Meet Sydney Fletcher.  She's a Type 1 diabetic who suffered a diabetic seizure in her mid-20s.   This triggered a period of anxiety, stress and insomnia.  Through restorative yoga she found peace in her life that was able to forge a new path for herself.  You can find Sydney on Instagram or at her website.

"It's time to get your affairs in order," was not what 31 year old Casey Head wanted or expected to hear from her doctor.  She had just been diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, known as a children's cancer.  Four months into treatment Casey suffered a stroke and went into a short coma.  Temporarily paralyzed on her left side, Casey would have to dedicate hours of rehab work while she went through chemo.  Incredibly, she would beat cancer but it would return not once but two more times!  Follow Casey on Instagram or you can learn more about her at her website.  

A nurse entered the hospital room to get John Carey's body ready for the morgue.  In the hospital for days with kidney disease, he was presumed dead but in fact John was very much alive.  As the nurse approached him, he moved his eyes causing her to jump across the room.  Later that afternoon he walked out of the hospital and drove himself home.  This is only one of many incredible events that define John's life to date.  Hear more, from his troubled childhood, to his trek to Los Angeles where he found work as a butler, a limousine driver and as a founder of a magazine, among other things.  John is the author of three books, Dream Another Dream , Dream your World and Plant-Based Regenerative Nutrition.  You can follow John on Twitter.

Jose Pereira (Jose Angel Pereira Ruimwyck) knows what it's like to be wrongfully detained in a foreign country.  In November 2017 Jose, the then CEO of Houston-based CITGO oil company, was summoned to Caracas with members of his leadership team for what appeared to be a normal budgetary meeting.  Upon arrival they quickly found out they were  to be arrested by the government for charges of treason, espionage, embezzlement and corruption.  Held hostage for five years, Jose and his team learned how to survive and put systems in place to help them.  In October 2022, they were released in a prisoner exchange on St. Vincent's in the Caribbean and Jose is now back home in Houston leading many important hostage advocacy efforts.  Please follow him on his LinkedIn profile.  You can also learn more at Bring Our Families Home.

Driving with his cousin on a remote winding mountain road in August 2022, Stefan Venne lost control of his 1984 Volkswagon Rabbit and crashed into a tree.  Far from help and outside of cell phone reception, Stefan was trapped and out of it while his cousin left him to seek help.  The nearest town had a population of 81 people.  With great fortune, his cousin found someone - a nurse - who could help.  Eventually he and his cousin were airlifted to a nearby hospital.  Hear Stefan's story (with insights from his older brother Riley) and how he overcame the amputation of his lower left leg and is working towards a new life as an amputee.  Read more about Stefan's story at his CaringBridge page.

Can you imagine what it would be like to be clinically dead and return to life once?  How about twenty times?  Meet Fred Rutman.  He has clinically died twenty times as a result of a condition called sudden onset full heart block.  It  started back in 2009, when he was home grading papers.   Now he is a veteran of dying and coming back.  Hear his story of repeated survival and how it has affected his life.  You can follow Fred here Instagram or here LinkedIn.  He has also written an book, The Summer I Died Twenty Times: Because Lightening Does Strike The Same Spot Twice.

James Gardner isn't afraid to take on a challenge.  Dealt paralysis at a young age and a brain tumor later in life, James did not allow them to  affect his grit and determination.   He's traveled the world, he worked as a journalist and he now coaches others.  James even trained for the London Marathon before he had to stop due to the brain tumor.  He now sprints instead.  You can follow James on Instagram and get in touch with him through his website.

Doctor, coach and podcast host, Dr. Kathy Zhang has so much to offer people.  With a first hand account of the struggles and the toll of treating COVID patients in New York City in 2020, Kathy brings a wealth of experience and perspective to her clients as a coach or her patients as a doctor.  You can find her at her website or on LinkedIn, Instagram, and her podcast The Purpose Filter.

A phone call saved his life.  Drowning in anxiety and depression, Chuck Thuss almost did the unthinkable.  Driving down the road he accelerated his truck with the intention of slamming into a guardrail and ending his life.  Yet a higher power had other ideas for him and a woman who would play a major role in his recovery entered his life through phone call on the side of the road.  Hear how Chuck overcame his demons and saved his life.  He is now a coach and you can learn more about him at his site.  WARNING: this episode contains suicide ideation content, listener discretion is advised.

Thank you for tuning in!  I'm trying a new format in addition to continuing with  the interviews.  From time to time, I'll do short form solo podcasts on things that I think are relevant to Profound Awesomeness.  I think these will generally be around 5-10 minutes in length.  Let me know what you think!  You can email me at [email protected].