Dr. James Doty on Manifesting to Serve Others

Dr. James Doty, or as he wanted me to call him, Jim, is a Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery at Stanford University. He’s also the Founder and Director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, which is an affiliate of the Stanford Neurosciences Institute. So, you’re going to learn pretty quickly in today’s conversation that Dr. Doty has been on the neurosurgery side and on the neuroscience side of studying the brain. He is obsessed with research and science, and he also blends in this sort of artistic way of thinking about how we can show up in the world. He’s the author of a self-help book called Into the Magic Shop, which is a neurosurgeon’s quest to discover the mysteries of the brain and the secrets of the heart. I think that best describes how Jim shows up. He very much values the brain, but he also values the heart. His most recent book, which is a big part of our conversation today, is called Mind Magic, which is all about the neuroscience of manifestation and how it changes us and helps us evolve and impacts how we show up in the world. He has been very philanthropic with Stanford University’s School of Medicine. He’s one of the largest donators of any graduate or faculty member at the school. He endowed the Chair of the Dean of the School of Medicine at Tulane University as well following Hurricane Katrina and helped refurbish its library, in addition to setting up a scholarship for socioeconomically disadvantaged students to commit to a career of service. He cares deeply about giving back, helping people, and being part of something bigger than himself. The other word that is really important to remember when you listen to Dr. Jim Doty talk is disadvantaged. He came from a disadvantaged upbringing; he’s going to reference that in today’s conversation. And so, you’re going to hear him talk a little bit about capitalism and some of the downsides that may come with that structure and that system, and how he struggled in his early days as well. He’s also a CEO; he’s the founder of Happi AI, which is a new mental health app which uses emotion detection with AI to really help people on their journey and be able to regulate their emotions. He’s served as a CEO for many different bio companies through his career, including Accuray, which ended up IPOing for $1.3 billion in 2007. He served in the 90’s as their CEO. So, he’s got this leadership background, but he’s also been in surgery centers and has been operating on people, and on the research side. So, he has these intersections that make him a really fascinating human being and I loved my conversation with him. It’s about much more about simply his successes, it’s also about the challenges and the failures Dr. Doty has had along the way. So, I think you’re going to find him to be vulnerable, open, and he also knows who he is. He’s very comfortable in his own skin and doesn’t mince words and is convicted on a lot of his beliefs based on the curiosity that he’s had previously.

Dr. Doty had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include:

“So many people are so afraid of being judged, or accepting themselves, or being authentic” (7:25).

“[We have] programs that are training people to be more compassionate towards themselves” (7:55).

“In the modern world, many people feel uncomfortable talking to another human” (9:20).

“Nowadays we’ve created a narrative of a minimum wage, not a living wage” (15:40).

“Massive economic inequalities is a fundamental aspect of [the growing need for mental health treatment]” (19:35).

“That’s what many of us need in this world: an empathic listener” (23:15).

“When children grow up in an environment [where they face many adverse childhood experiences], it’s like a warzone; it’s traumatizing” (23:50).

“Post-traumatic stress disorder doesn’t have to be from war” (24:05).

“I no longer had anger and hostility towards my parents, because they did not have the toolset to take care of themselves” (25:40).

“When I changed how I interacted with the world, it changed how the world interacted with me” (26:05).

“Manifestation is the ability to embed an intention into your subconscious so that, by doing so, it increases the likelihood of whatever it is you wish to happen to occur” (27:45).

“I was seeking to get external affirmation to tell me I was worthy, to deal with my shame. And of course, it did none of those things” (31:50).

“As a species, we are not wired to have complete self-focus” (32:30).

“We have a genetic imperative to care” (32:45).

“What people don’t realize is that many of the thoughts they have don’t actually have to do with them” (44:50).

“All of us are manifesting all the time. It’s just what are we manifesting?” (46:00).

“We create the limiting beliefs that stop us from believing in the unlimited possibilities that each of us have” (48:35).

“The greatest way for you to imbed an intention is through defining your goals or your intent” (51:35).

“Our purpose in life is to care for others” (52:10).

“Let go of outcomes” (53:05).

“You need to choose a path that is respectful towards yourself” (54:50).

“Your subconscious is always listening” (1:01:15).

“Medical school beats your empathy and compassion out of you” (1:04:15).

“Many people get so attuned to helping others that they don’t do self-care, nor are they compassionate to themselves to create boundaries, that allow them to be their best selves and then they burn out” (1:08:10).

“Every one of us, every day, has the ability to improve the life of at least one person” (1:15:30).

Additionally, you can find Dr. Doty’s website here, where you can learn more about him and also purchase both of his books. You can also find the website for Happi AI here. You can also reach out to Dr. Doty via email at jrdoty@stanford.edu.

Thank you so much to Dr. Doty for coming on the podcast!

I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.

Thanks for listening.