Today we’d like to introduce you to Risa August
Hi Risa, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My story begins with a girl who was an overachiever—disciplined, rigid in every aspect of life, and quick to judge. I excelled at everything I did and didn’t stop until I accomplished it. I always had to do the next thing; I achieved so much already but it was never enough. I also struggled with deviating from the plan, there wasn’t room for flexibility. And, I couldn’t understand why others didn’t operate the way I did.
In November of 2018 this all changed, and I would never be the same person again.
I was an Ironman athlete and CrossFit obsessed. I owned and operated my own successful wedding and event planning company in which I was highly sought-after and valued within the industry. In the fall of 2011, I began noticing changes in my body. Over the course of seven years, my health concerns were dismissed by doctor after doctor. I had significant weight gain, unusual hair growth, braces for the third time, and these were only a few of the inexplicable goings-on in my body.
Fast forward to the summer of 2018, when I found my voice. My medical requests to my physician became a demand. My final demand led to an MRI referral, where the massive tumor at the base of my brain, wedged between my eyeballs and snuggling up to my carotid artery, was detected. Finally, the destructive disease that came attached to this tumor was confirmed, along with the validation of seven years of my inner knowing.
Following brain surgery and radiation treatments, and facing a lifetime of poisonous medications, I began looking at life differently. I woke up from surgery in a body that didn’t feel like my own and with a brain that wasn’t functioning the way it used to. For months, I grieved the loss of who I once was.
One day, after yet another day of being confined to tattered grey sweatpants and my sofa, I began reflecting on my life. I realized this was no way to live and something in me shifted. Not only did I want to live, I wanted to live bigger and better than before and this had to start with me. I wanted to be a kinder, more compassionate, and a more purposeful human. I wanted to stop waiting to do all the things on my bucket list and to start checking them off…now. That was the day I signed up for an 1,845-mile bicycle journey from Canada to Mexico down the Pacific Coast. After being told what I should and shouldn’t do, what won’t be possible, and what I can’t do…I began tuning out the noise around me and focusing internally, asking myself questions like “What can I do?” I opened myself up to a world of possibilities. And I had 14 months to retrain my brain and body.
I completed that 6-week bicycle adventure down the Pacific coast. I went on to write my multi award-winning memoir sharing about the challenges of my complete life upheaval along with my victories. I became a certified Gestalt practitioner and began speaking and advocating for other patients who didn’t feel heard.
Accomplishing my goals didn’t stop there, I went on to trek the Salkantay Pass and Inca trail in Machu Picchu, Peru. I solo biked the Camino de Santiago – A 500-mile pilgrimage across northern Spain. I’ve had a blast taking classes such as aerial silks, improv, Bollywood and Hip-Hop dance, axe throwing, boxing, indoor skydiving, and screenwriting. I have a renewed appreciation for theater, art, poetry, and music. I find wonder in our natural world through camping, stand up paddle boarding, pumpkin picking, and stargazing.
My empathy, compassion, and connection to others has taken front seat. Ultimately, I want to save lives and inspire others to let go of their own limiting beliefs so that that they may find the joy of living without constraints…living unleashed.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Along with my tumor and disease diagnosis, I was facing the dissolution of my 18-year marriage to a man. I felt blind-sided by grief. Living with the pain of hurting someone else that I deeply loved, was agony. I couldn’t find a good enough reason as to why my needs and desires should come first. I faced the battle of deviating from my life’s plan and would often talk myself out of wanting what I wanted in life.
Once again, feeling blindsided, I fell head over heels for a woman. This was unfamiliar territory for me, but there was no denying my feelings for this connection. Eventually, I found myself in a familiar situation supporting someone else’s needs and goals over mine. With total heart destruction, I found the courage to break my pattern of compromising myself in the name of love. I turned this heart annihilating experience into rocket fuel, and it propelled me toward transformation.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I am more than just a business, a professional, a coach, a speaker, an author. I am also a creative, an artist in my own right, and a curious student of life.
My LLC was born from my desire to help others tap into their inner spark and find the fuel that will grow this flame. I am trained in the modality of Gestalt which is an experiential therapeutic approach to mental wellness. I have vast life experience and additional certificates in other modalities which I like to incorporate into my coaching. I am in a state of constant evolution and thus my business is as well. I own being authentic, slightly unpolished, and flexible in an organic approach or unfolding of process. I let go of others’ ideas of perfection and have redefined it for myself.
My passion lies with inspiring audiences through speaking and writing about my healing and personal growth journey. I don’t want my brand to be depicted by one thing…I am many things, and I am made up of many parts. I want my brand to encompass all of that.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
I can’t say that there has been ONE “most important lesson”. I feel we receive the “most important lesson” at the time we need it. One lesson I continue to learn is the practice of patience, taking time for pause. Too often I get caught up in “hurry up” and sometimes important things get missed along the way. Sometimes, the decision doesn’t have to be made right now, with some patience, the best answers may arrive on their own and at the right time.
Furthermore, I no longer view challenges as roadblocks. I look at them as something simply to navigate. Those roadblocks or obstacles may be there for a reason, perhaps it’s time to pivot and go in a new direction. Again, with patience, the answers will reveal themselves, leading us to the next thing.
Pricing:
- Coaching fees are available on my website. I strongly believe in offering a sliding scale.
- Speaker fees available upon request
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.risaaugust.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/risaunleashed/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/risa.august.unleashed/
- Other: https://linktr.ee/risaaugust
Image Credits
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