Resilience, mindset, overcoming adversity, and personal growth take center stage in this powerful conversation with bestselling author and keynote speaker Stacey Chillemi.

What if your greatest challenge could become your greatest purpose?

On this inspiring episode of Women Road Warriors, Shelley Johnson and Kathy Tuccaro welcome Stacey Chillemi—20-time bestselling author, keynote speaker, and mindset coach whose work has empowered millions around the world.

Stacey’s journey began with a life-altering diagnosis. After developing epilepsy following childhood encephalitis, she faced obstacles that could have defined her limitations. Instead, she transformed adversity into advocacy—ultimately speaking before Congresson behalf of people with epilepsy, which helped pass the Americans with Disabilities Act. She then became a global voice for resilience by helping others unlock healing, confidence, and leadership.

Today, Stacey reaches millions through her books, coaching programs, and the fast-growing Advisor Series for Mindset & Self-Improvement podcast and YouTube channel. Her message has been featured across major media, including NBC Dateline, News 4, The Morning Show, The Dr. Oz Show, Psychology Today, Business Insider, and collaborations with leaders like Arianna Huffington.

In this powerful conversation, Stacey shares how anyone can shift their mindset, rise above challenges, reduce stress, and step into their true potential.

If you’ve ever faced adversity, questioned your path, or needed a reminder of your inner strength, this episode will leave you inspired and empowered.

Listen now to discover:

• How to transform adversity into purpose

• Mindset shifts that unlock resilience and leadership

• Practical ways to reduce stress and reclaim your power

• Why your story—no matter how difficult—can become your greatest strength

🎧 Listen now and discover how to turn life’s challenges into unstoppable momentum.

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This is Women Road warriors with Shelly Johnson and Kathy Tucaro.

From the corporate office to the cab of a truck, they're here to inspire and empower women in all professions.

So gear down, sit back and enjoy.

Welcome.

We're an award winning show dedicated to empowering women in every profession through inspiring stories and expert insights.

No topics off limits.

On our show, we power women on the road to success with expert and celebrity interviews and information you need.

I'm Shelley.

And I'm Kathy.

We have someone with us today who's turned adversity into advocacy, illness into empowerment, and pain into purpose.

From facing the challenges of epilepsy after encephalitis as a child, to speaking before Congress to she's dedicated her life to helping others unlock healing, mindset and leadership.

Stacy ChaleMmy is a 20 time best selling author, keynote speaker and high impact coach whose work has reached millions of people worldwide, including more than 8 million views on YouTube.

She's been unstoppable with a career that took her to NBC on Dateline News 4 and the Morning Show.

You've also seen her five times on the Dr. Oz show, featured in Psychology Today and Business Insider and collaborating with leaders like Arianna Huffington.

She leads the Advisor series for Mindset and Self Empowerment, a fast growing podcast and YouTube channel that teaches men and women how to rise above challenges, reduce stress and discover their true potential.

But Stacy's story isn't about fame.

It's about resilience.

We're honored to have Stacy on the show with us to share her powerful insight.

Welcome, Stacy.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for being with us.

Oh, thank you so much.

It's an honor to be on your show.

I appreciate the invitation.

Thank you.

You're quite the powerhouse.

Holy smokes.

Oh, yeah.

This is so exciting.

I mean, you really are amazing, Stacy.

Your story is incredible and your resilience is a testament to the true human spirit of vanquishing what gets in our way.

You experienced your first seizure at just five years old when you were diagnosed with encephalitis and later, epileps shaped much of your early life.

Would you mind sharing your story with us?

Sure, I'd be honored to do that.

So at the age of five, my mother heard a gurgling sound in my bedroom.

She went in to check on me and she saw me in a grand mal seizure and I was turning blue.

My parents had rushed me to the hospital and they found that I had encephalitis and it had traveled to my brain.

I was induced into a Coma.

And they said that probably, if she comes out of their coma, she'll probably be paraplegic or she'll have severe brain damage.

My father, who was religious and from Greece, you know, he came from a small island, one church, one doctor, one everything.

And there was a statue in Greece right by the church and it was known to have teardrops come down its eyes.

And he told me that he was praying by my bedside and he was envisioning the statue.

And he looked up after he prayed, he said, and a teardrop rolled from my eye and I woke up and the first thing I asked for was McDonald's french fries.

And I actually, I wasn't paraplegic.

I didn't have severe brain damage, but I did have epilepsy.

And they, till this day, they, they don't know exactly where the, the, the epilepsy is in my brain.

The.

But it's, they, they probably, it's probably throughout my brain.

They said the encephalitis probably traveled throughout my brain and caused different, different scar tissue which they can't find.

But anyway, to, you know, after that, I struggled.

Life was like a roller coaster ride.

I went through, I went through school and then college.

During college, it was on my bucket list to get a degree and to do all these great things that girls think about as 19 and 20 year olds.

And when I was in college, from the stress and the late night studying, I had nonstop seizures and I didn't even know if I was going to finish college.

I went to the library and in the library there was maybe three or four books on epilepsy.

They're written by doctors and medical terminology.

And if you weren't a doctor, you basically didn't understand, understand what they were talking about, which really frustrated me at the time.

So I wrote to the Epilepsy foundation in Washington D.C. and I said, please publish my article.

I said, I asked people to share their stories with me and I asked them, you know, how do you cope with epilepsy?

And to my surprise, I got three to 400 letters from all over the United States and Canada.

People shared their stories, they shared how they deal with epilepsy.

And it was very inspirational.

For the first time in my life, I realized that I wasn't alone.

And I took a lot of their information and what I did was, is that I created my own regimen and I got through college and I started working in New York.

I was working on NBC, I was working on all the different TV shows and I was living the limelife of A girl in her 20s.

And then one day I was walking and I was.

I was in one of the corporate offices, and I fell to the ground, and I had a seizure.

And I.

One of the executives saw me, and he stepped over me, and I was conscious, but I wasn't.

I couldn't move at the time.

And.

And no one was there.

They just stepped over me and he left.

And.

Oh, my goodness.

Wow.

And so I was.

I was released from my position because of my epilepsy.

And I remember just walking out of there and I just kept saying to myself, I don't know where I'm headed, but I'm going to be a success.

And I kept that mantra in my brain from the rest entire of my life.

And so after that, I started my own writing business.

And I met a lot of people, a lot of very successful people, like the owner of Grammarly and.

And lots of others who were just starting out and creating.

Creating their softwares.

And I was doing a lot of the writing and research for a lot of these people.

And.

And then one day I met an herbalist, and he would need a lot of writing and research done on natural living.

So I started to do all the natural holistic research.

And I said, wow, a lot of these things could apply to my own life.

And I started applying different techniques like detoxing and using certain herbs and supplements and changing my life and the way I thought, the way I slept, incorporated yoga, did meditation, did all these things.

And my seizures went from 12, 9, 8, 7, 6, to the point where they became controlled.

And then later on, the Epilepsy foundation got wind of what happened, and they sent me to Washington, and I spoke in front of Congress, and we got the Disabilities act approved.

And I just kept going.

I, you know, I. I started to really get into the.

Into the realm of natural healing and how far.

You know, I realized, well, if it helped me, it could probably help anybody with any condition.

And so then I really focused on dedicating my life to helping others and trying to figure out ways to show others that we could rise above the chaos.

We can overcome our obstacles in life, we can overcome these things, and we can reach our full potential in life that we shouldn't have to let anything in life stop us from what we want to be or who we want to be.

We all have entitlement.

We all have beauty within.

We all have strength.

And we all have the ability to become anything we want in life.

We shouldn't let others tell us that we can't.

And we shouldn't have, you know, things in our life that pull us back.

You know, there was many times I fell to the ground.

I felt like every time I moved two steps forward, I got knocked back three.

But it didn't stop me.

I just got back up and I kept biting until I reached the, you know, to a point in life where I could look in the mirror and I was happy with the person I saw.

Oh, bravo.

You have the drive of so many people, and what a wonderful message that you have.

And I love the fact that you were instrumental in the American Disabilities act when you spoke in front of Congress about job discrimination against people with epilepsy.

It's something that was an eye opener that they needed to know about.

I mean, I find it shocking that an executive just walked over you when you were in need.

I mean, that.

And then you were dismissed.

That makes no sense at all.

And you have made so many changes as an advocate for people.

And then, of course, what you're doing with herbs and everything, I mean, this is really helpful for anyone, I would think, with any kind of physical condition or disability and for their health, too.

I think what really, really inspired me was when I was trying to find my purpose in life, I had taken my experience, and I took all those letters.

I took the most inspirational letters, and I put that together, and I wrote about my regimen, about how I overcame epilepsy, and I put it into a book, and I called it Epilepsy, you're Not Alone.

And that book, one day I got an email, and I opened the email up and it said, I just want to say thank you.

I found your book in Barnes and Nobles, and I just want to let you know I was on the verge of suicide and you saved my life.

Thank you.

And it was then.

That was really.

That.

That was the eye opener.

That was when I really realized how powerful the words of wisdom can be and how we can change any.

Me, you, Kathy, how we could all change people's lives by the words we say, by the words we put on paper.

How we can make such a difference in this world.

Everybody, everybody on this planet can make a difference.

We have to just stop and think about what we're saying and to.

Who we're saying it to.

And we can help so many people, every single one on this planet.

We could all be a benefit to each other if we just use the right words at the right times in the right point of our lives.

Wouldn't it be nice if everyone did that?

Can you imagine what the world would be like

Stay tuned for more of Women Road warriors coming up.

Dean Michael, the tax doctor here.

I have one question for you.

Do you want to stop worrying about the irs?

If the answer is yes, then look no further.

I've been around for years, I've helped countless people across the country, and my success rate speaks for itself.

So now you know where to find good, honest help with your tax problems.

What are you waiting for?

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Welcome back to Women Road warriors with Shelly Johnson and Kathy Tucaro.

If you're enjoying this informative episode of Women Road Warriors, I wanted to mention Kathy and I explore all kinds of topics that will power you on the road to success.

We feature a lot of expert interviews, plus we feature celebrities and women who've been trailblazers.

Please check out our podcast@womenroadwarriors.com and click on our Episodes page.

We're also available wherever you listen to podcasts on all the major podcast channels like Spotify, Apple, YouTube, Amazon, Music, Audible, you name it.

Check us out and bookmark our podcast.

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We want to help as many women as possible.

We're continuing our conversation with the incredible Stacy Chalemmy.

Before the break, we were talking about Stacy's remarkable journey, how a diagnosis of encephalitis as a child led to epilepsy and her first seizure at just five years of age.

What's so powerful about Stacy's story is that she didn't allow those early challenges to define her limits.

Instead, she transformed them into a life of service and leadership.

Today she's a 20 time best selling author, keynote speaker and a high impact coach, reaching millions around the world and generating more than 8 million views on YouTube.

You've likely seen her on Dateline NBC News 4 the Morning show and even five times on the Dr. Oz Show.

And her work's been featured in Psychology Today and Business Insider.

She also leads the Advisor series for Mindset and self improvement, helping people rise above challenges and discover their true potential.

She's helped so many people who've lived with epilepsy, and she was instrumental in getting the American Disabilities act passed.

Stacy, in our last segment, you said something so profound after realizing how one of your books had made such a difference to a reader and it saved that person's life.

You said we could all be of such benefit to each other if we just use the right words at the right times.

Kathy, you said you had a thought on that.

In reference to that.

I got a phone call yesterday or day before from a lady that used to be here at work, our personal trainer.

And that's all she's ever done was fitness.

And she's 50 and just, she says, kathy, I don't want to do this anymore, and I want to be just like you.

I don't know if you know this, but I operate the world's largest mining equipment in the world.

And so the truck I drive is bigger than a house.

It's tires are 14ft tall.

It's crazy what I, what I do.

Anyway, so this woman, she, she was our personal trainer a couple years ago, and then the, the kibosh the program.

So I kind of was helping her get.

Take steps into how she could become a haul truck operator.

And, you know, and she gave me a call yesterday or a couple days and said, kathy, I just need to tell you I'm crying right now because I got, I just got a job offer.

I'm now officially a haul truck operator.

And it's just, it's all thanks to you.

And she says, I' and I didn't think I could do it.

And you have no idea how much you inspire me and, you know, all your hard work.

And she's crying on the phone and she said, if I could just hug you, I would.

It's funny because she called me and when she called me, I was just sitting here, probably due to night shift, feeling miserable and thinking, you know, I'm just not doing enough out there.

Like, I'm not inspiring anybody.

What am I doing?

And then she calls and I'm like, oh, thank you, universe.

That's pretty awesome.

That is awesome.

With everything we do, we don't realize the power that we truly do have.

You know, it's a ripple effect.

It's almost an invisible thing that we do not see.

And like, Stacy, what I do, what I've done to keep me focused, I've received letters from people all over the world.

Gifts and pictures, and they draw art, and they do this.

And I made a wall of love because on my whole entire office is letters.

People write on napkins, the.

You know, I'll screenshot something, what they say on.

On.

On.

On Facebook or Instagram and all printed, and they'll draw me stuff.

And so I have this huge, huge wall because on the days that I'm struggling, that I'm thinking, okay, I'm just not, you know, And I look at this, and I look at these little kids that are coloring and doing things, and I'm like, you actually think you're gonna stop now, right?

Like that?

Because you don't realize how far the reach extends.

And that's what keeps me going.

And what you're doing is the exact.

It's.

It's just above and beyond.

And kudos to you.

Oh, my God.

Oh, Stacy, you're amazing.

What keeps you going, Stacy?

I think the fact that it keeps me going is that when I wake up in the morning, I feel so excited to do that.

The things I do because I know that I'm helping people.

And, you know, you don't realize at the time that you're actually helping people, because I never really.

You don't realize how much of an impact you're having on other people's life when.

When you are humble.

And what.

What.

What I get is when people like you were just saying, kathy, when people, you know, call me or.

Or they.

They.

They say, I just saw your podcast, and I listened to the episode and, wow, what a change.

What a difference it made in my life.

And I'll be like, really?

You listen to my podcast?

You know, you just, like, you don't really realize the impacts that you make when.

Or someone reads my book or someone saw me and said, wow, you know, you're.

You're.

You're making such a difference.

It's like, you know, I think the words, the.

When I hear the positive feedback from others, because that's all I wanted to do.

Because when.

When I was.

When I.

When I was going through the roughest times of my life, people just came out of the wood to help me.

People who I didn't even know, they just wanted to help me.

You know, there was a point where I didn't drive for 15 years because when I was having seizures, I was asked to stop driving.

And so I didn't drive for 15 years until they could figure out how to get my seizures controlled.

And with the.

Like I was telling you earlier, with the usage of my medication and holistic living, I was able to get my seizures under control.

But those 15 years was like, I felt imprisoned in my own home.

And, you know, having to have.

Rely on others was very difficult for me as a.

As an independent woman.

And, you know, so when I, When.

When I did this, it was.

I just wanted to help others.

And it was that email that really brought me on this road, on this track, was that I could change someone's life.

That email, like, I think, was the eye opener.

And it was.

It was the thing that really got me going and that, you know, and I kept working and working and working and working to try to.

To try to.

To be better and better and better and better people because I. I just wanted to make a difference.

I wanted to help others.

It was.

I was just so motivated to try to help others like others have helped me.

And you what?

Because once you have epilepsy and once you go through pain in life and we all have, you know, we've all gone through ups and downs, everybody has a story to tell.

You start looking at life differently.

You know, especially when.

When you go through tragic events in your life and you overcome them and you actually, you actually become humble, you start to see life differently.

Like when I, When I was in trial groups when they were trying to get my seizures controlled, there are people that had 90 to 300 seizures a day.

When I saw those people, I stopped pitying myself.

I was like.

I was actually.

I had gratitude, you know, and then because I was like, you know, at least.

At least I can function.

I have an invisible disorder.

And then as I got older, you know, I started to realize that I, you know, I'm glad that I have epilepsy because I would have went on a totally different track in my life.

I was headed on a totally different.

Different pathway.

And my epilepsy took me on a totally different journey.

It made me realize, you know, that there is more to life than materialistic things, that life is more than a nice car and a big home, that it's really about how we feel inside the person we are the person that what we can do for others, it's not about what we can get.

It's about what can we do for somebody else to bring joy in someone else's life.

Amen to that.

And I think today especially, we're kind of caught up in the me, me, me, me, and we've lost sight of some of that.

So it's wonderful that you're out there reminding people.

This is why we're here on this earth, people.

Your message is so powerful.

Stay tuned for more more of Women Road warriors coming up.

Dan Michael, the tax doctor here.

I have one question for you.

Do you want to stop worrying about the irs?

If the answer is yes, then look no further.

I've been around for years.

I've helped countless people across the country and my success rate speaks for itself.

So now you know where to find good, honest help with your tax problems.

What are you waiting for?

Welcome back to Women Road warriors with Shelly Johnson and Kathy Tucaro.

We're here with Stacy Chalemmy and what an inspiring conversation this has been.

Stacy's life changed dramatically when she experienced her first seizure at just five years after being diagnosed with encephalitis, a diagnosis that eventually led to epilepsy and shaped much of her early life.

She did not let that stop her.

Stacy turned that adversity into something extraordinary.

She's now a 20 time best selling author, keynote speaker and high impact coach whose message of resilience and mindset has reached millions, including over 8 million views on YouTube.

She's made a difference for so many people who suffer from seizures and and she was instrumental in getting the American Disabilities act passed by Congress.

You've probably seen her on Dateline NBC News 4, the Morning show and the Dr. Oz show where she's appeared five times.

And she's been featured in Psychology Today and Business Insider.

Through her podcast and YouTube platforms, the advisor series for Mindset and self Improvement, she continues helping people unlock their potential.

Stacy, what you share with people is so amazing.

You mentioned the 21 principles that guided you from rock bottom to empowerment.

Would you mind maybe sharing one or two of those principles because you really were able to really unpack how to get empowered and rise above.

Sure.

So the first thing was denial.

The first thing is that it's very hard for all of us, I think, as individuals to realize that we have problems in our life that need to be addressed.

Once we acknowledge that we have issues in our life that need to be address, then we can go to step two and you know, we can make believe that the issues in our life are not there.

We can make Believe those problems don't exist, but they're not going away.

You're just living a life of a lie.

And how is that going to benefit you?

You just push it in your subconscious and you make it like it's not there.

Well, it's going to always be in your subconscious and it's going to affect the way you are.

That 10% of our conscious brain is going to react from our subconscious.

So what we need to do is really acknowledge that we have issues in our life that need to be addressed.

And then we have learn how to actually move forward and accept it.

We have to know there is no such thing as perfect.

People have this Persona.

I think that word should be wiped out of the dictionary.

There is no such thing as being perfect.

Everybody has something in life and we have to just accept what we have.

And I really do believe everything in life happens for a reason.

And if we are going through things in our life, there's a reason.

Is it going to bring us resilience?

Is it going to bring us a sense of hope for other things in life?

Are we going to be able to use this to help others?

You know, we have to learn how to accept and we have to learn to also love ourselves.

That would be the next step.

Once we accept that we have these issues, we have to learn to love ourselves for who we are.

We have to understand that, you know, we have problems, they need to be addressed.

And I love myself.

I love myself no matter what.

There's things in my life that I don't like about myself, then I have to acknowledge them and then I have to maybe set some, some long term goals and some short term goals and start working on myself because nobody's going to do the work for me.

When it boils down, you are the only one that can make yourself a better person and you have to want that and you have to be willing to do the work.

And in this society, we've gotten to a point where everyone wants instant gratification, but healing takes time.

But if you are willing to heal and you are willing to want something better for yourself, then you have to be willing to do the work.

And if you're willing to do the work, then miracles can happen.

It's a matter of taking the initiative, isn't it?

Yes, definitely.

Isn't it called pivot with purpose?

Yes.

And that was my moment, right?

That is when I made a Pivot with purpose.

I'm like, I have no plan.

I have no idea what I'm doing.

All I know is that I'm not going to spend another second looking at that guy.

That was my moment.

And from that moment, like, I quit drinking, got the help I needed.

Now, you know, 12 years later, I'm up.

We've been operating the largest equipment in the world, but, yeah, good old, good old tj.

So what's your moment?

Right?

You gotta look at it, you gotta figure it out.

Everyone has their moment.

That's true.

A lot of people avoid it, though, don't they?

They just kind of put things off and maybe they're afraid to take that first step.

Oh, yeah.

I think change is.

Most people are fearful of change.

They're fearful of change because they don't know what's gonn happen once they changed.

And they're also, you know, in order to change, we have to really face ourselves in the mirror and really, you know, and be honest with ourselves.

I always say honesty is key.

And that's one of the big principles I talk about in one of my books is, is.

Is, you know, honesty is key.

We have to be honest with, you know, who we really are.

There are, you know, I could easily make a list of things I don't like about myself, you know, but, you know, what am I going to do to change it, you know, and that's the key.

And I know I'm not perfect.

I know I have issues that need to be met, you know, But I'm honest enough to know what they are, and I'm willing enough to make the change.

Being honest with ourselves, that's something people, I think they really struggle with.

They look in the mirror and they really don't want to see what they're seeing.

And in many ways, too, I think women don't always give themselves the credit.

They, no, they see themselves as less than.

And you're empowering people to rise above and really see their inner potential.

I think in this society, like we grew up, you know, from the moment we were born, when the egg goes down the fallopian tube, you already developed 240 characteristics of your personality when, as soon as you come out, your parents are telling you what's right, what's wrong, what you should do, what you shouldn't do.

And then you go to school and the teachers are telling you what's right, what's wrong, what you shouldn't.

Then you go into the real world and then you have people who you work for and people around you telling you what they think you should and shouldn't do.

And then you either if you get married or you're in relationships and those people are telling you what you should do.

And we're based on our identities are based on titles.

And you know, people are so used to hearing the titles that you hear them long enough you believe them.

But who are you?

Who's your real identity?

Who are you as a person when you swipe away all those titles off of somebody and you say, tell me who you are.

Those people don't know who they are because they are so caught up in today's society and the titles we give each other.

And they're meaningless if we don't know who we are inside.

And I think that's one of the things.

And also to answer your question, when you talked about women, we're brought up in an environment where women feel shameful to give ourselves love and self care.

They always feel like they need to help everybody else.

But just like on an airplane, if you, you don't put the mask on, you can't help the people around you.

You know, you have to really understand that in order to help others, you have to help yourself first.

And you shouldn't feel shameful and you shouldn't feel bad to be able to say it's okay for me to take some quality or me time out to take care of myself because how are you going to take care of everybody else if you don't take care of yourself first?

That's very true.

Yep, that's right.

It's so very important.

Stay tuned for more of Women Road warriors coming up.

Dean Michael, the tax doctor here.

I have one question for you.

Do you want to stop worrying about the irs?

If the answer is yes, then look no further.

I've been around for years.

I've helped countless people across the country and my success rate speaks for its yourself.

So now you know where to find good, honest help with your tax problems.

What are you waiting for?

Welcome back to Women Road warriors with Shelly Johnson and Kathy Tucaro.

We're continuing our conversation with Stacy Chalemi, whose story is a powerful reminder that resilience can change the course of a life.

Stacy faced her first seizure at just five years of age after encephalitis led to epilepsy, an experience that could have stopped many people in their tracks.

Instead, Stacy transformed these challenges into a mission that has now reached millions of people around the world.

She's a 20 time best selling author, keynote speaker and high impact coach with more than 8 million views on YouTube and appearances on Dateline NBC and the Dr. Oz show five different times.

Today.

She also leads the Advisor series for mindset and self improvement where she teaches people how to overcome challenges, reduce stress and discover their true potential.

She's a tremendous advocate for people and empowerment.

Stacy, you inspire people to want something better for themselves and do the work that it takes to get there.

It must have taken, I mean, with all the challenges you have, I mean, I really find you amazing.

I don't think a lot of people understand the gravity of encephalitis.

I mean, there are a lot of people who simply do not survive.

The fact that you were able to survive and you were able to work through, it took many years, but you were able to work through and do all of the things you've done.

Obviously it speaks to the determination you have.

What you were born with, what's in your personality.

I would imagine you had to take a step back and look at yourself.

Am I correct?

I mean, looking at yourself and saying, okay, what do I want to do with my life?

Who am I?

Because all of these challenges, a lot of people would have just said, oh, forget it.

You know.

Yeah, it was, I gotta tell you, emotionally and physically, it was, it was, it was very, very hard.

You know, I, I, you know, still to this day, certain things still haunt me.

You know, I go back into my past and, you know, it.

I think one of the things that really I had to learn how to get over was that I knew that I had all this potential, that I could do X, Y and Z.

But having epilepsy, I wasn't able to because I had, I had, you know, I had a very bad seizure disorder and I had all different types of seizures.

And you know, and it was, it was limited.

You know, my life was limited.

And you know, sometimes you would go for a long time and you wouldn't have a seizure, and then all of a sudden you'd have a seizure.

And then all of a sudden it's like you're reminded of your condition and it's like, you know, I think one of the biggest things that I did, which I learned how to stop doing, was I compared myself to others.

And you can't compare yourself to others.

I had to learn how to love myself because I didn't love the person I was, because I emotionally and physically endured a lot of pain my entire life.

And it was caused mostly by my epilepsy, falling down on the ground, having five concussions, having a hematoma, emotionally not being able to reach the goals I wanted to reach in life.

Life, all these things had taken a toll on me and you know, I had all these dreams and aspirations and you know, my epilepsy stopped me from reaching a lot of them.

And for me it hurt a lot.

And you know, I didn't, you know, you know, even I have.

Luckily I, I had, I had one of the best doctors in the country.

I had three beautiful, healthy children.

Most people, most women with epilepsy don't even have children because they're too afraid.

I had to go through a lot of struggles and it was definitely a lot of pain emotionally and physically.

And I feel for people not even just for epilepsy, for any condition and for any illness, even people who suffer from stress and suffer from anxiety and depression and anyone going through anything in life, it's very hard to wake up in the morning and be happy when, when you can't do the things you want to do or feel the way you want to feel.

And then you see people next to you and they're doing the things you want to do and they're feeling the way you want to feel.

And it could be very, it could take a toll on someone, on their confidence, on their self esteem, on their, their quality of life.

And, and you know, that's why in so many conditions there's a high suicide level and in all conditions because, you know, people like, is it really worth it?

You know, and, and that's where you have to take a step back.

Yes, it is worth it.

Yes, I can, you know, and, you know, and, and I reached out for help and I think that was the key, is it's okay to reach out for help, it's okay to ask for support because by having the people around me, those are the people who help me get through it and those are the people who help me learn how to move forward in life.

And I think it's really important to, to, to be able to, you know, accept that we all need help in different, different points of our lives.

You know, we have a fellow co worker of mine, he's a, he's been a shovel operator.

Like these shovels are the size of ships.

And he's just a young guy, maybe, I don't know, 30, 40 or something like that.

And he started having seizures last year, just randomly.

And now they've had to pull him off all equipment and he's been working.

They traded him crews.

He was on a different crew.

Now he's been with us since May or no, maybe, I don't know, know, January, February, working in an office, and he was just getting back under control and he was getting ready to go back on equipment and he just had another seizure the other day, a really, a bad one.

And so here at work and they had, so they pulled him off site.

So I'm going to connect him with you because he's, you know, he's, he's quite devastated.

He's thinking he's.

His, his career's over and he has no idea, you know, he's feeling really lost.

And I mean everything that you've been talking about and I don't know if it's harder for guys or for, you know, he's got a family and all of a sudden, you know, he's gonna, who knows with the job because you can't operate big equipment.

And so I'm gonna connect him with you and maybe see if he can find some strength in your books and you know, send him links and stuff and, you know, we'll see.

Thank you so much just for, for, for being you and being so awesome and sharing and g. Because I know for my coworker it's, it's kind of hard to reach out sometimes.

I don't know if it's their pride or what it is.

Is it harder, do you think, for men than it is for women?

Well, I've noticed from talking to a lot of men, men were, were, were, were raised to be the caretakers.

So in their mind, a lot of the men I spoke with, you know, they had a very hard time, especially if they were married, because they, A lot of them lost their jobs or went on to disability because they couldn't perform the jobs they were doing.

I knew one gentleman, he was riding a motorcycle and he got into an accident and he flew off the motorcycle, hit his head and got epilepsy.

And for him, he couldn't drive anymore, he couldn't work anymore, he couldn't do all the things that he enjoyed.

And then all of a sudden he had a family.

He couldn't provide for them anymore.

So I think that takes a real toll on their pride, their self esteem, their every.

Everything.

And, and there's just the fact that, you know, just like when people get older, you look back at what you could do and, and now you're this age and you can't do that anymore.

And, and it's just, it gets, it gets depressing because you, you know, you're in a situation where you feel powerless sometimes because you're, you know, I talk about it and I talk about it, you know, not like it's easy, but I, I still go through my ups and downs, and I, you know, it's just by so many years of working, working on, on myself, I've gotten to this point, but it wasn't, it wasn't an easy stride.

And there are moments where it's not, you know.

You know, it's, you know, some things can trigger an emotion, and you think about things and, and a tear will roll from my eyes.

You know, I was recently, you know, I was in an accident four years ago.

It was like three seconds.

And I lost the mobility in my arms for four years.

And they were trying to figure out how to get that mobility back, back.

And here I was again.

I said to myself, I got over my epilepsy.

I'm not taking seizures.

And now I got this, this, this problem with my arms.

And they were able to figure out what was wrong.

But four years, I couldn't use my arms.

You know, I could get them past my shoulders.

And that's how I got into podcasting, believe it or not, because I, I was doing public speaking nationwide, and I couldn't do it after that.

And I had a friend who, who had a podcast, and he interviewed rock and rollers, and he wouldn't get off my case.

He's like, just do a podcast.

Let the world hear your voice.

I said, oh, I don't know.

I heard it's a lot of work.

And, and then finally he winged it off my case.

So I did it, and it was the, the best thing I could have ever done in my life.

It's become my, my, my career.

And I, I, I talk to people all the time, and, and I learn from them and I help people, and it's, it was one of the greatest things that could have happened to me, but I never thought it would, you know, I would go in this direction.

So I say to people, you know, take the positive out of every negative.

And that's how it got me through life, was you have to be positive.

Positivity is key, because without being positive, I would never have gotten this far.

So anytime anything negative happened, I said, okay, what's positive about this?

And then I would say, well, it made me stronger, it made me wiser.

It Made me this, it made me that.

But there was a couple of times when I just looked up in the sky and I said, God, if you're trying to work on my resilience, I'm there, I'm good.

I don't need any more, you know, I'm really good, I swear.

You know, and it's like, you know, but I think you have to really be positivity.

Will.

Will get you.

Get you far in life.

You have to be positive or you won't move forward.

What do you say to somebody who says, I can't find the positive?

I say that they need.

They can always find a positive.

They have to get that negativity out of them.

And I say, it's.

It's time to empty out that.

That baggage.

As you know, we.

We are sometimes so angry inside.

We have, you know, because of all the things that have happened to us that we don't want to look at the positive because it's so much easier to look at the negative.

Because with the negative, you don't have to do anything in order to.

To like, to let go of that negativeness.

I had to look, I had to say, you know, okay, you know, the only way I'm going to get through this is to focus on the good things in life.

And what are those good things?

And I made a list of all the good things in life.

I made a list of, well, I'm breathing.

I have a great family.

I have people who love me.

I have friends who care.

I had grass outside that I could feel.

I could walk, I could do this, I could do that.

And then, you know, and then I.

And then I said all these negative things, I. I erased and I let go.

I did meditation, and I put it on.

I used to visualize a diamond.

And I put all those negative things and all those negative thoughts onto that dove's wings.

And I'd make believe the dove was flying away.

And I would clear my mind and clear my thoughts.

And then I would say, those negative things are now gone.

And I would ask that I would look up to the spiritual world, and I'd say, God, give me direction.

Give me help.

Give me.

Give me.

Give me some symbols and some direction.

And I always got it.

And I always feel very safe, spiritual, and I'm a very spiritual person.

And there's always direction.

There's always signs.

We just have to look for it.

And then even sometimes, you know, you can be listening to your music, or you could be on the computer, and all of a sudden a Gush of thoughts just come through your head.

Well, there's a reason why gush of thoughts are coming through your head or there's a reason why something might bring up emotions.

You know, listen to what your, your mind, body and soul is telling you and follow.

Follow what it's telling you.

We stop listening.

I think we listen better as children, but as we go through adulthood, I think we stop listening.

That could be part of it.

You know, people can be sitting outside and they aren't even hearing all of the life that's out there.

That's funny.

You know, I got a laryngitis a while back and my mom took a, took one look at me and she says, you realize God's telling you to stop talking and start listening more, right?

Because never spoke a word until I was four years old.

Like not a single word she says, but once you started, you never shut up.

You made up.

I'm 56.

We took a road trip a couple years ago and I was still putting her to sleep by talking so much.

God is telling you to start listening.

Stop talking.

There you go.

Yeah, listening is really important.

And Stacy, you are empowering people.

You get them to listen and listen to themselves with everything you're doing.

Obviously you've got your books, you've got coaching, you've got your podcast, the Advisor with Stacy Chalemmy.

What's your podcast about?

If you want to kind of introduce that to our listeners, if they haven't heard it.

So my podcast, the Advisor with Stacy Chalemmy, is about self improvement.

So I come to, when I was doing my podcast, I realized that your mental.

If you don't have, have good mental health, then that affects your, your physical health.

And 100% of illnesses are caused by stress alone.

If your mental health and your physical health aren't good, then that affects your spirituality.

If your spirituality is affected and all the other two components are affected, then that's going to affect the way you are at work.

Your clarity, your focus is going to be off.

And then if those things are off, then you bring all that home to your family and they get affected by your, your behaviors.

So in order to, in order to live a healthy and productive life, I think of it as an alignment that if one component out of those, those pillars I just mentioned are out of, out of alignment, then you're not going to be able to function to your full capacity and live life till your full potential.

So we have people from all walks of life, we have people from that come on the show that are Experts in mental health, physical health, spirituality, people who are entrepreneurs or own businesses or have corporations, and they come on and they talk about different tools and techniques to make life easier to help you.

And so it's from all different segments of life, because in our life, you have to realize that to find.

To find balance, we need to be balanced in all areas of our life.

So that's what the podcast is about.

Learn how to balance your life in all areas.

Very powerful.

And you do coaching as well.

Can people work with you actually virtually or.

Yes.

So if people want to get in touch with me, they can contact me@stacychillemi.com and they can contact me there.

And, you know, I'm always willing to help people.

I do lifestyle coaching, I do podcast coaching, I do accountability coaching.

And I try to help people, you know, really see their.

Their full potential and in different areas.

And for people who.

Who want to learn how to podcast, there are so many people out there.

Everybody has a great message, and there are so many people out there that want to get their message and be heard.

And so I try to help people.

We actually do it on our podcast.

We have a program where we do.

We help people actually produce.

We produce.

We create, produce and promote their podcasts, and we get them started so they could have podcasts and they can get their message heard and they can change people's lives.

And I work with people and I help people in that area, and I also help people who want to write a book.

There are so many people out there that have great stories, but they don't know where to begin.

Begin.

And I try to help them also, you know, and show them how they.

They can begin and how, you know, and kind of give them the format so they can get on their way and share their message on paper.

Because after what I experienced with my book and how I. I saved somebody's life just because they picked that book up, I want other people out in the world to be able to.

If they have a message and they feel it's important to be able to get that message out.

You know, there's so many people out there that have.

That have such wisdom that needs to be heard.

Everybody has to realize that they have something beautiful about them and that should be shared with the world.

Amen.

So you're the starting point for people's empowerment.

You really are.

You're giving people a starting point.

Because I think that's a lot of it.

People need to find out, where do I start?

Because I think we all have this burning Desire, somewhere a lot of us haven't let it flicker out, might have forgotten about it, but you're bringing it back.

You're giving the oxygen to that flame, which is so awesome.

Stacy, what would you say?

Is there one word that you live by every day?

Gratitude?

Actually, a couple words.

Gratitude, love, and appreciation.

I love it.

Those are powerful words that I don't think a lot of people pay attention to.

I think.

I think those are really powerful words.

I think if people.

I think in order to live a healthy, happy, and productive life, I think we have to focus on those words.

Words.

Because those words is what living is all about.

Very true.

You can't lose sight of what life's all about.

And those words really describe life.

So where do people reach you, Stacy?

So they can go on stacychillemi.com they're welcome to call me.

I always get calls from people who need help or want to be on the show or really want to, you know, get direction or advice, and, you know, they can reach me there.

And my website, staceychalemi.com is probably a great place, and they could leave a message.

And I also have the advisorsc for Instagram, and we have a lot of our podcasts on YouTube and we're on all the social networks, so you can find us everywhere.

You're empowering people and you're.

You know, I think a lot of times when people have obstacles, when they have disabilities and everything else, they feel very much alone.

You're making them not feel alone.

You're making them realize the world is a big fraternity of people.

There are people out there, and you're giving them a reason to continue and to really, really try to be the best they can be.

And that's all we can do, is just try.

You know, everyone has their own version of what we want to be and what we're capable of doing.

And it's not what others want, it's what you want.

And we all have the ability to reach any of the goals and dreams we have.

You know, I like how Disney sometimes says, you know, any dream can become a reality.

And it's true.

How bad do you want that dream to become your reality?

And we could all do it, you know, whether we.

And we all need help, you know, and that's the key also, is that we can't do it by ourselves.

We all have.

Have to have help.

And with help and with love, gratitude, we can become anything.

Awesome.

Your website again, Stacy.

It's Stacy S-T A C E Y Chlemy C-H-I L L E M I.com

this has been absolutely fabulous.

I'm so happy that we had this time to talk.

You're phenomenal.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

This has been terrific.

Thank you for being on the show.

Oh, thank you so much for having me.

This has been an amazing discussion and I really enjoyed my time with both of you.

You guys are amazing.

Thank you, Stacy.

Vice versa.

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