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Life after a cancer diagnosis does not have to be defined by the diagnosis. For Tona Restine, founder of Life Imagined, a lymphoma diagnosis in 2016 arrived at the worst possible moment and unlocked everything she was meant to do next. In this first segment of the Reignite Resilience Podcast's conversation with life and business coach, speaker, and writer Tona Restine, cohosts Natalie Davis and Pamela Cass sit down with one of their dearest friends and most admired colleagues for a conversation that is equal parts origin story, resilience masterclass, and love letter to the seasons of life that break you open. 

Tona spent more than two decades building a successful real estate career, leading a brokerage, and developing the leadership and people skills that would eventually become the backbone of her coaching practice. By the time she and her husband Kevin sold their brokerage and made plans to move to Texas, she was standing at the front door of a full professional reinvention. Three days after the sale closed, she walked into what she thought was a routine consultation with a plastic surgeon about a small bump on her cheek. She walked out with a lymphoma diagnosis. 

Her car was already in Texas. She knew almost no one. Treatment was starting. And in the quiet of a new state, a new season, and a body that required her full attention, Tona found the Thoreau quote that became the name of her company, hired her first coach, and began imagining a life she had not yet pictured for herself. What emerged was Life Imagined, now celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2026, and a body of work that has helped hundreds of clients navigate their own liminal seasons with clarity, courage, and deep intentionality. 

This segment also features the story of how Tona and Natalie first met: speaking at the same event in Denver in fall 2016, with Natalie's talk titled "Balance Is Bullshit" appearing on the agenda directly after Tona's talk titled "Bumps, Bridges, and Balance." The panic was real. The grace that followed was even more so. 

In This Episode: 

• The three simultaneous life events that hit Tona in 2016: selling her brokerage, moving to Texas, and a lymphoma diagnosis 
• How a six or seven-day encounter with a Thoreau quote planted the seed for Life Imagined as a company name and a personal mission 
• What getting quiet in a new state with no community and a body that needed to heal taught Tona about listening for what comes next 
• The ER Coaching program Tona created with her ER nurse daughter, built around emotional resilience through the lens of an emergency room 
• The laugh-out-loud story of how Tona and Natalie first met in Denver in fall 2016 and what connects them to this day 

Tona is a featured speaker at Reignite Live 2027 on January 22nd in Loveland, Colorado. She is also hosting her annual September Threshold on September 11th and 18th, focused on life and business and open to all. 

Tona is a featured speaker 🗓️ Reignite Live 2027: January 22 in Loveland, Colorado.

Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who is standing at the front door of a new season and needs to hear that the stillness on the other side is where everything begins.

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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