MY STORY

I was born with my foot turned inside. The doctors warned my mother I would never walk. My mother relentlessly asked the doctors what to do to fix it. One told her to rub my foot at each diaper changing until I cried. So she did. It worked. My foot turned. Once I learned how to walk I never stopped running.

 

I was always taller than all the boys. Naturally, playing basketball was my first love. I built my young life around a round, orange ball and I lived for the success of my teammates. I was determined to go to college on a basketball scholarship. But with one small word my big dreams came crashing down to the floor. Cancer. A month before my senior year of high school I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease. A month later my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.

 

Once again, my mother was determined to defy the odds. She promised me that we could do it together. We went through treatment together, lost our hair together, and made a promise to survive together.

 

Five years after my diagnosis, treatment, and recovery, my mother revealed to me that she was given only a 20% chance to live one year. She promised herself that she would live to see me graduate from high school. She ultimately lived to see me graduate from college. We lost her soon after, but had her much longer than any doctor could have predicted. In my heart, I knew she lived longer than anyone could have imagined because of the power of her spirit, and her sheer will to keep her promise.

 

Through it all, Mama Sling taught me about strength and the power of intention. She sent me off into the world believing I could do anything. And I did, until it all came crashing down.

 

Through a divorce, a layoff from my coveted Director of Marketing job, and recently my own mastectomy, I have been forced to tap into the strength inside my heart. It is the place inside of me that knows I can do anything, because my mother showed me how. Each and every time I have faced something difficult or had an overwhelming struggle I have more than survived. I have come out on the other side a better person, and a stronger more vibrant spirit, carrying a new lesson inside of me about life and mission.

 

I believe in promises. Because I believe you can do anything. I also believe promises are more powerful than goals. This is why my mission is to move people to greatness, whether it is in their work or life.

 

If you believed you could do anything what promise would you make?