Deb Krier: 3-Time Cancer Survivor on Resilience, Self-Advocacy & Business — Cancer Warrior, Entrepreneur & Community Builder | Be Yourself Podcast
Be Yourself Podcast

DebKrier

3-Time Cancer Survivor — on Self-Advocacy in Healthcare & Life, Building Your Warrior Tribe, Speaking Your Mind Under Pressure, and Keeping Going No Matter What

50 minutes
Resilience · Self-Advocacy · Cancer Survivorship · Community · Entrepreneurship
Watch on YouTube Trying Not to Die

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About This Episode

How Deb Krier Turned Three Cancer Diagnoses Into a Movement — and What She Learned About Advocacy, Community, and Choosing How You Live

Most people facing one cancer diagnosis would call it a defining moment. Deb Krier has faced three. She is currently in active treatment for stage 4 metastatic triple positive breast cancer — nine years in, going in every 21 days — and she has spent that time not just surviving, but building: a marketing firm, a cancer support initiative, a community, and a podcast with over 1,000 episodes.

In this episode of the Be Yourself Podcast, Deb — founder of Wise Women Communications and the initiative Trying Not to Die — shares the lessons that only come from facing the things most people are afraid to name. How to be your own advocate when your brain shuts down at a diagnosis. How to build a tribe that actually shows up. Why the strongest move anyone can do is ask for help. And why warriors never fight alone.

The conversation moves from healthcare to business, from self-advocacy to the victim mindset, from Simon Sinek on friendship to President Jimmy Carter's lifelong why. It is raw, insightful, and deeply human.

01
Why patients cannot defer to doctors blindly — and why being your own advocate changes outcomes
Deb learned this from an oncologist 35 years ago: the patient is who is in charge. In moments of fear and diagnosis, our brains shut off and we defer. But the treatment you receive needs to be the one you want for it to be effective. Advocacy isn't optional.
02
Trying Not to Die — how a business coach's challenge turned into a cancer support movement
Deb's business coach shook her finger and said: you didn't go through everything you went through without using it to help others. Deb's first instinct was to say no — she didn't want to be Cancer Girl. Then she realized she already was, and that it was a natural extension of who she had always been.
03
How to develop the courage to speak your mind — even when you're afraid, ashamed, or at risk
Speaking up isn't only god-given. It can be learned. Deb describes two situations during her care where she faced mistreatment bad enough to consider calling the police. What pushed her through the fear: thinking about the 95-year-old in the next room who couldn't speak for herself.
04
The victim mindset — what it looks like in cancer, in abuse, and in everyday life
The question "what did I do to cause this?" is one of the most common responses to a cancer diagnosis. And also to abuse. Recognizing the feeling is normal and natural — and then deciding not to be defined by it — is where the work begins.
05
Warriors don't fight alone — how to build and protect your tribe
Deb has fired three doctors over nine years. She has a surgeon she would walk on fire for. Her tribe includes healthcare people, loved ones, co-workers, Facebook group members, and the person who showed up and said: we're here to clean. Your tribe will come and go. Build it deliberately, and remove what drains it.
06
Asking for help is a strength — and giving people the chance to help is a gift
Don't just say "let me know if you need anything" — be specific. Can I bring dinner? Can I take the kids? Don't take the opportunity from other people to help you. It's one of the most generous things you can do: show your vulnerability and let someone rise to meet it.

About the Guest

Deb Krier — Cancer Advocate, Entrepreneur & Host of The Business Power Hour

Deb Krier is a three-time cancer survivor currently in active treatment for stage 4 metastatic triple positive breast cancer. She has been navigating this diagnosis for nine years, going into treatment every 21 days, and has passed the two-million-dollar mark in healthcare costs. She is not defined by any of it.

Deb is the owner of Wise Women Communications, a marketing and PR firm, and the founder of Trying Not to Die — a community and resource platform for people facing cancer and its implications. She started the initiative at the urging of her business coach, who told her: you didn't go through everything you went through without using it to help others. She also hosts The Business Power Hour podcast, which crossed episode 1,000 in September and publishes twice a week.

Before all of this, Deb spent years working for the American Cancer Society and for an oncologist. She has been a communicator her entire career. She is also, she will tell you clearly, a cancer Warrior — with the tattoo to prove it.

What She Built
Wise Women Communications (marketing & PR firm) + Trying Not to Die (cancer community initiative) + The Business Power Hour podcast (1,000+ episodes, publishing twice a week since ~2010). All running simultaneously, in active treatment.
The Warrior Motto
fate says to the warrior you cannot withstand the Storm and The Warrior responds I am the storm
On Asking for Help
I think one of the strongest things someone can do is to ask for help
On Moving Forward
whether we're we've got a cancer diagnosis whether we're in a country that is having major issues we just have to keep going

Key Quotes

"

I think one of the strongest things someone can do is to ask for help

Deb Krier
"

fate says to the warrior you cannot withstand the Storm and The Warrior responds I am the storm

Deb Krier
"

don't put stuff off folks even if you are 100% healthy

Deb Krier

Episode Chapters

0:00 Episode Teaser 1:21 Why Patients Can't Defer to Doctors Blindly 3:32 Deb's Business and Social Initiative 5:15 Is Helping People with Cancer a Business? 7:04 Being Our Own Advocate in Healthcare and Life 10:13 Deb Talks About her Empathetic Client 11:37 How Do We Learn to Always Speak Our Mind 14:24 Inside of The Victim's Mind 17:20 How to Keep Creating in Uncertainty 19:10 Don't Put Stuff Off and Express Your Feelings 20:30 Simon Sinek's Thoughts on Friendship 23:05 Importance of being a Part of Communities 26:58 Asking for Help and Offering Help 34:25 Business Lessons Derived from Social Initiatives 36:27 Does Our WHY Change? 37:30 President Jimmy Carter's Mission 39:33 The Business Power Hour Podcast by Deb 42:40 Why Podcasters Connect so Well 43:24 Deb's Takeaways from 2024 and Focus in 2025 45:43 Taking Care of Existing Customers and Meditation in 2025 48:18 We Have to Keep Going

Full Transcript

BTW: This episode of the Be Yourself Podcast is produced by Beverly Media. Also on the show:
Tim Melanson — From Web Developer to Entrepreneur: Creative Crew Agency Co-Founder on Business Momentum, Finding Your Why & Family Business →
0:00 Episode Teaser
Sergey my today's guest is absolutely incredible individual he's a three times cancer survivor who has started a movement to help other people who are facing cancer and implications from cancer dab is a true inspiration once uh one of my guests Mark harberg said that the only real leadership is inspirational leadership and when I was talking to dab I realized that she's a true leader she leads by example she's always energetic vibrant smiling positive individual and never minding the challenges that she has had in her life she keeps moving I wish all of us could be more like that I hope you will enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed it you will be inspired by it and if you will give me a favor give a thumbs like this video or maybe subscribe to the Channel with that I wish you a great watch time thanks a lot and God bless hello everybody Welcome To Be Yourself podcast the podcast on expressing our true cell today my guest is Deb career she is a cancer Advocate a
1:21 Why Patients Can't Defer to Doctors Blindly
Sergey Communicator a business podcast host she builds coalitions shares knowledges and empowers cancer survivors and entrepreneurs to take charge of the thing that they can control to improve their quality of life Deb welcome to the show
Deb oh my gosh sh thank you so much I am so honored to be part of your program I've listened to some of your other podcasts and they're fabulous so I am very honored to be a guest thank you thank you greatly
Sergey so Deb first thing comes from first the question for you is why what you do is important
Deb you know I think it's important for us to always know that we are in charge especially of our health care right um and I many years ago I worked for the American Cancer Society and I worked for an oncologist which is a cancer specialist and that was like 35 years ago and I always remember him saying the patient is who is in charge but you know so many times when we have a very scary diagnosis whether it's cancer whether it's something else for one thing our brains shut off we know we don't even know what we're doing right yeah um but we also in many cases defer to the the our doctors and part of that is you know is because they're the people that's their expertise they've gone to school for many many years all of these various things but it might not be what we want to do um you know or it might not be what you know our spouse wants us to do or things like that and so it's so very important to make sure that we're our own Advocates um and of course that carries through with anything in life but you know especially in your health care we have got to receive the care and treatments that we want in order for them to be the most effective and in some cases people might say I don't want any treatment okay we have to honor that so your choice
3:32 Deb's Business and Social Initiative
Sergey the direction of your business has been heavily influenced by your real life experience would you mind share it with my our audience
Deb sure so my business is actually a marketing and PR firm it's called Wise Women Communications um and and I love it I love my clients because they understand that I have limitations now um you know all sorts of things but I think that really did help me when I decided to start my initiative which is called trying not to die. live and because it was my business coach who told me you need to do this in fact she shook her finger at me we were on zoom and she shook her finger at me and she said you know you didn't go through everything you went through without using it to help others yep and you know clearly I'm shy I don't like to speak right um and when she said hey you should do this my first thought was nah I don't want to be Cancer girl but I realized that I was already doing that you know doctors would call me in when they would have students um they would call me in when they had new patients things like that um I'm I am actually even though I've been going through this for nine years I'm still in active treatment so I go in every 21 days and I'm the person that's wandering around saying can I get you anything do you want some water I mean just all of those things and so it was just kind of a natural extension of the fact that I am a communicator in business that now I carry this forward um you know plus it helps that I know the marketing the social all of those various things
5:15 Is Helping People with Cancer a Business?
Sergey is there like a mission Beyond life that you want to pretty much achieve is this is is is I mean because as a three times cancer survivor I know this you wrote this on this little questionary that I that I sent you I think uh the question of making like a commercial success is secondary is that true statement can you can you elaborate how you patch together your business and personal aspirations
Deb you know my business pays for the the initiative right you know I make enough money there that I'm able then to to do this okay I don't want to be something that is the size of say the American Cancer Society or the K Foundation um would it be nice for it to make enough money that it paid the bills for it sure but for me it's more about the people right how many people can I help as opposed to how much can I sell them um and let's be honest you know when when someone is dealing with cancer the expenses can be absolutely totally overwhelming so I can't really be asking them for more you know I can ask for a little bit like we sell t-shirts and you know some things like that but as you know and and those are geared more for somebody to buy for someone else but um you know yeah it's there are so many people and here in the United States of course Healthcare is is always one of those big issues it a lot of people end up going bankrupt when they have something so catastrophic as as large Cancer Treatments um and so yeah it's not I'm not really in a place to be asking them for a lot more money
7:04 Being Our Own Advocate in Healthcare and Life
Sergey I I'm hearing the notes of maybe I don't know what's your overall attitude towards the Health Care system in the US but it seems like from what you said in your initial statement we have to become our own Advocates and we have to understand that there are things that we can't control and we should not blindly take the cour whatever course the doctor set us on um so can you elaborate more on that maybe not only in terms of treatment a disease but generally uh following whatever path in life so you said that you're you're you pretty much put it on on my questioner is is you the one who chooses how to live your life
Deb you know I let's go back to healthcare Healthcare is an issue um and it is everywhere I mean you know it's it's not just un you know unique to the United States but that's one of the big places where you have to be an advocate um you know I my health care has been extremely expensive I had multiple multiple complications like we said I've been on I'm on my third cancer I'm still in active treatment um all sorts of things and and so I hit the $2 million Mark years ago wow I have been extremely fortunate that I have very very good Healthcare um I have it through my husband's employer and I know that that is actually um kind of unique that that I have that this entire time in nine years they denied one thing one out of everything but a part of that is being your again being your own Advocate there um we had decided several months ago to uh switch treatments um and uh and and it was one of these where it was just kind of one of these Comedy of Errors right where this one thought it had done it and this one thought it had done it between the doctor and the insurance and me everything got all messed up I had to get on the phone to my insurance company and say you need to fix this and you know and they said well we understand why but here's why you have it they said we want you to have a pet scan which is a very detailed um image just to make sure there wasn't anything going on right and I said I did I had that four days ago and she paused and she said I'm sorry we will approve this don't worry about this um and so but how many times would people have just G oh and not called um you know and and there have been a couple of times where we have had to call the insurance company but I know people who have to call all the time um you know and and things but but it's about advocating in other ways too you know our work is is a great example of that you know our employer our our clients whoever might think well you can't do the job right now because you have cancer right either they you know they're not being very empathetic or they're being overly empathetic and thinking we want to you need to focus on that right
10:13 Deb Talks About her Empathetic Client
Deb and so like my I have one primary client love them I've been with them for over seven years um and I let them know that this was was going on and you know and and they didn't say anything like oh focus on what you're doing or maybe you can't do the work they said what can we do to help um you know and of course yes yes you know and that's who you want to be with but it is scary you know tell your boss hey I'm going to be missing so much work um or to be telling your clients maybe I can't do that but that's where you have to again advocate for yourself and say I can still do the work I need the work right I need the insurance I need the the money the income um you know and and advocate for yourself in other ways too to tell people I'm really tired today is not a good day I'm not going to not going to be able to do this or you know I need help you know we we need assistance and this happens with everything right but we either think people can read our minds or we don't want to bother or any of those things and so we need to Advocate and say hey Sergi I need a little help today here's how you can help me um you know and and uh you know and and or or to just say I'm good I'm doing really good today but it's all about taking charge of yourself and your life
11:37 How Do We Learn to Always Speak Our Mind
Sergey so this is the where the operative word Communicator comes on stage it seems to me that you're talking about not being afraid to voice up your opinion whatever it is under whatever conditions or circumstances how do people develop this courage to actually speak up their mind even when they're ashamed you know they're fearful how how do how do we learn to do this do you think it's god-given or it's learned
Deb all of the above you know I've I've always been like this I'm an only child um my mother was a very powerful woman um who you know was I I saw you know her always speaking her mind things like that but it can be very scary um you know I know telling telling a doctor hey I don't agree with what you're saying telling a spouse a a you know a whoever um or or even worse um you know like there were two times during my care where I was treated so badly by a caregiver that we considered contacting the police oh my God you know and so how do you deal with things like that that where um you know because they're you're thinking but they're a caregiver was it my fault right isn't that one of the big Keys we always want to blame oursel first and to realize no um you know and one of the things that I thought about like with the the two caregivers was I needed to speak out for those who couldn't speak out um you know one was I was was in a a a facility I was in the hospital for a very long time um I developed multiple complications from chemo and I ended up having to go to a rehab facility to learn to walk again and and do all of those various things and it was also a skilled care facility for senior citizens it was it was a very odd mix of of patients right um and I knew that the little 95-year-old might not be able to speak out to say hey that person hurt me and so that was why I thought I have to be brave I have to be brave for everybody else um and but it was scary it was very scary because of course your first thought is what's going to happen next right um but um it is hard and so sometimes it's you know think about how how how is your bravery going to help others that's very powerful
14:24 Inside of The Victim's Mind
Sergey how is your bravery going to be beneficial for others and I think that a lot of times we are operating in this survival mode where we just you know our Primal brain it dictates fear you don't go there cuz you're going to die and the thing in the modern world you have to break through this fear pretty much on every on on a B on a daily basis right you have to learn how to challenge yourself every single day it's similar to a muscle that you need to train right and regardless of if you're in minority or not in a way we're all in minority at some point in our life right so unless you learn how to how to be brave you know and voice your opinion things might not be might not change and you will always be a victim have you have you have you seen a lot of victims and and the victim attitude among people who have the what they think is the lethal disease
Deb oh definitely um you know and and and a lot of it is poor me why me why me um what did I do to cause this yeah right I mean that's one of the things that so many people you know I I had one person um I I said I was drinking water with supplements and and you know I mean bottled water with supplements you know sold in every store here and her she's she's a very natural person right and and and her response was oh my god do you want to give yourself cancer and I responded and I and of course that was just her and I responded and I said well maybe I did I mean and and but that wasn't I mean I really didn't care I was and I still drink the water right it doesn't bother me um but but it is something that we do think what did we do to cause this and you know I I think we see that an awful lot with say abuse people who are abused in situations you know their first thought is not you know why are they doing it what I what did I do to cause this um you know and that's very hard to to get over uh you know which is in its core already putting the responsibility on the outside world right and becoming a victim you know and and it is it's a challenge to to get over that and and it's still always going to be there and I think maybe that's one of the things to recognize is it's okay to feel that because it's normal and it's natural and you know and so feel that and then go nuh-uh drinking the water that I drink did not cause me to have cancer or whatever it is
17:20 How to Keep Creating in Uncertainty
Sergey so I think the question I want to ask you is how to navigate times with uncertainty because it it seems that a lot of people who are in this situation who are were diagnosed with cancer they don't know how's the next year of their life going to unfold so how do you find the courage not only not only live and survive but actually create and be be proactive and be a Creator in this life in this world
Deb sometimes it's hard you know there are days where I'm like nip um you know and I know that with my diagnosis and my technical diagnosis it's a mouthful stage four metastatic triple positive breast cancer um that was the first diagnosis and stage four cancer is not considered curable so you know it's always there right now it might never come back I mean it's been almost 10 years knock on wood and it has not come back um you know and and um and the other two cancers that I've had have been totally unrelated but um there is kind of that shadow that is always there and so you I go back and forth I mean like sometimes I think why should I plan why should I plan you know what's going to happen in my business 10 years from now I won't be here well I could get hit by a bus tomorrow and not be here yes you live in a war zone oh my gosh I mean you know um and so I think what we have to do is just realize we have today what can we do for today um you know and and yeah we still plan for the future I do tell people don't put stuff off you know um it was really funny right before the program we were joking about where in the world might be a good place right now
19:10 Don't Put Stuff Off and Express Your Feelings
Deb yeah um and so on my bucket list which I have moved way up um to not be let's do this 10 years from now or 20 years from now maybe this year probably not this year but but next year I want to go on a cruise to the Antarctic wow I'm to go see the baby penguins right um and so you know don't put stuff off folks even if you are 100% healthy and God bless you if you are um but don't put stuff off uh you know yeah plan for the future you know because we all might live to be a 100 um so we and we want to you know have saved money and done all of those things but the things that are that you really want to do do them I also tell people tell them that you appreciate them tell them that you love them um you know the first time I told a friend of mine that I loved her she got this and then she went I love you too right you know um it just startled her because that's not what a lot of people do but even if it's just to say Hey you know this is great I love what we're doing today whatever it is you know go ahead and and and do that because we don't know what tomorrow brings
20:30 Simon Sinek's Thoughts on Friendship
Deb compassion is so big in our life and you know I follow the work of Simon synic I don't know if you know who he is
Sergey oh yes what is your why yes he's such a kind soul and he's working on new book about friendship right now it the cure to him that no one taught us how to be great friends and this is something that he shares that men are really are really sensitive about you know exchanging compliments and saying words like you were able to say to each other you want to be uh your your your man man man and every everything but uh to his surprise the person who who actually started saying to him I love youh uh it was General of US Army wow so the manest man there is the most manly man and this is something what they do in army they bond uh in in the circumstances which make them take care of each other and watch each other and uh for me it's so enlightening and so inspiring that even if the strongest man can say I love you you know and uh give a hug that's this is something that we have still have hope you know in our society where we will be able to give each other this support this much needed support in the times of uh hardships right
Deb well you we especially hear it with people who are in combat they were are with their brothers in arms um you know and yes we know there are now women there and that's good but um you know it really is you're you're with your family so that you're you're protecting each other like you would your own brothers and sisters
Sergey absolutely they call each other brother and sister and this is something also what he shared it's not it's not you know um intuitive for me I feel I always felt that I don't want to be sensitive but now I feel that this is this is the power understanding that you we are part of something bigger part of this world part of this society and we're look alike and to why don't we support each other right
23:05 Importance of being a Part of Communities
Deb so you're building a community do can you say so can you tell me more about the community so yeah it's definitely a community um I tell people I'm a cancer Warrior right I am in the fight for my life and so I say that I'm a warrior I actually have it tattooed on my arm um and on our website we have this saying that says you know fate says to the warrior you cannot withstand the Storm and The Warrior responds I am the storm right wow but what's even more important is Warriors don't go at it alone they always have their tribe wow and you know and so the tribe the community whatever it is and so we've got to build that and that does include our health care people it includes obviously our loved ones um our friends co-workers whoever you need to be and your tribe is going to come and go right just like like tribes do but you need to build those communities and we do have a Facebook group and and I encourage anyone whether you're dealing with cancer or not to join the Facebook group because we post inspirational sayings um we have a a new member who likes to post jokes because we know how much humor helps I hope not dark humor jokes or or them no they're okay jokes and and um you know and and but um you know and it's we talk about that you know can can we poke fun at ourselves yes it's kind of weird though if somebody else pokes fun at us right um and but um but yeah you have to build your community because we we don't want to go this alone um somehow we do sometimes seem to go it alone and you know but but no we need to gather our tribe around us and we need to make sure that they're the right people um you know I have three doctors that I have fired during this process um they were all good speaking of taking control right right oh yeah you know they were good doctors they just didn't mesh with me um you know and and uh and and you know I have others like the so um I have a surgeon I actually have my own surgeon I've had so many surgeries I have my own surgeon right um and I'd walk on fire for him now so would everybody else who knows him that is just the type of of person that he is but um you know and and my oncologist same thing I absolutely love her I know other people who don't I mean you know and so that's the the thing is you get who you need um and sometimes it means that you need to remove some people right you know they might be the the um the the people who are going to criticize you well you know why are you doing this how come you're doing that um you know or you know just not be as supportive and and I and and it's okay to question people why are you doing that how come you chose that you know right but when it's criticism and it's no you know they can go critical should be constructive and it it cannot be personal criticism cannot be personal and cannot be destructive so if it opens up a conversation it's one thing but if it's just constantly feeding this negativity you don't need it in your uh TR we got enough we got enough
Sergey yeah and I know this uh because I'm a recovering drug addict I know that um you know without a community you cannot walk all the steps and the final step in the healing process uh as you recover from drug addiction is or I think maybe even any type of addiction is to help to actually become a counselor for someone
26:58 Asking for Help and Offering Help
Deb yes um you know and and so that's why the point that you make about one day really speaks to me so one day at a time no tomorrow yes we need to plan our life ahead we need to plan our business dealings but this is technical planning but if you can stay in the moment today right now I'm talking to you I'm having great time in my life and that's enough for for me now so that's the mindset that can help help us get through all the challenges but keep on going right you know and of course one of the important things is as I said people don't read minds you have to tell them especially when you need help right yes um you know and and whether it's something little or something big you know like hey I'm I'm really struggling here I think one of the strongest things someone can do is to ask for help um you know and but we're not taught to do that right we're supposed to be independent we're supposed to you know and but um you know yeah I've I've asked people hey I need you know um can you come and and just sit with me I'm lonely um you know or can I have you go to the grocery store it was really funny when I got covid the first time um both my husband and I got it yay and but we didn't have it real bad but um I as part of this process I've had blood clots in my lungs and so they were concerned that I would get pneumonia so they wanted me to have one of those doohickeys that goes on your finger that does your your oxygen right and the doctor actually tells me well just go to the pharmacy and buy one I said um I'm in quarantine he he laughed because we were on a a a video call and so I asked my neighbor hey you know would you would you run to to the store and get one of these um I could have ordered it on Amazon right and got it the next day but um but you know we need to ask and sometimes they'll tell us no you know and that's perfectly acceptable also um you know and and but you know and and we don't need to know why they say no maybe you know but but but yeah you know give them you know give them the opportunity to help and people want to help right yes they just need to know how
Sergey this is the actually the gift this is what Simon s also says that don't you dare take the opportunity from other people to help you because it's like a big gift that you that you giving the people asking for help showing that You're vulnerable and yes I can I understand and I've been in this situations when when I was too open and I was punished I I was I was just um misplaced at the time and people who I turned to weren't the people who who understood me right
Deb so there's always their problem yes but that's just a great signal uh that maybe they shouldn't be in my surroundings yeah or maybe just in a different way um you know and and so but yeah give them the opportunity but one of the things that people ask me the most is my friend my cooworker my spouse has cancer and I don't know what to do and you know one of the things that they will say is just let me know if there's anything you need well my brain can't you know my brain is going oh my God I got cancer um I'm not going to stop and think what can they do so be specific can I bring you dinner can I do this can I do that I have a friend she was sharing um she was a caregiver for her husband who had cancer um and she said one day her friends just showed up at the house and and she was like yeah and I said we're here to clean and her first thought was oh my God and then she thought oh this is great you know um and now that might not be quite you know what you want to do with folks but uh you know I I had people who said you know can we come visit on Thursday okay Thursday is not a good day but can you come on Friday or you know whatever and and you know that was when when I had something that I could grasp on to then I could deal with it um and don't forget the other people I mean like I had people who said can we can we uh well I one of the funniest ones so we have dogs and one of the funniest ones was somebody who knows us very well said you know you've been in the hospital your husband has been dealing with you in the hospital do your dogs need to go in for shots or anything they did wow they they thought for you they were so kind to actually right think that or or you know hey to your kids can we take them to a movie can we take them out to eat can we do whatever um can we come so that your your spouse your caregiver can go for a walk by themselves
Sergey and what does it give what does it give people can you like if you if you give like this when no one asks but you know that they they need it what what do people receive from like by forgiving this this care to others
Deb you know it's I I think it's just it it makes you feel good right yes um you know and even if they tell you no the fact that you still offered I think that's good and and so don't worry about well they could tell me no you know that's that's okay um but make sure that you actually do it I had some people who said hey we're going to come visit and I had one person who twice said I'm going to be there at X time on X day and so I'd you know spiff up as much as I could you know and all that and she never showed up yeah that's not the good good look well you know and things happen you know traffic gets bad or things come up just let people know I mean she just never respond and and so then She's Out of My Tribe right
Sergey I think Tony Robbins stated this point that it's easy to give back when you have a lot of things yourself when you have everything try to give back when you are not not in the thinkful to offer your help when you don't have everything covered yourself you know and it can be something little maybe it's just hey can I um you can I talk to you on the phone um can we do a FaceTime can I you know whatever it is
Deb yeah it's just you know it's it's okay to to you know it doesn't have to be some big grandiose gesture I tell people because people told me they we didn't know what to say we didn't know what to do and I told him I said Hallmark has cards I actually still have all of the cards that people sent me when I was sick um you know and all that meant was they were thinking of me for 30 seconds but that was okay um you know and and so or you know if I post on Facebook you know good day bad day whatever comment you know just let us know that you're thinking about us
34:25 Business Lessons Derived from Social Initiatives
Sergey I'm fascinated to know how the things that you learned in building the community and being the cancer Advocate help you in your business so you first you said that first you were Communicator this your primary expertise in a way and then you transition to doing this um humanitarian work let's say but is there something that goes in in the in in the opposite direction is there something that you learned doing with with uh your project and that you implemented in business
Deb I think one of the biggest things is only work with people you like right um you know and you know and and that's hard you know sometimes and we've all done it right we have say to customers put money on the table leave money on the table yeah you know and and and it's really hard to say and sometimes you still have to right we have all had the client where we're like um but we keep working with them because we need the money we need whatever it is um but yeah only work with people you like only um you know and and and maybe it's not going to work then send them on their way you know if you can give them a referral to somebody else that works good too but you know and and only do the work that you like you know how many times do we hear people you know as we're recording this for me it's Monday morning it's Monday afternoon for you um but how many times Monday morning we're like oh God I gotta get up and work okay we're all gonna do that no matter what you every once in a while we don't want to be doing that every single day um you know and we don't want to be just counting the hours until Friday afternoon uh you know so do what what feeds your passion you know back to Simon cynic what is your why you know why are you doing this um and and make sure that it it aligns with everything in your life
36:27 Does Our WHY Change?
Sergey on this point do you think the person has only one why or can the person ReDiscover multitude of missions as they go
Deb oh I think your why changes sometimes every minute right um I think we have the big why um you know and and for many people that is tied to their faith um you know and and some things like that but you know sometimes my why is I got to get through today um and know or um you know but yeah I think and and it's you know as as a business consultant I think one of the things that we get concerned about is well we have our business goals and we can't change those business well yes you can change those business goals you can change them they're arbitrary basically there nothing that's written in stone and if it's written in stone or printed up on your wall or whatever it doesn't have to be um you know and and I think there's but like I said I think there's kind of one overarching why but you know then everything else comes from it um you know I'm I mentioned as we were chatting before I live in Atlanta
37:30 President Jimmy Carter's Mission
Deb um and so last week we had all of the funeral services for President Jimmy Carter yes and you know and hearing his life story and and things like that and what his why was was his why was always to help others I mean that was just his why um now it didn't always mesh and there were people who didn't like what he did her how he did it but that was still his why and from that all the accomplishments but it's never about the outside world giv him accolades so he was just giving first oh yeah now I have seen his Nobel Peace Prize it is pretty cool seen it seen it in person um and because we went to Plains we actually so he lived about three hours south of me um the in the little bitty town called Plains Georgia has a population of about a thousand can you imagine the president of the United States um and um we just happen to be out kind of driving around in that general area and I realized it was the that day was his H 100th birthday and so I said oh my gosh we have to go to Plains and so we went to Plains and and they have the Nobel Peace Prize on display um you know because that you know it to him he saw it as everyone's and not his um you know and and so but yeah I mean it's it's as it's fancy it's it's you know it's pretty cool but he's pretty little too um you know and and but uh but yeah that was that was kind of that was kind of fun to see that and to be there on his H 100th birthday and the way they celebrated they had a a naturalization ceremony for a 100 new US citizens and so that was cool to to see that yeah and of course he wasn't there you know I mean he was still alive but he he wasn't getting out and about um but it was still fun to be in PLS on his birthday
39:33 The Business Power Hour Podcast by Deb
Sergey let's talk about your podcast too yeah what it's called
Deb let me give you the name the business the business Power Hour correct how long did you start it and I've been doing it a long time um I uh let's see over the weekend I uploaded episode 1,035 um yep yep and so we we hit the mark back in September I do two a week um and started actually as a live radio program in Denver I went into a radio station and uh had guests that came in so that was kind of fun um and then I moved from Atlanta or from Denver to Atlanta and we started doing it um virtually and you know just like you and I are doing and which works out so great right you know it's always fun to try and do something live but it doesn't always work well um so being able to were you like were you employed by radio no I paid them um oh you paid them to use it I paid them so basically I was buying a half hour ad spot um and uh so uh but um you know and and originally so that would have been 2010 I think is when we started it maybe 2011 um we talked about social media because that was social media for business because that was when really that all got started you know we' had LinkedIn for a while and Facebook kind of diddled out around but then they started having Facebook business pages and you know how could we use LinkedIn as a professional tool all these various things and then transitioned a couple years after that because there's only so much you can talk about with social media to just business um and I and I love it I love to have you on as a guest I think that would be fascinating um and they um I talk about you know business topics but uh you know I tell people it's my podcast I can talk about anything I want and and so we've had a variety of guests on um all of February we're going to focus on AI and of course the funny thing about focusing on that for all of February is by March it could be out of date um with that topic but you know it's it's still going to be fun but I love it um I get to talk to cool people from around the world
Sergey yeah that's that's the magic sauce that I also love yeah yeah you know and and people ask me why don't you monetize it n you know I could but nah I I don't want to it's it's more and the important thing is I learn something every single time and so I figure my listeners and my viewers are too um even when it's a topic that I'm thinking you know like like sales I'm not really you know or financial but I still learn stuff and every one of my guests has made it interesting you know I always like knowing about their backstory you know how they get to where they are today which I know a lot of people are like oh that's silly it's what made them who they are so we have to know that um but yeah it's I have a ton of fun doing it and I and I just really enjoy it
42:40 Why Podcasters Connect so Well
Deb I think that's why we connect so easily because both you and I we are uh in our core we are communicators and we are connectors we want want just to connect and help others to connect right there is just something yeah it is how can we connect people
43:24 Deb's Takeaways from 2024 and Focus in 2025
Sergey as we first of all 2024 just just round it up tell me what probably was one of the biggest Revelations for you from 2024 in in the business and in personal context and what will be even though we said we were just talking that planning might be in vain thing but still is there maybe an operating word for you for 2025 something that you will focus on 25 so basically the question is 2024 may take takeaways and for the focus for 2025
Deb you 2024 was great um you know added new things to my business my personal life all sorts of things my husband retired this is so bizarre right I'm not that old and I'm actually older than he is um but he was able to here in the states um he took early retirement um and so being able to plan and do you know some things that we couldn't do because he had a job that you know he could only take X number of days off he can travel now or something I know um we lost my mother um in March and that was it was very sudden I mean she was fine one day and the next day she wasn't cond um and but you know part of why we're going to travel is from the money that I inherited from her wow and so that will be her Legacy um you know one of the the most fun things that I'm looking forward to in 2025 is she had her younger sister was her primary caregiver and and then um my my uncle so uh my aunt and my uncle they lived a half a block for my mother and so they were her primary caregivers and so we are taking them on a cruise the end of May the first part of June uh to kind of pay them back right for everything did um and we are just it's it's going to be um to Alaska it's what they call a small boat cruise so not the big 3,000 people this one will have like 200 people um and so you get to know everybody on the boat we've done these obviously several times um and I'm just so looking forward to that
45:43 Taking Care of Existing Customers and Meditation in 2025
Deb you can record so many podcasts while you're there yes I know I know you know and um but so 2025 I think is you know it's it's just going to be great I always look forward to it obviously here in the in the United States there's some political upheaval and who knows what's going to happen but there always is you know it's like whatever um and so but yeah I just see it as everything's getting better and better so I want to know from you oh what are your yeah tell me your 2024 and 2025 thoughts
Sergey I just finished my article about the 2024 what I learned from business and personal perspectives business I think that keeping customers happy even though existing customers happy even though it seems obvious but until it's not you know you're while you are chasing for new customers don't ever forget that you have the business um I love it like like mine we we're B2B where personal relationships really matter so for me uh just making sure your customers are happy go go an extra mile for them and uh give back try to try to give back you know every single time when there is something happening you know I learned that the hit of dopamin is better when it's a surprise and it's totally unexpected so when you when I'm doing my show and someone knocks on door and says hey can you uh uh to speak somewhere just like you said that maybe I can be a guest on your podcast or someone ask for Video Production Services from my company it's you know it's like an icing on the cake so keep giving and for 2025 you know I think uh I want to meditate more I tried to doing breathing exercises but but now it's it seems like I'm really getting to a point when I kind of getting it I understand the power it of it so I want to meditate more in 20125 and uh be in the present moment that's that's what we talked about
Deb yeah thank you for asking that you know you are an inspiration you're a blessing uh and uh I'm super thankful that we have people like you in our world that
Sergey well thank you and you are incredible I mean you know I I just can't o can't get over the fact that we're talking about this while your country and your country is literally at War yeah and you are just still doing business
48:18 We Have to Keep Going
Deb um I I will be honest I did have another guest from the Ukraine on my podcast um a year or so ago and he told me that he had to keep working yeah he just had to yeah you know and I mean that's just I think that's you know whether we're we've got a cancer diagnosis whether we're in a country that is having major issues we just have to keep going I mean that's we owe it to us and we owe it to everyone else absolutely to to remain the sense of normality
Sergey so thank you so much devb and you guys if you haven't subscribed to to the Channel please do so thank you devb one more time thank you I again I'm very honored you're looking for a qualitative video video production provider look no further my name is Sergey and I own Beverly production we are a video production agency from Ukraine you know we help entrepreneurs to create incredible online offline podcasts and clips that drive interest you know to promote your podcast as a podcaster myself I early realized that there are not that many podcasts that put an emphasis on quality and creativity you know just making your videos look really really cool that that's why we mix our videos up with uh different visual aids sound effects flash transitions we do Dynamic switching and other cool creative things that just set apart your podcast from your competition you can check our samples on the website and uh we also help people to post the videos so we take over YouTube management and we can also run Tik Tok and Linkedin for you so here you're interested in something of this kind don't hesitate to book a call with me uh the contacts are available on the website thanks a lot