September 30, 2025 • 27 mins
Deb Krier is a coalition builder and warrior who is rewriting the playbook on how to L.I.V.E. with cancer. Diagnosed with Stage 4 Triple Positive Breast Cancer in 2015 and then diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2023, she is on a mission to ensure that we are no longer “fine” with cancer. Her goal is to empower those dealing with cancer to embrace their inner Warrior so that they can build a tribe, energize their voices, and expand their choices.
Deb founded Wise Women Communications, LLC (WWC), an award-winning, full- service public relations and marketing firm. She hosts the podcast The Business. Power Hour™, which began over 10 years ago and is nearing 900 episodes.
Contact Deb:
Website: https://tryingnottodie.live/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborahkrier/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1465660477225232
🔑Rob Z Wentz is a Leadership Communication Expert. Rob teaches, trains, and develops people and organizations to become exceptional communicators and leaders. With Rob, leaders find clarity, take action, and succeed with integrity, making them “the expert” in their industry.
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Discover everything about Rob Z 📲 Linktr.ee/RobZWentz
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🔑Rob is also a Christian entrepreneur, founder of The Unstuck Movement (on all social & podcast platforms), best-selling author, social media marketer and strategist, award-winning radio personality, speaker, and influencer. For over 20 years Rob has been leading people to communicate at a higher level.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:24):
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome tothe unstuck movement.
I'm your host, Robb Z. This podcast, this platform was
created for you to break the chains they've been holding you
back in your life. So if there's, you know things
in your life that you need breakthrough in, how do you get
past those plateaus as glass ceilings that have been holding
you back and keeping you stuck? The whole point of this platform
is I find people who have amazing stories of breakthrough.
(00:47):
We come on the podcast and we talked about how they got
unstuck from those difficult places in their life.
To give you the motivation, the courage and the perseverance and
the proof that you can do it foryourself, I have to shout out
the Connected Leaders Academy. The Connected Leaders Academy is
the sponsor for this podcast, anamazing organization full of
tons of incredible entrepreneurs.
(01:08):
Contact Jose Escobar and find out what the Connected Leaders
Academy is all about for yourself.
It's been incredibly beneficial for me, my business and my life.
And right now I want to introduce to you Deb Creer.
So Deb, the guest today is a stage 4 triple positive that a
breast cancer and thyroid cancersurvivor.
Amazing. Reshaping the cancer narrative
(01:29):
through her warrior spirit and advocacy.
Deb founded Wise Women Communications, LLC, an
acclaimed PR and marketing firm and host the long standing
podcast, The Business Power Hour.
Nearing its 900th episode, Deb'smission is to inspire cancer
patients to harness their inner strength, amplify their voices,
(01:51):
and broaden their horizons. Deb, thank you so much for being
a part of the Unstuck movement. I am so delighted and honored to
be here. We're going to have such a great
conversation. Absolutely.
And I love to start our conversations with a question.
You ask better questions in life, you get better answers and
you find that breakthrough that you need.
And the question I want to ask you today, very important for,
(02:14):
for your story and, and what you've gone through is what
changes when you decide to live?Because I know this is the big
part of your story, choosing to live and not to die.
So what changed when you decidedto live?
Well, you know, it was, it was one of those things, you know,
(02:34):
clearly we never planned to be sick or to have cancer or
anything like that. And my, you know, initially I
had every complication you couldpossibly have And, and there
were actually three times where it was, you know, not good.
I, I was told at one point I wouldn't make it through the
day. And I was like, excuse me.
But when we have something very serious that happens to us, we
(02:59):
get so focused on that, that we forget that what we really need
to be doing is living our lives.Maybe that's five hours, 5 days,
5 weeks, 50 years. You know, what can we do to be
living our lives as opposed to waiting for something to happen?
You know, waiting to die, waiting to get a new job,
(03:21):
waiting to get whatever we need to be living our lives every
single second. Yeah, very true.
And man, talk about living your life.
Like what does it mean to live your life, right.
So a lot of us live our lives but never really live.
And you don't realize that untilit's too late.
And I think that might look different for all of us.
What does it mean for you to truly live your life?
(03:44):
I made quite a few decisions, you know, especially when it was
like, OK, I'm going to get through this.
So now what a big part of it was, you know, getting rid of
the toxic people in my life. And you know, they're some of
them are still there for whatever reason, but you
downplay them. You know, you, you are around
them as little as possible, really have a positive outlook.
(04:07):
You know, it's, you know, it's something where we, we tend to
forget that if we're thinking, I'll blah, the world is coming
to an end, then the world will come to an end.
But if we're looking for the positives, even at the worst of
times, you know, it's, it can make things so much more fun,
(04:29):
you know, and it's really weird to be thinking about, you know,
hey, you're dealing with cancer and you're having fun.
I had treatment yesterday. You know, eight years into this,
I'm still having treatment. And the the nurses in the
oncology center, we have now decided my name is no longer Deb
Krier, it is Princess Anastasia Beaverhausen.
And, you know, and I got, I got to get a crown, right?
(04:50):
I really need to go in if, you know.
But it's, you know, what can we do to make other people laugh?
What can we do to make them feelthat we love them, that we care?
And, you know, because let's face it, it's kind of an icky
time in this world. So what can we do to make things
better for somebody else? Well, Princess Anastasia
Beaverhausen. Beaverhausen.
(05:11):
Beaverhausen. Beaverhausen.
Beaverhausen, Sorry, I wrote it right and said it wrong.
I love that. That's so fun.
So yeah, you're right. The times we're living in,
depending on where you're looking and I, this is where I
always go back to because I can find myself getting wrapped up
in it too. What is going on in my 5 foot
world? In my 5 foot world of the things
that I can physically have my hands on, everything for the
(05:35):
most part is really good. Like things are good, people are
healthy, people are happy. I have friends, I have people
who are close to me that I love to be around.
So I mean, you think about it that way and not everybody's
like that. So I'm, I'm sensitive to that,
right. But if our society is designed
to like worry about people halfway across the world, what
(05:55):
about what's going on right now with me?
Not that I'm going to be self absorbed in it, but like I can
actually make a real impact on me and the people around me.
That's something that, you know,with, with cancer, a gift and a
curse. It seems like you found a gift
in it, the blessing in it. Did.
That change for you like as far as like how you showed up for
(06:16):
people. I would hope that I've always
been like this, but I've, you know, I and, and I laugh and I
tell people, you know, I am an only child, you know, good old
Anastasia, right? You know, she seems like she'd
be an only child, but Greer is an only child also.
And so I, I tell people, you know, that means in a lot of
cases that you are more self-centered.
And so I have to stop and think,what about other people?
(06:38):
What are they going through? And I really have to, you know,
there are times where it's like I need to remember to say thank
you, to smile at people, all of those various things and not be
caught up in my own little world.
And, you know, I'll be honest, sometimes my own little world
sucks, you know, and it is so it's, you know, but what can we
(06:59):
do to to get out of it? And some of it is we turn off
the phone, we turn off the TV, you know, all of those things.
And in some ways, I think if we were more self-centered, maybe
it would be a good thing. You know, if we really were
thinking about how can we make the world a better place, even
if it's just, you know, those immediately around us, what
(07:20):
effect would that have? What effect would it have?
It's so true because like I, I try to make it a practice of, of
this that I have a reminder on my phone, right, because you
said you to remind yourself, like you to remind yourself
recenter yourself, and This is why my my faith in God comes in.
It's just like, OK, what I'm trying to get outside of me and
(07:43):
trying to think about like otherpeople and my life, it's only
going to get better. And it's amazing how this
happens. And I thought this years ago.
I learned, I heard Tony Robbins say this, that like when you
serve people, your life improves.
When you give people value, yourlife improves.
And I was so self-centered that I was like, how does that
doesn't make any sense? And then the more that I do it,
the more I'm like, oh, holy cow,right.
(08:03):
The more that I help people, thebetter I feel.
The more I listen to somebody else and let them be heard, the
better I feel. And sometimes that's just
smiling at somebody, you know, maybe they're having a really
bad day and you might be the only person who smiles at him
that day. Right, exactly.
On my, that's what I was going to say on my phone.
I have a reminder and it says, who am I encouraging today just
so I can send a message out? Or like you said, maybe it's
(08:26):
encouraging somebody by smiling at them when you hold the door
for them or whatever, or tellingthem they look nice today or
whatever that might be. Because when somebody gives you
that compliment, it might not, depending on what state you're
in, it might be like, oh, that was nice.
Or if you're in a low state thatcan change your whole day.
It could change your whole week,change your life.
Yeah. When it comes to cancer and and
(08:47):
your struggles. And I mentioned the gift and the
curse part of this. How did it shape your outlook on
your own life? How did it shape your outlook on
life in general? How?
I'm curious because you've such a positive attitude.
I can tell just from talking to you here.
How did it improve how things were for you?
Because that's a a very difficult situation that lots of
(09:10):
people go through and a lot of people look at the negative ends
of it. It seems like you found the the
light in there. Well, you know, it's, it's
interesting. Years ago I worked for an
oncologist and I also worked forthe American Cancer Society.
So I tell people I know just enough to be dangerous, right?
When I started seeing those words coming across on like, you
know, online and, and things like that, it was like, oh, this
(09:32):
is not good. You know, it is, it is different
to know that my expiration date is probably a lot sooner than
than many people. Stage 4 cancers in many cases
are not considered curable. They are considered, they go
into hiding and they come back at some point in time.
Now I've made it past some of those dates.
(09:52):
So that's good. You know, we're, we're, you
know, I'm, I'm eight years past my initial diagnosis.
And so, you know, and the thyroid cancer that I had in
July of 2023 was not related. Totally different cancer, right?
That was fun. And, you know, and now I said
bad words. I said bad words when the doctor
called to tell me. And she started laughing and she
(10:14):
said, yeah, that's why you're going to get through this.
And, you know, I was very fortunate we caught it so early.
All I did was have my thyroid gland removed.
And yeah, no treatment or anything like that.
But you know, it's, it really does make you think it's, it's
like you said, how can we support others?
You know, planning long term is different.
(10:34):
Long term is kind of like we, I planned for a year because you
never know, you know, and, and, but I tell people, yeah, you can
get hit by a bus no matter, no matter what.
So, but but it is, you know, you, you really do think about,
OK, what's I'm, I'm, you know, thinking about when I'm in my
90s may or may not happen. Now, other women in my family
(10:56):
have lived far into their 90s. So hopefully, you know, I will
will hit that. But you really do stop and
think, OK, life is shorter. And So what can I do to make it
better? You know, am I gonna sit and
think, Oh my God, I have had you're gonna love this 33
surgeries, you know, and I'm a hollow inside.
(11:18):
I mean, you know, but you know, and and and and doesn't make
life a challenge. Sure.
But you know, I can and I can sit and I can go, Oh my gosh.
But you know, like one of the things somebody saw one of my,
the scars that I have and she totally freaked out and I'm
like, oh, honey, I'm alive because I have this scar, you
(11:39):
know, and, and so it's, it really is kind of what is your
outlook on life? And, and you know, like I said,
I mean, there are days where I am angry, where I am mad, where
I am thinking, OK, I'm not goingto be into my 90s.
So that sucks. But it's like, OK, So what do we
do now to make it better? Yeah, gives you more of an
(12:00):
urgency to make things better. Yeah, that.
Bucket list might not get shorter but it the dates are
closer, right? Yeah.
You're alive because of the scars.
And that's, that's like a metaphor for life in general,
like of the scars we have are right.
The things we've gotten through.Yeah.
Oh yeah, went through. The things that made us
(12:22):
stronger, yeah, you know. What relationships would be a
great thing? You know, we or, or employers, I
mean, you know, it's, we do we get all these scars?
They, you know, they there are obviously emotional and mental
scars that may be even more important than a physical scar.
Yeah, that, that line to me really does that really does
(12:45):
something. We're alive because of the scars
we've gone through. And you're really not living,
like you said, like to really live.
You're gonna have scars if you're living and you don't have
any scars. And you'd be.
Kind of boring if we didn't right?
Be very. Boring.
Yeah, it'd be really boring. So when it comes to your
podcast, this is something that I find interesting.
So you you're closing it on 900 episodes, what actually more?
(13:08):
Than that I did 933 a couple days ago, OK.
So you're closing it on 1000 episodes?
When did you start it? It's been a little over 10 years
ago and it started initially because I was somebody else's
guest and I went, oh, this seemslike fun.
I can do this, I can talk. And, you know, and, and, and
(13:30):
initially it was about social media because it was, you know,
10:00-ish years ago. And that was when social media
was really starting to ramp up with being a business tool.
And so I did that for a while and then transitioned into just
making it pretty much a straightbusiness type of podcast.
But it's like you, you know, I can have whoever I want on.
(13:52):
So I've talked to nutritionists,I've talked to mental health
people. I've, I talked to one woman who
it was absolutely fascinating. She was a, she's an adult now,
but she was a victim of child trafficking and her story was
incredible. I mean, you know, you couldn't
hear her story without feeling anger, without feeling so sorry,
(14:15):
you know, but knowing what she has now done and she actually
uses what she went through to help others.
And, and I had a another guest who was a child of when she was
a child, she was sexually abusedby her father and same thing.
I mean, what they did to turn their lives around has just been
incredible. That's something that that's
(14:36):
what the whole point of this podcast is like make your mess,
your message, the breaker you find in life.
And then then people go through such difficult things and people
sometimes get stuck in those things and never escape these
things. But you talk to people who that
thing that would have destroyed somebody else made them
stronger. Oh, I know.
You know, I listen to their stories and I think I couldn't
(14:56):
have done it. But if you were in their shoes,
you never know. And I, I love that.
I just, I love that that to me that that fires me up.
It's why I love having these conversations because it's such
a, it's such an inspiration to know somebody who's gone through
something so difficult and it's found the good in the other end
of it. So I'm curious about the podcast
for another reason, like becauseof podcasting is there's so many
(15:20):
benefits to it. One of the biggest benefits is
what you learn about yourself and you can really grow from
doing it. It causes you to listen to
people and it causes you to grow.
So over 900 episodes you had to have grown plus going through.
So you started it 10 years ago. You've been going through this
battle for with cancer for eightyears.
They've kind of like gone neck and neck with each other.
(15:41):
How have how has the podcast cause you to grow and how has it
helped you to live more of your life instead of just being alive
right? Well, first of all, I talk to
cool people. I mean, you know, I get an
interview, some of the coolest people in the world and I
learned something every single time, even if it's a topic that
(16:01):
I've talked about with other guests or maybe, you know, if
I'm talking marketing, I'm a marketing person, but I still
learn something every single time.
And to me, that's what makes it worth it.
You know, So it you know, I'm I'm hoping that my listeners or
my viewers are also learning as I'm learning.
One of the things that it did isit does give me something to
(16:24):
focus on and to keep thinking, OK, I'm having a bad day, but I
got to hit that thousand episodemark, right, You know, and there
was only about I was seven week period of time where we ran best
of's because I was in a hospitalbed and, you know, wasn't going
to happen that I was going to berecording interviews.
So, you know, we did that. But once I was able to get back
(16:47):
on my feet and be talking, you know, because you're sitting
here, right? It's not like it's real hard
work. And so once I was able to start
doing that again, that gave me, I, I hate to say a reason to
live because that sounds kind ofkind of funny, but it did give
me something to do and somethingto focus on.
Sure. Yeah, I give you some purpose
(17:09):
too, right? Yeah.
And I'm just going to piggyback on top of that, like the
benefits. And that's why I talk talk to
people about starting a podcast because just the benefits of
knowing how to have a conversation, like and actively
listen to somebody and be able to listen well enough to ask
good questions that come along with that.
There's so much growth involved in that that we all would
(17:30):
benefit from it. So I encourage anybody to try it
out just so you get better at having conversations because it
creates that in you. And there's a question I want to
ask you, and we're going to jumpin just for a second here to
shout out to the sponsor of the Connected Leaders Academy.
When we come back, I want to askyou about the Storm and the
Warrior because I love this quote that you live by.
(17:52):
And we're going to talk about the storm and the Warrior and
what that means to you in just one second.
Let's get a shout out right now to the CLA.
Hi, my name is Jose Escobar and I'm the founder and CEO of the
Connected Leaders Academy. We're a growing tribe, a
community of entrepreneurs all over the world, globally, all
(18:16):
across the country, high performers, Titans of industry.
If you're an entrepreneur and you're looking to grow
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(18:38):
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We want to welcome you in. Check me out on Instagram and on
Facebook. The at symbol Jasco 25.
We look forward to having you join us.
Take care. So I, I love Deb, when people
have quotes they live by or saying they live by because when
(19:00):
you can like boil down what you do and who you are into a quote,
that's just amazing. Like it gives like us the
definition of what our life's all about.
And when I asked you this question, you said fate tells
the warrior you cannot withstandthe storm.
The warrior responds, I am the storm.
What does that quote mean to you?
(19:21):
Wait, it's, it's funny, it was sent to me or I read it fairly
early in my cancer journey. And I, yeah, I like it.
I love it. I love that thought that we are
the warriors. I actually have it tattooed on
my arm and it's right where I can see it when I'm at the
doctor, when I'm, you know, doing whatever, it's right
there. I can put my other hand on it,
(19:44):
but to me it shows that we, you know, and I tell people I'm not
a survivor, I'm not a patient. I hate that word.
I'm a warrior because this is a battle, you know, it's, it's a
battle for our lives. And what's more important is we
have to really be thinking that who's in our tribe.
(20:04):
You know, warriors do not stand alone.
We have to build our tribe of people who are going to support
us through this, whether it's our medical people, our family,
our Co workers, our friends, whoever it is.
We've got to build the strongesttribe we possibly can.
And it's interesting because so many people, you know, yeah, we
go through this alone. You know, nobody else was
(20:26):
getting poked, prodded, all thatgood stuff.
But we should not be alone. We need people around us.
And that's where, you know, in many cases.
You mentioned faith. That's where someone's faith
comes in. You know, I've had people who
have had me on their prayer lists for eight years.
Bless them. I mean, you know, I think that
(20:48):
is just the most wonderful thingin the world.
And, you know, some of the the greatest gifts I got were from
people that were a very faith oriented thing.
I have prayer shawls that peoplehad made for me.
I'm not overly religious, but I still appreciate the thought.
I mean, I just think that's so cool.
But yeah, our tribe has got to be there to support us.
(21:09):
And the interesting thing is sometimes our tribe a totally
different people than we would have expected.
You know, I had people who when I first, you know, knew what
what was going to happen, dropped off the face of the
earth. I mean, like people who had been
friends for over 20 years gone. I don't know why.
I don't know if they couldn't deal with it, if they, you know,
if it meant that they weren't going to have to think about
(21:31):
their own mortality, whatever itwas.
OK. Well, now, obviously that
friendship was just run its course.
Other people who I didn't even think knew I existed have been
some of my biggest supporters. And you know, I think that's the
The thing is we have absolutely got to build our tribes.
And the important thing is don'twait until you have something
(21:51):
like cancer to build your tribe.Build those people around you
now because we all need support on occasion.
We all have, you know, bad days for, you know, business,
personal, whatever it is, get your tribe around you now.
Don't wait until maybe it's too late to do.
Yeah, because, yeah, absolutely.They have that support system
(22:12):
built in at all times. It's just incredible.
And it's interesting that you said that people come into your
life and your tribe that you don't expect to be there, that
you never. This has happened to me recently
in the past couple of years thatpeople have come into my life.
I'm like this, I was not even onmy radar, was not even like a
thought that I had or I didn't expect this kind of person to
(22:34):
come into my life. But they've come in and like
embraced me completely and changed my life and made it so
much better. And so, yeah, we can have a
preconceived notion of like who we fit in with, who we're
supposed to be with, and we can box ourselves out of having
amazing people in our life who want to come in and help us and
serve us. And it's especially like today,
(22:56):
right? You hear about the echo chambers
online and people only listeningto people they agree with.
Like you can have an amazing people and you need amazing
people in your life who think differently than you and I
think. We're afraid.
These days of having that sort of that sort of company around
us that's going to challenge us,but we need to be challenged and
seems like you're somebody who needs to be challenged.
What what challenges you? What is it that in life lights
(23:20):
you up as a as a great challenge?
Yeah, sometimes it's getting through the day.
I'll just be honest. I'm like you know and but you
know we I did start the initiative trying not to die dot
live, and that's my passion right now is to to really be
able to help others who are on this journey.
(23:41):
Excuse me. Yeah.
That they, when they took my thyroid gland out, they tweaked
my vocal cords and I was like, you know, y'all know what I do
for a living, right? And so, you know, it's I'm, I'm
still kind of the teenage boy whose voice is changing.
But you know, it's, it is one ofthose things where, yeah, you
(24:02):
know, how can I help others? That is my passion right now.
And, and, and now let's be honest, it's also professional.
I mean, you know, I have to pay the bills.
So I have wonderful clients thatI work with and you know, it's
just great to to get through each day.
Yeah, that's a, that's a great answer actually, because just
(24:23):
the trials of life can really bethe challenge that you need.
How? Do you get unstuck?
How do you you just keep persevering, keep pushing
forward? Life's going to hand you
difficult things. My mentor Ray always says this,
and it's so true, and I try to get closer to it every day.
But life is going to give you situations that don't seem good.
(24:46):
How can you find the blessing ineverything that happens to you?
Because in everything that happens to you is a blessing.
If you can find it, if you can look for it hard enough and you
can rewire how you look at the world and how you look at
problems, man, it makes you so resilient if you get.
A better job, a better partner, you know, all of those various
things, Yeah. And the resiliency that's
(25:07):
building, right? So for you, I imagine the
resiliency for you that has comefrom all of the struggle you've
gone through over the past eightyears, right?
The resiliency that that is going to bring different people
in your lives because because you think differently, you look
at the world differently, you act differently now, different
people, better people are going to show up if you found that to
be true. Oh yeah, You know, some of the
(25:30):
people. I mean, it has been incredible.
Some of the people that I have met and and I would not have met
them if I didn't have cancer. Yeah, there you go.
That's the the mess creating themessage, the curse becoming a
gift for Deb. I just want to thank you for
coming on. I think that your story is it's
(25:51):
powerful because it's just proofpositive.
The perseverance and keeping thepositive attitude is everything
and having something to strive after.
It's so cool to see. So I love that.
And anybody who's checking this out right now, the best place to
find you. I know I have your LinkedIn and
your Facebook tagged in this post, but also make sure they go
(26:12):
to trying not to die dot live. Is there anything you want to
leave the audience with as we wrap this episode up?
Well, you. Know we can get through
anything, we just have to live. And again, maybe it's 5 minutes,
maybe it's 5 weeks, 50 years. We need to keep going.
No matter how hard it is. Keep going and know that there
(26:34):
are others out there to support you.
Absolutely great words to live by.
Deb. Thank you so much for being a
part of the unstuck movement.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome tothe unstuck movement.
I'm your host, Robb Z. This podcast, this platform was
created for you to break the chains they've been holding you
back in your life. So if there's, you know things
in your life that you need breakthrough in, how do you get
past those plateaus as glass ceilings that have been holding
you back and keeping you stuck? The whole point of this platform
is I find people who have amazing stories of breakthrough.
(00:47):
We come on the podcast and we talked about how they got
unstuck from those difficult places in their life.
To give you the motivation, the courage and the perseverance and
the proof that you can do it foryourself, I have to shout out
the Connected Leaders Academy. The Connected Leaders Academy is
the sponsor for this podcast, anamazing organization full of
tons of incredible entrepreneurs.
(01:08):
Contact Jose Escobar and find out what the Connected Leaders
Academy is all about for yourself.
It's been incredibly beneficial for me, my business and my life.
And right now I want to introduce to you Deb Creer.
So Deb, the guest today is a stage 4 triple positive that a
breast cancer and thyroid cancersurvivor.
Amazing. Reshaping the cancer narrative
(01:29):
through her warrior spirit and advocacy.
Deb founded Wise Women Communications, LLC, an
acclaimed PR and marketing firm and host the long standing
podcast, The Business Power Hour.
Nearing its 900th episode, Deb'smission is to inspire cancer
patients to harness their inner strength, amplify their voices,
(01:51):
and broaden their horizons. Deb, thank you so much for being
a part of the Unstuck movement. I am so delighted and honored to
be here. We're going to have such a great
conversation. Absolutely.
And I love to start our conversations with a question.
You ask better questions in life, you get better answers and
you find that breakthrough that you need.
And the question I want to ask you today, very important for,
(02:14):
for your story and, and what you've gone through is what
changes when you decide to live?Because I know this is the big
part of your story, choosing to live and not to die.
So what changed when you decidedto live?
Well, you know, it was, it was one of those things, you know,
(02:34):
clearly we never planned to be sick or to have cancer or
anything like that. And my, you know, initially I
had every complication you couldpossibly have And, and there
were actually three times where it was, you know, not good.
I, I was told at one point I wouldn't make it through the
day. And I was like, excuse me.
But when we have something very serious that happens to us, we
(02:59):
get so focused on that, that we forget that what we really need
to be doing is living our lives.Maybe that's five hours, 5 days,
5 weeks, 50 years. You know, what can we do to be
living our lives as opposed to waiting for something to happen?
You know, waiting to die, waiting to get a new job,
(03:21):
waiting to get whatever we need to be living our lives every
single second. Yeah, very true.
And man, talk about living your life.
Like what does it mean to live your life, right.
So a lot of us live our lives but never really live.
And you don't realize that untilit's too late.
And I think that might look different for all of us.
What does it mean for you to truly live your life?
(03:44):
I made quite a few decisions, you know, especially when it was
like, OK, I'm going to get through this.
So now what a big part of it was, you know, getting rid of
the toxic people in my life. And you know, they're some of
them are still there for whatever reason, but you
downplay them. You know, you, you are around
them as little as possible, really have a positive outlook.
(04:07):
You know, it's, you know, it's something where we, we tend to
forget that if we're thinking, I'll blah, the world is coming
to an end, then the world will come to an end.
But if we're looking for the positives, even at the worst of
times, you know, it's, it can make things so much more fun,
(04:29):
you know, and it's really weird to be thinking about, you know,
hey, you're dealing with cancer and you're having fun.
I had treatment yesterday. You know, eight years into this,
I'm still having treatment. And the the nurses in the
oncology center, we have now decided my name is no longer Deb
Krier, it is Princess Anastasia Beaverhausen.
And, you know, and I got, I got to get a crown, right?
(04:50):
I really need to go in if, you know.
But it's, you know, what can we do to make other people laugh?
What can we do to make them feelthat we love them, that we care?
And, you know, because let's face it, it's kind of an icky
time in this world. So what can we do to make things
better for somebody else? Well, Princess Anastasia
Beaverhausen. Beaverhausen.
(05:11):
Beaverhausen. Beaverhausen.
Beaverhausen, Sorry, I wrote it right and said it wrong.
I love that. That's so fun.
So yeah, you're right. The times we're living in,
depending on where you're looking and I, this is where I
always go back to because I can find myself getting wrapped up
in it too. What is going on in my 5 foot
world? In my 5 foot world of the things
that I can physically have my hands on, everything for the
(05:35):
most part is really good. Like things are good, people are
healthy, people are happy. I have friends, I have people
who are close to me that I love to be around.
So I mean, you think about it that way and not everybody's
like that. So I'm, I'm sensitive to that,
right. But if our society is designed
to like worry about people halfway across the world, what
(05:55):
about what's going on right now with me?
Not that I'm going to be self absorbed in it, but like I can
actually make a real impact on me and the people around me.
That's something that, you know,with, with cancer, a gift and a
curse. It seems like you found a gift
in it, the blessing in it. Did.
That change for you like as far as like how you showed up for
(06:16):
people. I would hope that I've always
been like this, but I've, you know, I and, and I laugh and I
tell people, you know, I am an only child, you know, good old
Anastasia, right? You know, she seems like she'd
be an only child, but Greer is an only child also.
And so I, I tell people, you know, that means in a lot of
cases that you are more self-centered.
And so I have to stop and think,what about other people?
(06:38):
What are they going through? And I really have to, you know,
there are times where it's like I need to remember to say thank
you, to smile at people, all of those various things and not be
caught up in my own little world.
And, you know, I'll be honest, sometimes my own little world
sucks, you know, and it is so it's, you know, but what can we
(06:59):
do to to get out of it? And some of it is we turn off
the phone, we turn off the TV, you know, all of those things.
And in some ways, I think if we were more self-centered, maybe
it would be a good thing. You know, if we really were
thinking about how can we make the world a better place, even
if it's just, you know, those immediately around us, what
(07:20):
effect would that have? What effect would it have?
It's so true because like I, I try to make it a practice of, of
this that I have a reminder on my phone, right, because you
said you to remind yourself, like you to remind yourself
recenter yourself, and This is why my my faith in God comes in.
It's just like, OK, what I'm trying to get outside of me and
(07:43):
trying to think about like otherpeople and my life, it's only
going to get better. And it's amazing how this
happens. And I thought this years ago.
I learned, I heard Tony Robbins say this, that like when you
serve people, your life improves.
When you give people value, yourlife improves.
And I was so self-centered that I was like, how does that
doesn't make any sense? And then the more that I do it,
the more I'm like, oh, holy cow,right.
(08:03):
The more that I help people, thebetter I feel.
The more I listen to somebody else and let them be heard, the
better I feel. And sometimes that's just
smiling at somebody, you know, maybe they're having a really
bad day and you might be the only person who smiles at him
that day. Right, exactly.
On my, that's what I was going to say on my phone.
I have a reminder and it says, who am I encouraging today just
so I can send a message out? Or like you said, maybe it's
(08:26):
encouraging somebody by smiling at them when you hold the door
for them or whatever, or tellingthem they look nice today or
whatever that might be. Because when somebody gives you
that compliment, it might not, depending on what state you're
in, it might be like, oh, that was nice.
Or if you're in a low state thatcan change your whole day.
It could change your whole week,change your life.
Yeah. When it comes to cancer and and
(08:47):
your struggles. And I mentioned the gift and the
curse part of this. How did it shape your outlook on
your own life? How did it shape your outlook on
life in general? How?
I'm curious because you've such a positive attitude.
I can tell just from talking to you here.
How did it improve how things were for you?
Because that's a a very difficult situation that lots of
(09:10):
people go through and a lot of people look at the negative ends
of it. It seems like you found the the
light in there. Well, you know, it's, it's
interesting. Years ago I worked for an
oncologist and I also worked forthe American Cancer Society.
So I tell people I know just enough to be dangerous, right?
When I started seeing those words coming across on like, you
know, online and, and things like that, it was like, oh, this
(09:32):
is not good. You know, it is, it is different
to know that my expiration date is probably a lot sooner than
than many people. Stage 4 cancers in many cases
are not considered curable. They are considered, they go
into hiding and they come back at some point in time.
Now I've made it past some of those dates.
(09:52):
So that's good. You know, we're, we're, you
know, I'm, I'm eight years past my initial diagnosis.
And so, you know, and the thyroid cancer that I had in
July of 2023 was not related. Totally different cancer, right?
That was fun. And, you know, and now I said
bad words. I said bad words when the doctor
called to tell me. And she started laughing and she
(10:14):
said, yeah, that's why you're going to get through this.
And, you know, I was very fortunate we caught it so early.
All I did was have my thyroid gland removed.
And yeah, no treatment or anything like that.
But you know, it's, it really does make you think it's, it's
like you said, how can we support others?
You know, planning long term is different.
(10:34):
Long term is kind of like we, I planned for a year because you
never know, you know, and, and, but I tell people, yeah, you can
get hit by a bus no matter, no matter what.
So, but but it is, you know, you, you really do think about,
OK, what's I'm, I'm, you know, thinking about when I'm in my
90s may or may not happen. Now, other women in my family
(10:56):
have lived far into their 90s. So hopefully, you know, I will
will hit that. But you really do stop and
think, OK, life is shorter. And So what can I do to make it
better? You know, am I gonna sit and
think, Oh my God, I have had you're gonna love this 33
surgeries, you know, and I'm a hollow inside.
(11:18):
I mean, you know, but you know, and and and and doesn't make
life a challenge. Sure.
But you know, I can and I can sit and I can go, Oh my gosh.
But you know, like one of the things somebody saw one of my,
the scars that I have and she totally freaked out and I'm
like, oh, honey, I'm alive because I have this scar, you
(11:39):
know, and, and so it's, it really is kind of what is your
outlook on life? And, and you know, like I said,
I mean, there are days where I am angry, where I am mad, where
I am thinking, OK, I'm not goingto be into my 90s.
So that sucks. But it's like, OK, So what do we
do now to make it better? Yeah, gives you more of an
(12:00):
urgency to make things better. Yeah, that.
Bucket list might not get shorter but it the dates are
closer, right? Yeah.
You're alive because of the scars.
And that's, that's like a metaphor for life in general,
like of the scars we have are right.
The things we've gotten through.Yeah.
Oh yeah, went through. The things that made us
(12:22):
stronger, yeah, you know. What relationships would be a
great thing? You know, we or, or employers, I
mean, you know, it's, we do we get all these scars?
They, you know, they there are obviously emotional and mental
scars that may be even more important than a physical scar.
Yeah, that, that line to me really does that really does
(12:45):
something. We're alive because of the scars
we've gone through. And you're really not living,
like you said, like to really live.
You're gonna have scars if you're living and you don't have
any scars. And you'd be.
Kind of boring if we didn't right?
Be very. Boring.
Yeah, it'd be really boring. So when it comes to your
podcast, this is something that I find interesting.
So you you're closing it on 900 episodes, what actually more?
(13:08):
Than that I did 933 a couple days ago, OK.
So you're closing it on 1000 episodes?
When did you start it? It's been a little over 10 years
ago and it started initially because I was somebody else's
guest and I went, oh, this seemslike fun.
I can do this, I can talk. And, you know, and, and, and
(13:30):
initially it was about social media because it was, you know,
10:00-ish years ago. And that was when social media
was really starting to ramp up with being a business tool.
And so I did that for a while and then transitioned into just
making it pretty much a straightbusiness type of podcast.
But it's like you, you know, I can have whoever I want on.
(13:52):
So I've talked to nutritionists,I've talked to mental health
people. I've, I talked to one woman who
it was absolutely fascinating. She was a, she's an adult now,
but she was a victim of child trafficking and her story was
incredible. I mean, you know, you couldn't
hear her story without feeling anger, without feeling so sorry,
(14:15):
you know, but knowing what she has now done and she actually
uses what she went through to help others.
And, and I had a another guest who was a child of when she was
a child, she was sexually abusedby her father and same thing.
I mean, what they did to turn their lives around has just been
incredible. That's something that that's
(14:36):
what the whole point of this podcast is like make your mess,
your message, the breaker you find in life.
And then then people go through such difficult things and people
sometimes get stuck in those things and never escape these
things. But you talk to people who that
thing that would have destroyed somebody else made them
stronger. Oh, I know.
You know, I listen to their stories and I think I couldn't
(14:56):
have done it. But if you were in their shoes,
you never know. And I, I love that.
I just, I love that that to me that that fires me up.
It's why I love having these conversations because it's such
a, it's such an inspiration to know somebody who's gone through
something so difficult and it's found the good in the other end
of it. So I'm curious about the podcast
for another reason, like becauseof podcasting is there's so many
(15:20):
benefits to it. One of the biggest benefits is
what you learn about yourself and you can really grow from
doing it. It causes you to listen to
people and it causes you to grow.
So over 900 episodes you had to have grown plus going through.
So you started it 10 years ago. You've been going through this
battle for with cancer for eightyears.
They've kind of like gone neck and neck with each other.
(15:41):
How have how has the podcast cause you to grow and how has it
helped you to live more of your life instead of just being alive
right? Well, first of all, I talk to
cool people. I mean, you know, I get an
interview, some of the coolest people in the world and I
learned something every single time, even if it's a topic that
(16:01):
I've talked about with other guests or maybe, you know, if
I'm talking marketing, I'm a marketing person, but I still
learn something every single time.
And to me, that's what makes it worth it.
You know, So it you know, I'm I'm hoping that my listeners or
my viewers are also learning as I'm learning.
One of the things that it did isit does give me something to
(16:24):
focus on and to keep thinking, OK, I'm having a bad day, but I
got to hit that thousand episodemark, right, You know, and there
was only about I was seven week period of time where we ran best
of's because I was in a hospitalbed and, you know, wasn't going
to happen that I was going to berecording interviews.
So, you know, we did that. But once I was able to get back
(16:47):
on my feet and be talking, you know, because you're sitting
here, right? It's not like it's real hard
work. And so once I was able to start
doing that again, that gave me, I, I hate to say a reason to
live because that sounds kind ofkind of funny, but it did give
me something to do and somethingto focus on.
Sure. Yeah, I give you some purpose
(17:09):
too, right? Yeah.
And I'm just going to piggyback on top of that, like the
benefits. And that's why I talk talk to
people about starting a podcast because just the benefits of
knowing how to have a conversation, like and actively
listen to somebody and be able to listen well enough to ask
good questions that come along with that.
There's so much growth involved in that that we all would
(17:30):
benefit from it. So I encourage anybody to try it
out just so you get better at having conversations because it
creates that in you. And there's a question I want to
ask you, and we're going to jumpin just for a second here to
shout out to the sponsor of the Connected Leaders Academy.
When we come back, I want to askyou about the Storm and the
Warrior because I love this quote that you live by.
(17:52):
And we're going to talk about the storm and the Warrior and
what that means to you in just one second.
Let's get a shout out right now to the CLA.
Hi, my name is Jose Escobar and I'm the founder and CEO of the
Connected Leaders Academy. We're a growing tribe, a
community of entrepreneurs all over the world, globally, all
(18:16):
across the country, high performers, Titans of industry.
If you're an entrepreneur and you're looking to grow
personally and professionally, scale your influence, develop
your skill sets, move the needlein your business, more clients,
more money, more profit, the bottom line and of course, grow
your circle and your network like never before.
This is where you want to be Join the connected Leaders
(18:38):
Academy today. We are scaling massively.
We want to welcome you in. Check me out on Instagram and on
Facebook. The at symbol Jasco 25.
We look forward to having you join us.
Take care. So I, I love Deb, when people
have quotes they live by or saying they live by because when
(19:00):
you can like boil down what you do and who you are into a quote,
that's just amazing. Like it gives like us the
definition of what our life's all about.
And when I asked you this question, you said fate tells
the warrior you cannot withstandthe storm.
The warrior responds, I am the storm.
What does that quote mean to you?
(19:21):
Wait, it's, it's funny, it was sent to me or I read it fairly
early in my cancer journey. And I, yeah, I like it.
I love it. I love that thought that we are
the warriors. I actually have it tattooed on
my arm and it's right where I can see it when I'm at the
doctor, when I'm, you know, doing whatever, it's right
there. I can put my other hand on it,
(19:44):
but to me it shows that we, you know, and I tell people I'm not
a survivor, I'm not a patient. I hate that word.
I'm a warrior because this is a battle, you know, it's, it's a
battle for our lives. And what's more important is we
have to really be thinking that who's in our tribe.
(20:04):
You know, warriors do not stand alone.
We have to build our tribe of people who are going to support
us through this, whether it's our medical people, our family,
our Co workers, our friends, whoever it is.
We've got to build the strongesttribe we possibly can.
And it's interesting because so many people, you know, yeah, we
go through this alone. You know, nobody else was
(20:26):
getting poked, prodded, all thatgood stuff.
But we should not be alone. We need people around us.
And that's where, you know, in many cases.
You mentioned faith. That's where someone's faith
comes in. You know, I've had people who
have had me on their prayer lists for eight years.
Bless them. I mean, you know, I think that
(20:48):
is just the most wonderful thingin the world.
And, you know, some of the the greatest gifts I got were from
people that were a very faith oriented thing.
I have prayer shawls that peoplehad made for me.
I'm not overly religious, but I still appreciate the thought.
I mean, I just think that's so cool.
But yeah, our tribe has got to be there to support us.
(21:09):
And the interesting thing is sometimes our tribe a totally
different people than we would have expected.
You know, I had people who when I first, you know, knew what
what was going to happen, dropped off the face of the
earth. I mean, like people who had been
friends for over 20 years gone. I don't know why.
I don't know if they couldn't deal with it, if they, you know,
if it meant that they weren't going to have to think about
(21:31):
their own mortality, whatever itwas.
OK. Well, now, obviously that
friendship was just run its course.
Other people who I didn't even think knew I existed have been
some of my biggest supporters. And you know, I think that's the
The thing is we have absolutely got to build our tribes.
And the important thing is don'twait until you have something
(21:51):
like cancer to build your tribe.Build those people around you
now because we all need support on occasion.
We all have, you know, bad days for, you know, business,
personal, whatever it is, get your tribe around you now.
Don't wait until maybe it's too late to do.
Yeah, because, yeah, absolutely.They have that support system
(22:12):
built in at all times. It's just incredible.
And it's interesting that you said that people come into your
life and your tribe that you don't expect to be there, that
you never. This has happened to me recently
in the past couple of years thatpeople have come into my life.
I'm like this, I was not even onmy radar, was not even like a
thought that I had or I didn't expect this kind of person to
(22:34):
come into my life. But they've come in and like
embraced me completely and changed my life and made it so
much better. And so, yeah, we can have a
preconceived notion of like who we fit in with, who we're
supposed to be with, and we can box ourselves out of having
amazing people in our life who want to come in and help us and
serve us. And it's especially like today,
(22:56):
right? You hear about the echo chambers
online and people only listeningto people they agree with.
Like you can have an amazing people and you need amazing
people in your life who think differently than you and I
think. We're afraid.
These days of having that sort of that sort of company around
us that's going to challenge us,but we need to be challenged and
seems like you're somebody who needs to be challenged.
What what challenges you? What is it that in life lights
(23:20):
you up as a as a great challenge?
Yeah, sometimes it's getting through the day.
I'll just be honest. I'm like you know and but you
know we I did start the initiative trying not to die dot
live, and that's my passion right now is to to really be
able to help others who are on this journey.
(23:41):
Excuse me. Yeah.
That they, when they took my thyroid gland out, they tweaked
my vocal cords and I was like, you know, y'all know what I do
for a living, right? And so, you know, it's I'm, I'm
still kind of the teenage boy whose voice is changing.
But you know, it's, it is one ofthose things where, yeah, you
(24:02):
know, how can I help others? That is my passion right now.
And, and, and now let's be honest, it's also professional.
I mean, you know, I have to pay the bills.
So I have wonderful clients thatI work with and you know, it's
just great to to get through each day.
Yeah, that's a, that's a great answer actually, because just
(24:23):
the trials of life can really bethe challenge that you need.
How? Do you get unstuck?
How do you you just keep persevering, keep pushing
forward? Life's going to hand you
difficult things. My mentor Ray always says this,
and it's so true, and I try to get closer to it every day.
But life is going to give you situations that don't seem good.
(24:46):
How can you find the blessing ineverything that happens to you?
Because in everything that happens to you is a blessing.
If you can find it, if you can look for it hard enough and you
can rewire how you look at the world and how you look at
problems, man, it makes you so resilient if you get.
A better job, a better partner, you know, all of those various
things, Yeah. And the resiliency that's
(25:07):
building, right? So for you, I imagine the
resiliency for you that has comefrom all of the struggle you've
gone through over the past eightyears, right?
The resiliency that that is going to bring different people
in your lives because because you think differently, you look
at the world differently, you act differently now, different
people, better people are going to show up if you found that to
be true. Oh yeah, You know, some of the
(25:30):
people. I mean, it has been incredible.
Some of the people that I have met and and I would not have met
them if I didn't have cancer. Yeah, there you go.
That's the the mess creating themessage, the curse becoming a
gift for Deb. I just want to thank you for
coming on. I think that your story is it's
(25:51):
powerful because it's just proofpositive.
The perseverance and keeping thepositive attitude is everything
and having something to strive after.
It's so cool to see. So I love that.
And anybody who's checking this out right now, the best place to
find you. I know I have your LinkedIn and
your Facebook tagged in this post, but also make sure they go
(26:12):
to trying not to die dot live. Is there anything you want to
leave the audience with as we wrap this episode up?
Well, you. Know we can get through
anything, we just have to live. And again, maybe it's 5 minutes,
maybe it's 5 weeks, 50 years. We need to keep going.
No matter how hard it is. Keep going and know that there
(26:34):
are others out there to support you.
Absolutely great words to live by.
Deb. Thank you so much for being a
part of the unstuck movement.
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