June 4, 2025 • 26 mins
Michelle Biship's incredible journney from trauma to transformation is a powerfful testament to the resilience and strength within us all. Born into a chaotic, abusive childhood with a mentally ill mother, Michelle’s "perfect" exterior life hid the deep emotional pain she endured. Struggling with anorexia as a young girl, Michelle’s early trauma set the stage for a life of self-discovery, healing, and growth.
Despite overcoming many struggles, Michelle rose to become a six-figure earner in office equipment sales, defying expectations and building a successful career. However, it wasn’t until she was diagnosed with breast cancer at 50 and faced the sudden loss of her husband that Michelle truly began to reclaim her life.
This journey of profound loss and healing led Michelle to create her empowering life philosophy: " Choose You First. A philosophy that emphasizes self-care as essential, not selfish. Through her book and coaching, Michelle teaches women how to make small, manageable shifts toward transformation.
Michelle’s story is a beacon of hope for anyone facing trauma, loss, or feeling stuck in their current circumstances. She reminds us that we are perfect in our imperfections and shows us how emotional healing, resilience, and self-compassion can transform even the most difficult times into sources of strength and purpose. Whether navigating menopause, body image struggles, or caregiving, Michelle offers practical advice on overcoming trauma, setting boundaries, and living fully.
Ready to choose yourself first? Tune in to Michelle’s inspiring story and discover the first steps to emotional healing, personal growth, and lasting fulfillment.
For similar episodes on finding strength in adversity please check episodes 104 and 108.
Resources:
If you love traveling tune into The Ageless Traveler Podcast & subscribe to a free Travel Tuesday newsletter. This is the #1 resource for 60+ travelers. Join her private FACEBOOK SALON for like-minded travelers. You'll find destinations, health and wellness travel, luxury travel for less, companionship pathways, solo, grandarent and voluntouring, fighting ageism in tourism agelesstraveler.com
Thank you for listening. If you enjoy this podcast, please help spread the word by dropping a review and forwarding it to a friend.
Michelle Bishop
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61565410834641
Beverley Glazer
WEBSITE https://reinventimpossible.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/beverleyglazer/
https://www.facebook.com/beverley.glazer
https://www.facebook.com/groups/womenover50rock
🎁 BONUS: Take your first step to clarity, courage and momentum. Your free checklist: → From Stuck to Unstoppable – is here.
https://reinvent-impossible.aweb.page/from-stuck-to-unstoppable
Have feedback or a powerful story that's worth telling? Contact us at info@Reinventimpossible.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Welcome to Aging with Purpose and Passion, the
podcast designed to inspire yourgreatness and thrive through
life.
Get ready to conquer your fears.
Here's your hostpsychotherapist, coach and
empowerment expert, BeverlyGlazer.
Beverley Glazer (00:30):
Have you ever felt that you're just holding it
all together?
You're definitely not alone.
Welcome to Aging with Purposeand Passion.
I'm Beverley Glazer, atransformational coach and
catalyst empowering women torewrite the rules, reclaim their
voice and create the life theywere meant to live, and you can
(00:51):
find me on reinventimpossiblecom.
Michelle Bishop is an author, acoach, a breast cancer survivor
with a mission.
She suffered trauma loss andsevere emotional pain.
In this episode, michelle opensup with raw honesty and
(01:11):
explains how she turned herstruggles into a new purpose
that helps other women do thesame.
Keep listening, hi, michelle.
Welcome.
Michelle Bishop (01:22):
Thank you, I'm so glad to be here.
Beverley Glazer (01:26):
It's great to see you and your story.
I think a lot of women canrelate too.
Michelle Bishop (01:32):
Well, I definitely know that we are a
community of women.
That can all relate.
Beverley Glazer (01:38):
Oh yes, oh yes, one way or another.
Yes, you had a very toughchildhood.
Not everybody does, but youcertainly did.
And you grew up in Florida andtell us about that childhood,
because it wasn't easy.
What was life like for you?
Michelle Bishop (01:59):
Life outside of the house and in public being
was perfect, absolutely perfect,and if anything looks perfect
from the outside, you might wantto rethink things, because
behind the closed doors wasnothing less than complete and
(02:22):
utter chaos, and I had a motherthat was mentally ill and did
not, was not nurturing.
She was mentally, physicallyand emotionally abusive, and
there are all levels of thattype of abuse, from a scale of
(02:43):
one to 10.
Ours was probably pretty closeto a 10, I would say no, let me
say pretty close.
No, it was a 10.
Let's be honest, it was a 10.
, but in those times, in the 60s, they really did not talk about
that, and so it was somethingthat was held behind closed
(03:07):
doors, and that abnormalitybecame my normal of what I would
expect as a child.
Beverley Glazer (03:15):
But then, after a while, your parents got a
divorce and so what went onthere?
Did you, did you?
Were you relieved by that?
Did you stay with your mom,with your dad?
Like what happened there.
Michelle Bishop (03:31):
I was not going to stay with my mom.
If I had not had theopportunity for my dad to choose
me at that time, then I wouldhave been a runaway because I,
at that point, knew I could nolonger endure a life of abuse
(03:54):
and chaos.
That was her environment andcontinued to be her environment
until the day she died.
Beverley Glazer (04:01):
Okay, so now you were living with your dad,
did life completely change?
What was it like for you?
Were you able to?
It's really difficult to gofrom one situation to another.
Michelle Bishop (04:34):
You can't just rewrite the script.
So I didn't need to haveparental care all the time.
I was given complete freedomand in that I was exposed to
things at 16 that I had no ideahow to deal with it and
ultimately I spent a lot of timereclusing as well, as I had
(05:00):
created an eating disorder ofanorexia because it was the only
thought process in my mind atthat age of control.
The only thing I could actuallycontrol was what I would put in
my mouth and I could choose notto put it in my mouth, and
that's what I did until the factthat I'd gotten to I think it
(05:24):
was probably my low 80s.
Again, I'm five foot tall, butthat is way too small for a
16-year-old girl to be, and theysaid if I lost any more weight
that I would be hospitalized.
So it kind of jerked me backinto at least abiding by the
(05:47):
rules.
I guess it would be because Ididn't want to go to the
hospital, but being exposed topeople, friends, adults, I was
one of those goofy teenagersthat literally asked her dad for
a curfew.
I was like you know, cause he?
He never did anything like that, it's like.
And here from having such astructured, uh oppressed life
(06:13):
that we were in our rooms.
My whole life was spent, youknow, in my own head of playing
and creating and with Barbiesand different things like that.
To be able to be exposed tothat and, quite frankly, men, I
didn't know how to deal withthat.
I was still very much a child.
Beverley Glazer (06:37):
But you were a child and you ended up like
literally pretty well free rangeback and forth and discovering
your own life.
Did you find, mr Wonderful?
Michelle Bishop (06:51):
Uh, that would be a big no at first.
And it's not a matter ofkissing a bunch of toads.
It was my own pattern thatcreated that from childhood, so
I was definitely traveling downthe wrong road and path.
I did end up marrying a verydomestically, physically abusive
(07:14):
man.
In the beginning we were youngand broke away from that rebound
into another one.
That was complete rebound,wanting the fantasy of what they
were saying but not the reality.
But I did have two beautiful,wonderful women, now girls, and
(07:35):
had the opportunity to break thechain of abuse and have a
loving, nurturing, motheringexperience with them, and that
just brings me absolutelycomplete joy.
And then, ultimately, I did endup falling in love with the
(07:55):
love and my soulmate of lifesoon after.
Beverley Glazer (08:00):
But along the way, you weren't just looking
for that prince in shining armor, you were working.
You were a terrific salesperson.
You sold copy machinessalesperson, you sold copy
machines.
Was this your way of supportingyour girls, or what was going
(08:21):
on there?
How did you continue to balancethat life?
What was going on?
Michelle Bishop (08:25):
Well, I was very, very driven and I remember
getting the opportunity beforeI sold office equipment I was in
an administrative, secretarialtype of position, certainly no
(08:46):
career initiative at all tomoving up.
And I answered an ad and wentto a distributor and had this
opportunity for the salesposition and had this
opportunity for the salesposition and I knew that I could
at least sell enough copiers tomake up what I was currently
making.
So I took a leap of faith and,after being there and getting
(09:07):
such intense training, I wasthere for 15 years.
I remember when I first startedhaving lunch with my dad, who's
always been about education anda very successful trial lawyer,
and I said, dad, I'm going tomake six figures selling copiers
and he goes absolutely no way.
(09:29):
Well, that's all I needed tohear.
And so within three years I wasknocking them down and working
hard and I loved every minute ofit and it was empowering, it
was independent.
I was the one that was makingthe choices, which for all my
life I never really had had thatbefore.
Beverley Glazer (09:49):
But you got out of that and from there you went
into insurance.
I did.
Michelle Bishop (09:55):
Why?
Yeah, great question.
What happened is that I haddeveloped a relationship in my
small town of Knoxville,tennessee, with Phillips
Electronics and it went verywell and they had referred me
into their Atlanta office from aregional perspective.
(10:17):
Then they referred me into theNew York office where I built
the relationship there toselling office equipment to all
their locations for Canada,mexico and the United States and
, in the interim, my company'sCEO.
We were on the NASDAQ, we'd gonethrough five CEO changes and I
(10:37):
still beat out the manufacturersand all the distributors and
everyone in that bid for a verylarge contract and thought here
it's coming and contracts weresigned, money had exchanged,
equipment shipping and the newCEO that had come in said we're
(10:59):
going to be moving in adifferent direction, but you can
stay in your old position.
And I said no, no, no.
So I opened up my own fullproperty casualty health
insurance agency, did very wellbut I disliked it horribly and
(11:22):
so I ended up.
I said I'd get it in five yearsand I did, and I sold my agency
to another agent and decidedthat I was no longer going to do
the insurance and I went backinto capital equipment.
But then I went into medicalsales, which I enjoyed very much
.
Beverley Glazer (11:43):
And through that time you did find the love
of your life.
I did.
Michelle Bishop (11:50):
Tell us about that.
Well, I had met him when Ifirst moved to the Knoxville
area in 95.
And we'd socially our familieshad known each other and we
always had like this instantconnect and always together
whenever we were together.
But he was married and I wasgetting married and we just
(12:15):
separated after that ourfriendship because I canceled
our membership, I was havingchildren, I was in a different
phase of my life and I wasworking and I was working this
very large relationship withPhillips at the time for selling
the equipment.
So it kept him pretty occupieduntil in our area we have the
(12:38):
Smoky Mountains and the fallleaves are so beautiful and we
have millions of people thatcome to the area and I hadn't
seen him in like five, six years, maybe a little longer, maybe a
(12:59):
little longer, and my motherhad just passed away, who was my
abuser, and I met him in arestaurant up in the Smoky
Mountain area with millions ofpeople and he's like I thought
you moved back to Florida and Iwas like no, and since at that
time I did have the insuranceagency and he had always been in
life insurance, so we thoughtwe could do some collaboration
(13:21):
and ultimately recognized for methat I could not just have a
business relationship with himand I wanted him to know me for
who I was.
I wanted him to know me for whoI was and I felt the freedom and
I felt the chains had come off,to do that with my mother
passing, and I said, would youlike to know me?
(13:44):
Not the business person, notthe wife, not the mother, just
me as a person.
And he goes absolutely.
And that's where it all began.
Beverley Glazer (13:54):
And it continued and it was wonderful.
And then you were diagnosed.
I was yeah.
Michelle Bishop (14:01):
With cancer I was.
I was diagnosed in 2016.
I had gone, I just turned 50,and I thought I needed to check
the boxes, so I get all thestuff that you're supposed to
get done.
You know, in the check box andone happened to be a mammogram
and they had found somethingsuspicious and brought me into a
(14:24):
room.
And then they did a biopsy andthey confirmed the fact that I
did indeed have breast cancerand I was in the thralls of my
medical equipment sales businessas well as raising a blended
family, and so I had my and Ijust, honestly, I did not once
(14:48):
again believe.
I'm like, cause I felt fine, Ididn't feel bad at all.
And so I was like, oh fine, Ididn't feel bad at all.
And so I was like, oh and?
But it was confirmed and I wasabsolutely convinced at that
time because I am only five footand my husband is clearly not a
uh, a leg man that he wouldleave me and I was vulnerable, I
(15:12):
was lost.
I was vulnerable, I was lostand I had a conversation with my
aunt Linda and was raw with herabout how fearful I was.
I didn't want to not be therefor my children.
I didn't want to not be therefor him and she said you're not
giving him enough credit.
And he stood by everyappointment, every 38 treatments
(15:38):
of radiation, every doctor'sappointment, and he was solid.
And one thing that happens withradiation is it literally does
burn you from the inside out.
So there was severe, you knowburns and even caring for me
(15:59):
during that period he was there,no questions, solid as could be
, and it just reaffirmed thecomplete love that wasn't based
on just physicality, but theheart.
Beverley Glazer (16:17):
And then one day you got a knock on the door,
a knock that nobody, nobody,nobody wants to receive, and the
police came to your door andyour husband was no longer alive
.
Michelle Bishop (16:32):
Yes, and that was breathtaking, did not
literally, it took me a year tocatch my breath, let alone the
first few days of just taking abreath.
And so anyone that talks aboutgrief or tragedy or something
(16:58):
traumatic, I reaffirm just takeit a breath at a time, breath at
a time, just continue tobreathe through it.
It is imperative Don't give up.
Just take the breath.
Don't rush anything.
(17:18):
Listen to your body, listen toyour heart, listen to yourself
and give yourself grace andkindness, compassion and love,
and breathe through it.
Beverley Glazer (17:34):
Now you wrote the book Choose you First and
that was a message to women,other women going through what
you were going through.
Why choose by media, by socialsituations?
Michelle Bishop (17:49):
friends, by expectations of caregiving,
(18:12):
which those are not bad things.
They're bad things when youneglect yourself in lieu of
taking care of you and justtaking care of others.
So, even though you might bedoing the nutrients of emotional
(18:42):
, spiritual, physical health isso imperative because that
allows you to give more of thetrue you, the authentic self in
which you are.
And if anyone doesn't hear this, they need to.
(19:02):
We are perfect in all of ourimperfections and it's okay
because that is how we arecreated.
And give yourself fully.
And if you don't choose youfirst, you will run out of gas
and you will falter physically,mentally, emotionally and
(19:27):
spiritually.
So you deserve that and weoften give that grace to so many
others, that compassion, thatforgiveness, but we're so hard
on ourselves and by neglectingourselves, really that's the
(19:48):
first step into giving to others.
Beverley Glazer (19:53):
And do you think that there's a time for a
woman where it's too late?
And do you think that there's atime for a woman where it's too
late.
Michelle Bishop (19:59):
I am going to be 59 July 2nd, and I've often
been asked what took you so longto get to this point?
And I'm like to the soul andbeing that I was born into this
(20:22):
world than I've ever been in mylife.
So that is never too late.
But you have to choose youfirst and take action in that
Don't just talk about it.
And it doesn't mean you go on acrash diet of lifestyle.
(20:43):
You just have to make smallpivots of possible change,
positive affirmations ofdifferent things to reach the
goal in which is your best you,because you are not me, you are
not Beverly, you are not yourmother, you are no one else,
(21:05):
because we are uniquelydifferent, which is fabulous.
And so when you make thosesmall pivots of change and let's
say it doesn't work out, thenyou take a step back and then
you make another small pivot andall those pivots of change will
(21:27):
culminate into a massivelifestyle change.
And it's so freeing and it's sojoyful, to not just yourself
but to others, that you surroundand you gravitate everyone,
just like in a different chapterof life.
Different people will come intoyour life, different
(21:48):
experiences that you'll be ableto enjoy that you never even
fathomed could be possible.
It is possible 100%.
We are uniquely wonderful inour own presence.
Beverley Glazer (22:00):
Thank you.
Thank you, michelle.
Michelle Bishop is an author, ablogger, a speaker and a coach
who shares her wisdom andexperiences to inspire audiences
to turn their struggles intostrengths.
Here are a few takeaways fromthis episode.
Self-love is game-changing.
(22:21):
It's the foundation for healingand transformation.
When you set boundaries, youpractice self-respect and
empowerment.
No matter how old you are orwhatever went on in your past,
your life can improve and yourreinvention starts today.
If you've been struggling tomove forward, here are a few
(22:44):
things you can do right now.
Ask yourself who can you say noto or what small boundary can
you make?
Write down one thing thatpeople love about you and honor
that and reach out for supportif you need, whether it's a
friend, a mentor or aprofessional.
(23:05):
Don't be too proud to ask forhelp.
For similar episodes on findingstrength in adversity, check
out episodes 104 and 108 ofAging with Purpose and Passion.
And, if you love travel, listento the Ageless Traveler podcast
(23:26):
and subscribe to the TravelTuesday newsletter.
The Ageless Traveler is thenumber one resource for active
travelers 60 plus and it'shosted by Adrienne Berg, whose
mission is to ensure that younever stop traveling, and those
links are in the show notesbelow.
So where can people learn moreabout you, michelle, and buy
(23:49):
your book, and what are thoselinks?
Share them.
Michelle Bishop (24:03):
So I am on Amazon.
Choose you first, michelleBishop, as well as the fact that
my website is bishoplifecom andthat's a great resource to be
able to click through all mysocial media.
Get on my email list, get intouch with the community All of
my blogs are on there which willdeep dive all my social media
(24:24):
so that you can stay connectedand we can connect as a
community, because within thecommunity of love and family,
friends and other women, you'vegot this and you can live your
best year.
Beverley Glazer (24:39):
And those links that Michelle gave out.
They're in the show notes andthey'll also be on my site, too.
That's reinventimpossiblecom.
And so, my friends, what's nextfor you?
Are you just going through themotions or are you really living
a life you love?
Get my free guide to go fromstuck to unstoppable.
(25:01):
That also will be in the shownotes, too.
You can connect with me,beverly Glazer, on all social
media platforms and in mypositive group of people on
Facebook.
That's Women Over 50 Rock, andthank you for listening.
Have you enjoyed thisconversation?
Please subscribe and help usspread the word by dropping a
(25:23):
review and sending it to afriend.
And remember you only have onelife, so live it with purpose
and passion!
Speaker 1 (25:39):
Thank you for joining us.
You can connect with Bev on herwebsite, reinventimpossiblecom
and, while you're there, joinour newsletter Subscribe so you
don't miss an episode.
Until next time, keep agingwith purpose and passion and
celebrate life.
Welcome to Aging with Purpose and Passion, the
podcast designed to inspire yourgreatness and thrive through
life.
Get ready to conquer your fears.
Here's your hostpsychotherapist, coach and
empowerment expert, BeverlyGlazer.
Beverley Glazer (00:30):
Have you ever felt that you're just holding it
all together?
You're definitely not alone.
Welcome to Aging with Purposeand Passion.
I'm Beverley Glazer, atransformational coach and
catalyst empowering women torewrite the rules, reclaim their
voice and create the life theywere meant to live, and you can
(00:51):
find me on reinventimpossiblecom.
Michelle Bishop is an author, acoach, a breast cancer survivor
with a mission.
She suffered trauma loss andsevere emotional pain.
In this episode, michelle opensup with raw honesty and
(01:11):
explains how she turned herstruggles into a new purpose
that helps other women do thesame.
Keep listening, hi, michelle.
Welcome.
Michelle Bishop (01:22):
Thank you, I'm so glad to be here.
Beverley Glazer (01:26):
It's great to see you and your story.
I think a lot of women canrelate too.
Michelle Bishop (01:32):
Well, I definitely know that we are a
community of women.
That can all relate.
Beverley Glazer (01:38):
Oh yes, oh yes, one way or another.
Yes, you had a very toughchildhood.
Not everybody does, but youcertainly did.
And you grew up in Florida andtell us about that childhood,
because it wasn't easy.
What was life like for you?
Michelle Bishop (01:59):
Life outside of the house and in public being
was perfect, absolutely perfect,and if anything looks perfect
from the outside, you might wantto rethink things, because
behind the closed doors wasnothing less than complete and
(02:22):
utter chaos, and I had a motherthat was mentally ill and did
not, was not nurturing.
She was mentally, physicallyand emotionally abusive, and
there are all levels of thattype of abuse, from a scale of
(02:43):
one to 10.
Ours was probably pretty closeto a 10, I would say no, let me
say pretty close.
No, it was a 10.
Let's be honest, it was a 10.
, but in those times, in the 60s, they really did not talk about
that, and so it was somethingthat was held behind closed
(03:07):
doors, and that abnormalitybecame my normal of what I would
expect as a child.
Beverley Glazer (03:15):
But then, after a while, your parents got a
divorce and so what went onthere?
Did you, did you?
Were you relieved by that?
Did you stay with your mom,with your dad?
Like what happened there.
Michelle Bishop (03:31):
I was not going to stay with my mom.
If I had not had theopportunity for my dad to choose
me at that time, then I wouldhave been a runaway because I,
at that point, knew I could nolonger endure a life of abuse
(03:54):
and chaos.
That was her environment andcontinued to be her environment
until the day she died.
Beverley Glazer (04:01):
Okay, so now you were living with your dad,
did life completely change?
What was it like for you?
Were you able to?
It's really difficult to gofrom one situation to another.
Michelle Bishop (04:34):
You can't just rewrite the script.
So I didn't need to haveparental care all the time.
I was given complete freedomand in that I was exposed to
things at 16 that I had no ideahow to deal with it and
ultimately I spent a lot of timereclusing as well, as I had
(05:00):
created an eating disorder ofanorexia because it was the only
thought process in my mind atthat age of control.
The only thing I could actuallycontrol was what I would put in
my mouth and I could choose notto put it in my mouth, and
that's what I did until the factthat I'd gotten to I think it
(05:24):
was probably my low 80s.
Again, I'm five foot tall, butthat is way too small for a
16-year-old girl to be, and theysaid if I lost any more weight
that I would be hospitalized.
So it kind of jerked me backinto at least abiding by the
(05:47):
rules.
I guess it would be because Ididn't want to go to the
hospital, but being exposed topeople, friends, adults, I was
one of those goofy teenagersthat literally asked her dad for
a curfew.
I was like you know, cause he?
He never did anything like that, it's like.
And here from having such astructured, uh oppressed life
(06:13):
that we were in our rooms.
My whole life was spent, youknow, in my own head of playing
and creating and with Barbiesand different things like that.
To be able to be exposed tothat and, quite frankly, men, I
didn't know how to deal withthat.
I was still very much a child.
Beverley Glazer (06:37):
But you were a child and you ended up like
literally pretty well free rangeback and forth and discovering
your own life.
Did you find, mr Wonderful?
Michelle Bishop (06:51):
Uh, that would be a big no at first.
And it's not a matter ofkissing a bunch of toads.
It was my own pattern thatcreated that from childhood, so
I was definitely traveling downthe wrong road and path.
I did end up marrying a verydomestically, physically abusive
(07:14):
man.
In the beginning we were youngand broke away from that rebound
into another one.
That was complete rebound,wanting the fantasy of what they
were saying but not the reality.
But I did have two beautiful,wonderful women, now girls, and
(07:35):
had the opportunity to break thechain of abuse and have a
loving, nurturing, motheringexperience with them, and that
just brings me absolutelycomplete joy.
And then, ultimately, I did endup falling in love with the
(07:55):
love and my soulmate of lifesoon after.
Beverley Glazer (08:00):
But along the way, you weren't just looking
for that prince in shining armor, you were working.
You were a terrific salesperson.
You sold copy machinessalesperson, you sold copy
machines.
Was this your way of supportingyour girls, or what was going
(08:21):
on there?
How did you continue to balancethat life?
What was going on?
Michelle Bishop (08:25):
Well, I was very, very driven and I remember
getting the opportunity beforeI sold office equipment I was in
an administrative, secretarialtype of position, certainly no
(08:46):
career initiative at all tomoving up.
And I answered an ad and wentto a distributor and had this
opportunity for the salesposition and had this
opportunity for the salesposition and I knew that I could
at least sell enough copiers tomake up what I was currently
making.
So I took a leap of faith and,after being there and getting
(09:07):
such intense training, I wasthere for 15 years.
I remember when I first startedhaving lunch with my dad, who's
always been about education anda very successful trial lawyer,
and I said, dad, I'm going tomake six figures selling copiers
and he goes absolutely no way.
(09:29):
Well, that's all I needed tohear.
And so within three years I wasknocking them down and working
hard and I loved every minute ofit and it was empowering, it
was independent.
I was the one that was makingthe choices, which for all my
life I never really had had thatbefore.
Beverley Glazer (09:49):
But you got out of that and from there you went
into insurance.
I did.
Michelle Bishop (09:55):
Why?
Yeah, great question.
What happened is that I haddeveloped a relationship in my
small town of Knoxville,tennessee, with Phillips
Electronics and it went verywell and they had referred me
into their Atlanta office from aregional perspective.
(10:17):
Then they referred me into theNew York office where I built
the relationship there toselling office equipment to all
their locations for Canada,mexico and the United States and
, in the interim, my company'sCEO.
We were on the NASDAQ, we'd gonethrough five CEO changes and I
(10:37):
still beat out the manufacturersand all the distributors and
everyone in that bid for a verylarge contract and thought here
it's coming and contracts weresigned, money had exchanged,
equipment shipping and the newCEO that had come in said we're
(10:59):
going to be moving in adifferent direction, but you can
stay in your old position.
And I said no, no, no.
So I opened up my own fullproperty casualty health
insurance agency, did very wellbut I disliked it horribly and
(11:22):
so I ended up.
I said I'd get it in five yearsand I did, and I sold my agency
to another agent and decidedthat I was no longer going to do
the insurance and I went backinto capital equipment.
But then I went into medicalsales, which I enjoyed very much
.
Beverley Glazer (11:43):
And through that time you did find the love
of your life.
I did.
Michelle Bishop (11:50):
Tell us about that.
Well, I had met him when Ifirst moved to the Knoxville
area in 95.
And we'd socially our familieshad known each other and we
always had like this instantconnect and always together
whenever we were together.
But he was married and I wasgetting married and we just
(12:15):
separated after that ourfriendship because I canceled
our membership, I was havingchildren, I was in a different
phase of my life and I wasworking and I was working this
very large relationship withPhillips at the time for selling
the equipment.
So it kept him pretty occupieduntil in our area we have the
(12:38):
Smoky Mountains and the fallleaves are so beautiful and we
have millions of people thatcome to the area and I hadn't
seen him in like five, six years, maybe a little longer, maybe a
(12:59):
little longer, and my motherhad just passed away, who was my
abuser, and I met him in arestaurant up in the Smoky
Mountain area with millions ofpeople and he's like I thought
you moved back to Florida and Iwas like no, and since at that
time I did have the insuranceagency and he had always been in
life insurance, so we thoughtwe could do some collaboration
(13:21):
and ultimately recognized for methat I could not just have a
business relationship with himand I wanted him to know me for
who I was.
I wanted him to know me for whoI was and I felt the freedom and
I felt the chains had come off,to do that with my mother
passing, and I said, would youlike to know me?
(13:44):
Not the business person, notthe wife, not the mother, just
me as a person.
And he goes absolutely.
And that's where it all began.
Beverley Glazer (13:54):
And it continued and it was wonderful.
And then you were diagnosed.
I was yeah.
Michelle Bishop (14:01):
With cancer I was.
I was diagnosed in 2016.
I had gone, I just turned 50,and I thought I needed to check
the boxes, so I get all thestuff that you're supposed to
get done.
You know, in the check box andone happened to be a mammogram
and they had found somethingsuspicious and brought me into a
(14:24):
room.
And then they did a biopsy andthey confirmed the fact that I
did indeed have breast cancerand I was in the thralls of my
medical equipment sales businessas well as raising a blended
family, and so I had my and Ijust, honestly, I did not once
(14:48):
again believe.
I'm like, cause I felt fine, Ididn't feel bad at all.
And so I was like, oh fine, Ididn't feel bad at all.
And so I was like, oh and?
But it was confirmed and I wasabsolutely convinced at that
time because I am only five footand my husband is clearly not a
uh, a leg man that he wouldleave me and I was vulnerable, I
(15:12):
was lost.
I was vulnerable, I was lostand I had a conversation with my
aunt Linda and was raw with herabout how fearful I was.
I didn't want to not be therefor my children.
I didn't want to not be therefor him and she said you're not
giving him enough credit.
And he stood by everyappointment, every 38 treatments
(15:38):
of radiation, every doctor'sappointment, and he was solid.
And one thing that happens withradiation is it literally does
burn you from the inside out.
So there was severe, you knowburns and even caring for me
(15:59):
during that period he was there,no questions, solid as could be
, and it just reaffirmed thecomplete love that wasn't based
on just physicality, but theheart.
Beverley Glazer (16:17):
And then one day you got a knock on the door,
a knock that nobody, nobody,nobody wants to receive, and the
police came to your door andyour husband was no longer alive
.
Michelle Bishop (16:32):
Yes, and that was breathtaking, did not
literally, it took me a year tocatch my breath, let alone the
first few days of just taking abreath.
And so anyone that talks aboutgrief or tragedy or something
(16:58):
traumatic, I reaffirm just takeit a breath at a time, breath at
a time, just continue tobreathe through it.
It is imperative Don't give up.
Just take the breath.
Don't rush anything.
(17:18):
Listen to your body, listen toyour heart, listen to yourself
and give yourself grace andkindness, compassion and love,
and breathe through it.
Beverley Glazer (17:34):
Now you wrote the book Choose you First and
that was a message to women,other women going through what
you were going through.
Why choose by media, by socialsituations?
Michelle Bishop (17:49):
friends, by expectations of caregiving,
(18:12):
which those are not bad things.
They're bad things when youneglect yourself in lieu of
taking care of you and justtaking care of others.
So, even though you might bedoing the nutrients of emotional
(18:42):
, spiritual, physical health isso imperative because that
allows you to give more of thetrue you, the authentic self in
which you are.
And if anyone doesn't hear this, they need to.
(19:02):
We are perfect in all of ourimperfections and it's okay
because that is how we arecreated.
And give yourself fully.
And if you don't choose youfirst, you will run out of gas
and you will falter physically,mentally, emotionally and
(19:27):
spiritually.
So you deserve that and weoften give that grace to so many
others, that compassion, thatforgiveness, but we're so hard
on ourselves and by neglectingourselves, really that's the
(19:48):
first step into giving to others.
Beverley Glazer (19:53):
And do you think that there's a time for a
woman where it's too late?
And do you think that there's atime for a woman where it's too
late.
Michelle Bishop (19:59):
I am going to be 59 July 2nd, and I've often
been asked what took you so longto get to this point?
And I'm like to the soul andbeing that I was born into this
(20:22):
world than I've ever been in mylife.
So that is never too late.
But you have to choose youfirst and take action in that
Don't just talk about it.
And it doesn't mean you go on acrash diet of lifestyle.
(20:43):
You just have to make smallpivots of possible change,
positive affirmations ofdifferent things to reach the
goal in which is your best you,because you are not me, you are
not Beverly, you are not yourmother, you are no one else,
(21:05):
because we are uniquelydifferent, which is fabulous.
And so when you make thosesmall pivots of change and let's
say it doesn't work out, thenyou take a step back and then
you make another small pivot andall those pivots of change will
(21:27):
culminate into a massivelifestyle change.
And it's so freeing and it's sojoyful, to not just yourself
but to others, that you surroundand you gravitate everyone,
just like in a different chapterof life.
Different people will come intoyour life, different
(21:48):
experiences that you'll be ableto enjoy that you never even
fathomed could be possible.
It is possible 100%.
We are uniquely wonderful inour own presence.
Beverley Glazer (22:00):
Thank you.
Thank you, michelle.
Michelle Bishop is an author, ablogger, a speaker and a coach
who shares her wisdom andexperiences to inspire audiences
to turn their struggles intostrengths.
Here are a few takeaways fromthis episode.
Self-love is game-changing.
(22:21):
It's the foundation for healingand transformation.
When you set boundaries, youpractice self-respect and
empowerment.
No matter how old you are orwhatever went on in your past,
your life can improve and yourreinvention starts today.
If you've been struggling tomove forward, here are a few
(22:44):
things you can do right now.
Ask yourself who can you say noto or what small boundary can
you make?
Write down one thing thatpeople love about you and honor
that and reach out for supportif you need, whether it's a
friend, a mentor or aprofessional.
(23:05):
Don't be too proud to ask forhelp.
For similar episodes on findingstrength in adversity, check
out episodes 104 and 108 ofAging with Purpose and Passion.
And, if you love travel, listento the Ageless Traveler podcast
(23:26):
and subscribe to the TravelTuesday newsletter.
The Ageless Traveler is thenumber one resource for active
travelers 60 plus and it'shosted by Adrienne Berg, whose
mission is to ensure that younever stop traveling, and those
links are in the show notesbelow.
So where can people learn moreabout you, michelle, and buy
(23:49):
your book, and what are thoselinks?
Share them.
Michelle Bishop (24:03):
So I am on Amazon.
Choose you first, michelleBishop, as well as the fact that
my website is bishoplifecom andthat's a great resource to be
able to click through all mysocial media.
Get on my email list, get intouch with the community All of
my blogs are on there which willdeep dive all my social media
(24:24):
so that you can stay connectedand we can connect as a
community, because within thecommunity of love and family,
friends and other women, you'vegot this and you can live your
best year.
Beverley Glazer (24:39):
And those links that Michelle gave out.
They're in the show notes andthey'll also be on my site, too.
That's reinventimpossiblecom.
And so, my friends, what's nextfor you?
Are you just going through themotions or are you really living
a life you love?
Get my free guide to go fromstuck to unstoppable.
(25:01):
That also will be in the shownotes, too.
You can connect with me,beverly Glazer, on all social
media platforms and in mypositive group of people on
Facebook.
That's Women Over 50 Rock, andthank you for listening.
Have you enjoyed thisconversation?
Please subscribe and help usspread the word by dropping a
(25:23):
review and sending it to afriend.
And remember you only have onelife, so live it with purpose
and passion!
Speaker 1 (25:39):
Thank you for joining us.
You can connect with Bev on herwebsite, reinventimpossiblecom
and, while you're there, joinour newsletter Subscribe so you
don't miss an episode.
Until next time, keep agingwith purpose and passion and
celebrate life.
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