Ep. 22: The Pivot After Cancer, Surgeries & Burnout with Dana Wildeboer

What happens when one of the strongest women in the world gets brought to her knees, literally, and has to rebuild her entire identity from the ground up? In today’s episode, Dana Wildeboer takes us inside the gritty, awe-inspiring, messy-beautiful truth of strength, surrender, and reinvention.This episode is a masterclass in resilience, identity, and the wild plot twists life throws at even the most powerful among us. Laura sits down with Dana Wildeboer—one of the first five women in history to squat over 700 pounds—and unpacks the unbelievable, deeply human story behind her rise, her collapse, and her rebirth.Dana takes us back to the moment she hit her lifetime goal: a 705-pound squat and a place among the strongest women on the planet. But just months later, a cascade of abdominal surgeries, an ectopic pregnancy, and a stage-two kidney cancer diagnosis flipped her world upside down. She went from elite strength to being physically carried to the bathroom by her fiancé.What followed was a two-year stretch of uncertainty, pain, radical self-reflection, and a complete identity overhaul. Dana shares how she rebuilt her life with curiosity, movement-as-medicine, and a mindset that refuses to choose between ambition and self-preservation. Today, she blends 20+ years of corporate marketing experience with strength coaching to help high-achieving leaders release anxiety and microdose healthy habits.Her story is raw, hilarious, heartbreaking, and wildly empowering—especially for anyone navigating a pivot, feeling misaligned, or standing in the messy middle of the unknown.What You’ll Hear ✔️The truth behind hitting a massive life goal—and the hollow “now what?” that followed ✔️How an ectopic pregnancy and a surprise cancer diagnosis forced Dana into an identity reckoning ✔️What it’s like to go from squatting 700 pounds to needing help getting out of bed ✔️The surprising reason taking a full-time job saved her life ✔️How movement became her anchor, medicine, and pathway back to herself ✔️The connection between physical strength, emotional awareness, and high-performance leadership “I realized I wasn’t rebuilding who I used to be—I was becoming who I actually needed.”You can follow Dana here on Instagram: @danawildeboerIf this episode stirred something in you, download the Heart-Aligned Career Transition Starter at https://www.leadintact.com/freebies/heart-aligned-career  and begin reconnecting with the version of you that’s ready for more or Book 20-min consultation call: https://leadintactwithlaura.as.me/free-consultation