Welcome back to Girl, Take the Lead! — the podcast where we talk honestly about leadership, womanhood, and all the messy, beautiful parts in between.

Today I’m joined by Dr. Denise Brown, also known as The Fairy God Doctor — a Stanford-trained physician, former CEO, wife, mom, and now author of The Fairy God Doctor’s Guide to a Good Life: A Prescription for the Working Woman. Fairy God Doctor+1

If you’re listening to this in December while you’re juggling holidays, work deadlines, family expectations, and maybe an elf on a shelf you forgot to move 🙃, this episode is here to give you permission to do less and feel more satisfied.

We talk about why “success” is external but satisfaction is internal, how comparison and “shoulds” steal our joy, what it really means to ask for partnership instead of help, and how to reframe our lives and careers as non-linear wanderings in the woods instead of one perfect, straight ladder to the top.

We also get teary (yep, both of us) as Denise reads the poem “If I Had My Child to Raise Over Again” and shares what true self-care looks like when your house is quiet, the kids are grown, and you suddenly realize what really mattered most.

In This Episode, We Talk About:

• Success vs. satisfaction

• Non-linear womanhood & careers

• Comparison, guilt, judgment & shame

• Helicoptering, snowplowing & leadership at work

• “You can have it all… but you cannot do it all.”

• Real talk about the holidays & overdoing it

• The heart of self-care

• What she’d tell her 20-something self
  

Memorable Quotes

“Success is external. Satisfaction is internal.”

“You can have it all, but you cannot do it all.”

“If you’re asking for help, you’re still carrying the weight. When you ask for partnership, you’re sharing it.”

“There isn’t work and life — there’s just life. There isn’t physical wellbeing and mental wellbeing — there’s just wellbeing.”

“Someday your house will be quiet and clean. And you’ll realize what really mattered was the people, not the counters.”

Resources & Links Mentioned

• Book: The Fairy God Doctor’s Guide to a Good Life: A Prescription for the Working Woman by Dr. Denise S. Brown Amazon+1

• Dr. Denise’s Website:

  • Author / leadership site: denisesbrownmd.com denisesbrownmd.com

  • Book site: thefairygoddoctor.com Fairy God Doctor

• Instagram:

  • @thefairygoddoctor Instagram

  • @denisesbrownmd Instagram

    
    

From the Girl, Take the Lead! Heartfelt Cards & Gifts Shop 💌

In this episode, Denise chose our Snarky Cat card that says “Trust Your Guts” — because your gut usually does know what to do, especially when you give it a little time and space to speak up.

You’ll find that card (and more “listen to yourself” goodness) in the

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