It’s an honor to speak with you today. Why don’t you give us some details about you and your story. How did you get to where you are today?
I am a 2023 Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award recipient and listed amongst Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World.” I am considered the mental health and wellness expert for high-profile celebrities, über-successful individuals, and discerning clients seeking to magnificently master the challenges of midlife and beyond. I am known as the Celebrity Doc. Contrary to popular belief, I did not give myself the name. It was given by the media in 2007. I do use the tag in my talk show Chatters That Matter- Let’s Talk About It! I got here through sheer perseverance! My “Why story” is inspired by my kids’ strength, particularly my son Baby Gregory who fought a 10-year battle that showed us how to live and love life fully. His life gave me the strength and courage to develop my signature integrative wellness paradigm that allows my audience to thrive in self-empowerment, improved relationships, optimized global health and wellness, and maximized time, energy, and finances for an abundant, purpose-filled life. The fullness and impact of his short life motivated me to live life full-throttle and live my passions. Accordingly, I have juggled careers in both medicine and entertainment intent on healing the world through both modalities. Gregory was a light-bearer and he passed the torch to me. I am here to make the world a brighter place to be. I’m like one of those little fairy-dust pixies trying to sprinkle love all over the world. Both kings and Presidents have called on my counsel.
I’m sure your success has not come easily. What challenges have you had to overcome along the way?
Two of the obvious challenges I have had have been the color of my skin and the fact that I am female. I have looked at both as challenges rather than obstacles. People have often underestimated me because of the two discriminators and are shocked when I over-deliver. I may or may not be the best, but only my personal best is good enough for me. I have also been shocked to find that my medical degree has posed challenges for me in getting gigs in the entertainment industry. I have been told things like, “You are a doctor, so you are going to be too scientific and won’t show enough emotion,” as if doctors don’t cry too. I have had quite a variety of challenging life experiences that strongly translate to an ability to relate well in both medicine and the entertainment industry. Whether I am connecting with patients and a medical team or connecting to an audience through acting, singing, dancing, music, writing a book, or delivering a keynote speech it is all about the strength of the connection. People are strongly drawn to connect with me. I have had some extreme health challenges, both mine and those of others that have derailed me at times. My most recent battle has been leukemia, but I am like Super Mario. I just keep jumping over the boulders. I am the Warrior Queen. I will always fight through for the win. Failure is not an option.
Let’s talk about the work you do. What do you specialize in and why should someone work with you over the competition?
As I mentioned earlier, I specialize in magnificent midlife mastery and am known as a mental health and wellness expert. My focus is on integrative wellness with a combination of traditional Western medicine and integrating complementary modalities. What makes me different is that I use a personalized concierge model based on my signature healthy lifestyle paradigm. Although my model was initially a mobile model based on the concept of 7 health pillars, I felt like that was a static ideology. People are dynamic. Creating optimal health for each individual required a construct shift to make my paradigm accordingly dynamic, so I developed what I call the Windmill Healthy Lifestyle Paradigm which includes an educational platform called Your EPIC Limitless Life, It also includes our broadcast media platform TheCelebrityDoc.com, which houses our talkshow Chatters That Matter- Let’s Talk About It. All of our modalities are fluid. Inherent within them is the concept that every single thing in this life, in this world, impacts our health in one way or the other. There is a constant ebb and flow of energies that is very dynamic. We have to manage that energy and shift the focus to the positive. Stress causes “dis-ease”. Dis-ease causes inflammation. Inflammation causes disease. By using all modalities to harness positive energy we destroy the negative impact of stress and break the chain that binds us, holding us back from being our best. and from appreciating that we are our own greatest asset. I guide you to limitless self-empowerment.
What’s your best piece of advice for readers who desire to find success?
The biggest piece of advice I can give is that you have to believe in yourself more than anybody else could ever believe in you. There will always be naysayers and haters. You have to believe in yourself even when nobody else will. The current buzz phrase is “positive affirmations.” Positive affirmations are verbalizing your belief in yourself and what is great about you. bringing positive energy into your life. Knowing that filling your own well before you try to give water to anybody else is also very important, also. Otherwise, the world can drain you dry. The third thing is to never, ever quit. You can rest but never quit. Most people quit the race right before they reach the finish line, not realizing that one more push would have left them victorious. Be authentic. People are drawn to you by what you bring to the table. You are the best at doing you, no matter what that special sauce is that makes you unique. Finally, I would say, smile and always radiate positive energy. That positive energy is contagious. It is an attractive force. Light begets light. Be the light and people will be drawn to you like moths to a flame.
Speaking of success, what does the word mean to you?
For me, success means changing the world, healing it, and making it a better place in which all can thrive and live in love and harmony. I know that may sound corny and at times I even nauseate myself, but that truly is the essence of who I am. It is who I came to be, my sole purpose. Now I am not delusional. I know that I cannot touch and change every person in the world, but if I can reach the leaders and teach them then they can teach their tribes. If each one reaches one and teaches one, that love, that power creates a ripple that is eventually felt all the way around the world. Accordingly, a shift occurs that impacts the entire world and every living creature in it. Each one of us has the power to change the world in either a positive or negative way. If I can be the light and the light-bearer that brings light to the world by changing even one life in a positive, significant way, that is success. I believe I have been very successful in life so far, but I have miles to go before I sleep.
What’s next for you?
As a physician practicing clinical medicine, I could only touch one person at a time. Looking death squarely in the eye has been a wake-up call that has reminded me that life is short and nothing is guaranteed. It has given me a sense of urgent need to reach as many people with my message as fast as I can. Accordingly, with the exception of a few concierge clients, I am transitioning out of clinical medicine for a larger platform as a professional speaker and working in broadcast media to deliver my message to a broader audience. I will also be doing a lot more writing with two books already in development. I’ve had a lifelong love affair with entertainment, so I will be feeding my own passion by delving a lot more into my creative endeavors. I want to do a bit more television and film work and re-engage in singing and dancing. I thrive on the communication that occurs between an entertainer and a live audience. The positivity that is transmitted is its own form of therapeutic intervention for both me and my audience. It is a symbiotic exchange. I am actively seeking new projects and engagements. The sky is the limit. You have to always keep reaching, to always keep moving. When you stagnate, you die a slow and insignificant death. I have a lot of life to live. On my bucket list, I’m going to sprinkle pixie dust at Make-A-Wish and on Give-Kids-the-World in Kissimmee, Florida.
Finally, how can people connect with you if they want to learn more?
They can reach out to any one of my management team or DM me on my Instagram or Linked-In accounts: https://linkedin.com/in/cherylbryantbrucemd IG @CherylBryantBruceMD They can also complete the contact form on my website at: https://thecelebritydoc.net/contact-us/
