I Use Tragedies to Fuel Me with Wendy Shew

No matter where you are… no matter how lost you feel… no matter what the odds… you have the power to completely change your life as you know it. Here is a story full of trials and tribulations, along with the lessons that you can apply to your own life to turn tragedy into purpose.

Wendy lost her mother to cancer at a young age. After nearly overdosing in her early 20s, she had a wake-up call to change her life and rewrite her story. She is the founder of Building Education, a for-purpose organization that builds schools to help alleviate poverty. She is also an ultramarathon runner and extreme trekker.

Quotes to remember: 

“The things that happen to us when we’re young take years of healing and recognizing.”

“We’re not losing anything. We’re not leaving anything. It’s just a shift.”

“I definitely use my tragedies to fuel me.”

“Your words are the leading edge of thought.” 

Takeaways:

• Any one of us can live in a victim mentality and truly believe that we are a victim to circumstances
• The people around us play a major role in our addiction and recovery
• The truth is that… things end
• Being thankful for the lessons of life seals the practice of letting go
• As people, we need to be right
• The vast majority of our decisions are made emotionally and subconsciously
• Our mind will constantly make excuses
• Courage and self-confidence arise from all the challenges we have overcome
• What happens in our life is meant to build you into the person you are meant to become
• Be bold in what you want
• Incessant dreams, big unanswered questions, and feeling like you’re missing something are all signs of forthcoming change
•  Our realities are reflections of our inner world
• Giving is ultimately more rewarding than receiving

What you’ll learn:

• About Wendy’s rock-bottom moment of nearly overdosing and realizing that if she had died, her body would be thrown behind a dumpster
• How she overcame her mother’s untimely death through meditation
• Lessons on letting go peacefully
• How endurance running has helped Wendy tame the mind
• The one thing that allowed her to finish an ultramarathon
• Why Wendy quit her job and sold everything to travel solo, after going abroad for the first time at 28
• How being Chinese American and the child of immigrants has affected her experiences growing up in California and traveling in Asia
• The overwhelming and life-altering conversation she had with a monk from Tibet who had been persecuted by the Chinese government
• What Wendy’s mission is in building schools to empower both those in the villages and those who give

Mentioned on the podcast: 

• https://www.bebuildingeducation.org/

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