Hey to the best of our knowledge listeners. I'm sharing something special this week. It's an episode of the podcast, What It's Like to Be, from New York Times best-selling business book author Dan Heath. In every episode, Dan interviews someone from a different profession, a cattle rancher, an FBI special agent, a professional Santa Claus. He asks what it's like to do what they do. What does a couple's

therapist think when a friend asks for relationship advice? Is a secret service agent supposed to

pretend like they're not there when they're around the president? What are the three clocks that

govern the life of a long-haul truck driver? If you've ever met someone whose work you were

curious about and you had 100

nosy questions but were too polite to ask, this is the show for you. In the preview you're about to

hear, Dan talks with a brain surgeon at the Mayo Clinic who goes by the nickname Dr. Q. You'll hear how

brain surgeons figure out how to distinguish brain matter from tumors, the incredible

suite of tools they use in surgery, including a mouth-controlled microscope, and what it's like

to carry the weight of making life or death decisions every day. You'll also hear about the

absolutely incredible life story of Dr. Q, who went from picking tomatoes to performing brain surgery.

We hope you enjoy it, and you can listen to more episodes of what it's like to be wherever you get podcasts.

How should I refer to you? What do you prefer?

You know, I can go for almost anything. My full name is Alfredo Quignonez Inocosa.

Some people can pronounce and some people cannot.

And this is why people began to call me Dr. Q.

Dr. Q is a brain surgeon and chair of neurosurgery at the Mayo Clinic's Florida campus.

He's got an absolutely astonishing life story, which we'll get to later.

But first, I want to zoom in on one of his surgical days.

He says his work begins long before he steps into the operating room.

So the moment someone sends me a picture about their scan,

their surgery begins to happen in my brain, the potential complications,

...