Transcript 0:00 [upbeat music] We're gonna help get this out. 0:11 Okay, guys, it's time to get a little energy for the night, and I gotta make sure that I'm drinking some water, so we're just gonna try and bang them both out at the same time. Today I'm going to be reviewing Hydro Rush. 0:25 Time to get up and start moving. Gotta reach out and grab my Crypto Rush from Hydro Rush. Let's go. We've gotta get this generator started, and we're gonna need the energy to do that and to go exploring. Vibes up, Sam. 0:40 Give it just a taste test. All right. That rush hit, so you're not rushing. Cheers, fam. Okay. 0:52 You guys have magnesium in here, 66 milligrams, sodium sea salt, 1,000. All right? It's pretty high. 1:01 You got some potassium, keeps you nice and invigorated, keeps your bones and your joints going good, muscles from cramping up. And then creatine. 1:10 Um, a lot of people have been telling me about creatine, you know, um, very good things from, uh, from the weight training community. Yeah, let's see how this tastes. Okay. Not bad. All right. This is Hydro Rush. 1:20 [upbeat music] All right. Happy Monday, Michelle. 1:36 I'm so excited to be here, and I am so grateful for you. Thank you so much for coming on 111. 1:42 And I'd love to just get started with your story, and I find that, uh, when I met you for the first time, we were at a networking event, actually a Christian networking event, little bit different from other networking events, and I've never heard anyone speak like you before, Michelle. 1:59 You had this authoritative tone. 2:02 You know, I pride myself in communication as well, and I pride myself with being a very confident speaker and being able to show up on camera at least, not in a front of a bunch of people. I wanna get there one day. 2:14 We can talk about that later, about public speaking. 2:17 But I feel like you've had a lot of practice, so I think the best way to start this interview or just conversat- I like to call it conversation, is just share with us a little bit about your story. 2:29 I know you're long-winded like I am in some regards but, you know, like, maybe the SparkNotes version, you know? 2:35 But just something to get us a little, uh, to, to know you a little more because that's what we're here for today, so thank you for joining us, and take it away, Michelle. Thank you. A little bit about me. 2:46 Well, I'm a military brat, military spouse. Mm. I've traveled the world. And, um, w- what you heard about me was, um, my senior year of college, I was human trafficked. Mm. I blocked that out of my mind. 3:00 And then, ooh, in 2014, I was in a car accident, got a, obtained a multiple traumatic brain injury, and didn't walk or talk for two and a half years, then had to relearn how to do all that. 3:12 And as I was relearning and moving, I found out I had breast cancer. And then with the breast cancer journey and the chemo and removing my breast and all of that, um, I ended up having 13 surgeries because of that. 3:24 Um, my insides, all my soft tissue started to meld together. And as all this is happening, I got discovered with the TEDx and started traveling the world. And 3:36 the biggest thing, and that's what made me who I am now, is I share my story of resilience- Mm... to other people who don't realize they're already doing it. 3:46 The secret about resiliency is you don't know your, you have it until someone tells you after you're on the other end. So that's really the story I share about you can do it, 'cause if I can do it, anyone can do it. 3:57 There's just little, little keys that you've gotta remember to find who you are. Resilience. Let's talk about that. Let's dig a little deeper in that. 4:05 Where did you find your resilience, and how long did it take you to get there? Well, apparently, um, I'm, I'm writing my doc- my, uh, my entire biography right now. Wow. 4:14 Apparently my resilience started when I was, like, five years old, but I didn't- Okay... know it. Oh. I called it living every day. Awareness, okay. Yeah. And, and so really every day that you get up- Mm-hmm... 4:26 and you decide, "I'm gonna put my feet on the ground," congratulations, you're resilient. 4:31 And so that's what I, I love to share with people, is they don't realize, they think resiliency is something big and grand, and it's not. It's showing up, getting up, and not giving up. Mm. Not giving up. 4:49 That's just waking up in the morning and embracing life, and it's not that hard. But I find, like, a lot of people struggle with this. Why is that? Th- they do because it's easier to succumb and say, "Oh, woe is me. 5:02 Life is hard." And what they don't realize is by just saying, "Woe is me. Life is hard," it's a form of resilience- Mm... 5:10 'cause you recognize that there's an obstacle in front of you, and you are doing some sort of observation of, can I make it over that hill or not? 5:19 The resilience part of, the bigger resilience part of it is going over, around, or through that obstacle. And that's where I come in, helping people see that there's another way. Ah. Yeah, that's amazing. 5:35 Um, well, we all know life is hard. Life is meant to be hard, right? But the thing is, it's okay to do hard things. Yeah. 5:43 So why is it that some people find it really difficult to do these hard things when if you just keep showing up and you keep doing them, eventually these hard things become easier things because with consistency, discipline, right, showing up, repetition, you're be a- you're able to create 6:00 a skill, some type of meaning, some type of worth, uh, self-confidence, if you will- And it's that self-confidence that will propel you to do even a m- more amazing things for others in the future. 6:14 The reason why people don't, it's a, it's a commitment. It's a choice. Yeah. It's a choice to, to do something consistently and intentionally, and those are big, scary words. I will intentionally, consistently do X. 6:30 Wow, half people, uh... Just think of New Year's resolutions. I'm gonna do this- Sure... and in 30 days it's done, right? [laughs] That's where that, that's where that lack is. That's where that- Yeah... 6:40 fear of I can't do this, I'm just so tired. That's the whole point. Get up, keep moving. Just think, I, I always talk about the toddler mindset, is- Mm... 6:52 if we are all born, right, little helpless babies, we flip onto our bellies one day and start pulling ourselves, and then one day we start pulling up on things and trying to walk on two legs like we saw the grown-ups doing. 7:04 Do we do it right the first time? No. We fall, we pull things down, we stumble. I- I- we're bonking our heads all the time, but we are built as humans to struggle, 7:18 do whatever, fall, and do it again until we get it right. And somewhere in our teenage years we do, "Oh, so and so didn't do it, so maybe I can't." [laughs] That's not how we're built. [laughs] We... Watch a toddler. 7:33 Toddlers aren't given books, toddlers aren't being- Mm... taught anything, they're just observing and doing. Well, if they can do it, I can do it. Heck, I'm gonna do it anyways. Mm-hmm. Right? 7:43 And that's the set- mindset we all need. A toddler mindset means I will find my way, I don't need to find someone else who's already doing it. I've always heard- That is the magic. That's amazing. 7:55 Yeah, I love that's the magic because I've noticed through experience you actually do get to do the things you wanna do in life and not just think about them, but actually the act of. 8:06 So, and I've always heard experience is the best lesson- It is... to be learned, and so it's through that experience. But why do you think people are so scared of embracing experience nowadays? Not just nowadays, always. 8:18 Always. Sh- because people like consistency. They like regular. They like, um, uh, they wanna stay in the box. It's a comfort zone, to stay in that comfort zone bo- box. Mm-hmm. 8:32 And to do something, veer outside of what everyone else is doing or what you're so used to doing, it's like, gosh, but what if I fall and look stupid? Someone's gonna pull out their cell phone and record me. 8:42 Oh, what if I do this, someone's gonna... I- I- we're in a social med- media world. You can't make a mistake without someone filming it, talking about it, putting it on social media. Your life is a movie- Mm... 8:56 on somebody's playlist, right? And so that's why I think people are, are afraid. It's like, if I do something, it's not just me and my best friend, it's me and the world, and that puts fear in people's minds. 9:09 And this whole secret about life, I'm 58 years old, okay? So I can say this- You look, you look so good. By the way- Thank you... sorry, continue. [laughs] It, it, it's the curly hair. But that's the whole- Mm... 9:18 thing about life is go do it. I, I... You know, Yoda says, "There is no try." Mm-hmm. And I found at my 58 years- Mm... there is no try. Right. Either you go out and do it and fall on your face and adjust, 9:36 or you don't. Mm-hmm. There's no try. So I, I, I don't use that word try because I don't think it exists. If you're trying, that means you're doing. Go do it. If you don't like it, stop. If you like it, keep going. 9:48 Yeah, I've removed trying from my academy too, because it, it was almost like a humblebrag thing that I would have, you know, with friends or colleagues and whatnot, and they're like, "Oh, you're doing," I'm like, "Well, I'm trying my best." 10:00 Right? I'm like, there shouldn't be a try in this. Like, yeah, I'm doing the best I can or it's to the best of my ability. 10:07 Um, I'm just doing the thing I always do because I'm consistent at doing this thing and I've become pretty proficient at it because I'm consistently showing up, right? So it's like- Exactly... 10:15 it's not that hard, you know? And I wanna go back to this consistency piece because I feel like we can be consistent with our sedentary ways or we can be consistent at doing hard things. You can make that choice. 10:30 Well, and my thought is... Okay, I, I don't know if you know this part about me- Right... but I used to be 389 pounds. If you look up my website- Mm-hmm... my TED Talk, I think I'm 300... I dropped weight already. 10:41 I think I'm like 320 in my TED Talk. And so- Mm-hmm... my thought was it's hard to stay unhealthy. Mm. It's difficult, okay? 10:51 Because you hurt and you're miserable and you're tired and you can't do everything that you wanna do, and it's also hard to take care of yourself, 'cause then you have to watch what you're eating, you have to be aware of how many calories you actually took in versus how many you spent and you're actually burning off. 11:06 It's hard either way. Choose your hard. Mm-hmm. And that's what people don't realize. Choose your hard. Be the best you, however that may be. I love that, choosing your hard. Yeah. 11:23 Um, people don't realize that it does get harder the easier life they try to grasp or they try to attain, but it's really not that easy because it's like you can't have ice cream every, you know, every Saturdays, you know? 11:35 We can't envision every day to be a Saturday with ice cream in the morning. You can if you have a tablespoon. Well- Portion control. Yes and no. 11:45 Um, but it, it was, uh, that's actually a quote from, I think, Matthew McConaughey or whatever, one of his famous quotes of like, you know, trying, doing hard things realistically, and even, um, I'm just thinking of James Clear of Atomic Habits where he says to change a good habit, right, like it takes time, but- It takes-... 12:03 baby steps, right? Yeah,.0001% better every day. It, it, it, the thing is with my... What I did when I was-... changing my habits. Mm-hmm. I did one thing new every day. Mm. One change new every day. 12:19 And so on my mirror I had a dry erase marker. Right. And the fir- when I said, "I'm gonna do this," I took, I'm looking at myself in the mirror, I'm like, "I'm gonna take sugar out of my coffee." 12:29 So I wrote sugar, no sugar. Yeah. And then the next day I went, "No creamer." And then I went, "Coffee's yucky without creamer and sugar. Move to tea." I mean- [laughs]... 12:38 I just kept adding what I was going to take away, and then added what I was going to replace it with, and one tiny thing every day. And if it didn't work, I would erase it and put a new habit that I was gonna fix in. 12:52 And what's beautiful about that is I was adding things up and not, and removing things, and I didn't even realize that it was working. Hmm. And the next thing I knew, my husband's like, "You better buy new clothes." 13:05 And I said, "Why?" He goes, "You don't fit that dress anymore." If you look at my TEDx picture, I'm- Mm... a very large woman. Yeah. And then I wasn't buying new clothes because I'm still the same. Okay. 13:16 Your mind plays games with you, okay? I see in the mirror the same woman that was in the TED Talk. Mm. And so I'm still in my mind at least 300 pounds. 13:25 And so he made me buy new clothes so I would see physically that that is not m- my body anymore. My mini habit change every day had worked, but my mind didn't see it. My body did. Right. 13:39 And you know camera lenses, they put 20 pounds on top. No, I'm just [laughs]... They do. I'm on stage all the time. Yeah. Well, no, yeah, that, that's just... Yeah, I used to be a photographer. 13:50 Well, I guess I am in some ways. But it's like it's still, it, it's... A- and even phones, iPhones, the way the camera looks at you too- Mm-hmm... it's very elongate. 14:02 It's different than when someone sees you face-to-face. I know. I just don't think about it. So that's interesting. I'll just show up as me, because if you think- Mm... 14:10 about all the different angles and how other people view you in different things- Mm-hmm... you'll go crazy. And, um, I learned that the hard way when I saw myself on the TEDx, and then I started seeing myself- Mm... 14:21 on stages and people videoing me. I'm like, "Is that me in that? Oh, oh, no one ever take a picture from my side again." You know- Uh-huh... that kind of thing. Yeah. You, you get very self-conscious. Mm-hmm. 14:32 And for someone who's as confident as I am- Right... and still gets self-conscious, it's like, you know what? You gotta let that go. Yeah. Go be the best you, however you show up. Exactly, exactly. 14:44 And I don't know if you knew this too, but your eye- Mm-hmm... it's about the focal length of a 50 millimeter lens. No. So what an eye... Yeah, what you can see is about the distance focal length of a 50 mil. 14:57 So if you know anything about different lenses, meters, ranges, it's about a 50 mil. So between a 35 mil and a 50 mil is kind of that sweet spot. Yeah, it's interesting. Wow. Yeah, it's cool. Mm-hmm. It's super cool. 15:08 Anyway, I wanna move on because you did touch about your weight earlier, and I remember from your talk you did say something about this. I wanna come back to it because I don't think you were always overweight. 15:19 I think it's because of the surgeries you had, right? 30 plus surgeries, that you were in bed. You were stuck in bed, so you didn't have a choice but to- Yeah... literally just lay there and do nothing. 15:28 It was my brain injury. I have a traumatic brain injury, frontal lobe over my left ear, the back of my head, two hemispheres disconnected. And so I became a, a wa- I was awake- Mm-hmm... but I was a vegetable. 15:39 You were a vegetable. I couldn't do anything. And so my- This is before the breast cancer? Yeah. Wow. So for two and a half years- And how did you, how did you get this?... I did not move. How did you get it? The tumor? 15:48 I was in a car accident. Oh. It wasn't a tumor then. It was a car accident. Okay. It was a car accident. My bad. And can you, you mind sharing that story? Oh, yeah. 15:58 I was, uh, off to pick off my, pick up my kids from the, the second to the da- last day of school. Yeah. 16:03 And a little girl was, uh, skipping the last day, and she tore out of the parking lot and I was there, and she hit me. Engine block came into the car with me. Uh, oil all over the place. It was a mess. 16:14 But, uh, I thought I was perfectly fine. All the airbags hit. Right. Now, I am 5'0", and my car seatbelt hit me here. Okay. And so I used to always push it down. Right. 16:26 Well, when I got hit, my seatbelt went over my head. Wow. I hit the airbag at full speed, and then it hit me into the glass of my, my car door. 16:36 And then when the engine block came in, it sprained my ankles and I got tossed through the car basically. And, um- Wow. 16:44 So I'm a big believer when you have a car, that little thing that makes the seatbelt slide down, you slide it down so it hits you here. Yeah. Yeah. 'Cause that, big, big, big difference. 16:54 But, uh- You think that could have saved you? Well, actually the seatbelt did, I mean, that airbag saved me. Mm-hmm. But I think because of my size and hitting that airbag full force, that's what joggled my brain. 17:07 Basically, our brains are jello inside of a bowl. Right. And when you get hit that hard, it ch- ch- Rattles... shakes your brain, it rattles your brain. Right. And that's what happened. And, uh- Wow... 17:19 it bruised my brain, and I started, my brain started bleeding in different spots. They didn't realize it because I came out of that acci- accident going, "Oh, I'm fine. Everything's good." 17:29 And then 12 days later I started talking gibberish. So I had a brain bleed, and, um, the result of that, I lost those three parts of my brain. 17:37 And then it took me two and a half years to rebuild the synopsis to get it all back together again. Wow. So are you still missing a piece of your brain, or is it fully grown back? Or- No, they're, they're dead. 17:49 They're dead. Uh, they're dead, but they've rewired. Neural feedback. Um, I do neural feedback. I do something called LifeWave X39 patches. 17:58 Yeah, I, I'm up and about because I do neural feedback and light therapy basically. Can you explain what those are exactly? 18:08 Uh, neural feedback is, uh, they put electrodes on your head and they send sound waves through your brain. Okay. And it basically, it- The sound waves your-- Our bodies are all frequencies. We are frequency. Mm-hmm. 18:21 So it send frequencies through your brain, and what it does is it opens pathways in your brain so your brain will find another way to connect. So when I do math in my head- Hmm... 18:31 it, it doesn't light up one, on the math side, it actually lights up on the, the other side, the imagination side. So my brain rewired, but rewired, it flipped. 18:42 Works for me 'cause you've met me, you'd never know I have a brain injury. No. And then, uh, with my LifeWave X39 patches, uh, I've been using those for I wanna say 12 years, but I know when I started wearing them, I, 18:59 I could do things again, and I didn't pass out at 2:00. Um, that was my problem. I could be really aware in the morning. You don't know how much your brain works just by looking. It remembers everything. 19:10 It sees everything. Every light, every fixture, every bug. I mean, everything. Mm-hmm. And so when your brain, like mine, doesn't know how to turn off, it just keeps calculating everything. 19:20 Around 2:00, I would be overloaded, and my brain would turn off. I found the LifeWave patches through one of my neurofeedback docs, and it keeps me upright because it uses 19:34 phototherapy, the light that comes naturally off of our body. Mm-hmm. It activates the patch, and the patch turns on our, um, stem cells, our natural stem cells in our own bodies. Mm-hmm. 19:47 And so you put it on your spine, and the light from your body activates, and then your body pulls to the stem cells and says, "What's wrong with me today?" 19:57 And it will send the little feedback, the little, the little neutrony things to go fix whatever it is. So I'm... You've seen me, I'm kind of hyper, um, very energetic, uh- Kind of? [laughs] Understatement. 20:11 Understatement. Yes. [laughs] How many, how many books have you written? Come on. 45. Oh my God. [laughs] I'm at 45 right now. And then I got surprised- Two-... with a 46th one, um- Ah. Did you now?... 20:21 two da- three days ago. Yeah. Uh, I got interviewed by a man- Hmm... about three months ago, and I forgot- Oh... he interviewed me. That's so funny. He did my, like a mini biography of me. How did he do that? 20:36 Because he asked me about my life from childhood to now. Okay. And I was... We were just talking. He would just ask me questions, and I kept talking. Mm-hmm. 20:44 And he built a book and then sent it to me and says, "How accurate is this work?" He said, "I just want an overview of your book. It's basically a, uh, an overview of my life to give to my family for when I die." 20:57 And I'm like- Wow... they have 45 books, but, [laughs] but this is- Wow. That's funny... very condensed. That's funny. And it's an audiobook too, so yeah. Interesting. Who's narrating it? An AI. Okay. 21:10 But- So did a AI create the book as well, I assume? Like through the transcripts? I imagine. I'm, I'm assuming that's what happened- Mm-hmm... 'cause he took all my transcripts and made it all together. Right. 21:20 But, uh, I told him, "AI is not going to read my book. I want to read my book." Right. "If you have it in an audio program, it will be my voice telling my story." And so we're working on me, me doing that. 21:33 I was gonna say, you know AI can imitate your voice, right? That's what he's doing. Oh, okay. And then so it won't be you reading it, it'll be the AI- Mm-hmm... impersonating you that's reading it. Yes. Okay. 21:43 So I will read the first two chapters so AI will get my inflection, and then- Right... it will do the rest. How... W- what do you think of that? Um, I don't like it, but there's nothing I can do about it. 21:55 Uh, my voice is already out there. Uh- It, it is... fighting the inevitable is kind of silly- Right. Sure... but branding my voice- Mm-hmm... is smart. So it's like- Mm-hmm... 22:04 okay, I know someone's already taken my voice. Mm-hmm. I mean, I already... I know. I've narrated children's books, so I know I'm out there. I've narrated meditations and affirmations- Mm. Mm-hmm... 22:14 uh, audios, so I've got that kind of voice that says, "Close your eyes," and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. You do. You- I'm already out there... got a great voice. Thank you. So I'm already out there- Mm-hmm... 22:25 so there's nothing I can do to... No, I don't want anyone to use my v- No, too late. It's there. Too late. Yeah. I'm surprised you don't have your own podcast, or have you done one and- I do. You do have one? Okay. Yeah. 22:34 Okay. I have a podcast called Denim and Pearls with my sound guy. He... Denim and Pearls, Business Casual with Pearls of Wisdom from the Porch. It's every Friday at noon. And then I also- Yeah... 22:45 have, uh, a show out of the Philippines- Mm... that is right now on, um, reruns. It's called... It's, uh, Mental Shift, 22:55 where I interview people on their mental shift on how they become who they are, and it's on the New Channel. But I'm about to start a new show. I have to rebrand it, rename it, everything. 23:07 I can't bring Mental Shift from the Philippines, so I have to have a new name. Mm. Mm-hmm. I'm coming out on something called Squirrel TV that's on Amazon Fire, and I'll have my own interview show again. That's amazing. 23:19 So but more Americanized, basically. Like, you're just- Very Americanized... just bran- rebranding it for the American, like, viewers essentially. Okay. Yeah. 23:27 Well, actually, the Philippine one was just based in the Philippines, but it was- Mm-hmm... global. I mean, I had, like, 50 million watchers or something crazy like that. So why do you have to rebrand then? 23:36 Why can't you just move that show over or just keep doing that show? Because there's so many shows. I've been doing that since COVID- Oh... that if someone looks up Mental Shift, they'll go to the wrong station. 23:48 Oh, okay. Got you. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So you had to rebrand. That makes sense. So this is a great point to make, too. How is it... How does it feel doing your own show? I love doing my own show. 24:01 And when did you get started? Uh, I wanna say it was May of 2020. Okay. So during COVID. Okay. Mm-hmm. And was it just, like, a video podcast show, or, like, how did you- It was video podcast because 24:15 my production team was in the Philippines. So it started in 2020 during COVID because the Philippines... America locked down- Mm-hmm Overseas, locked down. So the Philippines- I've heard... 24:27 a lot of them live in apartment buildings. You could not leave your apartment. You couldn't go get food. They would deliver food to, like, the end of the hallway or something. 24:34 You had to take turns to come down and get food. What? Yeah, people were- Oh, man... going stir crazy- I bet... in the Philippines. Oh. And so my friend in the Philippines said, "Hey, we've gotta help people. 24:45 We need your inspiration because people are stuck- Mm-hmm... in their homes and have nothing." And so he ge- asked me to do an inspirational talk. 24:51 So I would just come on and, you know, cheer people up about whatever was going on. And then he got different people for different subjects, and we created this station together. Mm-hmm. 25:00 And then as COVID opened, we just got bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger. Mm-hmm. That's why Mental Shift, you're trying to change people's mindsets about what's going on and... Okay, that makes sense. Yeah, yeah. 25:12 Cool. Very cool. That was- And that, you know, it, it, it, it may seem painful, but hey, we all survived. All of us who survived COVID, congratulations, you're resilient. Just, just- Yeah... 25:22 the, the stress of doing what we had to do during COVID- Mm... is making it to the other side is resilient. 25:28 And so I, I like to remind everyone out there, you're, Winnie the Pooh says it, "You're braver than you, than you think you are." Mm-hmm. Okay? You're more resilient than you think you are. 25:39 Stop, look back at your life of all the things you've survived, not in victim mode, as a conqueror. I've done this, and I'm still s- I'm still standing. Right? Mm-hmm. 25:51 And that's what you've gotta give yourself a pat on the back for every once in a while. It's wow, I did that. Wow, I'm still here. 25:57 Hey, I, if you wanna go farther back, I survived the spelling bee I didn't wanna be part of. You know? Whatever it may be, give yourself kudos. Totally. I don't think we give ourself enough credit for what we do. 26:12 Exactly. We, we, we give... Well, we give permission to others- [laughs]... or for others to do that for us. I think that's called affirmations. Yes. [laughs] You gotta own it. Own you survived. Own it. I know. 26:25 But then on the other flip side of that, people would be like, "Oh, he's just, you know, he's being too prideful," or, "He's being..." 26:34 Y- y- you know, it's like there, there's that opposite effect that can happen, though. Like when- And that's their problem, not yours. Hmm. Okay? And, um, I, there's a quote that I actually lived by for the longest time. 26:45 I still kinda do. Byron Katie has a quote: There's three types of business in this world- Mm... my business, the other person's business, and God's business. 26:56 Whenever I feel rattled and shook up and dis- discombubulated, it's because I'm out of my business and trying to deal with someone else's. Let it go. Work on me. My mindset's the important part. 27:09 And so for me to be able to get up and inspire people around the world and be a UN ambassador, sing my album on stage, you know, those kind of things that I do, if I let other people's perceptions of me 27:22 fix who I am, adjust who I am, I wouldn't be Dr. Michelle Mras. And so my thought is if you perceive me in some negative way because I'm loving life in, as full as I do, that's not my problem. That's your problem, right? 27:38 Mm-hmm. They're having problems with me living big. Mm-hmm. And when I see someone living big, I do great for them. If they're not living big and they're happy, good for them. 27:48 As long as you're happy where you are, as long as you love who you are, I'm happy for you. But if you're coming and miserable and wish you had more, then I do, "Go. Go do it. Go." I, I, I feel like a, what do you... 28:05 I, I feel like someone called me a, a mommy eagle. I said, "Why am I a mommy eagle?" They said, "Because you keep pushing people out of the nest." [laughs] "Go. Fly. Don't worry- Mm-hmm... 28:16 I'll catch you if anything happens." You know? That kind of thing. Mm-hmm. Go, go be the best you. Go love life. And I mean, people say, "How do you do so much?" I've got, what, I've been on magazines. I have 45 books. 28:28 I have- Mm-hmm... music albums. I've been in five sci-fi movies. Um- Oh, wow, I didn't even know that. What sci-fi movies? Yeah. Um, Jurassic Thunder, Return of the, Return... No. The More Witches is what it's called. 28:42 It's the return of the Black Lagoon. It's a prequel. Okay. Uh, then I'm in, oh, Ghosters. They're all on IMDb. You can look it up on IMDb. Okay. But people are like, "Why are you in... Why do you do so much?" 28:55 I said, "I do so much because I don't try." You do. I do. [laughs] And if I'm terrible at it- Doesn't matter... I don't care. What's another way I can do whatever? It sounds like a fun thing to do. Uh-huh. 29:10 I find another way. And then if I'm great at it, I just keep going. Mm-hmm. And so that's how I live life. 29:17 I do a lot of things because I don't wanna leave this earth on my deathbed going, "Oh, I really wish I tried this one thing. I really wish I did this one thing." No. 29:28 When I die, I want everyone around my deathbed to do, "Dang, did you leave anything for us?" That's what I want. 29:34 [laughs] I feel like you've played this movie in your head before, though, especially when you had your surgeries. You went through that traumatic accident. You were laid up in bed for years. How many years exactly? 29:49 Two and a half. Two and a half years. Yeah. So you- I had moments of cognitive, uh, where I could get up. My husband would help me walk. Right. And, um, but then I would collapse again. 29:58 And so there are people who have seen me moving during that time, and they do, "You weren't, you weren't in a coma state." Yes, I was. You just saw the day that I stood up. Mm. 30:08 You didn't see the next two weeks that, that made me fall asleep for. Yeah. So do you feel like you're catching up, or you're trying to do the things that you were supposed to do back then now? Oh, heck no. 30:20 The old me would have never done any of the things I was, I'm doing now. The old me was a shy... I mean- Ooh... I was always outgoing, but the old me played it- Hmm... very safe. Oh, okay. 30:31 After my car accident, you know, the, the whole two and a half years contemplating life in my head, 'cause I was awake in my head. I just couldn't do anything but move my eyes. 30:39 So I was contemplating life, of all the things I didn't do, all the things I wish I did, all the things I promised myself one day I would do. 30:46 One day I'm gonna go to such and such island and lay on the beach when I drop 50 pounds. Well, I didn't drop 50 pounds before I got hit by the car. Mm-hmm. 30:56 And so I'm in my head doing all the things I didn't do because I kept putting parameters on joy. When you lose 100 pounds, then you put that dress on. 31:03 When you dro- drop 50 pounds, then you can wear that beautiful pearl necklace your husband bought you when we were in 20s. I mean, I had all these parameters that I wouldn't let myself do, and when I got hit in my... 31:15 got hit and had that two and a half years to contemplate all of the things I didn't allow myself to do, I went, "I will do it all. I will do it all, and I'm gonna do it all at 300 and something pounds." 31:26 And then I went, "You know what? If I'm gonna do it this way, and this body is now something I cherish for surviving- Mm-hmm... I'm going to take the best care of it possible." And so I do. 31:41 And so I move like lightning through the world because when I had my breast cancer and they did my first surgery to remove my breast, my, my double, my bilateral mastectomy, I was so heavy when they put me out- Mm... 31:55 I died on the table, on the operating table. And I remember dying, and I remember where I went. There you go. And it's absolutely beautiful. Mm. But I also remember I wasn't supposed to. It, it was my fault. 32:10 People don't realize I was heavy on the outside, but we have visceral fat around our organs. If you've ever cut a chicken open and they have that yellow fat inside of it- Mm-hmm... that's visceral fat. 32:21 And so what they told me was when I, when they put me out, my muscles relaxed and it cr- my fat around my organs crushed my organs when I went out. Your muscles, when you're awake, hold things in place. Mm-hmm. 32:37 They knock you out, you turn into a bowl of Jell-O. Mm-hmm. And so basically what happened is my body weight crushed my organs and I died on the table. 32:46 And, um, when I woke up, the anesthesiologist said, "You have to drop weight before your next surgery." Mm-hmm. He says, "I, we, we had to put a lot in you to knock you out, and we lost you." 33:00 And I, I said, "I know," 'cause I left my body and saw them. Wow. And so because I saw that, I knew how precious and how quickly I lost life. I didn't say goodbye to my friends or my family. I was gone. 33:19 And when I was told, "Not yet," and hit in the forehead and I landed back in my body- Mm-hmm... I promised that I won't waste a minute- Mm... on this planet. How, how long were you out for? Uh, he didn't tell me. 33:35 Oh, interesting. Yeah. He didn't tell me, but from my point of view- Yeah... it felt like I was gone for 30 minutes, and I know I wasn't. Probably a few minutes at most. Milliseconds. Or milliseconds. 33:50 Not even a minute you think? Yeah, because if I was gone- Oh... more than a minute, they would've shocked me. Right. They- But they didn't shock you... they didn't. So it was less than a minute. Okay. Yeah. 33:59 But when I left my body, I left. I looked at them. Mm-hmm. I went out to the lobby, saw my husband with his hands, his face in his hands. He's like that. Um- Oh, wow... I went up, I went up into the air and I, 34:13 I went up into space and- Really? I don't know if you've ever seen a movie called The Highlander. No, but I should. Look it up, 'cause he says- Okay... well, it's, it's a weird movie, but there... But they, they... 34:27 It's whatever. Mm. When they kill an opponent- Mm-hmm... they get electrocuted, and they do, "I am everything. I feel everything." Mm-hmm. That's what happened. When I went up into space, I was going in the stars. Right. 34:39 I could feel, and only way I can explain this, I felt the molecules in a water droplet on a blade of grass, and we were all one. Hmm. I was one with everything. We were everything. I felt everything at all at once. 34:55 It was the most beautiful, crazy... And the only way I can say is the universe in me. Mm-hmm. I am the universe. We are the universe. It was beautiful. And so I came back and got very, uh, woo, woo. 35:09 [laughs] Because when you see that kind of stuff, it's like there is no explanation for that, and I'm telling you, that is not a play in my brain because I, I know what a play in my brain is. 35:20 It's inner critics attacking you. Mm-hmm. This was bliss. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Sounds like a ayahuasca trip or something. Uh, no, the ayahuasca trip, uh, that I did was quite terrifying. So no- Oh, no... 35:33 this was not terrifying. Aw. Yeah. No, ayahuasca was well- Wasn't good for you, huh? This, this was- Wasn't... Didn't, didn't work for you... bliss. This was bliss. Okay. Okay. 35:42 'Cause I've heard different stories about people and ayahuasca, but- Everyone, everyone, everyone experiences something different with ayahuasca. Mm-hmm. Yeah. 35:48 Um, I had a really cool experience, but, uh, one of them- You wanna share?... one of them was terrifying. Oh. Oh, so you did it multiple times? I did it three times. Three t- why did it take you three times? 35:59 I heard- Three in a row... there's like a one-and-done kind of deal, but yeah. Well, because the first one, it's like- Mm-hmm... giving birth to the new you. Right. 36:05 The first one, um, the, the priestess, she's a, she was a Peruvian priestess. Mm-hmm. She says the first trip is giving birth. You're coming through the, the birth canal, so it hurts, it's scary, it's dark. Mm. 36:19 And then the next one is you're coming out of the, into the light, and so you see more. Mm. It's, it's something crazy like that. And then the last one is it, it cumulates it. 36:31 So when you do the first trip, you experience the pain of transition. The second one, you, you feel the, the pain of s- of exploration. I can't remember. I just know my first trip was so- First one, okay... 36:46 uh, the first one, I, I felt like I was melting into the mattress, that we're all sitting on mattresses. I'm melting into the mattress. I was going in- Okay. I've heard that. Mm... 36:56 and then I, and then I just started falling, free falling. Mm. Like Alice in Wonderland when Alice is falling down the hole. Yeah. I'm falling down the hole, and then I turn- Mm-hmm... 37:05 and there's playing cards falling next to me. And I looked at one of the cards and the back flipped over, and there's like a little dot in the middle. It looked like a door. Mm-hmm. 37:18 And I fell into the door of the playing card. And when I came through, I, I stood up and I'm on a stage, and there's thousands of people in front of me. Wow. So what, what's to come? That's what it was. What's to come? 37:34 And then- Mm... I, I turned and went, "Where am I?" And I turned and I saw a door on the stage, and I got sucked into that door, and I came out of a card and started falling again. It was the coolest thing ever. 37:51 Um, but that was fun. But the second one coming out of the birth canal one- Mm-hmm... holy smokes, I relived every rape from my human trafficking. Oh my God, that sounds horrible. 38:02 It was- That sounds like a horrible experience... horrible. Oh my God. Um, and but it's one of those things, like, uh, b- that second trip basically makes you see the things you don't wanna see and face them. Mm. 38:14 And basically realize what you've accomplished. And so although I had to l- relive them all, I died at the end of each one and woke up a new person. Mm. And then died, and then came up a new person. 38:28 And basically I had multiple lives happen. Mm. And I, I talked to the shaman and the priestess about that, and she goes, "That's, those are pains that you had locked so deep in your body- Mm... you weren't able to grow. 38:39 So in order for your spirit to grow, it had to allow you and let you see that each of those things are deaths, and they aren't you anymore. Each of those people that got used are not you anymore. They're gone." Okay. 38:50 Then I came a new person. I'm like, "Oh, no wonder I feel so much lighter." You know, it was- Mm. And then- And what, and then the third time? It was a good trip. The, the, the third time was kumbaya. Right. 39:02 You're, you're at balance. You're at peace. At peace, and you've met me in person. I have. Yeah. I'm a very at peace, loving light of just I'm just happy to be here. 39:13 [laughs] Yes, yes, with, uh, a little more energy than most, I would say, too, um, I found. Um, so that was, like, another big reason, big draw of trust. Like, I gotta talk to this woman more. She's- [laughs]... 39:27 very different, um, and I love your energy. She's different. I've done so much in my life. [laughs] I know. I love it. I love it. I think it's great. 39:33 I think that's the point of life is embracing it and doing, and the act of sky's the limit, like you said earlier. 39:41 So it's like doing the things that you love and just continuing on showing up for yourself, for others, and doing it in a way that just makes you happy, you know? And I, I feel there's a lot of joy in your life. 39:52 You've lived a lot of experiences. You've lived a lot of lives, you could say. So it's like those- I live in joy. Mm. Or as my publisher says, he goes, "You are the epitome..." No, what did he say? 40:03 I am the, not the epitome. Mm. "I am walking love," is what he says. "You are love." Walking love. Yeah. He says, "Joy and love, that's what you are." I love that. Yeah. I like that a lot. That's who I am. 40:14 Who doesn't like that? Come on. That's great branding. Like- [laughs] I know. It seems so pretentious, but it's real. No, it's so humbling. I am. What are you talking about? This is the real you. 40:25 I don't think it is pretentious. I think it's what you wanna think of it, right? We craft our own stories, so- Yeah... it's, uh, it's a big part of your story itself. 40:35 And I wanna go back to your first trip because was that a precursor to your TED Talk? No. No. It's showing me bigger stages. Oh, wow. So this is- So I, I saw those gigantic stages- Mm-hmm... 40:48 and then I think, I wanna say six months later, that's when I got pinned with my, um, UN ambassador. Okay. My ambassadorship. Oh, wow. So I, I, I was shown what's bigger coming. Mm. And I think that's a great segue. 41:04 Why don't you share with me a few of your public appearances, public speaking? I'm sure when you first started you were really nervous like everyone else, but, like, with your confidence and just, you know- No... 41:14 practicing. No, you're just... Okay. Okay, great. Yeah. I was not nervous about speaking because I felt compelled to share. Okay. I mean, remember, I lived through something and big. That's a lot of things, yeah. 41:26 And so I, I kind of felt I needed to share. Mm. The thing that was more, um, bothersome for me, it wasn't my voice. It was my body. Oh, that's right. 41:35 So you were still overweight and, um- I was 300 and something pounds with no boobs. Mm-hmm. So I dented in, and then my belly stuck out. Okay. And as a woman, no clothes fit me. That makes sense. 41:48 And so I felt so awkward, and I didn't want people to take pictures of me, and I'm like, "It's not- Right... about what I look like. It's about the message I have to share." Okay. And so I just kept going on. 41:57 So at the beginning, oh no, I did Moth Hour for NPR. Mm-hmm. Um, uh, I, I, I did a lot of Moth Hours. I love Moth Hours. Have you ever heard of those? I have, and I have listened to them. Um- I've done- Yes. 42:10 They're great... I was gonna say, I did like 12 of them, but, um- They stage them in different cities all around the US, right? Yes. Yes. And you can attend them. They're kinda like open mic nights essentially, right? 42:19 And you can just- But you have to, no, you have to- Or you have to make a reservation, right? You have to sign up to be in it. Okay. Because they have to make sure what kind of story you're gonna tell. Makes sense. 42:29 [laughs] Gotta be a filter system somewhere. Es- well, especially if we go, when we go live, um, when we- Mm... were going on, we were live on NPR, so whatever came out of our mouths, it had to be cleared through NPR. 42:40 Gotcha. And if you said any bad word- Bad word, ooh... they would be fined like $10,000 a word. Okay. Not like a podcast, okay. [laughs] Only you. No, nah-da-da Mm. And so my first talks, uh- Okay... 42:56 were NPR to storytelling- Mm-hmm... then I got, uh, you know, I do my TEDx, and then I, I did my TEDx- Okay... after my brain injury. Uh- Okay... and then I got interviewed by John Maxwell. 43:08 I got an award from the John Maxwell team for a Culture Award for- Wow... demonstrating a positive attitude. And John Maxwell, big leader in, um- Oh, yeah... leadership. Yep. 43:17 And he said, he, they, my peers actually recognized me, and then nominated me, and then I won. And John Maxwell said, "The biggest thing about being a leader is your attitude." So- Mm... 43:28 your attitude will change your trajectory of anything. Mm-hmm. So you could be the smartest, brightest whatever, but if you have a bad attitude, no one wants to be around you. 43:37 He goes, "And this young lady, this young lady, her attitude as she's going through breast cancer and a brain injury, you'd never know anything was ever weighing on her mind." Wow. 43:48 "Her attitude will make, will, will bring her far," and he was right. Mm-hmm. And now I, I speak at women's conferences and- Mm-hmm... leadership conferences, and I, I do mostly conference talks. Oh. 44:00 And then, um, I got connected with Princess Ogulana, and she's from, uh, Africa, and she brings me on a lot of her women's things. I first came as a speaker, and she's the one who brought me to the UN. 44:14 She's the one who said, "Michelle needs to be an ambassador s- to speak on women's issues." Mm. And then now I'm more her emcee when we go to Dubai and Qatar. Oh, okay. Dubai and Qatar. Yes. 44:26 So you travel outside the US for talks? All my talks tend to be- Outside?... out of the uni-, yeah. Interesting. I wonder why that is. I think because, I think my TED Talk got me out more outside of the United States. 44:42 Where did you do your TED Talk? Colorado Springs. Oh. S- Okay. [laughs] I know. So wouldn't that... Okay. You would think, but n- Mm... people know who I am in Colorado Springs, but- Mm-hmm. But?... I never speak here. 44:58 I never speak in Co- Okay... it's very rare I speak in Colorado. Huh. I think the, I, the first real speech I did in Colorado was for NAFA, the National Federation of Philippine American Associations. But- Yeah... 45:09 I tend to speak outside. You're never the expert in your own town. That's true. That's true. Yeah. So I'm, I'm never here. I'm always gone. 45:17 I did my TEDx in Colorado Springs, and I, one of the speakers there was, uh, she's from India. She's from Bangalore. Mm. And I think a lot of people in India were watching. 45:29 She's like a, she was like a associate professor. Mm-hmm. And, um, it just, my talk blew up over there. Mm. And I was asked to go speak at the Women's Economic Forum. It was right, right after I got my breast cut off. 45:43 I think it was, I wanna say the month, uh, the same month I got my breast cut off, I went to India. Mm-hmm. Freaked my husband out 'cause I had no, no immune system. But anyway, I went anyways. "Babe, you gotta go." 45:56 I had to go to India. Yeah. I was invited to India. Yeah. Yeah. So I went to India- Sure... and I'm walking down the hall and all these young Indian women were- Mm... 46:06 screaming and giggling and chasing, "Oh, Miss Michelle, Miss Michelle." I'm like- Hmm... "I didn't know it was me." Right. And I look back. They had watched my TED Talk. I'm like, "How, how do you know me?" Oh. 46:17 They're like, "We saw your TED Talk. Oh, you're so wonderful." And I'm like- [laughs]... "How do, did you rec..." I mean, it, it blew my mind. Yeah. Yeah. And, uh, I ended up being an, a, an associate teacher- Mm... 46:29 at Osmania University in, in India for- Mm... it's been like, I think it was four or five years, and I'm still in touch with a lot of the engineering students there. Well, they're not engineering students there anymore. 46:42 Now they're graduates and things. Sure. That's fascinating. I love that. So, um, tell me about your TED Talk experience and how did you... Did you just apply 'cause you wanted to speak, or how did that process go? 46:54 No, I was in full brain injury mode. I had just started talking again- Mm-hmm... and I got an email, and my husband's like, "Do you know what a TEDx is?" I said, "No." 47:02 [laughs] And he says, "Well, they're asking you to come audition." They saw me on- Mm... The Moth Hour. They saw me on The Moth Hour- Oh... NPR, and they sought me out and said, "We really want you to audition." Oh. 47:15 And, um, my, I, I said, "Yes." And my husband's like- [laughs]... "Michelle, you haven't spoken for two and a half years." Mm. And I said, "Yes." 47:26 And so he brought me to therapy and we worked really hard to get me to start talking, and I had a 16-second memory at the time, and I went and auditioned, and I just said whatever came out of my mouth 'cause there's no control. 47:38 I had a, I have a brain injury. Sure. And my husband recorded me, and whatever came out of my mouth, uh, they're like, "We want you." And I said, "I... For what?" 47:48 And Michael's like, "Michelle, you're, you're in, you got in. You're in the TEDx." I went- Wow... "Oh, it's a TEDx." I mean, it was, I was like 50 First Dates. I mean, that's how quick my mind worked. Sure. 48:01 And so I had to watch that video over and over again, and then he had it on audio too. Mm-hmm. 48:05 And so at night I would listen to the audio so that we would move my story that I told them from long-term, uh, from short-term memory to long-term memory so that it would stick. Mm. 'Cause I have- Mm... 48:16 a 16-second memory, had to move it. And so I did my TEDx and, um, that was incredible. Mm-hmm. I don't remember it. Okay? Okay. 48:29 You have to remember, I started talking, I think, in like June or July, and the TEDx was October. Wow. So I did my TEDx. My husband said I did the TEDx, and I got o- on the stage. 48:41 The people were, they had, I had a standing ovation. And he said, I got to the front of the stage and said, "Did I do okay?" And he said, "You did fantastic." And everyone was clapping- Oh, yeah... and standing. Yeah. 48:53 But I didn't remember what I said Yeah And so I, I had to wait till the video came out, and I had to watch the video to know what actually came out of my, my mouth. It was pretty good. You should watch it. 49:05 Yeah, I watched a little bit of it. I haven't finished it, but I do wanna watch it, and everyone should that's listening to this, go watch her TED Talk. I'm sure it is even- [laughs]... 49:13 more amazing than, you know, the real deal right now, but... [laughs] I know I've evolved since then. Yeah, yeah. Two different Michelles maybe. Yeah. Um, why don't you share with me a little bit about your books. 49:25 What is so, like, why so many books, first off? Why so many books is because- Hmm... I don't believe in writing long books. Oh. I believe in short books. And so I also believe in rising tides bring all ships up. 49:43 Hmm. So when I write books, I tend to do a lot with other people. Oh. So when I write a book, I lead it or whatever. So I have another one coming out called Hold My Crown Part Two. Ooh. Um, but I do this because 49:59 I have a lot of traction, so I speak everywhere and I go places. Mm-hmm. Well, I ask others sp- other people- Mm... who have stories who have not stepped out on their own yet- Hmm... 50:10 so that you can be in my book, and I'll bring them everywhere with me, and then people will find you. And when they say, "Michelle, do you know someone who has a story about..." I do. Open the book. 50:19 Do you wanna invite them? This is their website. Go to them. You know, that kind of thing. It's a good way f- I like opening doors for other people. 50:25 So I have lots of books because I like to be part of books with other people so I can drag them with me to the next level wherever I'm going. [laughs] Um, dragging's cool. 50:37 [laughs] Um, but what about if we just skipped together? [laughs] Actually, a lot of-- That's why they called me the mommy eagle. Hmm. 'Cause they do, "Oh, no, no, no, no." Mm-hmm. "I wrote my story. 50:47 I'm not ready to talk about it." I do, "Do you realize putting it in print is far more painful than saying it?" Mm-hmm. True. Go. I put your name in to speak at such and such conference. Go. 50:59 So they say, their analogy for me, this is not my words. Hmm. I do not say that. They say, "You just push us off the cliff and let us grow wings on the way." [laughs] I'm like- Wait, wait... that sounds so violent. 51:13 Oh my gosh. Wait, wait. Is the point of getting them to collaborate with them for a book is so you push them out to public speak to promote the book, or no? No. No? Okay. No. Okay. 51:24 But the ones who tell me they want to speak, but they're not ready yet. Uh-huh. I do, uh- Right... you told me, which means you're ready. Okay. So- So this has nothing to do with the book collaboration part? No. Okay. 51:36 But if you tell a story and, and- Mm-hmm... this is my, my belief. If there's a story in you that must come out, it's not for you. Hmm. It's for someone else who must heal from your story, 51:50 help other people, and the only way we can do it is if you speak on stage or if you get on a podcast and talk about your story and why you wrote it, or better yet, 52:00 that little sidi- uh, snippet you share in one of my collaboration books, go write your full book. Mm-hmm. Even if you only give it to your family- Mm-hmm... or to your best friends. Get it out of you so you can heal. 52:15 Telling your story is so healing. That's why I write so many stories. I write to get through so many of the other things I've gone through in my life. It's my therapy. 52:23 And then if I can bring more people to heal and them to help other people heal, I believe, and I was told this very early in my career, someone is waiting for your voice. 52:40 And if it's been putting you to share it, it's not meant for you to keep it. I will give you a platform for you to do it. Hmm. I love that. Yeah. 52:51 I think it's great to uplift others that you see are on the come up, that you see that they have so much potential and they have so many dreams and aspirations, and it's like, why doesn't the world just give them a chance? 53:04 Or, you know, why doesn't the world stage give them a chance, right? So it's like- And that's what my job is... and that's your job. So show, share with me a little bit about your job. 53:12 Share me about your day-to-day, uh, I know you're a, what is it, like, a public speaker coach, communication coach, and you also- I'm a communication sp- coach. And well, see, my belief in, in all interaction- Mm-hmm... 53:26 is your body language. Hmm. You speak before you open your mouth. 53:31 So when I train speakers or any communication, anything, I train them to understand their body, their intonation of their voice, the cadence of their voice. 53:41 And because people don't actually hear you speak until you've already clicked on two other things. Okay, they feel comfortable with your body language. Oh, they like your eye contact. 53:52 Oh, the way you hold your body was w- is with confidence. And so they, it- they make all that assessment in, like, in milliseconds before they even hear you say, "Hi, my name is." Hmm. 54:05 Body language is everything, that's for sure. It's huge. 54:09 And so I train speakers, executives, a- even if they're just in a boardroom, I teach people how to show up in a room fully as themselves, confidently as, as themselves in whatever that moment may be, so that they can be the, and show up as the best version of themselves. 54:27 And I, I always tell them, "Stop getting in your head about, 'Oh, these people are important, and I'm not...' No, they're just people. They're just further along or further behind you on the same path. 54:38 We're all on the same path. So get out of your head that anyone is better or less than you. Show up as you. And the people who see you authentically as you, who are meant to be in your world, will come to you. 54:50 They don't care what you do, they'll find you." Hmm. And you actually are a very good example of that. 54:57 We're in a room full of All these people, I'm standing there being goofy, and you locked eyes with me, and in your eyes I knew I'm gonna talk to that lady. I knew I was gonna talk to you. 55:09 You s- you said it with your eyes, "I'm going to talk to you." You said it with your eyes. I love that. You said it with your eyes, and so I knew that- Yeah, I know. I know it's true... 55:18 I needed to, I needed to make space for you. Mm-hmm. And that's what our- I appreciate that. Mm... that's what our energy does. Mm-hmm. 55:24 And so when I train people, I say communications coach, 'cause I don't really know how to say the real words. 55:30 I train people to show up fully and authentically so that they actually magnetize to them the people that really are supposed to be in their world. Mm-hmm. 55:41 And I think a lot of our problems in this day and age is we're all trying to be someone else basically- Yeah... or fit into a mold. And what you're doing is you're... I, I've seen this a lot in dating. 55:51 People are dating, and they're someone else, and I would... I'll go up to a, a someone I know and do- Mm-hmm... "Who is this?" 55:59 "Oh, well, I'm, I'm, I'm meeting someone tonight, so I'm wearing this and this and this and this." And I'm like, "You don't normally wear makeup. What? Why are you-" Mm, impressed. "Why are you wearing these clothes? 56:10 You, this isn't you." Yeah. "You're presenting not you to someone you want a relationship with." Mm. "Show up as you because they're- Mm-hmm... 56:18 gonna fall in love with this fake you, and when they really meet the real you, they're gonna do, 'Huh?' and want out. So show up as you, as the best you." Mm. "Not the best fake you, the best you." 56:31 Um, I've had people come up to me and go, "Aren't you the lady that goes online and does Lives without makeup on?" I go, "Yeah. Is there a problem with that?" They go, "No, I just can't believe you do it." 56:42 I go, "It's my face." [clears throat] It's my face. Right, right. [laughs] I'll put makeup on for photos, yeah, but I show up how I show up. If you like it, great. If you don't like it, fine. It's not my problem. 56:58 That's your problem. I show up as me. It's not our job to impress others. No. Be the best you unapologetically. Mm. And that is what I train. 57:11 And then after I help them with their body language and their confidence and getting the voices out of their head about, "Oh, people are looking at me," and all that kind of thing, then we work on the message, and that's that next level. 57:23 Then I, I do private coaching where I, basically I link all their stories together as a giant tree, and we find that core message. Mm. And then all their stories are different branches on the tree. 57:35 So no matter where they go, let's say they go and they're gonna talk about branch A, that story about when they were six years old, you know, and they're talking about that, and then they can link it to another story and come back to their core. 57:48 I, I, I've got this thing I do. Yeah, it's like this whole mind map thing going on. I love it. Yes. It's so cool. But it, but it's a vertical, vertical tree mind map. Okay. Got you. Got you. A lot more holistic. Got you. 58:01 Yes. [laughs] I love it. Um, how did you get started doing this? Is this after you did a few public appearances, after the TED Talk, or when did you start? After the TED Talk. Okay. 58:13 Um, because in the TED Talk something happened in my brain. I've always been a very good speaker. I was part of Toastmasters- Okay... 58:20 and I was blowing people away, and Toastmasters are like, "You should be professional." And then I got hit by a car. Sure. Yeah. But, um- Love that... I'm, I've, I've always had a knack for it. Mm. 58:29 But when I came out of that pseudo coma thing that I was in for two and a half years, all those two and a half years of watching people and not speaking, 58:40 I learned a lot about people, their behavior, reading how they are, and what they, what their bodies say before their brain and mouth say it. 58:50 And so when I came out of that and then ended up doing that TED Talk, in that TEDx we would all go into a building and we were all practicing with, of different coaches or whatever, and I would go help the other talks. 59:03 And when I was done with my TEDx, I mean... So I have a 16-second memory, okay? And I'm coaching other speakers- Mm-hmm... with a massive brain injury, whatever. 59:14 And so when I was done with my TEDx, they said, "Michelle, we really could use you as a coach for all these other speakers- Mm... for the next round." 59:22 So I started coaching the next round of TEDx speakers, and I did it for, I think, three years- Wow... before I went, "You know what? I've been coaching for free," and then I started charging people for it. 59:34 It took you three years to realize that, Michelle? Come on. [laughs] Yeah. But- We have to remember, though, three years I had to- Mm... get through that 16-second memory. Sure. I was traveling already, but- Mm... 59:46 I didn't even realize I was a public, an international speaker until 2018 when I was in, I was in India. That's when I found out I was an actual speaker. Um, uh, someone came up to me at one of the conferences. 1:00:02 Someone raised their hand and said, "Excuse me, ma'am, what is it like, what does it feel like to be an international speaker?" And I said- [laughs]... "I'm not." Mm. And she goes, "But you are in New Delhi." Mm-hmm. 1:00:15 And I went, "Oh, I am." [laughs] Wow. I was just having fun. Yeah. It didn't dawn on me. It really didn't dawn on me. It really doesn't, not until the inception of television. Yes. [laughs] Think about it. 1:00:32 Or even radio, right? With the technology that we have and that we utilize, we leverage into to communicate anything throughout the entire world- Yeah... as long as you have access to that device. Isn't that incredible? 1:00:48 Just thinking about that is just mind-blowing because in a lot of ways that's almost like the invention of teleportation- Yes... 1:00:57 with yourself but in a past life or, yeah, in your past life though, that they're watching over and over and over again. So And think when you're gone, they're still watching How does that make you feel? 1:01:13 I'm glad that I'm, have managed to do what I was put on this planet to do. Mm. I will inspire, and I've been documented, I will inspire even when I'm gone. It's part of my legacy. Mm-hmm. 1:01:27 No one's ever gonna go back in the, in the archives and say, "Oh, Dr. Michelle Mras, she was one really miserable human. I, I really cannot stand being-" [laughs] No, it'll be, "Wow, that lady was so full of joy." 1:01:41 Mm-hmm. "She inspired me to live my life fully too." That's what I want. Yeah. I think you already have that, and you're continuing to have... 1:01:53 to continue that journey or that, that purpose in your life that's transcending. Um, do you have any- Well, I have to tell you something that's really funny that happened to me. Okay. 1:02:04 You tell something, and then I have w- a few more questions, and then we'll wrap up. Okay. I went to Croatia. I went to Croatia- Okay... 1:02:09 in July, and I'm walking down this ancient street in Croatia on one of the small islands, and I go in for gelato, and the lady on the other side says, "I know you." Mm. And I said, "Oh, you do." 1:02:25 I said, "Are you from the Philippines 'cause you... I, I think your accent sounds Filipino." She goes, "I am." Mm. "Why do I know you?" And then she goes, "I... You have a TV show. I saw you on a billboard. 1:02:38 You're on the billboard." And i- it was like, my husband looks at me, he goes, "What are the chances that you are walking down the street in Croatia- [laughs]... 1:02:48 and a Filipino woman recognizes you from a billboard and a TV show in the Philippines from four years ago?" That's incredible. That was funny. I thought that was funny, but anyways. No, that was great. 1:03:01 And no, it just shows you the impact- Yeah... of what you've created so far and what you continue to do, and I think that's just, that's beautiful. I was gonna ask if you have any children. I have two. Mm. 28 and 29. 1:03:15 Soon to be 29 and 29. [laughs] They overlap for a little bit. And did they, like, follow their mother's shoes or- Not at all. Oh, my gosh. That was- They're both very introverted like their dad and very quiet. Oh. 1:03:32 And it's funny, but they're big in the cosplay. That's funny. So in cosplay, they are elaborate. That's that side of me. They got the theatrical side of me. But- No way... 1:03:41 when they're in makeup or got a big old head on them, then they're, they're me. But- Okay... in normal life, they're their dad, very quiet. So interesting. 1:03:50 Okay, okay, because I was, I was thinking maybe one of your kids would've embraced your type of energy or your, I don't know, just going around being like a little Michelle or something. [laughs] Oh, no. 1:04:01 But my son is actually closest, which is funny because- Okay... he's so introverted. But, um- Hmm. Interesting... we'll, we'll go up, we'll, we'll go out for karaoke in, in Denver. My sister runs a big karaoke show. 1:04:13 Uh- Oh, cool. Yeah. DJ Monique. But, uh- Mm... we do that, and we go out, and my son will get up on stage and, you know, sing Suddenly Seymour with me or whatever. He'll sing. But then he'll s- Really? 1:04:23 And then he'll sit down on his chair and drink his drink and be real quiet, and it's like, you could be boom, big- Mm... on stage but q- quiet. He goes, "I can only handle so many people at a time." That's fair. 1:04:35 Does he have to be, like, intoxicated too, or does he just, like, do it? [laughs] Oh, he doesn't really drink. No, he can sing- Really? Yeah. Okay. But my, my s- my daughter- Mm... she has my analytical human skills. Mm. 1:04:48 So she is very good at deescalating stress things. Mm. So she does, like, uh, like contract co- resolution or something. 1:04:59 And so she's the one that will get on the phone and say, "Okay, so and so stole your account, your number, and your money. I will fix this." Mm. And she calms the pr- people down. She is so good- Wow... with people. 1:05:10 So, yes, sh- Mia has that part of me. Matt has the other side of me. Gotcha. They're mostly their dad. Aw. That's interesting. Yeah. Um, just to kind of wrap it up here, I absolutely love this conversation, Michelle. 1:05:25 I really appreciate your transparency and just your vulnerability. You know, you have so much courage. You're so brave. It's very inspiring. I just want you to know that. Thank you. And I would love to hear... 1:05:36 I always like to ask this question towards the end, too. What advice would you give your younger self, let's say high school, college, you know, that kind of era, that you know now of yourself? Well, I would say 1:05:52 to my younger self, "You are so brave and so strong. Even when you feel weak and lost, don't give up on yourself- Mm... because all of this is not f- for nought. You will make a difference in this world 1:06:10 through the pain." Beautiful. I love that. Yeah. You have to remember, right after high school, I was human trafficked, so she- Yeah. We didn't really touch on that too much. Um- Yeah. Good. That's okay. That... 1:06:24 It's depressing people. We don't need to do that. [laughs] Yeah, 'cause I heard a lot of that in depth when I first met you, so I thought, you know, eh, we don't need to talk about that again. Yeah. 1:06:34 But you know- We can talk about other aspects of your life, people- But the younger version of me really needs to know that she can survive. Mm. Mm. Because in it, she thought she was dead every day. Wow. Yeah. 1:06:45 That's that resiliency that you were talking about earlier- Mm-hmm... which I absolutely love about you. Um, where can people find you if they want to connect with you, contact you? 1:06:55 The best way, and, uh, we built it this way because I have a brain injury, and sometimes my brain turns off. Right. My website is my name. Michelle Mras. michellemrast.com. And then all my social media links are there. 1:07:06 All of that is there. Uh, YouTube, you can hear me sing, my podcast, my TV show out of the Philippines. It's all on my website, michellemrast.com. Awesome, awesome. Well, thank you again, Michelle. 1:07:18 This was an absolute pleasure, and I'm looking forward to more conversations with you in the future. Thank you. Oh, please. Thank you. [laughs] Have a great one. Yeah, you too. Hey, guys. I hope you enjoyed the episode. 1:07:32 If you wouldn't mind liking, subscribing, commenting, sharing, rating, reviewing, it would mean the world to me and Stella here if you did that, and it really would help support the show. 1:07:44 Thank you so much, and stay grateful. Right, Stella? Stay grateful? [laughs] [outro music]
