Medical School Taught Me Medicine—A Twinkie-Eating Contest Taught Me Influence
Books that changed my thinking, behaviors, and life
Hello,
As a second-year emergency medicine resident at NYU/Bellevue, I spent a month rotating with the orthopedic service.
The ortho team at NYU was elite—one of the top programs in the country, stacked with surgeons whose confidence was only matched by their skill. A month with them was a test of endurance, a pressure cooker of long hours, complex procedures, and the unspoken expectation that you’d either keep up or be forgotten.
I had one thing going for me: I was fit. There’s a running joke in medicine that to match into ortho, you don’t just need strong board scores—you need a strong bench press. In my early thirties, I could hold my own. But being physically strong didn’t make this rotation any easier. I was still early in residency, still figuring things out, still far from proficient.
But I showed up early. I worked hard. I learned a ton. I put my time in.
And on my last day, after all that effort, my big send-off wasn’t some grand recognition of my contributions.
It was a Twinkie-eating contest.
This was ortho.
Competitions were their thing—push-up contests, deadlift battles, feats of strength to test their residents (yes, they had a gym on their floor). And today, it was a five-minute Twinkie showdown. Who could eat the most?
They started rounding up contestants—first the interns, then a few junior residents, and in a rare showing, even two senior residents threw their hats in. I sat quietly, watching. Then someone turned to me.
“You want in?”
They didn’t expect much from the ER guy. I gave a small shrug, keeping my voice restrained.
“Sure, I’ll give it a try… but don’t expect much.”
But inside? I already knew who was going to win.
The residents placed their bets. Most backed the senior ortho resident.
No one picked me. Perfect.
I just sat there, silent, listening, knowing something they didn’t: I had a past.
Before med school, I dabbled in competitive eating. Twinkies? Twinkies were a joke. I had taken down hot dogs, burgers, fries, pizza, tacos, even entire apple pies. A little sponge cake and cream filling? Please.
A med student was sent across the street to buy 30 boxes of Twinkies.
At 6 p.m., we gathered around a table stacked high with enough artificial preservatives to survive a nuclear winter. Six competitors. I quietly unboxed my Twinkies, unwrapped them all in advance, prepped my space like a surgeon setting up for a procedure.
Twinkies, water, focus, and ambition.
The timer started.
One minute in: six down.
Three minutes in: nineteen down.
The closest competitor? Nine.
Not even close.
By minute four, I had 23 Twinkies down. I could’ve kept going, but I decided to make a show of it—slowly, deliberately savoring the next one while my competitors struggled.
Final count? Me: 24. Closest competitor: 16.
A complete, undisputed, Twinkie-devouring massacre.
The ortho residents couldn’t stop talking about it. My legend was cemented. I had dominated in their world.
That night, I went home, shared the story with my wife, laughed about my newfound ortho celebrity status, and by 8 p.m., I was passed out cold.
And here’s where it gets interesting.
A few weeks later, I was back in the ER, calling an ortho consult on a patient. The ortho resident on the other end of the phone started arguing. Classic turf battle. He insisted the patient didn’t need an ortho consult. I insisted he did. Voices were raised.
Then came the question:
“What’s your name?”
I gave him my name. Silence.
Then, in a completely different, much friendlier voice:
“…Wait. Are you the guy who won the Twinkie-eating contest?”
“I sure am,” I said.
“I’ll be right down,” he replied.
And just like that, the battle was over.
Here’s the thing: I had spent an entire month proving myself—showing up early, working hard, learning everything I could. But when it came down to real influence, when I needed someone to move, what made the difference?
Not my medical knowledge. Not my work ethic. A Twinkie-eating contest of all things.
Respect is a strange currency. We assume it’s earned through titles, credentials, or years of experience. But more often, it’s built in the moments that have nothing to do with expertise and everything to do with connection—a shared experience, an inside joke, a ridiculous contest no one saw coming.
The truth is, people don’t follow you because of what you know. They follow you because of how you make them feel.
In medicine, in leadership, in life—it’s easy to believe influence comes from being the smartest person in the room. But real influence? It comes from being in the room—fully present, fully engaged, willing to step into the culture, the camaraderie, the unspoken moments that build trust.
That’s what the Twinkie contest really was.
It wasn’t about eating 24 Twinkies. It was about meeting them where they were and recognizing that trust isn’t built through authority—it’s built in the small, unexpected moments that make people feel seen.
And that’s the thing about relationships, whether in medicine, leadership, or life: People don’t want to be impressed; they want to be understood.
We don’t build trust by demanding it. We build it by showing up, engaging, and sometimes—even when it feels ridiculous—playing the game that matters to them. Not to manipulate. Not to fit in. But to forge real connections that make the tough conversations easier, the work smoother, and the relationships stronger.
So here’s something to think about: When was the last time you stepped into someone else’s world—not to prove yourself, but simply to build a bridge?
Because leadership isn’t about standing apart. It’s about meeting people where they are—without losing who you are.
And sometimes, all it takes is a Twinkie.
Welcome to this week’s Three Book Thursday.
1. Decision making
Chaos Kings: How Wall Street Traders Make Billions in the New Age of Crisis
Summary
Chaos Kings: How Wall Street Traders Make Billions in the New Age of Crisis is not just a book about finance—it’s about seeing the world differently. It’s about those rare individuals who don’t just survive chaos; they thrive in it. While most people fear uncertainty, the “Chaos Kings”—a group of elite investors and thinkers—embrace it, understanding that disorder isn’t something to run from but something to capitalize on.
At its core, Chaos Kings is about antifragility—the idea that stress, volatility, and even disaster can be fuel for growth, not ruin. Patterson takes us inside the minds of traders like Nassim Taleb and Mark Spitznagel, who have built fortunes betting on catastrophe. Their philosophy? The biggest risks aren’t the ones staring you in the face—they’re the ones lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike when no one is looking. And while most people get crushed when the system breaks, these thinkers have built a blueprint for resilience, for positioning yourself to gain when others are losing their footing.
What struck me most about this book is how much it extends beyond finance. This isn’t just about markets—it’s about how we approach risk, decision-making, and the unknown in any part of life. As an ER doctor, I know what it’s like to operate in a world where the unexpected is the norm. As an entrepreneur, I’ve seen firsthand that often the people who succeed aren’t the ones who play it safe—they’re the ones who prepare for disruption, adapt to change, and position themselves to win when others panic.
The real lesson here? You don’t have to predict chaos to be ready for it. Whether you’re leading a business, managing your career, or navigating personal challenges, the question isn’t if uncertainty will strike—it’s when. The key is building systems, habits, and mindsets that make you stronger, not weaker, when the inevitable turbulence arrives.
If you want a book that forces you to think bigger about risk, reward, and resilience, Chaos Kings delivers. It’s a reminder that in a world obsessed with avoiding uncertainty, the real power comes from mastering it.
Favorite Quote, Insight, & Principle
Quote: “He panicked early. Because if you wait, deer-in-the-headlights, to figure out what's going to happen as the crisis unfolds, trying to understand it better, get more information, more data, it's already too late. The house is flooded. The building's burned down.”
Insight: We increasingly live in an exponential world–but our brains are hardwired for the linear.
Insight: People focus on the mundane bulges in the center of the bell curve, rather than the wild explosions in the tails of the curve.
Principle: If I have a cold, don't treat it. If I have cancer, see six doctors, not one.
Author: Scott Patterson
Themes: Decision making, Investing, Wealth management, Risk management
2. Personal development
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
Summary
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience is one of those books that changes the way you think about work, performance, and even happiness itself. It introduces a concept that’s deceptively simple but incredibly powerful: that true fulfillment comes from being completely immersed in what we’re doing. That state—where time disappears, distractions fade, and we’re operating at our highest level—is what Csikszentmihalyi calls flow.
This isn’t a light, easy read. It’s academic, dense at times, and filled with deep psychological insights. But the payoff? It forces you to think—to really examine how you structure your work, your challenges, and your personal growth. Csikszentmihalyi isn’t offering hacks or quick fixes; he’s dissecting what makes life meaningful. And at the core of it all is this: Happiness isn’t something you find—it’s something you create by pushing yourself to the edges of your ability in pursuits that challenge and engage you.
What struck me most is how applicable this concept is to so many areas of life. Whether you’re a surgeon in the operating room, an entrepreneur building a business, or an athlete chasing mastery, flow is where your best work happens. It’s that feeling when you’re so locked in that nothing else matters—when your skills perfectly match the challenge in front of you, and the work itself becomes the reward.
The biggest takeaway? Flow isn’t accidental. It’s something we can design into our lives by intentionally choosing challenges that stretch us, eliminating distractions, and learning to love the process rather than just the outcome. In a world filled with noise, Flow reminds us that the deepest satisfaction comes from full engagement—losing yourself in something that pushes you beyond your limits and makes you better in the process.
Favorite Quote, Insight, & Principle
Quote: “We are always getting ready to live, but never living.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
Quote: “The pursuit of a goal brings order in awareness because a person must concentrate attention on the task at hand and momentarily forget everything else. These periods of struggling to overcome challenges are what people find to be the most enjoyable times of their lives.”
Insight: We cannot reach happiness by consciously searching for it. Ask yourself whether you are happy and you cease to be so. It is by being fully involved with every detail of our lives, whether good or bad, that we find happiness, not by trying to look for it directly.
Principle: The best moments usually occur when a person's body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.
Author: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Themes: Personal development, Living a full life, Philosophy
3. Memoir
Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions
Summary
Bringing Down the House is a wild ride through the neon-soaked casinos of Las Vegas and a class in strategy, risk, and the power of playing the game smarter than everyone else. This isn’t a story about gambling. It’s about execution, discipline, and the kind of thinking that turns an impossible system into an opportunity.
At its core, this book is about a group of M.I.T. students who cracked the code of blackjack, using math, teamwork, and nerves of steel to beat the house again and again. They weren’t playing with luck; they were playing with certainty—understanding the odds, mastering the patterns, and knowing exactly when to strike. But what makes their story truly compelling isn’t just the winnings—it’s the psychology behind their success. They learned to control their emotions under pressure, adapt in real time, and trust their process even when the stakes were highest.
What struck me most about this book is how much it applies beyond the world of blackjack. No matter what you are focused on, the lesson is the same: Winning isn’t about talent alone—it’s about preparation, precision, and the ability to stay calm when everyone else panics. The best opportunities in life aren’t always obvious. They’re often hidden in plain sight, waiting for someone bold enough—and disciplined enough—to take advantage.
The bigger takeaway? Success is about understanding the game you’re playing. In business, medicine, or any high-stakes field, the ones who often come out on top aren’t just the smartest—they’re the ones who see the system differently. Who learn its rules inside and out, then find a way to play it better than anyone else.
Favorite Quotes, Insights, & Principles
Quote: “The biggest lesson wasn’t about money or cards. It was about understanding the game you’re playing—because once you do, you realize you can play it on your own terms.”
Insight: Mastery wasn’t about knowing the right answer—it was about knowing what to do when the answer wasn’t obvious.
Principle: The difference between winning and losing was often just the ability to stay calm when the stakes were highest.
Author: Ben Mezrich
Themes: Memoir, Betting, Decision making
Success, influence, and opportunity don’t always come from where we expect. We think it’s about credentials, hard work, or being the smartest in the room. But more often, it’s about understanding the real game being played.
I spent a month proving myself to the orthopedic team—showing up early, working hard, doing everything right. But when I needed something to move, when I needed respect in a moment of tension, it wasn’t my work ethic or medical knowledge that got the job done. It was a Twinkie-eating contest.
That’s the hidden reality of influence. It’s not just about skill—it’s about connection. People don’t follow you because of what you know; they follow you because of how you make them feel.
And this week’s books drive that lesson home. The Chaos Kings succeed not because they predict the future, but because they prepare for chaos, understanding that real power comes from positioning yourself when others panic. Flow reveals that our best work happens not by chasing success, but by immersing ourselves so deeply in the process that time disappears. And Bringing Down the House isn’t about gambling—it’s about playing smarter, recognizing patterns others miss, and executing at the perfect moment.
Success isn’t always about working harder. It’s about seeing what others don’t. It’s about learning the culture, the dynamics, the pressure points that make people move. It’s about stepping outside of yourself and into the world of the people around you—not to manipulate, but to understand.
Because the greatest opportunities in life rarely come from brute force. They come from learning the real game being played—and knowing exactly when to make your move.
Always ❤️📚💡
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