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Coach Mikki and Friends
The Most Courageous Thing You Can Do.. Is Be Yourself! - Coach Mikki
C'mon in and make yourself comfortable! Grab a cup of coffee and listen in as our Circle of Friends Guests share their stories! We hope to inspire you, make you laugh and maybe teach you something new.
Come as you are, no perfection is needed!
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Coach Mikki and Friends
Embracing Transformation - Adversity to Empowerment - Susie Mierzwik - S5E3
Discover the inspiring journey of Susie Mierwik, a remarkable woman who has turned adversity into a thriving life of purpose and passion. From a retired kindergarten teacher to a successful entrepreneur, bestselling author, and speaker, Susie shares her transformation story filled with resilience and empowerment. Learn how she broke free from a restrictive upbringing to find freedom through education and marriage, and how her current work in phototherapy is helping others improve their health holistically. Her book, "Sow in Tears, Reap in Joy," captures the essence of her personal growth and the challenges she bravely overcame.
Explore the powerful themes of healing and empowerment as Susie opens up about her past, including the struggles of being an abused wife. Through therapy, setting boundaries, and the support of a caring community, Susie navigated her way toward healing and self-discovery. Her experiences shaped her writing and collaborative efforts in books like "Love Your Haters" and "The Power of Networking," emphasizing the importance of sharing one's voice to inspire and uplift others. Susie's story is a testament to the strength found in vulnerability and the transformative power of forgiveness and mental health awareness.
As the episode unfolds, Susie recounts moving experiences of empathy and personal connections that offer comfort in times of need. From supporting a young mother with postpartum depression to encountering a grieving stranger, she illustrates the power of kindness and community. The discussion also highlights the benefits of phototherapy, demonstrating its potential to alleviate health issues without pharmaceuticals. With gratitude for our global audience, we celebrate the courage it takes to be true to oneself and invite listeners to connect with Susie, drawing inspiration from the heartfelt stories shared throughout the episode.
We look forward to seeing you succeed! - www.KeepOnSharing.com - Code - KOS
www.CoachMikkiandFriends.com
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Hey, I'm Coach Mickey and I'm so glad that you've joined us, and if this is your first time joining us, come on in and make yourself comfortable, and for those of you that join us on a regular basis, we are so glad that you do. And thank you so much for connecting not only with me but also with many of my guests that come on here, and we love hearing from you, and my guests absolutely love the support and hearing from you also, and whether you're listening to this on Coach Mickey and Friends podcast or you are joining us on our YouTube channel, thank you so much for your comments, your questions and your suggestions and connecting, so I would love to bring you in today with somebody really fun. I love her. I've met her through GSFE and many times you guys have heard me mention that on my podcast and I've had some of my guests that have been here from GSFE and this woman is extraordinary. Not only is she a retired education in the education because she taught. So it was kindergarten, right, Didn't you work kindergarten?
Speaker 1:Yes, she's also a bestselling author. She's a speaker entrepreneur, she's got a heart as big as her body and her business is the tech of phototherapy. So we're going to cover a lot of fun stuff today. How are you, susie?
Speaker 2:I'm great, coach Mickey, and thank you so much for having me on your show. I love it yeah it's fun.
Speaker 1:We're just here to have a good time, and I love your stories because we had an opportunity to kind of talk a little bit off screen. But you have got a plethora of things that you do that not only helps other people, but also you're so giving, and not only just with your information, but also with a lot of your charity work, and also that you're an author, and everything that you seem to touch has a way of helping other people, so I'm going to let you jump in and share whatever you want to share today.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you so much and, as you said, I am a retired teacher. I had the pleasure of teaching kindergarten for 20 years and it was just gold. I loved it. I loved watching these little people rise from nothing into readers and speakers and writers, and that was just a pleasure. But then I also had the opportunity to start my own entrepreneurial business after retiring from teaching, and so now I help people up level their health without any drugs and chemicals.
Speaker 1:That's awesome and well, that's a great way to segue because we know as kids, you know everything they do when they're smaller is going to affect their health when they're older, you know. So you kind of take it to the next level.
Speaker 2:That's true and as a matter of fact just a quick note while I was teaching I was able to help the parents of some of my students as well, because you know, a lot of kids in Southern California have asthma symptoms and one little boy even had rheumatoid arthritis. But through this phototherapy product I was able to give it to their parents and they got the children feeling a hundred percent better. Of course we can't say cure or treat, but just feeling way better.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, I mean I and I understand, because when we go the holistic route there's there's certain guidelines we have to affect. I mean I and I understand, because when we go the holistic route there's there's certain guidelines we have to affect, but it's still, I think it's a much better route than, a lot of times, the pharmaceutical route.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:So I'm going to touch a little bit on your books. I know you have. You have authored quite a few books, and not only for yourself, but also co-authored quite a few, so could you share those with us?
Speaker 2:Yes, so I wrote this book in 2020 and it's called so in Tears, reap in Joy A Transformational Journey, and what I did is I got out all my journals that I had kept over the years. I had journals in a big banker's box and I started digging through the banker's box and what I discovered was that I was a little girl who was in tears most of her life. I grew up in the 50s and 60s, when children were to be seen and not heard, and so I felt like a little mushroom under the surface. You weren't allowed to speak, you weren't allowed to have any opinions. Don't tell us your feelings, because everything will be squashed back. My family was very narcissistic, and emotions were not something that was talked about. Everything was under the surface. Later on, I realized that my maternal grandpa had spent some time in a mental institution Don't really have too many of them anymore but he just disappeared and then reappeared six months later like nothing happened. So, as I say, everything was hush, hush back. In those days, I never felt comfortable in my family because questions were never answered, and I just had an internal feeling that I had to get away from that atmosphere to be myself.
Speaker 2:So my route was to go to college. As a junior. In college they had an away year in Chico, california, up north. I grew up on the East Coast, and so this was my chance to escape and see the big world. Well, the upcoming event was that I met somebody on the last week of college who was going to the Navy, and he was going to be a Navy pilot. So I said to myself, hmm, do I want to marry a pilot and see the world, or do I want to marry the mailman and just see the street around the corner? So, in my great wisdom, at that age of 21, I chose be a pilot's wife and see the world, which I didn't see the world with him. But that's another whole story.
Speaker 2:Consequently, we married after college and, you know, things were good for a while. But then, as he started traveling around the world all the time and we had our kids, things weren't as sunny as they were cracked up to be. So we had about, yeah, several good years and then a lot of sad and painful years. Anyway, after 24 years together, he divorced me on a sunny day in April 1997. And I was shocked because, as I say, I was not schooled in emotional intelligence, and so I didn't know the rumbles that were happening under the surface.
Speaker 2:Consequently, I was shattered, had to rebuild my life from scratch and that is the contents of the book and I wondered why I had such a rocky childhood and then became a wife of an emotionally abused wife, I'll say, you know, and I saw all the connections, all the learning, and then I saw a pattern of generational trauma that went through my family. So I put it all together and I discovered ways to grow, improve and transform my life that I learned in the process, and I call these the IOUs of survival, and that's what the reader has to uncover in this best-selling book.
Speaker 1:That's a pretty profound story and I you know there's so many of us that grow through these, these traumatic experiences, you know, not only as kids, but then, like you said, we bring it over into our adult life and we don't realize how much of it we're harboring and carrying as baggage as we, as we go along, and then we wonder why things happen the way they do. I gotta ask you when? When was the point where you your turning point, where you said wait a minute, this is not the person that I need to be or who I am. I am so much more than that. If you don't want me asking, do you remember that time frame when that was your exact, or the time frame of that? Was it after the divorce? You know, when did you discover this? Yes, actually, it it after the divorce.
Speaker 2:When did you discover this? Yes, actually, it was during the divorce and, interestingly enough, my ex-husband had said initially oh, we'll go to marriage counseling and we'll work it out. So he went once and said it was my fault. So you know, that was the end of that and I went to divorce recovery at that time, but I didn't even feel like it was authentic because I was thinking to myself well, my husband says we're going to get back together, we're going to work on it. So how can I be in divorce recovery? So that was a very tumultuous time.
Speaker 2:However, moving forward, after six months, I prayed God, please help this marriage to get together right. After six months. When that prayer was not answered, I felt like the door opened. I walked through and I felt that God had another plan and it was boom. Okay, this is my new life. I have to make a new life from scratch. So I went to another, different divorce recovery and that opened my eyes. Now I became aware of things like emotional intelligence, emotional abuse, codependency, the ability to speak up for my own feelings things that I hadn't had as a child or as a wife and mother growing up. So I saw the correlation there and I started to dig into it. What made me like that? Why was I continuing in that pattern as an adult? And then, when I looked at it from 3,000 feet and looked down, I saw the generational pattern with my parents and then with my grandparents.
Speaker 1:I saw the generational pattern with my parents and then with my grandparents. You know, that is something that I think we find and it takes time. I was asking you that is. There was a point in my life where I realized I don't have to be available for this, I don't have to be available for this and I don't have to carry this baggage and I'm certainly not going to carry somebody else's baggage. And I almost got to a point where I got angry.
Speaker 1:I got angry at first and then once I got a chance to process it and get through it, and you never get over it, you get through it. That's what my dad says you never get over stuff.
Speaker 1:You get through it and it really was enlightening because it empowers you to realize that we don't have to hold these responsibilities. And but the hardest part is discovering it and knowing that this is what's going on and then addressing it, because sometimes I think we keep, like you said, we stifle it and stifle it, whether it's with food, whether it's emotionally, whether it's staying and trying to make things work, and sometimes something so broken it's, it's it's irreparable, and you maybe it's not even your responsibility to be that person to to fix it. And I think it takes a lot of courage to do what you did. And then it definitely takes a lot of courage for anybody that's going through something this similar or struggling with this, because a lot of times we don't know what to do and you have to surround yourself with this support team. Sometimes there is no support team and you're on your own.
Speaker 2:That is so true. That's so true and that's why I'm glad you mentioned that, coach Mickey, because I came up with three key steps to survival. One was the IOUs. One was looking in. I had to see what was broken in myself. Why was I a child like this Now? Why was I an abused wife who couldn't support her daughters emotionally because I didn't even know that territory existed.
Speaker 2:So then I started to do the research. I started to do the work with a psychologist, with a therapy group and so forth, to discover what was really happening. And you're right, at some point I did feel anger, like why was I subjected to this? But then I had to look in and I said wait a minute, I don't even know what I don't know. So I had to go through a period of learning.
Speaker 2:I read a whole plethora of books which I share in the back of my book, because I realized other people need resources too. I didn't know what boundaries were. I thought that was a fence between you and your neighbor, but I had grown up without boundaries. So certainly I was a wife without boundaries and a husband that ran around and I thought you were just supposed to make the best of it and put one foot forward in front of the other and keep on marching into the future, into the over the abyss you see. So then I realized you have to look out and thank heavens I had the wherewithal to seek counseling, divorce recovery. I had a Bible study that was supportive people that could circle around me during this troubled time because I didn't have any family support at all. It was six months after the divorce that I told my parents my husband had left and when I told my sister she said well, if you had been a better wife, he would have stayed.
Speaker 1:You know, there there was zero support. Yeah, and there's something I've learned through all of this and I've learned to to acknowledge this, and sometimes I'll say it out loud. Other times I just kind of keep it in because it doesn't matter what you say, it's never going to penetrate anyway. Why do people always think that they can live your life better than you?
Speaker 2:Especially when they've never seen it. They're 3,000 miles away.
Speaker 1:Right, right, and it's like their opinion it's like, and I wonder. But then I've learned also through the years a lot of times people say stuff that they want to contribute to you and the reality is is because they haven't even worked through their own stuff and it's easier to point a finger or say something. I always tell my kids you know, don't point fingers when you're doing that, three more pointing right back at you.
Speaker 2:That's true, very true, and I noticed a lot of those people that were pointing fingers never worked on themselves and they're still in the same mold they were when they were in high school.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, you are an amazing person, so I know this is one of many of your books. And then there's other things that you have done too along the line. So I know this is one of many of your books, and then there's other things that you have done too along the line, so I want to give you an opportunity to share a little bit of that.
Speaker 2:Well, I've also had the opportunity, because of Dr Robbie Motter, to be introduced to women who are also writing books, and I've been in several, which I'll just mention a few. One of them is Love your Haters, and this is not a book about hate, it's a book about forgiveness. The name of my chapter is smack. I can't believe he hit me, but it's through. Whatever trials we go through, we can overcome it through forgiveness, and that's a compilation. Another one is the Power of Networking, and I said it's all about your outlook on life, because everywhere we go we're networking. When I was in Africa, I met a lady who became my client because she told me her back hurt and I put patches on her, you see. So wherever I am in the cab in London, I'm networking everywhere. It's not like you just have to go to a business meeting.
Speaker 2:This is another great book. It's called Maintain a Solid Mental Health, and in this one I talk about the principles of mental health for all of us, about how we have to dig into our own soul, our own soul, to find out what we need to learn. Then we have to find appropriate sources out there, not somebody in a bar, not somebody over the back fence, but appropriate people that can guide us where we might not have had any guidance before. And then we have to look up to God because he's ultimately guiding us. A couple of the other books are the Impact of One Voice Volume 1 and Volume 2, because everybody has a story, everybody has a voice, but we have to search to see what is my voice and what can I contribute to my community or the world. And that's just a few.
Speaker 1:And I know each and every one of your stories. You have you've shared something that's personal. And it's amazing because you never know whose life you're going to touch. Like you said, you're talking to somebody in a cab in London and you never know what they are going through or what their needs are, and then I would say you're in the right place at the right time and you can never say the wrong thing to the right person. That's true, right, that's true, Right, Right.
Speaker 2:That's true Because we have the the opportunity to influence people every day. For example, I just got a new new client and she was a young mother and she was just crying over the phone because, you know, she had that new mother's anxiety and postpartum depression and all that. And I was able to minister to her, even in just that small way to give her, you know, voices of encouragement. And I shared my story when I was a young mother and I was in the hospital for three weeks with nobody to take care of my newborn and I prayed to God. God you know what. I have no family here, my husband's in the military. Somebody's got to come and sure enough, God sent a lady from my church I didn't know to help me in that time frame. So, no matter who I'm talking to, I try to connect with pieces of my past that can show them they're not alone.
Speaker 1:And I think faith has got a lot to do with it. I mean really believing and knowing that there will be something coming and an answer. You know and that's another podcast I'm sure you and I can sit here and talk for another half an hour on, and we should.
Speaker 2:Yes, we will.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but it's incredible. I mean, a lot of times I think we look at each other. You just never know who you're passing on the street that just might need those words of comfort. Or, like I said, you never know what somebody is going through. And I think we have to look at life sometimes or be a little bit more compassionate and empathetic. You know, I know we get wrapped up in our own stuff, we have our own challenges, but I think it's important to take a moment to stop and look at somebody and say, especially if they're in a bad mood or they're they're being, I always say, oh, he's a real curmudgeon and my book, it's like. But what are they going through? Right?
Speaker 1:now, if they're that they're they're not happy. Obviously there's something internal that's happening, that maybe you don't know, and instead of judging, maybe give a. You know, this costs anything to give a little smile or a little Right, right, right, you're right.
Speaker 2:And you know, yesterday I was at. I was at a jazz recital and one of the ladies was tearing up and she was, you know, crying. So I said to the instructor what happened to her and she said oh, her son died. So I didn't even know this woman, but I just went over and gave her a hug, because there's no words for something like that, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that's that you're right. There is no words for that. But you've got a big heart, susie. I mean you're very kind and compassionate and you know and some of the things, like I said, you share with me. We're going to come back at a later date and talk about those also and you're definitely a gift. You know, I love having somebody like you on not only my YouTube but also my podcast, because it gives the world an opportunity to realize there is people out there that that are a gift and they're probably right next to you Connecting to him, right.
Speaker 2:That's true. Just have to open up and speak.
Speaker 1:So I want to. I want to touch a little bit about your phototherapy, because I know that's something that you're very passionate about and that'll give us the last five or 10 minutes to be able to wrap that up. But I know you're very passionate about that. I know you use this as another gateway and element to help improve other people's lives.
Speaker 2:Yes, and you know what that story is interesting. When I was teaching back in 2009, the mother of one of my students came into my room and she said Susie, what's wrong with your hands? They were, all you know, crunched up like this and very painful. All my joints were aching. And I said, oh, I have arthritis. And you know, I took all the pills, drugs, potions and lotions, but nothing seemed to help.
Speaker 2:She says, well, you got to try this little anti-aging patch. So I tried it and in a month my hands went from this to this. I was amazed. Then I realized the next month I had gotten rid of 30 years of allergies. So I dug into it and I started patching up everybody in sight. So people that had sciatic pain or gout or high blood pressure or you know a whole plethora of issues, I was able to help them become more comfortable, get off of their drugs. We don't say cure or treat anybody, but helping the body to become balanced and not rely on pharmaceuticals just to reach homeostasis, where we get rid of our toxins and our inflammation. We drink water, you know, we eat healthy and exercise all those other fitness requirements, of course but then we can reach a state where our body is balanced and no longer in the fight or flight mode or full of inflammation that causes dis-ease.
Speaker 1:So tell me a little bit about this. So what is the phototherapy Like? How does it work within your body?
Speaker 2:Yeah, okay. So we have infrared energy, which you're probably aware of, that we can see with night vision goggles. For instance, when helicopter pilots are out on the field, they can see the enemies below. Or if we go to the desert at night, we have night vision goggles. We can see the foxes and the owls. Since we have this infrared energy in our body, if you scan the body with an infrared camera, you will see bright spots. You know red, yellow, blue, green, and the red means inflammation.
Speaker 2:You see, and when you put this little phototherapy patch on the body, it sends a signal to our brain. And I always explain everything in kindergarten science, because I'm not a physicist, I'm a kindergarten teacher. And so we have a clicker that turns on our television. It's a signal. We have a clicker that opens up our garage door. It's a signal. People in NASA are typing on a computer and the rocket ship goes into space. They're all signals of energy, of electricity, and so, since we have this signal in our body, if you put on something that connects the dots, it can tell our brain what to do, like take away toxins, balance the nervous system, reduce pain. But they're all signals from the brain, so nothing is going into the body. It's just an external signal that we're putting in the brain.
Speaker 1:That makes sense, signal that we're putting in the brain. That makes sense. And I just had a guest on yesterday who talked about how important the neurological paths are within our brain and how she does that. She works with them to reset based on trauma. So, there's so many scientific evidence that everything that's transpiring within our body is is neurologically yes ways to do it.
Speaker 1:And you're right, the body is a biological machine that knows how to fix and change itself and it makes sense to have, the same way you know, be on the right wavelengths. I mean, we have other things that affect us. You know that come from the outside, so obviously having something that we can fix from the inside makes a lot of sense. So now I I know you said that you know from your hands, which is amazing and a lot of people you said have worked with their allergies and other things.
Speaker 1:So yes these, this phototherapy, is this something that can pretty much help, you know, in most cases for things that people are suffering through, yes, yes, it can, and we're not curing, treating or diagnosing any diseases.
Speaker 2:But if you talk to me and I discover what issues you deal with, we can help you get rid of your toxins, we can help you get rid of your inflammation, and those are two of the issues that cause most problems. So, instead of introducing another chemical formula that's made in big pharma, if we get rid of the toxins and inflammation, then the body can start to heal and, as I say, it's not a you know, push, go and then you're perfectly fine. It's a process of getting the body back to balance and homeostasis, and this is what I always describe. If there's a process of getting the body back to balance and homeostasis, and this is what I always describe.
Speaker 2:If there's a traffic accident on the freeway, all the cars are stopped, bumper to bumper, then you call up triple a, they get a tow truck and they haul out the truck or the car that's disabled or has a flat, and the road is free and the energy, the traffic goes. So it's like that in our body. If we can remove the toxins or the inflammation that's blocking our energy channels, then the body starts to heal. So just think about it Traffic jam on the freeway, get the broken vehicle off. The traffic flows In our body. If we have blockages, whether they're emotional, physical, chemical, we remove the blockages and the body starts to heal.
Speaker 1:And that makes sense. I mean, like you said, everything is connected.
Speaker 1:And to have that where you have the ability to, like you said, rechange, restructure and get yourself on a healthier path. I'm going to give you the last few minutes to be able to wrap up and talk about, but before we do, please, everybody, I would like for you to connect with Dr Susie. The links are down below. You can find all of her links on her website her books and then, if you want to reach out to her more about what she's doing with her technical phototherapy. That would be a great way for you guys to connect. And if you're listening to the podcast, when you see her name, just go ahead and click on her name and they'll take you right to her website too. So, suzanne, I'm going to let you wrap up the last minute or so. Share anything you want to share.
Speaker 2:Yes, thank you so much, coach Mickey, for having me as your guest, and I invite everyone who's listening to get this book. So in Tears Reap in Joy. A transformational memoir, because we've all been through trauma in life. We've all been through the ups and downs, and it doesn't matter what the trauma is. But if you follow the three keys to survival, look in, see what I have to change, what I have to learn, look out to appropriate sources, whether it's therapy, help, knowledge, reading, a book, a support group, whatever that can help you through the down spots. And then look up to God, because he guides our path and we know that he has a plan for all of us.
Speaker 1:And go ahead and give a shout out for your website. My website is https colon slash.
Speaker 2:Slash suzymearswickcom and look at the screen so you can spell it correctly. But on my website you'll see where I have my books. I have a lot of podcasts that I've done. I have testimonials from some of my clients and I have the phototherapy website where people can get more information. You can also schedule a one-on-one Zoom with me or a call and I can connect with people all over the world. I've been on people people Zoom in Africa, asia, europe and all around North America Helping people globally Exactly the world. People globally, exactly the world is an oyster. Now it's a very small oyster.
Speaker 1:Well, thank you so much for being with us today and I look forward to having you back. We got so much more things to talk about and, again, I know there's some other things that you wanted to share, so I definitely want to have you back and, who knows, maybe we got some things in the future. Maybe we'll talk about a little bit about that too. Okay, all right, thank you so much everybody for being with us today and again, remember, please connect with our guests. You know I really value what they have and their stories are so valuable and for those of you, you're listening for a reason.
Speaker 1:So who's ever listening globally, whether you're in Germany, africa, australia, and I've got a lot of people even in New Zealand, I the Turk Islands, so my biggest Turk Islands and I love you all and you're so amazing. Thank you so much for always all your support and I appreciate you guys taking the time to be with me, each and every podcaster here on my YouTube channel. So until then, please connect with Susie. Links are down below. If you listen to the podcast, click on her name. You'll get right to her, and until then, remember, the most courageous thing you can do is be yourself, and I will see you in the next podcast, see ya.