Cancer, Covid, Courage, and Creativity with Ros Banksia-Smith EP: 005

I’m excited to share this conversation with Ros Smith today. I’ve wanted to feature Ros on the podcast for a long time! She’s had an enviable career in design and philanthropy. Her life was interrupted by a surprising cancer diagnosis in 2019, at just 58 years old. Her journey has continued to amaze me, and I know that you will also glean a lot from what she went through and the message she now shares from the other side of this experience.  

In this episode, you’ll learn:   

• The details of Ros’s story, beginning with her first cancer diagnosis and through to where she is today.
• Why fear was never a factor in her recovery and death wasn’t part of the equation in her mind.
• How going through an MRI procedure flicked a switch in Ros’s mind, moving her from fear to courage (even when others might have given up).
• The importance of journaling through her recovery and how it led to her book,
• Ros’s essential distinction between what we do and who we fundamentally are—and how that has colored both her recovery and what she plans to do next.
• What happened when Ros’s cancer recurred, and how it relates to all of us and lessons we can apply during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.
• How to look at our situation with COVID right now as a gift, if only we can relinquish control and accept that we aren’t always “driving the bus.”
• What I’ve learned from interviewing Ros and dozens like her who have all gone through extraordinary illness and come out the other side.
• How this lesson shows up in my own life, too, and how it has influenced the way I schedule my time nowadays (hint: it has nothing to do with using every available moment for work!).
• A revelation Ros had on the Gold Coast that changed the way she looked at her life and her purpose, and what she believes she’s here to do now.
• Our discussion about creativity, and Ros’s unique definition of what it means to be creative (and how we can all tap into our own creativity).
• Finally, Ros shares her vision for the future and her notion that we each need to “be the light we want to see in the world.”

I’m so thankful for this enlightening conversation and how Ros openly shared her journey. I hope this episode sparks a few “ahas” for you as well.

One of the major lessons I took away from Ros’s story is the importance of examining what we really want to do in our lives and get down to the very core of what we value. And then, to let go, to trust the path and to have faith that things will work out for us—because each one of us has something special to share with the world.

Links from this episode: LIGHTBeamers community on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/LIGHTbeamersCommunity

Ros’ book, https://www.amazon.com/COURAGE-have-chosen-life-has/dp/0646809229/

Gabrielle Bernstein, Spirit Junkie Masterclass https://gabbybernstein.com/spirit-junkie-masterclass-waitlist/