At 43, with two young children, Rebecca was told she had Stage 4 Metastatic breast cancer and had 3 years to live. She feared for her kids and how they'd live without her. A month after her diagnosis she was "upgraded" to Stage 3 and could begin to seek a cure. But what about all the women she'd met who had Stage 4? What would happen to them? Her choice was to not leave these women behind. She stopped her neuropsychology practice and now devotes her time and energy to The Cancer Couch Foundation. Her choice has led her on a journey to partner with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York to generate funds for research projects specifically focused on Metastatic Breast Cancer.
Eric, and his wife Amy, consciously seek out opportunities to help others by making an anonymous donation each year. They envision creating a book for their grandchildren that chronicles the stories of their random acts of kindness, hoping their book will be a family legacy allowing future generations to be bitten by the giving bug.
After Eric learned that a single mom, who the family knew distantly, had to spend her scrupulously amassed Christmas savings to replace a totaled car, he and Amy filled an envelope with money. On Christmas morning, a trusted friend knocked on the woman’s door, handed her the stuffed envelope, wished her a Merry Christmas and walked away.
Eric never heard anything more about the donation, but hoped he’d given the women great encouragement in a tough time.
Knowing she was meant to have a great impact via speaking, Patty Lennon chose to take on a challenge to speak 50 times in 50 weeks. In that process she overcame resistance to her fears, encountered all types of speaking experiences, and ultimately embodied that she's fully here to serve and can speak her message anywhere. Patty's choice to speak has led to the ripple effect of her now teaching others about the power of the transformation that will come for them when they take the leap to speak consistently, regardless of the hurdles.
Here are some timestamps for you so you can easily check out a few of her highlights.
Make a tangible choice when life feels out of control. [00:05:57]
Patty made her choice to do 50 speaking engagements in 50 weeks at an incredibly challenging time in her life -- she was helping her mom get through cancer treatments, supporting her husband who'd lost his job, and raising two toddlers.
I was curious how making her choice gave her an element of control, and she responded that she'd never thought about it in that way, but looking back she now sees that stepping into that huge choice was exactly what she needed at the challenging time.
Should you listen or ignore your inner resistance? [00:09:39]
I went on to ask Patty about the transformations she experienced as a result of her choice and she shared her “aha” about a previously held belief regarding resistance. She used to believe that resistance is your soul telling you to slow down, but shifted her belief to acknowledge that sometimes resistance is your ego keeping you small. Listen in to her share the fastest way to break through that kind of resistance.
You already have what you need to succeed, and other lessons learned as a result of her choice. [00:27:25]
She shared that when she became an entrepreneur, she felt like she lacked the knowledge or skillset that other, more successful, entrepreneurs had. But after following through on her choice to speak 50 times in 50 weeks, she realized that she already had what she needed inside of her…