From Crisis To Clarity: Rebuilding Life After Cancer And Trauma with Savio P. Clemente

What happens after the crisis ends but your old operating system no longer works? That’s where our conversation with two‑time cancer survivor, keynote speaker, and wellness coach Sabio Clemente begins—inside the in‑between season where identity, performance, and meaning are rebuilt from the inside out.

Sabio walks us through the shock of a stage‑three lymphoma diagnosis, a decade of remission, and a sudden relapse that led to high‑dose chemo, stem cell transplant, and immunotherapy. He explains why he chose to “surrender to healing, not to dying,” how he reframed chemo as an elixir rather than a toxin, and the boundaries he set with loved ones to protect his energy. We go deep on scan anxiety, the loss of control that shadows serious illness, and the practical strategies that restore agency: respecting clinicians as partners, using information wisely, and focusing on choices that are truly yours.

We also unpack Sabio’s Aloha Reboot—Acknowledge, Listen, Open, Harness, Act—a seven‑minute daily practice designed to regulate emotions and cultivate psychological flexibility. From cultivating stillness and silence to adopting an “empty pot” mindset before big decisions, Sabio shows how small, repeatable rituals stabilize the nervous system and turn survival into growth. Along the way, he challenges the hustle narrative and offers a new vision of success as flow: move like a river, navigate around obstacles, conserve energy for what matters.

If you’re navigating uncertainty—after illness, burnout, or any major disruption—this episode offers grounded tools, compassionate perspective, and a clear path forward. Listen, take what you need, and then try one small practice this week: a seven‑minute Aloha check‑in or a simple weekly inventory. If the conversation resonates, subscribe, share it with a friend in their own in‑between season, and leave a review to help others find the show.

Transcript

Framing The In‑Between Season

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hi guys, my name is Fabio from Journey to Success and welcome. Today's conversation is about that in-between space. So about rebuilding a life after everything you thought was stable has been, you know, shaken. Because in the end, uh this is this is not all about cancer, it's about any trauma that hasn't been fully healed on a mental and let's say also an emotional level. So my guest, my guest today is Sabio Clemente, a two-time cancer survivor, death speaker, wellness coach, and uh journalist who has uh interviewed over 2,000 high performers I read here through his own journey and his work. So he explores what actually helps people move from survival mode to meaningful sustainable success. But before going forward, as always, uh please subscribe so I know this is the right direction to lead you guys, to drive you, to guide you towards your journey to success. And uh welcome, Sabio. How are you?

SPEAKER_02 1:03

Thank you, Fabio. That was a great introduction. I really appreciate one.

SPEAKER_01 1:07

I hope I said everything correctly. I made a little bit of study. So if you like to add something, you are here proposed lead, you know, to show to to the community what you can uh uh lead, what you can teach to them, you know, today.

SPEAKER_02 1:20

Yeah, I your intro is great. I can't add to that because I feel like I've done a lot in my life and gone through a lot. So whatever wisdom I've glain I've gained and gleaned from my experience, I'm just really here to serve the community.

SPEAKER_01 1:35

So cool, cool. So, Sabio, you you have a cancer story to tell, right? But uh as I understood, you like to tell us how to survive mentally later to help the same people in your position, correct?

SPEAKER_02 1:54

Correct, yeah, absolutely. Like you mentioned earlier, it doesn't have to be cancer. We all go through our challenges. Okay, and so for me, I really work with like leaders in this area of disruption and how to like the crisis is over, but how does that performance, how does that old operating system work? Because it doesn't work again, and you have to find a new way forward.

SPEAKER_01 2:17

It is very interesting because I in my past, in other seasons, I already interviewed about people who you know who survived cancer,

Sabio’s First Diagnosis And Shock

SPEAKER_01 2:29

but they never said and I never questioned myself either the emotional impact that you have later on. So when you came uh to me, hey, I have uh a cancer story to tell. I was like, uh, okay, interesting. Uh I already already did that, but I'm sure he's gonna add something valuable. And then you you came in with uh, I would like to say the emotional impact that you know someone goes through later. I was like, ah, okay, this is very, very indifferent. This is very interesting. So I was very uh triggered, you know. So my quest, my first question is um uh well, it's more my curiosity, it's a personal question. Like uh when you received the news, how was the the impact? How how were you like I I cannot even imagine. I just if I think about it, it just I just feel like a sense of pressure here on my heart, you know. So, how was for you? Tell tell us uh your story, your beginning.

SPEAKER_02 3:33

Sure. So it started in 2014, and I came back from an international trip to Europe, and I just noticed that my stomach started getting bigger, I had belabored breathing, and then I had drenching night sweats on the bed. I would wake up and my whole clothes and my mattress would be completely drenched with sweat. So I knew something was wrong. I ended up getting a sonogram, and then I ended up going to the hospital, and then they admitted me the the that same day within a couple hours, and I was told I had stage three non-Hodgkins lymphoma. So it's a blood cancer. Blood cancer does not run in my family on both sides. So the shock was there. The problem was I was in hospital at that point for about 15 days because the first week, because of the distented stomach, my stomach was getting bigger, they had to basically take away fluids from my abdomen, and it was about eight liters of fluid. So I was bedridden for a week. And when I was told the news, it was shocking. But I also have the personality type where I think is really upon us to take a breath and to take a beat and to really assess as to like what's going on. Of course, you know, I was thinking that I'm gonna die. You know, my family members were really, really scared. But I also knew that I had to face the discomfort, I had to face the challenge head on. And so I basically just allowed myself to take one step after

Relapse, Treatment Gauntlet, And Surrender

SPEAKER_02 5:10

the other every day. And then, you know, we can sort of talk about, and I was in remission for 10 years, and then in June of 2024, last year, I was well, actually, now it's been 16 months of treatment. So my time is a little off. But in June of 2024, on a routine visit to my ENT, not even my oncologist, but my ENT, he noticed some inflammation in the nostril area. And he said, You are a B cell inflation survivor, right? And I'm like, Yeah. And he's like, Do you know B cells can live in the nasal cavity? And I'm like, what? I thought I was just gonna go for some nasal medication. And they did a CAT scan, and then they also did a biopsy, and I had a relapse. And then subsequent to that, I had about 16 months of uh treatment from two high-dose chemos in the hospital to stem cell harvesting to a stem cell transplant, and then I opted to do an immunotherapy for about four and a half months. And fortunately, I am what they call CR, which is complete response or a complete remission. So I earned the title of two-time cancer survivor, but I would say the second time around, it was far more pressing because I know when a relapse or a refractory cancer, especially for lymphoma, happens, it's a whole different treatment protocol. It's not just chemo, it's a whole bunch of things that they put at you or throw at you. And so I surrendered. And that's the simplest answer I can give you. I didn't surrender to dying, I surrendered to the fact that my body needed healing. And I think that's the first key.

SPEAKER_01 6:55

Wow. How was the at the time, how was the relationship with your uh friends and family if you had or if you are still having the same uh, you know, partner? So how was the relationship with them and especially, not especially, but let's say equally, how was you know for them to receive this news? Because this is something that can also impact uh hardily, you know, the the the people you love, basically.

SPEAKER_02 7:30

So my family took it very hard. My sister said to me, you know, you you may want to write out, you know, your last uh, you know, sort of, you know, possessions and what you want to have happen. And I think it was very prudent for her to say that because, right, people I've lost about eight people since my relapse to cancer. So the fact that this happened to me twice, you know, I understand the risks, I understand the severity of it. So I wasn't in denial. They did take it very hard, but they also know that I am one of those individuals that I just sort of face what I need to face, and whatever happens after that, then it's not on me, right? It's on the situation. In terms of my friends, I did call a few of them and I told them what was happening. I told them that I would answer text messages, but I'm not really keen to talking about it throughout the process. It's just my own way of dealing with it. But I checked in with them, they texted me. I was in the hospital for 29 days. When you get a stem cell transplant, it's a serious thing. They put you in a quarantine room because they have to reduce any sites of infection. And they kept me for an extra week. It usually is about three weeks. They kept me for an extra week because I was having tachycardia. Every time I would stand up, my heart rate would go up to 150. And I also had to be transferred one night to the ICU because they had to give me norephrinephrine. So it was a little touch and go there. I don't have a uh you know relationship partner, so I didn't have to worry about that. I basically just used my time in the hospital to reflect on what I felt that I contributed to the world, what I felt that I, you know, did

Family, Boundaries, And Partnering With Care

SPEAKER_02 9:20

or didn't do. I didn't really have any regrets during that time. I just was more interested in allowing my body to go through the process. And I think a lot of people fight that. And I saw it the first time 10 years ago. A lot of people, I had four roommates at the time 10 years ago in a room, hospital room, and they were all ready to go home. And one guy was like screaming and yelling at the doctors, and I'm like, I was like, I don't know you, but I said, Can I ask you a question? What are you rushing home for? Like, oh, my dog's there. And I'm like, I understand, but you're here to get healing. And he actually had radiation scheduled the next morning, and he just wanted to go home. So one of the main things that I told the doctors when they did their rounds, I think it was like 12 or 13 of them when they would come. They would come at any time of the morning. I said to them, I'm not like any other patient. I would love to go home, but I don't want to go home and come back. So whenever you discharge me, it's whenever you did, you know, you discharge me. I am here to receive your healing. I want to be a partner in receiving what you have to offer. I don't want to allay all my power on you, but I also know that it's my responsibility to meet the moment. And I think they appreciated that. And, you know, one of them actually said, we don't really get a lot of people like you in the hospital. I'm like, that's because I've been through the process before. Emotionally, I know for me that there's an aspect of self-regulation that needs to happen. And then I also use, because I'm a board-certified wellness coach as well, I use some reframing techniques. So instead of seeing the chemo as something toxic and and and and ravaging my body, I saw it as an elixir. You know, in in holy text they call it mana, you know, basically food, you know, from the universe. So I I reframed it, you know, like that. I because I I knew that if I saw it as toxic and and don't get me wrong, it was it was high turned four shades darker. I had basically bowel movements was just not good. I only threw up once or twice, and I had skin that was peeling and neuropathy. So I was dealing with the after effects, so I'm not trying to sugarcoat the chemo. But I also knew that if I feared it, it wouldn't help, it wouldn't do its job. Its job is to go in and take care of what it needs to, you know, take care of from a science perspective.

SPEAKER_01 11:52

You seem a really positive person. Like, really, really positive. So my question is uh how, in your opinion, right? How much impactful can be, you know, in uh like in in a level being positive or negative in a situation like like that, in in your opinion, from zero up ten, you know, in a banal way. How how much can be helpful basically being positive like you are?

SPEAKER_02 12:24

I don't think that people should pretend that they're not scared when they're in the hospital or given a diagnosis like that. I don't think people should allow themselves to fake that they're feeling that way, or now in trending circles, they use the word spiritual bypassing using spiritual language in order to. I don't, I believe you should be authentic. But I also do believe that there's another human, whether it's a nurse or you know, the attendant taking, you know, your vitals, or a doctor, or a surgeon, whomever it is in front of you. I do think it's important for you to show that respect to them and also to feel like you are working together on trying to solve, in my case, solve this huge dilemma in my life. You know, there is a reason why there's a saying that you get more with honey than with salt. And I think to a large degree, I made it a point to actually, yeah, have every conversation with every person that came and attended to me, whether that was at three o'clock in the morning doing vitals, I made sure that I took the time to acknowledge where I'm at, like I'm not pretending where I'm at, and also the fact that these people are giving me care. There was only one day in the 29 days that I was really not a pleasant person. And actually, one of the nurses who usually tended to me was like, this is just so not like you. And honestly, Fabio, that's because my iPhone could not recognize me anymore. That I woke up one morning and the face ID would not recognize

Authentic Positivity Versus Bypassing

SPEAKER_02 14:05

my face because I lost 26 pounds, I was four shades darker, and I didn't shave because you can't, you know, you have to watch out framing infections. So I was really pissed off because the phone to me was a way to access not my emails and all that and TikTok and all that.

SPEAKER_01 14:24

What an entity for the model.

SPEAKER_02 14:28

It it contained my personal uh collection of things, pictures and sound and music, and you know, like I'm a meditator, I've been meditating for 20 plus years every day, and so I would use it, but it would not turn on. It would literally would not turn on, and I I was not happy. But I try to remain positive, but I try to remain authentic as well. I I don't want to pretend that I'm positive, I want to actually use the tools and the you know my insights and my training and use myself as an example.

SPEAKER_00 15:04

Cool, cool, cool.

SPEAKER_01 15:07

Interesting. And as I was saying before, we we hear a lot of cancer stories, right? Also cancer survival stories, but we rarely talk about what happened afterward, and that's that's very interesting for me to understand and if you like to dig deeper about that approach. Because, for example, in my case, I'm literally control, you know, freaker, like truly, and uh situation like like this where you know you are afraid about what you can control and not. You know, it it only think about that, it can literally freak me out, you know, honestly. So, how was it for you afterwards? After you say, okay, the doctor said they release me, they say that everything was okay, but maybe it's not true, maybe I'm still afraid, maybe I don't want to sleep so many hours tonight because I'm afraid that I don't want to, I'm afraid that I cannot wake up anymore, you know. I think I think that's what you want to talk about today, basically, correct?

SPEAKER_02 16:24

Yeah, absolutely. I I think a lot of things go go on. I think if you're someone who's afraid to dig deep within yourself, then cancer is really, really, really going to test you. If you're someone who's on the periphery and wants to understand what's happening to your physical body, what's happening to your emotional sense, what's happening to your relationships, what happened, then you go in with curiosity. Uh, I went, I went in with curiosity. There is this idea of psychological distancing, so distancing yourself from the disease and yourself. But scan anxiety, which is getting afraid of what the scans would say, is a real thing. And I've gone through it more than more than a lot of people because I've had now cancer twice. And those scans can be very, very intimidating. So I think really the key is is really what I highlighted. I did a TEDx talk like

Scan Anxiety And The Aloha Reboot

SPEAKER_02 17:20

maybe about seven months before this relapse happened. And in it, I use this framework called the Aloha Reboot. And Aloha in Hawaiian just means hello. And so my title of my TEDx talk was Seven Minutes to Wellness, How to Love Your Inner Stranger. And that inner stranger, I left it ambiguous on purpose because I wanted people to figure out for themselves what that actually means. So I start off my TEDx talk by asking one question to the audience. I say, have you ever struggled to recognize your own reflection? And it it pauses people. And that reflection is what you see, but is that the real you that's actually being reflected? Or is that a sense of you that you are trying to distance yourself away from? So it's a complex question. I'm I try to make it very easy. But the the acronym aloha that I use is basically A is for acknowledge. Acknowledge where you are, don't pretend. Don't, you know, want or wish that something is different. Really acknowledge it. L is for listening. So listen. In Hawaii, there's this healing modality called Huna healing. And from that, there's an offshoot called Hooponopono. And hoaponopono are just four phrases that you say. It's really to release forgiveness and to love. And the idea of listening to your body comes from Huna Healing because they actually believe, the, you know, the active practitioners, that you can actually speak to your body parts, that we are just more than the brain and the mind, that we are, you know, obviously we have organs, but we can actually speak to that. I don't recommend you doing that in front of other people because they're going to think you're strange. But the listening part is listening to that, that voice that's within you. O is for opening. So open yourself up to that wisdom, that intelligence, you know, that knowing. H is for harnessing. So harness that, write it down, you know, crib notes, notes, whatever, however, you want to basically distill that information. And A is really to act upon that. So to me, that's that emotional piece and that psychological piece that a lot of people miss. But if you create a relationship with yourself in that, in that way, by using the aloha reboot, you get a better understanding of what your situation is. So you're not really fixated on the fact that you have this particular challenge. It's more of, okay, I have this challenge. Savio the body is having this challenge, but savio, the other parts of me, right, that, you know, is very sort of interested and creative and vivacious. That other part of me still wants to do all these things. So It's really coming to terms with that conflict, that paradox.

SPEAKER_01 21:14

I have a question about the the Aloha. How can it be applied in daily life? Like if you like to give me an example, and of course, to the community, if you are interested in Savio's work or you know his programs, don't hesitate to check out his website at sabiopclemente.com. Of course, if you like to add something, uh Sabio, this is your time as well. And then we can also introduce better the Aloha, how people can apply daily, you know, these um this program of yours.

unknown 21:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:49

So, you know, you mentioned the website, and of course, I'm on Substack. The Substack is called the Human Resolve, and I named it that because I think we all have the potential and the capacity to find that resolve within ourselves. Um, in terms of using the Aloha reboot, I mean, it doesn't have to be something, you know, a lot of people get fixated. I'm a meditator, a lot of people get fixated on I gotta do it right, or I gotta do it the right, you know, I gotta, I got no, just do whatever works for you. So for me, I started meditating like two minutes, like over the years, then five, then now I do 20 minutes a day. I start off my day like that. If I

Applying Aloha In Daily Practice

SPEAKER_02 22:23

don't have that, I can actually notice the difference. So when it comes to the aloha reboot, that's why I name my TEDx talk seven minutes, because it's seven minutes of that, you know, reflection. So peep there's a book called The Artist Way by Julia Cameron. She talks about morning pages. So I liken it to a check-in with yourself, like a morning page, but in a different way and more flexible. You're you're not writing, you don't have to sit down at a place. But it's really about reflecting for your own self and being really curious as to what's actually moving or driving you. The best way to figure that out is how is your breath in that moment? How are you distancing yourself from thinking about other things as opposed to really focusing on what it is that you want to create at the moment? And then challenge yourself with asking yourself questions. We all love to answer questions. A lot of people feel like, well, if someone asks them a question, they're put on the spot. But when you ask yourself a question, I'm telling you, there is a way to ferret out the answer. You have an idea. It might not be fully fleshed out, but you do have that idea. So I would say just be really gentle with yourself and just experiment. It sounds very, very rudimentary and very basic, but it's really, really profound when you actually make it a practice and actually decide to do it. And I don't recommend people starting and you know, starting every day, maybe once a week and see where that gets you.

SPEAKER_01 23:53

Well, I do meditation as well, actually. 10 minutes per uh I try twice per day, 10 minutes, 10 minutes. I now put 11 minutes, but somehow the body, it it I think you know more than me, reacts weird because I I feel the one minute more. It looks like that when I reach already 20 seconds, if I put it 11 minutes, I reach already 20 seconds. Looks like I want to look the timer, you know. So but it it works and in my meditation, uh my meditation meditation comes from the Raja yoga, and so it basically it's more about uh picturing uh yourself, you know, in a way to low down all the the intrusive uh problems and thoughts that come up, and there is this uh beautiful picture about you that you flow over the the water, and then every time that the waves go up, then you have to imagine yourself that you put down the waves, you know. It's very beautiful, and I love meditation. I uh I love Raja Yoga as well. Now actually I should take it back, but there was a time uh that I used to do as well. But my question for you is uh this way to be so spiritual, right? Were you before, or did you did you become after what happened in in your life with the cancer?

SPEAKER_02 25:29

Sure. So I grew up Catholic. I went to a Catholic elementary school for eight years. I was an altar boy for about six years, but in college, back in the late 90s, I knew that I wanted to explore other religions, other thought forms, other belief systems. And so I did. I went on a search to find from Buddhism to you know Vedic to higher spiritualism. I I studied a lot because I was just a curious person. And I think a lot of individuals that I met, and including myself, always felt like I needed to at least meditate correctly, like lotus position, chanting, and all that. And it just didn't didn't really work for me. What works for me is lying down, listening to instrumental music, there's no words, and

Meditation, Methods, And Empty Pot Mindset

SPEAKER_02 26:15

that's another school of thought. People want to see images, people want to, you know, tap in or tune in. And sometimes that happens. That's that's wonderful, but sometimes it doesn't. And and then sometimes people are like, well, meditation, the goal is to clear your mind. And for other people, that works. For me, I go in with the sole purpose to observe what I observe. That's it. It's it's it's it's as simple as telling a child to have time out, and the child is just like, okay, I'm in timeout. So it's that's my timeout, you know, that I use.

SPEAKER_01 26:46

I think sorry, Savio, sorry, I thought you tell me, tell me.

SPEAKER_00 26:50

No, no, no, it's okay. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 26:52

No, I was just reflecting about something. I think I was just adding uh basically what you were saying already with the meditation and the Raja Yoga, it's not more, it's not about assuming what works or not, it's actually acknowledging what worked. So it doesn't really matter the technique, you know, or the method. Basically, after no even a few days or a week, if if you re if you already see the positive results about it, you can already say, oh, that method worked for me. It doesn't matter that's the right one, first of all. What matters is that it worked for you, you know. So yeah, that's literally what I want to add, basically.

SPEAKER_02 27:39

Yeah, I I think if you're someone, I deal with a lot of leaders and executives who there's a lot of cognitive load. There's a lot of intellectual load that they have on themselves. So for them, meditation is a brain dump. They just allow themselves to just be and they can just sort of, you know, release. So I go into every conversation, because I know you even asked me, is there a question you want to ask me? And I try very hard to use the premise of an empty pot. That's what I do, especially now that I've had cancer twice. It's really allowed me to be clear and have clarity on what it is I want to give to the world right now. And that is to just be completely present, but also not have this need to have all the trainings and expertise and all this knowledge that I have, but to be present and focused in the moment and to have that empty pot so that the information can flow through me. And it sounds woo-woo, but it's not. It's that's what the greatest speakers do is, you know, is they go on stage and they actually allow themselves to be a vessel for the information that comes through. Yes, they have to prepare. Yes, you have to have your format down. Yes, you're, you know, have some time restraints. But at the end of the day, when you do that, that allows other people to feel what you feel, not just gain or glean information. Because as you know, AI has changed the game. We can get any piece of information we want just from asking a question now. So we don't need any more information. What we need is that information to be relevant and that information to be sticky on what it is that we want to fix, heal, overcome, whatever the

Control, Doubt, And Information As Power

SPEAKER_02 29:23

case may be.

SPEAKER_01 29:25

I was thinking, Santa, right, still reflecting about your positivity and your uh, you know, your motivation motivational human being, you know. But my question is, have you been uh in your during your recovery, right, and especially during your treatment, have you always been that positive? You say yes. But but what about this um this this sort of motivation, right? That you have to always go forward and to to to to to go better, right? Have you never had have you ever have doubt about it? Like uh even a day, even an hour that you say what what what what I'm thinking about? I'm not gonna survive this. Have you never thought about that?

SPEAKER_02 30:16

I I I of of course I of course I've done it. I mean whether or not I've explained it correctly, and I apologize if I haven't, of course I have. I, in the 16 months, probably had about four PET scans, three MRIs, four CT scans, two bone marrow aspirations, which are very painful. And through all of them, I was checking the my chart, you know, to find out the information. And my oncologist would always be like, you're always like knowing before I tell you. And I'm like, that's because I like to be informed. I was using AI. I was I was doing all these things because for me, information is power, but information in the way that I want to use it allows me to feel like I can get control of the terrain. A large part of cancer is the fact that you have no control. You cannot control, I cannot control my hemoglobin count, I can't control, and and that's the thing, people like you know, freaking out about it. At the end of the day, I can't control some of those things. What can I control? I can control how I react to it, I can I can control how the information is making me feel, you know, to a large degree. I can react to how I choose to spend my time. So that's why I told my friends and family, I said, I don't really think I'm gonna be able to talk with you. I don't really feel comfortable doing that, but I I'm more than happy to check in with you via text. That was my boundary that I needed to create. So, and then, you know, throughout this process of healing, I also explored other modalities, right? I didn't just rely on mainstream medicine. I knew that mainstream medicine has its limitations. It's science and it's biology, and it uses what it uses, and it's wonderful at it. There's a lot of progress that they've made on lymphoma. As a matter of fact, which I didn't know, my doctor actually empowered me, my oncologist empowered me and said, we can go through the mainstream route, or you can also even do a clinical trial with some other doctor at a different hospital system. And I talked to the doctor, and I just felt like I was, I would be a guinea pig with those. I felt like the, you know, the traditional route for a relapse seemed better fit for me. But of course I had doubts, I had fears. But to be honest with you, Fabio, I think because I've been through this twice, I didn't really have a fear of dying. Like I mostly had a fear that I didn't live to my potential, that I didn't accomplish what it is I wanted to do. I didn't really fear I didn't, I didn't I didn't really have that. And I think that's to a large degree what helped me. But positivity can be a very crippling thing at times because sometimes people are positive for other people. They're not really positive for themselves. They it's like they have to show a great face. And I know when it comes to cancer, it's triggering for a lot of people. So I just made sure that I was always really clear with how it is that I want to show up today for myself and

Regulating Emotions When Motivation Fades

SPEAKER_02 33:15

for other people.

SPEAKER_01 33:16

That's very interesting what you said, because also in my case, right? Well, I would be afraid of die, of course. That's 100%. But what my fear would be more like this is I also know that it's a self-centered thought, yeah, a self-centered reflection. I probably I'm gonna work in the future about my ego, but literally the fact that I didn't give enough to this world what I wished for, you know. So call co call it self-centric or uh call it idealistic or whatever, but that's literally one of the fears that I I have, you know, if my life one day would be stop, you know, and uh so yeah. And talking with my uh my fiancé, right? She's very like she she's smart, she says, yeah, well, once you die, it's not that you really know what you really gave to the world, you know what I mean? So it looks like a contradictory thing because it is true. But still, the fact that I I know that I can give something to this world, the fact that you know that you can give something to this world, and so many people here, you know, I'm sure that they think the same as us, right? You know, give us uh a sort of fear today, but based on the fact that they really we really want to give a lot, you know. And this is, I think this is the it's a very big motivation to to go forward, to live and to live your life, you know, in the max potential. And something that I want to say also to you about your about the question that I made, because of you say, of course, I had fear, right? But the real question comes now, because of course I imagine that you sometimes had fear to die or do not have the right motivation to go forward. But my question is what actually helps people regulate emotion when uh motivation disappears? That's the right question for me to you.

SPEAKER_02 35:37

Yeah, I I think it goes back to this idea of what I learned, which is the stages, the stages of change. It's people often assume that people can't change because they they don't want to. And that's not really what the science of the research says. It actually says that people want to change, but they don't know how to change. They don't know when they go from pre-contemplation, thinking about change, to wanting change, to doing change, to being action of change, and that's the help that they need. So people like myself, a coach or a therapist, or or you know, someone else can help in that, you know, in that way. But to a large degree, beyond all that, I think we all have to kind of really figure out for ourselves what's important in our lives. And I do think when it's something as big as cancer or something of that uh nature, it really allows us to take that pause. You know, my sister, she actually lives in California. She came to New York. I live in New York, and she came to New York, and because there was a family wedding we all went to, and she asked me, she's like, You were in the hospital for like 20, like almost a month. She's like, What were you doing? And that I said, and the best way I could articulate it, Fabio, was to tell her that I was sleeping. Because I learned three huge things when I had this relapse in in that situation in the hospital. Number one was the fact, obviously, right, that I can't control, I can't control what I can't control. I can only control how I respond or react to the people helping me and to the situation at at hand. Some of it was very annoying, the beeping and the noise and the lights and and you know, and the drugs and the pills and the medication. Yes, it was extremely annoying. But I also knew that I had to have self-efficacy and figure out for myself

Success Reimagined: Flow Like A River

SPEAKER_02 37:25

how can I make this work. So I was challenging myself in the moment as well. And the two other things, and it's really, really simple, but all the great teachings will teach you this, is that I really leaned on to silence and stillness. And so when I articulated that statement to my sister about just sleeping, it was very rudimentary, very, very easy for her to understand. But the deeper level of it is that silence and stillness. And it seems very, you know, what? But it's available to us no matter where we are and whatever situation we're in. And so I leaned on that to actually help me surrender to the fact of what was happening, that a large part of this whole process was maybe there to show me something that I didn't want to see or allow myself to grow in it in a way that I, you know, didn't expect to. And then I also reflected on a question that someone asked me maybe a few years, a few years ago when I was on a podcast. That was before this relapse happened. And they're like, Would you ever consider cancer was like a blessing for you? And I'm like, blessing. And had to pause and I had to say to myself, well, blessing is usually something that you're happy about, joyous about, right? That you want. But in retrospect, I got to do and create so many things from what happened to me that in a large way, it really allowed me to see what I couldn't see before it happened. So I can't tell you that I even now after the relapse, you know, after having cancer now twice, that I would say cancer is a blessing. But to a large degree, I do think that it blesses you in a different way beyond the traditional meaning of blessed.

SPEAKER_01 39:21

Nice. I have just a few questions, just two questions. And we reach already 40 minutes, time flow by. So I'm very, very happy. Of course, people don't know here, but we also had a technical issue. Okay. But we we did it, we're doing it, and uh, I would like to say just thanks to the community and especially to Eva, because she added some uh highlights. And uh, Eva, if if you like to add your story, of course, you know. You know, if if you write in time, uh we can also share here. There is uh there is no problem. And just two questions for you, Savio, before we wrap up, right? What did cancer teach you about success? That you know, achievement, goal, like the the ones we know never could, basically.

SPEAKER_02 40:21

I'm gonna take a little pause here because this is gonna be contrarian to what a lot of people think, and actually to the way I was living my life for all these years. I thought all I had to do was hustle, and I thought all I had to do was just constantly grind. And maybe it's a phase of life that I'm now entering that's different for other people. But if you're asking me the question based upon my life and what has happened to me, a large part of this process which has taught me is that I can actually, like the great you know, spiritual books of all time, really echo, which is see yourself like the river. And when the river flows, you allow yourself to flow with the River, and if there's something that's obstructing you, you allow that river to permeate whether it's underneath or over on the side. So visualize yourself like the river because that gives you this harmony and gives you this visualization that's very key. Beautiful.

SPEAKER_01 41:28

And just uh a last question. If people right listening, the the people in the community, or anyway, I decide I'm gonna share these um this live stream uh in my podcast in Journey to Success because uh align uh with

Weekly Inventory And Adaptive Resilience

SPEAKER_01 41:45

uh with my topic. So the people who are listening right now, the people who are gonna listen in the future, right? Let's say that they are in this uh between um phase right now. So what is your gentle and honest step to invite them to take basically?

SPEAKER_02 42:05

I think they should just do an inventory. Do an inventory every week. One of my teachers, communication teachers, he basically journals every day, he journals what's the one thing he did positive in communication and what's the one thing he needs to work on. And then at the end of the seven days, he he figures out for himself, he looks back and reads it and figures out a theme for the month that he needs to sort of you know work on. So that's for communication. In whatever area of life that is, relationships, work, health, do that inventory for yourself. And then I challenge everyone to do what I teach, what comes very effortlessly to me, which is this idea of beyond resilience, beyond the bouncing back, because we all know that's what resilience is, is this idea of adaptive resilience. So when you're in the moment, in that discomfort, in that pain, in that problem, how can you have flexibility to think differently, feel differently, move differently, and allow yourself to express that to other people? Because I think that's what AI can never replicate is this idea that we are humans are constantly exchanging our energies with one another. And whether that you believe that that's something that's spiritual or whether you believe it's just something that's physical, I don't really care. But there is an exchange that's happening there. So I think the key first is to take stock in what it is that you can relate to, what what it is that empowers you, what it is that you feel is your you know, is your number one asset in the world, and then allow that to germinate to other people, to other situations, to other other things.

SPEAKER_01 43:50

Beautiful. And well, here's some message also from uh Nened Dabo say congratulations on your completely complete recovery and what an empowering journey. Cats in the world, say thank you so much. Because see these kind of stories, they're not only stories, they are truly motivational and inspirational insights for people who you know who went through about something like you or similar, or you know, and it's beautiful when uh you touch a human being so closely, you know what I mean? So it's uh it's very beautiful. And another thing that I would like to say before we wrap up, or before we close, there is something that you like to to add, Saviour.

SPEAKER_02 44:44

I just I thank you for allowing me to express this. If this l landed on people, obviously, you know, you can find me on Substack the Human Resolve, would you know love a follow. I always post every Wednesday, so I posted actually something this morning on how I challenge my own self and what I see in terms of you know leadership to clarity, to pressure, you know, to wellness. And I really would like for individuals to really ask themselves those deeper questions. I think it's important, especially in the complex situation we live in. I live in the US, it's more complex than other countries, but I

Closing Reflections And Community Invite

SPEAKER_02 45:25

really challenge them to allow themselves to you know to really feel.

SPEAKER_01 45:30

US is crazy now, but this is another argument. Stupid. Uh on the fire. That's already enough. Exactly. Yeah. Listen, Savio, thank you so much for for being here. And uh now, guys, I I want to hear from you. And uh, have you ever gone through a phase where life continued but you didn't feel fully yourself yet? And in case what helped you reconnect, rebuild, you know, simply stay present during that time, uh, send him a message, share your story, or connect with me on Substack. I would truly love to hear from you. And if you enjoyed today's episode, make sure to subscribe so you never miss an update. And if this conversation resonated, and I'm sure it resonates because I saw some uh some nice message here. Please share it with a friend who might be uh navigating their own in-between season right now. Also, when you subscribe on Soupstack, you will receive uh you know my my uh my my help, my uh motivational uh uh tips. So you you you well, it's just uh an extra help for you to go through something uh uh meaningful. And uh yeah, thank you so much for being here on joining to success. Remember, together we're building a life that chooses growth and clarity. I'll see you in the next episode. Cheers.