Are you choosing to live a happy, fulfilling life?
Studies show that 90% of what separates a happy life from an unhappy one is within your control. One of the most powerful ways to unlock your best life is by setting, pursuing, and achieving meaningful goals.
You have the power to choose happiness—but don’t just take my word for it! Here’s how real people, just like you, are creating happiness by chasing their biggest goals.
Are you ready for a dad joke?
I offer you this "dad joke" as a light "amuse-bouche" to entertain your mind before we get serious. My dad joke may be groan-worthy, but it's worth every penny you paid for it, right?
The salesman at the running store convinced me to buy orthopedic insoles. I thought it was a dumb idea at first... now I stand corrected.
There Is An “After”
Happy September. This is going to be a big month for Operation Melt.
This month’s blog series is built around one life-changing truth:
There is an after… and it’s yours to create.
Have you ever caught yourself thinking,
“I’m not happy. I want more… but I don’t know if I can or should take the plunge”?
If so, this month is for you.
Each post is designed to show you that there’s always an “after.”
You’re allowed to imagine it. You’re allowed to want it.
And you’re allowed to take the first step, even if you’re not sure how it ends.
The future is yours to build.
So the real question is: will you take the first step or stay stuck where you are?
The One Thing Patti Never Questioned After Hearing ‘You Have Cancer’
🌟 Welcome to this bonus Interview with a Goal-Crusher! 🌟
Each month, I sit down with someone who’s achieved big things through goal-setting and determination to uncover their secrets to success. Then I share those insights with you… think of it as free mentoring from someone who’s already making it happen. Who wouldn’t want that?!
September is your lucky month… you’re getting two interviews with goal-crushers.
Last week, I shared Miles’ story of choosing his “after” when his job was no longer working for him. He chose it, he planned how to get there, he worked hard to build it and is now living his “after.” Clearly, a tale of the power of choosing to change.
Sometimes your “after” is your choice, sometimes it’s life that chooses for you.
“You have cancer.”
Those words change your perspective on every “after” you had planned. In the blink of an eye, all those big priorities take a backseat, and the only “after” that matters is survival.
Your focus and belief in “after” is essential and is your strongest asset to carry you through the hard road ahead.
Patti was cruising through life with goals, dreams, and planned “afters” she was building. Then came a diagnosis that forced her to shift focus fast.
This interview is actually a revisit of my prior interview with Patti. Patti’s story is a powerful addition to September’s theme: There is an after… and it’s yours to create. I even worked with Patti to add some new content.
This post is not a rerun. It is a story about staying focused on your “after” when survival is the only goal that matters. I conclude today’s interview by sharing how you can create your own “after” no matter where your journey starts.
Please introduce yourself and tell my readers about you and what you do.
Patti Gilligan, I’m a five-year breast cancer survivor, wife to Matt, mom to Caroline and Brady and a change leader. I recently became the Columbus Board Chair for Komen.
What motivated you to use your cancer battle to help others? What was your vision? Can you share some/all of your story?
My army motivated me to share what I was going through. So many people cheered me on through cancer and wanted updates. I started documenting online.
Until I had cancer, I had no appreciation for what it was truly about. I’ve taught and developed adults my whole career, so this was an opportunity to teach people something personal.
People really wanted to help, but most didn’t know how (neither did I).
People also have no idea how cancer impacts your entire life, and beating it doesn’t mean that it’s ever really over (more about that later).
I was a very healthy and active 45-year-old. I have always been a runner, and as a family, we eat healthy (a fact that angered my kids). In their eyes, there was no way I should get cancer.
But why not me? Cancer doesn’t discriminate.
I’d had a normal mammogram 5 months earlier, but I wasn’t feeling like myself. I had switched birth control pills and had put on weight I couldn’t lose. A huge shoutout to my OB/GYN, who saw me in the office, did a breast exam and found nothing but told me to get another mammogram just to be sure.
It was odd when the tech had me do an ultrasound immediately, but then I knew lots of women have those too. I got scared when she spent so much time taking pics during the ultrasound. I knew then and started crying.
It was a Friday at 4:00, and the radiologist told me he was 99% sure it was 3 cancerous tumors. He didn’t want me to guess all weekend until I could get a biopsy and confirm it.
Being a runner and a country girl, I’ve always been mentally tough and stubborn. Quitting isn’t an option, so I knew that Friday, I would do whatever I needed to do.
What was the first step you took to get started with your goal?
First, my husband and I started reading anything we could to learn about treatments and options.
I reached out to friends to find doctors and started putting together my team. Just as I’ve done in my career, I surrounded myself with the best for me: doctors, therapists, acupuncturists, chemo sitters, etc. I don’t like to “need” anyone, but this wasn’t a fight I could have done alone.
We have the best neighbors and friends who did so much for us (I now have a list of suggestions I send when someone is diagnosed). One friend put an empty cooler on our front porch, so I didn’t have to answer the door when people dropped off food or flowers.
Another friend (and fellow survivor) gave me a small notebook for my purse. I used it to keep track of all my conversations with medical professionals (you never know when they will call) and my questions.
I also found a picture of Matt and me in our favorite place, and we booked a trip there to celebrate after chemo. I took that picture with me to every treatment and kept it on my phone. Whenever I felt crappy, I would remind myself of the reward when I finished.
What were your biggest challenges in achieving your goals? How did you overcome them?
The biggest challenge for me was not being in control.
I thought I would be done in six months and was frustrated because of my own ignorance that there were times I couldn’t get treatment (chemo or radiation) due to my numbers, skin burns, etc. I got through it by reminding myself that the end goal was to live and be around for my family.
Being a super social person, we started planning a party for when I was done. I need goals to keep me going regardless of what I’m trying to achieve, so we counted down the days as a family until I would be done.
I focused on what I could control. I exercised every day. It may have only been a mile on the elliptical, but I knew exercise would help me process the chemo. I stopped doing large group activities so I wouldn’t be exposed to germs – getting sick would delay treatments.
I kept working and was grateful for a VERY supportive company and boss who provided flexibility. This was before COVID, and I vividly remember running a strategy session in NYC from my couch in Ohio. I wanted to keep working and stay busy, so I wasn’t thinking about cancer 24×7.
What goal success tips and techniques have worked well for you that you would like to share with my readers?
1. Have the right team.
2. Be flexible. “Adapt and overcome” is a Gilligan family motto. We have all said a lot in the last six years.
3. Discipline – be relentless
4. Start with a vision and know your “why.”
What is one big goal you are pursuing now?
My goal is to get back to running a 5k (and lifting weights as I was before). I’m recovering from ANOTHER reconstructive surgery. I’ve had nearly 10 breast surgeries.
I never would’ve guessed I would still be dealing with cancer effects now.
What else would you like my Operation Melt readers to know about you, your journey or about goal success in general?
For me, there was never a question that there would be an after. I just knew I needed a plan and to begin to paint that future.
It’s like any transformation, really. In my job, I often discuss the vision that will follow the project’s implementation. However, when you are undergoing a transformation, the outcome may have never existed before. So you are building it as you go.
That’s scary because it’s grey, but it’s also empowering
How can people learn more about you?
You can follow me on LinkedIn (click here to see Patti’s profile).
Patti is a survivor.
Patti is a leader.
Patti is a friend.
Patti is an inspiration.
And Patti is a goal-crusher through and through.
Most importantly, she is alive, and I don’t even want to imagine a different ending to her story!
Patti didn’t choose cancer, but she chose how to react when she heard those stunning words, “you have cancer.” She knew there was going to be an “after,” and she knew that “after” included her being there, cancer-free, with her family.
How is Patti Project Managing Her Life?
Once Patti committed to her “after,” everything else was a project that needed to be managed… and Patti is a master project manager of her life!
Let’s double-click on some of the many ways Patti’s journey to her “after” illustrates Project Manage Your Life (PMYL) principles:
✅ Set SMART Goals:
Patti knew her goal (defeat cancer)… she knew her why… and she had a timeline (though it evolved due to factors out of her control). She also committed to additional supporting goals to help keep her motivated and focused on the future. She never questioned what her “after” was, and she stayed focused on it throughout her battle.
✅ Build a plan that works for you:
Throughout Patti’s story, she shared examples of how she built her plan around how she was wired. Additionally, she shared her journey to help inspire others to develop their own plans if needed.
✅ Measure progress every day:
Progress measurement is challenging with a goal as ambitious as defeating cancer, but Patti found a way. For example, she created a countdown of her remaining days of treatment.
✅ Expect and plan ahead for problems:
Patti knew cancer wasn’t going to go away quietly, and there would be problems along the way. Patti managed these by taking preventative steps (like taking an inspirational photo with her during treatments)… one that depicted her after… and maintaining the “adapt and overcome” mindset when problems happened.
✅ Don’t go it alone:
Patti built her team of experts and supporters to help her reach her goal.
✅ Enjoy the journey:
You may think there is no way to enjoy a journey like Patti’s, but I can tell you that Patti finds a way to enjoy every day of her life. You’ll discover this when you grab a drink with her or see some of her patented dance moves (ask her about the Patchen Pump).
I am honored that Patti trusted me to share her story with my Operation Melt readers!
She is a total rockstar, a survivor, and an inspiration whose story deserves to be told. Patti inspires me daily, and I am honored to call her my friend (for 17 years now!). Plus, she is one hell of a goal-crusher, am I right?
Now, It’s Your Turn
I hope you are not facing a diagnosis and wondering, “What the hell do I do now?” But if that is your reality today, let Patti’s story remind you that there is an after. And you have the strength to reach it.
However, you don’t have to be in a life-or-death moment to start building your “after.”
- Are you considering leaving a soul-sucking job?
- Are you trapped in a relationship that no longer makes you happy?
- Are you hesitating to start your dream business?
- Are you frustrated by your health or fitness?
- Are you holding back on writing that book or launching that creative idea?
- Is there some other dream in your heart waiting to become your new after?
Whatever your “after” looks like, it will not build itself.
But you do not have to build it alone.
Want to take a first, bold step toward your after? Share it with someone… giving voice to your dreams is a powerful way to make them a reality.
💬 Not sure who to share your dream with? Share it with me, I assure you it will stay between us.
Time to Build Your “After”
No matter what your “after” is, Project Manage Your Life can help you visualize it, commit to the goals to make it real, create your plan and build momentum toward the life of your dreams.
I created Project Manage Your Life as a system to keep your goals, dreams and “afters” from dying of loneliness. I want to help you turn them into reality.
I’ve taken everything I use with my coaching clients and packaged it into a 3-part system:
📘 Project Manage Your Life – the book that teaches you my 6-step goal-crushing framework… I’ll even give it to you for free (click below).
📝 PMYL Workbook – the companion guide packed with templates, trackers, and coaching-style prompts to help you put the process into action.
🎯 PMYL Coaching – personalized 1-on-1 support to help you build momentum, overcome challenges, and keep going … even when it gets hard.
These tools are your structure, your support, and your reminder that you can do this, even if your inner critic disagrees.
💥 So… what “after” have you been putting off?
Share it and I can help you visualize it, plan it and create it.
✨ I believe in you, let me help YOU believe in you! ✨
Meet Coach Tony
Tony Weaver is a master life coach, technologist, consultant, writer, and founder of Operation Melt.
He helps project managers and other left-brained high-achievers pursue their biggest goals.
Through free resources, personalized coaching, and his proven Project Manage Your Life system, Tony empowers clients to move their dreams from “someday” to success… one step at a time.
Learn more about Project Manage Your Life, the system my clients and I use to crush our goals, at OperationMelt.com/PMYL/
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Meet Coach Tony