Speaking

Before the accident that caused her brain injury in 2012, Carey-Ann Oestreicher, CEO of Potential Unlimited, would have said her life was very “normal.”

She had just taken a leap into the great unknown, saying goodbye to her role as a vice president in the corporate world to start her coaching firm, Potential Unlimited. Life was good. Yet, something was off. Anxiety and pressure were high. The amount of sleep she was getting was low. She knew it was time for something to shift in her life, she just didn’t know what or how. And then, the brain injury happened.

A few years later, her Dad passed away at the age of 66 from cancer. Shortly after, her husband was diagnosed with stage 3 esophageal cancer. He had been the primary caretaker of their children and amazing support to Carey-Ann throughout her continued brain injury recovery. After her husband Jeff’s chemotherapy, radiation, and major surgery, they were hopeful the cancer journey was behind them. But a few months later, the cancer came back and Jeff was told he had months left to live.

Carey-Ann and Jeff’s daughters were 7 and 9 years old. Jeff refused to go out without a fight. But in 2019, Jeff had a paralyzing stroke, and he died in Carey-Ann’s arms.

Carey-Ann had to pick up the pieces and carry on for her girls, all three with broken hearts. Then a few months later, the COVID pandemic hit and all of their outside support was gone. Carey-Ann was alone with a brain injury, running a business, raising and homeschooling her children, taking on the role as the chef, cleaner, and helping her girls with grief as she waded deeply through her own.

Carey-Ann and her family’s story is one of true resilience. Her message is that each day is a gift. We have a choice – to make an impact, live our best lives or settle for the autopilot way of existence. She offers lessons on how to manage through unpredictable change, whether personal, professional, economic, or spiritual. Her story has encouraged people worldwide to overcome life’s obstacles – regardless of what they might be – and get back on the road to life.

The reality of today’s business world is that ‘more’ and ‘faster results’ are expected from workplaces wishing to remain competitive. Leaders need to be able to manage their own experiences of working under stress while at the same time, creating a work environment that facilitates creativity, team building and optimal productivity.

In 2012, CEO of Potential Unlimited Carey-Ann Oestreicher, a busy Type A career woman, wife and mother, experienced a life-changing brain injury when she went to get an x-ray at a medical clinic.

During this talk, she will share her brain injury story and lessons learned as she continues to recover. This session will feature her personal stories along with tools on how to use pacing to conserve energy; ways to rewire your brain to reduce stress and increase focus; a tool to simplify delegation; and how to use compassion and gratitude to find a greater sense of fulfillment and success in life.

Carey-Ann's story has been featured several times in the Business Section of The Globe and Mail and Forbes. Watch for upcoming details on the release of her book!

The way we’re working is not working. During the COVID pandemic, many people began to reassess the busy rat race that was becoming our normal way of life. As human beings, we are not meant to operate in the same linear fashion that our computers do: continuously, at high speeds, for long periods, running multiple programs at the same time. That’s unsustainable and there is a richness to the human experience that we deny ourselves of when we work and live this way.

CEO of Potential Unlimited Carey-Ann Oestreicher was living life in the fast lane. She felt like she was running on all cylinders all the time until the day everything came to a crashing halt for her.

In 2012, Carey-Ann experienced a life-changing brain injury when she fainted during a stand-up x-ray at a medical clinic. As part of brain rehabilitation and her healing work with neurologists, Carey-Ann was introduced to mindfulness. She experienced the profound impact of mindfulness with improved focus and clarity. After practicing mindfulness, Carey-Ann felt a greater sense of happiness and peace. And her career was also seeing the benefits. Carey-Ann was astonished to experience that mindfulness was helping her to accomplish more while actually doing less.

Carey-Ann began to share mindfulness tools with her clients and they too were experiencing major shifts in the way they began to live and lead.

Carey-Ann's story was featured in the business section of The Globe and Mail.

During Carey-Ann’s talk, she will cover:

• What mindfulness really means along with interactive exercises audience members can use to be more mindful in their work and lives.

• How mindfulness helps us gain greater self-awareness

• How to leverage mindfulness to improve your relationships

• How mindfulness techniques using the body, breath and mind help reduce stress

• Tools for instantly gaining greater perspective to improve focus and be more strategic