← Determined Society with Shawn French | Adversity & Mindset
Determined Society with Shawn French | Adversity & Mindset
Fixing Confidence Through Cosmetic Surgery
00:45:35
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- [00:00]
Financial Expert
She's made up her mind to live pretty smart Learn to budget responsibly right from the start. She spends a little less, inputs more into savings Keeps her blood pressure low and credit score raises. She's cutting debt right out of her life. She tracks her cash flow on her spreadsheet at night.
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Dr. Gregory Albert
Boring money moves make kinda lame songs.
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Host
But they sound pretty sweet to your wallet. Brilliantly boring since 1865.
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Amazon Prime Sponsor
This episode is brought to you by Amazon Prime. From streaming to shopping, prime helps you get more out of your passions. So whether you're a fan of true crime or prefer a nail biting novel from time to time, with services like Prime Video, Amazon Music and fast free delivery, prime makes it easy to get more out of whatever you're into or getting into. Visit Amazon.comprime to learn more.
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Host
If you could pick one thing that you enjoy most about what you do, what would that be and why?
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Dr. Gregory Albert
I like plastic surgery because it gets people back to optimal self. Whether it be an athlete that breathes a little bit better after they broke their nose and they didn't even know they could breathe better. A poor woman who had a surgery that wasn't up to her expectations and she's got a body that she's worse off now than she was. So fixing that type of thing is even better. The bullying procedures, the guys and girls that come in, they look in the mirror and when they see the results, they crying they're so happy.
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Motivational Speaker
This one luck. I let the pain inspire me. I put my all in. Everything I'm doing up until it's done, I mean for the entirety, I'll put it in no B time I'll be working. Just know I'm a go for mine cause I earned it. They watch and I know it's time I confirmed it. A whole society determined deter.
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Host
What's up everybody? Welcome back to another episode. Got a big treat for you today. I have a world renowned board certified plastic surgeon, a surgeon for the stars and the athletes. And get this, he is the Florida Panthers NHL team doctor who right now is on another one to potentially win two Stanley cup finals in a row. I have with me today, Dr. Gregory Albert. What's going on buddy?
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Dr. Gregory Albert
Nice to be here. Thank you for having me.
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Host
It's a pleasure man. Heard so many great things about you and just read up on you a lot and I, I love your ideology on a lot of different things as it pertains to athletes. You know, as, as, as we say, as you say, you know, tucks by day, pucks by night. I. I love the way you break down the different. I. I would say, methods of achievement between, you know, the cosmetic versus the athlete. Right. Because there's two different things. The athlete's very function functional. You need to make sure when you're, you know, doing a procedure, you leave some tissue there so you can. He or she can recover properly and then be at the highest level possible. But before we get into all of that stuff, for the audience that doesn't know you, can you just give a little brief description of who you are and what you're doing and you know, what it means for you to be doing all that?
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Dr. Gregory Albert
Well, let's see. So where do we start? So I was born in New York. I was raised in California, Southern California. Then I went to medical school in New York, and I went to residency in general surgery in Vermont. And then I was in St. Louis for two years of plastic surgery. And then the young age of 29, I became a plastic surgeon in a very uncompetitive area, South Florida. I started my own practice next to a hospital. And I. I did a lot of what you used to, Sean. I was doing wound care and running around and helping reconstruct everything I could because I was available in there and I wanted to. To learn and help people. And then about 10. Well, back up a little bit. So that four years after being in practice, I got a phone call, actually, my manager did, and they said, does Dr. Album want to be a plastic surgeon for the Panthers? And I think she said, what Panthers? What's that? What. What team? And. And they said. So they honestly said, well, I'll tell Dr. Albert, but he doesn't know much about hockey. So I said, let's see, let's see, how bad could it be? I always want as a doctor, and growing up, I wanted to treat professional athletes. So that's so fortunate because I could treat athletes as a plastic surgeon, not have to be an orthopedic surgeon or a medical guy. So joined there. And then practice now is in Boca Raton. We've had a couple different offices over the time, but this is the one we're here. We love it here. Designed it for patients and the staff. Gotta have a happy staff.
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Host
I love it. And you know, it's. It's. What you. What you said there is. You know, it was true because I read. I did some reading. Is at the time of that phone call, you didn't know much about hockey, right? You didn't under. You didn't know what kind of value you could bring. But at the very root of it, there's, there's a necessary value to having a, you know, board certified plastic surgeon, especially on a hockey team. Right. You know, typically for breathing. Right. If something happens, you know, cuts of that nature. So, you know, how, and, and I always like stories like this because, you know, as, as, you know, the show is called the Determined Society, and, and what we do within the platform and, you know, in society in general is we may not know how to do something, but it is our responsibility to figure it out along the way. And I truly believe we're never really ready for the next level up or the next opportunity. So when, when you got that call and you decided to move forward with the Florida Panthers, how did you bridge that gap in order to feel, you know, you were comfortable and competent on the ice and in that environment?
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Dr. Gregory Albert
I listened, I listened to doctors that have been doing it, and the doctors, the training staff, we're part of the team too. We just don't wear the uniforms. But it's as simple as I learned from young age. You've seen and not heard, sit on the bench and when they need you, they need you. Because I'll tell you, I saw a few over my years. I've been doing this for 22 years. You're a little too eager to help and everything. And they kind of just get, you know, they want to get you off your leg, they want you and you, you're on the bench until I need you. And then over time, you gain their trust. You know, I used to talk to agents almost every time about, you know, fixing someone's nose and saying there's a 2% improvement in his breathing, but that's just not 2%. That's important to him. So, yeah, I get from 95%, you know, to 99, 200 if we can get your breathing as far as that goes. So, yeah, it's been, it's been great to progress and kind of be part, really part of the team and with great ownership and great bunch of guys that just, they love to be, you know, be doing, you know, their craft hobby. Just like us doctors in the locker room, we're talking about our craft and hockey at the same time. I don't think they're talking about medicine, they're just talking hockey, but we're talking about both. So it's, it's pretty cool.
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Host
I think what's really cool is I think that at some point in most young children's childhood, they dream of being on this big stage and winning a massive championship. Right. You're in the backyard as a young boy, you're playing baseball. And, you know, for me, I was acting like I was Ken Griffey Jr. Or something like that. And you always see yourself winning that Little League World Series. Then you get older, it's World Series, and then, you know, the Major League Baseball World Series. And, you know, I don't know if it was like that for you, but what I think is really cool, now that you're there. And like you said, you are a part of the team. You have a ring, right? You've been involved. Like, that win is still your win. You may not be skating on the ice, but you're an in. You're an integral part of that organization and that world championship and hopefully another one company coming. So has that. Oh, he's breaking it out. Look at that. Look at your Stanley Cup.
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Dr. Gregory Albert
You can do that. Can't do it. So that's. That's a symbol of winning, you know. Oh, and I learned.
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Host
Don't jinx it.
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Dr. Gregory Albert
No, well, no, you could. Only it's not the real one. You really. It's only a celebration, and you have to win in order to hold it up. So I was. I learned that through being hockey, which is very deeply traditional and superstitious and everything, but history is amazing. So, yeah, once I learned what it was 22 years ago, I. I said, I. I want to raise the Stanley Cup. And I'm fortunate that we did, because some. Some teams do it and. And never get there. It's. It's a little bit of luck, but a lot of. A lot of talent and hard work, and it's just. It's been great. It translates, as you're saying before, it translates from my practice to train the athletes, because I need to preserve. And we need to make sure you. You function as well as possible. And so that's. With every surgery that should be within. Within every surgery of plastic surgery, whether it be a nose to breathe better, you know, your ears to look better, function better, you can actually hear better when your ears are in a better position and other things, you know, body. Having the body right. So when you put clothes on, you look right. It's all function.
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Host
A lot of people say, you know, the cosmetic aspect of it, whether someone does liposuction, tummy tuck, mommy makeover, you know, Brazilian butt lift, whatever, you know, that's cosmetic. But a lot of it, to be quite honest, is functionality. Because if the shape I'm in now, I'm more functional than I was in December because I know at any point in time, I could go to my closet or my drawer and put anything on I want, and it's all going to fit. It's all going to look good. Now, yes, that's vanity. It's cosmetic. But it's also. Isn't it also mental health as well? I mean, the, the better shape I get in, the more mentally stable I am, because I can regulate certain emotions, but also I feel more comfortable in society.
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Dr. Gregory Albert
Absolutely. Yeah. I was going to say you touched on it eventually, but exactly. When you're looking in the mirror and you like more of what you see than when you say, oh, I look terrible, I look tired, if you say it in the mirror, you're going to feel that way. So I tell every single patient that wants to come for whatever it may be, whether it was a small cosmetic thing that bothers them, no one else can see to getting bullied, bullying for big noses, big ears. I mean, there's a lot of things in plastic surgery that was me, like.
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Host
As you can see, like these things right here, man, like when I was in elementary school, like, it was, hey, can you fly? Can you. You know, now it doesn't really happen anymore because we're all more mature. But. But to that point, man, it's like people get bullied. And, you know, I got to share.
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Dr. Gregory Albert
Something with you since you mentioned that. So. So I think, you know, I have two daughters. One's 19, going to college in Georgia next year, and the other one is a year and a half younger. But I don't know if you could see this, but this was a note from my daughter at about four or five years of age.
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Host
Read it to me.
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Dr. Gregory Albert
So. Oh, wait, there's that. I am so tired, but I don't. Oh, I need to see you and talk to you about something before I go to bed. And you notice on our picture. Can you see the picture? The ears are the same size as the head.
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Host
Yes.
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Dr. Gregory Albert
Okay, I do see that.
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Host
That's how she drew her sad face.
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Dr. Gregory Albert
That's how she thought she was with the big ears. So we, we had talked about it years before that, you know, she knows what I did. I. I do. And she, she came to the office and she'd go to hockey games, age of six. So she pretty much knew everything about the profession. So she said, daddy, can I get my, my ears done? I said, not until you're. You're mature enough to follow the directions afterwards. Well, wouldn't you know it about. I don't know, about a year later, Someone called her monkey ears. And there were other things I, you know, so she came back and said, dad, I want to do it. Cutest thing she, we did over Thanksgiving break, she wrote a calendar down, count down the surgery, and she had it done. And for this case, you know, it's, it's, it's, it's to fight bullying. It's to help self esteem. And if the kids and are old enough to, and you're mature enough to have the surgery, it's a, it's a great thing for self esteem and combating bullying. Now, obviously, there's a lot more to bullying to do than just cosmetic surgery, but it certainly helps.
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Host
I, I don't disagree. Now, this is a daughter. She's going to Georgia next year to play golf. Right, Right. That's really cool, man. How, how did, what was that moment like? Because that's, that's big time.
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Dr. Gregory Albert
Yeah. I mean, you, you talk about adversity and delaying gratification. I mean, delaying gratification. It took 20 years to do this. Right? And, and a lot of years where we were sitting twiddling our thumbs in the locker room saying, what's going on here? So, I mean, delaying gratification. It's interesting. I don't know, when I look at my daughter, I think, well, maybe it's, maybe it's just something that's in her because this generation is not. They don't know what delaying gratification means or even. Because, I mean, logically, everything is there. You could see it. It happens. So I think the thing about her perseverance and her talents are that she's so mentally strong and her place to be is on the golf course because that's where she could be herself, if you will, but just so proud of her accomplishments because it took a lot of adversity and a lot of delaying gratification. She, she played since she's age of six. I took her out, I took her to the golf course, and she started swinging. And then we got our lesson. No, but before that, from the age of two, she watched golf on tv. I leave the room, I come back, she's still watching golf. So she was always going to be an athlete because she loved it. She loved seeing, you know, probably the hockey players play at a young age. And then, and then. So we went from, from there to. We, you know, we encouraged her, but we didn't push her. I just said, if you make a commitment to this, you need to fulfill a commitment. But then if you don't want to do it, you don't do it. So certainly I was, I was encouraging her. She. But she loves it. She probably didn't win a tournament for several years. And then as she's getting better and frustrated and everything, she starts taking them on. And she made her goal. She just, she wrote a letter to herself in freshman year of high school saying, I want to be ranked in the top 100 nationally and I want a full scholarship and SEC. So she wound up getting all of it. But she had to delay gratification, adversity because she was accepted by another team, was all set and going there and then like NCAA sports, a lot of the time that you might even have the experience yourself. You know, the coach changes, things change and the one year relationship move. So the adversity was that, that at the junior year she thought she had a spot already. Well, you sign in the senior year, so I think it was August, so four or five months before signing that she found out she needed to look for another spot. And I, I thought I gave her some pretty good dad advice at the time. She'll probably forget. But I said, you're going to, you're going to get a spot. This is what I, this is what I've been talking about. Going to get it. Because you played, you persevered and you, you deserve it. And if you're too frustrated or stressed out, it's not that important to you, then don't worry about the sculpture. And worked it, it worked out. She got just what she wanted. She g be a bulldog and she'll be playing well a year, a year. Next year maybe she'll be playing on TV like you're. They're watching now. I think the girls last. Yeah.
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Host
So D1 it's awesome to me because you're talking about, you know, delay gratification. When you're an athlete or, you know, professional or even a surgeon, like there's delay gratification everywhere, right? Because you always have that North Star, you know, especially now because you, you touched on it. Because everything's right there in front of you with this generation. And in sports, everything is amplified, right? Because you have social media and the algorithms are telling you who the best players are, right? It's always in your face. And then when something like that happens to a young man or a young girl in high school and they lose their spot and got to go look here. That, you know, all of a sudden, depending on the narrative they craft in their own mind, it could be the I'm not good enough or here we go. This isn't good. But the things that I really love about, you know, young athletes that do get it are they, they dive back into their process and worry about the controllables, right? It's like, am I going to wake up and, and eat well? Am I going to go to the gym and I, am I going to work on my skill work? Am I going to get on the golf course? Am I going to work on my putts, right? Like those types of situations there, if you focus on those things, then that big thing takes care of itself. And, you know, when I look at everything that I've gone through with my show, at the beginning I was looking at that top of the mountain, right? I'm looking up, I'm like, how in the hell am I ever going to get there? I don't have this, I don't have that. I can't do this because I don't have that. And finally I shook myself loose and said, but I can do this and this and all these small micro movements daily in between. That builds out the foundation. And then we can start on the framing of the house, right? Then we can, you know, do the scaffold, then we can do the roof, and then now we have a house. But, but the thing is, through all that, my point and where I want the audience to really connect with this is, you know, the real reward is not in the attainment of that big goal or the achievement. It is getting there in reflecting back on everything that it took.
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Dr. Gregory Albert
I couldn't agree with you more. And the resiliency of, of my daughter and, and, and that, that crowd of, of athletes and kids coming up because most of the ones that were beating her beforehand and then she exceeded, you know, her, her natural ability then mended with practice and practice determination. And those girls that were winning then, we're losing and now are not with it anymore because they couldn't, they couldn't make it. You know, they didn't, they didn't have enough. They couldn't see it. They couldn't see it, like you were saying. So their delayed gratification is not for everybody. So I don't know. You know, I was just thinking maybe, I mean, it's so difficult to delay gratification because how long is it going to be? And when you're a kid and you're 16, 17 years old, you don't have a spot yet at college and it's only a year away, but it's like everything, right? So, yeah, it could be damaging. So maybe we should, we should go from Dissuading them from certain things to. To then encouraging them, you know, earlier in their career, you know, so they continue because it. Delay. Gratification is tough, but I guess that's the reward at the end, you know? How much do you want it?
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Host
Yeah, I mean, that's a great point, man, because look, you know, you're growing up in a generation or. Or a society that everything's at the tip of their fingers. Yeah, they can. They want food. UberEats, they need a ride. Teen Uber teens, it doesn't matter. They want to go shopping, Amazon it. Like, you push a button and you have Utopia sitting at your front door within 24 hours and you don't even.
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Dr. Gregory Albert
Know what it is. But that's the problem. I mean, that. That's the single problem. The single most difficult problem with kids, raising them is the phone is phone and technology and exposure, but not understanding what, you know, how it correlates with life, if you will, or the grand scheme of things, because they see it and they want it or they think it's attainable right then and there.
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Host
But, yeah, no, I agree.
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Dr. Gregory Albert
My daughter's amazing and my wife is amazing. My other daughter's amazing for different types of things.
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Host
So are you open to talk about that on the show or.
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Dr. Gregory Albert
Yeah, I would love.
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Host
I would love to talk about that. Yeah.
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Dr. Gregory Albert
Yeah. So. So you, My. You're talking about the other sister, other daughter, Morgan or my wife?
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Host
No, no, Morgan, your younger daughter. Yes, sir. So you talk about your wife, too. We're open here.
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Dr. Gregory Albert
I was kidding. You know, so Morgan's a year and a half younger. She's severely autistic. She is in, I think, 10th or 11th grade. We kind of lose count because she's the same functioning for the last six or seven years, say. But she is the sweetest, gentlest thing 98 of the time and can communicate. She can't talk. She can say things when she's kind of. Actually, she's had some speech therapy, but she will, you know what she wants. When she's happy, she'll open her eye to say yes or she'll bring you over to something. And it's. It's interesting that I have kids on both ends of the spectrum, if you will, because Gabrielle is gifted academically as well as with golf, or I think just the golf would get her there, but. And then Morgan's on the bottom. So we both are. We build both special needs, and it's. It's challenging, you know, different. Obviously they required different types of attention, if you will. And, yeah, I mean, both. Both stories are still being written. And let's see where we get with Morgan, who is doing therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and. And she just got on Medicaid, which is. That's a whole nother. Whole nother problem in mess that. Thank God I know a little bit about medicine, or I would. It would be. It would be impossible. It's. It's.
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Host
Right. What about the other 2%? Right. So she's, you know, you said. Because, like, that 2% can also feel like a lot. I want to give you some background first because. Yeah, when I was my first. I would say first five years teaching, I was working in autism units. Like, I literally. That's the type of students and children I worked with. So, you know, I have a special affinity for those children. And also one year I worked with the profound unit. So it was everything. It was everything from behavioral to autism to down syndrome. And, you know, it was. I wasn't making a whole lot of money, but at the same time, man, you know what. Going to work every day, like, I knew that those children appreciated me and what I brought to them. Right. So I do have background in this. So I, you know, I can. I can picture what you're. Yeah. What you're speaking about.
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Dr. Gregory Albert
Absolutely. You can see in their face that. I mean, it sounds corny, a smile, I mean, but it says it all.
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Host
That's everything.
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Dr. Gregory Albert
Yeah. You just tell. Even though she can't talk, she can. She can. She can communicate.
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Host
Yeah. And that means a lot for the. For you and Lana. Right. It's like when she communicates or shows that expressive nature physically that, like, I see your face lighting up right now. Right.
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Dr. Gregory Albert
Yeah.
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Host
Because you're picturing it. It's like people don't understand that that could be so few and far between. Those are big wins, man.
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Dr. Gregory Albert
Yeah. You know, I was smiling also because I was thinking. Thinking of my other daughter and, you know, for a father aspect, it's. It's one daughter seeing what you do, the other one, neither one can comprehend or appreciate fully without being a little jealous or whatever you wanted to be, because it's. We treat them differently, but we can't. All your kids the same. Right. It's impossible. You can do that. I can't take Morgan to a driving range or the opera. You're not going to sit still. I can't take it. When I teach plastic surgery in Russia, you know, so, yeah, we try to treat them the same, but, you know, this is a situation. What do you do? That's that's parenting. Adapting, I guess.
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Host
Well, I think, you know, to your point though, Doc, it's. Even if the situation wasn't having two children on opposite ends of that spectrum, right. Even if they were all in the same wavelength, you're still never going to treat every single one of your kids the same, no matter what. They have different personalities, they have different sense of humors, they have different interests, they have different needs. And the one thing that I've learned as a parent, we have three children. An 11 year old son, 8 year old daughter and 6 year old daughter. Like each one of them has different needs. My daughters, my 8 and 6 year old are much more needy than my 11 year old son. But I know when he demands my attention and needs something from me, like I'm there because he doesn't ask it much, right? So to your point, it's, it's a balance for parents. So like, kudos to you and Lanic because, you know, you're, you're managing that and you're being great parents to both of them. You have your own practice and you know the Florida Panthers at night, right? So this, that's a lot, man.
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Dr. Gregory Albert
It is.
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Host
How important and instrumental has Lana been in supporting you in this and, and helping out and you guys working together to make sure that all of this, you know, I don't want to say run smoothly because it's never smooth, but think about manageable.
- [27:47]
Dr. Gregory Albert
Think about this. She. She comes and runs the show here and. Which is. And, and does whatever it takes. I mean she, and from, from, from mopping the floors to, you know, calling Donald for a tea time. No, she goes home and she has to. We, we, she. Well, she, she usually cooks a meal at night after we come home, which is. She's an unbelievable cook, but she manages all of Morgan's medical stuff so well and now she. Well, Gabriella's college stuff. But that's, you know, way less, you know, needy than the other one. I mean, so, so the. Yeah, we have a whole army of people at home that we get that 80% coverage. So we don't have, we don't have help on Saturdays sometimes and sometimes Sundays. And if we have a hockey game that's eight, they can't go if we don't have someone. So she coordinates all that as well. So that's a whole nother job.
- [28:49]
Host
So yeah, it's amazing. I'm always impressed by my wife's ability because I think women, dude, see things differently than we do. We think, oh, we have this opening we can. Oh, yeah, I can do that. And they're like, well, no, because of this mathematical equation over here. And you, you're over here, and you put these two together, that won't work. I'm like, dude, she's right. Oh, my God. They see things differently. And so to have rock stars like that, you know, as the backbone for us that are, you know, moving and shaking and trying to do everything possible, it's important, man. And it's, and it's. It's something that, you know, I think at times I take for granted. But what I'm learning as I get older, I'm just learning now to look at my wife and go, I may be frustrated right now. I'm thinking this in my mind, but you know What? It's a 98 Pro. 98 possibility. She's right. Like, let's just, you know, unless it's something extremely fundamental that I feel very strongly about.
- [29:50]
Dr. Gregory Albert
Trained. So I was gonna say, I mean, I, I, I didn't finish by saying I could, I really, I could do the surgery without her. I could do the technical part without her, because I don't want anybody to think that I can't do surgery without my wife, but I can't do it. I can't do it without my wife. I couldn't do it here. I recall we're a team. We're a team here. We're, you know, it's. Sometimes I don't see her during the day. She doesn't do. She's not in the or. So if I'm in surgery for nine hours in the day and she's out in the office seeing patients or talking to patients or doing. Without cooking something or taking Gabrielle to a golf lesson while Morgan to a doctor's appointment, she's here, and she's amazing. Really.
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Host
It's a great point because, you know, my wife helps out with. My wife's a teacher. Right. But she also, you know, in between her classes, she's on team calls with, with, with me and my partners and our team. She's collaborating with my other. With some partners and in creating different things on. In the evening. And then when summer comes around, she's fully infused in the business. And, you know, there, there's no way I could do a lot of this stuff without her. And to your point, yes. I don't need my wife to do this. This is my gift. This is my skill. Like, this is what I've crafted. But all the other stuff, I can't do without her. I can't do without my production team and my partners in my business. Like, I need everybody to fulfill their role exceptionally so I can do my job better. And that's just kind of what you explain. I think every, every successful practice, every successful business has those fundamental necessities behind the scenes, right?
- [31:41]
Dr. Gregory Albert
I think you genuinely have to, you genuinely have to like what you do to some degree to be successful. And then it's the people that you surround yourselves with are going to be family. And I equate it to a baseball team or a hockey team. We're a team. Someone answers the phone, then they pass the phone to another employee, possibly there's so many we have to get. The first to do this second home run is a patient that is optimized. So we work that in. And someone just pointed out yesterday, we spend more time with people at work than we do with our families sometimes, although. Or I work for her.
- [32:24]
Host
You're probably right. The thing that I find interesting about that, that statement you made, right, you're talking about a team doing their part. Everybody has a role. Whether it's an office environment, surgical environment, team environment, show environment, everybody has a role. And there's not one role that is less than the other one. Everything has to work together and everybody has to be exceptional and have a standard with what they're doing because it means something. For instance, some people are listening right now saying, like, well, what's it matter what the person answers the phone is like. They're everything that's a director of first impressions. If I, if I've been, you know, the east coast, that I'm looking to have work done, or my wife's looking to have work done, and they have a bad experience with the person that answers the phone. Cosmetic surgery is a very intimate thing. They're gone, they're moving on. And probably missing out on one of the best cosmetic surgeons on the planet because of the first impression.
- [33:27]
Dr. Gregory Albert
Yeah, you're absolutely right about the phone part. And then to amplify it, yes, everybody as strong as our weakest link, you know, and, and to your point, if the. The phone has to be optimal, patients are scared, nervous, ashamed when they call, so they have to be reassured. So I, I take a lot of pride. And one of the most important things I, I ask the staff is to make a connection with who's on, you know, who's on the other side of the phone, because they're calling with a problem that they have that's bothering them. I'll bring up the example of the Gynecomastia patients and the other, you know, or it could be a girl with a nose that, you know, she gets bullied. The bullying procedures, ears, gynecomastia, which is breast in men, you could say, yeah, large breasts that make it difficult for girls in their teens to, to wear normal clothes and not be made fun of. Anyway, the. In particular, the gynecomastia patients, they drive themselves, they'll have in the day. This is how old we are or I am. They would bring a newspaper article in because we, we would put it in the newspaper because guys didn't know there was a treatment for gynecomastia. Yes. I'm talking 20 years ago. And they would bring it in or they would tell me, you know what I called, I made it to the parking lot, I drove around, but I couldn't grab the nerve to come in. So I tell, I tell employees once in a while when, you know, we need a rah rah, like we're really doing this. And the, the patients need your respect and trust, and they do. I'd like to say that rubs are caring and empathy rubs off on the, on the honor employees.
- [35:27]
Host
I think that's great, right, because it's, you know, if you have that environment in her office, then you can help people that really need it and they can feel safe there. Because again, like I said, it's an intimate situation. Right. What is. What is. If you could pick one thing that you enjoy most about what you do, what would that be and why?
- [35:49]
Dr. Gregory Albert
I like plastic surgery because it gets people back to optimal self, whether it be an athlete that breathes a little bit better after they broke their nose and they didn't even know they could breathe better. Or a poor woman who had a surgery that wasn't up to her expectations and she's got a body that she's worse off now than she was. So fixing that type of thing is even better. And then of course, there's a bullying procedure. So you know that with the bullying procedures, the guys and girls that come in, they. They look in the mirror and when they see the result, they're crying. They're so happy. And so I can't say I have a favorite, but it's just. But I could tell you I've seen emotions that I never expected to be blessed with, with, you know, having great results and patients, you know, showing it and saying it.
- [36:43]
Host
So, yeah, it's important because, like, everything you're saying is, you know, your favorite parts about those two things are how it makes somebody else feel and I. And I think that when you look at society in general right now, there's not enough outward focus on, you know, how. How we show up as an individual can truly impact somebody else's day. You could, you know, have an interaction at the grocery store, right? And you can walk in there and let's say a cashier messes something up or is going too slow, and you bite back at them. To you, you forget about that when you get in the car or after you call your friend. Like, listen to this stuff, right? This, you know, person made me late. Well, that literally, that little interaction there could be the thing that pushes them over the edge, for them to have the worst day they could ever have in their life. And we don't pay enough attention to that. So your answer, I absolutely love. Because, again, focusing on how it makes somebody else feel emotionally.
- [37:54]
Dr. Gregory Albert
Yeah. I think you hit on the head. I think it's important to stay. We got to. We got to rally as a team and treat other people with respects and the way we like to be treated. Whether you're at work or you're at the hockey game or, you know, driving to work, you know, it's better. It's easier to be nice. And maybe, maybe, I mean, my daughter looks. Morgan looks fairly normal, if you will. And she might look a little different, but maybe she. To someone, she looks completely normal. So in that sense, I. You don't know. It's. We're just seeing the tip of the iceberg. There's all the stuff that's underneath it. So if someone looks, what, normal or average, whatever it is, you know, and they act like they're low functioning, that's worse. You know, is that better than the other way around? I mean. Yeah. Treat everybody the same way. So don't think about the iceberg. Think about everything else that comes down to it, because. And when you think about everybody else, we're all the same.
- [39:01]
Host
That's a good lesson for. You know, listen, I want the audience to really think about that, right? Because you mentioned the iceberg, and underneath that iceberg, there's a lot going on. And think of the tip of the iceberg as people, right? And there's a lot going on underneath, right? So we need to be super careful when we're dealing with people out in public or even with our spouses, because we don't know what are the ticking time bombs are. We don't know what these people are dealing with emotionally, financially, or even spiritually, Right? So it's like, you know, when we are approaching you know, for you as patients and, you know, your athletes and for me as guests or. Or what, or whomever. It's like, have some damn empathy, man. Like, you know, someone could be having the worst day of their life and you're over here worried about one thing. Like, give me a break, right? Like, come on, don't take it so seriously. So I, I just think, man, that was a good point because, you know, that's not happening enough.
- [40:03]
Dr. Gregory Albert
Absolutely. I mean, and it's so easy to approach it empathetically too, because you're, you're to win every time. You, you're gonna, the other person's gonna feel better. And if they don't, then you feel like you did your best to, to try and make it work. So I, I have a.4 qualities for employees. And I think the one kind of is difficult with the iceberg and like to, to. To accept what's in the iceberg when you have certain qualities that aren't met. So the first one is, is likable. If a person's likable, then it's easy. You don't really need to know what's underneath the iceberg. And there's, there's givers and there take. There's takers. You don't necessarily know that. And, but a taker you can. It's really difficult to coexist with if they're always taken. Passionate. They have to be passionate for sure. And then communication is too obvious. But without communication, all the other things don't happen. You don't know. So it's all, all about being a, you know, good for society. Like you're doing.
- [41:10]
Host
Absolutely, absolutely, man. Look, it's, it's. I think it's just being aware, right? We need to be aware, like, and just kind of be open to the fact that we don't have all the information and we shouldn't be jumping to conclusion. Let's start at curious and let's see how we can bridge the gap. Because I want my day to be, you know, good. I don't want any moments I'm going to look back and regret on and surely that other person doesn't either. So, you know, like, look, man, like I, I truly, like, I, I've enjoyed speaking with you because, you know, I. Listen, I've dealt with a lot of surgeons, right? A lot of them are not, I don't say a lot of them, but some of them aren't focused on the aspects of, I guess I don't want to say achievement, but satisfaction that you Are. And it's nice to see. I've been in. And, you know, you. You. You were. You went to school for general surgery. I've been in. They are some general surgeons. And that's a journey, buddy. That is a. Sometimes it's like the worst heckling environment you've ever seen. It's just like I've had general surgeons verbally assault me for no reason because, you know, just because they can get angry.
- [42:23]
Financial Expert
Right?
- [42:26]
Dr. Gregory Albert
They don't. They didn't know you. They didn't know you. They didn't know you. That you were not a great salesperson, but you actually cared about dollar signs. Terrible.
- [42:39]
Host
Yeah. Oh, here's a red cap coming in. Wants to sell me some stuff. You know, I get that, too. But, man, just thank you. Thank you so much for coming on, talking about what you do with the. The Panthers, and congratulations on, you know, 2024 Stanley cup, and, you know, I hope to be able to shoot you a text in a couple weeks to say, hey, congrats on number two in a row. Thank you for sharing things about both of your daughters. You have two special daughters, and they're both great. And your wife is a backbone and doing so many things, so the audience really got to hear some amazing things about your life. And so for that, I thank you. One final question before we land the plane. The show is called the Determinist Society. What does true determination mean to you?
- [43:35]
Dr. Gregory Albert
When you could look in the mirror and you could be happy with what you have done for yourself? I think is. Is, and I think if you live by that, you'll be happy from within, and you'll generally expand, you know, happiness around, and better good than not.
- [43:55]
Host
Hey, I like it. I like it. All right, guys, well, listen, you heard it from Dr. Albert. Thank you so much again. For those of you that are watching this show or listen to the show, please share this show with somebody that you know love and trust that will get a ton out of hearing his story, hearing everything going on in his life. And the one thing that I want you to take away from today, guys, is it's. We need to be outwardly focused on other people and give back to the world to make other people's lives better. Because at the end of the day, if we can do that, just one interaction at a time, then we can create what we call that ripple effect, and we can infect somebody else with empathy and kindness, and. And that could spread a wildfire of. Of care, empathy, and kindness throughout the world. And that's what the world needs right now. So thank you so much, guys. Until next time, Stay determined.
- [44:54]
Motivational Speaker
Sharp friends. What up? This one luck I let the pain inspire me I put my all in Everything I'm doing up until it's done I mean for the entirety I put in overtime I'll be working just know I'm a good go for mine cause I earned it they watch and I know it's time I confirmed it a whole society determined determine.