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[00:00]
A
When you reflect back on the things you've been through and what you've overcome and the resilience that you have to navigate these challenges in life, I think that's probably what lets me know I'm going to be okay. Because I don't think it's a quality that people even realize they have for sure, so they don't know how to nurture it. I am my own driving force when it comes to that. I built the resilience, I develop it, I continue to challenge it in many ways for sure. Just to see half close, I didn't get to falling on my face and getting back up.
[00:33]
B
Lauren Velkoff is a resilient, precision driven and visionary entrepreneur, leadership consultant, and the founder of Lana Beauty Bar. Drawing from her journey in high stakes medical environments, she empowers others to build resilience, embrace transformation, and lead with confidence and purpose.
[00:49]
A
I don't know that I can get through this day, but then you get through the day and then you get through the next day and you get to the next day and then you look back and you're like, dang, that was pretty resilient, wasn't it? What else can I do?
[01:01]
B
It spans the globe like a super
[01:03]
A
highest cold Internet Elvis. Today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone. It's not over until I win.
[01:14]
B
The Living youg Legacy podcast.
[01:16]
A
For those who live to leave a legacy that's extraordinary. The impossible has happened. Oh, that is sensational. Jordan, Open Chicago with the lead. You said soul is the fastest man on the planet. You can live your dream.
[01:35]
B
Welcome to another episode of the Living youg Legacy podcast, the Women of Power edition for Inside Success. I am Ray Gutierrez. Joining me today is quite the precision surgeon, if you will, Lauren Velcro Velkoff. I know that on my second try. I see. Get used to that. This is your first podcast, so folks will just politely mispronounce your last name to build repertoire. Welcome to the show.
[02:02]
A
Such a rapport here. Thank you. I appreciate it to be here.
[02:06]
B
Right on. You fresh off your episode of Women in Power. How do you feel?
[02:11]
A
I feel good. I feel really happy with the way it went. You know, I kind of tried to prepare, but I'm not much of a preparation person when it comes to stuff like this.
[02:22]
B
As a surgeon.
[02:23]
A
Yeah. Aside from that, you know, it's just, you know, you kind of get your head around the. I guess the preparatory part is getting your head around, you know, what kind of to anticipate. But not to get too specific because you don't want to take that authenticity away when you answer questions. So I really tried to, like, have a idea of what, but I thought, wow, man, they're going to ask the questions about me. Who's better to answer them than me?
[02:51]
B
So how did you think you did?
[02:53]
A
I thought it was good. I actually thought the questions were, you know, I guess, driven by my responses from the initial meeting of you guys and how I was a good driving force. There you go. Just, you know, everything kind of comes together. It's just like, you know, gluing pieces of paper together. So it just. It worked and meshed well. So the answers just came very naturally and smoothly, which I felt really confident about.
[03:21]
B
Where do you want to begin? Your story, The. The surgery, the surgical. Your surgery profession, your mentoring, your coaching. Where do you want to be?
[03:33]
A
Let's just wrap it up in a nutshell. You know, if we go back to, like, high school, you know, very involved in athletics and always striving for big goals there, and then, you know, led me down a very, very, you know, intentional path of health care, which was fun and great and rewarding and very challenging. I'm always up for a challenge.
[03:59]
B
Sure.
[03:59]
A
So every phase of my life seems to be, you know, what's the next challenge? Where am I going now? Because I'm not a person that just kind of gets to, like, the top, and then I'm just like, okay, I'm for sure, you know, there's so much more out there to do. So I just. I just kind of keep finding myself taking the next step or the next leap of faith, you know, and I'm happy with the fact that I have enough faith in myself to jump off and know I'm gonna be okay.
[04:34]
B
So is it all faith driven in yourself that. That you're running towards your North Star, or what. What's. What's your driving force?
[04:40]
A
I guess, you know, when you. When you reflect back on the things you've been through and what you've overcome and the resilience that you have to navigate these challenges in life, I think that's probably what lets me know I'm going to be okay. Because it. I don't think it's a quality that people even realize they have for sure, so they don't know how to nurture it. I sure. I really, really do think that everybody has that quality, whether it's nurtured by someone else or nurtured by themselves. I think the strength of it comes from nurturing it yourself.
[05:16]
B
Absolutely.
[05:16]
A
So, yeah, I am my own driving force when it comes to that, I built the resilience, I develop it. I continue to challenge it in many ways for sure. Just to see how close I didn't get to falling on my face and getting back up.
[05:31]
B
How has your resilience been challenged?
[05:34]
A
Oh, man. Just in general, just involvement, you know, going to, you know, picking the career. Let's just take, you know, the physician assistant career, number one. Picking it in general, it's huge. So, you know, you got to interview. It's like, okay, let me just go over here and do all these things.
[05:51]
B
And then I just like that for
[05:53]
A
an interview, and I get that. And then I go through school, and it's just a fire hose of information coming at you, and it's just like, ah. So I take it all in and then I get through it. So there's resilience there. And then it's like, okay, now I'm going to my clinicals and doing that. And then it's just like every day, fire. Oh, I'm just like, oh, my God. I don't know that I can get through this day. But then you get through the day, and then you get through the next day, and you get through the next day, and then you look back and you're like, dang, that was pretty resilient, wasn't it? What else can I do? So then it's like, all right, let me go into cardiac surgery
[06:27]
B
rather than we go into cardiac surgery.
[06:29]
A
And at the end, I was like, what's the hardest thing? I. I really feel like I was just like, I mean, I love surgery. And it was just like, well, let's pick a hard one. So, you know, fire hose of information again, and challenges and skill development, and, man, there's always something to learn every day. And that was really fun for a long time. But then it's like, you know, you're stuck in this, like, you know, you know, cardiac surgery. Yeah. But honestly, it's the same.
[06:55]
B
Yeah, it's a system.
[06:57]
A
It's, you know, cannulating your heart and going on bypass and doing the surgery and then coming off a pump and then bringing to the ICU and taking care of them and sending them home. It's just like, boom, boom, boom. You can go here, do it. You can go and do it in California. I can go do it in Virginia. I can do it in Pennsylvania. I can do it in nowhere. Yeah. You know, it's just like. Is the same. Yeah. It varies from, you know, skill level and personality, basically, but it's the same. So that, again, Is a situation where it becomes like, okay, what else can I do? For sure. So now it's like, okay, let's jump off. Start a business.
[07:33]
B
Hell yeah, you are right now.
[07:35]
A
Yeah. And then start a business. Grow that business. And as I'm growing that business, learn how to, to start another business with helping people grow a business. And then bring back, you know, something that is important to me as far as, you know, keeping my, my family's memory alive, my mom's business that she started, you know, bringing that back, you know, having that legacy for her is important to me. Let's start business, you know, and then, yo, let's start a podcast. You know, it's just like, it just evolves and it's every. With it, with each evolution, new challenges develop. And then you look back and you're like, dang, that is resilience, isn't it?
[08:20]
B
For sure.
[08:21]
A
So it's definitely something you have to push yourself for.
[08:23]
B
Where do you think the, the challenges are coming from? Is this some divine energy? Is it yourself from the fifth dimension, talking to yourself in the third? Where do you think these challenges are manifesting? Where are they coming from?
[08:34]
A
The challenges, I think, are normal. If you choose to take the path that isn't necessarily already paved or easy, challenges are going to be there. Correct. It's just, how do you manage and navigate those challenges? You can choose to retreat and go back. I use this, this analogy about when you, when you're like even a little kid and you're like the first time in, in the ocean, you're on the beach, you go out in the water, it's a little scary. The waves are coming, right? And they're like, don't come out here. It's. It's awful out here. Get back to shore. So, but you're like, get out there and then you get kind of far and you're like, oh, I'm. I'm kind of far. I better go back, you know, So I kind of look at life like that and its challenges. It's like once you get so far out there and, you know, like, there's other challenges out there. So now I'm in the ocean, right? And there's a shark and like, you know, survive, surviving in general and the strength to swim, these are all challenges that you find yourself in the middle of the ocean doing. But once you get so far, there is no going back to shore.
[09:39]
B
Right on.
[09:40]
A
You're out there. So for sure, you just keep going and you learn how to survive out there. So I, I kind of like, that analogy as far as, like, when you're out there, if you never went out there, you never know how cool it is out there and how beautiful and how fun because it's scary, you know, but if you keep going back to shore because you're afraid of what's scary, then you never know how great it is.
[10:04]
B
So why would you choose the analogy of an ocean versus a galaxy?
[10:09]
A
I guess I'm a beach person.
[10:10]
B
Aha. Mystery solved. I gotta ask. I went through a traumatic experience in the way that I kind of, I don't know, divinely protested, was shaving off all my hair. I killed off the ego. I'm like, I don't want to be this person anymore. When did you do it?
[10:31]
A
When did you go? No, I'm just.
[10:34]
B
When did you just go?
[10:37]
A
I guess when I realized I didn't need permission to.
[10:40]
B
Yeah. Hell yeah.
[10:41]
A
And it's just like.
[10:43]
B
I think it looks great, by the way.
[10:44]
A
God damn it. You know? Yeah. But yeah, part of it is cutting your hair short or, you know, painting your face or, you know, protesting makeup. Whatever you want to do to express yourself.
[10:57]
B
Hell yeah.
[10:58]
A
You know, do it. Who cares? However you want to do it. We all know it means the same thing as long as we're aware of that fact that that's what you're doing deep down. It's like, it's a way of working on yourself and, you know, self expression and actually going out there and it's kind of that breaking point, you know, where the. You have the choice to go back to shore or keep going out to this vast unknown, or you just hang
[11:28]
B
out in a suntan once in a while.
[11:30]
A
Yeah, go do it. And I don't know, where do you
[11:37]
B
think you are currently? And are you still by the shore? Have you dived in deep? Are you not deep enough? Where do you think you are?
[11:44]
A
I'm not deep enough, but I can't see the shoreline.
[11:47]
B
Okay, cool.
[11:48]
A
Yeah. So you're just out there, man.
[11:50]
B
Yeah. You're just. All right. Right on.
[11:53]
A
I don't know which way is the shoreline.
[11:55]
B
Yeah. And I feel like you're kind of just floating there.
[11:57]
A
It's like. It's okay, though, because I know it's gonna be okay. Eventually a boat will come and we'll hang out and then I'll get back in the water and I'll keep going, you know, like, it'll be okay.
[12:07]
B
Right on.
[12:07]
A
Yeah.
[12:08]
B
Where do you think that. That. That analogy that. Because you're obviously very visual. Where is this all this Coming from. That's what I want to nail down.
[12:14]
A
Like, I know that when I was. This is interesting enough that you asked this question. It's very hard to talk to people about cardiac surgery. And sometimes when you're trying to explain what you're about to do to a person, it's like, you know, deer in headlights look. So I learned very early on and through a great surgeon, actually, who did a lot of analogies. I don't necessarily use him. I use some of his, but then I've developed my own because it just makes it more relatable and easier for people to understand, and then it makes them more comfortable, I think, with the fact that I'm about to rip the chest open. Nice. No, it's an oscillating soul. There's no ripping. It's very intricate. But, you know, when you're. It kind of. It softens that blow. So to say, when you're able to kind of like talk about, you know, your body is more of a machine and, you know, the heart is the engine and, you know, so it's just like you come up with all these analogies to help. And sometimes I change them, depending on who I'm talking to. I'm talking to a mechanic. I'm going to talk about a car. Yeah. Like, I just. I just feel. I read the room and feel the. Feel the moment.
[13:25]
B
And for you, rip them open and look right at their heart.
[13:28]
A
Yeah. If you don't do that, they don't listen to what you're saying.
[13:33]
B
I know exactly what you mean.
[13:35]
A
They're such shock. Yeah. About. Of what's going to happen, what she just said. I don't understand anything she's saying. So I'm just going to stop listening and think about all these things. I don't know what she's. You know, what's going on. And then basically, you get a less compliant patient because you're. You're not relatable. You know, Ben's nightmare is huge, which a lot of people fall short on. So if you're not able to be relatable and communicate with your patient, that's not likely they're going to do what you want them to do when they leave.
[14:05]
B
Have you ever explored pediatrics? You'd be amazing with children.
[14:08]
A
Oh, boy. That's just. That's a lot of responsibility. Tiny little insurance. Oh, man.
[14:17]
B
They've got the Zeus machines now, right. You just put on your VR goggles and you're fine. Most of it is. Most of it is AI anyways. Right.
[14:24]
A
Yeah. You really have that surgery, did you?
[14:28]
B
You're not really awake, are you? Can I. Who do I yell at? Your website is incomplete. I have notes for you.
[14:37]
A
Oh, God. If you want to take over the yelling. I am so happy.
[14:44]
B
Your contact form is broken. Your funnels lead to nothing.
[14:48]
A
Oh, God. Keep going, please. Okay.
[14:52]
B
I just work in marketing with a web development, cinematic background.
[14:54]
A
Yeah.
[14:55]
B
Just FYI.
[14:56]
A
Can I hire you? Okay. With the learning curve of.
[15:01]
B
I was teasing, but yes, as a
[15:03]
A
matter of fact, I learned. I'm aware. And it's a struggle because, you know, again, as I said in my interview, for whatever you want to call it, this is whatever.
[15:13]
B
Your legacy popper episode. Thank you.
[15:17]
A
Right. You know, you spend, you know, over a decade in an operating room doing that stuff, which is fun.
[15:23]
B
Hosting a podcast.
[15:24]
A
You.
[15:25]
B
Sorry, you pointed at me.
[15:26]
A
No, I'm just teasing. You come out into this world of like, oh, my God, what the hell's AI? I didn't even know what CHAT GPT was. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Literally less than a year ago. I did not. Or, yeah, I did not know what ChatGPT was. I think I just downloaded it on my phone maybe in February, March of this year. And I'm being generous. So it's a huge learning curve, but it's something I'm really, really excited about. And again, it's like, out in the ocean, like, do you go back to shore? You say, stay out there, man.
[15:59]
B
Yeah. Imagine being out in the ocean and being able to break that ocean into 10 pieces and have 10 pieces of ocean, each ocean being a version different AI bot of you. So if you want, be negative, execute, positive, execute, it's just ten versions of you. Just. Just program it.
[16:13]
A
This. This is what you're.
[16:14]
B
You clearly have a lot to say.
[16:17]
A
You're that boat that just came along and said, I'm more like a destroyer. Like I said, you're on the ocean, and you come across a boat. You hang out for a little bit, and it works out. Now, this boat might bring my Break my ocean into 10 pieces. That's great.
[16:30]
B
You're welcome.
[16:31]
A
Love the sounds of that. But, yeah, it's. It's a work in progress. And I know, like, you know, some marketers say the website's not that big of a deal, and then, you know, so you're, like, focused on other things, and you're doing leads and sales, and, you know, so there's, you know, so one person. So I got you trying to. You know, we're developing a team, and so it's like, I can't fast again that fast forward, but it's certainly well on its way.
[17:00]
B
And before we wrap up, folks that are watching this that are inspired by your energy and your story. How. How can folks first, follow you, learn more about you, your spa, and second, any words of advice, any feedback, any books, any. Any quotes that you would recommend.
[17:18]
A
Oh, geez, that's a great question. You can follow me at Lana Beauty Bar. That's my handle for that. And then at Lauren Velkoff, that. And I also want to say, come to my ice cream shop. It's in the tiny town in the middle of Pennsylvania, but if you find yourself there, it's called sweet memories, and it's sweet Memories Muncie. So that's really fun. But words of wisdom, I would say, never give up on yourself. Keep pushing. You know, it's just like swimming out there. It's really hard some days. And then really those hard days when the, when the good ones come, they're just so much more rewarding. Books I love, love as you know, sucker for like John Maxwell and like leadership development and his whole mentality of just positivity and just how to God the golden rule of life. I mean, that's what I'm gonna say. Treat others as you want to be treated. And that is what I try to do. Like whether you're coming in for $5 service or 1500 dollars service, I try to. I don't try. I treat everybody exactly the same. And I think that's what a lot of this world is missing as far as, you know, just humanity. You know, get back to that.
[18:46]
B
Right on. Well, Lauren, I really appreciate your time and energy. Yeah, I hope we left enough mystery for folks to find out more about you, your spa, you know, your ice cream parlor. And yeah, that concludes yet another amazing episode of creating your legacy or living your legacy, whatever the heck this is called. The women in power edition. For inside success, I am Ray Gutierrez.

Summary5 min read

Living Your Legacy – Women of Power Edition

Episode: "From Cardiac Surgery to Reinventing Herself"

Host: Ray Gutierrez
Guest: Lauren Velkoff
Date: May 29, 2026

Episode Overview

This inspiring episode centers around Lauren Velkoff, a visionary entrepreneur and founder of Lana Beauty Bar, whose journey moves from the intense world of cardiac surgery to entrepreneurship and coaching. Through candid storytelling, Lauren unpacks resilience, reinvention, leadership, and honoring legacy—offering compelling analogies, practical wisdom, and energizing advice for listeners at any point in their own ambitious journeys.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Making of Personal Resilience

Lauren reflects on her ability to overcome adversity and adapt to new challenges, drawing on life experiences that required pushing her own boundaries.
She emphasizes that resilience is a quality many have but don’t often recognize or know how to nurture:
- "I am my own driving force...I built the resilience, I develop it, I continue to challenge it in many ways for sure." (00:00 & 05:16)
The theme recurs: every challenging day survived is proof of inner strength and evidence for tackling even bigger challenges.
- "I don't know that I can get through this day. But then you get through the day and then you get to the next day...that was pretty resilient, wasn't it? What else can I do?" (00:49 & 05:52)

2. Journey from Surgery to Entrepreneurship

Lauren outlines her trajectory—from high school athletics and health care ambitions, through the arduous training and demands of being a physician assistant, and finally into cardiac surgery.
- "Every phase of my life seems to be, you know, what's the next challenge? Where am I going now? Because I'm not a person that just...gets to, like, the top and then...there's so much more out there to do." (03:59)
She describes the point of professional plateau and the drive for “the next leap of faith”—choosing to transition out of her medical career and channel her energy into building a business and honoring her family legacy.

3. The Evolution of Challenge and Opportunity

The ocean analogy: challenges are a natural part of pursuing an unpaved path; once you’ve ventured far enough, there’s no returning to the comfort of the shore:
- "Once you get so far, there is no going back to shore...you just keep going and you learn how to survive out there." (09:39)
Self-expression and breaking the mold—embracing personal transformation, whether that’s starting a new business or something as symbolic as altering one’s appearance:
- "When did you just go? I guess when I realized I didn't need permission to." (10:36)
- "Cutting your hair short...painting your face or...protesting makeup. Whatever you want to do to express yourself, do it. Who cares?" (10:43)

4. The Power of Analogy in Leadership & Communication

Lauren shares how building relatable analogies became crucial—initially as a tool to explain daunting surgical procedures to patients, and now as a general leadership principle:
- "Sometimes when you're trying to explain what you're about to do to a person, it's like, you know, deer in headlights look...So I've developed my own [analogies] because it just makes it more relatable and easier for people to understand." (12:14)
Adaptability and “reading the room” are emphasized as keys for leadership and building rapport.

5. Business Journey: Embracing the Unfamiliar

Lauren humorously recounts her so-called late introduction to AI and digital tools after a decade in operating rooms:
- "You come out into this world of like, oh, my God, what the hell's AI? I didn't even know what ChatGPT was. Literally less than a year ago...So it's a huge learning curve, but it's something I'm really, really excited about. And again, it's like, out in the ocean..." (15:24)
The feeling of “not being able to see the shoreline”—still very much in the midst of reinvention, but okay with the ongoing journey and the unknown.

6. Legacy, Family, and Universal Values

Lauren’s businesses, including reviving her mother’s ice cream shop (“Sweet Memories”), are testaments to the importance of legacy.
She highlights John Maxwell’s leadership principles, especially the Golden Rule:
- "Treat others as you want to be treated. And that is what I try to do. Like whether you're coming in for $5 service or $1,500 service, I try to...treat everybody exactly the same." (18:28)
Final words of wisdom:
- “Never give up on yourself. Keep pushing. It's like swimming out there. It's really hard some days. And then really those hard days, when the good ones come, they're just so much more rewarding.” (17:18)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Resilience:
- “I am my own driving force when it comes to that. I built the resilience, I develop it, I continue to challenge it in many ways for sure.” — Lauren (00:00, 05:16)
On Taking Leaps:
- “I'm happy with the fact that I have enough faith in myself to jump off and know I'm gonna be okay.” — Lauren (03:59)
- “Once you get so far, there is no going back...You just keep going and you learn how to survive out there.” — Lauren (09:39)
On Reinvention:
- “When did you just go? I guess when I realized I didn't need permission to.” — Lauren (10:36)
On Relatability:
- “If you're not able to be relatable and communicate with your patient, that's not likely they're going to do what you want them to do when they leave.” — Lauren (13:34)
On Continued Growth:
- “I'm not deep enough, but I can't see the shoreline.” — Lauren (11:44, when asked where she is in her journey)
On Leadership:
- “Treat others as you want to be treated. That is what I try to do...I treat everybody exactly the same. And I think that’s what a lot of this world is missing.” — Lauren (18:28)

Timestamps for Important Segments

[00:00-05:30] – The roots and meaning of resilience
[05:30-07:33] – Intense journey through PA school, clinicals, and cardiac surgery
[07:33-08:19] – Transitioning to business, entrepreneurship, and honoring family legacy
[08:19-11:44] – Ocean analogy: going beyond comfort zones, self-expression, transformation
[12:14-14:05] – Communicating through analogies; building rapport in leadership
[15:24-16:59] – Lauren’s “digital awakening” and business building in the age of AI
[17:18-end] – Practical advice, favorite books, living and leading by the Golden Rule

Follow & Connect

Instagram: @LanaBeautyBar | @LaurenVelkoff
Sweet Memories Ice Cream Shop: “If you find yourself in Muncie, Pennsylvania—stop in at Sweet Memories!”

Final Advice

Never give up on yourself.
"Keep pushing...it's really hard some days. And then really those hard days, when the good ones come, they're just so much more rewarding." (17:18)
Treat everyone equally—lead with kindness and positivity.

This episode of Living Your Legacy is a powerful, relatable reminder that leaving a legacy isn’t only about reaching the top—it’s about continually swimming out, facing the unknown, and bringing others with you through authentic leadership and heart.

Loading summary

Transcript98 lines

[00:00]
A
When you reflect back on the things you've been through and what you've overcome and the resilience that you have to navigate these challenges in life, I think that's probably what lets me know I'm going to be okay. Because I don't think it's a quality that people even realize they have for sure, so they don't know how to nurture it. I am my own driving force when it comes to that. I built the resilience, I develop it, I continue to challenge it in many ways for sure. Just to see half close, I didn't get to falling on my face and getting back up.
[00:33]
B
Lauren Velkoff is a resilient, precision driven and visionary entrepreneur, leadership consultant, and the founder of Lana Beauty Bar. Drawing from her journey in high stakes medical environments, she empowers others to build resilience, embrace transformation, and lead with confidence and purpose.
[00:49]
A
I don't know that I can get through this day, but then you get through the day and then you get through the next day and you get to the next day and then you look back and you're like, dang, that was pretty resilient, wasn't it? What else can I do?
[01:01]
B
It spans the globe like a super
[01:03]
A
highest cold Internet Elvis. Today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone. It's not over until I win.
[01:14]
B
The Living youg Legacy podcast.
[01:16]
A
For those who live to leave a legacy that's extraordinary. The impossible has happened. Oh, that is sensational. Jordan, Open Chicago with the lead. You said soul is the fastest man on the planet. You can live your dream.
[01:35]
B
Welcome to another episode of the Living youg Legacy podcast, the Women of Power edition for Inside Success. I am Ray Gutierrez. Joining me today is quite the precision surgeon, if you will, Lauren Velcro Velkoff. I know that on my second try. I see. Get used to that. This is your first podcast, so folks will just politely mispronounce your last name to build repertoire. Welcome to the show.
[02:02]
A
Such a rapport here. Thank you. I appreciate it to be here.
[02:06]
B
Right on. You fresh off your episode of Women in Power. How do you feel?
[02:11]
A
I feel good. I feel really happy with the way it went. You know, I kind of tried to prepare, but I'm not much of a preparation person when it comes to stuff like this.
[02:22]
B
As a surgeon.
[02:23]
A
Yeah. Aside from that, you know, it's just, you know, you kind of get your head around the. I guess the preparatory part is getting your head around, you know, what kind of to anticipate. But not to get too specific because you don't want to take that authenticity away when you answer questions. So I really tried to, like, have a idea of what, but I thought, wow, man, they're going to ask the questions about me. Who's better to answer them than me?
[02:51]
B
So how did you think you did?
[02:53]
A
I thought it was good. I actually thought the questions were, you know, I guess, driven by my responses from the initial meeting of you guys and how I was a good driving force. There you go. Just, you know, everything kind of comes together. It's just like, you know, gluing pieces of paper together. So it just. It worked and meshed well. So the answers just came very naturally and smoothly, which I felt really confident about.
[03:21]
B
Where do you want to begin? Your story, The. The surgery, the surgical. Your surgery profession, your mentoring, your coaching. Where do you want to be?
[03:33]
A
Let's just wrap it up in a nutshell. You know, if we go back to, like, high school, you know, very involved in athletics and always striving for big goals there, and then, you know, led me down a very, very, you know, intentional path of health care, which was fun and great and rewarding and very challenging. I'm always up for a challenge.
[03:59]
B
Sure.
[03:59]
A
So every phase of my life seems to be, you know, what's the next challenge? Where am I going now? Because I'm not a person that just kind of gets to, like, the top, and then I'm just like, okay, I'm for sure, you know, there's so much more out there to do. So I just. I just kind of keep finding myself taking the next step or the next leap of faith, you know, and I'm happy with the fact that I have enough faith in myself to jump off and know I'm gonna be okay.
[04:34]
B
So is it all faith driven in yourself that. That you're running towards your North Star, or what. What's. What's your driving force?
[04:40]
A
I guess, you know, when you. When you reflect back on the things you've been through and what you've overcome and the resilience that you have to navigate these challenges in life, I think that's probably what lets me know I'm going to be okay. Because it. I don't think it's a quality that people even realize they have for sure, so they don't know how to nurture it. I sure. I really, really do think that everybody has that quality, whether it's nurtured by someone else or nurtured by themselves. I think the strength of it comes from nurturing it yourself.
[05:16]
B
Absolutely.
[05:16]
A
So, yeah, I am my own driving force when it comes to that, I built the resilience, I develop it. I continue to challenge it in many ways for sure. Just to see how close I didn't get to falling on my face and getting back up.
[05:31]
B
How has your resilience been challenged?
[05:34]
A
Oh, man. Just in general, just involvement, you know, going to, you know, picking the career. Let's just take, you know, the physician assistant career, number one. Picking it in general, it's huge. So, you know, you got to interview. It's like, okay, let me just go over here and do all these things.
[05:51]
B
And then I just like that for
[05:53]
A
an interview, and I get that. And then I go through school, and it's just a fire hose of information coming at you, and it's just like, ah. So I take it all in and then I get through it. So there's resilience there. And then it's like, okay, now I'm going to my clinicals and doing that. And then it's just like every day, fire. Oh, I'm just like, oh, my God. I don't know that I can get through this day. But then you get through the day, and then you get through the next day, and you get through the next day, and then you look back and you're like, dang, that was pretty resilient, wasn't it? What else can I do? So then it's like, all right, let me go into cardiac surgery
[06:27]
B
rather than we go into cardiac surgery.
[06:29]
A
And at the end, I was like, what's the hardest thing? I. I really feel like I was just like, I mean, I love surgery. And it was just like, well, let's pick a hard one. So, you know, fire hose of information again, and challenges and skill development, and, man, there's always something to learn every day. And that was really fun for a long time. But then it's like, you know, you're stuck in this, like, you know, you know, cardiac surgery. Yeah. But honestly, it's the same.
[06:55]
B
Yeah, it's a system.
[06:57]
A
It's, you know, cannulating your heart and going on bypass and doing the surgery and then coming off a pump and then bringing to the ICU and taking care of them and sending them home. It's just like, boom, boom, boom. You can go here, do it. You can go and do it in California. I can go do it in Virginia. I can do it in Pennsylvania. I can do it in nowhere. Yeah. You know, it's just like. Is the same. Yeah. It varies from, you know, skill level and personality, basically, but it's the same. So that, again, Is a situation where it becomes like, okay, what else can I do? For sure. So now it's like, okay, let's jump off. Start a business.
[07:33]
B
Hell yeah, you are right now.
[07:35]
A
Yeah. And then start a business. Grow that business. And as I'm growing that business, learn how to, to start another business with helping people grow a business. And then bring back, you know, something that is important to me as far as, you know, keeping my, my family's memory alive, my mom's business that she started, you know, bringing that back, you know, having that legacy for her is important to me. Let's start business, you know, and then, yo, let's start a podcast. You know, it's just like, it just evolves and it's every. With it, with each evolution, new challenges develop. And then you look back and you're like, dang, that is resilience, isn't it?
[08:20]
B
For sure.
[08:21]
A
So it's definitely something you have to push yourself for.
[08:23]
B
Where do you think the, the challenges are coming from? Is this some divine energy? Is it yourself from the fifth dimension, talking to yourself in the third? Where do you think these challenges are manifesting? Where are they coming from?
[08:34]
A
The challenges, I think, are normal. If you choose to take the path that isn't necessarily already paved or easy, challenges are going to be there. Correct. It's just, how do you manage and navigate those challenges? You can choose to retreat and go back. I use this, this analogy about when you, when you're like even a little kid and you're like the first time in, in the ocean, you're on the beach, you go out in the water, it's a little scary. The waves are coming, right? And they're like, don't come out here. It's. It's awful out here. Get back to shore. So, but you're like, get out there and then you get kind of far and you're like, oh, I'm. I'm kind of far. I better go back, you know, So I kind of look at life like that and its challenges. It's like once you get so far out there and, you know, like, there's other challenges out there. So now I'm in the ocean, right? And there's a shark and like, you know, survive, surviving in general and the strength to swim, these are all challenges that you find yourself in the middle of the ocean doing. But once you get so far, there is no going back to shore.
[09:39]
B
Right on.
[09:40]
A
You're out there. So for sure, you just keep going and you learn how to survive out there. So I, I kind of like, that analogy as far as, like, when you're out there, if you never went out there, you never know how cool it is out there and how beautiful and how fun because it's scary, you know, but if you keep going back to shore because you're afraid of what's scary, then you never know how great it is.
[10:04]
B
So why would you choose the analogy of an ocean versus a galaxy?
[10:09]
A
I guess I'm a beach person.
[10:10]
B
Aha. Mystery solved. I gotta ask. I went through a traumatic experience in the way that I kind of, I don't know, divinely protested, was shaving off all my hair. I killed off the ego. I'm like, I don't want to be this person anymore. When did you do it?
[10:31]
A
When did you go? No, I'm just.
[10:34]
B
When did you just go?
[10:37]
A
I guess when I realized I didn't need permission to.
[10:40]
B
Yeah. Hell yeah.
[10:41]
A
And it's just like.
[10:43]
B
I think it looks great, by the way.
[10:44]
A
God damn it. You know? Yeah. But yeah, part of it is cutting your hair short or, you know, painting your face or, you know, protesting makeup. Whatever you want to do to express yourself.
[10:57]
B
Hell yeah.
[10:58]
A
You know, do it. Who cares? However you want to do it. We all know it means the same thing as long as we're aware of that fact that that's what you're doing deep down. It's like, it's a way of working on yourself and, you know, self expression and actually going out there and it's kind of that breaking point, you know, where the. You have the choice to go back to shore or keep going out to this vast unknown, or you just hang
[11:28]
B
out in a suntan once in a while.
[11:30]
A
Yeah, go do it. And I don't know, where do you
[11:37]
B
think you are currently? And are you still by the shore? Have you dived in deep? Are you not deep enough? Where do you think you are?
[11:44]
A
I'm not deep enough, but I can't see the shoreline.
[11:47]
B
Okay, cool.
[11:48]
A
Yeah. So you're just out there, man.
[11:50]
B
Yeah. You're just. All right. Right on.
[11:53]
A
I don't know which way is the shoreline.
[11:55]
B
Yeah. And I feel like you're kind of just floating there.
[11:57]
A
It's like. It's okay, though, because I know it's gonna be okay. Eventually a boat will come and we'll hang out and then I'll get back in the water and I'll keep going, you know, like, it'll be okay.
[12:07]
B
Right on.
[12:07]
A
Yeah.
[12:08]
B
Where do you think that. That. That analogy that. Because you're obviously very visual. Where is this all this Coming from. That's what I want to nail down.
[12:14]
A
Like, I know that when I was. This is interesting enough that you asked this question. It's very hard to talk to people about cardiac surgery. And sometimes when you're trying to explain what you're about to do to a person, it's like, you know, deer in headlights look. So I learned very early on and through a great surgeon, actually, who did a lot of analogies. I don't necessarily use him. I use some of his, but then I've developed my own because it just makes it more relatable and easier for people to understand, and then it makes them more comfortable, I think, with the fact that I'm about to rip the chest open. Nice. No, it's an oscillating soul. There's no ripping. It's very intricate. But, you know, when you're. It kind of. It softens that blow. So to say, when you're able to kind of like talk about, you know, your body is more of a machine and, you know, the heart is the engine and, you know, so it's just like you come up with all these analogies to help. And sometimes I change them, depending on who I'm talking to. I'm talking to a mechanic. I'm going to talk about a car. Yeah. Like, I just. I just feel. I read the room and feel the. Feel the moment.
[13:25]
B
And for you, rip them open and look right at their heart.
[13:28]
A
Yeah. If you don't do that, they don't listen to what you're saying.
[13:33]
B
I know exactly what you mean.
[13:35]
A
They're such shock. Yeah. About. Of what's going to happen, what she just said. I don't understand anything she's saying. So I'm just going to stop listening and think about all these things. I don't know what she's. You know, what's going on. And then basically, you get a less compliant patient because you're. You're not relatable. You know, Ben's nightmare is huge, which a lot of people fall short on. So if you're not able to be relatable and communicate with your patient, that's not likely they're going to do what you want them to do when they leave.
[14:05]
B
Have you ever explored pediatrics? You'd be amazing with children.
[14:08]
A
Oh, boy. That's just. That's a lot of responsibility. Tiny little insurance. Oh, man.
[14:17]
B
They've got the Zeus machines now, right. You just put on your VR goggles and you're fine. Most of it is. Most of it is AI anyways. Right.
[14:24]
A
Yeah. You really have that surgery, did you?
[14:28]
B
You're not really awake, are you? Can I. Who do I yell at? Your website is incomplete. I have notes for you.
[14:37]
A
Oh, God. If you want to take over the yelling. I am so happy.
[14:44]
B
Your contact form is broken. Your funnels lead to nothing.
[14:48]
A
Oh, God. Keep going, please. Okay.
[14:52]
B
I just work in marketing with a web development, cinematic background.
[14:54]
A
Yeah.
[14:55]
B
Just FYI.
[14:56]
A
Can I hire you? Okay. With the learning curve of.
[15:01]
B
I was teasing, but yes, as a
[15:03]
A
matter of fact, I learned. I'm aware. And it's a struggle because, you know, again, as I said in my interview, for whatever you want to call it, this is whatever.
[15:13]
B
Your legacy popper episode. Thank you.
[15:17]
A
Right. You know, you spend, you know, over a decade in an operating room doing that stuff, which is fun.
[15:23]
B
Hosting a podcast.
[15:24]
A
You.
[15:25]
B
Sorry, you pointed at me.
[15:26]
A
No, I'm just teasing. You come out into this world of like, oh, my God, what the hell's AI? I didn't even know what CHAT GPT was. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Literally less than a year ago. I did not. Or, yeah, I did not know what ChatGPT was. I think I just downloaded it on my phone maybe in February, March of this year. And I'm being generous. So it's a huge learning curve, but it's something I'm really, really excited about. And again, it's like, out in the ocean, like, do you go back to shore? You say, stay out there, man.
[15:59]
B
Yeah. Imagine being out in the ocean and being able to break that ocean into 10 pieces and have 10 pieces of ocean, each ocean being a version different AI bot of you. So if you want, be negative, execute, positive, execute, it's just ten versions of you. Just. Just program it.
[16:13]
A
This. This is what you're.
[16:14]
B
You clearly have a lot to say.
[16:17]
A
You're that boat that just came along and said, I'm more like a destroyer. Like I said, you're on the ocean, and you come across a boat. You hang out for a little bit, and it works out. Now, this boat might bring my Break my ocean into 10 pieces. That's great.
[16:30]
B
You're welcome.
[16:31]
A
Love the sounds of that. But, yeah, it's. It's a work in progress. And I know, like, you know, some marketers say the website's not that big of a deal, and then, you know, so you're, like, focused on other things, and you're doing leads and sales, and, you know, so there's, you know, so one person. So I got you trying to. You know, we're developing a team, and so it's like, I can't fast again that fast forward, but it's certainly well on its way.
[17:00]
B
And before we wrap up, folks that are watching this that are inspired by your energy and your story. How. How can folks first, follow you, learn more about you, your spa, and second, any words of advice, any feedback, any books, any. Any quotes that you would recommend.
[17:18]
A
Oh, geez, that's a great question. You can follow me at Lana Beauty Bar. That's my handle for that. And then at Lauren Velkoff, that. And I also want to say, come to my ice cream shop. It's in the tiny town in the middle of Pennsylvania, but if you find yourself there, it's called sweet memories, and it's sweet Memories Muncie. So that's really fun. But words of wisdom, I would say, never give up on yourself. Keep pushing. You know, it's just like swimming out there. It's really hard some days. And then really those hard days when the, when the good ones come, they're just so much more rewarding. Books I love, love as you know, sucker for like John Maxwell and like leadership development and his whole mentality of just positivity and just how to God the golden rule of life. I mean, that's what I'm gonna say. Treat others as you want to be treated. And that is what I try to do. Like whether you're coming in for $5 service or 1500 dollars service, I try to. I don't try. I treat everybody exactly the same. And I think that's what a lot of this world is missing as far as, you know, just humanity. You know, get back to that.
[18:46]
B
Right on. Well, Lauren, I really appreciate your time and energy. Yeah, I hope we left enough mystery for folks to find out more about you, your spa, you know, your ice cream parlor. And yeah, that concludes yet another amazing episode of creating your legacy or living your legacy, whatever the heck this is called. The women in power edition. For inside success, I am Ray Gutierrez.