The Greatest Comeback by Alexa Carlin

“For a long time, I was searching for the light at the end of the tunnel, until I finally realized, the light was within me all along.”

Today, bestselling GracePoint Publishing author Alexa Carlin narrates a chapter from her book Adaptable: How to Lead with Curiosity, Pivot with Purpose, and Thrive through Change.

Welcome to the third season of the GracePoint Publishing podcast!

We begin our new season with the continuation of our First Chapters segment from season two where our authors narrate a portion of their book, for you.

Throughout Adaptable, Alexa encourages and inspires readers to use their own challenges not as a reason to abandon dreams, but as a springboard from which to thrive. Written and narrated in a heartfelt and authentic tone, Adaptable invites readers and listeners to develop a new perspective on their past and current obstacles. The stories, lessons, and action steps that fill each chapter gently guide readers back to their true selves, allowing them to connect deeply to their inner light and shine brightly with their true purpose.

Adaptable is now available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook form!

Find Adaptable on Amazon:

In paperback form:

https://www.amazon.com/Adaptable-Curiosity-Purpose-Thrive-through/dp/1951694392/

On Kindle:

https://www.amazon.com/Adaptable-Curiosity-Purpose-Thrive-through-ebook/dp/B09BBM3LQD/

In audiobook form:

https://www.amazon.com/Adaptable-Curiosity-Purpose-Thrive-Through/dp/B0BB3KMWBR/

Find Adaptable on Audible:

https://tinyurl.com/adaptableaudiobook

Find out more about Alexa and her story at alexacarlin.com

Keep writing. Keep creating. Your words matter.

Find out how to begin your own book publishing journey at gracepointpublishing.com

Produced by Number Three Productions, numberthreeproductions.com

Full Transcript:

Welcome to the GracePoint Publishing Podcast. Today we continue our first chapter segment where our authors narrate a section of their book for you. In this episode, Alexa Carlin and shares a section from her best selling book adaptable, how to lead with curiosity, pivot with purpose and thrive through change. Please see the show notes for information on how to buy Alexis booked and connect further with her work. And now, here’s your narrator, Alexa Carlin.

For a long time, I was searching for the light at the end of the tunnel, until I finally realized the light was within me all along.

We have to induce your daughter into a medical coma. Call your family she has 24 hours to live. This is what the doctors told my mom when I was just 21 years old. I was in college grown one of my first businesses and only months away from graduation. when out of nowhere, deadly bacteria entered my system sending my body into septic shock and changing the course of my entire life. It was this huge life altering experience that led me to years of personal tragedy, loss and ongoing obstacles all at such a young age. And for a long time. I allowed this to define me. For a long time I allowed this circumstance to stop me. But through the years if I’ve learned anything that I can share with you that has changed my life, it’s that your obstacles can do one of two things. They can either push you back, or fuel you forward. And the decision is up to you. The power of your reality is always in your control Simply by understanding the power of your thoughts, the power and how you perceive the world. That’s what I hope this book will teach you how to shift your perception. So regardless of the obstacles and challenges you experience, you have the knowledge, strength and understanding of how to adapt so you can then thrive. Too many people are teaching others from a place of success, meaning they share only what they overcame in the past. I’m here sharing vulnerably from inside the hardship, I did not fully overcome my past tragedies because from them, I now live with an ongoing chronic autoimmune disease, which is something I’m never going to be able to overcome. It’s always easier when looking back. But what if you can live the life you’ve always imagined, even while going through the challenges. That’s the power of learning how to adapt. There’s power in leading your life with a curious soul, pivoting based on your purpose and thriving through any change. You don’t have to wait to overcome anything to be who you are meant to be. You can do that right here. And right now. Throughout this book, each lesson is first shared with you through a personal story. I don’t want you to only see the highlight reel and the post lesson me I want you to see the real me the one who struggles with self doubt, fear and insecurity. I designed each chapter intentionally with a heartfelt share a personal story. The lesson learned one powerful quote I want to drive home and an action step that will help you take that lesson and implement it into your life for immediate results. This book is meant to be consumed in two ways. First, read it from front to back. Second, use it as a tool to help you find hope what it may be lost to help you through times of self doubt when pursuing your dreams or for a beacon of light during some difficult times. Keep it near and anytime you feel you need a reminder randomly flip open to a new chapter while asking for the answer you’re looking for. And read whatever chapter opens up. Everyone goes through life with different experiences. The key is to continuously adapt through all the changes so you can always rise above the obstacles. Obstacles by definition, can block one’s way or hinder progress. Many people experience challenges that differ from the stories shared within this book. May we all educate ourselves on the various ways people live and continue to use our voices to help evolve the world for the better. This book is meant as a journey of self awareness and a tool to analyze your own internal dialogues. And when you feel something resonates with you implement the changes recommend it. I believe in the power of you the power of one, that one person, one decision, one book can possibly change your life for the better forever. But you must be curious enough to discover that one. This book may be it. One quote in the book may be it you sharing a highlight from an excerpt in this book on your social media may be that one thing to someone else continued to spread your light. It’s creating ripple effects of positive change in the world. Share what resonates with you in this book with others, share it with me, I’d love to hear your thoughts. My intention is that everything I’ve learned, all the hardships I’ve experienced, and the vulnerable moments I’ve shared with you, in this book are of some service to you. I hope it helps you find the light within you. I hope you can see just how strong and resilient you are. I hope it helps you share your authentic self with the world. And above all, I hope you never give up. Never give up on yourself or your dreams. There is power behind your thoughts. And we must empower one another to keep going against all odds. No more excuses. No more waiting, no more wishing, wandering or living in the past. Regardless of how many times you get knocked down, keep standing up. Regardless of the odds against you keep believing in yourself. They gave me a 1% chance to live. And here I am. The odds have not always been in my favor. But they didn’t need to be because all you need is one. You are the 1% the 1% that could change the world.

PS Connect with me while listening to this book, I would love to be on the journey with you. I’m at Alexa rose Carlin across social media and PPS. This is just the beginning.

Chapter One, the greatest comeback. Your life isn’t defined by how many times you succeed, but rather how many times you fall and decide to get back up. Life people events may knock you down. But they can only keep you down if you decide to let them nothing can defeat you without your permission. This self evident truth should be something you hold on to in order to push forward and chase after what you want in this life. Yet the fear and uncertainty of the knockdowns holds so many people back, you have the power to always rise again. And to be straightforward with yourself. No amount of playing it safe will keep you from the hardships of life. You can’t escape it, you can’t hide from it. So you may as well do what you want while you are here. Take risks, dream big and then dream bigger. Try something new, speak up, stand tall, go on an adventure, get lost get found be goofy color outside the lines just do you. Because at the end of the day, no matter what you do or what you experience, you have a choice, stay knocked down or get back up. The decision is up to you. You do have the strength, you do have the power, you do have the potential to bounce back. There is no way around the fact that life will knock you down. But you don’t have to let it keep you down. It is your job to train yourself and your mind to have the strength to always rise again. I could have easily stayed down. I was knocked down one tragedy after the next for seven straight years. My victim mindset the triggers of post traumatic stress and the fear are consistent companions that I must negotiate with each day. They are very much a part of who I am. But they do not define what I can or cannot do. I would love to say I had one huge knock down and since then have been able to come back stronger than ever. Yet. This is farthest from the truth because I haven’t had just one knock down. I’ve been knocked down over and over and over again. And I’m still going through the knock downs. I don’t have all the answers figured out or have this perfect life. But regardless, I’m still chasing after my dreams. I’m deciding every single day to stay on backup because that is what you must do in order to live The life you deserve. And I hope this book will help you make the same decision on your own journey. For seven straight years I experience one hit after another, from my sister almost taking her own life. To my near death experience being given a 1% chance to live, too my dad losing his business, to a close relative relapsing on drugs. To my parents splitting up briefly to my family dogs sudden death, then the external family disowning my own family followed by getting diagnosed with an autoimmune disease then struggling with this debilitating illness, to countless hospital stays, and multiple moves across the country, to lots and lots of loss, heartbreak and obstacles. I lived in fear every day for those seven years. Every time my mom called us to say hello, my heart began to raise as the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder would trigger. And I’d be nervous to hear what she had to say on the phone. Nervous that again, something bad was happening. And my mom called me probably 10 to 20 times a day. It took me a very long time, and a lot of strength to try and come out of this constant fear. And I’ll be honest, I’m still working on it. I’m not completely free from living in the past, because it’s so ingrained inside of me. When I was 21 years old, I had a near death experience that changed my entire life when a deadly bacteria got into my bloodstream and left me in a coma fighting for my life in the intensive care unit. With only a 1% chance of survival. I thought that this was the one big knock down I’d have to overcome. Yet six months after that I was diagnosed with a debilitating chronic illness, ulcerative colitis. Now, this was the hardest thing I’d ever have to try and come back from. Each time I thought I was on the path to remission, I get knocked down again. One year after my near death experience and a few months after being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, I moved back home to South Florida to gain the support of my family. I left all my dreams in New York City behind thinking that would be a fresh start it a few weeks after the move, my grandma passed away and I found myself again in the hospital diagnosed with yet another illness. This is just one of many moments where I was trying to stay on backup. But before I even could get on my two feet, I was knocked down again by another obstacle. hit after hit, it became harder to trust the journey, it became harder to try and find hope. When everything in your life is going okay and you’re knocked down, you have more strength to get back up quicker. But what happens when you are already way down, and you get hit again, it gets harder to find the strength to stand up to find the hope to not give up and the willingness to want to even try again. But when you understand how to rise again and again, no matter how low you are from all the knock downs. That is when you become unstoppable. You can have the greatest comeback in history when you learn how to commit to the decision that no matter what you will stand back up. One way I do this every day is by reminding myself that my fearful thoughts are not who I am. They are a product of my past and I am the conscious being just experiencing them. Just because these hardships happened in my past, they do not predict my future. And if I’m still standing after all I’ve been through that must mean I can continue to come back from anything. Another way to be able to have the greatest comeback is to work to stand up. Wow, experiencing the knock down. You don’t have to wait until it’s over. Understand that it’s okay. If you don’t have it all figured out just yet. It is okay if you’re going through the obstacles or tragedies right now, as you’re listening to this. Just because you are dealing with hard stuff that’s causing you pain does not mean you can’t also bring in the good things like chasing after your dreams. Through the seven years of tragedy. I was growing my businesses. I never stopped. My dreams were the light inside all that darkness. If anyone or anything knocks me down today, it may hurt and it may push me back some but I can promise you one thing. It will never be able to keep me down. I’ll continue to stand and continue to rise until the day I decide to give up which will likely never, ever come in order to To be able to live the life you love, live the life you’ve dreamt for yourself. All you have to do is keep on getting back up. Nothing, and no one can defeat you. without your permission. Everybody gets knocked down. The question becomes, how quickly are you going to get up?

Actions that create your comeback story using the template I’m going to share with you. The C and comeback stands for courage. Write down one fear that you must gain the courage to move through despite the fear. For example, I’m afraid I’m going to get sick again. I’m afraid people will judge me. The O stands for opportunity. Discover one opportunity that is available for you today. Because of where you are. For example, I have the opportunity to be able to be near my family, I have the opportunity to start my own business. The M stands for message, write down the one message you want to share with the world example, you can always rise from any challenge, regardless of the circumstances. The E stands for example, what’s a personal example of how you learn that lesson or message. An example of this illness or death of failure or getting fired any specific time in your life, where you learn the message you just wrote down. The B stands for backstory. vulnerably share the backstory of where you were then, and how you push through to get to where you are today. For example, this is where you share more details on what led to you getting knocked down to the point where you discover the lesson and the message. The A stands for action steps. What are the exact action steps you took during that time? Example I journaled, meditated registered my business move to a new city? What did you do to get through the tough times that others can also do? The C stands for create? What have you created or want to create because of this journey. For example, I now live in my dream home, I found my significant other, I started my dream business I traveled the country, write out what you created in your life as a direct result of going through the tough times. And if you haven’t done it yet, this is where you can share what you want to create. And the K stands for knock down repeat. Write down one quote or mantra that will help you repeat this comeback story. Anytime you get knocked down. For example, I trust the journey. I am strong and resilient. Here’s an example of my comeback story using the outline I just provided. I’m still afraid every day I’ll get sick. something bad will happen in my family or my dreams won’t work out as I intend. But I feel regret more than I fear failure. And because of this, I decide to push through. There are so many opportunities that lie ahead for me to share my story and grow my business that I must not give up. I want to show people that regardless of the circumstances they encounter, they have the strength to continue to rise above and achieve their dreams. I know this because I experienced it firsthand. From my near death experience to my autoimmune disease. I’ve been knocked down too many times to count. And for a long time, I didn’t think I’d ever be able to do the things I always dreamt. One day I decided to stop playing the victim and start taking action. When no one would give me an opportunity to speak and share my story. I created my own stage with my own events. I shared my journey vulnerably every day on social media, and I began to take one action step a day to grow my business. I now get to do what I love full time. I’m at the person on my dreams and I’m finally at a point where I’m healthy and happy. It wasn’t easy and still isn’t. But through this journey I know I will always be able to stand tall after getting knocked down. Every day I remind myself how strong I am and allow myself to surrender to the journey knowing that everything is going to be okay. As long as I never give up up.

Once you have your template of your comeback story written, you can then elaborate on it. It’s important to take the time to write your story out. So you have it to come back to when the tough times do come your way. You need to always remind yourself just how strong and resilient you are. Know that everyone, and I mean, everyone has a comeback story. And I’m challenging you to discover yours, and then share it with others. You never know how your story will change someone’s life. Everyone loves a good underdog story.

Thank you for joining us on this episode of The Gracepoint publishing authors podcast. We can’t wait to talk more next time as we introduce you to another one of our amazing authors. Make sure you hit subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform, so you never miss a single episode of The Gracepoint publishing authors podcast. To find out more about our authors and to see how we can help you publish your book. Head to Gracepoint publishing.com Keep writing. Keep creating your word matter.