Finding Growth in Life’s Detours || Michele Kehrer

What if the hardest moments in life are actually invitations to grow?

In this episode of Pebbles of Light, Anne Maxson sits down with Michele Kehrer, author of Brave Shift. Michele shares how unexpected challenges—including four cancer diagnoses—became catalysts for powerful personal transformation.

Through stories of resilience, mindset shifts, and the courage to embrace change, Michele explains how even life’s most difficult detours can help us reconnect with what truly matters.

In this conversation, we explore:

• Why people often stay in the “unhappy known”
• How fear and excitement are often separated by breath
• Why expressing emotions is essential for healing
• The surprising lessons Michele learned while writing her book
• How gratitude and nature can help shift perspective
• The importance of genuine conversations and human connection

Michele’s story reminds us that transformation doesn’t require changing everything at once—sometimes it begins with just one brave shift.

Connect with Michele

• Michele’s Website - https://michelekehrer.com/
• Facebook - @michele.kehrer
• X - @balancemk1 
• Instagram - @balancemichele
• LinkedIn - @michelekehrer

Resources:

• Michele’s Book, Brave Shift - https://amzn.to/4vIuWbk 
• Adam Brownlie’s Book, Happypedia - https://amzn.to/4vIuWbk 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Listen to any newscast right now and they're gonna say how much we all should hate each other. But really, when it comes down to it, everyone wants to be seen, everyone wants to be loved, everyone wants to be understood, and everyone wants to be heard. So if you have compassion to hear and see and be with someone, even and especially if they have a different viewpoint, then maybe they're gonna have the they'll give you the same respect and they'll listen as well. And then we'll realize that our differences are not that different.

SPEAKER_00 0:34

Welcome to Pebbles of Light, where we highlight the everyday people who bring hope, comfort, and light to others. I'm your host, Ann Maxon, sharing meaningful stories to help you find light in your journey. If the messages shared resonate with you, please follow, share, or support the podcast through Patreon to help keep the mic on and spread the light even farther. Hey friends, we are almost at 50 episodes of Pebbles of Light. Can you believe it? I have loved this opportunity to share these stories. And I want to hear from you. At the top of the show notes, there's a link that says text or voice message the show. Please reach out and share about someone who's placed a pebble of light in your path. Now, on to today's episode. Welcome to Pebbles of Light. In our previous episode, Adam Brownle helped us explore the science of happiness and the role hope and forgiveness play in shaping our lives. The pebble from that episode was to take a few minutes today to reflect on a mistake you've been holding on to. Ask yourself, what experiences led me to that decision? And see if you can offer yourself the same compassion that you would to someone else. Today's episode builds on that idea as Michelle Kerr shares how brave shifts, those moments when life pushes us into change, can reshape how we see ourselves and the world. Michelle's book Brave Shift: 30 Mindset Changes to Transform Your Life has been featured on CNN and other news outlets. She emphasized the idea of bite-sized shifts that allow lasting change. Let's get into it. In a world focused on outcomes, today's guest, Michelle Kerr, invites us to notice the inner work happening along the way. Michelle shares shares how detours can deepen identity and spark lasting transformation. Michelle, thanks so much for being here. Please take a moment to introduce yourself.

SPEAKER_01 2:23

My pleasure, Anne. Whoa, what fun. So yeah, I've been an entrepreneur my whole life and uh had a physical therapy practice downtown Chicago that I successfully sold. And then I moved to Florida. So it's sunny and wonderful here, and I have my cute dog. Um, yeah, and then I wrote a book called Brave Shift, and it's all about my journey through life and little shift moves to like change your habits and change your mind and really reframe where you are in the world instead of looking at things as obstacles to look at them more as opportunities.

SPEAKER_00 2:58

I love that thought of the obstacles and opportunities and the idea of we never really lose. If we learn something, you never lose. There's always an opportunity to gain something from everything that we do. So I love the title Brave Shift. And I was curious, what role in your mind does bravery play in shifting our mindsets?

SPEAKER_01 3:19

Well, it depends. It depends on like a lot of times you're going into the unknown. You know, change is the only thing that's really constant in our life, and most people fear change. Well, it's kind of tough because it's going to happen when whether you like it or not. But when you think you're pulled to do something, you think you need to move in a direction, but it's changing what you're doing every single day. It takes some bravery. It takes some, you know, gumption to get up and go, okay, I'm going to abandon the here and now to really see what can I my life really be like.

SPEAKER_00 3:54

And so what do you think is often those things that cause us to resist those changes that we know are good for us? But I guess it's probably just being comfortable in the comfortable and not wanting to be uncomfortable. But what are ways to kind of overcome that?

SPEAKER_01 4:11

Yeah, it's, you know, it's all too many people like stay in a bad job or a bad relationship or a bad whatever because they know what's there. They know where the bugaboos are, they know where the upsets are, they know what to avoid or what to not avoid. And but then when they really sit quietly in their heart, they realize like life is supposed to be so much better. Like so much better. Get out of the unhappy known and into the unknown.

SPEAKER_00 4:43

And what did you learn as a physical therapist? So I've had, I've had to do physical therapy a few times in my life. I've blown up both my ACLs, playing tennis. And I feel like some of these ideas tie in with physical therapy. That idea of, oh, I'm fine with just this range of motion, but the need to move forward. So, what did you learn in your practice as a physical therapist that you were able to apply in these mindset shifts in your book?

SPEAKER_01 5:05

Yeah. So I had a pretty unique physical therapy practice, and we specialized in dizziness and balance disorders. And what that means is you would be, my patients would go be going along perfectly fine. And then something would happen. They often they would just wake up and their world was actually spinning and everything changed. And of course, the immediate panic of, okay, I feel like I'm going to die. And then they're not. But what do I do? And then as they're making that that change to get better, it also is like almost an opening to say, well, what in my life was I not happy with? And where could I be even happier? What could I do better? Um, and because, you know, dizziness is just unbalance. So unbalance in your life will can manifest an unbalance in your body.

SPEAKER_00 5:54

And then for you, you've had a few different things come into your life out of out of nowhere that have caused you to make some changes as well. Can you share a little bit about those?

SPEAKER_01 6:04

Sure. Yeah. I I've had uh the opportunity to have um beaten cancer um four times. And each one of those came with a different lesson and a different shift. And that's really where the book kind of started, where people would be like, wow, I really admire how you've handled life with grace and you've handled these big challenges with grace. Like, write that down so people then you can help people. Um, but it's it really was like, well, something is like we were talking about too, you know, unbalance in your life manifests as unbalanced in your body. Disease in your life as often is dis-ease in your body. Taking the time to go, this is more than just physical. There's the parts of dis, you know, disease dis-ease is there's the physical health, the mental health, the emotional health, the spiritual health, which I know you're big into. And like, where in my life am I not in alignment? Where is where am I being called to shift, to change, to really fix the things that are not in alignment? How do I get myself back?

SPEAKER_00 7:13

Just yesterday I did an interview that will come right the week before this one airs, and it was with Adam Brownlee and he wrote a book called Happy Pedia, and he talks about these six pillars of happiness. So a lot of them are kind of what you expect as far as good health, right? Like eating well, exercising, having good socialization, getting good sleep. But then he also talks about like the idea of novelty, like trying something new and moving forward and learning something new. And he also talks about the importance of hope. And I think sometimes, I don't know, like for me, I was like, okay, that fourth cancer diagnosis, wouldn't you kind of have a little moment of like, wait, why me? And feeling a little frustrated. How did you shift your mindset there? Or maybe, maybe you didn't have that. Maybe you're just a superwoman and that thought didn't come to your mind at all. Oh no, and I'm real.

SPEAKER_01 8:03

I'm a real person with real feelings, and I had real anger and real sad and real scare. And yeah, and I remember actually specifically after the third diagnosis, uh, was like, out of what? Like, how is this possible? And I mean, I had a big conversation with, you know, our larger entity, the, you know, our creator. And I just said, you need to fix this right now. Like, fix something in my life. Like, if I have to do this, you have to do that. Do something, like fix something.

SPEAKER_00 8:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:38

And and you're going, and also like show me what lesson I'm supposed to learn. Because if I've not received that, and if I've not done it, it's not been clearly told to me. So give me some clarity here. And it was, it was interesting. It was eye-opening to see like what presented itself after that, and then how I could really choose to shift and change. And this past diagnosis, it was really about I had gone back to some bad habits of letting people that weren't the best people in my life and being not as protective of me, just letting my energy leak out all over the place. So, so how was it fixed and how did you transform at that time? Well, I am one of the funny things is I was always raised, you know, your outward self, like how you present yourself is everything. Well, that means like anger doesn't happen, sadness doesn't happen, you know, like unless you're joyful all the time, then there's something wrong with you, or you're not a good person. And I realize that that's a huge disservice. So it is okay to be angry and sad and scared, and it's also okay to talk about it and to be real about it. And if you and I are in relationship with each other and something happens that I can be fully angry, but not make it a personal attack at you, with you, whatever. And I just get to express it because if I don't express my feelings, they get stuck inside.

SPEAKER_00 10:07

And that can be a really difficult position. And I feel like when we're doing that, when we have our feelings just kind of stuck and we feel stifled, I guess would be the term. It makes it so we don't show up for those around us the way that we should either. And especially we're not showing up for ourselves. I think that's that's where the main issue lies.

SPEAKER_01 10:26

Yeah. And then we appear disingenuous. Because they're like, wait a minute, you're not, you don't feel like yourself. You don't look like yourself. Like you're saying one thing, but the energy that you're putting out is completely different. So who are you really? What is this really about?

SPEAKER_00 10:42

So as we go through these changes and shifts in our mindset and willingness to learn to grow, I feel like sometimes we may not lose, but redefine parts of our identity and our relationship with others. And how do we manage that in all that we go through? Like sometimes we'll be like, okay, I'm going to do a podcast now. And then you have to put yourself kind of out there. And I'm not, I'm usually a pretty quiet introvert type person, but doing a podcast, I've felt this desire to share people's stories like yours. And that requires me to kind of shift things a little bit, go into the unknown, put my face on a screen and do all of these different things. And so, what are ways to fortify ourselves as we're in that stage of uncomfortable?

SPEAKER_01 11:38

The first thing, come back to your breath. Yeah. There's a little, you know, there's a million little sayings out in the world that fear really is his excitement without breath, or however that said, or something, there's something along those lines. But how often when we find ourselves, like all of a sudden we're breathing very shallow and we're really constricted. And what we need to do is open up, stretch out our chest, really deep, breathe deep, and like let the oxygen flow so we can clearly see from a place of non-constriction, and that whatever we're afraid of is probably going to be the coolest thing ever. And you get to have such amazing conversations, so many people. Had you not faced that fear and said, you know, I am an introvert, so I'm just going to stay an introvert, the world would not be as great as it is today.

SPEAKER_00 12:24

Yeah. And I think the first episode that I did when I kind of came back, I'd had like a two-year hiatus and I came back. And the first episode I did was a solo episode. So really putting myself out there, but it was all about overcoming feelings of failure or fear of failure, even like just being concerned about that unknown and not really being confident moving forward, but knowing that if you feel inspired and impressed to do something that overall will likely be good and add goodness and light into the world, that you should move forward. And look at those uncertainties as more of a teacher and an opportunity, as you said, instead of a threat or an obstacle that we need to overcome.

SPEAKER_01 13:02

Yeah, yeah. Like one of the chapters in my book is it's either a good time or a good story.

SPEAKER_00 13:07

Exactly. Exactly. So kind of along with that, I guess, what role does humility play in this process of transformation and changing?

SPEAKER_01 13:19

I take a little bit different stance on humility. Because if you look at humble as a word, it is really not all that flattering. Like the definition of humble is putting yourself beneath others and being in that subservient role. So I don't encourage people to be humble. I I encourage people to feel awe. So if I did a talk the other day in Houston and every single woman in the room was like bigger and cooler and had done more than the last. And instead of feeling humble, I stepped back and was like, let me take a breath and realize like how awesome this actually is. Like how amazing it is that I actually get to be in the presence of these women. And they chose me to speak with them, to them. So I really like choosing to be in awe. Like we talked about, or you talked about earlier about like, you know, coming back to like that play and that having more fun and having things be new again, like really looking at life through the lenses that we did when we were children.

SPEAKER_00 14:28

And I I when you were talking about definitions of humble, one of the words that came to my mind was meekness, right? So meekness isn't necessarily weakness, it's it's a strength, but a strength that doesn't flaunt itself, I guess, is how I would I would say it. And I loved your your story about being in the presence of those women that you kind of see as examples to you. I've had a few instances. So I started a business a few years ago and have gone to you know different large business events and pitch competitions and things like that. And there is a very real feeling of being like, what am I in that imposter syndrome, right? Like, what am I doing here? And but the importance of taking a moment to look back and think, okay, like there's a reason I'm here. One of our advisors, he gave me some of the greatest advice. I'd been invited to go to this really, really fancy conference. And I was a little nervous. I was like, you know, should I go? Because I feel really out of place and our business isn't nearly as far as the majority of the people who will be presenting. And I just, I don't know if I belong there. And he said, You belong wherever you are. And I just love that insight of you belong wherever you are, because that's why you're there. There, there's a purpose in you being there. So, how did these pivots and these changes for you and your experience, how have they helped to deepen your relationships with others?

SPEAKER_01 15:49

Authentic. Like, I don't talk about the weather, right? Especially now living in Florida, it's always sunny. But I like I always tell people, like, you know, why could why either complain or be happy about the weather? Like, we have apps for that. Like, of course, everyone is aware of what the weather is, whether it's rainy or cloudy or hurricane or sunny or whatever. But like, more like tell me more about you. You know, I've had this sweet neighbor who's so dang cute, and her life with her husband has been nothing short of an adventure. And to go and sit with her and say, tell me about when you were my age. Tell me about when you were growing up, tell me about your own experiences. Like, I want to hear her life. I want to know more about her. And then that creates conversation where most often then it's reciprocated. And you get to create a deeper bond with the person with you.

SPEAKER_00 16:40

Just a couple of weeks ago, I had an interview with a young man who just served a mission in Japan. And he talked about, you know, how he had changed during his two years in Japan. He said, you know, before he went, he was not really one who's gonna go and start conversations with others that he was just going to, you know, let things come as they were. And if people come talk to him, then he was fine. But as a missionary, that's what you do, is you just go and you talk to people. And he shared about how in Japan it's interesting because Christianity is not the main religion. Most people, he's like, it was weird because I'd, you know, be like, hey, we're talking about Jesus Christ. And they were like, who? He's like, wait, what? So the but he said, you know, there's tons of people in Japan who wear a Dodgers hat because Shoheo Atani, baseball player. And so he's like, so I'd connect, I'd be like, hey, you know, I really like your hat. Do you, you know, do you like baseball and just connecting with people? And he's like, and I started to love that idea of just start a conversation with people and just, you know, get to know them. And honestly, that's one of the things I love about the podcast is I get to meet people and connect with them and hear their stories. And I think there's a quote by C.S. Lewis that talks about that idea of like everybody around us is some sort of, you know, offspring of deity. There's no normal mortals walking around. We all have a story to tell, a story to share, lessons to be learned from. And I think that sometimes that can be something that can be hard for us to do is to to go out and and talk to others and get to know them. But there's such an opportunity there that will be missed if we don't do that. And in today's world, I think sometimes it's even more so because people have their phones out all the time instead of chatting with the person that's in front of you online at the grocery store. You've got your phone out instead. So, what would be your recommendations on that side of things from, you know, making sure our brave shifts include interpersonal communication outside of a screen?

SPEAKER_01 18:39

Yeah, leave the screen at home. Like that's such a great thing. Um and, you know, I absolutely love like the talk about just starting conversations because we're so much more alike than we the media would like us to portray. Right now, you look at listen to any newscast right now, and they're gonna say how much we all should hate each other. But really, when it comes down to it, everyone wants to be seen, everyone wants to be loved, everyone wants to be understood, and everyone wants to be heard. So if you have compassion to hear and see and be with someone, even and especially if they have a different viewpoint, then maybe they're gonna have the they'll give you the same respect and they'll listen as well. And then we'll realize that our differences are not that different. Like that a lot of it is just puppets trying to create dissension when it's not it's not the reality. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:39

But it takes the time to stop listening to all those voices telling you it should be divided and taking time to go talk to somebody who maybe is different from you. But I've always found, you know, situations where I'll I'll talk to somebody in their perspective or something is very different from mine. But if you sit down and you talk to them, then you're able to really kind of gain that that common ground and recognize the importance of hanging on to that common ground when you may disagree on certain things, but also there is a commonality and a connection.

SPEAKER_01 20:10

Yeah. And respect the disagreement. Walk different shoes, you know. My view was um of the world that comes from a blue-collar family where my dad walked back and forth to work for many, many years and earned his keep and worked his way up and we're hard work, right? Now I'm gonna have a different viewpoint than someone who didn't have that as their reality. And I had a mentor one time who would always say, listen for your own value. So if you're ever in a conversation and you find yourself checking out or you're watching a program or whatever, and you're just like, oh, this is not for me, that's probably when you really would benefit from leaning in and listening more, listening for your own value. How is this for me? Why is this conversation happening in front of me right now? Do you have any examples of that that you've experienced? Uh yeah, it was so interesting. I had a couple friends come and stay with me um a couple weeks back. And one of them I knew very well, and the other one was just her friend that she came along. And when they came in, the other, the woman was like, I could tell from a mile away we had very, very different political views and very different ways of expressing those views. And so it would have been easy to just avoid all those topics, or I could actually be curious. Tell me more. How did you come up with that? What makes you feel that way? And and not from like, why are you feeling like that, but like really, like what shaped you? How did you get to this point of view at this point in your life? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:45

And that I think also along with that is the the willingness to allow others to change their mind and recognizing that sometimes people's viewpoints will swing from one side to another. It's complicated right now in the in this day and age to make sure that we're Giving people that opportunity. Like we all want to be seen, known, and loved, but we also need to make sure that we are striving to help see, know, and love others as well.

SPEAKER_01 22:10

Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:12

So as we're working on these shifts in our lives and we've got all these daily responsibilities as well, how are we able to prioritize that inner transformation, that that brave shift? How how intentional do we have to be in order to make sure that we're doing the things that we need to on the inner work as we have all the temporal things swarming around in our minds? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:35

Well, one of the things that, you know, it's like 30 mindset changes to transform your life. I'm not recommending everyone do 30 at all. I'm recommending like one, maybe two. Like, look at your life and go what one thing, if it shifted, would completely transform who I am and what my reality is right now. And then spend every dang day working on that one thing. And then you'll get some momentum. And then when things improve, you'll be like, oh, maybe I'll try something else. But if someone sits down and goes, Oh my gosh, I need to do all 30 all the time, it's the same as New Year's resolutions, right? I mean, like, well the New Year's resolutions last what, you know, a day or two.

SPEAKER_00 23:15

So So give me some examples of those mindset shifts. I read through them a while ago, but it's been it's been a bit.

SPEAKER_01 23:23

Yeah, um, I I'm big on gratitude. Whenever I find myself in a funk, I have to like go, hold on, time out, and I look around and I'm like, try to name at least three things that I'm grateful for. And then often I find I cannot stop at three. You know, like I'll get to 10, 20, and I'm like, okay. And then I realize, all right, well, whatever I was bugging, whatever was bugging me was not so bad because now I'm just thinking about all the things that are amazing. And then also getting back in nature. Uh we spend so much time behind screens. And even when we're outside, we're on screens. Put the phone away, um, put the computer away, go get barefoot, walk outside, hug a tree if you feel so inclined, and just marvel the the birds, they fly, they've got freedom, and you know, trees grow no matter what is going on in our environment. And grass is going to continue to grow, flowers are gonna continue to bloom, and the problems that we have are so very temporary.

SPEAKER_00 24:25

I love that thought. I I'm a big advocate of the need to get outside and outside and quiet. You don't have to listen to a podcast. You don't even have to listen to my podcast, just go on a walk and don't listen to anything, just enjoy being in nature. I did an interview a couple of years ago now with someone who talked about the importance of having a sit spot. So a spot to just go and sit. And it was kind of her usual, she would go to a particular spot frequently as just kind of her place to go and and think about things. And you're from Wisconsin, is that right? Yeah. Okay. And Minnesota. So for me, like water is my jam. Like I and I don't think it's necessarily just because I'm from Minnesota, because I think it's pretty common, but having grown up on a lake, it's just so restorative to me that and the interconnectedness of water. Like it's so cool to sit, like, especially if you're on, you know, on an ocean, you can be like, wow, this water was potentially on the other side of the world yesterday or you know, probably a few days ago, but thinking about currents and stuff like that, and just the life-giving capability of water and what it provides to us. And it's a great thing to contemplate when the world seems heavy.

SPEAKER_01 25:36

That's my happy place too. I always tell people if I if I ever get lost and you can't find me, go to the nearest body of water. I'm so I'm sitting there. And I grew up right on Lake Michigan, and it's it's amazing because you know, for especially for people that say they don't like change, go sit with a body of water because it is not the same body of water. Five minutes, ten minutes, you know, two days, it's it's totally different. It's completely changed. It can look the same, but it's completely changed. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:07

So as you were writing your book, was there anything that came out that surprised you as you're working on it? There was something you're like, that thought is kind of out of the blue for me. What were some things that maybe surprised you as you were writing?

SPEAKER_01 26:20

Well, this was like a no-holds barred kind of book. I shared the good, the bad, the ugly, the tragic. And I didn't realize once it's written how many edits you actually have to go through to get it to market. And so I had the privilege of reliving those hard things over and over and over again. And the beauty of that was like I could find spots in my body and in my life that weren't healed yet, that still needed some love, that still needed some compassion. And that was very interesting to me. Cause I was like, oh, I wrote it down. It should be fine. And I was like, no. Like I wrote it down, but I didn't actually feel it. And I didn't actually heal it.

SPEAKER_00 27:02

I just did an interview a couple days ago with a gentleman who wrote a book called Hiding from the School Bus. And he talks about how he was kind of unschooled, homeschooled growing up, and his parents would want him to hide if the school bus came because they wouldn't want the school bus to have him go to school because they didn't trust the schooling system. And he has gone on, he's now a very successful businessman and entrepreneur, and felt the need to write this book. I was like, that's kind of interesting because the the story that you're telling is all about hiding. But by telling the story, you're kind of doing the opposite. And so for you, in some ways, was it was a cathartic process to kind of get all of those things out there, as well as from the perspective of sharing your hard with others in hopes that it may make their hard a little bit easier, maybe not easier, but just know somebody else has walked that path as well.

SPEAKER_01 27:59

Yeah, absolutely. That's that was the whole reason for writing it. And even when it was was hard and cathartic and all of that, I was like, whoa. I had friends read it and they were like, Do you really want to include that part in that? And I was like, Because of your reaction, I really do. I really do. Like, life is hard sometimes, and sometimes people aren't nice. And it's not about calling anyone out, it's only to recognize it's hard. And we all have had hard.

SPEAKER_00 28:31

We and we never know the hard things that other people are going through, which goes into that idea of connecting with others and making sure that we're giving them grace and love and understanding, even if they aren't necessarily open with what their heart is.

SPEAKER_01 28:48

Yeah. Yeah. Because maybe they didn't notice it was still there. Or they didn't know they even had it. I mean, oh, writing some of the stuff. I was I wrote one story and um it was about high school, and I was like, oh, this is you know just a fun story to write. And as I kept editing it and reviewing it and all of that, I was like, no, there's an ouch under there. And I had never slowed down to see where some of my ouches actually lived.

SPEAKER_00 29:16

Yeah. I did EMTR therapy a few years ago, and it was eye-opening to say the least, but also so healing. Part of the process that my particular therapist had me work through was to just kind of make a list of different experiences that were difficult for me, and then note the negative belief that I had about myself within that experience. And it I think I had to write when it like which experience I had that negative belief the hardest, the most, most intense. And also when was the earliest in my life that I'd had that experience. And that was like eye-opening in the fact that I hadn't realized the quantity of those experiences that I had had in my life, caused kind of some of these negative beliefs that I had about myself and the need to work through them. But interestingly, as I was doing EMDR, it helps you have the memory, but kind of pull the emotion out of it. And I remembered talking to my therapist about it because some of these experiences I had gone through were hard and difficult, but I also felt they were instructive, not only for me, but as a way that I can be more empathetic for others who may go through something similar. And I said, I don't want to completely lose it because I I feel like it gives me power isn't the right word, but maybe it is. It gives me power as I'm able to help and guide others. And she said, Oh, it will, it will still be there. But it I think it kind of struck her as odd is okay, you these are really difficult things and you don't want to lose them. But there's that side of, you know, what you learn from it, and you don't necessarily want to to lose the lessons that you've learned from the hard things that you've gone through. Yeah, that makes sense. So is there anything else that you want to share?

SPEAKER_01 31:06

One of the things that's been the the most fun in this that I didn't also see coming was on my website, you could there's a little contact me form, and people are reaching out with how the book impacted them. And it's so cool. I had this woman from across the globe, had found it on NetGalley or I don't even know what. Read it and was like, I have been in a bad relationship for 25 years, and I never had the power to change because I couldn't see that things could be better. I read your book and I think I think I'm ready to make a change. I was like blown away because I didn't think uh that my little book would have that kind of impact on anyone, but hearing people's stories, like their brave chefs, have been so amazing. And I respond back to everyone that reaches out, especially when they s share something so personal and so deep.

SPEAKER_00 32:05

That's amazing. Congratulations. Thanks. I love that. I have uh, I think we've talked about this, I've got a health tech startup. And just recently we've been able to recognize the real impact that we're having on patient success and and patients' lives. And it's been seven years of working on it, and we're finally at that point where you can see real results and and real tangible things that are helping patients get the care that they need. And I had no idea how overwhelmed I would feel when I heard that. I mean, I dreamed and wished and hoped that we would see that happen, but now that I'm able to see it in real time with real patients, it means more than I could ever really explain. And so I would imagine it's a similar situation.

SPEAKER_01 32:53

Yeah, it's it's very cool.

SPEAKER_00 32:54

And congratulations. Thank you. So, one last question. The purpose of Pebbles of Light is to celebrate those relationships that have helped to brighten our paths as we as we move along. And could you share about one or two people who maybe have brightened your path by placing a pebble of light in it?

SPEAKER_01 33:13

Oh gosh. The first two people that um come to mind are my friend Melanie and my friend Anna. I mean, they're just hilarious. I've I also have my friends that I call my butterflickets. I could talk for days on like people that have impacted my life. But my friend Melanie, um, we met when we were, I think, 23 years old. So we have officially known each other longer than we haven't. And she is my light. Like if I need anything, I can count on her for real talk, real fun, um, or just some straight up silliness. Like you often find us just giggling our faces off at um because it's just fun.

SPEAKER_00 33:58

Yeah. I love I call those friends the no backstory friend, where you don't have to tell them the backstory. You can just call and be like, this is happening, and they immediately just get it. And they know how to help. Not how to fix it, but they know how to help. They know what you need. If it's a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, some ridiculous song that was popular when you were in college. That's kind of like my college friends, like she'll text me and she'll she'll be like, I'm having an ever clear the band, not the beverage, an ever clear kind of day. And then I just know, right? I I know what's going on. Where can people find out more about you? Where can they find the book?

SPEAKER_01 34:38

My website is great. So it's just my name, Michelle Care, which of course seems easy, but it's Michelle with one L and K-E-H-R-E-R. And on there, the contact me form is amazing. And I'm also on all the social medias and stuff like that. But I blah, blah, blah getting emails from people.

SPEAKER_00 34:57

Awesome. And you respond so people know they can they can come fill that out. Awesome. And I'll put links to all those things in the show notes. But thank you again so much for being here.

SPEAKER_01 35:07

Oh, thank you, Anne. This has been such a pleasure.

SPEAKER_00 35:11

As we close today's conversation with Michelle Kerr, we're reminded that transformation rarely happens all at once. Often it begins with a small shift, one brave step into the unknown, one honest conversation, or one moment of gratitude that changes the direction of our thoughts. The pebble for this episode is to take a moment today to identify one small mindset shift that could improve your life. Just one, then spend the next week intentionally practicing it. I'm gonna repeat that. Just pick one. If you need help getting started, you can get some ideas from the sample Michelle's book on Amazon. The link is in the show notes. If you'd like to learn more about Michelle and her book, be sure to check those show notes where you'll also find ways to contact her. There are also links there to be able to support Pebbles of Light through Patreon and Buzz Sprout. And as always, thank you so much for being part of this community. Thank you for tuning in. My hope is that something helped you feel seen, encouraged, or inspired to bring light to someone else. If a name or moment stood out, don't let it pass. Reach out, express gratitude, or take that next step. You can connect with me anytime on socials at Pebbles of Light or at anMaxen.com. If this episode was meaningful for you, please follow the show, rate or review, and share it with someone who might need a lift today. And if you want to go a step farther, you can support the show on Patreon. See you next time.