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Everyday Awesome

Finding Your Resilience, Accepting Change and The Power of Empathy with Maria Ross

Ep. 2

“When things get back to normal...” 


We hear this statement far too often these days, specifically in regards to the global COVID-19 pandemic. While this statement doesn’t seem harmful, it can support many people’s refusal to accept change. Instead of rejecting change, let’s accept and adapt to the changes, discover our resilience, and find the silver linings in life’s challenging situations.


My guest today, Maria Ross, is a dear friend and mentor who is an entrepreneur, speaker, podcast host, and author. At age 35 Maria suffered a brain aneurysm that was a game-changer in her life. The dramatic effect the brain aneurysm had on her life taught her to accept change and redefine success, inspiring her book, Rebooting My Brain. Her recent book, The Empathy Edge, harnesses the value of empathy and compassion as a competitive advantage for businesses. 


Tune in today to learn how a brain aneurysm changed Maria’s life, how to actively accept change, and the competitive advantage of empathy in business and in all areas of life. Enjoy! 


In This Episode You Will Learn 

  • How Maria and I met (5:12)
  • Maria’s background and wide range of interests (7:33)
  • The story of Maria’s brain aneurysm at age 35 and how it’s impacted her life (10:19)
  • The importance of actively accepting change (17:48)
  • The silver linings from the COVID-19 pandemic that Maria and I have experienced (22:06)
  • How Maria’s experience in recovery with Patience & Family Centered Care impacted her outcome (25:28)
  • How Maria wants to redefine success to include empathy (31:47)
  • How COVID-19 has brought empathy and compassion to the surface of businesses (34:48)
  • Maria’s working definition of empathy (35:59)
  • A story from Maria’s book that resonated with me (38:29)
  • The power of storytelling to reach a mission (41:24)
  • What inspires Maria (43:00)
  • The reader of Maria’s book that made all her research and writing worth it (48:36)
  • What Maria’s everyday awesome is (51:38)
  • The key takeaways from Maria and I’s conversation (54:25)


Connect with Maria


Let’s Connect!

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