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When Time Becomes Precious - A Terminal Diagnosis Journey: Featuring John Azzolina (Part 2)
This episode is Part 2 of our conversation with John Azzolina.
When faced with a terminal cancer diagnosis, what truly matters in life comes into crystal-clear focus. In this powerful continuation of his conversation with his stepfather John, David Sage delves deeper into the emotional and psychological journey of living with stage four liver cancer.
John's remarkable evolution from anger to acceptance offers profound insights for anyone facing life's challenges. "Three months ago I wouldn't be able to be sitting here," John admits, describing his initial struggle with frustration and depression. What follows is an extraordinary account of personal transformation, as John shares how support from family, renewed faith, and a shift in perspective helped him find peace with his diagnosis.
The conversation tackles difficult yet universal themes: the fragility of health, the weight of mortality, and our natural tendency to postpone authentic living. John's candid reflections challenge us to examine our priorities before crisis forces our hand: "All that matters is the relationships that we build with the people that we care about. It's not the money, it's not the cars... I'd give it all up just to have more time."
Perhaps most illuminating is John's perspective on how cancer patients are often treated. Well-intentioned protection from loved ones can inadvertently make patients feel powerless. "Everyone treats you differently," John explains, offering valuable guidance for supporting someone through serious illness while preserving their dignity and autonomy.
This episode serves as both a heartbreaking testimony and a life-affirming call to action. John's journey reminds us that taking care of our health isn't just self-preservation—it's an act of love toward those who care about us. His powerful question lingers: "Why did it take such a profound situation for me to become who I am now?"
Listen, reflect, and consider how you might apply these hard-earned insights to your own life, without waiting for crisis to show you what matters most.
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Welcome to the Sage Solutions Podcast, where we talk about all things personal growth, personal development and becoming your best self. My name is David Sage and I am a self-worth and confidence coach with Sage Coaching Solutions solutions. This episode is part two of my conversation with my stepfather, john Ezelina, about his terminal cancer diagnosis, his life and his mindset. If you haven't had a chance to listen to part one, I strongly recommend that you go back and listen to part one before you start this episode, part two, where we focus more on the realizations and mindsets that John has come to and had. Also, depending on your situation, this may be a very triggering episode for somebody who is either going through cancer or had a close loved one go through cancer. So if you don't feel like you're in a place to listen to this episode right now, that's totally okay.
Speaker 1:In our first episode, we interviewed my stepfather, john, and talked to him about the factual medical timeline and the cancer journey that he's been on, finding out that he had stage four terminal cancer and all of the events following that. We also talked about John's life before the cancer and many of the pivotal events or choices that he made that led him to become the incredible person that he is today. Before we get into it, our goal with this podcast is to share free, helpful tools with you and anyone you know who is looking to improve their life. So take action, subscribe and share this podcast with them.
Speaker 1:John, as you were living through all of these different ups and downs, the roller coaster of this battle with cancer, I think it's really important that we touch on some of the non-cancer events that happened all around the same time. We kind of hit a point where you me, Hannah Anna, hannah Anna, my mom we would just look at each other, shake our heads and, with a sad chuckle, just say when it rains, it pours, because each new thing that kept happening really poured it on. I'd like you to touch on the events that happened surrounding Avi or Avalon, your cat, and Fowler, your dog, and how the unfortunate timing made this whole situation that much harder.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Avi and Fowler are our pets. Avi's, our little cat Fowler we adopted during the pandemic. While I was in the hospital, laura kept me updated with the situation with the animals and how they were dealing with everything, and obviously they missed me. Taking it a step further, about a year prior to my diagnosis maybe even longer, I'm not exactly sure Fowler started losing weight. He was diagnosed with kidney disease. They gave him maybe a year and he went about a year. It was tough but he kept his spirits high. I was hoping I would be released soon enough where I could at least say goodbye. Unfortunately that did not happen, so Laura had to put him down when I was in the hospital. That was difficult on all of us. I know it was particularly difficult on your mom. She bonded with Fowler and Fowler obviously bonded with your mom. The cat had more of a bond with me.
Speaker 1:She definitely, definitely struggled with it. I actually stayed in the room with her when they put him down and both of us were struggling with how frustrating it must have been that you weren't able to be there.
Speaker 2:It was extremely frustrating. It was frustrating not being there saying my last goodbyes to him, but a lot of the frustration came from the fact that I felt helpless. I wasn't able to be there for your mom. She was there for me and still is. She was there for the animals and everyone, but the one time that she needed me, I was unable to be there for her.
Speaker 1:And obviously it was out of your control. But the one time that she needed me I was unable to be there for her, and obviously it was out of your control. You know that wasn't something that you had a choice in and we all know that if there was any way you could have been there, you would have One. I guess bright side is that after you were released from the hospital, abby, your guy's adorable little cat, was glued to you at the hip, absolutely.
Speaker 2:I was fortunate enough to have a little time with her before she passed.
Speaker 1:They think maybe it was leukemia and about how long after you got released was this?
Speaker 2:probably a month and a half. Uh, she, we had to put avi down. November 4th, your mom adopted laura, adopted avi and it was her cat. For the most part, she was always your mom's cat, but 2019, we had to put my chocolate lab down and I would describe Abby's relationship with my chocolate lab as the brother and sister that loved each other in a brotherly-sister kind of way. The relationship Abby had with Fowler was oh no, this is my domain, you just are lucky to be here.
Speaker 1:It's very true.
Speaker 2:Yeah, when JD died I think we were both grieving and she clung to me and we developed quite the strong bond. I never thought I was going to be a cat person I really never was but she became my little girl. I miss her. I miss all our animals. We had amazing animals and I was fortunate enough to have them in my life and I know that the time I had with her after the hospital was amazing for me at least. She clung to me. I was home more often so she just hunkered down on my lap as long as she could and that was it. I mean, I think we still struggle to this day. Your mom had brought up once adopting again, but I don't know if we're in the situation and everything that we're dealing with, where that would be a good idea. There's times that I've contemplated that and thought about bringing it up to her, but then I think about it and that would just be another thing on everyone's plate that I don't know if we can deal with right now.
Speaker 1:Which is totally understandable, understandable. I'd like to dive into your experiences, your mindset, what led you to this point and maybe any lessons that you might have surrounding this, and we can start wherever you'd like.
Speaker 2:Thank you, david. Three months ago I wouldn't be able to be sitting here being on this podcast. I was not in the mental state that I needed to be or wanted to be. My friends and everyone that knows me and knows me well knew I was masked and everything I would say, oh, I'm fine. But I wasn't. I had some built-up anger, frustration, quite a bit of anger, to be honest with you, not that. Oh, why did this happen to me? I had to do some looking at myself in the mirror and, yeah, it sucks that I developed terminal liver cancer, but some of it's on me.
Speaker 2:For a part of my adult life well, most of my adult life I smoked, I drank. I never thought I drank much. During the pandemic I had one cocktail an evening. Why, I don't know, can't figure that out. But my mindset was not where it needed to be. It was not just affecting me on a daily basis, it was affecting the most important people in my life Laura, david, hannah, anna, my mom, my brother, my uncle. They saw what I was going through, especially Laura, because she's with me all the time. She put on that strong face and, oh, it's okay, because some of my frustration would be not directed towards her, but she was in the vicinity of it. I also didn't want cancer to define me, meaning oh, he was a great guy and he got cancer and he became an asshole. It's not the way I wanted to be portrayed by my loved ones and everyone else that knew me.
Speaker 1:I wanted to be portrayed by my loved ones and everyone else that knew me Well. And John, I do want to say this your life changed and your future surrounding your life changed quite a bit, and I'm really happy that you're in the headspace that you're in now. Really, I wanted nothing more than that. But I also don't fault you for where you were at and I don't think you should fault yourself for that either. You know you were dealing with stages of grief. Whether they were in the preset order that they talk about, we don't need to get into the specifics of that.
Speaker 1:But frankly, so many areas of your life and your future were changing simultaneously that it's totally understandable that your brain, your body, your spirit would need to take time to process that in different ways, to grieve what you are losing and to find a way forward. It's very rare for somebody to go through a grieving process without anger. It's basically an essential step. It's a part of the process that you can't really skip. It's just about when it happens. So I'm not telling you how to live your life or anything. I just do think that you deserve grace for going through the steps in the way that you needed to.
Speaker 2:I really appreciate you saying that, david, but looking back, it was more than that. It was affecting everyone else you, your mom. My depression made them I mean, I know how much you guys care about me and it was affecting them on a daily basis and I didn't want that and also I didn't want cancer to for lack of better terms define me. I'm trying not to let my remaining time be controlled by this disease and I'm not saying it doesn't affect me because it does, but I don't want. I don't want it to affect me in the most negative ways, cause I saw what it was doing firsthand to your mom. Uh, she was. My depression made her depressed. She is one of the strongest people and woman I've ever met and I couldn't be going through this without her. Um, people and woman I've ever met and I couldn't be going through this without her.
Speaker 1:I didn't want my situation to make her depressed. I think it's very insightful of you to have reflected so heavily on how your situation was also affecting the people that you love, but I also don't think it was your intention to hurt anyone with it. I think what you're going through is something I can't even fathom. I can try and empathize to the best of my ability and to some degree I'm going through it because of my feelings towards you and how much I love you, but I'm not saying that just to make you feel better.
Speaker 1:I honestly never really faulted you for being in the headspace that you were in, because accepting something like that a terminal cancer diagnosis out of nowhere and all of the changes that come with that is something that very few people listening to this truly understand the weight of, if any, and I genuinely think that the intention matters too.
Speaker 1:I don't believe that at any point it was your intention to hurt anyone around you. I just think you had really big feelings, emotions surrounding it and unfortunately it was causing some collateral damage and I think once you became fully aware of that collateral damage, you made a decision and since you've made that decision, you've stuck with it and for that being able to have the mindset that you have now in the situation that you're in is something that I'm both incredibly impressed with and very proud of. So I want you to know that I'm proud of you and and I love you and we're going to get through this together, and I brought you on here because I know that you have a lot of value to provide to the people listening to this.
Speaker 2:So I do appreciate you saying that, david. I needed to get out of that mindset because I was grieving inside and since then I'm in a better place. And how I got there? It wasn't easy. I contribute my mindset change to a few factors. One, hannah on her days off she takes the time to come over and listen to that, tuesdays with Maury audiobook with me, spending time with me, david when he's available, coming with Anna and listening to this podcast. And then David's sister, anna one day she had asked me to go to church with her.
Speaker 2:I know along the road I lost my way in faith and your sisters brought that back into my life and it's helped. It may not be for everyone, but it's really helped me to come to peace with everything. I'm not going to sit here and dive into the whole religion thing or whatnot. In this particular church where I go, it works for me. It's been good for me. I've gone every Sunday now for over two months. The support system that I have Laura, my family, my friends keep me grounded. I have a small village behind me and I'm fortunate that way. If it wasn't for the small village, hannah, david and everyone I wouldn't be sitting here on this podcast, talking to you guys. It's really transformed on how I conduct my daily life and how I look at things. I mean I'm not going to be able to change my situation, my health. I can only make the best of what is dealt Nowadays.
Speaker 2:I enjoy the little things waking up in the morning Okay, I got another day Spending time with all my loved ones, my family, my friends. So I just enjoy the little things and try to go as far as I can. I think the worst thing that the doctors did is put a timeline on my life, because now I'm out to prove them wrong and I'm going to do everything I can. It's'm out to prove them wrong and I'm going to do everything I can. It's not just to prove them wrong, it's also for me. I want a little more time with everyone.
Speaker 2:I've been fortunate enough to enjoy life and everything that goes along with it. I do want to simply touch on one thing. I'm not here to preach to anyone, but don't get caught up on the material things in this world the house, the cars, the money, whatnot Can't take it with you. Enjoy the things that truly matter, the people that we engage with. Those are what really matters, because now, god in the house, the car, whatever, doesn't mean anything to me. I just want more time with these people. I'm going to leave it at that. Thank you for everything.
Speaker 1:Wow, wow. There was just a lot of value there. There was so much wisdom and practical experience from the situation that you're in. It sounds like You've come to a place of simultaneous acceptance and at least some level of peace, especially compared to where your mindset was before. And this simultaneous drive like a fight. You know where you're accepting the reality of your situation, making the most of the time that you have, but not just laying down and letting it happen Like there's still a fight in you, because not only do you want to make the most of the time that you have, but you want to make the most time to have it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I've come to accept everything for what it is. I mean, when you're dying, you have to accept the situation for what it is, because if you don't, honestly it's going to eat you alive. I've encountered way too many people right now who have cancer. Your attitude is going to go a long way. If you try to portray positive attitude, it's going to work in your favor. From a physical standpoint, the cancer is always going to be there. There's certain things that we can do to minimize that.
Speaker 2:Unfortunately, my situation is a lot more difficult from the outside. As I said earlier, I'm the healthiest dying person you guys will probably ever hear or encounter. Yeah, I'm. I've accepted everything for what it is and, like I said, some of that acceptance I had to do from a standpoint of I had to look in the mirror and take some responsibility for the situation. Would things be different if maybe I would have gone to the doctor more? Maybe Part of the reason I say that is David couldn't attest. They said that the tumors have probably been in me for about five years, so could things have been different? Possibly, do your daily checkups everyone. Maybe I would be in a different situation.
Speaker 1:Yeah, actually I do want to double click on this because you and I have had some conversations surrounding this and I know earlier you said I don't want to preach. But frankly, john, it's my opinion, at least on this podcast, that you're in a special position to preach. I don't necessarily mean religion. We do tend to keep this podcast a religious and a political. But, um, any lessons or things that you've learned or things that, based on your experience, uh, you want to stress to people, feel free to do it here.
Speaker 2:The one thing I do want to say. I've heard it from other people who are in situations similar and they're dying, or the old man sitting in the hospital and he doesn't have much time left. My advice is take care of your health while you can. I know it's a broad statement, but everyone always says that, even in the movies you hear, oh, you know should have taken better care of myself, and I do wish I would have.
Speaker 2:From the outside, I looked like your healthiest individual that you have ever met, but I didn't realize until last year how bad the situation was, whether that be the smoking, the drinking, the, you know, more exercise, your checkups with your regular doctor. I recommend doing it all, not for me, not for yourself, but for the people around you that care about you, but for the people around you that care about you because they're invested in this as well as you are, if not more, sometimes. So I'm going to end this here to tell everyone do what's best for yourself and your health, because at the end of the day, as I stated earlier, the money will come and go, the house will come and go. You can't take that with you. The only thing that matters to me anymore is the time that I have with everyone, and if you want more time, I suggest taking care of yourself.
Speaker 1:No, it's good advice and it's from a perspective that most people don't think about. I haven't really thought about the aspect of taking care of your health as something that's a kindness to your loved ones. It's actually a really unique perspective and I'm going to have to do more thinking about and reflecting on that. I also want to go a little deeper on this difference in mindset shift. I think you covered it pretty well, but I think there's two different conclusions that people can come to as a dying person and honestly, that's oversimplifying it.
Speaker 1:I'm not being shades of gray enough here, but to some degree there's two common ones that emerge. One of them is I'm going to die, so what's the point? And the other is I'm going to die, so every second is precious. And, logically speaking, depending on your mindset, depending on your thinking, they both make some sense, but one of them seems like a much better option, in my opinion, like a much more fulfilling option, whereas the first one doesn't really help you, it doesn't really accomplish much. It's a very nihilistic way of looking at it. Just because you're dying, it doesn't mean that nothing matters, you know.
Speaker 2:In regards to the first aspect that you said about dying, oh, I'm going to die. Let me tell you that's the way I felt and, to be honest with you, I think that it's. They're masking their true feelings. They're scared, as I think most people are. I would catch myself saying, oh, it doesn't matter, you know we're all going to die. You know, once the doctors and medical professionals put a timeline on your life, it becomes real, becomes real real quick. Believe me, that changes your mindset real quick. Because I was that person and part of that was, I think, I was scared, but I also I wanted to portray this larger-than-life persona about okay, you know, nothing's going to hurt me or whatever, you know nothing's going to stop me. And for the most part, I think I portrayed that persona quite well.
Speaker 1:I would agree.
Speaker 2:But it was wrong. I mean, deep down inside, looking back now, I was scared. I think we all are, whether we want to admit it or not. That's two different things. Now you can ask me anything. I'm not going to lie In the situation I'm in. There's no reason for me to mask any of my true feelings about any situation or any topic. So if you want whatever real answer, come and talk to me. I'll give it to you straight, believe me.
Speaker 1:That's one thing that I really admire about you, even before, but I think especially now admire about you even before, but I think especially now you are willing to give it to people straight, but especially now you're willing to say things even if they're uncomfortable to say, to be vulnerable, to be real with people and I think in a way, that's kind of a superpower that you've gained from this whole experience. I'm not trying to be this blind optimist in what I'm about to say. I wouldn't wish going through what you're going through on anyone, but that doesn't mean that no good can come from it. But that doesn't mean that no good can come from it. And through some of the conversations that we've had, you've alluded to the fact that you actually feel like, with this new mindset, you're an even better version of yourself than you were before.
Speaker 1:I think there's been a little bit of a theme throughout this podcast of talking about how, while pain is real and objective and hard, it's also unescapable. We're all going to have pain in our life at different points in our life, from different things in our life, and we can't just avoid all pain because A it's impossible, just avoid all pain because a it's impossible and b. Working through the pain can cause some of our most significant growth as human beings. Would you be willing to talk about some of the growth that you feel you've had from going through such a painful yet unique experience?
Speaker 2:Absolutely. I didn't know we were going to go here, but it's fine. This is going to be a little difficult for me, so I don't think I was a bad person before my diagnosis.
Speaker 1:I'm going to stop right there for a second and say I wholeheartedly don't think you were a bad person for a second and say I wholeheartedly don't think you were a bad person. I think you were a good person that I love and has been a very helpful person in my life. But you were also human, just like the rest of us, and we all make mistakes, and I think it's important that you give yourself some self-compassion here Because, like I said, what you're going through right now comes with unique insights that some people may never have without going through the experiences that you have.
Speaker 2:Thank you for all that, david. I appreciate it. As I was saying, I don't think I was a bad person. In my growth here, in my mindset change and how I'm dealing with everything, I think I'm a better person now than I was before. As David alluded to, I'm more in touch with my feelings, not just with myself, but with everyone else around me. I tell everyone that I love them Obviously the ones that I do love, not the ones but I'm more in the moment with everything that's going on in my life.
Speaker 2:The thing that I do struggle with right now and I haven't been able to answer this question, I'm still grappling and dealing with it in my own head Is why did it take such a profound situation for me to become who I am now? I don't have the answer to that right now. I'm hoping to find out not for you guys, for myself why it took so long. I've been trying to answer this question for several weeks now. I do a lot of this thinking when I'm on my own, which is best. I need to figure this out on my own.
Speaker 1:I think that's a very powerful question to be asking yourself. I'm just going to restress, don't be too hard on yourself with it but I think it's a very self-aware, powerful question to be asking and to be trying to find the answer to, and I think you're the only person that can truly find that answer. I know something that's been hard for you throughout this journey is how the shift in people's behavior naturally tends to happen when you become a terminal cancer patient. I think there's a lesson here for anybody who is in the life of someone who is going through cancer, or for anyone who is going through cancer. I think having an awareness of this would be a helpful thing.
Speaker 1:You've talked about how people's behavior towards you has changed and to some degree that's inevitable because the situation has changed, but because people don't actually know what you're going through, because people can only assume what it's like or they have a different experience with someone with cancer who maybe was in a lot more pain, or whatever the situation may be, the way that you're treated is different Almost sometimes by some individuals it can be like fragile and frankly, in my eyes you're not fragile, but I think it's easy for somebody to over-index on caretaking, on being careful with you, what that experience is like, knowing that people have the best intentions with this, but I think it would be helpful to bring some awareness to what it's actually like to experience that so that people can approach it from a better place.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Now, mind you, I'm self-sufficient. I can drive, I can do pretty much everything. I have limitations and I know those and I don't exceed those. But in my head, cancer every day slowly takes something away from you your physical strength, your fatigue. At some point I'm sure it's going to take the ability for me to be as self-sufficient as I am, whether that be driving or doing whatever, and I'm aware of that. What's difficult from my perspective and I know everyone has their best intentions your mother. We had a chat. This went on for a few weeks after I got out of the hospital. It wasn't just your mother, it was my mother, everyone, my uncle, my brother.
Speaker 1:I mean hell. I know I've been guilty of it too.
Speaker 2:Everyone treats you differently, then, oh, you shouldn't be lifting that. Can you do? I take walks with Laura around the neighborhood. Can you do another one? Yeah, I'm fine and I understand their concern and it's their intentions are good intentions, but it's hard because I went from being so self-sufficient to being not as self-sufficient.
Speaker 1:I would say that you went from not just being self-sufficient, but I think you were also like the person that many people leaned on. You know you were sufficient enough for yourself and for many others, so I think the swing was even bigger for you.
Speaker 2:I would agree with that, and you're right about that. I didn't. I wasn't going to I don't know, for lack of better terms toot my own horn, or whatever.
Speaker 1:Well, that's okay, I'll toot it.
Speaker 2:But yeah, you're right. I mean, there was other individuals that I don't want to say counted on me, but came to me when they needed it. So I was more than happy to accommodate and try to help out in any way I could. Now, if you guys know David's mom I love her. When I had this conversation she took a little time to digest everything. Two days went by digest everything. Two days went by and she was getting up to go to work and get ready. I was up, she handed me a list. I was like what's this? There was five items on there. She's like you don't want to be treated different. She goes get these done today. I go okay, I'm like that's what I needed to hear.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you were probably happy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely so. That was a shift in change that she's gotten better. There's times that she falls back, but for the most part she tries not to treat me any differently. It's harder for other people. Some people still treat me differently and I point it out to them and they don't acknowledge that and they're like oh, we love you, that's why we're treating you different.
Speaker 1:But I think it's important for anyone listening to do some self-reflection on yes, you care for the individual right and yes, you want to make sure that they're not doing something that's going to injure them. That's all coming from a good place, but we have to find the shades of gray here. We have to find the balance. When you're thinking about that person, think both about their physical health and their mental health. Filter it through the lens of how is saying this going to make them feel? Am I making them feel weak? Am I making them feel powerless?
Speaker 1:There's multiple sides to it. You can ask things or frame things in a way that shows that you care, while also not putting them in a frame or a place of powerlessness or weakness. For instance and maybe this isn't a great example but off the top of my head, saying well, you shouldn't be doing that, you have cancer versus hey, just let me know if you need any help. Okay, assuming that they got it, not saying like you will need help, but also just leaving the door open for, if you know, it is a little over. I think there's always a different way of doing things or framing things.
Speaker 2:I would agree because, especially when you said, it makes me feel powerless and those are some of the emotions that I have experienced or occur I feel powerless and it's like, please stop. It doesn't make me feel good. It may make you feel good in the present time and moment, but it doesn't do anything for me and I'm not trying to be all about me in this particular situation but it doesn't help my state of mind.
Speaker 1:And we can find a balance. I'm also going to be honest with you, John, multiple times throughout this podcast. I think a lot of people don't realize that the timing of this podcast's launch was only several weeks before the diagnosis, only several weeks before the diagnosis. This podcast has been wrapped around the genesis of this diagnosis and, if I'm being honest with you, multiple times when we've had certain conversations, conversations that we've had inspired me to do episodes or topics on this podcast because I thought if they might be helpful to you, they might be helpful to someone else, and because you've been very front of mind I don't think you realize how many episodes you've secretly inspired.
Speaker 2:No, I was not aware of that. I appreciate that, David.
Speaker 1:No, I was not aware of that. I appreciate that, that nothing will ever happen, that we have an endless amount of time, even if we know it's not endless, to treat it like it's endless and to not live life to its fullest because we feel like we have so much time. But I think when that time gets taken away, it really emphasizes how important time is. And it sounds like your more recent mindset which, might I say, does echo Maury from Tuesdays with Maury really gets that across and I want everyone listening to really think about this. Don't just roll your eyes or say, oh yeah, I'll do that and then just let this roll off your back.
Speaker 1:I'm sure if you could have had this realization earlier, while you were healthy realization earlier, while you were healthy, if you could have had the opportunity to have somebody get this lesson across to you in the way that you've come, to get this lesson across for yourself in retrospect, you would want that and in my eyes, that's what you're providing to everyone here. You're all being blessed with the opportunity to take your life into your own hands and live it. As cliche as it sounds like you were dying To actually put the first things first, what matters most to you in your life, in the front, instead of waiting till something terrible happens to have this realization. So I'm going to let you tell people one more time what's really important.
Speaker 2:As I stated earlier and will continue to emphasize, all that matters is the relationships that we build with the people that we care about. It's not the money, it's not the cars, it's not the trucks, all these materialistic things that we spend so much time trying to achieve or acquire. None of it matters anymore, at least not in my eyes. I'll give it all up just to have more time than I'm probably going to have with the people that I love, but everyone has to figure that out for themselves in what's really important to them, whether it be family, friends, whether it's something else I don't know. At least for me, what matters is the people.
Speaker 2:I do want to thank you, david, for having me on. Hopefully my situation can help someone else, whether it be through their illness or their state of mind and where they are with everything. If I can help one person, I'm happy. I'm hoping I can hopefully impact more individuals. That would be my goal and hopefully that will happen. Once again, thank you, david, for having me on and giving me this opportunity to talk with everyone. Thank you.
Speaker 1:And thank you, john, for agreeing to do this podcast with me. This means the world to me and, frankly, I'm doing this one for me, not for you guys. I'm being a little selfish here. This is really important to me, but I do hope that everyone listening gets something out of this podcast. This is a unique situation and I hope it makes a difference. And remember you are enough and you deserve to fill up your inner cup with happiness, confidence and self-compassion. Thank you for listening to the Sage Solutions Podcast. Your time is valuable and I'm so glad you choose to learn and grow here with me. If you haven't already, don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss out on more Sage advice. One last thing the legal language. This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. No coaching client relationship is formed. It is not intended as a substitute for the personalized advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist or other qualified professional. The opinions of guests are their own and may not necessarily reflect the opinions of the podcast.