We recently connected with Adena Sampson and have shared our conversation below.
Adena , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
There comes a time in each of our lives when everything seems like it’s falling apart—our relationships unravel, our health declines, our finances crumble—and it can be easy to allow these circumstances to define us. When these seemingly insurmountable obstacles arise, we have two choices: to use our circumstances as an excuse to stay stuck, or to face our fears and move through them.
My story is one of severe chronic illness, excruciating heartbreak, and financial devastation—a twelve-year journey that had me fighting for my life.
The journey brought with it much pain, and yet yielded many gifts. I learned through pain, that the love which I was seeking externally, was within me. When it came down to life or death, many times over, the only choice I had was to choose me. What saved my life was the decision to fully love and care for myself, realizing that I could no longer give from an empty cup, leaving myself drained and void of energy.
In order to fully heal I had to take my power back, strengthen my mindset, explore my limiting beliefs and move past them: to understand that things were not happening to me, they were happening for me. I had to be willing to walk blindly in faith, trust my inner knowing, persevere and commit to doing whatever it took to overcome, regardless of my circumstances!
When I finally let go I was shown the way—caught when I least expected it. I had been brought to my knees so that whatever was left unhealed could rise to the surface. In the midst of being broken, I was given the gifts of fortitude, gratitude, patience, presence and purpose. I found the strength within myself to walk by faith and not by sight, to discern fact from fiction and remain steadfast on the path to recovery.
Since then I have taken everything I’ve learned about thriving in the face of adversity and I’m sharing it with others as a roadmap to recovery and healing. Through this work I have helped countless people transform their lives.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My business helps empower my clients to gain the courage, clarity, and confidence they need to move their lives powerfully forward: to break through their limiting beliefs so that they can step into who they’re truly meant to be in the world.
Our personal development products, programs and educational events, speak to those who are at a crossroads, facing major life transitions.
It’s no secret that the pandemic took a toll on everyone. It brought with it uncertainty, altered daily routines, financial pressures, social isolation and more. Many are struggling with their mental health and are looking for support online, especially now when depression and anxiety are at an all-time high.
That being said, our students are given the opportunity to shift their perspective: to understand the driving force behind the self-sabotaging thoughts and behaviors that are holding them back, redefine the way they measure success, and adopt new empowering habits and beliefs that improve their quality of life.
We also offer free resources: mental health tips and tools via social media, weekly newsletters, community workshops/events, and scholarships for those in need.
What motivates me and makes me proud of my business, is the life-changing difference that it makes. My passion and empathy come from my own experiences of having overcome the insurmountable. If it weren’t for the foundational principles that I share in my book and educational programs, I wouldn’t be alive today.
I’m proud of myself for having the courage to share my story. For taking my pain to purpose and teaching others to do the same: to take their struggles in life and turn them into something meaningful, impactful, and useful. It’s this level of perseverance and resilience that I share with all of my clients, a gift that I use to help them bounce back in ways they never thought possible.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
“I was on an upward spiral throughout my life; my passion and commitment to being of service attracted incredible opportunities and a community of great friends. Then, in 2008, everything changed. Everything just fell apart—my health, my relationship, my finances—my world came crashing down and so did I!
I had managed to acquire a resistant strain of staph, otherwise known as MRSA, in my lymph nodes and right breast tissue that had relapsed for the second time, leaving me in critical condition. Four nurses tried to stick me with an intravenous seven different times before it finally took. I lay there thinking, “God? Is there something you’re trying to tell me?” The message rang out loud and clear: How many times do you have to be pricked before you bleed? When was I going to draw the line and let go of this relationship that no longer served me? When was enough, enough? Was I willing to die for it?
They say love is blind, and I would have to concur. My higher self and intuition had been trying to get my attention from the very beginning. I had been walking on eggshells for far too long, and I was sick and tired of not being seen, heard, or understood. I had unconsciously hooked into an unhealthy dysfunctional pattern that was being repeatedly played out, and by sticking around, I kept the cycle alive.
Part of me was in denial, afraid to let go, afraid that if I did I’d be making a big mistake. And that’s when it happened. As I lay there with a PICC line in my arm, heavily drugged, my partner threw another one of his weekly fits and walked out. For me, this was the last straw! At the time, I was numb. It seemed almost impossible to deal with the immense pain in my heart in addition to all the pain I was feeling in my physical body. I felt abandoned and devastated, deprived of comfort by the very man who claimed he wanted to be my husband. For when it mattered the most—in what seemed to be my weakest moment, my darkest hour—he wasn’t there.
I was on the floor gut-wrenched; I felt broken, my wings tattered and torn. I felt like I was dying inside, and in a way I was. There were days I couldn’t get out of bed. I would wake up many mornings with an empty pit in my stomach feeling like I was going to hurl. I was angry at myself for not trusting myself, my intuition, and all the signs. I felt like a fool. I was hurt, left questioning and trying to renegotiate with the universe. Why, God? Why did I feel so close yet so far away from the man I loved with every inch of my being and breadth of my soul? There must be some mistake. I somehow felt conned, like I had been wronged, baited with a beautiful, shiny, red, juicy apple only to find after taking a bite that it had been poisoned.
I found myself in a scary place, a place where fear resides. A place where I had somehow, even for just a moment, forgotten what having faith was. I felt tired and overwhelmed, so far removed from myself, and I just couldn’t seem to find my way home.” – The Road Back To Me, pp. 5-7
This is just the beginning of my story…
Want to Learn More? Grab Your Copy of The Road Back to Me: https://www.tinyurl.com/theroadbacktome
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Many of us give away our power without even realizing it. Sometimes it’s obvious, and other times it’s so subtle it can be hard to recognize.
For a very long time, I was unsettled every time I’d hear a flight attendant’s safety briefing: “Should the cabin lose pressure, oxygen masks will drop from the overhead bin. If you are traveling with children, please make sure to secure your mask first before assisting the child.” I remember thinking, “hell no!” If I was traveling with a child, you can be damn sure I’d be putting their mask on before mine. And that statement says it all.
The innate desire to sacrifice one’s own self to save the ones we love feels counterintuitive, as it goes against our natural instincts. Many of us stay in struggling relationships because we want to do right by those around us. We give and give without being sustained by oxygen. It’s important to learn to balance out the loving care we give to those around us and the loving care we give to ourselves, for the act of saving one’s own life first is what ultimately saves the lives of those around us.
Learning the art of self-care: to love and care for myself first and foremost, is one of the many lessons I’ve learned on this journey of self-discovery. The ability to shift my perspective: to see adversity through the lens of opportunity, led me to become aware of the underlying subconscious programming that was running, the patterns and behaviors that I needed to shift. That’s how I reclaimed my power.
So I invite you to take some inventory on your life. How have you been giving away your power? Do you put other people’s needs before your own? At what point, and in which way, have you contributed to this type of codependent behavior?
Ready to Break the Cycle? Download Your FREE Guide: https://www.tinyurl.com/5stepstoreclaimyourpower
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.AdenaSampson.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adenasampson
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adenasampson
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adenasampson
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/adenasampson
- Other: https://www.outloudproductionslv.com
Image Credits
– Lori A. Cheung
– Amy Schildknecht