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You can muscle through a deadline, a setback, even a broken heart, but what happens when you try to muscle through your own body? We sit down with Nancy Deo, a former Silicon Valley CEO and Stanford Distinguished Careers Institute fellow, whose search for redemption after a devastating business loss led her to climb Mount Kilimanjaro with an already injured back. What followed was a collapse at 16,000 feet, a terrifying descent off the mountain, and the kind of pain that rewrites your entire life story.

Nancy takes us inside the high performance culture that trained her to endure at all costs, and the moment she realised that the same “discipline and control” that once defined her success was no longer serving her. We talk about the hidden emotional toll of chronic pain, the mind-bending experience of being told “you’re fine” while your body insists otherwise, and how misdiagnosis can erode self-trust. She shares the medical reality too: missed fractures, major spine surgery, and the long recovery that refused to move in a straight line.

We also get honest about opioid dependence, how relief can quickly turn into “taking them so you don’t feel worse,” and why pain can create a vicious cycle of fear and anxiety. Nancy’s story ultimately challenges the most common resilience myth: that strength is always pushing harder. 

The Quiet Gift: A Journey of Self Worth and Resilience is now available for download as an audible.  Check it out!

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The Quiet Gift: A Journey of Self Worth and Resilience

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Disclaimer: The information provided in this podcast is for general informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The co-hosts of this podcast are not medical professionals. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on this podcast. Reliance on any information provided by the podcast hosts or guests is solely at your own risk.

Pamela Cass is a licensed broker with Kentwood Real Estate
Natalie Davis is a licensed broker with Keller Williams Realty Downtown, LLC