636. Understanding Your Past Is the Rx for a Happy Today

Dr. Tony Guerra

Tony-Guerra professor, pharmacist, author

Tony struggled to pay attention in school. Although his test scores were high, his grades lagged behind. He felt misunderstood. Coming to understand those feelings from his youth was the prescription for the work he does today.

Tony Guerra is a pharmacist, author and entrepreneur, father of triplet 6-year-old girls, and host of the Pharmacy Leaders Podcast. His book, “Memorizing Pharmacology: A Relaxed Approach,” has sold over 10,000 copies on Audible. His day job is as a pharmacology and chemistry professor at a community college.

How Did You Start Using Your Talents?

“I really struggled in the classroom to pay attention. I was always daydreaming. I was a B student, but had extremely high test scores, better than some of the better performing students in the school. You get misunderstood and considered lazy if you have Bs and a couple of Cs but have great test scores. But those test scores saved me. They got me into a good college. I am happy in the job I am in now working with community college students.”

The Most Impactful Turning Point?

“My pivot point actually happened at something called a Turning Point retreat. The retreat was offered by Brian Buffini and his real estate coaching company in the early 2000s, just as the real estate boom was beginning. It was phenomenal to go to this retreat. What I remember most is when he sat us down for 18 minutes, played some classical music, and had us write down our goals, both for the long-term and the short-term. I had never written down my goals before. That was one of the biggest turning points I’ve ever had.”

The Most Powerful Lessons Learned?

“If you are unhappy where you are and feel stuck, stop worrying about finding a job where you will make as much money as you are now. Instead, go back in your imagination to when you were in college and think, if I would have done something different, what would I have done? It is not going to be easy, but I think it will be very satisfying when you do figure it out.”