Education is the cornerstone of unlocking human potential, and it's something I believe should be available to every individual, regardless of their circumstances.

However, it was very natural that a failed surgeon with little experience in molecular biology had a hard time finding a position. A turning point came when I got a fax from Thomas Innerarity at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases in San Francisco. After a short telephone conversation, Tom was brave enough to give me a postdoctoral position in his lab! Working at Gladstone was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life.

And like most nurses, I found myself running into certain frustrations. I started to look for ways to make a better argument, to advocate more convincingly for the people under my care. That led me to read up on civil law and produce a few research papers, and then I did a master’s degree in health science and also an MBA. All of that allowed me to see other sides of the problem. It also showed me how issues affecting nurses could be elevated by approaching ministers and other people in power with sound, evidence-based arguments.

Absolutely. My friend Charlie Lutes said the most we can do for ourselves is to take that dive within twice a day, bringing out more and more of that consciousness within and that consciousness has qualities, qualities of intelligence, creativity, happiness, love, energy, power, peace. All these things you’re gonna get more and more of. You cannot lose.

I am mostly full time dad and my time is mostly at the mercy of an awesome little boy. I write when I can.

If you are a total atheist and believe in nothing, and you believe that when you die, there's no whatever spiritual realm that you just plop into the earth, well, then your personality is what lives on through recordings like this, through your writing and so that is your personality living after you have physically died. That is my favorite definition of the afterlife.

In the end, I had to pay $3.3 million dollars to buy back that 90%.

20 years ago i read a brilliant book called How Buildings Learn by Stuart Brand. Again, I highly recommend this book. In fact, I think it's my most gifted book. I love this book. I've read it so many times.

My mentor heard it and said, “Derek, you’re just not a singer. You really need to stop trying. Admit you’re a songwriter, and find a real singer.”

In that brief transition time, it felt like the question to ask yourself is what is the biggest learning opportunity? Where can I grow more?