Christina Siwek - MindStrength Podcast
Overcoming Obstacles: Michaela Morrell’s Path to a Healthier World
Can a love for animals spark a multimillion-dollar empire? Join us as we welcome Michaela Morrell, an inspiring Swedish entrepreneur who transitioned from breeding pets at age six to founding her health company, Food Changes Lives. Michaela’s early ventures instilled a sense of responsibility and independence in her, setting the foundation for an extraordinary entrepreneurial journey. She shares her experiences of financial transparency within her family and how it molded her into the driven businesswoman she is today.
Michaela’s path took a poignant turn with her mother’s battle against colon cancer, fueling her passion for nutrition and health. Discover how her dedication to learning about nutrition helped her mother and inspired the creation of her company. Michaela discusses the science behind cellular health, the significance of water purification, and the innovative technologies she employs. Her story is a testament to how personal challenges can ignite profound professional pursuits that benefit countless others.
Ever heard of "blue zones"? Michaela envisions creating these longevity hotspots within our communities, promoting healthier, longer lives. Despite overcoming a speech impediment and chronic neck pain, Michaela's resilience shines through as she shares her mission to inspire others to take control of their health. This episode is a compelling narrative of personal growth, professional success, and the transformative power of taking responsibility for one’s well-being. Listen in for practical insights and the inspiring journey of a true health advocate.
Can a love for animals spark a multimillion-dollar empire? Join us as we welcome Michaela Morrell, an inspiring Swedish entrepreneur who transitioned from breeding pets at age six to founding her health company, Food Changes Lives. Michaela’s early ventures instilled a sense of responsibility and independence in her, setting the foundation for an extraordinary entrepreneurial journey. She shares her experiences of financial transparency within her family and how it molded her into the driven businesswoman she is today.
Michaela’s path took a poignant turn with her mother’s battle against colon cancer, fueling her passion for nutrition and health. Discover how her dedication to learning about nutrition helped her mother and inspired the creation of her company. Michaela discusses the science behind cellular health, the significance of water purification, and the innovative technologies she employs. Her story is a testament to how personal challenges can ignite profound professional pursuits that benefit countless others.
Ever heard of "blue zones"? Michaela envisions creating these longevity hotspots within our communities, promoting healthier, longer lives. Despite overcoming a speech impediment and chronic neck pain, Michaela's resilience shines through as she shares her mission to inspire others to take control of their health. This episode is a compelling narrative of personal growth, professional success, and the transformative power of taking responsibility for one’s well-being. Listen in for practical insights and the inspiring journey of a true health advocate.
Hi, I'm Christina Siwik and welcome to the MindStrength podcast. We are here today with Michaela Morel. Thank you so much for joining us today. Michaela is from a small town in Sweden. You grew up being one of eight kids. You did three years of photography in college, or you studied three years of photography in college, and then you went on to study marketing and business At a young age. You were an entrepreneur. You started your first company at the age of 20.
Speaker 1:Wow, after a life crisis that involved your mom getting colon cancer, you're getting a colon cancer diagnosis. You set your mind to help save her. After a successful journey, she was inspired to return to university to become a nutritionist. Her company, your company Food Changes Lives. You've inspired people to take charge of their health, to create a blue zone with their own family. Michaela is also about to launch her new podcast, body Hacking Build a Better you. Build a Better you. Michaela is also in charge of expanding a new Norwegian technology in biohacking here in the United States. And Michaela is also working with a groundbreaking technology to clean out heavy metals from industry waters. Wow, well, michaela, can we say that you're on a path, on a journey to change the world?
Speaker 2:that's, that's impressive yes, I have a big love for this world and I want to do everything in my power to help people live longer, healthier and also make sure that we have clean water it's important, it's very important.
Speaker 1:Well, that's I mean my. So let's go all the way back. Tell me about the first business that you started at age 20.
Speaker 2:So that was a business that I mean. My whole youth led up to that business. I actually started at the age of six oh wow With building up the foundation of that business. What were you doing at the age of six? I understood that if I had to pay money for a rabbit, I could earn money from a rabbit too, and I developed a deep love for animals. So I got myself rabbits and I started breeding them for the purpose of earning money. At six, at six years of age, wow, that turned into me breeding hamsters and reinvesting in guinea pigs and reinvesting in birds. Did you grow up on a farm Aquarium? No, I was in a house.
Speaker 1:In Sweden.
Speaker 2:Yeah, wow, but we did have a small area outside I could keep my rabbits, and that was that.
Speaker 1:That's really impressive. So at six we're having rabbits and breeding them and hamsters and selling them to other homes and making money off of that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I also sold them to pet stores. I was actually traveling to different pet stores and the one in our city, but then also we have two cities. There's only an hour away from my city and I traveled there and I sold my animals to their pet stores as well. Oh my gosh, yeah.
Speaker 1:So your inspiration at six? Did you have entrepreneurial parents or were your other like where are you and the eight siblings? So was there any inspiration there, kind of to start the journey? Not really.
Speaker 2:I grew up with mainly brothers, and they were not very driven. They like sitting and playing the computers. But I think my inspiration was just that. I did not like the fact of being poor and not having money, and I also had a big sense of responsibility. I wanted to be responsible for my own life, for my own outcome, and I did not. So something my parents did good was that every single Sunday night we were having a meeting with the family and my dad would basically put down the finances right there this is the salary we have, this is the expenses we have, this is how much food cost and they would basically go through all of our finances.
Speaker 1:The whole family, like on Sunday night yeah.
Speaker 2:And that made me understand that there was no money left for anything. So I never asked my parents for anything because I would be embarrassed to ask them, because I knew there was nothing left and I did not like the fact of not having any money. So I felt very responsible and wanted to create my own, like just secure my own finances kind of. So I was at the age like in fourth grade I remember sitting down with my parents and telling them that I don't want you guys to buy anything to me unless it's birthday and Christmas. Wow.
Speaker 1:What was their reaction to that? That fourth grader coming to them? What did they say?
Speaker 2:Well, I don't remember the conversation, but after that I just kept on paying for everything myself.
Speaker 1:So if you wanted a new toy, if you want to close, everything.
Speaker 2:I paid everything myself, even church activities growing up, I paid for that myself. When I started traveling the world at age 14, I paid for that. So why did you start traveling the world at the age 14?
Speaker 1:I paid for that, so why did you start traveling the world at age 14?
Speaker 2:uh, because I got an opportunity to go over to the states to babysit a six-month-old baby. Oh my gosh. And I took it because I wanted to earn more money okay, so money to you has always equaled security. I wouldn't say that okay, but it is something independence or like yeah, independence yeah, I like feeling the independence. I like feeling that no one, I don't need anything from anyone, okay yeah, and your parents 14 years old.
Speaker 1:They just said, okay, go to the states. And they did because it was because of how responsible they already felt that you were. Kind of what led them to say it must have been that.
Speaker 2:Because I am looking around and, like my youngest brother, he did not even know how to take the bus when he was 17. Oh my gosh. And when I was 14, like I remember, I was there for two months, so the baby was six months, and then eight months when I left.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:And I was basically the person that baby saw all day long, and I only talked with my parrots one time during my whole trip. I remember, oh my gosh, and this was the first time I also traveled with an airplane. Oh wow, first time, all by yourself, first time ever. I've never been outside of the country before. Oh my goodness. Well, that is surely time all by yourself. First time ever. I've never been outside of the country before. Oh my goodness.
Speaker 1:Well, that is surely impressive all by itself. So we did that at age 14. Then you go back to Sweden, and now what happens?
Speaker 2:So before I left, when I was 12, I actually bought my first horse. Ok, so with the money I had created, I was able to buy my first horse, which was, yeah, her name was Grace, she was crazy, she was not broke and I had to train her.
Speaker 1:She was a she sometimes yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I. I just had to figure it out, have you?
Speaker 1:ridden before, like did your parents ride, or how, what was the horse? Segue into this, like how did you get into horses?
Speaker 2:So my cousins had horses, okay, and the horse segue into this like how did you get into horses? So my cousins had horses, okay, and I was not allowed because my mom was afraid of me breaking a bone or falling off.
Speaker 1:I don't know how that would happen. Anybody I?
Speaker 2:would sneak ride in the middle of the night with my cousins, okay, when I was sleep at sleepovers. So I had some basic and I did pay for some riding lessons. I could only pay for like a lesson every three months because of our finances.
Speaker 1:They're not inexpensive either.
Speaker 2:But I did it and learned how to ride and then eventually, I learned how to train horses.
Speaker 1:A segue, a little sidebar, I guess I should say Ride and train horses very, very well, by the way, and that was another business that you had, too, for quite a while. Yes, yes.
Speaker 2:So that kind of led me and I kept on doing horses, I kept on breeding horses, I kept on racing horses, and so when I was 20, I just registered that business, okay.
Speaker 1:Okay, so that's a business that you created more in when you were 20. Yeah, solidified, I guess. Yes, you already were doing it. You just created the entity. Yes, basically, wow, well, hugely impressive, by the way. I mean, I don't know what four-year-olds or fourth graders, or six years old, sorry, and fourth graders are out there, this responsible, you know, and that aware too of you know, money and that it's a means you know to um, you know, be more, be more comfortable and to make sure that you have, you know, everything that you need right, and you knew at an early age you wanted to provide that for yourself yeah, I remember very early on that I did not find pleasure and joy in playing around with barbies or whatever my friends were doing.
Speaker 2:I really never was like them. I wanted to utilize my time smarter.
Speaker 1:Wow. So what do you think influenced you, Like you seem so, that you were so acutely aware of that when you were younger? Just got lucky with? I doubt it from knowing you, you know you didn't just get lucky, like what made you sort of be so aware. Just, I'm just super impressed by that part of it. Then I'll keep going to the rest of it. I promise I won't keep you here forever.
Speaker 2:I have been reflecting upon this a lot, since I now have three kids myself, and my youngest one is six and my oldest one is 12. And I always reflect on like how can I encourage my kids to be somewhat similar to?
Speaker 1:myself.
Speaker 2:Like I want them to become independent human beings. I want them to be happy and thriving in life and just taking responsibility over the outcome, and I think a lot of the things that have happened through my life made me be very self-reflective. But so one thing that happened when I was younger, for example, was that I was born with a speech impediment and this caused me not to be able to say S and roll my R's. Okay, and rolling R's are very, very important in the Swedish language. Okay, and if you're not able to do it, people will look at you like it's something wrong with you. Okay, and even if they may not have been doing that I mean, not every single person would do that to me but I looked at myself like it was something wrong with me.
Speaker 1:And what age did you notice that there was something wrong? That you didn't maybe do that correctly is a better way to say yeah so, growing up, I was at home until the age of six.
Speaker 2:I started school when I was six and that was when I started being aware of how different I was and how I could not speak like the other kids. People would start making fun of me at school because before then I was home with my mom and with my siblings. And where are you and your sibling count again. So I am number six number six out of eight kids.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah, so that's made me start to be aware of it and that made me start to like, really reflect on myself. But also I reflected a lot and I think I can contribute this to like my parents. Growing up, my dad was a very wise man that when things did not happen like you thought it would happen, he's always asking you, like what did happen with your emotions right now for you? To react that way Because I did struggle with controlling my emotions growing up. Wow.
Speaker 1:What a great question for him to be asking you. Yeah, you know.
Speaker 2:And I struggled so much with controlling my emotions that my mom took me to a homeopath. That found out I was allergic to a bunch of different foods Okay, pineapple corn and so on and just changing that did help me a lot with my mood swings as well.
Speaker 1:But your father, too, would say to you like what are you feeling right now that's making you react this way. Is that correct? Did I get that, okay? Yeah, so making you aware too of your emotions and like what's happening, and processing that Exactly.
Speaker 2:So that, in combination with my mom trying to figure out an answer and then finding an answer and me feeling the effect it had on my body, triggered me to also like always go inwards and like, okay, what? What is happening right now?
Speaker 1:Why did I?
Speaker 2:react that way. What are the?
Speaker 1:emotions behind it. You had both. You had that psychological element of it, and then now you're looking inward for nutritionally yes Okay. So then did that connection with health start at that age as well? It?
Speaker 2:did Okay. I mean, I gained the belief that what we're doing and what we're eating is actually affecting how we're feeling and how we're living.
Speaker 1:Okay, so we get this at an early age. You've started your second. Well, I don't know the second business that you've told me about. Anyway, today. Maybe there's many more, and then we're 20, we have the horse business and then your mom. You get the information about your mom.
Speaker 2:And when my mom was diagnosed, it was pretty traumatic to me because at the age of 17, uh, I, my grandpa, was diagnosed with colon cancer. Oh my gosh. And just three months after he was diagnosed he passed away, at the age of 86 years old. Oh wow. So there was nothing they could do for him. So when my mom was diagnosed, I was also by myself home that summer taking care of the horses and my brother, because my mom and dad was traveling to the States and I was in helping my grandpa with morphine shots and so on. So I saw him in the late stages of his life. And how old were you at this time? 17, okay and um, he passed when they were gone.
Speaker 1:So it was very, very traumatic to me I bet, because you're the only one there too.
Speaker 2:And I had my mother's sister. She was there helping me out too, but it was still traumatic for me. And so when my mom got diagnosed, the first couple of days I wasn't able to do anything. I couldn't eat, I couldn't speak, I was sitting and staring into the wall, basically.
Speaker 1:Because you're remembering your grandfather too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was terrified that she was going to be gone in three months, right now, but then I decided that you know what, if it is to be, it's up to me. I'm going to do all the research I can possibly do. I'm going to try to figure out a way, and she's gonna stay here on planet earth. So I started doing research day and night and digged so deep in all different topics and tried to figure out what would work and what would be the best approach for her, and I built her protocol um with nutrition and we cut out foods in her diet and we added others, and we added lots and lots and lots of nutrients for the body and her body really started responding very positively to it and that fueled my my interest for nutrition, because I saw how much her health changed is improving her health with what she's putting into her body exactly so.
Speaker 2:She was actually able to get out of that situation with just a surgery and she was thriving. No one knew she had had cancer, she did not need any chemo and she was doing good, but that fueled my interest for nutrition. She was diagnosed again, however, in 2017. And they had missed on her x-ray six months prior that it had come back, and that time the doctor said there is nothing we can do for her. It had spread all over.
Speaker 2:Oh gosh and I mean I was devastated again. But at the same time I knew more about nutrition, I knew more of what we can do and I put her on even more strict protocol with even higher levels of nutrients. And it's actually fascinating because that was in 2000, actually 16, she was diagnosed Five months later. We have been able to shrinking the cancer enough for her to be accepted for having a surgery. Oh, my gosh.
Speaker 2:So now it's 2024, seven years after she had had her surgery, and she was here for three weeks this Christmas hanging out with me. And these are the kind of stories like you don't often hear about them. And she's 72 now. She's still active, she's still playing with grandchildren every day, and I'm just grateful for having her here with us?
Speaker 1:Well, absolutely, and you, I mean, are so instrumental, you know, to her healing and to her being here, so you helped her initially when she first got her diagnosis, and that fueled your passion to go back to university and become a nutritionist. Yes, wow, it's now you. You have your nutrition degree and you also have a nutrition company, yes, yes, can you talk to us a little bit about?
Speaker 2:that, yes, I founded my company. Food changes lives and it's just like it says. Like food changes lives, the food either changes our life for the better or for the worse, and we just have to create an understanding for what kind of foods are changing it for the worse and avoid that, and what kind of foods are changing for the better I'm just gonna block my soda can behind me just real quick.
Speaker 1:I'm sure that's not the part of this that we're talking about.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's the conversation we can have later.
Speaker 2:No, but it truly makes such a big difference on what we're putting into our body. So something I'm preaching in my company is that the body is self-healing under the right circumstances, Okay, and a healthy body begins with a healthy cell. So I am looking a lot on how the cell is built up, how it's functioning, how much proverse anti-inflammatory building blocks, if the hormone receptors are working or if they're numbed out, if the communication between the cells are functioning and from optimizing cell function we're creating better circumstances for the body to function Then when we're optimizing the nutritional values as well, then the body is able to just function better. So how do you figure out how the cells are working? So I do it with testing their blood and I'm able to get results on how many proverse anti-inflammatory building blocks. And that also gives a very good indication if the cell membranes are too hard. Because if they're too hard, even if we're eating all organic food, even if we're eating super healthy, the nutrients are not going to be able to get into the cells Not going to absorb.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's not going to be able to get into the cells. And also, if we're building it up the wrong way, hormone receptors will quit working and the communication will not be working. So measuring it and correcting it is key to be able to have functioning cells.
Speaker 1:And, if so, if you're going to do the test on me. What does it look like? How long does it take?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's just a prick in the finger, two drops of blood. I'm sending it off to a very high tech laboratory in Norway called Vitas Analytical Service. What is it called Vitas Analytical Service? And yeah, it takes about three to four weeks from United States to get the answers.
Speaker 1:And how has it been? Have you done that test a lot on people? Is it something that you implement? Talk to me about your process, Like when somebody first comes to you and they're looking for help. How does it go?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so this is definitely one of the fundamental keys, because it doesn't matter what we're doing to your health if the cells are not able to absorb whatever we're doing. So we need to be able to check this. So this is like the key to just start building a good foundation of health. So I always take the test and then I'm starting to implement, depending on the person.
Speaker 2:A lot of people want to change their diet. But it's hard to change your diet to the optimal way of eating because we are having family traditions. We're having, I mean, food for us is so much more than just nutrition today, so it's very hard to change someone's diet completely. But what is easy is that we can implement all the essential fatty acids, proteins, vitamins and minerals into your diet. Add some things to your diet.
Speaker 1:Try to take out some, but make sure to add what you need to be having.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it is so much easier for people to have compliance with that. To just add everything that is essential versus taking away and when we do that, we are creating better circumstances for the body, and when the body is functioning, it's going to be able to self heal better as well, because everyone's body is self healing all the time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, working to make itself healthier and better. It's constantly functioning. Trying to get rid of my sugars that I'm putting in there too, I'm sure yeah.
Speaker 2:But that is something a lot of people may not think about that the body, it's not a magic pill anywhere. Right, it's the body's ability to self-heal under the right circumstances. That is truly amazing. And we just, if we're wanting to feel better, we just have to figure out better circumstances, better circumstances.
Speaker 1:Well, you're definitely a great person to talk to and to start the process with. I know that, yeah, so, okay. So now you're also doing water. Yes, can we talk about this? This is a big deal.
Speaker 2:Yes, it is a big deal Because there are so many heavy metals out there and toxins start coming out in our waters. And it is disturbing because there is hard to regulate and it is hard to create clean waters after they have been very, very poisoned by heavy metals. And there are processes out there that is trying, but they're not really succeeding and a lot of the wastewater ends up in fillings, where it's like it's just destroying the world. Okay, so the technology we're able to have now is extracting 95 to 100% of the heavy metals from industry waters. So it's all different kinds of industries.
Speaker 1:We have done tests with paper mass industry, with the gold and mining industry, okay, and they use water doing what they're doing is that what you're saying? And then you're extracting the metal out of that water that they're exactly for their production of whatever they're doing.
Speaker 2:So a lot of water gets contaminated in the processes they need to use and that water we can extract a lot of the heavy metals now and we can extract them one by one so that we can actually have a circular process and return it into the industry again. Wow.
Speaker 1:That sounds like completely. I mean revolutionary for sure. Yeah, that's exciting, it is so exciting. What got you into that? I mean, obviously you're very into, you know much into what's into your body and nutrition and health and building your life around that and helping others doing so. How did you get in on this water piece Like? How did that come to you? It is actually a family project.
Speaker 2:Oh, wow, okay. We are very, very interested in this because we have kids in our family that have struggled with some health issues, okay, and it's most likely due to heavy metals. So that became something. We researched a lot and when we came across this chemical engineer, they have a very unique knowledge and he's not an entrepreneur, but we can help with that part Right. Yes, then we wanted to team up, so it's a project that had been in process for seven years.
Speaker 1:Oh, my gosh.
Speaker 2:Now we're finally building our first pilot.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:And after that we are going to be able to offer it to all different kinds of industries out there that are wanting to take responsibility.
Speaker 1:For the water usage that they're using. Is that the correct way? Am I describing it correctly or please correct me if I'm not?
Speaker 2:going down the right path. Yeah, but yeah, it's the water that comes out, but we can do it with so many different types of waters and we can do it with sewage that is going under the.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, you're living in a great area, with us being in the desert here in Arizona. For you know, are you guys in talks with anybody locally too with that, or is that under wraps or Well?
Speaker 2:yeah, okay, we'll talk about that another time. Another episode in the future.
Speaker 1:Understood, understood. Well, my goodness, I mean all of these things. Do you have where you're going? Do you have that like a vision for what you ideally want in your life, like in? Like where's where's Michaela going? Like what's your ultimate goal here in life? Like, what do you see yourself building?
Speaker 2:I feel significance in life when I can help as many people as possible, and one thing I'm talking a lot about is I want to create green zones I mean sorry, blue zones I just think green is a better color for positivity but blue zones within every single family. So a blue zone is just where people are living longer and healthier, and I truly believe that we can create our own personal blue zones within our family, in community. So I would love for like in the future. I can see this map. Have you seen the map where there there is like just a map of united states and there is a lot of lights and when you're asking what all?
Speaker 2:the lights are.
Speaker 1:It's actually mcdonald's oh, yeah, like how many mcdonald's that are really located in united states.
Speaker 2:You can google. Can Google it later on. Okay, I'm going to Google this.
Speaker 2:I have another vision. I have a vision of, like all of those lights, being small towns where people are living longer and healthier than the rest of the town, and it all starts with one person making a decision of creating. I mean being responsible over your own health, start educating yourself over how the body is functioning and then create better circumstances, and then educate people around you your family, your friends, all the people that you love, share the message and then, eventually, I truly believe that we can have longer. I cannot even pronounce it I'm from Sweden, by the way, if no one have noticed yet but just being able to live longer and healthier Because I want grandkids to see their grandparents.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's such a wonderful thing. Well, my goodness, I love everything that you're doing. I'm grateful that you're doing everything that you're doing. I know that you're jet setting across the world on a regular basis doing all these things. I don't know how you even know what time it is here right now.
Speaker 2:I love traveling and I have been traveling a lot. I was in Spain earlier this month and then I just got back from London this weekend. I did a speaking gig there. That was very, very exciting opportunity.
Speaker 1:Well, my goodness, I mean to go from having a speech impediment to public speaking, my goodness, I mean, that is a story all in itself. I mean talk about mind strength, right To go from that to out there public speaking with hundreds of people, I would assume.
Speaker 2:Yeah, something I decided very early on, even if I had a speech impediment, was that I would never pass an opportunity to speak in front of people. Okay, and it is fascinating, because I had to fire my speech therapist. I had been going to for over four years because I did not get any results.
Speaker 1:What age were you when you fired? So you say like six.
Speaker 2:I'm going to be like yeah, I was in the second grade to the sixth grade. I was going to a speech therapist and it was not until I started seventh grade and I had I did not have access to her anymore where I actually decided that I am going to learn how to roll my R's. I'm going to put in the work because my pain started becoming so big over not being able to roll my R's, for example.
Speaker 2:I believe that could never find a husband that would ever love me because I could not speak properly, and that pain started becoming such a reality to me that I just decided that if it is to be, it's up to me. Like I need to figure this out by myself.
Speaker 1:So was the therapist not. Why fire the therapist?
Speaker 2:why fire the therapist? So I never felt her being excited about her job. She was there because she got paid and I was a client. She probably did her best, but her techniques did not bite on me, like they did not work on me, and I always did not understand her techniques, because her techniques would teach me how to use my tongue faster, but in the wrong way, and for me it did not make sense. Okay, and even if I put in the work in between our therapy sessions therapy sessions.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think they are. They're speech therapy sessions.
Speaker 2:And I did not expect, like I did not have any results we weren't getting value from no. And eventually she basically said that you should just accept that you can never roll your r's oh gosh, and you should just learn how to speak with an american r instead. And she tried to teach me that I was like well, I will not sound like an american I. I am a Swedish person. I want to sound Swedish you know, but she basically told me to give up. Oh, and that's when I could not see her anymore.
Speaker 1:Yes, well, that's such an incredible thing to say as a young person to have that realization. I know we talked a bit about you, you know, when you were younger, obviously starting your own business, did that help you? Like, what gave you that courage, that mind, strength, mindset back then? To be like this isn't working for me. I'm going to change this right now.
Speaker 2:Responsibility Okay, I think I've always had a very strong responsibility. Or my own outcome Okay, I was never taught to blame anyone else. Yeah, I'm always looking inwards to. Okay, is this the result? Am I happy with this result or do I need to change something? Do I need to tweak something?
Speaker 1:And what do?
Speaker 2:I need to do personally Exactly what kind of extra work can I put in?
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:So in the seventh grade I finally figured out, after many hours in front of the mirror and trying to play with different pressures of air going out of my mouth and and I had done so much with her but she was just wrong and eventually I figured it out by myself and after that I just started putting in the hard work. So every day going back in front to school, every walk I took, I was just rolling and rolling and rolling my R's nonstop as soon as I could.
Speaker 2:So I put in the work necessary and I think it's just because I understood that no one else is going to be able to help me, right? If?
Speaker 1:I want to fix something that has to do with myself, then I'm the first person that needs to start or make sure that that happens. Right, yeah?
Speaker 2:And of course I could have. I mean, I could have accepted it. I could have blamed my parents for not cutting my tongue tie until I was three and a half years of age. I could have blamed the universe for giving me a bad car deck, but I never did. I just decided that whatever, like if that is a goal I have, if I want to be able to be good at communicating, I just have to get through that.
Speaker 1:When you got over that and you got through that and your speech is obviously great. Now, what do you did? That set you up then for other businesses in life, Like being able to triumph that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's very fascinating because after this happened, I uh, I started focusing a lot on like, okay, I'm never gonna say no to to a speech gig. Like, if someone asked me to speech in front of people, I will never say no and ever since, like, going to um middle school and high school and so on, um, if there was a speech opportunity, my teachers would always choose me. So even when I went to university, I mean, I always have to think a lot here because you have different names on the different grades but when I went to college, too, we did lots of projects with the politicians in the city and they would always ask me to speak.
Speaker 2:And you have to understand.
Speaker 2:When I was in seventh grade and I started to learn how to roll my r's, when I was in ninth grade, I was still sounding like a five-year-old learning when I was trying to do my R's, so I needed a lot of practice, a lot of it did not sound great, but I chose to do it anyway, just to keep pushing yourself outside your comfort zone, to keep on pushing myself. And I always achieved a lot of great feedback. I do not know if it was pity feedback, but they always gave me great feedback.
Speaker 2:And that fueled me. And it was fascinating because one time I had a person give me a prophecy and I was only 15 years old, and in the prophecy it said that you're going to stand in front of thousands and thousands and thousands of people speaking. My goodness, I just got chills, yeah, yeah, and I I haven't even been thinking about this until now, but I also later met an astrologist and she was also talking about my speaking ability. And then I went to london this past week and this was the biggest speech I've ever like in front of very high executives, and it was fascinating, because what can I possibly say to inspire them when they, when I, all of them are people I look up?
Speaker 2:to basically, and every single person in that room came up to me afterwards and just said that my speech have been the speech that encouraged them the most, that gave them the most value out of the weekend. That's incredible and that basically moved everyone to tears.
Speaker 1:Oh my goodness, what did you speak about?
Speaker 2:if you don't mind me asking so I spoke about my journey as a mother, because I've also been struggling with some health issues, okay, and I spoke about how it was to not feel like you are a good mom. And I show them one time, when my little son came back home from school and I was sitting down and so giving a little bit back feedback, I for two years I struggled so much with chronic neck pain that I could not get out of bed by myself. Remember you're telling me about this. Yeah, this happened after my third child. Something bad have always happened after a pregnancy, but after my third child I struggled with chronic neck pain.
Speaker 2:And one time I was sitting down just on my I don't even know how to say that, but my kid came running towards me and he knocked me over because he came in such a high speed, because he was so excited after getting back home from school and I was just stuck on the floor and I was struggling and I couldn't get back up and I had to call my osteopath to try to facetime him trying to figure out like how can I move my body?
Speaker 2:Because I cannot move, like I cannot get up. So I told him that I also walked through a bunch of statistics over how the world is going from a nutritional perspective, how all diseases, how people are getting sicker and sicker in younger ages, um, and I came up, I had solutions for them, of course, so they were really appreciative of that. But then also I told them a story of my nieces and nephews. I was sorry, my niece and my nephew. One is struggling with ADHD, one is struggling with autism and just sharing what has changed in their health after we did some major changes as well With the diet.
Speaker 2:Yeah, with diet making sure that we're optimizing their values. And after just two weeks the teachers called my sister and was like thank you so much for starting to medicate your child. We can see that she's doing such a big improvement at school right now. She's like I'm still not medicating her. She's only six years of age. Like I don't want to medicate her, no, just change the diet.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and diet is the key to everything and people tend to forget that. They understand that every day they go back and forth in the car and they put in fuel in the car and they understand if they put in the wrong fuel the car will not go. Yet they're putting in the wrong fuel in to fuel our bodies and then, when it's not working anymore, they're like what the heck?
Speaker 1:why is it not working?
Speaker 2:get me the next quick fix, and that there's not one yeah, they want a quick fix like you can put the bandage on the are other countries like us.
Speaker 1:I mean I know in america we for sure want the quick fix yeah, I would think a lot of countries are still so.
Speaker 2:We grow up in a society where we look up to doctors and we are taught to always listen to the doctors and we're taught that if you ever struggle you go to the doctor. But the doctors don't have any education in nutrition very little.
Speaker 1:Or sometimes the doctors, sometimes they themselves are unhealthy. Yes, sorry, but with a lack of better way of saying it.
Speaker 2:Well, sometimes, if there is a person that is not saying that they believe in nutrition, I just tell them well, look at your doctor, look at their health. Is that someone you want to become? Because if you're listening to his advice, you're most likely going to struggle with whatever he's struggling with. If you want if I want better skin, I go to someone that have really good skin and I'm asking them what they're doing Like, what are you doing? No-transcript.
Speaker 1:Like how do you? Yeah, I agree.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I do not go to. I mean you just have to find your tribe, your people that you can look up to. That is healthy, that have the energy you want.
Speaker 1:That's talking the talk but walking the walk as well. Right, you're living the life. Right, I mean you are. Everything that you're saying is what you do day to day. I mean I can attest to that, I mean I know how you are and how you operate, and I mean, for sure, everything that you're saying is what you're doing as well. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:So that's the thing, like I've struggled so much with my own health and I needed to figure it out. I finally figured my health out and today I'm pain-free. I don't have any food intolerances anymore. I'm feeling better now at the age of 38 than I did when I was 23. And a lot of people they keep on blaming age, they keep on blaming DNA, they keep on blaming their surroundings, instead of actually taking responsibility.
Speaker 1:Taking responsibility, looking inward and then executing and following through with the actions as well. I know that's where I can struggle sometimes in my own personal health. Is I get the right idea? And then it's that execution part. You know that I'm like it'll be fine and then you're like, no, it's not. Yeah, it's not fine. You can't just get the things. You actually have to do the process and eat well and do everything, put everything nice into your body, whether it be supplements or the correct foods for you as a person, because the correct food for me may not be the correct food for you right, exactly, I was actually talking with a friend of mine in London and she was just like what is the optimal diet?
Speaker 2:And I'm not going to go into the whole conversation, but I said that every single diet can be good and every single diet can be bad, because what we're needing to understand is the body needs all the essential fatty acids, all the essential proteins, all the essential vitamins and all the essential minerals. I do not care how they come into your body, but every single diet, if it's lacking something, it's not going to be the optimal diet. And every single diet you eat, if you're able to optimize those nutritional parameters that you need to get into your body, can be a good diet. But processed foods are not going to give you all of those nutritional stuff that you need.
Speaker 2:No, it's very bad so those are something you should cut out. No matter what diet you're doing, you should aim for whole foods.
Speaker 1:Whole foods. That sounds great. We'll just move that a little bit more that way. Well, my goodness, I mean you're such an example of what it is like to look inward, take accountability and then execute and live your best life possible. I mean, thank you so much for coming on here. You're such an inspiration.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. I'd love to have you back another time and, my goodness, in the meantime, just keep on conquering the world, thank you.