Most of us didn’t learn about money until adulthood — often by accident or after making mistakes we wish someone had warned us about. Dr. Michele Cho Dorado was no different. In fact, she was nearly a decade into attending hood before realizing she had no real financial education and wasn’t alone in that experience.

This realization set off an identity-shifting journey:
➡️ from “just a doctor” to real estate investor
➡️ from real estate investor to children’s book author
➡️ from clinician to someone shaping the next generation's relationship with money

Michele shares how learning to invest expanded her identity beyond medicine and helped her rewrite limiting beliefs — especially the common physician narrative: “Money is hard, and I’m not good at it.”

As she began teaching her own children, she noticed how naturally they absorbed financial vocabulary simply through exposure. Seeing her four-year-old put coins into the “invest” slot of their family money box and say “grow” revealed the power of early imprinting.

In this episode, Dr. Dorado and Dr. Laura unpack:

• why so many physicians feel boxed into a single identity
• how expanding your identity empowers your kids
• why transparency about money matters more than perfection
• how to avoid raising entitled children in a high-income world
• why generational wealth fails by the 2nd and 3rd generation
• how financial literacy builds confidence, resilience, and leadership — not just smarter spenders

Michele emphasizes one truth parents often forget:

You don’t have to know everything. You just have to be willing to learn out loud with your kids.

Your failures and mistakes teach them resilience more than perfection ever could.

Physician, author, entrepreneur, and founder of Bright Futures EDG (Empower • Develop • Grow). She writes a children's financial literacy book series featuring “Mimi,” teaching kids foundational concepts like saving, investing, earning, giving, and starting a business. She also hosts the Prosperous Kids Summit and advocates nationally for building generational wealth through education.

📸 IG: @brightfuturesedg

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📧 info@brightfuturesedg.com

Designing Healthcare That Cares is where leadership meets humanity. Hosted by Dr. Laura Suttin, the show explores what happens when compassion, connection, and courage come together to transform how we care—for our patients, our teams, and ourselves.

Dr. Laura Suttin is a physician, leadership coach, and lifelong advocate for designing systems that truly care. After years of navigating the complexities of healthcare, she realized that compassion and connection aren’t just nice-to-haves—they’re the foundation of great medicine.

Today, Laura brings that vision to life through her work as a consultant, speaker, and host of Designing Healthcare That Cares. She helps healthcare leaders and clinicians rediscover their purpose, build resilient teams, and lead with both strategy and soul.

When she’s not interviewing changemakers or guiding organizations, you can find her sharing stories that remind us all why we got into medicine in the first place—to make a difference, together.

🌐 Website: drlaurasuttin.com

🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-suttin-md/

📸 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drlaurasuttin

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drlaurasuttin/

The Designing Healthcare That Cares Podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical, legal, or professional advice. Always consult qualified professionals regarding personal or organizational decisions.