Someone I love was given a terminal diagnosis with zero prospects for living past a certain age. Even though many people thought I was being ridiculous or in denial about the terminal nature of the condition, I did hardcore medical research and sought out the right specialists to work with and the right treatments over the years. That person is the only known person from the U.S. to have survived and is almost 14 years past the predicted age of death. Their health history was presented at an international medical conference several years ago because of the extraordinary outcome and success coupled with the fact that they were the only known person to have survived from the U.S.
It was a painful and difficult journey without a doubt – one of the hardest experiences of my life. It was also one that was extremely educational and valuable. I have three moving boxes of medical research materials from that odyssey, which I am keeping. I have applied all that I learned to my own health and wellness and there is no question that I know important things and I am healthier as a result. Medicine is slow to adopt and embrace medical innovations and changes, so doing your own medical research can produce miraculous results as I learned.
Your Love.Life. Podcast series has an interesting list of topics. What can you say about your podcast series? How are your podcasts helping other people with happiness, health and wellness?
I am deeply moved by the individuals who have reached out to me to share their amazing positive feedback on my podcasts, which includes therapists and physicians beyond consumers. My target market is regular people. It just so happens that some therapists have found my content valuable enough to use with their patients. My podcast topics deal with the myriad of issues and problems people have that stop them from being happy: depression and anxiety, low self-esteem, not having love in their life, dysfunctional families, loneliness and isolation, fears, dealing with loss and grief, how to be happy when life is hard, overwhelm, fears traumas, etc. My podcasts help the listeners get a fresh perspective on the issue at hand and ideas for how to deal with the problem with a focus on moving towards happiness, health and wellness. Many of the current issues and problems people have can be traced back to a dysfunctional family and how they were treated as a child and so it is not their fault and that is very freeing and helpful to people. I talk about all the things that we are not talking about generally speaking, yet are valuable and critical to happiness, health and wellness.
You have published several articles on Newsweek.com and are quoted in several of their Expert Articles. How does that work?
As a member of the Newsweek Expert Forum, I am permitted to submit my own articles for publication on Newsweek.com, which I have done and continue to do. It is not a requirement for accepting the invitation to be an expert, it is simply an opportunity of membership. The Newsweek Experts are given the opportunity to answer questions and potentially be quoted in an article the Newsweek staff writes. I have participated in that when I feel I have something to contribute.
It seems like you kind of reinvented yourself going from one focus of the allergy and gluten free market to happiness, health and wellness. Is that the case? What happened with that?
Due to an unfortunate series of events as in dealing with a kind of mini Bernie Madoff situation, I had no choice but to reinvent myself a few years ago, which was a painful experience and shocking to be honest. Yet, what happened to me happens much more often than you realize it’s just that people don’t talk about that when it happens. So, I had to take stock and look at what I am skilled in beyond the allergy and gluten free market. I started my blog and website in 2019 prior to the pandemic arriving as a self-help and personal empowerment source to help people get their lives turned around something that I have done since I was young.
You seem like a woman on a mission. What is your mission?
I am on a mission to help people be happy, healthy and well loved. We don’t talk much about the idea of being well loved in our society, yet I have found that being well loved is missing from way too many peoples’ lives. Too many people don’t feel well loved, which is tragic and heartbreaking, yet it is very common. In the Marion Diamond Research lab, they did an experiment in which they took the rats out of the cages and just gave them tender loving care (TLC) talking to them and petting them. The rats demonstrated plasticity gains and lived 50 % longer just from the addition of TLC. I am a fan of love as the name Love.Life.™ implies. What the world needs more of is love and I am working on that through my content and work.
Lisa, you are the author of the best-selling book, The Super Allergy Girl™ Allergy & Celiac Cookbook. What inspired you to write the book and what was the experience like?
I wish I could say I was inspired to write my first book; however, it came to fruition at the repeated requests and almost demands of people in the allergy and gluten-free community. It was an extremely valuable experience that taught me a great deal about publishing and marketing a book. Although that book has been replaced by my new Gluten Free and Allergy Cookbook, I am deeply blessed to have been so successful with it.
You previously worked for Integrative Medicine Consortium, Xerox Corporation, Bausch & Lomb, and Rhone-Poulenc Rorer pharmaceuticals. What led you to give up working with those organizations to become a writer and public speaker?
I left my professional career to take care of my children and all that was involved in managing their health and education. I had been a public speaker before I graduated from college and it is one of my loves so it was a natural expression of who I am. Because I was not permitted to work outside of the home and forced to homeschool my children, I did what came naturally and that my circumstances would support.
How did working for those major companies help you in your current role?
Working for those major companies helped me grow my personal skills and abilities, which has contributed to my success long after I left in a myriad of ways. I am grateful for those employment opportunities the success I had and all that I learned in the process. I am still in touch with two of my former managers from Xerox – two great individuals who I love.
Tell us about the public speaking engagements you do. What are the topics and events you cover during your talks?
I do speaking for conferences and workshops in both small and very large settings. My public speaking now is devoted to happiness, emotional intelligence, health and wellness, leadership and working in teams. Because I have rare and unique skills and abilities, my speeches have been described as unforgettable. I have also heard on more than one occasion that people are so inspired that they want to hear me talk every day even if it is only for 5 minutes.
My speeches are crafted with the specific audience in mind at the request of the conference or institution organizer with their specific goals and intentions as my intended outcome. The longest talk I ever did was an 8-hour workshop on getting your message out via marketing and social media. Because I have a high-level stalker, my past, current and future speaking engagements are not posted on my website for safety and security reasons.
You are a Distinguished Toastmaster. Can you explain what a Toastmaster is and its importance?
Toastmasters is the oldest public speaking organization founded in 1924, which helps individuals become both better public speakers and better leaders. Less than 1% of Toastmasters will attain the Distinguished Toastmaster award status because it is an involved process. One of the richest experiences I had with Toastmasters was starting two Toastmaster Gavel Clubs for young people under the age of 18, which I did so that my children could make new friends. To see and help facilitate children engage in public speaking was an extraordinary experience and one that I will never forget. Kids are amazing!
I would highly recommend Toastmasters to anyone because it is a very valuable and worthwhile organization that offers the opportunity for growth and development with a reasonably low cost.
How did you develop your public speaking skills?
My public speaking skills started developing at a very young age when I was a student leader in organizations beginning in junior high school. I simply did what the role called for, which was a good amount of public speaking and leadership not knowing that public speaking was what I was actually doing. As a resident assistant in college at Penn State, I had ample opportunity to hone and practice my public speaking and leadership as part of that job.
Tell us about your work as a life coach. What motivates you to work with people to better their lives?
Watching someone do the work and take the actions to transform their life is one of the most valuable, rich and meaningful experiences I can think of. People have to be vulnerable with a life coach, and that in and of itself is special. Personally, I get amazing rewards seeing someone go from being unhappy with their life to being happy and fulfilled with their life.
How do you approach working with clients as a life coach?
My life coaching is individualized to the person being coached. Not everyone has the same issues and problems and not everyone is organized the same way. We begin with what they hope to accomplish and then work through the things that are preventing them from being happy or attaining their goals. They have homework or assignments based on what obstacles they are facing.
What is your advice to people considering a life coach, and what would you offer them?
You don’t need a life coach to change your life. Let’s start with that. Almost anyone can go on a journey of transformation to improve their life on their own although I recommend you take people with you and make a team. If you are considering a life coach, I would suggest asking about their process and personally, I would suggest a life coach with high emotional intelligence.
Lisa, how is a day in your life?
When I am not traveling to speak or meet with a client or do public speaking, my day is a mix of phone calls, creating new and original content, recording podcasts, and managing my business. Once a month I am packing up prizes for my giveaway, which is always fun. I am launching a new “Ask Lisa” tab on my website to expand my ability to support individuals with questions. Each day is driven by a weekly list, which in turn is driven by a master list of what I am committed to creating.
What is something most people don’t know about you?
I was never supposed to be a mother medically because most of my uterus was removed surgically because of a 19-centimeter fibroid tumor, which was 8 times larger than my uterus itself. As such, my uterine tissue grew back and I was able to have 3 children without any medical intervention, which is miraculous according to the physicians involved. Being a Mother is my most favorite role in the world. I love being a mother and I cherish my children.
Choose two of your favorite quotes and write them here
“Carpe Diem.” (Seize the Day)
“The place to be happy is here. The time to be happy is now. The way to be happy is to make others so.” Robert G. Ingersoll
If you had the power to change just one thing in the world, what would it be?
I would give people the feeling that they have been well loved in life.
To know more about Lisa Lundy please visit https://lisaalundy.com
