Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Westbrook Mills.
Amy, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I am a Texas girl born and raised. I grew up just outside of Ft. Worth in the Dairy Capital of Stephenville. Ft. Worth and Dallas were our stomping grounds as kids for shopping and concerts at Reunion Arena. My sister lived in Farmers Branch for many years and I visited a lot! I have a love for Dallas and can easily get myself around which makes visiting way more fun. My life journey has earned me the name Queen of Unexpected Outcomes. Not a title I chose! It chose me. This life of overcoming multiple unexpected outcomes birthed in me a desire to do exactly what I am doing today.
Unfortunately, I left home a broken young woman aspiring to the level that I saw myself and that was not very high. My young adult life was tarnished trying to fill holes in my soul with all the world had to offer to no avail. Nevertheless, my strong will and tenacity kept me earning top performing accolades in sales and marketing. I was good at it and I enjoyed it but it was not my passion.
After graduating from Texas State University, I went on to have a 35 year career in sales, marketing and business development. I worked in the hotel industry first then went on to radio sales and marketing. My entrepreneurial itch guided me to start, The !dea house, a marketing and business development company. During the same time, I owned and operated an international gourmet food trade show. I sold that company to Chile Pepper Magazine who at the time headquartered in Ft. Worth. Eventually, my husband and I started a custom home building company and finally got the baby we were longing for.
As a person, I am passionate, intense and still like to have fun within my seriousness! My life has been full of activity and athleticism. I found a love for running at such an early age I don’t remember the age. I added to a love for running, basketball, cheerleading, drill team, weight training, roller blading, wakeboarding, pilates and the list goes on. If it had action, I was in! That made the news I got at the age of 40 even more devastating. A tumor was found inside my spinal cord. It ruptured and had to be removed. I woke up in the ICU paraplegic. It has been a 12 year journey of physical therapy every week for 600 weeks in an attempt to gain back full mobility and to subside my pain levels. I began to profess in the ICU that I was a runner. The doctors were hoping I would walk and I was hoping I would run again.
My faith in God is the guiding force in my life. The wisdom the spirit of God has poured into me time and time again to get through this life is awe inspiring. I ask audiences everywhere, “What is Paralyzing You? We are all paralyzed in life by a myriad of scenarios and unexpected outcomes. What I know is this. What paralyzed your past does not have to paralyze your future. I teach processes and truths that help people walk out of the wheelchair life has placed them in.
Once the negative results of unexpected outcomes in my life got resolved, I had a great spiritual awakening. My journey back to wholeness birthed a passion in me to help individuals break the chains that bind their abilities and belief systems so they can get on with their amazing life destiny. I’ve done that for years through my 501c3 ministry, Souled Out Ministries. That name was birthed out of finally becoming souled out (mind, will and emotions) lasered focused on my next level life! Living a life souled out calls for a higher standard from ourselves. We can either sell out in life to the world’s demands or become souled out to the calling of our truest self. The latter is a cheap alternative to what I believe God has destined for each of us.
I now get to use my victories out of unexpected outcomes and my 35 years in sales ad marketing to speak to businesses, organizations and high achieving individuals. I train and inspire through speaking, online training and coaching. It is my life purpose and I could not be more grateful to be helping people and businesses overcome when they think all is lost, when they’ve got roadblocks or when they simply need guidance to their next level. My book will be out this Fall and it tells the story of my journey out of paralysis and all the truths, steps and processes I applied to get there. These are also steps I applied to rise out of many other places of lockdown in life and business.
Has it been a smooth road?
Look, I have a passion for life but, my life has been anything but easy. Since a child, I have had to endure life circumstances that were out of my control but completely my problem to solve. Sound like anything you have been through? My struggles are common to all people except of course, for the physical paralysis. For many years I struggled with a lack of confidence which is always a shocker to people because I am such an “A” type personality. Yes, “A” typers can struggle with confidence and have feelings of not enough, not good enough. I created what I call “intervention statements” to think about and repeat to myself that were more true than the confidence killers I was listening to. One of my passions is training on realigning your brain which can turn your entire life around
For me to live optimally, I had to get my gutter rat brain brought in to submission. LOL. I am a bit of a brain science geek. I especially love how it marry’s truths in my faith. None of us are exempt from needing to train our brains to work for us and not against us. My toxic mind, my runaway mind, and my triggered mind held me captive for a long time but not anymore. I’ve made it my business to learn the discipline of controlling my mind which in turn dictates my destiny. It is so liberating.
Two other key struggles that I have lived and are common. The first is knowing how to transition successfully in crisis. Early on in life, I did not trust the process of transition and I resisted when I should have released and moved on. In my journey out of paralysis, I mastered moving from one resource to the next. We attach ourselves to people and systems that do not serve us well any longer. We have to be in control of when it is time to be grateful for that space but press forward to the next.
The second struggle that I am thinking of is pain. I have lived a life of chronic physical pain well before my surgery. The spinal cord surgery just kicked it up about five notches because of nerve damage. My heart is so completely attached to those millions of Americans that suffer from chronic pain. There is physical pain but there is also emotional pain and both are stifling. Pain doesn’t allow you to be our true self in many circumstances and that adds insult to injury with shame and guilt and depression. I mean, seriously! Pain is a rough go. I try and speak to this whenever applicable – which is almost always. People experience pain, especially now!
We’d love to hear more about your company.
My company, L!ve with Amy, provides speaking, training and coaching for high performing businesses and individuals that are seeking their next level. We utilize several platforms such as in person keynotes and workshops, online workshops and powerful Mastermind Groups focused on Brain Training and Taking Your life or business to the next level. I am a former paraplegic! I know how to get teams and individuals back on their feet. I am genuinely transforming lives and that makes me crazy passionate about my company. But my training, workshops and speeches are not for the faint of heart. If you are working with me, we are not messing around! People show up at my door because they need change and growth! The thing I am most proud of is The Freedom Success Method ™ that I created for value based, high performing companies and individuals. This method was created from lessons out of my intense journey from paralysis. I transfered this knowledge to common roadblocks we experience in life. It saves people a lot of time and money cutting straight to the chase of what is holding them back. In reality, I teach people how to walk out of the wheelchair life has placed them in.
Currently, we are updating all of our courses to parallel the COVID 19 unexpected outcome to our already in-depth training and insight of overcoming unexpected outcomes. We are accepting inquiries from businesses and individuals that would like me to address their staff.
I love all the opportunities we offer to our clients. I still teach all of our workshops and trainings and I facilitate all the Mastermind groups. Two of my favorite things to do are my weekly faith-based podcast, L!ve with Amy and facilitating Masterminds. In the Fall, we are launching two high-level Mastermind Groups that I am super excited about! The members will experience cutting edge exercises to strengthen and multiply their current success. Not to mention the collaboration that benefits each member through collective genius. A few examples of our current program content are maintaining mental fortitude in lockdown, three key ways to have a power stance in crisis and how to defy the odds. Overnight our topics that were already bringing success are needed by just about everyone on the planet! I am speaking virtually until I can again speak in person.
Contact Info:
- Website: LiveWithAmy.com
- Phone: 512-913-2949
- Email: Amy@LivewithAmy.com
- Instagram: www.Instagram.com/livewithamy.
w - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amy.westbrookdillon
Image Credit:
Korey Howell Photography
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