How to be a successful physician entrepreneur despite your FOPO

Do you have Biles Syndrome??

Author of the popular HBR article How to Stop Worrying About What Other People Think Of You, high-performance psychologist Michael Gervais argues that our fear of other people’s opinions — what he calls FOPO — may be the single greatest restrictor of human potential

He notes that self-worth is our set of core beliefs about our value as a human being. It’s how we see ourselves and who we perceive ourselves to be. People differ in what they believe they must be or do to have worth or value. When we externalize our self-worth, we get emotionally and chemically rewarded when we succeed. This inevitably turns into a never-ending loop in pursuit of instant gratification. To undo this, we need to develop an awareness of where our self-worth is internally anchored.?

Some of the most common anchors of self-worth are:

• Social approval: My self-worth is contingent upon being accepted, appreciated, and validated.
• Workplace: My self-worth is contingent upon a standard of performance at work.
• Money: My self-worth is contingent upon the perception of financial wealth.
• Academics: My self-worth is contingent upon scholastic achievement.
• Appearance: My self-worth is contingent upon meeting cultural standards for attractiveness.
• Social comparison: My self-worth is contingent upon being “better” than others in each area.
• Virtue: My self-worth is contingent upon being a virtuous person.
• Parenting: My self-worth is derived from my child’s accomplishments and well-being.
• Power: My self-worth is contingent upon my sense of power.
• God’s love: My self-worth is contingent upon God’s love.
• Family approval: My self-worth is contingent upon compliance with my family’s desire.

Here are some tips on how to be a successful entrepreneur despite your FOPO:

1. Be a stoic

2. You are what you are, warts and all

3. You are not alone. Accept and embrace the positive sides of your entrepreneurial persona and idiosyncracies

4. Seek psychological safety

5. Surround yourself with people and friends who accept you for who you are

6. Eliminate toxic people from your life

7. Know when to ask for forgiveness instead of permission

8. Being a disruptive physician entrepreneur is different from being a disruptive doctor

9. Know when to walk away

10. Don't throw away your white coat...yet

Here are some ways to be a successful physician entrepreneur despite your MBA and your FOPO, including your parents and others who encouraged you to be a doctor.

Be your own best friend.

Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA is the President and CEO of the Society of Physician Entrepreneurs on Substack.