 Welcome to Seymour's World on Think Tech Hawaii. We're going to have an amazing show today. I've got a wonderful guest. She just flew in last night from Austin, Texas. Her name is Paige Davis, and I just flew in from Seattle last night. So I want to introduce you to a young woman who has something in common with me. We both have cancer. The difference is that this woman has written a book about how she worked through her cancer with mindfulness. And I wish I could have done what she has done because she's absolutely amazing. So I'd like to introduce you Paige. Welcome. Thank you so much for having me. It is such a pleasure to have you here. I share something with you, and I told you before that we even spoke, I'm going to need some tissue or Kleenex because I think you're going to tell us a story. So tell us a little bit first about you. Tell us where you come from and what you do. Yeah. So I was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and went to college in Indiana University, started my career in the Bay Area. This was at the height of the dot-com, the first one, and worked for several different startups. And then after several years just was ready for a change and made the logical step to move to Texas to open a Pilates studio, of course. A Pilates studio. Okay. I always had an interest in health and wellness and spirituality, so I kind of toggled in my career back and forth with that. And then after the Pilates studio, I realized I was more of an entrepreneur than a teacher or more of an entrepreneur than a Pilates teacher. I just got burnout on it and started a company called Blue Avocado with my sister. Blue Avocado. Yeah, with my sister and a good friend, and we create products that help people live a more reusable lifestyle, so reusable shopping bags and our re-zips are designed to replace plastic baggies. So, yeah, we're in the container store, Target, Office Max, Office Depot. Now aren't you the niece of Mark Davis? I am, yes. And Mark Davis was a guest on our show, one of my very good friends, unfortunately he's one of my terrible tennis partners at the same time, but yeah, so you're here visiting him. Exactly. And you've been so kind to agree to come on the show the night after you've gone here. Thank you for inviting me and this is really such a pleasure. So we both share something, and we actually share two things. One, we both have cancer. And two, we were both diagnosed on holidays. You were diagnosed on Valentine's Day and I was diagnosed on my birthday. So that's amazing how that's something that we have done together. But we both had different ways of treating our cancer. So I'll do mine first and then we'll talk about yours. So I decided not to go with the standard treatment of chemotherapy and radiation and all that kind of stuff. And to be very honest with you, I just didn't want to put that in my body and I didn't want it to interfere with my lifestyle. Knowing that people who've had chemo and radiation, their life changed quite a bit for a period of months, maybe for the rest of their lives. And for me, I'm just too busy a person to want to change anything. So I looked at alternative treatments and I'm on a trial drug and so far so good. You look great. You look great. Thank you very much. I wish that were absolutely true, but I appreciate the compliment. You on the other hand, took a totally different track. Yeah. Tell us about it. So I tell people I was the healthiest person I knew till I got cancer. So a couple of things kind of influenced the way I approached it. I had two aunts who I was very close with and witnessed their cancer journeys as well as my grandfather. And I just knew that for me it was really important to share my journey. So a couple days after my diagnosis, I sent an email to my family saying I really wanted to treat this as a love journey versus a battle to be fought. A love journey? Yeah. So I think partly because I was diagnosed on Valentine's Day, but also just I wanted to stay away from terms like fight battle or poison and not because I was naive to it, but I think witnessing the reality and frankly the brutality of what cancer can do, I needed to meet that through a more compassionate lens. So mindfulness and meditation and visualization and other alternative therapies really were so important, but I did, it was a true complementary approach. So you did the chemo and panoradiation. Bilateral mastectomy, no radiation, six months of chemo, several reconstruction surgeries and a drug that I have to take for a total of 10 years. But yeah, so it was an approach that I think it doesn't resonate for everyone, but even when it came to chemo, again, that was my biggest fear and the idea of putting poison in my body didn't feel especially productive, but I think because of my age I was diagnosed at age 38, the doctors were really encouraging me and so it was important to approach it from a different way. So I had a wonderful teacher who was also a therapist and a Zen Buddhist priest who helped me to create a custom visualization where I was able to see the chemo. Really it's just a loving, friendly energy part of my healing team coming in, doing what it needed to do and then leaving my body, visualizing myself recovering, being well, getting stronger. And it was a game changer and as we said, we're discussing earlier, it's not for everyone, but as we know there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to a cancer journey. So you know it's just important to be honest with what resonates for us and that worked for me. And it was, let me be clear, the hardest thing I've been through, but also a very meaningful and transformational time and chemo was, I remember a friend telling me this, but it was ironically very nurturing just because you have that quiet time and everyone's kind of taking care of you and but it was definitely very difficult. I have to tell you two things, number one, why do you look younger after chemo and everything that you've gone through? That's the mindfulness of meditation. That's the mindfulness, okay. So then everybody's going to jump on your book, you realize that, we're going to talk about that. But you're right, if that helped you go through the journey very well. I appreciate something you said, the time, the sanctuary that you have during the timeframe when you're getting chemo. We have a program called Make Him Smile, which is a music program where we bring musicians into the hospitals. And one of the places we go to is the Capulani Cancer Center here. And this is where all the women, only women, get their chemo. And they sit there in their chairs and we have ukulele players and guitar players and harmonica players and violin coming to play for them for a couple hours. And they love it. They love the idea that they've got something to help them take their mind off the chemo. What you have done, though, is you're taking the mind off chemo with mindfulness. Yeah. Tell us, how did you do that? So I've always dabbled in meditation and mindfulness really throughout my whole life. And I would describe myself as a crisis meditator, so never having a consistent practice. And about nine months before my diagnosis, I was just your stereotypical stressed-out entrepreneur on the verge of burnout, really desperate for some peace in my life and did what a lot of us, I think, do in those moments. I started Googling meditation, mindfulness, retreats, and landed on a meditation training with Deepak Chopra and the Chopra Center. And it was a game changer and really learned a lot of things that helped me to cultivate a practice that fit my lifestyle and helped to dispel a lot of the myths I had. Did you change your diet? I'm curious. I didn't really. I mean, I cut out soy. My doctor recommended that. What about sugars? I was always, I was in a real sugar person. So for me, it was more important to eat the nourishing or the foods that tasted well, because I did lose quite a bit of weight. But again, with chemo, there was a cadence to it. So you can kind of predict when the bad days are coming. So on those days, I would have the mashed potatoes, the pot, whatever I could. And on the days I was starting to get stronger, I would do the green juices, the salads, and really the things that I know my body was craving. You mentioned Deepak Chopra. Yes. It's interesting, because I have a very good friend who actually works for a company that Deepak promotes, which is Ruby out of Vancouver, Canada. Oh, cool. And it's amazing how he has also changed his life using all of the different tools that you're talking about here. Yeah. And of course, he's changed it, going into a plant-based diet as well. Yeah, yeah. The number one thing that I really learned through that training was that, well, number one, it's okay to have thoughts and meditations. That meditation is really about shifting our relationship to the thoughts. But also that when we're meditating, it's like exercise for the brain, and it's helping to soothe our nervous system. So, you know, I was experiencing some pretty immediate benefits after that training, sleeping better. While you were doing meditation. Yeah, sleeping better. Well, no, this was before my diagnosis, but it was literally the moment of my diagnosis after that initial breakdown that I just, I was about to get the biopsy and literally just did the only thing I need to do in that moment when so much was out of my control and just focusing on my breath. And I was just overcome with a sense of peacefulness throughout my entire being. And I was aware that I was having a potentially devastating moment in my life, but there was no denying the peacefulness that I was experiencing. And I was like, oh, this is why people meditate. And it became really a tool throughout my journey that just allowed me, it provided a home base when so much was unknown and unpredictable. Wow. Yeah. Well, I think the most important piece of this, the lesson that we learned from looking at you and your smile is that you found a way to not just look at cancers, oh my God, what's happening to me and my body, but you looked at it as a journey, as a way to improve yourself as well. Even through cancer, I didn't do that. And I don't think 99% of the people do. And I think that's why I was so fascinated by your book. It made me understand that whenever you look at a negative issue in your life, you can turn that into a positive issue. You can take anything that happens to you. And if you look at it in today's world, rather than look at the future of what the negative part of what it can do, you can actually turn it into a positive wonderful thing. So tell us about the book. Can you pull it up for people? Yeah, so this really started as a series of blog posts that I kept throughout my journey. So it really just is a healing outlet for me. And so the first draft of the book was my blog post, and then my personal reflections, and I shared it with some editor and publisher friends, and they said we love it, but really encouraging me to turn it more into a narrative. So it read like a story. Yeah. So yeah, I mean, I like it. How long did it take you to write? So I resisted it for a while because I think I had this fear about being pigeonholed into the cancer narrative for the rest of my life. So, but obviously I got over it because I realized this has never been just about cancer. It's been about growth and transformation and really resiliency at the end of the day. So it really, once I focused instead of I'm going to do it, really just took a month. I mean, it just kind of came pouring out of me. And I mean, I feel kind of selfish that I wrote it because it's for me, but and I'm just thrilled that people are resonating with it and that, you know, people are open to different perspectives that I did change, you know, offer. But yeah, it's very much my story. I'm not necessarily telling people what to do, but it's certainly there's tangible things that you can take away throughout the book. So people are talking in my ear right now. I'm hearing people say, where, where can they get it? Yes, you can get it on Amazon and any local bookstores should have it online as well. Or is it strictly a hardcover book? No, it's online. So you can order it through Kindle and all that stuff. Yeah, it's a digital book, too. And then also my website, which is hellopagedavis.com. Maybe Robert couldn't get that up for us. Hello. Hellopagedavis.com, P-A-I-G-E-D-A-V-I-S. Dot com. All right, good. So we have a little short break that we have to take. And then we're going to continue and talk about the actual details of what you went through and what you think can help people go forward. OK, sounds good. I'm Seymour Kazimerski with a wonderful guest, Pagedavis, on Seymour's World of Think Tech Hawaii. We'll be back in a minute. Hi, I'm Dave Stevens, the host of Cyber Underground every Friday here at 1 PM on ThinkTechHawaii.com. And then every episode is uploaded to the Cyber Underground. That library of shows that you can see of mine on YouTube.com. And I hope you'll join us here every Friday. We have some topical discussions about why security matters and what could scare the absolute bejesus out of you. If you just try to watch my show all the way through. Hope to see you next time on Cyber Underground. Stay safe. Hey, Aloha, Stan Energyman here on ThinkTech Hawaii where community matters. This is the place to come to think about all things energy. We talk about energy for the grid, energy for vehicles, energy and transportation, energy and maritime, energy and aviation. We have all kinds of things on our show. But we always focus on hydrogen here in Hawaii, because it's my favorite thing. It's what I like to do. But we talk about things that make a difference here in Hawaii, things that should be a big changer for Hawaii. And we hope that you'll join us every Friday at noon on Stan Energyman. And take a look with us at new technologies and new thoughts on how we can get clean and green in Hawaii. Aloha. Hi, welcome back to Seymour's World on ThinkTech Hawaii. My guest today, I hope you've been watching the last, has been Paige Davis. Paige is from Austin, Texas, just flew in last night. And she's with us to discuss her book called Here We Grow. But more important is to discuss her journey with cancer and how she's working with it and what she's doing to help other people understand it. So Paige, as we get into this half, we only have a few more minutes left to talk unfortunately. I really wanna talk through the writing of the book and what went through you as you were writing the book. But people need to know where to get it again because I keep getting these calls in my ear. So Robert, if you could put that up again, if you could put up where to buy this book, that would be terrific. Obviously, you said Amazon? Amazon, yep. And then my website, hellopagedavis.com. And there it is, right? So it's www.hello, good, perfect. So, and we will get that up a couple of times more so people can get it. Okay, perfect, thank you. So tell me about the actual writing of the book. You said it poured out. How did it pour out? Was it emotional to write the book? It was emotional. And you know, I think part of my own resistance is do I wanna relive it? I know that was a concern for my family. Like, you know, when you make it through something, you kinda wanna put it to bed. But it just kept, it wasn't going away. So, yeah, once I committed to it, I just, yeah, it was a very emotional process. And for me, it was just like everything I do, it's very important to be mindful and spiritual. So, you know, I was amazed by the level of detail. So I had a whole ritual, I mean, I meditate every morning regardless, but had an additional ritual and really just getting focused before my writing. And, well, my morning practice, I'm a big believer there's no one-size-fits-all when it comes to practicing meditation. So just the way we learn in different ways will meditate in different ways. So some people are more visual, some people are more auditory. So for me, it's a combination of breath awareness and body awareness. I do, I was trained in a mantra technique, which is, again, just another tool, which is a gentle repetition. So for me, I do 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes in the afternoon just in silence. And you still do it? Yeah, yeah. It's one of those non-negotiables in my life. And then for the actual writing process, I would just kind of do a visualization of just feeling the words come in with ease and flow and yeah, and just kind of. I do it, I actually meditate three days a week. But like you, there's not one for everybody and everybody asks me about it, but I do it in the hot tub. And I do it in the morning at six o'clock in the morning, usually before it's light, obviously. And I find that the sound of the jets in the motor and looking at the sunrise coming up makes me just totally unfocused on the things that are bothering me for the day and what's going on with my family and the kids and my business and all that kind of stuff. And I find it wonderful. I come out of the hot tub after about 20 minutes, about the same amount of time, and I feel really ready to tackle what's coming up in my life. And it is, it's that consistency that's key. So for me, it was the way I kind of got into a daily practice is the days I didn't do it, I would feel off. And so that's kind of what encouraged me. But it's interesting, it's not like, people are like, well, how do I know if I'm getting the benefits? And you don't meditate to get good at meditation, you meditate to get good at life. So you'll start to notice, you're more responsive versus reactive, feeling more connected and personally to yourself and to others. For me, I noticed a real boost in my creativity and intuition. So it's measuring it on a different level. But again, I just like to think of meditation as daily exercise for the brain. And it doesn't matter the outcome, there's no such thing as a bad meditation. So yeah, that's... For me, meditation, when I get in and when I come out, I feel very different. So when I go into the hot tub and it's a ritual, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, why? Because I'm playing tennis or golf those other days. So for me, if I don't do it, when I'm out of town, for instance, or when we have guests, because when I go in, it's too early to bother our guests in the house, I miss it. I really do miss it. I find that I love that period of time just that 20 minutes is really important. And I love when I have new clients. I teach in the corporate workplace, but also with individuals. I do some individual coaching. On mindfulness? Yeah, mindfulness and meditation. And it's really just tapping into that kind of stillness and presence that we all have inside. It's just, we get to kind of strip away all the kind of outside pressures of our lives and just kind of, it's that connection to, I mean, I'll call it the soul, but however you wish to define that. Well, let me make something very clear. You're not married. No. Am I right? Correct. And obviously you are very busy with your business and with your mindfulness career, et cetera. Who helps you? I mean, this was another kind of blessing from my cancer journey is I just have an amazing support network of friends and family and colleagues. And so I feel actually very fulfilled in my life but I have a lot of support around me and that was a big part of it, learning to receive that. I was one of these people before my diagnosis that thought I could do anything on my own and literally my diagnosis just flipped that 180 and now I'm like very collaborative and I'm very open to receiving help and support. What do you do in your spare time? I mean, obviously anything kind of spiritual and mindfulness, I love doing retreats. I go to a retreat on Molokai. Right, so you're gonna do that while you're here? I'm not this year, but I have the past three years. But yeah, just spending time with friends and family. I've started baking recently, so baking bread actually, but yeah, I mean, I think. So you're not gluten-free or anything? I'm having somebody on the show actually who's a gluten-free baker who believes that that's the answer to the healthy lifestyle. Yeah, I mean I'll always choose that when the option's there, because I think it's probably better for you. But yeah, so and obviously writing is just kind of my, just passion and so always doing that. Even though you're a very passionate person, I can tell, and you're very dedicated and driven and motivated, there must have been key people in your life that helped you get through the journey either before or during or even now after. Who? I mean, really my family was amazing, both my immediate family, so my parents would come in for every treatment and they met me for every surgery. My sisters were there literally every step of the way. And my extended family, I think again, we all knew what it felt for me going into this. I knew what it felt like being on the other side of watching a loved one go through cancer, so it was really important for me to share that. Now, they may not have wanted all the gritty details, but yeah, so it was really amazing and all my cousins actually arranged to have flowers delivered weekly throughout my chemo journey. So yeah, the love is, I just feel so fortunate to, and that's what people are commenting on the book, is like, wow, your family, so I feel very fortunate. You know, adversity is a part of everybody's life. I don't care who you may be. And this was a situation obviously when you had your cancer. What do you recommend to women how to face adversity in something like this? You know, it's interesting. This is again, like one of those talking about resilience is never something I've connected with, but as I've started doing more speaking around the book, I realized that's really the theme. And what I'm learning about resilience is it's not something that you have or don't have. It's a set of thoughts, actions and behaviors that can be learned. So for me, it's really, it goes back to like that self care. And I'm a big believer that self care is not indulgent. It's actually a fierce practice of nourishing our body, minds and spirits. So whatever that is for you, if it's meditation, if it's going to the beach, if it's just whatever it is to take time to kind of nourish yourself so you can be there for others in a more meaningful way. Wow, that is absolutely amazing because it's so true. I find, and I'm a business consultant by trade, and we end up talking to people who are in conflict and I do mediation and arbitration and all that stuff. And that's one of the things that I tell everybody. Without knowing mindfulness in detail, and it's just something that those of us who deal with people in crisis a lot, we're able to help them get through it by exactly those words, by being able to realize that what you have is not the end of the world and that you can actually take something positive about it, which is even more important. Tell me a little bit about what you enjoy doing in your spare time. I mean, obviously, we all have spare time and you can't always be mindful. Are there things that you do that you say I wish I could do more of or I wish that I could actually be more involved in? Yeah, I mean, definitely travel is something I love to do and this is why I've been coming to Hawaii since I was a kid, so I'd love to be spending more time here. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Are we talking about opening an office here? Oh, well, gosh, that would be wonderful. You know what you're doing professionally, we haven't even talked about that, we only have a few more minutes. Professionally, you do that, right? You actually work on a corporate basis. Tell us about that a little bit. Yeah, so I go into companies and teach them and they're, primarily, I'll work with their teams to introduce mindfulness training. So, really... In Austin, Texas. Yeah, well, I've done it all across the country, so I have kind of clients all over, but really as a way to help with stress management, to help with communication, focus, productivity, because, you know, we're living in stressful times and the workplace is a stressful environment, so really giving people tangible tools that they can incorporate into their everyday, so, you know, the line between work and that work-life balance isn't so stark, but you can start, yeah. Right, if you can separate that a little bit, that would help a lot of people be much more productive in their business, which would allow employers to say, we can afford to pay for somebody like you to come. Exactly. And, of course, because you have Mark Davis here, he would finance the whole thing for you. Exactly, perfect. I mean, Mark, are you watching this? We need you, Mark. We need you desperately, because I want Paige to be here anyway. I think it would be terrific. Paige, unfortunately, our show has come to an end. Thank you so much. And I have to say goodbye to you, but I just appreciate so much that you're so open and you're telling us about everything that happened to you in your life over these past few years. It's, you know, I've had cancer patients on here before because I like to share what I have with people to show them that it's not the end of the world. You know, I find I'm a better person today than I was two years ago when I was diagnosed with cancer. And I think from what people will see and what you have done with your life is just remarkable. So let's repeat one more time. The book, if we could put it up again, it's Here We Grow. And it's available at amazon.com and at hellopagedavis.com. You got it. Paige, thank you so much. Thank you so much. And to all of you out there, I hope you enjoy the show. I look forward to your comments and I'll see you in a week. Aloha.