Brown and Happy

Dr. Najifa Choudhury is an ambulatory care pharmacist and founder of a CBD company, Dr. Peace Lily. Through her formal education and training, she specialized in geriatric care with a focus on holistic healing. As a pharmacist, she values and trusts prescription medications but noticed most patients are fast to take a pill to fix their problems rather than figure out the root cause and try non-pharmacological options first.

As a health care professional, she believes everyone should have a holistic approach to healing and not just medicating. Three years ago, when she was suffering from stress & anxiety, she looked for natural ways to help calm her racing thoughts and during that journey of healing, she discovered the plant medicine that is CBD and all its health benefits! CBD has helped Dr. Choudhury take back control of her life and changed the initial negative stigma she had about CBD.

After using CBD herself and researching the cannabis industry extensively, she found two major issues: firstly, the immense knowledge gap amongst healthcare professionals when it came to CBD, and secondly, how unregulated the industry is. She decided to solve both of these issues and overcome this general incompetency around CBD, and as a result, launched her own company in 2019, Dr. Peace Lily - and has been impacting lives ever since. She has been able to grow her company by 400% in the last year and launch her products into retail in Metro Detroit.

In the summer of 2021, She decided to focus on Dr. Peace Lily full-time and quit her ambulatory care pharmacist job.

The transition felt seamless when she realized she was making such a positive impact on the Detroit community with her business. Her main goal is to empower more patients through education and to bridge the gap between prescription medications and CBD.

With how much the brand has grown so far and the influence it has been making in the lives of the community and others, she has considered raising capital to scale her business as the goal is to be a leading CBD company founded by a healthcare professional. So far her work has been featured in numerous media outlets such as Cosmopolitan Magazine, WXYZ Channel 7, SEEN, HOUR Detroit, Top Doc, Authority, and others. Her love of wanting to educate and empower patients as a CBD health consultant to be their best advocate has been extremely evident, and she is often asked to speak at conferences and give keynote speeches about pharmacology, CBD, and cannabis-related topics. 

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Pakistani designer and TV personality Fariha Nasir joins me to share how she created her own identity against all odds.

Fariha Nasir is a self-taught designer and DIY enthusiast with a passion for crafting spaces that tell stories. Armed with a Fine Art degree in painting and a can-do creative spirit, Fariha launched her blog Pennies for a Fortune in 2019 to document her DIY journey of transforming her Houston, TX, builder grade house into her custom dream home. Since then, it has grown into a robust and loyal community that appreciates good design and the struggles of DIY. Fariha is also the host of TV show Problem Spaces on Magnolia Network.

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How to follow Fariha...

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Going from a start up to artist is not an easy step for anyone, let alone a woman of color.

Natasha Patel is a self-taught abstract artist based out of Costa Mesa, CA. She worked nearly a decade in toxic male dominated corporate start-ups before making the leap to become an artist and creative entrepreneur full time towards the end of 2021. 

She uses fluid acrylics, inks, sand, and epoxy resin to create statement abstract paintings that are bold in color and vibrant in composition. Natasha is heavily influenced by the organic patterns and structures found in nature and the universe, and is currently working on an abstract collection inspired by ancient Indian architecture and textiles.

Are you a generational disruptor? We dive deeper into what that means and how that shows up in an immigrant family.

www.payalghayal.com

Website: https://napagogoart.com/
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Payal Desai, also known as Payalforstyle on Instagram and tiktok. Her viral “Dusty Son” series on social media seeks to dispel traditional gender roles beginning right in her home - teaching her sons. The series has MILLIONS of likes and has grabbed the attention of media outlets and talk shows including the @tamronhall show on ABC @fox29philly @parents BusinessInsider (@insiderbusiness ), and more. In many ways Payal’s role as an educator (16 years in the classroom) informs much of her content creation influence and strategy. 

In todays's episode we dive deeper into her journey from Educator to Content Creator. Being in the public eye and sharing about her own story of sobriety, gender disappointment, and advocacy. She had to make some difficult decisions and I am in awe of her commitment to her own values and ethics. 

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Do you notice the subconscious competitive vibe in the brown community?

As kids, we saw it in the older generation and were even roped into it. Remember the aunties and uncles bragging about how their kids were smarter and more talented than others? This competitive message from our families, culture, and community has seeped into our adult lives. So, how do we break this cycle of trauma and rivalry among our own people?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Check out a free video series I put together for you- How to Stop Caring What the Aunties Think

It's going to get real this summer.

I used to think I was living my true, authentic self. I believed I was following my own voice. But after facing a rollercoaster of ups and downs, I had a revelation that I must share with you, on today's podcast.

Join me this summer for a candid journey into the behind-the-scenes struggles and strengths of myself and other women. We’ll explore the challenges we faced as brown women and how we pivoted to start create something truly amazing for ourselves.

Tune in to uncover the real stories and insights that will inspire you on your own brown journey.

www.payalghayal.com

Why are there so many successful brown ladies in their 40's right now???

I've had more of you reach out to me because you think there's something wrong with you or the life choices you have made in the past.

Well, let me clear this up for you. It's not you, it's the system.

This does not mean you're screwed.

Instead, it's the complete opposite, now you can make it work for you.

Let me show you how.

Here's the exclusive video series about- How to stop caring what the aunties think? https://www.payalghayal.com/aunties

Ready to take advantage of the End 2024 with a Bang offer, book your call here. https://calendly.com/payalmd/consultation

Joy is available to you at all times, even in the midst of suffering. Today Dr. Sethi joins me to discuss Joy, Justice and its connection to the brown community today.

Tanmeet Sethi, MD is an Integrative and Psychedelic Medicine Physician, activist, author, and TEDx speaker who has dedicated her career to care for the most marginalized patients in Seattle’s refugee, uninsured and homeless populations as well as global communities traumatized by manmade and natural disasters as senior faculty for The Center for Mind Body Medicine. Her first book, Joy Is My Justice: Reclaim Yours Now, published in May 2023, is a radical call to claim Joy as our birthright, the deepest liberation we can know and a path to power through oppression. She is also a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Washington and a primary clinical investigator there on the sacred plant medicine, psilocybin. In her clinical practice, she weaves modern and ancient medicine to catalyze the most profound healing. More info on her practice and her book are at her website: https://www.tanmeetsethimd.com

Her Joy Is My Justice community is on Substack: https://tanmeetsethimd.substack.com

Instagram: @tanmeetsethimd

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tanmeetsethimd

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanmeet-sethi-md-8550a2114/

Most of us are first-or second-generation immigrants. We have mastered thinking inside the box over the years. But what would life look like if we were curious and willing to experience a little discomfort?

Where in your professional life could you think outside the norm? Apply for a promotion, or new project, switch gears, or even take a sabbatical. Now, where have you had to color inside the lines in your personal life? Is it in your marriage, parenting, or dating?

Check out this week's episode. We continue to honor AAPI Heritage Month and Mental Health Awareness Month.

I have a gift for you! Enjoy a video series I made for you- How to Stop Caring What the Aunties Think.

https://www.payalghayal.com/aunties

Taking responsibility of your life is the most powerful step you can implement today. No matter what you're struggling with, there is something that you do have control of and that's where you focus your energy. 

Feeling stuck, defeated and like a victim in your career, marriage, body and relationships is common but believing that there's nothing you can do is what feels powerless. 

In this episode we talk about taking the first step, even though it doesn't feel like a big accomplishment in the moment. It's the little things that will help you gain power and take control. 

Check out a fun video series I put together just for you.

https://www.payalghayal.com/aunties