From Epilepsy to Empowerment: The Stacey Chillemi Story

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“We're in a award-winning show dedicated to empowering women in every profession.”

Through inspiring stories and expert insights. No topics of 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 has turned adversity into advocacy, illness into empowerment, and pain into purpose. From facing the challenges of epilepsy after Encephalitis is a child, to speaking before Congress. She's dedicated her life to helping others unlock healing, mindset, and leadership.

Stacey Chilemi 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. Osho, featured in Psychology Today and Business Insider, and collaborating with leaders like Ariana 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 Stacey's story isn't about fame.

It's about resilience. We're honored to have Stacey on the show with us to share her powerful insight. Welcome Stacey. Thank you so much for being with us. Thank you so much. It's the 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 Stacey.

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 epilepsy 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 girl in sound in my bedroom. She went into check on me and she saw me in a grandma seizure. I was turning blue. My parents had rushed me to the hospital, and they found that I had encephalitis that had traveled to my brain.

I was induced into a coma and they said that probably if she comes out of their coma, she would probably be a powerpolicic or she'll have severe brain damage. My father, who was religious and from Greece, 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 tear drops come down its eyes. And he told me that he was praying by my bedside, and he was in a video in the statue.

“And he looked up after he prayed, he said,”

and a tear drop roll 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 paraply sick. I didn't have severe brain damage, but I did have epilepsy. And they still this day, they don't know exactly where the epilepsy is in my brain. But they probably, it's probably throughout my brain. They said, the encephalitis probably traveled throughout my brain,

and caused different scar tissue, which they can't find. Anyway, to get back to the story. After that, I struggled at life was like a roller coaster ride. 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 a girls think about as 1920 year old. And when I was in college from the stress and the late night study, and I had non-stop 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 were written by doctors and medical terminology.

And if you weren't a doctor, you basically didn't 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, "How do you cope with epilepsy?" And to my surprise, I got three to four heart letters from Illinois, 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.

And I took a lot of their information,

and what I did was, is that I create 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 line life 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 no one was there. They just stepped over me, and he laughed, and... Well, I'm very good in this. Wow. And so I was... I would release 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 and my brain from the rest of the entire life. And so after that, I started my own regimen business, and I met a lot of people. A lot of very successful people, like the owner of Grammarly, and lots of others,

who were just starting out and creating their softwares, and I was doing a lot of the right and research for a lot of these people. And then one day I met an herbalist, and he would need a lot of right and a 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 detoxin, and using certain herbs and supplements, and changing my life and the way I thought, the way I slept, incorporating 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 started to really get into the realm of natural healing,

and I realized, "Well, if it helped me, it could probably help anybody with any condition." And so then I really focused on dedicated 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. And we shouldn't let others tell us that we can't, and we shouldn't have things in our life

that pull us back. There was many times I fell to the ground. I felt like every time I moved to steps forward, I got knocked back three, and stopped me.

I just got back up and I kept fighting until I reached the point of life where I could look in the mirror, and I was happy with the person I saw. Bravo! You have the drive of so many people,

and want a wonderful message that you have, and I love the fact that you are instrumental in the American Disability 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 are 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 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 or Not Alone. And that book one day, I got an email, and I opened the email up, and I said, I just want to say thank you.

I found your book in Barnes & Noble's, and I just want to let you know as on the verge of suicide, and you saved my life. Thank you. And it was then, that was really,

that was the eye opener.

That was when I really realized how powerful the words of wisdom can be,

and how we can change 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.

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 all could, we could all be benefit to each other.

If we just use the right words at the right times, at the right point of our lives, wouldn't 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.

Dear 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? If you owe more than $10,000 the IRS, or have it filed in years, call me now at 888-557-4020 or go to mytaxlpmd.com for a free consultation and get your life back.

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that Kathy Tacaro. If you're enjoying this informative episode of Women Road Warriors,

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We're continuing our conversation with the incredible

Stacy Chilemi. Before the break we were talking about Stacy's remarkable journey. How a diagnosis of encephalitis is a child led to epilepsy. At her first seizure it 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 Doctor 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. It's in reference to that. I got a phone call yesterday or a 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 of 14 feet tall. It's crazy what I would I do. Anyway, so this woman.

She, she was our personal trainer a couple of years ago. And then the high-bossed program, so I kind of was helping her get takes steps into how she could become a hall 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 hall truck operator. And it's just, it's all thanks to you.

And she says, I'm 52. 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 said, if I could just hug you, I would.

[laughter] And 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, and I'm just not doing enough out there. Like, I'm not inspiring anybody. I mean, what am I doing? And then she calls.

And I'm like, oh, thank you, YouTubers. [laughter] That's pretty awesome. That is awesome. With everything we do, we don't realize that 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 Stacey, what I do, what I've done to keep me focused, I've received letters from people all over the world.

A gift 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, Altal screenshot, something what they say 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 going to stop now. [laughter] 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 just a button beyond and kudos to you.

Oh, my God. Oh, Stacey, you're amazing. What keeps you going, Stacey?

“I think the fact that it keeps me going is that when I wake up in the morning,”

I feel so excited to do 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 it impact you're having

on other people's life when you are humble. And what I get is when people, like you were just saying cafe, when people, you know, call me or 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? Like, you just like, you don't really realize the impacts that you make. Or someone reads my book or someone saw me and said,

wow, you know, you're making such a difference. It's like, you know, I think the words, when I hear the positive feedback from others, because that's all I wanted to do because when I was, when I was going through the roughest times in my life,

people just came out of the woodwork 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 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 live in, 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 lion others was very difficult for me as an independent woman. And, you know, so when I, 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, you know, and I kept working and working and working and working to try to, to try to be better and better and better and better and better and reach more people because I would, I would just wanted to make a difference.

I wanted to help others. I was, I was just so motivated to try to help others like others have helped me. And, you know, 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 were people that had 90 to 300 seizures a day.

When I saw those people, I, I stopped pity in 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 when, when I, as I got older, you know, I, I started to realize that, you know, I'm glad that I have epilepsy. Because I would have went on a totally different track in my life. I was heading on a totally different pathway.

And, and my epilepsy took me on a totally different journey. It made me realize, you know, that there was more to life than materialistic things. That life is more than a nice car and a big home.

The person we are, the person, the, the, the, the, the, you know, what we can do for others, you know, it's not about what we can get. It's about what can we do for somebody else to be enjoying Stonel's life.

Amen to that.

“And I think today, especially, we're kind of caught up”

in the meany, meany, meany, meany. And we've lost sight of some of that. So it's, it's wonderful that you're out there reminding people, this is why we're here on this earth people.

You're message is so powerful. [music playing] Stay tuned for more of working road warriors. Come on up. [music playing]

Dear 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? If you open more than $10,000 the IRS or haven't filed in years, call me now at 888-557-4020 or go to my taxilbmd.com for a free consultation

and get your life back. [music playing] Where here with Stacy Chilemi and what an inspiring conversation this has been. Stacy's life changed dramatically

when she experienced her first seizure at just five years of age after being diagnosed with cancer and shaped much of her early life. She did not, but that stopped 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 she was instrumental in getting the American Disabilities Act passed by Congress. You probably see her on date line 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 with 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 it's 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 addressed, then we can go to step two. 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 to learn how to actually move forward and accept it.

There is no such thing as perfect. People have this persona. I think the worst 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 has happened for a reason. And if we were 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 long-term goals and some short-term goals and start working on myself. Because nobody is going to do the work for me.

You know, 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 could happen.

Yes, definitely. It's been a cold pivot with purpose. Yes. I was standing. I was drunk and homeless with the back in 2011.

And I'm standing beside this guiding toothless joe. And that was my moment. Right? That is when I made a pivot with purpose. 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 a bad guy. That was my moment. And from that moment on, like, I quit drinking.

Got the help I needed to, you know, 12 years later, I'm operating the largest equipment in the world. But yeah, good old, little TJ.

The what's your moment? Right? You got to look at it. You got to 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 going to happen once they changed. And they're also, you know, in order to change, we have to really face ourself in the mirror. And really, you know,

and be honest with yourself,

I always say honesty is key.

And that's one of the big principles I talk about. And one of my books is is, you know, honesty is key. We have to be honest with, you know, who we really are.

There I, 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 them? 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 at 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 know. They see themselves as less than.

And you're empowering people to rise above and really see their interpotential. I think in this society, like we grew up, you know, from the moment we were born,

when you when when the egg, it goes down the philopean tube, you already developed 240 characteristics of your personality. When it seems 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 it teaches a telling you what's right,

what's wrong, what you shouldn't do. And then you go into the real world. And then you, you have people who you work for,

and people around you, telling you what they think you shouldn't shouldn't do. And then you, you either,

if you get married or your relationships,

“and those people will tell you what you should do.”

And we're based on our identities, our based on titles. And, you know, people are so used to hearing the titles that you hear them along enough,

you believe them. But who are you? Who are 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 brought up, you know, some, an environment where women feel shameful to give ourselves love and self care.

They always feel like they need to,

you know, help everybody else, but just like on airplane. If 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. It's right. It's so very important.

Stay tuned for more of women road warriors coming up. Dear 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? If you owe more than $10,000 the IRS, or have it filed in years,

call me now at 888-557-4020, or go to MyTaxELPMD.com for a free consultation, and get your life back. Welcome back to Women Road Warriors with the Shelley Johnson,

that Kathy Tecaro. We're continuing our conversation with Stacey Chilemi,

whose story is a powerful reminder

that resilience can change the course of a life.

after in Sepulitis led to epilepsy,

“and experienced the could have stopped many people in their tracks.”

Instead, Stacey 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. Stacey, 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 in Sepulitis.

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 got to tell you, emotionally and physically, it was very, very hard.

You know, I, you know, still, this day certain things still haunt me. You know, I go back into my past and, you know, 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 have an epilepsy, I wasn't able to, because I had, you know, I had a very bad series disorder and I had all the different types of seizures. 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, 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 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,

I was because I, I emotionally and physically endured a lot of pain in my entire life. And it was caused mostly by my epilepsy, you know, falling down the ground. You haven't five concussions,

haven't a hematoma, you know, emotionally, you know, not being able to reach the goals I wanted to reach in life. All these things that take in a toll on me. And, you know, I had all these dreams and aspirations

and all, 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, even I have luckily, I had, I had one of the best doctors in the country.

I had three beautiful healthy children. Most people, most wound with epilepsy don't even have children, because they're too afraid. I, I had to go through a lot of struggles

and, you know, I, it was a, it was a definitely a lot of pain emotionally and physically. And I, I really, I feel for people, you know, not just for epilepsy for any condition and for any, any illness, even,

even people who suffer from stress and suffer from anxiety and depression. And anyone going through anything in life, you know, it's, 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, and they're doing the things you want to do, or feel in the way you want to feel. And it could, it could take a toll on someone on their confidence on their self-esteem,

on their, their quality of life.

“And, you know, that's why in so many conditions,”

there's a high suicide level in, in all conditions, because, you know, people are 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. 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 helped me get through it. And those are the people who helped me learn how to move forward in life. And I think it's really important to, to be able to, you know, accept that we all need help

in different points of our lives. You know, we have a, a fellow coworker, he's a, he's been a shovel operator, like, these shovels are the size of ships. And he's just the young guy.

Maybe, I don't know, 34 years, something like that.

And now they've had to pull him off all equipment.

And he's been working. He traded him cruise. He was on a different crew.

“And now he's been with us since May or no,”

maybe, I don't 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 them off site. So I'm going to connect him with you.

Because he's, you know, he's quite devastated.

He's thinking he's his career's over. And he's no idea. You know, he's feeling really lost. And I mean, everything that you've been talking about. 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 going to, who knows with the job. Because you can't operate big equipment. And so I'm going to connect him with you. And maybe see if he can find some strength in your books.

And, you know, send them links and stuff. And, you know, we'll see. Thank you so much just for for being you and being so awesome and sharing. And giving hope to other people. Because I know for my coworker, it's, it's kind of hard to reach out sometimes.

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

“Is it harder do you think for men that it is for women?”

Well, I've noticed from talking to a lot of men. Men 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 disability because they, they couldn't, they couldn't perform the jobs they were doing.

I knew one gentleman, he was riding a motorcycle and he got to an accident. He flew off the motorcycle, hit his head and got up a lapse. And for him, he couldn't drive anymore. He couldn't work anymore. He couldn't do all the things that he, he enjoyed.

And, and then all of a sudden, you know, he had a family. He couldn't provide for them anymore. You know, so that, that, I think that takes a real toll on their pride. They're, they're, they're self esteem, they're everything. And, and they're 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 aid 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, I talk about it and I talk about it. You know, um, 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 at work and 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, it's, you know, something's can trigger on emotion. And you think about things and, and a terrible role for 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 of my arms for four years. And they were trying to figure out how to get that mobility back. And here I was, again, I said to myself, I got over my upper lepsi, 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, they get them past my shoulders. And that's how I got into podcasts and believe it or not. Because I, I was doing public speak in 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 up for my case. He's like, just do a podcast, let the world hear your voice. I said, oh, I don't know. I've heard it's a lot of work. And, and then finally, he wouldn't get 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 career and I, I, I talked to people all the time and, and I learned from them. And I helped people and it's like, it was one of the greatest things that could have happened to me.

But I never thought it would, you know, it would, I would go in this direction.

So I, 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.”

Positiveity 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, it made me wiser. It made me this. It made me that. But there was a couple of times when I just lift 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 anymore. You know, I'm really, I swear, you know, and it's like, you know, but I think you have to really be positivity. We'll, we'll get you, get you far in life. You have to be positive or you won't move forward. What do you say to say about a 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. 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.

you don't have to do anything in order to, 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 erased.

And I let go. I did meditation and I put it on. I used to visualize a dove. And I put all those negative things and all those negative thoughts onto that dove's wings. And I'd make me 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 this spiritual world. And I say, God, give me direction, give me help, give me give me some symbols and some direction.

And I always got it. And I always feel very spiritual and I'm a very spiritual person.

And there, there's always, 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 can be on the computer. And all this kind of 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 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. This funny, you know, I got a laryngeitis a while back. And my mom took a one look at me and she says,

"You realize God's telling you to stop talking and start listening more." [laughter]

Hey, guys, I never spoke a word until I was four years old.

Like, not a single word. She says, "But once you started, you never shot up." [laughter] You made that word, yeah. I mean, we took a road trip a couple of 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 Chilemi. 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 Chilemi, is about self-improvement. So I come to it when I was doing my podcast. I realized that if you don't have the mental health, then that affects 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 spiritualality 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 those things are off. Then you bring all that home to your family. And they get affected by your behaviors. So in order to live a healthy and productive life,

I think of it as an alignment. That if one component out of those pillars, I just mentioned, are out of alignment. And then you're not going to be able to function to your full capacity and live life to 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 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 again touch with me, they can contact me at stacychlemmy.com. And they can contact me there.

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

I do live saw coaching. I do podcast coaching. I do accountability coaching. And I try to help people, you know, really see their their full potential in different areas.

And for people who who want to learn how to podcast,

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 podcast. 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 we 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.

And I try to help them also, you know, and show them how they can begin and how, you know, and kind of get them the format. So they can get on their way and share their message on paper. Because after what I experience with my book and how I say 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, you know, 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 have it 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. Stacey, 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 house. I think we have to focus on those 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, Stacey?

So they can go on StaceyChillemmy.com. They're welcome to call me. My number is 908-347-358-0.

I always get calls from people who need help or have want to be on the show.

Or really want to get direction or advice. They can reach me there. And my website, StaceyChillemmy.com, is probably a great place. And they can leave a message. And I also have the advisor on just go or see for Instagram.

And we have a lot of our podcasts on YouTube. And we do run all the social networks. So you can find us everywhere.

“You're empowering people. And 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. They're 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 our own version of what we want to be and what we are 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,

I need dreams can become a reality. And it's true. How bad do you want that dream? You need to become your reality. And we could all do it.

Whether we and we all need help, you know, that's the key also is that we can do it by ourselves. We all have to have help and with help and with love, gratitude, we can become anything. Awesome. Your website again, Stacey. It's Stacey.

STACE, STACE, C-E-Y. T-L-M-E-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 Shure With X. Thank you for being on the show. Oh, thank you so much for having me.

This has been an amazing discussion.

And I've really enjoyed my time with both of you. You guys are amazing. Thank you, Stacey. Vice versa. We hope you've enjoyed this latest episode.

“And if you want to hear more episodes of Women Road Warriors,”

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