Ep. 37: What loss teaches about life w/ Katie Radel

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October 18, 2022 • 59 mins

Grief and loss are powerful emotions, but they can also be your greatest teachers. In today's episode, entrepreneur/wife/mom Katie Radel goes deep on her relationship with death, even calling it her "greatest teacher."

Katie grew up working in the family funeral home business, working Visitations, cutting the grass and maintaining the hearse. She saw what death did to families but was most struck by how people were remembered.

"I have this strange habit," says Katie. "I read obituaries all the time. To me, it’s just another reminder that ‘this life is short,’ and ‘what do you want that to say?’”

She was confronted with death when someone incredibly close to her died. Katie talks through what she learned through that traumatic loss and what it meant for her failing marriage at the time.

💥 This episode is for you if 💥
- You know, first-hand, the pain of losing someone close to you
- You're fascinated by the concept that grief/loss could influence how you live
- You love Katie Radel and the PR work she does for companies and non-profits

📺What you'll hear in this episode📺
This episode begins with Katie talking through the odd-jobs she performed while working at -and living above- her family's funeral home. But the conversation quickly transitions to why death became her teacher.

[9:01] How constantly seeing death taught Katie to live a fuller, more balanced life.
[11:18] When Katie lost her mom, it made her realize she needed to divorce her husband and leave her failing marriage.
[29:24] Katie's flow from entrepreneurship, back to corporate life, and then into the creation of a new company after her son was born.

Plus, host Lauren Lowrey goes deep into [45:23] abundance versus success and Katie Radel gives parting words about listening to your intuition [55:07].

🔖 Chapters 🔖
0:36 - Lauren's opening monologue
3:22 - Katie grew up in a funeral home
7:50 - Death brings out the best & worst
9:01 - 'Death has taught me how to live'
11:18 - Losing her marriage and her mom
18:32 - Katie's familiarity with loss
19:32 - When Katie feels her mom's presence
23:09 - Katie's end-of-life plans
29:24 - Katie's profession in PR/Marketing
36:59 - Being a working mom is harrrrrrd
41:01 - Was anyone ever buried in their THINGS? No!
42:36 - The wisdom in obituaries
45:23 - Lauren's take: 'Success vs. Abundance'
52:28 - Lauren's take: 'Purpose comes from pain'
55:07 - Katie reminds us to trust our intuition
56:53 - Lauren's tease to next week