Welcome to Inclusion Bites, your sanctuary for bold conversations that spark change. I'm Joanne Lockwood, your guide on this journey of exploration into the heart of inclusion, belonging, and societal transformation. Ever wondered what it truly takes to create a world where everyone not only belongs but thrives? You're not alone. Join me as we uncover the unseen, challenge the status quo, and share stories that resonate deep within. Ready to dive in? Whether you're sipping your morning coffee or winding down after a long day, let's connect, reflect, and inspire action together. Don't forget, you can be part of the conversation too. Reach out to jo.lockwood@cchangehappen.co.uk to share your insights or to join me on the show. So adjust your earbuds and settle in.

It's time to ignite the spark of inclusion with Inclusion Bites. And today is episode 135 with the title, resilience, diversity, and well-being. And I have the absolute honour and privilege to welcome Sam Rathling. Sam is a LinkedIn and social selling expert, a cancer survivor, and a thriver. When I asked Sam to describe her superpower, she said, I'm also known as resilient rathoming. I've been through so much adversity, and resilience is definitely a superpower. Hello, Sam. Welcome to the show.

Hi, Jo. Thanks so much for having me. It's great to be here.

Absolute pleasure. I'm really excited to, have this conversation. We met probably 4, 5, 6 years ago, first time at a Professional Speaking Association conference, I think.

We did indeed, yes. I remember it before.

So Sam, tell me a bit more about your resilience, the diversity and the well-being.

Gosh. Where do I start? I think we have a lot to cover on our conversation today. But, I think a little bit about me in terms of my background, I've been through quite a lot of different challenges, both business and personally, in the last number of years. So I'm a single mom to 3 children. I have an 11 year old, a 15 year old, and a 17 year old. All of them have some form of neurodivergence, so I'm quite a champion of that side of things. My son, Oscar, has ADHD, Asperger's, and ODD. My middle child, Maya, has dyslexia, and my youngest child, Liliana, has just been diagnosed with ADHD.

So I have quite a lot of experience working with neurodivergence, particularly within children. I'm literally 1 year on from finding out actually this week was the was the week that I went to the GP having found a lump in my left breast. And this week that we're recording this episode is the year anniversary of me going to the doctors and then obviously getting diagnosed with breast cancer. So I am now through my chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery. I'm I'm on the other side of now my next 5 years of treatment, so obviously that's been a challenge over the last 12 months to deal with. And, yeah, quite a lot of different things in business, you know, few financial issues around businesses, hostile takeovers, you know, just various different things that I've gone through over the years. So I definitely call myself resilient raffling for quite a few reasons.

But just for anyone listening, we're we're recording this mid October 2024. Yeah. So I think I remember seeing on Facebook that you were ringing the bell after your last chemo session a few weeks ago. Is that right?

No. It was, end of June 30th June I rang the bell because the very next day I did the race for life. I didn't actually run. I walked very slowly. It was like the last one round in about 1500, but I still did it. So yeah. So that was a moment, though, ringing the bell after all that brutality and what my body had been through. And, I think a lot of people think, though, that the bell ringing is kind of the end, but it's really not the end at all for most people.