E313: Roll the Dice and Pick One -- Charlene Madden Interview

Charlene Madden has lived through things none of us should have to. As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of her grandfather, and then an abusive marriage that lasted a decade, she had a plan to end her own life when she, by magical chance, attended a workshop. Three speakers, one after the other, each of them telling a different part of her story. Charlene realized that if others could find their way to loving themselves, why not her. That moment was a catalyst that started her on the path she is on today – as a motivational speaker and coach, she aims to help every person realize that they can survive their worst days with the right tools and community support.  KEY TAKEAWAYS There are many resources, in person or online, that if you need help, you can find a lot of options of community support. Reach out and get help from someone who, who you feel you can connect with and who you feel understands. Once you can love yourself enough, you'll set boundaries, and the boundaries are not just for other people, you're going to set boundaries for yourself as well on what you're willing to allow yourself to do in your life. Protect your peace at all costs.  Figure out how to fill your own well and you’ll have a source of energy that is constantly replenishing itself.  BEST MOMENTS   “I think the first story I remember writing, I must have been really young, probably grade two or three –  it was a story about a baby and a mama horse, and the baby horse lost her mom. The story was called, “Do You Know Where My Mom Is?” Right. And, looking back on it now, I'm thinking, ‘wow, this was a child who was really projecting the pain that she'd already experienced as a child into a story.’” “Mental health is like diabetes, right? It's something that you're going to live with for the rest of your life; it's not something that you know, you just all of a sudden, one day go, ‘Hey, I'm better.’ You know, because I am better. I don't suffer as badly as I used to. That's why doing the work, and learning to listen to my body –  to slow down and take care of myself, which I didn't for so many years [is so important]. It's definitely not something that ever leaves you, you just learn how to deal with it in healthier ways. Generally, my life is 100% different than it was just six years ago. And, and that's why I'm so passionate about sharing what helped me get there with other people.” “Maybe I'm supposed to be here for a reason. Maybe I'm supposed to hear these messages, because maybe my purpose is to take all the crap that I have experienced, all the pain, all the trauma, and share it because other people have experienced it. And they need to know that there's hope.” “For me, the phoenix is so symbolic of the experiences that happen for people who have experienced trauma because I think you have to sometimes burn down to the ash.”  ABOUT THE GUEST   Charlene is a mother of three amazing children, a wife, daughter, Reiki practitioner, women's empowerment coach and proud Toronto Maple Leafs fan. After almost 30 years in the food and beverage industry, Charlene made a shift and now works in a mining office, which allows her more time to follow her passion of creating platforms of healing for people who want to transform their trauma and free themselves.     CONTACT METHOD    Charlene on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CharleneAnneMadden/ On Instagram https://www.instagram.com/charlene_anne_madden/ Charlene’s website https://www.charlenemadden-speaker.com/ ABOUT THE HOST  The ‘Mighty Pete Lonton’ from the ‘Mighty 247’ company is your main host of ‘Fire in The Belly’.  Pete is an entrepreneur, mentor, coach, property Investor, and father of three beautiful girls. Pete’s background is in project management and property, but his true passion is the ‘Fire in The Belly’ project itself. His mission is to help others find their potential and become the mightiest version of themselves. Pete openly talks about losing both of his parents, suffering periods of depression, business downturn and burn-out, and ultimately his years spent not stoking ‘Fire in the Belly’. In 2017, at 37 years of age that changed, and he is now on a journey of learning, growing, accepting, and inspiring others. Pete can connect with people and intuitively asks questions to reveal a person’s passion and discover how to live their mightiest life. The true power of ‘Fire in The Belly’ is the Q&A’s - Questions and Actions section.  The ‘Fire in The Belly’ brand and the programme is rapidly expanding into podcasts, seminars, talks, business workshops, development courses, and rapid results mentoring. CONTACT METHOD https://www.facebook.com/mightypetelonton/ https://uk.linkedin.com/in/mightypete https://www.facebook.com/groups/430218374211579/  Support the show: https://www.facebook.com/groups/430218374211579/