We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Marie Cosgrove, Ph.D. a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Marie , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One deeply underappreciated facet of entrepreneurship is the kind of crazy stuff we have to deal with as business owners. Sometimes it’s crazy positive sometimes it’s crazy negative, but crazy experiences unite entrepreneurs regardless of industry. Can you share a crazy story with our readers?

The craziest thing that happened to me was buying the company that fired me.

It all started with a pink slip and a feeling of betrayal. I couldn’t believe that after all the hard work and dedication I had put into that company, they would just let me go for making too much money in sales! I was a single mom of four. Dad had lost parental rights due to domestic violence. It was a difficult time, but instead of wallowing in self-pity, I decided to turn the situation around and start a company of my own.

I poured my heart and soul into starting my own medical devices company, working tirelessly to get FDA clearance and build a successful business from the ground up. And it paid off – my company was thriving, and I was making a name for myself in the industry.

But then, out of the blue, the company that had fired me reached out to me. They wanted me to invest in their struggling business, hoping my expertise could turn things around. I was initially hesitant, but after closely examining their financials, I realized that I held all the cards. I had produced 83% of the sales when they had reached their peak.

I sat down with the owners, negotiating back and forth for six months until we finally reached a deal. I was going to buy the company that once fired me and make it my own.

And that’s exactly what I did. I took the company to new heights, securing big-name clients and expanding internationally. I turned their struggling business into a powerhouse while proving to myself and everyone else that I was capable of anything I set my mind to.

Today, I travel the world as an international speaker specializing in resilience. I am living proof that a setback can be the perfect catalyst for a comeback and that sometimes, the best revenge is success.

Marie , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

It is interesting how I became a professional public speaker.

I was asked to share the story of how I bought the company that fired me. I was hesitant because I did not think it mattered. Les Brown, who has filled stadiums of upwards of 80k people and is often quoted by celebrities, such as Denzel Washington, and who inspired the real true hero from the movie 15:17 to Paris, directed by Clint Eastwood, heard of my story. He came to my office to encourage me to speak and share my story. I hesitated for a long time. I finally agreed to speak when asked. My first talk was in front of 5,000 business executives. However, a few weeks before my talk, I had a dream; in my dream, God said, “This is NOT your story.” My life’s beginnings, which were full of shame, flashed before my eyes. I woke up and called an aunt, and told her I was going to share my story. She said, “No, you are not.” I said, “Yes, I am.” She said, “No, you are not.” I said, “Yes, I am.” She said, “hell, no, you are not.” At this point, I said, it is not about you or me; it shows the power of God. You see, I was born to a mentally disabled single mom due to a car accident she was in that left her permanently brain-damaged. She was later assaulted after the accident that resulted in my birth. I write about it in my book Greater Fortune, Essential Lessons from the Entrepreneur Who Bought the Company that Fired Her:” Later on, I was introduced to Nick Vujicic by Les Brown, who said I needed to speak. And he put me in front of an audience of 15k. Soon, the engagements kept coming, and that is why my speaking became a full-time career.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Being fired as a single mom with four kids and no child support was not easy. However, I did not have time to have a pity party. I had to lift myself up and find a way to get myself and my kids out of the situation we were in. It takes resilience to adapt positively when faced with significant adversity. My upcoming book, “A Resilient Mind: Essential Lessons to Building Resilience,” shares more stories of resilience and tools to build resilience.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn the habit of trusting people 100%. I learned that we can trust people, but we must verify. Trust but verify. I learned this hard lesson from experience which I detail in my upcoming book “A Resilient Mind”. A high-level executive managed to steal our software code for one of the medical devices we had a 510k Clearance. It was a huge loss–in the millions.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.drcosgrove.com
• Instagram: @resilientexpert
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrCosgrove
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariecosgrove/
• Twitter: @resilientexpert

Image Credits
Author photo Michael Carr