There are some conversations that just stay with you, and this is absolutely one of them.
I had the joy of speaking with Dr. Tiffany Moon, and let me tell you, she brings the kind of honesty, humor, and real-life wisdom that we all need more of right now. This conversation is such a powerful reminder that success on the outside doesn’t always equal fulfillment on the inside.
If you’ve ever felt like you’re checking all the boxes but still wondering, “Why don’t I feel happy?” this episode is going to hit home in the best way!
When Achievement Isn’t Enough
Tiffany shared something that I think so many of us can relate to, especially high achievers. For years, she was doing everything “right”, excelling in school, becoming a doctor, building a beautiful life all with the belief that one day, joy would just show up. But instead, she found herself asking a deeper question, what actually brings me joy?
That question led her on a journey of self-discovery that completely shifted how she lives her life today. And here’s the truth she uncovered that I think we all need to hear. You can accomplish everything you thought you wanted and still feel like something is missing if you never stop to check in with yourself along the way.
Letting Go of Perfection
Perfectionism can look like ambition on the outside, but underneath it often keeps you stuck. Tiffany opened up about how trying to get everything just right held her back from taking risks and fully living. What helped her shift wasn’t doing more, it was allowing herself to be imperfect, to try, and to grow.
You don’t need to have it all figured out to move forward. You just need to be willing to start.
Your Mindset Will Either Hold You Back or Move You Forward
We had a real conversation about excuses and Tiffany didn’t sugarcoat it. If you keep telling yourself you can’t do something, you’ll stay exactly where you are. That might sound tough, but it is also incredibly empowering. Because it means you have more control than you think!
She talked about the importance of surrounding yourself with people who are doing the things you want to do, people who expand your thinking instead of reinforcing your limitations. Little by little, your mindset shifts. Before you know it, you are doing things you once thought were impossible!
This episode is a reminder that joy isn’t something you stumble into someday, it’s something you choose to create, starting right where you are.
About Dr. Tiffany Moon
Dr. Tiffany Moon is a board-certified anesthesiologist, entrepreneur, speaker, and author of Joy Prescriptions. She is widely recognized for her role on The Real Housewives of Dallas and for her engaging, humorous content that blends education with entertainment. Through her work, live events, and social platforms, she empowers others to break free from perfectionism, embrace authenticity, and intentionally create more joy in their lives.
Connect with Dr. Tiffany
Website: tiffanymoonmd.com
Instagram: @tiffanymoonmd
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Transcript:
Amberly Lago (00:00)
What inspired you to write your book, Joy Prescriptions?
Tiffany Moon (00:04)
I always felt like I was chasing achievement and I didn’t quite know what it was and I had to go on this joy journey of self exploration and figure out like who am I? What do I even like? I think I got lost in the sauce a little bit because when you’re just chasing goals and achievements and check boxes you forget to sort of check in with yourself and be like wait a minute like what even brings me joy?
Amberly Lago (00:30)
How would you suggest people that are out there and they might be right now to get better?
Tiffany Moon (00:37)
use humor as a way to forge a connection with someone. If we both laugh at something and we’re chuckling together for a moment in time, we feel a connection and that we’re similar. But it’s just such an easy way to make an initial connection with someone.
Amberly Lago (00:55)
What advice would you give to somebody who is making excuses?
Tiffany Moon (01:00)
I mean it’s a lot of mindset work. At the end of the day, so much of our life is really what mindset we were in. If you go around life starting sentences with I can’t, I can’t, then guess what babe? You can’t and you won’t and you never will.
Amberly Lago (01:17)
so glad that you are here with us today to listen to this episode of the Amberlee Lago Show because I have a very special guest with us. Y’all, she is a household name. ⁓ You probably have seen her on TV ⁓ or read her book, Joy Prescriptions. I have Tiffany Moon with us. She is a doctor. Hello, Dr. Tiffany Moon.
She’s a board certified anesthesiologist. You may know her from seeing her on the Real Housewives of Dallas. She’s an entrepreneur, an author, she does retreats, she holds her own events, which are amazing. She speaks all over the world and I am just so honored to have her with us here today because especially if you are struggling with
doing so much that you’re on the brink of burnout. If you are looking to stop striving for perfection and just be your authentic self. I’m so excited for her to drop in and share so many tools with us. So thank you so much for being here with us today.
Tiffany Moon (02:31)
Thanks for having me, I’m so glad we finally got this scheduled.
Amberly Lago (02:35)
I know I am so happy that we finally got this scheduled. So we actually met I think a couple of years ago. We were coming out of Jeff Crilly Studios in Dallas and I met you briefly and I was like who was this amazing lady dressed to kill like I was like man I like her spunk and then I started following you on social media and
If you’re listening and you’re not following her on social media, you need to follow her right now. The links will be in the show notes because your post because you’re a doctor, you’re not so serious all the time. You post the most like viral video videos that go viral, but the funniest stuff ever. ⁓ But also informative, not just all comedy.
And so then I got to know you and then saw that you do your own events and then you came to my event. I was like, my goodness. I am so honored that Dr. Tiffany Moon is coming to my event. so yeah, I am so grateful for you. I am curious to you wrote your book, which I have right here. If you’re not looking on YouTube, ⁓ you’ll have you can see the the show notes to find her book.
Joy Prescriptions, which my book Joy Through the Journey was coming out around the same time. What inspired you to write your book Joy Prescriptions? Being a doctor and anesthesiologist, which honestly for me going through 34 surgeries being put under anesthesia 34 different times. I’ve never met a doctor.
like you. I wish all doctors could be like you. So what inspired you to write your book Joy Prescriptions?
Tiffany Moon (04:37)
Well,
growing up as an immigrant and a high achiever, I’m sure that many of your listeners can relate. I always felt like I was chasing achievement and, you know, I had to go to the best college. I had to graduate early. I had to get into medical school and everything just seemed to be a series of check boxes.
And it was implied that when I checked them all off, like maybe one day I’ll be happy and I’ll have joy. And then somewhere in my mid thirties, I had become a doctor. I was working, I got married, I had children, and I still felt like something was missing and I didn’t quite know what it was. And I had to go on this joy journey of self exploration and figure out like, who am I? What do I even like?
I think I got lost in the sauce a little bit because when you’re just chasing goals and achievements and check boxes, you forget to sort of check in with yourself and be like, wait a minute, like what even brings me joy? And so I had to kind of turn my life upside down. That’s when, you know, during this joy journey, which was like a two year thing, you know, was when I tried Housewives, I tried standup comedy, I went on a-
Amberly Lago (05:55)
I didn’t know that you tried stand-up plummeting.
Tiffany Moon (05:58)
Look, Netflix hadn’t called me for a one hour special yet, I’m still waitin’.
Amberly Lago (06:02)
Well, I’m not surprised because your social media cracks me up. I can binge your reels because you’re so funny. But you, did not know that you had actually tried standup comedy.
Tiffany Moon (06:18)
Yeah, it was wild. I actually wasn’t supposed to do it. I didn’t decide one night that I would like go to open mic. I actually had a friend who is a real comedian who has a Netflix special and she was doing a stop in Dallas on her comedy tour and she partnered with the charity that I knew and said that like, you 20 % of proceeds from the ⁓ show would go to this charity. And she said, would you emcee the
comedy show. All you have to do is get up on stage, hype up the audience and be like, welcome next to the stage, my friend, you know, and just introduce like comedians. And I was like, sure, I can MC. Then she calls me like two weeks before the show. And she’s like, hey, girl, ⁓ one of the other female comedians like has a schedule conflict. And so she can’t come and do her set. So instead of MCing, I’m going to put you in the show, you just have to do like a 15 minute set. And I was like,
Amberly Lago (07:14)
Two
minutes, that’s-
Tiffany Moon (07:16)
So
I was like 15 minutes, I’m gonna pee my pants. She’s like, it’s not a big deal. She was like, you’re so funny. Your TikToks are hilarious. She’s like, okay, I gotta go, bye. And then all of a sudden I was like, what do I do now? So I wrote about it in the book, in the chapter titled, If You Don’t Laugh, You’ll Cry, which is sort of my philosophy on life and humor.
People say, like, where do you get these ideas for these funny TikToks and reels that you make? Like, I had no idea you were so funny. A lot of people said that to me. They were like, I had no idea you were so funny. And I’m like, yeah, because you see me at the hospital. I work at a level one trauma hospital where I mostly deal with cancer patients. Like, it’s not a whole lot of funny going on at the hospital. So if you know me in that role, in that capacity,
Of course you don’t know that I’m funny because I’m not cracking jokes. I’m very serious when I’m, you know, my doctor Tiffany. And so when I get home and I’m on my own time and I’m not in my scrubs and I’m not taking care of patients, I do like to let loose a little bit and, and make these funny skits because it’s a form of stress relief for me, right? I don’t want to come home from the hospital and talk about stuff that I did during the hospital.
⁓ And the fact that it brings a smile to other people’s faces or you’re scrolling and you see one of my reels and it gives you a chuckle or it reminds you of a friend of yours and you send it to that friend, that makes me happy. So that’s why I pour so much into comedy and why I think so many people were confused about this, like, you know, is she trying to be a comedian now? No, I’m not trying to be a comedian.
comedian. It’s just one of ways that I like to relieve stress and also one of the ways that I like to connect to other people. Because I think you would agree with me that right now we live in a crazy time and place where really we’re more connected now than ever. My best friend lives in Dubai. It’s a 10 hour time difference. I can just pick up the phone, text her, you know, if she’s awake, she’ll text me back back.
When I was a little girl and I wanted to call my grandparents who were in China, we used to have this thing called a calling card, which the young, your young listeners aren’t even going to know what’s happening. It was on a landline. You called like a one eight hundred number. You would dial a series of random numbers and you’d be like, you have sixty four minutes and then you’d talk. You know what I mean? And the connection was always terrible. So fast forward 20 years, we are more connected than ever. But then tell me, Amberlee.
Why are our rates of depression, anxiety, loneliness higher than ever? The Surgeon General said that our country has a pandemic of loneliness and that it’s equal to smoking 12 cigarettes a day. That’s crazy to me. And I’m like, how can you be lonely? You have everything at the palm of your hands, but it’s because people aren’t making real connections.
Amberly Lago (10:28)
That’s
what I was just going to say because people aren’t making the real connections and they’re not reaching out to like you’re reaching out to your friend to connect with her and making that’s a real connection. So many people are just relying on their screen and it’s great that they see these, you know, inspirational videos or funny videos, but it is a real
connection and I think that that is the opposite of addiction and so many addictions that you know across the board from whether it’s alcohol, ⁓ drugs, porn, speed dating, whatever it is. I think it is a that real connection is the opposite.
And we need more of that. How would you suggest people that are out there and they might be sitting here listening to the show right now going, well, I feel depressed or I am depressed or I feel lonely. I don’t know how to connect. What would you suggest for them to do today right now to get better?
Tiffany Moon (11:48)
I would say use humor as a way to forge a connection with someone. Look, if we both laugh at something and we’re chuckling together for a moment in time, we feel a connection and that we’re similar. Because right now everyone wants to focus on what’s different. Anyone who’s other or different than me, I should be suspicious of them. I don’t trust them, you know? But if you can watch a video or
have an inside joke with someone and you guys are chuckling together, you feel like, ⁓ we’re the same, right? And so it’s just a way to forge an initial connection with someone. And then once you got them laughing or smiling, then you can ask them about themselves. Where are they from? Why are they here? What do they do? You can go further, but it’s just such an easy way to make an initial connection with someone.
Amberly Lago (12:44)
That’s so good. Well, I want to go back to your going on the comedy show. So you had your 15 minutes. What the heck? How did you even plan out 15 minutes of comedy and how did that go?
Tiffany Moon (13:00)
Well, I am a scientist by nature, so I did what any good scientist would do. I went and researched. I literally think I Googled how to do stand up comedy and y’all will be amazed. Y’all can go to YouTube and search how to anything like there is no excuse for anything because you can literally go to the Internet and find some sort of help.
And so I watched a few YouTube videos from comedians and like speech coaches about what makes something funny, right? Like if you just went up to a random person and you’re like, what makes something funny? They’d be like, ⁓ like it’s kind of hard to explain why something is funny, right? Like it’s just, it’s funny to me. made me chuckle. It’s saying something that’s unexpected or using a, your body in a funny manner, doing a funny move.
It’s all these different ways. And so I just scientifically dissected it because I don’t know what else to do. And I studied other comedians. So I went on Netflix and I watched all the top 10 comedy. Really? And I with a notebook and a pen. And I would like when he said a punch line, I would pause the Netflix and I would ask myself.
What, why was that funny? Why did the audience just laugh? Why did I just laugh? He was telling a story about coming home with groceries. It’s not inherently a funny story. But then something unexpected happened and there was a punchline and that was funny, right? And so I dissected people and everyone has different forms of funny, right? Some people are a little bit more crude. Some people are a little bit more PG like Nate Bargates is more PG. Dave Chappelle is not PG.
⁓ Ali Wong, you know, ⁓ has a more female type of comedy, whereas ⁓ Gabriel Iglesias has a more male type. Like everyone has their shtick, right? Because that’s what makes them them. But I studied them and I dissected the funny. And then I started working on my own set. I didn’t work on my jokes until probably a week.
before the comedy show, because first I needed to do the background homework and study other comedians. Once I understood the craft of comedy, then I started working on my jokes. I thought about unexpected events that had happened with my husband or with my children. know, children say funny things, right? Because they don’t have a filter. So I would think about things that my children had said to me when they were like three or four years old that were so funny. And so I just started like just
you know, writing down all these ideas. And then I would take one or two and then really expand it out, like really write out the whole joke. And then I practiced on my friends and family, my poor friends and family ⁓ had to. I was like, OK, I got to try out two jokes. I’m to do the first one and then I’m going to do the second one. And you’re going to tell me like which one is better. And I literally like made my friends and family workshop my jokes with me. So by the time they came to the comedy club, they were like bored out of their minds because they’d heard all of them.
you know, it was not new for them.
Amberly Lago (16:18)
I love that you didn’t just get up there and wing it. You did your research. You did your research in so many ways. You researched other comedians and there are so many different comedians. you know, I was watching, I clicked on some comedy show the other day and it was Roseanne Barr and it was so crude.
that I was like, my gosh, I think, I mean, this is even crude for my teenager. Like I got to turn this off right now, you know? And so then you practiced on your family and your friends. And I love that you have really come down to like the definition of what makes something funny. And you can see that in even your reels on Instagram because
There are things that make me laugh. There are a couple that that really I remember there was one that I think you’re pulling your husband across the floor or he’s pulling you and it’s the difference when a car makes a sound or something like that.
Tiffany Moon (17:26)
⁓
it’s like the Bugatti sound.
Amberly Lago (17:29)
Yes, that’s probably maybe even two years old.
Tiffany Moon (17:33)
Yeah, it’s a little old. It’s like when he pulls me, I go fast and there’s like a cool sound. And then when I pull him, it’s like, er.
Amberly Lago (17:43)
Yes, yes, yes. And then another one that you did that I think is so funny, but also so relatable to so many people who view it is you have a no shoes rule kind of house and you had forgotten a present under the tree and there you were crawling on your hands and knees without your shoes to go get the present and running out the door. And it’s like
how many of us have been there were more like ⁓ dang it. got to do that. Well, she’s posting about it. That is funny. I relate to that, you know, and so I think that that is just amazing that you’ve done that. So when you were on stage, how did you feel as a comedian?
Tiffany Moon (18:31)
To be honest, when I was on stage, like I blacked out. Like I got off stage and my husband was like, great job, babe. And I was like, what the hell just happened? Because my adrenaline was so high and I got up, I mean, I did my set because I had practiced it like a million times, you know? And so I delivered my jokes. ⁓ It wasn’t until I watched the recording of it back later that I was like, ⁓ I did decent. Like, I mean, some jokes were.
stronger than others, but for someone who had been given like 10 days, you know, to put together a 15 minute comedy set for the first time, I was like, I would give myself an A minus.
Amberly Lago (19:11)
Well, that’s amazing considering that I’m sure you are very hard on yourself with all your accolades and everything that you’ve achieved. And I know a lot of times me, myself included, I can be hard on myself as far as like viewing something. So that’s amazing that you did that. What would you suggest to somebody who feels stuck in their situation or their circumstances?
and they want to do more. They want to do something as big as go speak at a comedy club or try a new endeavor, new even a new dream job that they have had on their heart. What would you suggest for them to do first?
Tiffany Moon (19:57)
I would say to take a real good honest look at what is making you unhappy or what the missing piece is. ⁓ Is it your relationships? Is it your job? ⁓ Is it your hobbies? Or do you not feel good about your physical health or your mental? Like what is it exactly that’s the issue? And then take actionable steps towards rectifying whatever the problem is.
You know, I think so many people, what always bothers me is people who complain about something and then never take steps towards rectifying the problem. You know, like, I’m so tired of being overweight, my knee’s hurt, no, I can’t exercise because my knee’s hurt. And, you know, it’s just like, okay, what are we gonna do? Do we need a knee replacement? Do we need physical therapy? Like, do we need some ozempic? But like, you can’t…
just complain about the problem and then continue to do nothing and expect that things are going to change, right?
Amberly Lago (21:01)
Yeah, that’s my pet peeve too.
Tiffany Moon (21:06)
As we’re doers, you and me and your listeners, I’m sure because they’re listening to you. We’re all doers. We’re action takers and we’re lifelong learners. know, people that, you know, I’m in my forties and they’re like, no, I couldn’t do that. I’m too old. I can’t start a business. I don’t know anything about business. I was just a mom all these years. No, those are limiting beliefs that keep people stuck. And I think where you and I can help other
people and women in particular is helping them to get rid of those kinds of limiting beliefs.
Amberly Lago (21:40)
Yeah, because I mean, look, you have got a career as a very successful doctor. You’ve been on reality TV. Not only that, you do your own retreats. You do stand up comedy. You speak at events, but you’re also a mom of twins.
And so I want to you know people that are out there making excuses. ⁓ I can’t because I’m a mom or I can’t because I’ve got my main job or I can’t what advice would you give to somebody who is making excuses and they are telling themselves well I can’t because I’m a mom I can’t do that I can’t write the book I can’t I can’t do it.
Dr. Tiffany Moon’s doing, I can’t write a book. mean, what would you suggest they do for anybody who’s making excuses?
Tiffany Moon (22:42)
I mean, it’s a lot of mindset work. At the end of the day, so much of our life is really what mindset we were in. If you go around life starting sentences with, can’t, I can’t, then guess what, babe? You can’t, and you won’t, and you never will. And you do the work, you hang out with people who can and who show you who did, and then you see it, and you’re like, well, if she did it, and we’re kind of alike, like…
Maybe I could like plants a little seed in you, know, and then you listen to the podcast and you read the books and you go to the conferences and you start hanging out with can people instead of can’t people. And then one day your mindset just subtly shifts almost so imperceptibly that you don’t really notice it and you start putting yourself out there. You start your social media, you go to a conference for real estate when you’re not
a realtor yet because you think you might want to do that. You start making new friends that are doing cool things instead of hanging out with the old ones that tell you that you’re crazy. You want to start a side business because you’re 45 years old, you know, and it’s just a series of small changes. And then you look back at the person you once were to four or five years ago and you’re like, man, I don’t even recognize that old version of me anymore.
Amberly Lago (24:07)
That’s so good. Well, as far as like stop chasing, like so many people want to do these new things, but they think, well, I have to wait till it’s perfect. I have to wait until I get the perfect title for the book or I get all the perfect pictures or I’m the perfect weight or whatever they’re telling themselves. How did you stop chasing perfect?
and just start going after joy and all of your dreams.
Tiffany Moon (24:41)
It was through a lot of work. started working, I had been working with a therapist and then I started working with a coach and that really ignited my transformation because I think
Amberly Lago (24:57)
you for sharing that you worked with a coach and a therapist because there’s one thing that I really want people to know in this show is that we don’t success is not built alone. It’s built with teams and people and friends. And I mean, I’ve got a sponsor. I’ve got a coach. I’ve got a therapist. I’ve got a mentor. And so people might look at you, Dr. Tiffany Moon.
and you’re gorgeous. You’ve got this amazing family life, amazing Instagram and social media across all the boards, across all the social media platforms. ⁓ Best-selling author. People might think, ⁓ she’s perfect. But I really thank you for saying that no, you needed help to
break you out of those perfectionist tendencies because that makes people like me and so many other people who are listening go, wait a minute. She’s not saying she’s perfect. She’s saying she had help to realize she needed to work through these tendencies. So thank you for saying that.
Tiffany Moon (26:15)
Yeah, and I just I can’t thank my therapist and my coach enough. I would turn blue in the face telling every woman that I meet that they need a therapist and or a coach because you can’t go it alone. And it’s just nice to have somebody who’s sort of impartial and can reflect your ideas back to you and say, well, do you really think something is that way and and kind of challenge you to question some of your limiting beliefs? And it’s just
It’s been so great for me. ⁓ The funny thing is probably until I was 30 something, my entire goal in life was to be perfect or at least seem perfect externally. I wanted to look perfect, speak perfect, have perfect grades, have the perfect family, have perfectly dressed children posing for their pictures. I don’t know.
why I was this way. think it has my therapist says that everything goes back to your childhood and that when I immigrated from China to the United States when I was six years old, I had so much pressure put on me as a young child that perfection was the only acceptable way. Like anything less than a hundred, my parents would be like, what question did you miss?
You know, and they were like, you need to have straight A’s. You need to make a perfect SAT score. Like I was basically told as a child that I was only worthy if I was perfect. That is what I internalized, right? As a child. So I’m only love. I’m only worthy. Mommy and daddy only see me and praise me when I’m perfect. And that’s how I got love and attention as a child. And so I just internalized that. And then.
In my 20s, it kept me from so many opportunities because my friends would be like, oh, let’s go rock climbing or let’s do this. And I’d be like, oh no, that’s OK. I’ll just sit here because when your whole shtick in life is to seem perfect, you don’t want to try new things because you’re going to look like an idiot. know, my friends are like, oh, let’s take this like French class on the weekends. It’ll be so fun. I’m like, oh no, I don’t want to learn French, you know, because I was in.
there is to practice out loud and, and have people hear me and be like, Oh my God, you know, her French sucks. Because of course, when you’re learning a new skill, you’re going to suck. Like that’s part of the learning process. But because I wanted to have this mirage of perfection, I just played small, never put myself, I did the only the things that I knew I could do well, which was basically to go to school, study, make straight A’s and do nothing.
and like wear cute outfits. Like that’s it. Like it kept me so small. And until I started working with my therapist and my coach and I was in my mid thirties and she’s like, I want you to purposely fail. Like I want you to be failing every day because that means that you’re trying something new. And I was like, that sounds very, very scary, right? So we started small at first, right? I didn’t just go out there and start, you know, being crazy.
We started small, you know, and then the funny thing is we think people are watching us so closely and caring so much. They are not. I started putting myself out there and I was, you know, trying as my coach told me to purposely fail. And the majority of the time, no one even noticed because they’re so busy focusing on themselves, thinking what they’re going to have for dinner, thinking about all the things they need to do. And I’m like,
my God, I did this thing and it wasn’t perfect and no one even said anything. She’s like, see?
Amberly Lago (30:05)
Yeah, but also, I mean, I think there’s been a magnifying glass on that with social media because there’s such a, ⁓ especially when you are an influencer and I say influencer in a, in the best way. know a lot of people don’t like to be called influencer, but I think you really influence people for the good. I mean, you’re more than just an influencer. You’re just despite.
all your accolades, you are such a good human. And the pressure to perform on social media, I can imagine when you have all these posts that go viral and get millions of views. When did you stop or or do you still sometimes struggle with, gosh, I got to post something and man, that last one did really good and I want to post something.
Maybe it’s not perfect, but I need to post something just as good.
Tiffany Moon (31:09)
Yeah, I stopped chasing virality on social media because the algorithm is finicky. The rules change and you don’t get a memo that the rules change and you’re like, what the hell just happened? I will tell you, I’ve been, you know, really posting for almost six years now. And sometimes I’ll think that a piece of content will do well and it won’t. And then there have been a handful of posts that I.
almost deleted. They were in my drafts because I have a lot of drafts just sitting there that are like half done. And I almost didn’t post them. I almost deleted them like, that’s not really good. But I don’t really have time to film anything today. And I need to post something. So I’m like, I’ll just post it. It’s not good. And then it goes viral. And I’m like, if I knew that was going to go viral, I would have edited a little better had some makeup on or something. You know what I mean? So I don’t chase the virality anymore. ⁓
You know, you do have to poke. It’s so freeing. It’s so freeing. It’s so freeing to not chase virality on social media. And it’s so freeing to finally give up caring what other people think it really is. Because a lot of people say, I don’t really care what other people think. But really, we do a little. And of course, I still do because, you know, I’m a human and I want people to like me. but but certain people’s opinions don’t matter anymore. And letting go of that is very freeing.
Amberly Lago (32:06)
Seeing not.
Tiffany Moon (32:34)
The thing that I do is when I’m in a creative spurt and I have the energy and the time to create, I try to batch my content. So if I’m feeling jazzy, I can shoot like 10 reels in a day and I just leave them in my drafts.
Amberly Lago (32:54)
Jazzy, by the way. Definitely very jazzy.
Tiffany Moon (32:59)
But some days
I’m not. Some days I am not. On my OR days, which I still work in the operating room three days a week, which people are like, do you still work? I’m like, well, yes, I work even when I’m not in the OR, so I don’t know what you mean by that. But yes, I still am in the operating room providing anesthesia to surgical patients three days a week. So I usually get to the hospital between 6.45 and 7, and I usually get off between 4 to 5, sometimes 6 if a case is running long.
And so those days, I am not feeling jazzy. I do not want to put on makeup and fake eyelashes and make a funny skit because I’m ready to have dinner with my family, have a glass of wine, do my skincare and go to bed. ⁓ And so when I’m feeling those creative spurts, I try to capitalize on that energy by making as much content as I can while I’m feeling good and looking good. And then I just save it in drafts.
And on days when I don’t have time to film or wherever, I’ll just post something that’s in my drafts. I have like 50 drafts in my phone right now. Sometimes I keep a draft so long that like that sound or trend is no longer trending. And then I’m like, crap, I missed the boat on that trend. know, like that was like a month ago, but I’ve had it in my phone and now it’s not trending. So if you ever see me post something and you’re like, my God, Tiffany, that was like a month ago, probably just know that it was sitting in my drafts.
Amberly Lago (34:22)
Yeah, well, well, and this happened to me where I got a new phone once and all my drives were.
Tiffany Moon (34:30)
The giraffes do not save. Well, now you know that.
Amberly Lago (34:36)
for some reason, the drafts and like when I got a new phone, all my drafts and TikTok disappeared, which I’m not on TikTok a lot, but there were drafts in there that were saved from when I first started my TikTok account and my daughter who was, I think she was like six or seven years old at the time and she was making cute, funny TikToks.
that I kept in there and there were drafts of my cute little puppy Goldie who passed away last year. Like all those disappeared. ⁓ man, there was a way to recover that but
Tiffany Moon (35:21)
I
tried, because I also discovered that the hard way a couple of years ago. Oh, and I recently over Christmas upgraded to the iPhone 17. And before I did that on my old one, I posted all my draft TikToks because I had like 50. But you can change the settings to when you post. It’s called only me.
And so you post it, like no one’s ever going to see it because you’ve got to change the setting before you post to only like who sees this. You click it and then you click only me and then you post your heart’s content away. And when you post on Tik Tok, I believe that the default is to save a copy on your phone in your camera reel. Right. So then you always have. Yeah. So public service announcement for anyone who has Tik Tok drafts post to only me.
on your TikTok before you upgrade your phone or you will lose your drafts.
Amberly Lago (36:14)
that is so good. And you know what? I actually did that with a video that I wanted to save ⁓ that my daughter had made and it was of her and my little puppy. And I did it to only me so I could save it. But when I got a new phone, my husband, I was busy working doing something and my husband went and got my new phone for me and took care of all that. And I wasn’t even thinking.
Tiffany Moon (36:43)
I know you don’t think about these things. Yeah. Yeah. I know. Yeah. I’m sorry that happened.
Amberly Lago (36:49)
I know I was just bummed that I lost some really funny videos and some blackmail videos of my husband by the way my daughter had made for me so how old are your twins? 11? No I thought they were younger
Tiffany Moon (37:01)
They’re 11 now. They’re 11? I know, girl.
No, when I did Real Housewives, when we filmed, they were like five. And so I think a lot of people who were first introduced to my girls because they saw them on TV are like, know, the kids kind of stayed the same age for whatever reason as we get older. And I feel the same way. I see my friends’ kids and I’m like, is your kid like 12 now? And my friend is like, girl, he’s driving. I was like, what?
So yeah, they’re 11. They’re in quote unquote middle school. Because I guess here in Texas, like middle school is, fifth grade is middle school. Because where I went to school, ⁓ sixth grade was middle school. Like six, seven, eight was middle school. And then nine through 12 was high school. But my girls are in fifth grade. So they moved from the lower school now to middle school. And they have a schedule. So they’re not in one classroom all day. They have like periods. And then they move around. And they have a locker.
and they have friends and they’re like living their best life.
Amberly Lago (38:06)
to change it, having a locker and going to different rooms. And I mean, it was a big deal when we moved from California here to Dallas, because my daughter grew up, both of my daughters grew up going to private school in LA and out here, we moved out here for the school district and the school’s huge compared to the school she was used to going to and this
private school where everybody wore uniform and there were a small amount of people in the classroom and it was a big deal. It’s a big deal when they change schools and when they start doing things. ⁓ Do they like, you know, going to school? they? Okay, I have a question for you. Do they get embarrassed by what you share on TikTok?
Tiffany Moon (38:59)
or on Instagram? I don’t share much about the children. Sometimes I’ll ask them to be in a video with me, but I always ask them. I never film my family without permission, except one time I made a TikTok of my husband snoring, because he said he doesn’t snore, and I was like, proof. ⁓ But if I wanted to do a Taylor Swift dance to Ophelia when that album had just dropped, and so I asked my girls if they wanted to do it with me.
⁓ I just got back from Dubai a couple of days ago and I bought like the original Dubai chocolate. Now every chocolate brand has a Dubai chocolate, but there’s one brand that’s the OG. And so we did a taste test of the original Dubai chocolate and I filmed it and then I said, can I post? So I asked my children for permission for content in which they’re involved because they’re old enough to consent, right? They’re 11, they’re not like two.
I think it’s just a choice. have friends that have children and they never show them on social media, like maybe the back of their head or something like that. And I think that’s a very conscious decision that some families make. But when I decided to go on Bravo TV and my kids were being filmed, that cat was out of the bag. You know what I’m saying? People are like, people do nefarious things with pictures of children online. And I’m like, well, be careful what you’re posting of your children and maybe don’t post certain pictures of them.
I don’t believe in living in a fearful state of all the bad things that can happen. I believe in being smart, like let’s not be stupid, and then living my life. And whatever’s going to happen, honestly, is probably going to be whatever it’s going to happen. I’m going to give it to God.
Amberly Lago (40:45)
Yeah,
yeah. I mean, I, my family, both of my girls do not like anything that they don’t want to be on social media. My husband doesn’t either. And I have to ask permission to put them on social media. And there have been times like I’ve put videos or stuff on my stories and they have been so upset like
Why did you put that up there? Delete that right away, you know? And then I don’t realize there’s things that I post that my daughter is like, mom, everybody saw that post. And I was like, who do you mean everybody? Like, I don’t even have that many followers. What, what? Just all my friends messaged me. They snapped me and told me that they saw that post and blah. And I’m like, who are?
of your friends are even following me, first of all, you know?
Tiffany Moon (41:45)
Yeah, I think there’s a fine line, you know, because I had been upset over like a thing that happened at school and I was like, maybe gonna post about it. But then I was like, no, because somebody is going to catch it and take it the wrong way and think that I’m publicly blasting them. And so I kind of made a very I’m pretty open with my life. Like I’m an open book. ⁓ But as far as my husband and children go, I think they like to stay a little bit more private, which I respect.
Amberly Lago (42:13)
Yeah, yeah, I do too, but.
Tiffany Moon (42:16)
Not
everyone wants to tell all their business like us, Amberley. I’m like, I’m an oversharer.
Amberly Lago (42:22)
I am too like that’s in my husband will say, if people only knew I’m like, honey, they do like I have written about it. talk about it on the podcast. That’s right. I got nothing to hide.
Tiffany Moon (42:35)
Exactly.
I have nothing to hide because I had a friend say she said, girl, if you gonna go on Real Housewives, you better make sure you don’t have no skeletons in the closet because they will find it. And I said, try me. I don’t even have so much as an unpaid parking ticket from 2021. Like, try me. I am clean as a whistle. Like you will not find some old video of me resurface where I was saying something that I got to be apology like.
I stand by everything that I’ve said and done. Now I’ve not always been great. I have, you know, said hurtful things to people sometimes, but by and large, like no skeletons in the closet. And I feel like you’re the exact same way.
Amberly Lago (43:14)
How
was that on the Real Housewives? I remember when that came out because my cousin, you know, I was living in LA at the time, but my cousin lives in Dallas and she’s friends with a lot of the Real Housewives of Dallas. And she’s on a couple of the series, not as a main character, but kind of in the background. And she was interested in being on the show and
I’m like, wow, sometimes I haven’t watched every episode, but there’s, know, real housewives of Orange County, all the different places. And it seems like a lot of drama, which creates a lot of people want to watch. But how was that then in an atmosphere where you have this very healthy homewife, healthy kids, an amazing husband, a successful business.
And now you’re thrown into this reality show where it is just drama and chaos. How was that?
Tiffany Moon (44:21)
It was really hard. I was working as a full-time anesthesiologist during filming, which meant that I was in the operating room from about seven to four or five PM every day. And we don’t film every day. would say during the whole filming is only 12 weeks for a season. They film all of it in 12 weeks. And for me, most of mine were on the weekends when I wasn’t in the hospital. And then sometimes there would be some weekday events in the evening, like a dinner or something.
But even before I signed on, told the producers, like, my job has to be my primary focus and nothing that I do with filming can affect my job. Because this is like my career that I’ve worked my entire life for, right? Yeah. And they were like, that’s totally cool. They were like, we’ll call a car for you. You don’t have to drive. ⁓ You can have a hard out at 10 PM every day because you need to go home and rest because you’re taking care of patients in the OR tomorrow. Like, they were all cool about it.
The problem was the other women weren’t cool about it. They were like, ⁓ Tiffany, I would set an alarm on my phone so that I could tell the producer to call me an Uber. And they’d be like, Tiffany’s alarms going off again. I guess she has to leave. And then I had a two drink maximum rule if I had to go to work the next day. Well, yeah, they were wanting to take shots and, you know, all this kind of stuff. And it was just very elementary, like peer pressure hazing stuff, which, you know,
honestly wasn’t that bad. Like it was silly TV antics. The part that got bad was after the cameras went down and I had a disagreement with one of my castmates and then her family tried to go after my career. What? Yeah. So that’s when we had to get lawyers involved and that’s when it got like really ugly. And that’s when I call it like go below the belt kind of thing. Cause for housewives, just like you said,
They want some drama. No one wants to turn on the TV and see us sitting around having tea, like chit chatting. Like that’d be boring, right? Like I get it. We are trying to make a show. I am working. So I get that there’s an element of drama, but you don’t go after people’s family and you don’t go after people’s career. And what they did was they tried to go after my career and insinuate that I was unfit to be working and that I was.
indulging in alcohol, which I’m like, roll the camera. If you want to say that I was drinking excessively the night before I go to work, show me. There is no footage. And the producers knew that. And for you to insinuate that publicly on social media and tag my employer. We’ve now gone below the belt. Do you know what I’m saying? And so that’s when…
Amberly Lago (47:06)
below the belt. That is the belt for sure. In fact, I that really just roused me up because I ⁓ I’ve been sober since I started drinking after my motorcycle accident by the grace of God got sober and I was never a drinker, but I got sober in 2016 and I had a client that I was like, hey, I’m
here’s your money back. I don’t think you’re a good fit for the program. I wish you all the best. And she was so upset that I was like didn’t want to work with her that she told people that I was drinking at my annual event. And I was like girl, you’ve never seen me drinking. I would not be able to stand on stage and even speak if I were drinking, you know, but I was like, wow.
that was below the belt. was like she couldn’t say anything else other than to try to say that I wasn’t fit for my own event or any to coach anybody because I was drinking and it was just now I can kind of I can just laugh about it. But at the time I was like, wow, that is wild. That is
I was like, I can’t believe she would say that. You know what I mean? But you know, think hurt people hurt people.
Tiffany Moon (48:35)
That is true and I’ve heard that before but now I really understand that.
Amberly Lago (48:42)
I’m sure, I’m sure. So do you think you would ever do a reality TV show again?
Tiffany Moon (48:48)
⁓ gosh, if I had a dollar for every time I was asked that no, right after Housewives ended, the answer was hell no. And now that it’s been a few years, I’m like, maybe if the cast was right, like why don’t we have a show about female entrepreneurs?
who are running their businesses, because trust me, there’s lots of drama. We don’t even have to manufacture it. It’s just going to happen. And then they get together and have their dinner parties and stuff. Like, why can’t it be that versus like, you know, a bunch of people just fighting about stupid stuff all day? Maybe we got to call Andy Cohen and make this happen. ⁓
Amberly Lago (49:32)
I say this is your next show. I mean, I don’t know. I think this is.
Tiffany Moon (49:40)
it.
I got to tell you when I was running around for lead her summit this year, which was just in November, my conference for female entrepreneurs, I know ⁓ you were out of town. I think I was town. You’re out of town. Yeah. I wanted to get my assistant got sick that week, which was the most inopportune time, but she’s sick. What are you going to do? She felt terrible. So I was running around doing her job and my job.
Amberly Lago (49:48)
I don’t
Tiffany Moon (50:07)
My job was to greet the guests and run the show. I was the emcee. I introduced every speaker. I made sure that everyone’s having a good time. Her job was behind the scenes doing the tech checks with the speakers, making sure their slides uploaded, that if they had a video in their slides that it played and the sound was on. Back of house stuff. So I had a headset on, was back of house doing tech checks, making sure everything’s good. Then I’d throw my headset off.
pick up a handheld microphone, fluff my dress a little bit, and then go on stage and be like, and welcome our next speaker. And I was like, why don’t we have a show? Like, this is the natural drama that just happens.
Amberly Lago (50:47)
Why
don’t we record this? been there. I remember my very first event. I had 22 speakers and I was the emcee and the AV was a mess and it was just like the drama. But hey, I pulled it off and you pulled it off.
Tiffany Moon (51:04)
Yeah, but
afterwards, I was like, I am spent. I feel like a wet noodle that just needs to like go lay down. I could not talk to anyone. I could not, you know, I just I and that’s why I’m not having it again. People were like, Are you going to do lead her summit again? I was like, I can’t. First of all, my husband will divorce me if I do it again, because I basically didn’t pay him any attention for like the two months leading up to the summit. Yeah, it’s a lot. People don’t understand how much
planning and work goes into a in-person multiple day conference where you’re flying in over a dozen speakers. People are like, it’s like planning a wedding. I’m like, no girl, it’s way worse than a wedding. Did you fly in 12 speakers for a wedding and did your wedding last three days? No, it cost more and it was more planning than my wedding.
Amberly Lago (51:55)
Okay, can we just shout this off the roof because that’s what people don’t understand that and how expensive it is to run an event and people think that you’re making all this money on ticker girls and you’re like,
Tiffany Moon (52:11)
lost
money.
Amberly Lago (52:15)
I’ve in the red on every single event that I’ve done and I promised my husband, and I think this is the first time I’ve said it. Like I’ve got my unstoppable success coming up, success coming up in April. This is, I don’t think I’ve ever said this on the podcast yet, but this is the last summit that I’m doing. I’ve known it for years.
And I promised my husband. I was like, okay, I’m sorry. Yes, you’re right. I won’t keep like the tourniquet. got to put a tourniquet on.
Tiffany Moon (52:55)
Stop the bleeding. Stop the bleeding, girl.
Amberly Lago (52:58)
bleeding.
I got to put a tourniquet on it. mean, and because my accountant was like, well, yeah, your wife makes money, but she spends it all on her event. And I’m like, yeah, I do. So yeah, it is it’s
Tiffany Moon (53:14)
And that’s not the only reason, but I will say, what really warmed my heart was the women who came and they just had such a good time and they told me how transformative it was for them. And I love the connections that the women made with each other. Like, they all are friends with
Amberly Lago (53:34)
And that
is amazing. That’s what kept me doing it after year after year. And, and look, I saw all the, I get, I’m on your email list and I saw all the emails that you were sending out and I was like, that’s good. Ooh, that’s good. ⁓ she’s so smart for doing it that way. Like I, I look as an event planner. I’m like, ⁓ she is brilliant for sending out that newsletter like that, but it is, it’s a lot of work.
Tiffany Moon (54:02)
It’s work.
Amberly Lago (54:03)
And
it’s rewarding having when you’re when you’re there and you’ve done it and it’s like, ⁓ that was rewarding. And then you’re like, okay, but I will. I will be surprised to talk to you a year from now and I will ask you. So you think about doing another event. You might say yes.
Tiffany Moon (54:25)
Never
say never, but I decided to take this year off just because 2025 girl with, with the retreat that I did in 2025 launching the book and doing lead her summit. I was spent and in truth be told, I was not a great wife or a great mom in many.
parts of 2025 because I was on the road, I wasn’t home, I was busy, my husband had to pick up the slack, the nanny had to pick up the slack. And we all knew that going in, it wasn’t a surprise. I we sat down and had a family meeting and I was like, I need to be gone from this date to this date. But I kind of promised my family that on the back end of that, that this year I would make up for it.
And I think the lesson here is that as a working mom, we often feel so guilty because we feel torn that I either need to go to this conference and speak and sell some books or I’m going to miss the ballet recital. Like you cannot be in two places at once. So you got to choose and inevitably whatever you choose, you feel bad about it some way. And I asked my kids who are old enough to have an opinion. said,
can I miss this ballet recital, but I’ll for sure be at the next one. There’s a really important conference that mommy needs to go to. I’m gonna get in front of a lot of important people. You know, it’ll be good for my book and my girls, I was kind of surprised at their level of maturity. They were like, no, mommy, you should go. There’s gonna be another ballet recital. It’s not like that important. Like you should go, we want you to go. And I was like, wow.
And it kind of alleviated a little bit of that mom guilt, not all of it, but a little bit of it. And then I thought to myself, you know what? Maybe I’m not a bad mom. Maybe I’m teaching my girls that sometimes in life, there’s these things called sacrifices and.
Life’s not easy. They see me hustling. They see me working hard. They see me going up and going to the hospital early in the morning. Maybe I’m setting a good example for my children. I don’t know. Or maybe I’m messing them up and they’re going to end up in therapy because of me. Who the hell knows, right? But I’m trying. I’m trying is all I have to say.
Amberly Lago (56:41)
Well, I think you are setting an amazing example for your children and to show them that you can go after your big dreams, be a good mom, be an incredible wife and live a life of joy. And in your book, Joy Prescriptions, you share so much about that and you’re still doing retreats. You have a retreat coming in.
coming up here in May. I think it’s sold out, but just so people get more information for maybe to get on the wait list for an upcoming retreat that you have, can you give us the information to get on the list for that for upcoming retreats?
Tiffany Moon (57:27)
Yeah, we’re maintaining a waiting list. You can sign up at lead her summit.com and the retreat is limited to 20 people, which is why it’s sold out because the summit was so big and I found it difficult to connect with the people who came because it’s just so big and I’m on stage and seeing and everything. The retreat is small. It’s 20 people. It’s me and one other coach and we go to a different location every year. Twenty twenty five. It was Cabo.
2026 it’s Costa Rica and then 2027 I haven’t decided yet. ⁓ But we basically just, you we do yoga, we have our green juice, we sit and talk about whatever it is that the group wants to talk about. And we do coaching and reflection and sound work and meditation. And we did a cacao ceremony on the beach and everyone just had all these beautiful reflections that they gave back to me. And it was just so beautiful.
So I’m gonna continue doing the retreats because I I mean it’s just so much fun for me to Continue to do that and get intimate with these women So yeah people who want to come on the waiting list is just lead her summit comm you can sign up ⁓
You can follow me on social media. generally answer my DMS. ⁓ Usually when I’m sitting outside carpool line outside the school, there’s like, you 50 SUVs waiting to pick up the kids, right? And nothing’s happening. That’s when I’m like doing stuff because I would never just like sit there, right? I’m always somewhat multitasking.
Amberly Lago (58:58)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. mean, I, I, that’s when I get my hair done. That’s when I’m like, okay, I’m checking my DMs. I’m getting my hair done so I can check my DMs and everything. So where’s the best place for people to get your book, connect with you, even if they can’t get to your retreat this year, maybe next year, what’s the best way for people to connect with you and see all the events that you’ll be speaking at and follow you?
Tiffany Moon (59:24)
⁓
I would say probably social media. I’m on all the platforms at Tiffany Moon MD on my website. It’s Tiffany Moon MD. There’s a list of my upcoming speaking engagements. ⁓ Yeah, the book is available anywhere where books are sold. It’s on Amazon. And if you can stand the sound of my voice, which I’ve been told is annoying, I will read the book to you on Audible because I sat in a sound booth for three days and narrated my book.
So some people are like, I don’t read and I’m like, well, do you listen? Can you buy the audible version then?
Amberly Lago (1:00:00)
That’s awesome. the audible recording that is in it’s intense.
Tiffany Moon (1:00:07)
It
was three days in a sound booth with producer in my ear. and if I said like, I’m gonna, instead of I’m going to, he was like, start over top of the paragraph. I emaciated very clearly and I drink a lot of throat coat tea.
Amberly Lago (1:00:20)
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah. Well, I’m going to have to get your audible book to jet. mean, I’ve of course bought your joy prescriptions book, but I’ll have to get your audible book just to support you on audible and write your review because I think it’s very important to support authors who go through that process of recording. But I appreciate you. my goodness. I you know what? I had three pages of questions. I didn’t even.
See, look at the questions and I.
Tiffany Moon (1:00:57)
We just, talked, you know, when I go to Merve News and it’s very clear to me that they have a list of questions that they’re trying to get through. It’s very staccato. Like it doesn’t flow like a natural conversation, like a song. Whereas here, I just felt like I was catching up with my friend. You know what I mean? And I think that makes for the best.
Amberly Lago (1:01:18)
in real life real soon. I know I know you’re amazing. Thank you so much for taking the time to be on the show. I adore you and you guys go check out her on her social media get her book check out her retreat. Thank you. Dr. Tiffany Moon for being here and thank y’all for tuning in and thank you for being here because
Tiffany Moon (1:01:20)
Yes, we’ll get a coffee soon.
Amberly Lago (1:01:46)
It’s because of you. You’ve made this a top one percent podcast. So thank you for tuning in and listening. Thank you.
Tiffany Moon (1:01:52)
Thank you.
