Meet Emilio Justo, MD

 

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Emilio Justo, MD a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Emilio, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

My resilience was developed innately coming to the United States as a Cuban refugee from a very young age. There were various factors that played a role in developing this resilience, such as:

1. Developing and practicing self-discipline: In life, whether you are an immigrant or not, generally speaking, things are not just handed out to us. We must develop the practice of self-discipline and learn to manage our time and resources ourselves without someone always holding us by the hand. I learned this early in my youth as I was always disciplined in my studies without being pushed, yet still balancing my time so as to be able to participate in sports, clubs and other extracurricular activities. This ultimately led to my incredible success as Valedictorian in high school, which then led to my journey into the University of Michigan’s accelerated six-year pre-medical/medical program and allowing me to graduate with my “M.D.” degree at age 23………very young!

2. Perseverance and Resilience: In all aspects of life, this concept applies. However, as an immigrant to a new country it perhaps applies even more. I firmly believe that we need to embrace our failures and use them as stepping stones toward our success. Failure is not a negative word, but should be viewed positively. Failure shapes who we become makes us more resilient and allows us to develop perseverance. Then when we achieve something, we truly value it because we know we had to strive and work hard to achieve it. When we are given something with little to no effort, human nature is such that we do not value it as much. With my two-month hospitalization in the middle of my freshman year in high school due to severe acne conglobata requiring multiple facial surgeries, my perseverance was truly tested, as was my self-esteem. However, with God’s grace, I was able to develop my own resilience to overcome this huge impediment only to become stronger, both emotionally and academically. As I look back at this time in my life now, it does not seem like such a big deal, but in reality, it was a small hell that I lived through but I would not change any of it now as this has shaped me to become who I am today.

3. Delayed Gratification: In our current era of instant gratification with advanced technology and not having the patience to wait for anything (whether it be overnight shipping, fast food, social media), I feel it is more important than ever to experience (and enjoy) the delayed gratification journey. It is not realistic for the vast majority of us to have instant success overnight. In order to succeed there must be hard work, dedication, and failures along the way. By taking our time and enjoying the journey, we will treasure the destination much more when we reach it. And in reality, when we think we reach our destination we will most likely find that there will be a new destination replacing it. Hence, for me life is a never-ending journey whereby we take our time, learn throughout the process, and continually strive to get to our destination. This is an encapsulation of my life, as I was never given anything as I worked hard for everything that I have achieved, which is why I am so proud and grateful for all of my achievements, large and small. As an immigrant it becomes even a greater challenge to achieve instant gratification because typically our starting point is behind that of a non-immigrant. Regardless, as I preach repeatedly, “lack of privilege is NOT an obstacle to success”.

4. Education is an absolute key to achieving the American dream. Regardless of whether it is a formal education or informal “self-education”, for any immigrant to achieve his/her dream it is critical to take the initiative to educate oneself in every aspect of life. This does not simply apply to one’s career objectives but to everything that goes on around us. The more we understand things, the more we understand any process, and the more we open our minds to learning, the greater the dreams we can achieve. In my own personal life, formal education is what initially catapulted me to becoming a successful physician. However, even now, as I enter perhaps the last phase of my life, I am always striving to learn more about so many different areas, whether it be public speaking, teaching, etc. As my wife would tell you, I rarely rest as I am always attempting to educate myself and learn something new.

5. Obsession: as per my second TEDx talk given at TEDxWesternU in London, Ontario, Canada which is titled “Unleashing the Drive Within: The Obsession Advantage to Unprecedented Success”, I strongly believe that we must eliminate the negative connotation of the word “obsession” and instead focus on the positive connotation. To achieve our dreams, whether as an immigrant or not, we must be obsessed with our end goal in mind, and we must strive diligently and consistently to reach it. Another one of my mantras is that “progression requires obsession”. Any setback is only a temporary step back, and we must always stay focused on our desire to achieve. By doing so, any of us can and will achieve greatness in either our personal and/or professional objectives. What is your obsession?

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

Dr. Emilio M. Justo is a renowned ophthalmologist and cosmetic surgeon, specializing in refractive cataract surgery and CO2 laser blepharoplasty, with nearly 50,000 procedures performed since 1989. As a Cuban refugee who emigrated to the United States at age three, Dr. Justo’s journey underscores the transformative power of patience, perseverance, and self-discipline. His August 2023 TEDxCherryCreekHS talk, “Delayed Gratification: Your Superpower to Success,” has amassed nearly 6.5 million views, making it the third most-viewed TEDx video globally in 2023. His bestselling book, “THE POWER OF PAUSE: Mastering Delayed Gratification for Success,” followed in June 2024 and became a #1 Amazon Bestseller. In February 2024, Dr. Justo delivered a second TEDx talk, “Unleashing the Drive Within: The OBSESSION Advantage to Unprecedented Success,” at TEDxWesternU, which has garnered over 2 million views. Married to Dr. Allison Ann Justo for over 20 years with three teenage children, Dr. Justo and his family enjoy traveling and exploring exotic destinations.

Although still practicing ophthalmology and cosmetic surgery full time for the last 35+ years, I have now expanded my life and my brand to become a keynote speaker teaching the power of self-discipline, resilience and delayed gratification to harness success in every aspect of our lives, both personally and professionally.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

As I look back at my life today, I must say that I have been blessed to have led a charmed life with many successes. It has not always been easy, and I have persevered through many struggles, whether it be medical, financial or otherwise. But with the unwavering support of my parents first, and now my wife, I have learned to channel my energies into productive means. My wife has always preached to me that when life deals you lemons, then it is time you make lemonade! I have lived my life-long mantra of self-discipline, perseverance/resilience and delayed gratification. I firmly believe in this “Cuban triad” as I call it, and I preach it to everyone, including in my book titled “THE POWER OF PAUSE: Mastering Delayed Gratification for Success”.

I firmly believe in my core and in my soul that internalizing, cultivating, and practicing self-discipline, resilience/perseverance, and delayed gratification in every aspect of our lives can lead us exponentially to greater happiness and fulfillment.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?

Although my parents did not have much in the way of material means, wealth and the like coming to the United States as Cuban refugees, they did show me an abundance of love, nurturing, excellent advice and counsel, and provide me the respect and independence that I yearned for. As such, these incredible attributes that my parents empowered me with have ultimately shaped me and my life, and I owe everything I have achieved in my life to my parent’s upbringing.

Being an only child in a foreign land, my parents trusted and respected me enough to allow me to ultimately make my own decisions and carve my own path forward, while at the same time always being there for me with loving support and advice when needed.

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