006: Even Facial Paralysis Won’t Stop Her From Doing What She Loves

One thing I am discovering, as a podcast host, is that I have great friendships with a lot of my online business peeps but when we meet in person, at events, we don’t get into deep conversation around personal stuff. I get it, we’re at biz events so personal stuff doesn’t often come up plus we’re often in groups, not one-on-one which isn’t always ideal to chat about more intimate aspects of life.

All that to say, my guest today is another online biz friend – Jennifer Burke – I’ve known for quite awhile (just recently met in person back in October for the first time) but had never heard her personal story before. So I was thrilled when she decided that part of the healing process is to be more open and willing to share her story about an aggressive brain tumor that left her with facial paralysis.

When a doctor gives you a list of all the things that could go wrong, you generally don’t think they will and it’s just the doctor’s job to let you know possibilities. At least that’s what was running through Jennifer’s head when the doctors told her the list of possible outcomes, but sadly each one of those could go wrong things did happen!

Listen in as Jennifer takes us back to the diagnosis, surgery, and where she was when the facial paralysis happened and what her fears were as she realized her face would never be the same again and how eventually she decided to not let it stop her from doing what she loves – speaking on stage and sharing her expertise via Facebook Live and videos!

Note: at the 10:52 minute mark until the 11:08 minute mark, there is a weird static noise, but you can still hear us chatting over it. 

About Jennifer

I’m Jennifer Burke, a solopreneur who is an all-around geek! My business runs on me being a research nerd and marketing tech geek. I help clients to stop spinning their wheels, no more tech frustrations, and I don’t do B.S., fluff, or more ‘theories’. My career – and life – path looks like the dotted line adventures from the Family Circus cartoon, but I’ve learned to embrace the whole wild journey and where it may lead next.

Find Jennifer Online

• Website

Recommended Self-Help Book:

One of the things I ask my guests (but not talked about in their episode) is if they have a favorite self-help book(s). This is just something I like to know because I’m huge into self-development/self-help and am always on the lookout for more to read. Thought it would be fun to share the recommendations 🙂

Jennifer suggested:

• Love Brene Brown:
  • Daring Greatly
  • The Gifts of Imperfection
  •  I Thought It was Just Me
• Every Body Yoga
• Get Your Shit Together
• Feel the Fear, Do It Anyway (I – Tish – have read this one a few times & highly highly recommend it!)
• Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking
• The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck