Passion Struck with John R. Miles - Maria Menounos on Why You Must Be the CEO of Your Health EP 388

Starting point is 00:00:00 Coming up next on PassionStruct. We have to take a lot more ownership over the healthcare situation in our lives because the doctors are overwhelmed. You know your body better than anybody at the end of the day. You have to keep fighting for answers. You have to keep pushing. If something isn't feeling right, you've got to keep going and getting a new doctor. If your doctor is maybe gaslighting you, and that's happened to me too, you just have to keep pushing. If the pain persists, so should you. You just have to keep pushing. If the pain persists, so should you. You gotta keep looking.

Starting point is 00:00:27 Welcome to PassionStruct. Hi, I'm your host, John Armeils. And on the show, we decipher the secrets, tips, and guidance of the world's most inspiring people and turn their wisdom into practical advice for you and those around you. Our mission is to help you unlock the power of intentionality so that you can become the best version of yourself. If you're new to the show, I offer advice and answer listener

Starting point is 00:00:52 questions on Fridays. We have long-form interviews the rest of the week with guest-ranging from astronauts to authors, CEOs, creators, innovators, scientists, military leaders, visionaries, and athletes. Now let's go out there and become PassionStruck. Hello friends and welcome back to episode 388 of PassionStruck, consistently ranked my apples the number one alternative health podcast. And thank you to each and every one of you come back weekly to listen and learn how to live better, be better, and impact the world. I'm so excited to announce that my new book Passion Struck was recognized by the next

Starting point is 00:01:26 big idea club as a 2024 Must Read. It's now available for pre-order, and if you order now you'll get access to over $300 in gifts that I personally curated for my audience. Just go to passionstruck.com forward slash passionstruckbook. If you're new to the show, thank you so much for being here or you simply want to introduce this to our friend or family member. We now have episode starder packs which are collections of our fans' favorite episodes. We organize into convenient playlists that give any new listener a great way to get acclimated.

Starting point is 00:01:54 Everything we do will here on the show. Either go to spotifyorpassionsdark.com slash starder packs to get started. In case you missed it, last week I had three fantastic interviews. The first was with Dr. Lucina Aronica, a Stanford lecturer, an expert on epigenx personal nutrition at genetics, and we go through into a deep dive into the connection of nutrition and epigenetics, uncreating a longer life. I also did a live interview the first I've ever done with Hal Aron to discuss the updated launch of his best selling book which I love

Starting point is 00:02:25 the miracle morning. Lastly, I had a fascinating conversation with Dr. Richard Ryan, something that I wanted to bring you for a long time. Richard is the co-founder of the self-determination theory, and we explore the three psychological needs optimal well-being. I also wanted to say thank you for your ratings and reviews, and if you loved today's episode, or any of those others, we would appreciate you giving it a 5 star review and sharing it with your friends and families. I know we and our guests love to see comments more listeners and they bring more people into the passion of our community. In today's episode, I am thrilled to welcome an exceptionally talented and resilient guest, Maria Maninov's. Maria is a renowned television personality actress, New York Times bestselling author, and journalist, but beyond her illustrious career,

Starting point is 00:03:05 she has a deeply moving personal story of resilience, care-given self-advocacy. As the author of Greek immigrants, Maria has built an extraordinary life grounded in the values of hard work and determination. Today, we'll explore how her upbringing shaped her into the passionate and resilient individual she is. From her early life experiences to her breakthrough in television, Maria will share the defining moments and challenges that have molded her journey. But Maria's story isn't just about the glitz and glamour of the entertainment world. She's faced profound personal challenges, including her mother's battle with Glyoblastoma and her own health struggles

Starting point is 00:03:38 with a brain tumor and pancreatic cancer. These experiences have taught her invaluable lessons about caregiving empathy, the importance of being the CEO of your own health. In our conversation, we'll delve into the emotional rollercoaster of dealing with a family members illness while managing personal health crises. Maria will share insights on navigating complex communication and tough times, balance and care-given, with self-care, and the power of intuition and self-advocacy and her diagnosis and treatment. We'll also discuss her connection to the work Dr. Jo Dospensa and the techniques she's embraced with feeling and understanding

Starting point is 00:04:09 her body's needs. And of course we'll touch on her journey to motherhood and how it's reshaped her outlook on life. Join us in this heartfelt and enlightening conversation with Maria Maninos as she shares her journey of overcoming adversity and brazen change in living a life filled with passion and purpose. Thank you for choosing passion struck and choosing me Be your host and guide and your journey to creating an intentional life now. Let that journey begin I am so honored today to have Maria Manunoz on passion struck welcome Maria. I Thanks for having me. Well, I'm to start us off by talking about some of your foundations, looking back at your upbringing, how has being the daughter of Greek immigrants laid

Starting point is 00:04:52 the foundation for the resilience and passion that you've shown throughout your life? I think my parents, whether it was through their culture or not, were just just fighters and we're hard workers and they just rolled with anything that came their way. And so I watched my dad as a severe type one diabetic growing up, working his butt off to put food on the table as a janitor, cleaning multiple nightclips or a Boston, along with my mom and my brother and I. And so we watched a hard working man just push through a disease that was very challenging for him because he didn't speak the language. My parents are both immigrants and trying to get a grasp on a disease when you don't even speak the language is very difficult.

Starting point is 00:05:37 There were no Greek translators. Let's just say that. So my dad would end up in the hospital constantly and rip the IVs out, go back to work. And he never really committed to his disease. He was never, oh, I'm a diabetic owning it. I think sometimes we own our illnesses a little bit too much. And it's one of my messages is be committed to possibility. Don't be committed to the illness or the disease. And I watched him do that. And then when my mom was diagnosed with glioblastoma, state-to-war brain cancer, she had a smile on her face. And she was never afraid.

Starting point is 00:06:13 She was a total champion. And I don't know where she got the strength because I know I got my strength watching her walk through this the way she did. I don't think that I would have walked through the things that I did without seeing that model. So whether it's my Greek foundation and our Greek groups or just plainly who my parents are as people, that's I think what laid my foundation down pretty well. Okay, and I want to talk more about your mom in a second, But this podcast in many ways is about how do you create an intentional life or how do you take action to unearth the life that you want to create. And you are known for really having ambition and drive. Were there any defining moments or influences in your early life that sparked that?

Starting point is 00:07:11 I think I was always mugging for the camera. I always was on the stage. So we used to clean this big nightclub called the channel in Boston. All the biggest acts would go through there. And I would just be on stage performing for my family. And they're just sweeping and mopping and cleaning. And I'm like, up there with whatever drum set drum said whatever I never learned how to play any of these instruments but it would always be performing. I always wanted to be in in that arena as I got older and started watching the news. I loved Joan London and I loved how prestigious her position was and how she was doing something important and I loved chasing the fire trucks. I loved knowing what was going on. I was curious.

Starting point is 00:07:47 So I think all of those things were just always in me. And then just the tough times I think growing up with my dad almost dying on the regular with his low blood sugar attacks and different things, I was really eager to get out and do something great to help my family and to make something of myself. And I have a question here for one of my listeners. In an industry that's often criticized for superficiality, how have you managed to stay

Starting point is 00:08:18 true to yourself and your values? Hmm, thank you. Well, I appreciate that. I have to give my parents a lot of that credit. I think they did a great job raising me but also keeping me grounded throughout this. I always had my parents here with me. They would stay with me in California

Starting point is 00:08:36 and my husband at the time, my boyfriend or partner. They were like my American Express Card. I wouldn't leave home without them. So I would take them to the Oscars and I would take them to whatever event I was going to, because to me, it was not meaningful or fun, unless I got to enjoy it with them and see it through their eyes. Almost like parents say they want to see things through their kids eyes. My parents were immigrants from a village with no running water. They didn't have shoes. They didn't have toothbrush. and it grew up hard. So for me to get to see them live this glitz and glamour, that was exciting for

Starting point is 00:09:10 me. I didn't care so much. It was just more having them be a part of it. So I think being around them all the time definitely helped keep you grounded. Okay. And we're going to be talking about some of the low points that you faced, but you've also had many high points out of all your achievements in the entertainment industry. Which one do you hold closest to your heart and why? My achievements in the entertainment industry. I think, well, becoming a New York Times bestselling author twice over was definitely shocking to me.

Starting point is 00:09:43 I never thought in a million years I would write a book. And even when I wrote it, the publisher said, don't even think about it. It's not going to happen. And what I made it, and not only did I bake it, I was number three on the list. In the toughest category, advice and self-help, I was just blown away. So I think that for sure is something I'm not big on awards, but that meant a lot to me because that was all from within, it was from scratch building something.

Starting point is 00:10:12 And then I think my work on Nightly News, I think was a big accomplishment to be a part of the most prestigious half hour of news when news is something that I was really passionate about pursuing was really exciting. And that's where I got to interview the Obama family. And that was historic because no one has had or had interviewed them as a family. So I would say those two things aside from my WWE performance.

Starting point is 00:10:37 I mean, that's a given obviously being 4-0 in the WWE and wrestling or WrestleMania as a highlight as well. Yes, I hadn't really understood that about you, but my dad is a huge fan and when I told him that I was interviewing you, that was the first thing he brought up. Oh, yeah. Because you're wrestling career. Yeah, yeah, I grew up watching wrestling with my dad loved it. And then when I met my now husband, he was friends with Shane McMahon and there was a moment where

Starting point is 00:11:08 maybe he was going to go right for them and then I would maybe wrestle as a little stockier then. So I could have really done some damage. But but I ended up moving to LA and pursuing all of the things that I did, but it was always still there. I always still wanted to do it. And I'm just grateful they gave me the opportunity. Well, I'm going to just ask you one question since the wrestling thing came up. If you were to create a wrestling alter ego for yourself, what would be your wrestling name and

Starting point is 00:11:37 signature move? Well, I was going to be the Golden Greek. That's where I really wanted to go with this. But then I got a brain tumor and then that just didn't work out anymore. But I wanted to be the golden Greek and I was going to have Greek dance into this, the arena and have everybody greek dancing with me because I think interaction with the crowd is so fun. And maybe the signature move would be the buckle of our or something. I don't know. I just smush them. But yeah, crack some nuts on their head or something. Walnuts. Well, going back to your New York Times, that is such an accomplishment. And I have my own book coming out in February. So I know everything that comes with releasing a book and the pressure and everything else. So that's quite an accomplishment to do it twice. Thanks. Almost three times. The third time I was just a couple of books off, but

Starting point is 00:12:32 Well, I want to jump into both your journey through cancer and your mom's as well. And I wanted to first go into the area of reflecting and caregiving. I wanted to first go into the area of reflecting and caregiving. Reflecting on your journey as a caregiver for your mom during her battle with Glyal Blastoma, what were some of the most profound lessons you learned about caregiving and empathy that you can share with the audience? While I learned a lot about kind of the journey that you can take, it's so hard because it's a challenging journey. There's so much work and there's so much pain. It's so hard because it's a challenging journey. It's, there's so much work and there's so much pain and there's so much suffering and you're, at some point I realized through my husband that I had been mourning her years before her even death because you lose a little bit of them along the way as they lose a little bit

Starting point is 00:13:19 of themselves. I had some really great people through my show, Heal Squad, that were wonderful and helpful. This woman, Diane, was incredibly helpful. She just shared with me that this was my mom's journey, not mine. I think Gabby Bernstein shared that same sentiment with me. A lot of people did that it wasn't what I wanted. It's what she wanted. And sometimes that was hard to reconcile because I wanted a push and fight and come on, mom, get up. Let's move. If you don't move, we're not going to keep it. Once you lose it,

Starting point is 00:13:49 that's it. You won't be able to get those muscles back. And at some point, she just didn't want to do it anymore. And I had to meet her where she was. And I think that's really hard for a lot of us that are dealing with patients that we love. We want them to stay forever. We want to push them. with patients that we love, we want them to stay forever, we want to push them, and ultimately we do, we have to meet them where they are. So I think that was the toughest thing. Along with once you're in the system, that's when you start to see the flaws and the holes and we're so grateful for the incredible doctors that do incredible work, but they are still working within a flawed system that's really challenging. And again, people don't know it until they face it. I was helping a woman who reached out through my show this morning. And the email just made me sick to my stomach. It was like nobody knows what's happening. I've lost 30 pounds. I've got my stomach bloated out to here. My dad died of pancreas cancer. I have no appetite. Every doctor is a three-month weight, a referral here, fighting for a referral there. This one saying it's nothing, no one listening to me. And so it's really hard. And when I started to even deal with hospice,

Starting point is 00:14:59 I didn't know that they're given a certain budget a month and whatever they get to save they get to keep. So that means maybe my mom will get certain things because they'll deny her so that they can keep that money. All of a sudden, I'm having a paper blood work out of pocket, which I shouldn't have. You start to see all of these things. And so caregiving is a whole journey in and of itself, whether it's through the physical caregiving or the emotional care giving. Sometimes you're scared to talk about the things you're scared about. Those were big moments for me. My mom looked to me like, I was her Tom Brady, I was her quarterback. And I never wanted to show her fear. But there was one moment when I was really scared and the tumor had come back. And I think it was John Edward, my friend who's a psychic

Starting point is 00:15:44 was like, you need to keep having conversations with her. And he really pushed me and I'm so grateful. And I went downstairs and I sat next door on the couch and I just turned into her daughter and just cried and said, I'm scared. I don't know what's going to happen. I share that for people to know that you can do those things. On her last days, I had felt guilty about the times I was short or mean or stressed. And I apologized to her. And I filmed it because I wanted to remember that I did it. And I wanted to remember what she said. God bless her. She was like, money, I have everything you did for me. Please, she was just so forgiving and so quick. But that saved me so much heart

Starting point is 00:16:25 ache over these last few years since her passing, because I'll think of a moment where I got short with her. And then I remember she forgave me and she releases me up at every time, but we don't have those conversations because we're scared, but we need to. And that's part of the whole process. It's a tough process, but you definitely learned a lot and you grow a lot. I'm going to ask you a couple of follow-ons to that, especially around having these difficult conversations. And I know for me, when my grandmother was in hospice for her lung cancer, and I showed up, she actually smiled at me and said, why are you wasting your time with me here? You could be out with your friends. But it was one of the memories I cherish the most.

Starting point is 00:17:11 But as I was talking to you before we came on for the past three, four years, my sister has been battling pancreatic cancer. And last year, my fiance's father lost his battle with lung cancer. And during both of those evolutions, I have had to ask a lot of tough questions. My fiance has had to ask a lot of tough ones, and they're not easy to do. When it came to discussing these tough topics related to your mom's health, how did you approach these conversations who usually initiated them? And what is your advice to navigating them if a listener is going through something like this? With my mom, it was me initiating them. But my mom had some moments where she wanted to ask me

Starting point is 00:17:56 for my forgiveness for things, like little things she felt guilty about growing up. And I was like, mom, you're holding on to this and carrying this. I don't even remember that I fell or whatever it was. So I think we both were having those moments. For me, I just had a muster up the courage and just do it. And I just share it with people all the time because, like I said, the guilt we carry later is just too painful and so unnecessary. Because if we can just muster up the courage, you probably will be released of any of it very easily. So you just have to do it. Just be like Nike, just do it. And for me, on my end, I remember even when I was diagnosed

Starting point is 00:18:38 with the brain tumor, I didn't tell anybody, but my husband and my best friend. And then at some point my husband said, you need to tell a few of your other friends, you need more support. It was so weird. I cried every time I told somebody, feeling bad, that I'm telling them this, because I'm bringing bad news to their doorstep, when I hadn't even cried about the diagnosis or anything else. So they're just, they're awkward things. And you have to just do it. That's it. One of my favorite episodes I did this past year was with my friend Chris Carr, who you may know. And we discussed her latest book, which is really all about breathing and emotions. What is your recommendation for listeners having navigated the grieving process with your mom on how if they experience something like this, they can find healing and peace themselves.

Starting point is 00:19:33 I think the grieving process is different for everybody. I think everyone grieves differently. So just remember that. And whatever that looks like for you is okay. If you just need to cry it out for a couple of weeks, cry it out, let it out. If you want to bear it yourself and work, everyone's gonna do it in a different way. I don't think there's a wrong way to really do it. I do think that trying to face as much of it as you can early on will help you later so that you can move on quicker and then try to carry their memory in a more positive way.

Starting point is 00:20:05 So for me, I was like a walking zombie for just a couple of months. I just really sat in it. And I think there was just so much disbelief like when you're taking care of someone for so long and then they're gone. And now your identity is gone. I was a caretaker for so many years. I was in charge of someone's life in a big way. So there are adjustments that have to happen,

Starting point is 00:20:28 and you have to find yourself again and figure out where you want to go now and what you're going to do and reestablish new relationships like my dad. I realized so much of my relationship with my dad was through my mom. You know, you talked to your mom on the phone, oh, mom, what about dad this? And then you say hello to your dad, but a lot of it was navigated through her.

Starting point is 00:20:46 So I had to reestablish a new relationship with him. And ironically, the pancreas cancer, I think, was the way because we got to spend real time just together in a special way while I was healing. So yeah, I think you just, the more you can sit with it, I think, the better. And I know I kept a picture and still have a big picture of my mom and my kitchen so that every day I can put my hand on her chest and say hello and feel like she's still there with me every single day. Find ways to keep their memory alive. I talked to her throughout the day, ask her questions. I hear her answers. So yeah.

Starting point is 00:21:23 I think that's a very important thing to talk about because I earlier in the year, had Rebecca Rosen on the show who's a psychic and she talked about just how much you are able to communicate with the loved ones that you have and how you can get answers from them in so many different ways. So that's really a fitting way to for you to handle that. So thank you for that. And I know, and it's so hard for me to believe, but while your mom was going through her health challenge, you also discover that you have a brain tumor.

Starting point is 00:21:54 How in the world did you balance caring for your mom while also having to take care of your own health? Mm-hmm. That was definitely my biggest concern, but I have a wonderful husband who really helped. And my dad really took charge. I sent them on a cross-country trip at one point because my dad was coming into my room, seeing me just recovering from brain surgery as rough. And he would just burst into my room and cry. And so I looked at my husband and I go, send them on a road trip. He's like, what, I go, it's their dream. Send them on a road trip. I can't heal if I have to keep faking that I'm

Starting point is 00:22:31 okay for him. So we sent them back to the East Coast. And I got my time to heal. And they got a really great trip out of it. So everybody else just stepped up. Well, one of the things I really wanted to talk about, and I've done it in a couple episodes that I've had PanCan executives and Cratic Cancer Action Network executives on the show, is early detection. And I know for my sister for a time,

Starting point is 00:23:00 she felt like something was wrong. Her energy levels were depleted, but she really just couldn't put a finger on it. And I know you also faced a number of initial symptoms that prompted you to seek medical help. However, you weren't getting the answers that you seek at that time. Can you talk about that? Yeah.

Starting point is 00:23:20 For at least a year, I was feeling stuff. I was super bloated. I'd always had flat stomach flat abs and all of a sudden, I've least a year, I was feeling stuff. I was super bloated. I'd always had flat stomach flat abs and all of a sudden I've got a basketball and I would take pictures of it in the mirror and be like, what is this? What's going on? But just documenting.

Starting point is 00:23:35 And then I got an endoscopy and colonoscopy. They found some stuff but nothing connected to that. Then I started having severe abdominal pain, a couple of flights or one flight, I had severe abdominal pain. I thought it severe abdominal pain, a couple of flights, or one flight. I had severe abdominal pain. I thought it was a salad. I was eating or whatever. Then I think it was in October or November, maybe.

Starting point is 00:23:53 I was in severe pain. Went to the hospital. They did a scan. They said everything was fine. So thereafter, any time I complained of pain, my doctor, which made sense, he said, we just scanned your body. You're fine. There's nothing there. But the radiologist had missed it. And so there was a two centimeter tumor on my pancreas at that time. It wasn't until I did a scan with an outside facility in January

Starting point is 00:24:16 that they discovered it. And so I went back and, you know, was confirmed and I had to have surgery. So they took the tail of my pancreas, spleen, 17 lymph nodes and a fibroid off my uterus, all in one surgery, got it all out and pathology came back, cancer hadn't spread anywhere. It was a neuroendocrine tumor and that was it. I was luckily able to catch it before because by the time we found it in January, two months later, it had doubled in size. So it was on the move, even from biopsy, it was grade one in biopsy and then grade two in the pathology. Now they said that sometimes in different places, it'll be a different grade, but who knows? Yeah, well, what went through your mind during this process, especially when tests like the CT scan initially showed that everything was fine, but you inherently knew it wasn't. It's weird because it comes and goes.

Starting point is 00:25:15 So there were moments where I felt great. I was working out and I was feeling good. I'm like, okay. And then it would hit. So it's a very sneaky little disease or illness or situation, whatever you want to call it. But I knew I had to keep pushing. And maybe my mom sent that woman to me

Starting point is 00:25:34 because I had tried everything at that point. Well, one of my good friends, Bill Potts, has beaten cancer six times. And he has written a great book called Up for the Fight, where he advocates in the book for the importance of being the CEO of your own health. And I know this is something that you also like to talk about. Can you elaborate on how your own intuition and self-advocacy played a critical role both in your diagnosis and treatment? And why this is so important for other people to understand.

Starting point is 00:26:10 Yeah, I mean, it's the basis of everything I do every day with this show, my podcast heal squad, I'm telling everyone every day, we have to take a lot more ownership over the healthcare situation in our lives because the doctors are overwhelmed and you know your body better than anybody at the end of the day. So you have to keep fighting for answers. You have to keep pushing. If something isn't feeling right, you've got to keep going and getting a new doctor. If your doctor is maybe gaslighting you or that's happened to me too, you just have to keep pushing. If the pain persists, so should you, you got to keep looking. And sometimes you have to go to one outside facility, like I did.

Starting point is 00:26:43 I had done everything at that point that I thought was possible. I did not consider getting a second opinion on the CT scan, which is what I should have done. And so in the future, if you feel like you've got a scan, and you're still having pain, take it to another facility and get a second opinion because maybe they missed it. People are exhausted, people have intense lives. Maybe they're dealing with a caregiving situation at home and they're still trying to do their shifts at the hospital. There's so many situations that could be going on. People are being negligent. It's just they're human. So you really have to be educated in this. Financial literacy is really important. I think health literacy is really important now.

Starting point is 00:27:24 educated in this financial literacy is really important. I think health literacy is really important now. Yeah, and I would just wanted to shortly tell the story of my sister's experience because she initially was found to have a two centimeter tumor like you described on her head of her pancreas and then where they do CT scans and they had shown that it had metastasized and that she wasn't eligible for it anymore. But she felt great. She didn't feel like their test was accurate. And so she advocated. She had UT Austin do an MRI, which showed that it hadn't metastasized,

Starting point is 00:27:55 but still MD Anderson wasn't buying it. So she had to go through having to get a lipersus. They did an MRI. It didn't show anything. They then went in to take a piece of it to examine whether there was anything on her liver. They didn't find anything. And then they reluctantly agreed to do the whipple surgery and the doctor told her afterwards that he imagined after about five minutes, he was going to have to sew her up. But as

Starting point is 00:28:22 it turns out, they didn't find any evidence of it. And she was able to have the Whipple. So my just like you is if you have intuition, if you use whatever resource you have, because we ended up listening the help of a board member at Pancan who actually went to a doctor. He knew at MD Anderson who got the oncologist who were treating her to do a board to review it, everything. But if that had never happened, she probably would have never had that surgery. So what did they say about the MRI that had all the metastases on it? Was it somebody else's? They can't explain it. They can't explain if it was a bad reading or what exactly happened. And I also have a hard time understanding

Starting point is 00:29:06 why they only rely on CTs and will not look at MRIs. They, at MD Anderson, they only use CTs. And the CTs, they said aren't clear enough. Yes, the whole thing is so confusing to me. Yeah. Well, one of the areas, yeah, I wanted to go into with you is I understand that you were able to diagnose your cancer because you had access to a full body scan. And for the average person, insurance, let's face it, they're not covering these. Although I am seeing more companies that are

Starting point is 00:29:40 providing them for a person who doesn't have access to things like that. What is available for them to detect pancreatic cancer? And what would you suggest if they did want to do a full body scan? So it's really hard right now. It's definitely a mission of mine to get these covered for people because it makes sense for insurance companies to do this. But it's just you have to keep pushing and I think an MRI is gonna be your best bet, is getting somebody to give you that MRI to check whatever you're feeling because a CT scan isn't gonna be clear enough.

Starting point is 00:30:17 If you can negotiate a financing plan with one of these outside scan companies, that's an idea of doing go-fund mes, people do that all the time with success, where there's a will, there's a way, we have to fight, and that outside scan saved my life. So I don't know what I would have done if that wasn't available. Yes, well, I just hope that we start using these things more prevalently because to me, you spend a lot less money when you detect something early than when they have to spend all the money and resources to fight it longer on.

Starting point is 00:30:53 When we, this is another question from a listener and they wanted to ask you, when the days were really tough, those really hard ones where you feel defeated, what was the motivation you had to overcome and be the strong warrior that it took you to overcome this? And how did you remain positive? There were definitely moments I was on my knees and not thinking I was going to make it and really scared. My husband was a great resource of strength for me, but I also have such a strong relationship with God and our healing saints, St. Nectarios and the Virgin Mary. And I prayed all three of them every day.

Starting point is 00:31:27 And I asked for help. I asked for guidance, like I always do. And I know they gave me strength. And I started to realize that I was predicting an ending to a story and it stopped my choice. There's nothing I can do. And so I had to leave it to God. And I had to believe that there was possibly a better ending.

Starting point is 00:31:48 I had a baby on the way. I had to focus on that. I started using this technique called choose wonder over worry. So I would say, I wonder what it's going to be like when the doctor calls me with good news next. And he would wonder what it's going to be like when I get through surgery and I'm okay and I'm safe. And so I just kept doing that. You have to use tools in these moments. You have to use quotes. You have to use movies, whatever inspiration you can get. That's why I put the show I'm so passionate about what we do because we're bringing in experts that are sharing those tools that are giving us these different ways to look at things, these different ways to go to these devastating journeys. I think that we need more examples of people going through things in a different way. For example, I had a moment recently where I thought something was going south

Starting point is 00:32:37 and I said, I wonder if this is, if we just, instead of looking at things like, oh my gosh, can you believe this is happening? Oh my gosh, I have this horrible diagnosis. What if we started looking at it like, what if it's God redirecting us? What if it's God showing us that we need to pay more attention to this area or to something in our lives? That's hurting us, that's not good for us, or something like that.

Starting point is 00:33:03 And then once I thought that, I started using it. And it really helped me a lot. Well, I can completely relate to that because was that same exact situation that caused me to do what I'm doing today. And I really leaned into that relationship that I have with God and I learned that I wasn't doing what he wanted me to be doing, which is what I'm doing today.

Starting point is 00:33:23 And speaking of those sayings that you brought up earlier, I know that you have a really strong connection to the teachings of Dr. Joe to spend a whom I greatly admire myself. Can you share in addition to those thoughts, some of the most effective techniques or tools you've adopted from his work, connect with your body and soul for healing

Starting point is 00:33:43 and understanding your body's needs. I think Dr. Joe's techniques have been a game-changing. Tony Robbins as well, it's funny, he and I were chatting the other day and I was just saying, how grateful I am to him again because if I hadn't gone to his seminars, I wouldn't have gathered those tools that helped me through these challenging moments. That was more foundation being laid down. Life isn't happening to you, it's happening for you. With Dr. Joe, it was a whole other level of calming my nervous system down and really changing my thoughts. I had a lot of really fear based thoughts

Starting point is 00:34:21 that were taking over my brain a lot. And I was able to really make incredible change in my head what goes on between my ears. And then of course that had its effect on my nervous system and took anxiety away and so much. So I credit both of them immensely with helping me pour a new foundation because the foundation we get as young people is what that you get to keep pouring.

Starting point is 00:34:49 I have additions, I'm building additions to my house. Can you tell us about your journey to becoming a mother and how it has changed your outlook on life? Well, my priorities are in a whole other place. For example, I have to go right now because I have to go be with my baby. She is the light of my life. It's been a 10-year journey to get to her.

Starting point is 00:35:13 And I know that she's ushered in a whole new chapter of her. Me and my family, it's just pure joy. She's the greatest thing that ever happened to me. She's my greatest blessing. And I'm going to teach her and I am teaching her by example every single day to be the CEO of her health. Well, Maria, thank you so much for doing this. It was such an honor to have you on the show. Thank you so much. Have a great day. Appreciate it.

Starting point is 00:35:36 I thoroughly enjoyed that interview with Maria Minunos. And I wanted to thank Maria and Pancan for the honor and privilege of having her appear on today's show. Please use our website links if you purchase any of the books from the guests that we feature here on the show. All proceeds go to supporting the show. Videos are on YouTube at both John Armiles and our Clips channel at PassionStruckClips. Advertiser deals at discount codes are in one community place at PassionStruck.com slash deals. You can sign up for my personal development newsletter, live intentionally on passionstruck.com. You can sign up for my work related newsletter, work intentionally, unlinked in, or you can find me on all the social

Starting point is 00:36:11 channels at John Armiles. You're about to hear a preview of the passionstruck podcast interview that I did with Dr. B. J. Fogg, a Stanford professor, founder of Stanford's behavior design lab, and the New York Times bestselling author of tiny habits. Throughout our interview, we explore how to use the tiny habits approach to overcome things such as adversity, perfectionism, and toxic achievement culture. It's like, well, now that, you know, how to create habits, the big question and a harder question is to what end?

Starting point is 00:36:40 What kind of habits do I want to form? What do I want to achieve with that? Now, I as an academic researcher, I can't tell people like you must do this or that or whatever. I have my opinions and I have things I work on, but what I offer is a method for reliably creating habits quickly and easily without relying on willpower very much. But then the question is to what end? The fee for the show is that you share it with family or friends when you find something useful or inspirational.

Starting point is 00:37:09 If you found today's episode with Maria Manunoz, useful or interesting, then definitely share the show with someone who could use her advice. The greatest compliment that you can give us is to share the show with those that you love and care about. In the meantime, do your best to apply what you hear on the show so that you can live what you listen. And until next time, go out there and become Ash and care about. In the meantime, do your best to apply what you hear on the show so that you can live what you listen. Until next time, go out there and become Ash and Strong.

Starting point is 00:37:36 you

Passion Struck with John R. Miles - Maria Menounos on Why You Must Be the CEO of Your Health EP 388

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