Evoke Greatness Podcast

Redefining Resilience with Amberly Lago (Part 3)

• Episode 133

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🎧 Episode 133: Redefining Resilience with Amberly Lago (Part 3)

In this inspiring episode, we continue our conversation as Amberly dives deeper into her experiences challenging societal expectations, the role of faith in her journey, and her latest book. Amberly's raw honesty and vulnerability shine through as she discusses the importance of community, faith, and finding joy amidst life's ups and downs.

She shares valuable insights on:

  • Challenging societal perceptions of disability and chronic pain
  • The critical role of faith and spirituality in overcoming adversity
  • Navigating online communities and dealing with negativity
  • The process of writing and publishing her latest book
  • Finding joy and resilience through life's challenges

🔑 Key takeaways:

  1. Surrounding yourself with positive, supportive people is crucial for personal growth
  2. Faith can be a powerful anchor during difficult times
  3. Vulnerability and honesty in sharing your story can inspire and help others
  4. Joy can be found even amidst life's ups and downs
  5. Persistence and deadlines can help turn long-held dreams into reality

💡 Quotes to remember: "You can still be disabled and be dignified." - Amberly Lago 
"God doesn't waste pain." - Amberly Lago 
"This isn't about me. This is about the people I serve." - Amberly Lago

📚 Resources Mentioned:

Whether you're facing personal challenges, seeking inspiration, or looking to find more joy in your daily life, this episode offers valuable insights and practical advice. Remember, as Amberly's journey shows, it's possible to find joy and purpose even through life's most difficult moments!

A rising tide raises all ships, and I invite you along on this journey to Evoke Greatness!

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to Evoke Greatness. We are officially entering year three of this podcast and I am filled with so much gratitude for each and every one of you who've joined me on this incredible journey of growth and self-discovery. I'm Sunny, your host and fellow traveler on this path of personal evolution. This podcast is a sanctuary for the curious, the ambitious and the introspective. It's for those of you who, like me, are captivated by the champion mindset and driven by an insatiable hunger for growth and knowledge. Whether you're just beginning your journey or you're well along your path, you're going to find stories here that resonate with your experiences and aspirations. Over the last two years, we've shared countless stories of triumph and challenge, of resilience and transformation. We've laughed, we've reflected and we've grown together. And as we've evolved, so too has this podcast. Remember, no matter what chapter you're on in your own story, you belong here. This community we've built together is a place of support, inspiration and shared growth. Where intention goes, energy flows, and the energy you bring to this space elevates us all. So, whether you're listening while commuting, working out or enjoying your morning coffee, perhaps from one of those motivational mugs I'm so fond of, know that you're a part of something special. Thank you for being here. Thank you for your curiosity, your openness and your commitment to personal growth. As we embark on year three, I invite you to lean in, to listen deeply and to let these stories resonate with your soul. I believe that a rising tide raises all ships and I invite you along in this journey to evoke greatness.

Speaker 1:

Welcome back to the final part of the three-part series with my amazing guest, amberly Lago. I have gotten so much feedback about these episodes. People have really really enjoyed hearing her story and all that she's fought and overcome. In this episode, amberlee is going to talk about challenging societal perceptions of disability and chronic pain the role that faith has in overcoming adversity in her life. We're going to hear about her latest book that I'm so excited to get a hold of and hopefully all of you are pre-ordering. I have thoroughly enjoyed having Amberleon and being able to explore her story a little deeper in a little bit different of a way, and I'm so grateful that you guys have been along with us. So let's go ahead and hop into part three. What do you think has been the boldest way you've challenged societal expectations or perceptions around disability as a whole?

Speaker 2:

Oh, I'm laughing. That's a great question. Let me tell you I was real surprised. I thought I just was trying to do good and help people. And I remember after I was diagnosed with CRPS I got I didn't, I'm going to die, it's never going to get better. So I was like, okay, I stopped looking on the internet. But then I found a Facebook group that was for CRPS and let me tell y'all it's so important to really really pay attention what groups you get into. I thought these were my fellow friends and warriors. We were warriors together and so I was given this keynote at this event and I had a lady come up.

Speaker 2:

She goes hi, I'm a producer for the Doctors TV. I would love to have you share your story about CRPS on the doctors. And I'm like this can't be real. Sure enough, it was real. There I go, I'm going on the doctors.

Speaker 2:

They did a pretty long interview and of course, they cut out the part where I talk about I've done all these different treatments. I mean I've spent. I mean I had $2.9 million worth of medical expenses from surgeries and I've spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on treatments for CRPS. We had a lien on our house at one point. We were borrowing from a friend. We paid them all back, but I've done every kind of treatment. They left that out. So they say they title it Woman Overcomes Pain with Mindset, or something like that with her mind.

Speaker 2:

Let me tell you, the haters came out of the woodwork my phone was blowing up from this CRPS community and I had half the people in there who actually knew me. They were like no, they were like she is a disgrace to the CRPS community. There's no way she has CRPS. How could she wear those shoes if she had CRPS? She looks too healthy to have CRPS. She doesn't look sick to me Like she. I can't believe she would say that she can use her mindset to get through pain. Obviously she doesn't have it as bad as me.

Speaker 2:

It was like awful, awful, awful, like haters, haters, haters. And I was in tears. I told my husband I was like I'm just trying to do good. I'm just trying to, you know, share what helps me. And my husband goes well, congratulations, you got some haters. That's good. That means you're getting your message out there. But I was. I was really like. I was hurt. It was the first time I ever had haters like that in my life and I had to leave that group to make the my phone stop, the notifications go off. I was like, okay, this, these are not my people. Got to go, got to leave.

Speaker 2:

And at that moment I realized how important it is, like man, you got to stick with the puppy uppers and get rid of the doggy downers. You got to be with the people who have the you know, victor of their life mindset, not the victim of their life mindset. And so you know, I don't own CRPS, I don't claim it. I don't say my nerve disease or my pain, I say the disease, the pain. I don't want to claim it. I do have hope that I will be able to get out of pain someday, and some days are better than others. And you know what, when I'm on stage, I feel no pain. It's the only time I don't feel pain at all is when I'm on stage. I think it's the adrenaline, it's because I feel so connected deeply to the audience.

Speaker 2:

You know, I used to be kind of embarrassed to have to walk with my crutches. I have Canadian crutches and I'm not anymore. I'm like this is what allows me to move faster and I feel like you can still be disabled and be dignified, and so I'm not afraid to talk about CRPS. I'm not afraid to tell people anymore. I used to try to hide it. I didn't want people to know that anything was wrong with me, but now I'm like you know what? Yeah, look at me, I'll race you on these crutches, because I'm pretty fast on these Canadian crutches and it was very liberating to just own it. But again, that's like it took a while and it was taking a good hard look and being radically honest with myself and owning where I was and being an acceptance and having awareness around it.

Speaker 1:

How has your faith been an instrument throughout all of this?

Speaker 2:

Everything my faith.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Oh, that's. My book is called True Grit and Grace. The grace is God's grace. I have right here on my desk a frog and you're probably thinking well, what does frog have to do with faith? My daughter made this little ceramic frog for me. Isn't it cute? It reminds me fully rely on God and my faith and ooh, it's everything.

Speaker 2:

I mean, when I get up in the morning before I do anything and I mean yesterday I had to pee really bad. I'm like no, but I got to drop down on my knees first and I'm sitting there praying. I don't get out of bed and walk before. I'm on my knees, praying to God to walk with me, to speak through me, to guide me, to let me be hope and inspiration, to lift the obsession of alcohol, to keep me sober, to thank God for my health. I thank God that I'm able to walk, that I'm able to get out of bed. So I say that prayer. That's different and I just talk to God. I don't feel like I'm a very eloquent, you know, I don't say it very pretty. I just have conversations with God. The last thing I do before I go to bed is I usually go. Thank you God, thank you God, thank you God, over and over and over and over for the day, for keeping me sober, for the opportunities, for my health. And even on my desk I have a little card and it says God doesn't waste pain. That'll remind me when I'm in a lot of pain, on days where I'm in a lot of pain and I anchor myself to God, just as a reminder because, look, I can get into self-will and I have to remind myself I'm not the director. I need to fully rely on God.

Speaker 2:

And I was talking to a friend of mine yesterday no day before yesterday and I just launched my event. So I have an annual event every year. It's called the Unstoppable Success Summit. And let me tell you, putting on an event is a bit like planning a huge wedding and there has been a lot behind the scenes with dealing with hotel and av and event planner and web designer and you know the checkout page and email sequence. I mean all of it getting the speakers dealing, you know emails to the speakers. All of it's been a lot.

Speaker 2:

And I launched and I talked to my friend and he's like I'm just calling to see how the launch went, how'd it go? And I'm like good, and I'm talking to him. He goes. You seem really grounded, you seem very calm and very grounded and I'm like you know what I am. I trust that I've done the work and I'm going to continue to do the work, but I trust that God is going to bring the people into this space that need to be there, that need that transformation, that need that breakthrough, that need those tools and those strategies to uplevel their life and their business.

Speaker 2:

And then I just spoke at an event recently and I had a couple of my friends that were there and one of my friends, and it was an amazing event and I was just grateful to be there. One of my friends came up to me afterwards and he goes. But I have to say I liked your event better and I'm like well, what do you mean? He said it's just something different. He goes. You can feel God's grace at your event. You can feel the faith and the love and the joy. It's different. He said I can't explain it, but you can feel that it's faith-filled. And I said yeah, I said I think and I don't plan it to be that way I just you can feel like, oh yeah, the Holy Spirit is there.

Speaker 2:

So God has always been. Faith has always been a huge, huge part of my life and I actually used to be more connected with God and still am in nature, more so than I am even in church. And I remember being a kid and where I was most connected to God was running track, and as I would run track, I would be talking to God the whole time, and it was just my time out in nature to talk to God when I lived in California. This is one thing I miss the most is I would go for a hike and that's where I felt most connected to my higher power. And not that there's anything wrong with church there's a great church out here in Dallas but faith has been a huge thing for me. I wouldn't be able to stay sober, I wouldn't be where I am today without God's grace.

Speaker 1:

Your sharing of that story just reminds me explicitly of Scripture in Esther. Perhaps you were made for a moment such as this and I think you embody that and I really. That just was on my heart.

Speaker 2:

Thank you for that and I really that just was on my heart. Thank you for that. Well, you know I love that because there is one of my mastermind members. We have a WhatsApp group where we chat every single day. We're in there and one of the mastermind members put in there. I'm making a surprise for y'all. Can you drop your favorite scripture in the chat? And I didn't know that one, so I already dropped one. I'm going to have to put that one in there.

Speaker 1:

Yes, I just ordered a t-shirt with that. I'm a firm believer in surround. Not only so, I've got lots of faith-filled scriptures and inspirational things around me because I believe wholeheartedly that the world is going to send us messages, whether we like it or not, and so if we can control the environment in which you know those messages are coming into the best of our ability, pay more power to us for doing that right and taking as much control over what's going in our ear gates and eye gates, then we allow the worldly world to just shoot our way. Yeah, I love that. I want to talk about your most recent book and tell us about it. Why did you write it and who was it really for?

Speaker 2:

Well, thank you for asking. It's called Joy Through the Journey. Shift your mindset, embrace the present moment and cultivate resilience amidst life's ups and downs moment and cultivate resilience amidst life's ups and downs. But really, joy through the journey had been on a sticky note for two years on my computer and it had been on my heart to write this book. But it was always on the back burner like, oh, I'm doing this thing and that thing and then I'll get to that. And I always had in mind that I loved Wiley publishers, my friend John Gordon and Ed Milet, and my friend Ben Newman and my friend Renee Rodriguez. Their books are all published through Wiley and they had a good experience. So I was like eventually, I hope one day I can publish a book with them. Well, lo and behold, wiley sends me an email and I'm like, oh my gosh. And they're like we're interested in you writing a book with us. Do you have any ideas that you would like to pitch? And so I get on a call and let me tell you I started pitching this book and I was like, yeah, joy through the journey of life's ups and downs and how to shift your mindset and how to build upon the joy, despite pain, and like I was just going on. And they're like we like it, write us a proposal, get it to us in two days. And I'm like, oh my gosh, how do I even write a proposal? Let me just wing this. Well, they said yes, and I got a book deal, told my husband come out of my office. I'm like, honey, I got a book deal. And he goes, oh no, when are you going to have time for that? And I was like I'm going to make time. And so let me tell you, when you have a deadline and you got a publisher messaging you, are you going to get your book in time? I got my book in time almost two weeks early, my manuscript, and it's really for. You know, my first book was more of a memoir, meant to inspire.

Speaker 2:

This book is for anybody who goes through life. Don't we all go through life's ups and downs and challenges? And it's a reminder that there is joy. There's joy and it comes from deep within you. And there is resilience and it comes from deep within you. And there is resilience and it comes from deep within you and the support around you.

Speaker 2:

And this book's a little bit different because I not only I storytell throughout the book but I break down like specific steps to take and the takeaways from it. So I'm giving you a little bit of the obstacle, I'm giving you a little, I'm giving you the solution and the benefit for it. But I have to say it is raw and vulnerable and I am sharing stuff in this book that I've never, I've never even, shared with my husband yet. So I feel a little bit like I'm naked, standing in the middle of the street. But I think about you know what? This isn't about me.

Speaker 2:

This is about the people I serve and if I can share these experiences and show how, despite these sometimes embarrassing, sometimes terrible things, I've done. You know I'm a stuck health scares for heroic acts and sacrifice for success and fear for function and stubbornness for strength, and convinced myself it was grit and I was just gritting it out. Gritting it out and I missed the whole point. That's not what life is about and it's about finding and having that joy through the journey. I mean, aren't we supposed to? That's what life is about, and so it's my intention to really spark joy and allow you to go through life. Joy spotting, meaning, like, how can, like you were saying earlier, about being aware and having things around you like how can you go in life and make it a habit to do some joy spotting and spot joy wherever you go?

Speaker 1:

That is beautiful and make it a habit to do some joy spotting and spot joy wherever you go. That is beautiful. You're just the whole process that you've gone through, from the very first time. I forget what call it was on, but you were on the call and you shared your story and it was just so inspirational around the fact of, like so many of us, have a book inside of us, in our heart and it's like, oh, what does it look like to go through that process? And I will tell you that very first day I have a sticky here on my oh and it says look, I got mine too. Right. It was very, a little embarrassed to share this, but because you inspired me so much, I literally wrote down Amberlee Lago wrote the foreword for my book I don't have a book yet.

Speaker 1:

I don't have a book yet. I don't have a book yet. I have a. I am in the process of getting things down on paper. But you know, if you don't put big things out there for yourself, for your own heart, to take the chances and take the risks, then you never know. That teaches me so much, so I just thought I'd share that and that is directly from you know the power of what you're putting out there by way of you sharing your story and you showing up so wholly and so fully.

Speaker 2:

Well, thank you, and I would be so honored to write the foreword for your book, and I'll be first in line to buy it Appreciate you.

Speaker 1:

This hour has absolutely flown by and I want to be respectful of your time, but as we close, I would love for you to share. Where can people find out more about you if they don't already follow you on Instagram and all the places? Where can they find you? Where can they pick up your book?

Speaker 2:

Oh, thank you so much. Actually, yeah, can you believe? The book is already on pre-sale the new book. If you go to AmberlyLagocom, you'll be able to see my upcoming event in Dallas. You'll be able to find all the books and see future events that are coming up. And then, if you want to see some of the behind the scenes shenanigans, I hang out mostly on Instagram at Amberleelago Motivation and if you're interested in my mastermind, that you can find on my website too, at AmberlyLagocom, and listen to my podcast, the Amberly Lago Show. So I just appreciate you so much having me on and it's been such an incredible conversation with you. You're such a great interviewer and I can see why everybody loves your show, because you just are so amazing.

Speaker 1:

Thank you. You make me tear up, thank you, and I'm just grateful to have you on. I'm grateful for just how much you're showing up in life, because there are a lot of people who share with you how much you're impacting their lives, and there's probably 10x of the people who haven't shared yet with you how you're impacting their lives. So keep going out there shining your light bright and powerfully, impacting all those around you. Amberlee, thank you so much. Thank you so much for listening and for being here on this journey with me.

Speaker 1:

I hope you'll stick around If you liked this episode. It would mean the world for me if you would rate and review the podcast or share it with someone you know may need to hear this message. I love to hear from you all and want you to know that you can leave me a voicemail directly. If you go to my website, evokegreatnesscom, and go to the contact me tab, you'll just hit the big old orange button and record your message. I love the feedback and comments that I've been getting, so please keep them coming. I'll leave you with the wise words of author Robin Sharma Greatness comes by doing a few small and smart things each and every day. It comes from taking little steps consistently. It comes from making a few small chips against everything in your professional and personal life that is ordinary, so that a day eventually arrives when all that's left is the extraordinary.

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Sonnie Linebarger

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