong spiritual practice, I realized that from a young age that you know, that I didn’t want to live a life like that. But then I found myself living that life. And so waking up to all of this truth and reality was so eye-opening. And I thought, well, what can I do about it?
26:28.82
Sheila Gujrathi MD
i first figured it out for myself. And then I wanted to write about it and help others avoid some of those mistakes and pitfalls I found myself in. So I wrote this book called The Mirror Effect. And it really has three parts. The first is holding up your own mirror and knowing thyself.
26:45.88
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
26:45.98
Sheila Gujrathi MD
Because doing that work to become free of the limiting thought patterns and beliefs is so critical for your own happiness and for you to be able to navigate your external environment successfully. The second part of the mirror is reflect on your surroundings and understand your environment so you can find so you can navigate those difficult environments and you can find the right environments where you’re going to thrive and not settle for anything less. Find those thriving environments for yourself.
27:10.74
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And the last part of the book is make a life worth mirroring. setting yourselves up and others for success. And I write all of this to create a playbook and, you know, because there is no playbook, you know, and I felt like I didn’t have a playbook as I was navigating these environments.
27:25.79
Sheila Gujrathi MD
So I, and to your point, it’s pretty universal. it’s not, not related to any one industry.
27:28.61
Lorie Jones
Yeah. Yeah.
27:30.88
Sheila Gujrathi MD
It’s, it’s, it’s like this global experience that many of us are, are, are having. And then we’re thinking we’re going through it all alone. And I also want to tell people you’re not alone. You know, we’re all in this together. and And, And because when you think you’re alone, that’s when shame really kind of breeds and you know and grows you know when you’re feeling so isolated.
27:50.71
Sheila Gujrathi MD
So so i created this I wrote this book and I also created an accompanying workbook and journal to help people break free of these limiting thought patterns and beliefs and understanding how to navigate kind of these external environments they’re finding themselves in.
28:04.80
Lorie Jones
I love that. I’m going to post um the link to that in our show notes too for you. Yeah.
28:10.30
Sheila Gujrathi MD
Thank you so much. That’s great. and It’s really meant to be for anyone who feels like yeah they resonate with these messages. And yeah, but it’s it it just takes some work, but it’s really productive and you know really satisfying work because the goal of it is to find yourself and to connect more with your joy and happiness and really start to understand what it feels like to be compassionate towards yourself and how that is so liberating.
28:37.10
Lorie Jones
I love that idea too of self-compassion of not beating yourself up. i In fact, I wrote a ah blog post or an article about that. Just like, what if you were nicer to yourself?
28:48.02
Lorie Jones
So I love that.
28:48.76
Sheila Gujrathi MD
What would that feel like? What would that look like? What if you truly and deeply loved yourself?
28:50.78
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
28:55.26
Sheila Gujrathi MD
what does What would that mean for you? What decisions would you make every day?
28:59.67
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
28:59.74
Sheila Gujrathi MD
How would you show up for yourself?
29:00.04
Lorie Jones
And for your for your growth and where you end up.
29:02.17
Sheila Gujrathi MD
Yeah.
29:04.78
Lorie Jones
Yeah. Yeah, that’s great. um So looking back along your journey, Sheila, is there a, ah like, I have so many of these where I’m like, ooh, I would, knowing what I know now, like, I would go back and do that differently the next time. Do you have anything like that to do over?
29:22.84
Sheila Gujrathi MD
Yeah, no, I think it’s some of the decisions I made in terms of people I chose to work with. If I knew what I knew now, I really would have not taken those roles and gone and maybe joined other roles and found other people to partner with.
29:36.92
Sheila Gujrathi MD
I remember I had a mentor who told me, um you know, when I was making a pretty big career decision, he said, always choose the people.
29:36.97
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
29:46.39
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And I thought I was doing that, you know, and so I remember in that next role I did, I chose the people and worked out beautifully. i think you just have to kind of keep assessing whether are the people you want to keep working with or do you want to, you know, find other people to work with. And it’s kind of getting clarity on what your goals are, if people are going to be supportive of those goals, having those transparent conversations early on to make sure that there’s alignment.
30:11.67
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And if they’re not supporting you, then really make the decision to get out of there and go do something else. So I think really, and I really counsel, I counsel people to do this. i I say, get that clarity of what you’re looking for in a particular role, for example, whatever you’re interviewing for, but also the next set of roles and be clear about what you like your career trajectory to to be and to encompass.
30:36.57
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And if you’re not thinking that that’s an environment that’s going to support your career growth, either through your manager or that leadership team, then maybe that’s not a good environment for you to sign up to work in.
30:49.45
Lorie Jones
That’s interesting because starting out with two or three um you know decisions or or roles past what you’re hiring for, that’s that’s to make sure that a lot of those companies don’t have the options for you to grow in the way that you want to grow. And maybe reassessing right there at the beginning to say,
31:12.95
Lorie Jones
You know, I want if we’re going to keep me in this very boxy sort of role, like that’s not where I want to be. So maybe I need to look elsewhere so that I have a little bit of room to expand and grow. That’s so interesting. I never even thought of that.
31:28.18
Sheila Gujrathi MD
Yes, exactly. and And I want to be really cognizant that sometimes it’s a difficult job market. you know I’ve been out talking about my book and doing a lot of book launch events. I talked to lot of graduate students and sometimes they don’t have abundant choices, which I understand and I’m very respectful of, at least go in then eyes wide open, right?
31:47.18
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
31:47.29
Sheila Gujrathi MD
So you say, okay, this is a great company for this type of role and a set of experiences, but then you won’t be confused about that.
31:47.32
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
31:54.44
Sheila Gujrathi MD
You’re not going to get that promotion to that next level that you’re going to go in and get a set of experiences. And you’re going stay there for that two to three years and work at some great company and get really valuable experiences, but then you’re going need to look elsewhere, you know, for that next set of opportunities.
32:09.86
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And then you start networking around that early on and make sure you always have choices. Okay. The person who’s going to look out for you is you, you know, there’s, you can’t rely on other people.
32:17.55
Lorie Jones
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
32:20.14
Sheila Gujrathi MD
It’s not their job to look out for you. You know, the person who’s going to need to look out for yourself is yourself, have your own back to go in eyes wide open and get clarity of like what, a company will be able to help you with if it’s that certain role.
32:33.76
Sheila Gujrathi MD
Or they may say, we absolutely want to, we’re so invested in your career growth. mean, there are many companies that take career development very seriously, and they’ll set you up with mentors and they’ll set you up with sponsors.
32:44.47
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And they’ll be thinking about you not only for that role you’re playing, but where else can you go?
32:50.16
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
32:50.17
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And sometimes that may mean lateral moves before they step you up into that next level of promotion. But they’re thinking about that and they’re having these active conversations with you. And I’ve seen organizations do that incredibly well.
33:01.27
Sheila Gujrathi MD
So ideally, it’d be great for you to find an organization like that. But if you don’t find that, that’s okay. You know, just know that, you know, you’re going have to do that for yourself.
33:09.98
Lorie Jones
Yeah, yeah. I had um ah one woman who I interviewed a ah long time ago, and she said, um nobody cares about your career as much as you do. It just, it doesn’t happen.
33:20.79
Lorie Jones
You are the one who cares about your career, your growth, your trajectory, your life more than anyone else. So take charge of that.
33:27.51
Sheila Gujrathi MD
Yeah, there’s nothing wrong with that. that’s That’s actually reality and truth. And for us to think that someone’s going to be looking out for us and take care of us, like that puts us into like that victim mentality. like Take responsibility for your own life, you know professionally and personally, and empower yourself.
33:37.13
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
33:39.45
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
33:43.30
Sheila Gujrathi MD
My messages are one of empowerment. What can we control? And how do we show up the best to take care of ourselves and the ones we love?
33:51.97
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
33:52.33
Sheila Gujrathi MD
That’s the message. And there’s so much we can do. You all have more power than you realize. I have more power than I ever realized. And I remember someone telling me that once and I didn’t believe them.
34:03.83
Sheila Gujrathi MD
They said, you’re the one who has the power in the situation. I thought, oh, no, not me.
34:07.77
Lorie Jones
and
34:07.80
Sheila Gujrathi MD
But it was absolutely me because I was a brilliant person creating all the programs and and doing all the work. So absolutely, you have the power to do that. And you can you know you are highly talented. You know, people that you know need to be at these different companies. And, you know, once you realize that, you know you can go a long way.
34:27.90
Sheila Gujrathi MD
You know, you can get more powerful in your negotiations.
34:28.35
Lorie Jones
Thank you.
34:30.42
Sheila Gujrathi MD
and i have a whole chapter about negotiations because it’s really important to negotiate for yourself. And you can, you know, take your talent and capabilities to to the top companies and work with great people.
34:41.98
Sheila Gujrathi MD
and find those people who are going to support you and and promote you. And then, you know, when people realize that, wow, I really need to develop people in order for me, for them to want to work for me, that’s really, that’s when you’re going to be making the the biggest impact.
34:56.34
Lorie Jones
Yeah, and and it it also brings a lot of um joy to your own life too, or at least it does in my case, like as you develop and help others along their journey, um that really, it grows you too.
35:11.73
Sheila Gujrathi MD
It really does. It’s a two way street, you know, and i love giving back now and I’ve loved that I had the opportunity to give back and pay this forward. And and I, and I want to do that. And, know, I think finding those mentors and sponsors, but then you being a mentor and sponsor for others, all of us can be a mirror for someone in our lives starting today.
35:29.82
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And again, and and it gives, and I call it the gift that keeps on giving, you know, and it creates so much richness in our lives, but it also pays back in all these intangible ways and sometimes tangible ways that you don’t anticipate.
35:42.23
Sheila Gujrathi MD
So if you want to find great mentors and sponsors, be a mentor and sponsor for another.
35:49.99
Lorie Jones
Sheila, if you could go back and high five yourself for a really great past financial decision, what would it be?
35:58.55
Sheila Gujrathi MD
Well, beyond investing in myself, because honestly, that has been the most lucrative investment I could have thought to make. I mean, it’s I’ve been incredibly successful in my career.
36:07.78
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
36:09.68
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And so believing in myself and that I could do this is has really been transformative. I think it’s, you know, I’ve created a lot of wealth for my family and myself and my loved ones.
36:20.57
Sheila Gujrathi MD
So it’s really been amazing. So um I think, you know, beyond that, it’s really around, you know, when I look at investment opportunities, and again, I analyze them and I do that hard, ah you know, analysis with all of my skill sets and experiences is the companies I choose to work with and for and investments and personally that I make, whether that’s in the stock market or privately, you know, many of them have really worked out quite well. So my financial advisors have like a separate fund for me that I in terms of the investments I make and that typically outperforms the stock market.
36:55.73
Sheila Gujrathi MD
you know, very consistently. So, um you know, i I don’t, you know, I don’t do this all the time, but when I do it’s, you know, it’s something that I, i you know, I don’t have like a hundred percent track record or by any means, I definitely have had a number of estimates I take a loss on, but overall I’m very net positive, I would say. Yeah.
37:14.81
Lorie Jones
And that’s like private investments where you’re supporting different companies or things like that.
37:20.60
Sheila Gujrathi MD
Yes. Or even the public stock market. you know i’ll
37:23.08
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
37:23.66
Sheila Gujrathi MD
I’ll go ahead and make some investments because I’ll see a really undervalued company and I’ll know the programs and I’ll know the team and I’ll say, that’s just not right. And I’ll just go ahead and make a big investment.
37:34.62
Sheila Gujrathi MD
Usually we’ll pay out really well. So um yeah, so i’ve been so I’ve been fortunate. But again, it comes back to believing in myself, believing in my abilities to basically understand what are favorable investments. And then, you know you know, investing in those things myself, I used to do all that for others. And I realized, well, I could do that for myself. and then I started, you know, make doing my own investments. And that’s been incredibly, you know, successful. So I encourage everyone, again, this is part of empowering yourself. If you are, you know, if you can figure out good investment thesis for others, you can absolutely figure that out for yourself. And you may want to start out with smaller quantum capital initially, things that you would be okay with losing.
38:13.85
Sheila Gujrathi MD
But if you can grow that and create your own investment fund, then you can continue to invest out of that. So I’ve basically done that for myself.
38:23.01
Lorie Jones
What scared you the most when you started out on your journey? And and does it still scare you today?
38:30.46
Sheila Gujrathi MD
Well, I think it’s just that fear that, you know, the fear of standing out, you know, the fear of taking up space, you know, the, cause you, you, you know, you hear in your head, who do you think you are?
38:43.00
Sheila Gujrathi MD
someone has told you that. Someone has told me that in my life, believe it or not. Someone has actually said, like who do you think you are to step into this leadership role or you know actually do my job when I had that leadership role?
38:55.46
Sheila Gujrathi MD
It was like, well, I’m actually in this role doing my job.
38:57.78
Lorie Jones
Thank you.
38:59.19
Sheila Gujrathi MD
But you know it can rub people the wrong way. So you have to you know there’s a lot of conscious and unconscious bias we face. And it’s very unfortunate. you know i really do hope that for the next generations that they don’t experience that. But I think Unfortunately, in the current geopolitical climate that we find ourselves, it seems that some of that behavior and some of that language seems acceptable.
39:23.13
Sheila Gujrathi MD
You know, again, and I grew up with a lot of discrimination, so I kind of grew up in a time where, you know, there was a lot of inappropriate commentary and things that I experienced as a young girl that that stayed with me.
39:37.72
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And so, you know, I think, you know, breaking out of that, you know, so I have a lot of that fear. of of being visible, taking up space. I remember when I even first started working on my social media platform, because I was told if I was going to a TEDx talk, I need to have a platform, you know, to make, you know, to help get that message out.
39:56.25
Sheila Gujrathi MD
You know, you have an idea worth spreading, but then you have to do the work of spreading the message. And so for the greater good of trying to help others, I started investing in this platform, not for myself.
40:07.72
Sheila Gujrathi MD
I’m a real introvert and I actually don’t enjoy any of that.
40:09.14
Lorie Jones
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
40:11.96
Sheila Gujrathi MD
You know, and it’s not very comfortable being so vulnerable, but I knew it was important to help others. And I remember, you know, getting the feedback once I first started sharing stories or sharing my thinking and my lessons learned, the positive feedback I got.
40:28.38
Sheila Gujrathi MD
Thank you so much for sharing that. I had no idea that you had experienced this because then they again know that they’re not alone.
40:33.35
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
40:35.99
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And so I’m trying to do this to help others. And it’s hard. It’s hard to come up and face those fears. It’s much easier for me to go do a scientific presentation than for me to be vulnerable and write you know a vulnerable post.
40:48.76
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
40:49.35
Sheila Gujrathi MD
That’s a lot harder, actually.
40:51.70
Lorie Jones
Yeah, I hear you. I actually, i write quite a bit on my blog, but I have a really hard time sending it out. It’s like putting my baby out into, and I’m like, well, they’ll they look at me. People will look at me. like, that’s what you’re supposed to do. But but I get it. I feel the same way. and And you probably hear that a lot from the work you do. is is It’s really valuable and necessary that that other people hear these ideas that you put forth, even if it’s a little scary. You’ve got to be fearless, right?
41:24.02
Sheila Gujrathi MD
You do. And I just really ask people and encourage them if there’s something that anyone has put out, not even me, that resonates with you, let them know. Because those pieces of feedback help them keep going.
41:37.24
Sheila Gujrathi MD
So just, you know, any positive encouragement you have for for those that are inspiring you, just engage with them just because gets, again, it gets, you say, okay, well, that that’s enough.
41:48.14
Sheila Gujrathi MD
I’ll keep going. you know, and then until you get the next, you know, set of positive comments or direct DMs or, you know, things like that, because, because, you know, you, it’s, it’s, that also can be a little bit lonely when you’re kind of putting things out, you know, into, into the world and not showing, you know, how well it’s being received.
41:49.62
Lorie Jones
Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
42:06.11
Sheila Gujrathi MD
But anyway, if, if people can do that, it does, it goes a long way. We’re all in this together. Again, I keep saying that, but it’s true. It’s this ecosystem we’re building. And if we can build one of positivity, of Lifting each other up while we’re climbing of supporting one another.
42:19.89
Sheila Gujrathi MD
It’s just like that is something that we just need to bond together or I ask people to bond together so that we can you know keep bringing good into this world. you know I want to be a platform of love and light and that’s really been my intention.
42:32.31
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And I feel so grateful that I had the opportunity to even do that because of what I’ve you know accomplished in my in my career and personally. And so I’m going to keep doing that, at least for the foreseeable future.
42:44.27
Lorie Jones
I love that. And I was reading a book not too long ago. It said, if it if it takes less than five minutes to do something nice, like just do that thing, like fill out the survey, send a little note. and And it doesn’t make a difference if you think about it, but don’t do it.
42:59.00
Lorie Jones
So if you think about it, yeah, just do it. take If it takes five minutes or less, just do that thing.
43:05.54
Sheila Gujrathi MD
It’s amazing how these small little actions can make so much impact and have that ripple effect.
43:11.36
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm. Um, what ah you, and you’ve kind of already gone into this, Sheila, but did you have any unique challenges because you were a woman along your journey?
43:21.08
Sheila Gujrathi MD
Absolutely. You know, and I want to talk about that because I feel like people don’t talk about it enough. um Obviously there’s a lot of fear of repercussion right now. So, you know, I speak to, to individuals and they’re afraid to go to their ah HR departments and, um And I, and and of course, like I understand that and that makes me sad.
43:38.42
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And I think you also made a point, which I wanted to just double click on was that people dropping out that are really brilliant and innovative, it’s tragic.
43:46.00
Lorie Jones
yeah
43:48.15
Sheila Gujrathi MD
You know, for me, I’m in the industry of developing innovative medicines for patients. If we’re having really talented, you know, innovative, brilliant chemists and scientists and clinicians dropping out because they’re not supported, like Patients are going to be suffering because of that.
44:04.98
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And that that is tragic. You know, I almost dropped out and I know I’m a really great drug developer. So, you know, ah that does really make me sad, um you know, to to understand like that ultimately could be that impact of people opting out.
44:20.18
Sheila Gujrathi MD
So, you know, I think, again, like that believing in yourself and, um you know, when when people do say things that, you know, they don’t mean to be hurtful many times. There’s a lot of unconscious bias. So and giving people the benefit of the doubt and having self having compassion for them in addition to yourself. because they’re probably going through something harder, maybe operating from a place of fear for them. So I talk about that in my book too, like, you know, giving people space and having compassion for them if they’re not even treating you well, um you know, to try to understand that, but not tolerating it still, you know, not tolerating it or saying it’s acceptable because it’s really, it it isn’t, it’s not acceptable for you. It’s not acceptable for your children.
44:59.85
Sheila Gujrathi MD
It’s not acceptable for your loved ones. And so, you know, just always keep that in mind. You know, if you’re kind of questioning whether something is okay in terms of what someone said to you or did to you, think about your loved one and would you be okay with that happening to that person? And if you’re not, then it’s not okay for you.
45:16.47
Sheila Gujrathi MD
You know, doing those types of exercises because sometimes we just, again, accept all these things and normalize, you know, what things should not be normalized. So yeah, I absolutely face a lot of this firsthand. And, you know, I want to let people know that so that they know Again, that they’re not alone when if they’re facing these things and also that it’s not okay.
45:36.53
Lorie Jones
yeah i like the way you put that i have 19 year old and 21 year old daughter And a lot of times I will think, well, would I want someone to say this or do this to, know, my girls?
45:49.94
Lorie Jones
um And if if it’s not okay, it’s not okay. So I like the whole thing.
45:53.85
Sheila Gujrathi MD
It’s very clarifying, right? It’s a very clarifying exercise. and I have a lot of girl dads that reach out to me and I love girl dads, you know, and they’re amazing.
46:00.31
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
46:02.00
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And, and just going through the exercise has given them a lot of clarity and has raised some of that kind of unconscious thinking and biases to their level of awareness, which is really helpful.
46:14.12
Sheila Gujrathi MD
So again, these messages are meant to be very inclusive so that we can all address it together because it’s going to take some time. you know, we still know, you know, less than 10% of Fortune 500 companies are run by women and, You know, there’s single digit, you know, percentage of women board chairs and the women board directors are going down like these things are very real.
46:21.95
Lorie Jones
Oh yeah.
46:33.45
Sheila Gujrathi MD
The data is there to to show that. um So we just need to do better. And, you know, we we need to mean we need to figure this out together. No one is going to do this in you know in isolation.
46:43.80
Lorie Jones
Yeah. I agree with you. i love the the girl dads, the male allies, those that are like standing up and saying, yeah, I want my daughter, my wife, my sister, my aunt, you know, I want them to have these opportunities. So they’re they’re in it. They’re pushing.
47:01.75
Sheila Gujrathi MD
They are. And yeah, we’re we’re all, you know, we can all stand together, you know, shoulder to shoulder to to to to confront these things together and try to make a difference, not try, but make a difference. And I i think we are doing this. I’m involved in this biotech CEO of sisterhood effort in my industry. And it’s really been super powerful. And anyone can check us out and see kind of ah the impact we’re making, even at large investor healthcare conferences like JP Morgan’s main conference every year that happens in San Francisco. We have pink on the square and hundreds of women and men showing up, standing together, saying that we want diversity in our industry and we’re going to celebrate that.
47:43.50
Lorie Jones
Sheila, what is the thing you are most proud of?
47:47.70
Sheila Gujrathi MD
Well, i I’m proud of three big things in my life right now. um The first, of course, are my children. you know I think first and foremost, I am a mother. um it’s That’s a huge part of me now. And I’m so grateful to have that experience. It’s been it’s something that you know you just treasure so much. And so I’m very proud that I have two wonderful children, ah a son and a daughter, who are very good people.
48:14.36
Sheila Gujrathi MD
and I think are going to be contributors in society and life. And I’m just so proud of them. um I’m very proud of the drugs that I have gotten approved and helped to get approved in my journey. I have drugs that are being used to treat patients with multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, you know all different types of cancer. I just feel so proud when I hear about someone you know, that is on a drug that I i worked on and and helped to lead. I just, it just so meaningful.
48:49.94
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And then the third thing I’m most proud about right now is all the advocacy work I’ve been doing to help women and people from underrepresented backgrounds, you know, find their voice and feel safe and supported and heard.
49:03.45
Sheila Gujrathi MD
and give them some tools and resources, either through the social media platforms I’ve been building, my newsletter, my book, The Mirror Effect, my TEDx talk, and then these groups I’ve been supporting. I’ve now been involved with starting the Biotech CEO of Sisterhood and co-founding that with two other amazing women. And we are a nonprofit at this point. So we are just getting organized and taking off. And it’s been, I know, really helpful and surround transformative for women and men in our industry. um And I’m doing the same for a South Asian Biopharma Alliance and leader group in our in our industry. So um I’m really proud of the advocacy work that I think is really going to be helping the next generations.
49:43.00
Lorie Jones
Yeah, I love that. And the idea of pay it forward, as we mentioned earlier, just so important and so impactful. I i do think that once you get good at doing what you’re doing, teaching the next generation or helping someone to to rise with you, like like we call it, I’m in a women’s organization in financial services, and we call it bring a woman with you.
50:07.96
Lorie Jones
So I love that. Yeah, yeah.
50:09.55
Sheila Gujrathi MD
I love that too. That’s beautiful. Yeah. Lift each other up while we’re climbing and bring them along with you. And let’s leave the world a better place as much as we can, whatever’s in our power. And everything that I find really, really fulfilling is just, it goes beyond me.
50:23.38
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And I think that is, that’s just a kind of a recipe for joy for me.
50:28.70
Lorie Jones
um Any advice for a young lady who’s kind of just starting down the path that you’re so successful at to help her get where you’re at to be successful like you?
50:39.19
Sheila Gujrathi MD
where first and foremost, believe in yourself. You know, get clear on what you want to do, what your goals and dreams and aspirations are, and don’t give up on that. know, going to have great days and not so great days, but believe in yourself and, you know, keep trying and figuring out, like, you know, how to achieve what you want in your life. And if that’s being a teacher or a professional or, you know, a speaker or a writer, you know, don’t give up on yourself like that. You can absolutely do these things. So believe in yourself. And then the second is find your people.
51:09.30
Sheila Gujrathi MD
Find your people that are going to support you because you don’t need to do it alone. I thought I had to do everything alone. You don’t. People are there. They want to help you you. know, find your cheerleaders and your mentors and your sponsors. The sponsors of the people who really open up those doors for you.
51:23.54
Sheila Gujrathi MD
Find people who are going to help you, like, you know, help train you and you know, grow you as a leader or whatever area you’re trying to get great at, you your subject matter experts, your peers, you know just load up that board of directors with lots of different people who really see you and and and rely on them and lean on them and help them as much as you can too.
51:44.34
Sheila Gujrathi MD
and And you’re going to have a very fulfilling, meaningful life if you do those things.
51:48.88
Lorie Jones
I love that. Sheila, thank you so much for spending this time chatting with us and and just sharing all your experience and your wisdom. if I have a young lady who wants to reach out and ask questions or pick your brain just a little bit, how does she get in touch with you?
52:04.14
Sheila Gujrathi MD
Well, have a presence on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook. So, you know, feel free to reach out to any three. Probably my biggest is on LinkedIn. um You can also DM me. And then also i have a newsletter and I have a website, sheilagujarathimd.com.
52:18.26
Sheila Gujrathi MD
And I have my newsletter. So please sign up for newslet my newsletter. I’ll send it out every month on a ah topic. So I try to help as many people as I can through those lessons learned and the writings that I have.
52:29.53
Sheila Gujrathi MD
um And then of course, right, you know, buying my book and, um you know, anything else that, you know, i that I’m putting out there into the world. I hope that you find that helpful.
52:38.94
Lorie Jones
Well, thank you. I have found it helpful. I found it really inspiring and uplifting. So thank you so much for spending this time with us.
52:45.51
Sheila Gujrathi MD
Well, it’s been such a pleasure. Thank you so much for having me.