We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Teresa Baglietto. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Teresa below.

Teresa, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Parents play a huge role in our development as youngsters and sometimes that impact follows us into adulthood and into our lives and careers. Looking back, what’s something you think you parents did right?

I lost both my parents, but the impact they had on me continues to shape every part of my life and career. What they did right looked very different from one another, yet together they gave me the foundation I stand on today.

My dad was an entrepreneur who built his own architectural firm from the ground up. While I lost him at a young age, he was incredibly impressionable on me. His drive, his fire, and the way he approached life left a blueprint on my personality. I have his determination; I push as hard as I do because of him. In many ways, becoming a successful sales professional and building a brand of my own feels like an extension of the legacy he started. I know he would be so proud of the woman I’ve become and the paths I’ve forged.

My mom, on the other hand, was the gentle presence in my life, warm, thoughtful, and deeply introspective. Talking to her was like talking to the best therapist: she listened, she reflected, she understood me. She taught me that it’s okay to express my feelings, that being emotional isn’t a flaw but a form of strength. Her support wasn’t loud, but it was impactful, and I carry that emotional intelligence into every part of my life, with my kids, with my teams, with my audience, and even with the people I interview.

One gave me drive. One gave me depth. Together, they gave me balance.

I remember once, as a young girl overwhelmed by something that felt enormous, my dad told me, “You can figure out anything if you stay focused.” Later, my mom sat beside me and said, “And it’s okay if it hurts while you figure it out.” I didn’t realize at the time how profound that combination was, grit and grace. It became the framework for how I’ve survived every major challenge in my life, cancer, strokes, aneurysms, divorce, financial setbacks.

Losing them was painful, but what they instilled in me has carried me through every storm and shaped the woman I am today, as a mother, a leader, a survivor, and a storyteller. Their impact is woven into everything I do.

Teresa, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

For those who don’t know me yet, I’m Teresa Baglietto, a four-time cancer survivor, mother, sales professional, and the owner and host of the In Shock podcast, as well as the author of The Ripple Effect, a memoir coming out December 1. My work is dedicated to helping and inspiring people to navigate life’s biggest curveballs with honesty, courage, and connection.

My path into this work wasn’t traditional. I spent more than 25 years building a successful career as a sales professional in the tech industry, a career fueled by the determination, discipline, and fire I inherited from my father, an entrepreneur who built his own architectural firm from the ground up. That drive is in my DNA, and it shaped the way I show up in every area of my life: with focus, grit, and an unshakable belief that you can rebuild yourself no matter what life throws at you.

But my deeper calling came from what I lived through outside the office. I’ve survived four separate cancer diagnoses, aneurysms, strokes, traumatic medical complications, divorce, and financial collapse, and each time, I had to find my way back to myself. People began asking me how I managed to keep going, how I stayed grounded during the darkest moments, how I rebuilt my identity over and over again. That’s when I realized I had something meaningful to share.

In Shock was born from that realization: a platform and podcast where I tell the truth about what it actually takes to survive life’s most shocking moments and where I share stories from others who have walked through their own fires. My memoir, The Ripple Effect, continues that mission by showing readers how to find their center when life shatters, how to rebuild with intention, and how even small steps can create powerful change.

What I offer and what sets my work apart: I don’t teach from theory. I teach from lived experience.

My work focuses on:

-Helping people process major life events and identity-shifting moments

-Sharing emotional anchors and practical tools for getting through the hardest days

-Creating real, honest conversations about trauma, healing, and reinvention

-Building connection and community for people who feel alone in their experience

-Inspiring forward momentum, even in the smallest ways

I’m most proud that I’ve been able to turn my pain into purpose… that the darkest seasons of my life have become a source of hope and strength for others. When someone tells me an episode helped them breathe, helped them feel understood, or helped them take the next step, that’s the greatest reward.

What I want people to know about me and my brand:

My work is for anyone navigating life after a jolt, anyone who has been blindsided and is trying to find their footing again. My brand isn’t about perfection or pretending to be strong. It’s about honesty, humanity, and the courage to keep going. It’s about showing people that even in the hardest moments, you get to decide what comes next.

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

One of the clearest examples of resilience in my life comes from facing cancer four separate times. Each diagnosis was its own earthquake, shaking the foundation of everything I thought I knew about my body, my future, and my strength. But what I learned through four battles, multiple treatments, and years of uncertainty—is that resilience is not a single act. It takes believing you can rise again and again.

And rising doesn’t happen in isolation.

I’ve always been the “I’ll handle it myself” type, fiercely independent and determined. But cancer taught me the power of community in a way nothing else could. Friends, family, neighbors, and even strangers became my lifelines. My friends drove me to appointments, sitting with me during treatments, managing my kids’ schedules, bringing meals, or sending a simple text that said, I’m here. Every gesture mattered more than I could ever explain. The truth is, sometimes the strongest part of you is the circle of people who refuse to let you fall.

I also had to learn how to advocate for myself. Surviving cancer four times meant asking hard questions, pushing for clarity, trusting my intuition when something didn’t feel right, and building a plan I could stand behind. Advocacy became one of the fiercest forms of self-love I’ve ever practiced.

And perhaps the most surprising lesson was that strength isn’t always loud. Sometimes it’s quiet, steady, and wrapped in vulnerability. Letting people support me didn’t make me weaker, it made me more human. It created the emotional space I needed to breathe, to process, and ultimately, to heal.

My resilience was built in community, in preparation, in self-advocacy, and in the belief that no matter how many times life knocks you down, you can rise again and again. That truth shaped the mission behind my podcast, InShock, and my memoir, The Ripple Effect — and it’s the spirit behind my mantra, Not Today Life. It’s what I want others to know: no matter how heavy life becomes, no matter what you’re facing, you are never rising alone.

How did you build your audience on social media?

My social media growth has been anything but overnight. It’s been a lot of trial and error, a lot of consistency, and a lot of paying attention, to the hashtags, the captions, the message, and most importantly, the audience itself. I post across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn because each platform serves a different purpose in my brand. My goal has always been to promote my podcast, my book, and the thoughts and stories that I hope will help people.

As my platforms grew, I realized something important: the audiences are not the same. On TikTok, my audience is primarily women ages 35–55. On Instagram, it’s mostly women 18–35. On YouTube, 25–44. And LinkedIn has become the place where the more professional side of my story meets the mission behind my work. Each platform requires a subtle tweak the same message, but delivered the way that audience needs to hear it.

When I started, I focused mainly on TikTok and Facebook. Facebook wasn’t growing as quickly, so I leaned into the platforms that responded to my voice: TikTok and Instagram. Once I got comfortable speaking on camera and sharing my podcast visually, I added YouTube. Only recently did I bring this work to LinkedIn. It’s a lot to manage, but each platform plays a role in my long-term vision, and that’s something I encourage others to think about. Don’t pick a platform because it’s trendy, pick based on your goals and where your content can truly live and grow.

If you’re just starting, here’s my best advice: stay consistent. Fame doesn’t happen overnight. I don’t even believe in that concept. What does happen is momentum, and momentum comes from showing up even when you feel like no one is listening. Your WHY has to be bigger than your doubt, because the doubt will come. You’ll question yourself more times than you can count. You’ll want to quit. But if you keep going, if you stay curious, keep learning, keep posting, you’ll eventually figure out what works for you. And when you do, the entire process becomes less about pressure and more about joy.

And here’s something people forget: just because someone doesn’t comment or like your post doesn’t mean it isn’t resonating. People are watching. People are listening. Your message is landing with someone who needs it. Keep showing up for that person, even if you never know who they are.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://teresabaglietto.com/
• Instagram: .instagram.com/inshock.podcast
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/teresabaglietto
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@inshock.podcast