Risa August shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Good morning Risa, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What are you chasing, and what would happen if you stopped?
I find myself chasing “something.” I can’t see it, name it, or define it; it keeps slipping through my fingers, always just out of reach.
I’ve climbed mountains, crossed finish lines, traveled the world—questioning, learning, evolving. The chase has shaped me more than anything I’ve ever caught.
If I stopped chasing my “something”? Honestly, I don’t know what I’d do or what my purpose would be.
From my perspective, chasing isn’t a problem to fix. It’s my driving force. It’s who I am.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Risa August, and Colorado is my home base. I am an award-winning author, TEDx and inspirational speaker, Gestalt practitioner, and patient advocate. More importantly, I am an ungainly human on this planet, trying to figure it all out.
My business is in constant evolution. I’m not trying to sound vague or mysterious, but the moment I believe I’ve discovered where my true passion lies or where my focus would be most productive, it changes. I change. My feelings change. My mind resists.
I don’t care what the “rules” are. I do it my way, on my terms. This is where my brand, Risa Unleashed, was born; grabbing my heart in my chest during a counseling session, I screamed, “I JUST WANT TO UNLEASH!”, though I wasn’t sure the world was ready for me.
My unleashing continues to be a process. I make a deliberate effort to take steps toward my own unfolding. I love color, vibrancy, creativity, and anything that inspires. I don’t just want to teach, coach, or offer my ideas, I want my entire life to reflect them.
So, my brand, you might ask?
I am in the business of inspiring others to live fully unleashed by fearlessly sharing my own extraordinary journey of transformation, adventure, and relentless pursuit of purpose. I celebrate bold authenticity, courage in the face of life’s pivots, and the joy of chasing what sets your soul on fire.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
The relationship that has most shaped how I see myself is the one I’m continually building with me.
For most of my life, I looked outward for validation, direction, and belonging. But everything changed when life handed me the kind of challenges that strip you down to what’s real—a brain tumor, heartbreak, and a journey that forced me to question everything.
Since then, the most impactful relationship in my life has been the ever-changing, brutally honest, definitely messy, and brilliantly illuminating relationship I have with myself. It’s the one that asks me to stay open: open to connection, to new ideas, to uncomfortable truths, to magic and wonder, to possibility, and to the way the world reveals itself when I’m curious rather than absolute.
Learning to understand myself, my values, my intuition, my resilience, has shaped how I move through every other relationship in my life. It’s taught me to trust my inner voice, to honor what I need, and to give myself permission to grow and change.
This relationship isn’t finished. It keeps expanding, and with every season of my life, it reshapes how I see myself: not as someone defined by circumstances, but as someone capable of healing, reinventing, and choosing alignment again and again.
When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
I don’t think I ever truly hid my pain, I transformed it.
At first, it wasn’t intentional, it felt more like survival. I kept moving, kept choosing the next step, kept focusing on “something” and went toward it.
But the moment it came into my awareness, that pain is simply energy, I realized I had a choice. I could let it weigh me down, or I could convert it. And that realization changed everything.
Now, I use it as rocket fuel.
The heartbreak, the diagnosis, the fear, the uncertainty, they all became sources of momentum. Instead of shrinking from them, I asked: How can this propel me? What possibility can come from this? What CAN I do?
Pain didn’t become my identity; it became my power source. It pushes me toward my goals, my healing, my purpose, and the life I’m building with intention and clarity. And every time I transmute it, it reminds me of what I’m capable of: turning the unthinkable into undeniable strength.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
A project I’m committed to is bringing my story to the silver screen. Recently, I adapted my award-winning memoir into a screenplay and began submitting it to competitions and production companies. As of today, the script has won four awards (with more on the horizon) and has already been acquired by a production agency.
But the accolades are not why I’m devoted to this project. I believe in this film because it has a purpose far bigger than me. The Road Unpaved has the power to save lives, spark hope, and remind people that even in moments of heartbreak, diagnosis, or adversity, there is always a path forward.
And with my top values being connection, service, and compassion, this project naturally aligns with the work I currently do as a speaker and advocate. I travel the country connecting with people who are facing challenging circumstances and helping them discover that they are far more capable than they ever believed.
This is a story that insists on being told. And I’m committed to seeing it through, however long it takes, because I know how many people it will encourage, empower, and ignite. It’s not just a project; it’s a mission.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
What I understand deeply—something I feel many people don’t—comes from living with a brain tumor. The unexpected beauty of a brain tumor is the perspective it’s given me, a perspective many spend a lifetime searching for: almost nothing is as big of a deal as we make it.
That doesn’t mean nothing matters. It means we often suffer because of the expectations we place on outcomes. We grip so tightly to how we think life should unfold that anything different feels like a setback or a failure.
But when you’ve faced something that completely upends your life, you learn to release the illusion of control, and openness becomes a superpower.
What if we allowed ourselves to stay open to all possible outcomes, without expectation, without attachment?
I believe we’d move through life with far more ease, grace, and trust in the journey.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.risaaugust.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/risaunleashed/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/risa-august-9b130524a
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/risa.august.unleashed/
- Other: TEDx Talk: https://youtu.be/lK9SITnpvcA?si=UaWtseXEK06b-3yE
Book Link: https://a.co/d/iIHPzw4
Image Credits
None necessary.
