Knocking Down Life's Obstacles (w/Guest, Lisa Jesswein)
Life is full of obstacles and adversity. These unwelcome events and circumstances can vary from being slightly annoying to absolutely devastating. Our guest, Lisa Jesswein has dealt with A LOT of adversity, most of which would fall into the latter category. It started early for her: from serious medical issues as a child to a near death experience as a teenager, to a health scare that threatened her career just as it was taking off as an adult. She not only triumphed her way over each one, but she’s remained positive and used what she’s been through to inspire others!
Lisa is a motivational speaker, radio personality, actress and owner of Intuitive You. Her health issues began early with weekly hospital visits for blood draws starting at 7, dialysis starting at 12, two kidney transplants, two hip replacements, cancer, hepatitis C…and that’s just a partial list! You would never guess ANY of this if you met Lisa whose upbeat attitude is as inspiring as it is contagious.
In this episode you’ll hear not only about the physical challenges, but the emotional rollercoaster she’s been on and how each experience shaped who she is now. You’ll hear details of the near-death experience that has influenced not only how she sees the world but how she functions in it. Finally, she shares how her intuition has been keenly developed through this process and why she believes all of us possess the ability to be divinely guided.
If you’re ready to be inspired, and maybe even transformed yourself, click play and listen in on Lisa’s amazing story.
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Sandy Kovach [00:00:01]:
Welcome to Imagine Yourself, where we help you imagine your next chapter of life with grace, gratitude, courage, and faith.
Lanée Blaise [00:00:10]:
Have you ever met someone who has the superpower of being able to face obstacle after obstacle with courage and grace. What we have and her name is Lisa Jesswein, and she is here to Share her journey and her insight about the art of overcoming. Lisa is the owner of Intuitive You. She has been a radio morning show cohost and actress. She's a motivational speaker who has learned to finally listen to her intuition, And she's going to help us gain that never give up attitude. Honestly, Lisa has been through some things, And she is still standing tall. So let's get deep, and let's learn with Lisa. We just wanna welcome you to the show, Lisa.
Lisa Jesswein [00:00:57]:
Hey. That's right. All 5 foot 1 of me standing tall, and even Nancy's horse, it's probably more like 5 foot. Hey.
Lanée Blaise [00:01:03]:
But you're still stand because when everybody hears What you're gonna share with us, it's gonna just be really powerful. You're gonna be standing about 8 feet tall.
Sandy Kovach [00:01:10]:
That's right. That's right. We're gonna talk about a lot of the things situationally, a lot of health issues, just things that would have knocked people out many times over, yet you kept getting back up. And but you even had an interesting start. Right? When you were born, your mom didn't know that you were coming.
Lisa Jesswein [00:01:28]:
I was a surprise baby. So my mom had my Sister, and then the doctor says, hold on. There's another one coming. And my mom yells, another one what? And then he says a baby. And my mom starts crying, and she says, I only have 1 crib. So and then I showed up, and, boy, what a surprise I turned out to be.
Sandy Kovach [00:01:49]:
Oh my gosh.
Lisa Jesswein [00:01:51]:
What a blessing too. And she had a 2 year old at home too.
Sandy Kovach [00:01:55]:
Yeah. Wow. Talk about a handful. And the things that have you have dealt with, Lisa, are a handful. So I think I would kinda give you the floor to unwind that a little bit for us.
Lisa Jesswein [00:02:08]:
Sure. Absolutely. So I had a lot of medical issues as a child and, was going down to children's hospital in downtown Detroit Several times a week. 1st, just for blood work starting at age 7. I was on dialysis at age 12 because I had what's called dysplastic kidneys, which Just means they were just too small and they didn't function. So on dialysis at 12, I would be pulled out of school to be taken down there 3 days a week and attached to a machine For, 4, sometimes 5 hours at a time.
Sandy Kovach [00:02:40]:
Wow.
Lisa Jesswein [00:02:40]:
And, had my 1st kidney transplant at age 16, And, that was from Cadaver Donation. So a young man who died in Grand Rapids in a car accident. And, that Gift afforded me the ability to finish high school and finish college with honors, and There was so much more that goes on. You know, you breeze by the whole, oh, I was on dialysis, and I was a kid. You know? There's So much that goes on in a child's head. Right? Yeah. And being different and Having to deal with the pressures of actually staying alive instead of, hey. Should I be on a team or be a cheerleader was Overwhelming at times, but there was always something that told me I was going to be okay.
Lisa Jesswein [00:03:30]:
I always felt like, And I don't know. You know? I I just always knew. So you have to understand that also at age 5, which is around the time I started getting sick. I also was very aware of a presence and guidance coming to me, and I knew it was very angelic and very loving. And I heard a voice. It's the same concept as if you're in the car and you're listening to a song. And then the minute you get out of the car, you know how the song is still playing in your head kinda like You're right? Yeah. That's what it was like.
Lisa Jesswein [00:04:01]:
So I didn't hear an audible sound. I heard the sound in my head, and I knew I'd be okay. And that was at 5. So when all of this started and going on, I still knew I would be okay even though everybody was Devastated. And I had a near death experience when I was 16 after 5 grand mal seizures, and they thought I was going to be brain damaged, which my sister still argues might be true.
Lanée Blaise [00:04:30]:
No. Power of sister.
Lisa Jesswein [00:04:33]:
Sister thing. Yeah. And when I came back, I knew more. So I believe I was in the presence of God, and I am okay if nobody else wants to believe that. You know, because you have people say, oh, it was the anesthesia. Oh, it was this. And it's like, that's okay if you wanna believe that, but I know where I was, and I know who I was in front of. And I said, Please let me stay.
Lisa Jesswein [00:04:57]:
No more needles. No more pain. Please let me stay. And at 16, wanted to stay there in this There are no words in any language as far as I'm concerned that can accurately describe what I felt and what I saw. And then I just heard 1 word. No. And it was a soft, gentle no, but in that no was volumes and volumes of what I had yet to do. And so there was a knowingness about it as well.
Lisa Jesswein [00:05:24]:
So even having felt that same presence at 5 and again at teen, and then I felt pushed back and away from the light just like they say, you know, and it all happened to me. And when I came back and came out of it, I was, You know, attached to a gurney, my arms and legs were tied down and tubes in every orifice of my body, and I was sad because I wanted to stay gone. And then yeah. That's how intense it was. But I also knew when I came back, even though there was much more that happened to me physically, Including cancer and hip replacements and aneurysms and just piled upon piled upon piled of things. I always knew I would be okay because that was promised to me In that tiny no that sent me back. So
Sandy Kovach [00:06:10]:
Just a little speechless right now. There are, there are a lot of things that we hear about, you know, what happens when you die. And and you're right. People will always say, Okay. That yeah. Was the anesthesia or your brain still working or la dee da. I've, you know, read all kinds of things, but I have always believed people are having these is legitimate vision. So and to you, it was more than a vision.
Sandy Kovach [00:06:34]:
Right? It was was it more like a feeling? Or
Lisa Jesswein [00:06:37]:
It was a combination of both. It was palpable, but the communication was all without words. So it was, like, soul to soul type of thing. And I remember feeling a floating. I remember seeing my arms kind of floating next to me and me trying to move my head, but I couldn't. And yet just being pulled to this light, and yet it was just like I wanted to go in. I so bad wanted to stay there because It was the most gorgeous feeling I have ever felt, and you can imagine coming from a life of pain and needles and all the rest of that. Of course, I wanted to stay where I was, but was gently told no.
Lisa Jesswein [00:07:18]:
Wow. So had to come back and more more to experience.
Lanée Blaise [00:07:22]:
That's the other part too, Lisa. The part where you said that in that no, you were given such a powerful run through that there was still so much more left to do. All of us have within us gifts, and purpose, and things that we're supposed to be blessings to others and to be helpful in this world and to, Not just strive and hustle and accomplish, but but you know what I'm saying? And I just wonder how, you know, how did it did that Continue to come to fruition for you. What ended up happening? Because now we no. Now we're like, what happened from there?
Lisa Jesswein [00:08:03]:
I also knew that I felt things and heard things that maybe other people weren't aware of. And so I started studying, and I started reading books, and I started watching videos, and I started going to see speakers because I thought, what is this It. What do I have? Why do I know these things? Why do I hear these things? So I didn't really tell anybody. I didn't want anybody Slapping a straight jacket on me and dragging me off. So I just was very private about it. And, luckily, I have very loving parents and a wonderful family, and Just everybody embraced it and was accepting of it. So I didn't really do anything with it until my early twenties where it was the first time I was with someone and a message was given to me to give to someone else, and it was his sister who had passed away. So I am very protective of what I do because I do it with respect and integrity.
Lisa Jesswein [00:08:55]:
This is not a trick for me. This is not some dog and pony show. It is divinely sent to me, and I have chosen to pick up what has been divinely sent to me. And if I can assist others, I do. But I don't walk up to somebody in the deli counter and start giving messages.
Lanée Blaise [00:09:14]:
Exactly. Yeah.
Lisa Jesswein [00:09:15]:
That's not what this is. Okay?
Lanée Blaise [00:09:17]:
Well, what do you say to people who believe that they just don't have the ability for God to, speak to them where they don't have an ability to understand their tuition, or that's just not a gift that they were given at all.
Lisa Jesswein [00:09:33]:
Intuition is just like any other muscle. If you don't work it, it atrophies. And the more you work it, The better it gets, the stronger it gets. And and I always tell people when you're starting to use your intuition, it's like the 1st time you walk into a gym. You're not sure of how to use the equipment. You're comparing yourself to other Oh, they have a cuter outfit than me
Lanée Blaise [00:09:50]:
Am I doing this right? Whatever it is. And so it's the same with intuition. You're like, am I doing this right? I don't know. That person's better than me. So your humanness comes into play even though we're trying to access our intuition and our spiritual side. So, yes, we all have it. We gotta work it, folks.
Lanée Blaise [00:10:09]:
Work it. And maybe embrace the differences too because we were talking on a podcast recently With someone who definitely listens for their leadership from God and the path, their way, but there's other people who say there's never A voice at all. There's things that there's nudges that come. There's a message that they'll hear that just truly inspires them In a certain way, and there's all different ways to embrace these things. Because now what about this, though, too, Lisa? We have to kinda Get back to the fact that people understand that there's obstacles, there's hardships, there's health problems, and things like that. And you had mentioned to us Now you were in radio, and I think right when you were starting radio, you had the biggest obstacle to a radio person of all. Can you kinda Tell us about this so that people can understand that they're still away. It still can work out even if it looks bad.
Lisa Jesswein [00:11:08]:
So the year that I Started, I ended up having 5 surgeries within 9 months, and one of them was having my lymph nodes removed because they thought That would help regulate calcium, and then they found cancer in my throat. Ugh. So they removed that. But in doing so, they damaged my vocal cords, and so My voice completely went away, and the doctors told me we don't know if it will ever come back.
Sandy Kovach [00:11:32]:
Oh my goodness.
Sandy Kovach [00:11:34]:
But we know that it did it in a big way. Right?
Lisa Jesswein [00:11:37]:
Yes. We do because I had, you know, 23 years in radio after that, but that was an intense moment where I remember saying, God, I know you didn't bring me this far just to do me like that.
Sandy Kovach [00:11:50]:
Yeah.
Lisa Jesswein [00:11:50]:
I was like, there's more. There's more because otherwise, I could've stayed where I was. And So I just kept putting my faith in it and saying it will come back. It will come back. I know it will, and I was envisioning all of this Healing energy going to my vocal cords in my throat, so it's not just positive thinking. This is important. You visualize yourself Feeling better, looking better, thinking better, having that person, come into your life, having that job come to you. It is something that is a practice that you have to do.
Lisa Jesswein [00:12:22]:
It's not magic. This is love attraction as well. I mean, you can call it all kinds of things. It's just energy. Where are you putting your energy?
Sandy Kovach [00:12:32]:
Okay. So you're in your twenties. Yes. You were with, Dick Burton, and, people that grew up in Detroit are, I'm sure, familiar with that. You're part of Herton's people. You've done similar to me, a lot of radio, a lot of voice acting, but you also threw in some motivational speaking and just So many other things, and you and I crossed paths at, I think, 1 station in 2014 or something. Was it? Yeah.
Lisa Jesswein [00:12:59]:
It was yeah. Yep. it was Magic
Sandy Kovach [00:13:02]:
105.1. Yeah. In 2014. And I could tell, you know, I always thought, wow. Lisa is such a positive person. And when you hit me with the email, when we got back in touch and everything and talked about you coming on the podcast, and you had this laundry list of things that, like I said in the beginning, would put people off for a lifetime, and you just kept hopping over each 1 and each one and each one. What would you say, and we'll we'll talk more specifically about that too. But let's start with what you think was your biggest health challenge, and the hardest to deal with.
Lisa Jesswein [00:13:35]:
Oh, girl. You're making me think. I was thinking on that one. The hardest one. See, because there's hardest emotionally, and that's not the same as hardest physically.
Sandy Kovach [00:13:47]:
Right.
Lisa Jesswein [00:13:48]:
Those are Two different things. So the hardest one emotionally was understanding that somebody died so that I could live because my first plant was cadaver donated. My 2nd transplant was for my identical twin sister.
Lanée Blaise [00:14:03]:
Oh.
Lisa Jesswein [00:14:04]:
So I've had both cadaver donated and living related Kidney transplants. So the emotional aspect of both of those donors, the young man who died and then my twin sister who lovingly gave me Her kidney, and she's doing great, by the way.
Lanée Blaise [00:14:19]:
That's good. Yeah. Yes.
Lisa Jesswein [00:14:20]:
So that's the emotional one. The physical one, Most painful would probably have been the 2nd hip replacement. Had 2 of those 2.
Sandy Kovach [00:14:30]:
Wow. And you're You think of HIPAA placements when when you're well on in years and you were going through it early.
Lisa Jesswein [00:14:36]:
I was I got a funny story about that too in a minute, but, They could not figure out why I was having such intense pain after the second one, and I was in and out of consciousness. And I was 24 hours away from going back into surgery, and I was given every I always say every d name, you know, deluded and All the all the good stuff. You know? I was given all of that, and they still couldn't find it. So that was the most difficult was Feeling like, why can't they find out what's wrong? And just one day woke up in a you know, with my Gowns shellacked to my body because my fever had broke, and it was just it the joy of it happened. But you you mentioned quickly about the whole you're too young, do you have hip replacements? The first one that I had, I was 25, and we used to go into aqua therapy, you know, into the pool. And when I started out, there was just me and, like, 1 other person. By, like, 3rd week, it was full, and the therapist said, well, for god's sakes, word must have got out. There was a 25 year old in the pool.
Lisa Jesswein [00:15:41]:
All these old men finally come into their therapy. And I said, anything I can do to help.
Sandy Kovach [00:15:46]:
That's very good.
Lanée Blaise [00:15:47]:
A motivator even when you're not trying to be.
Lisa Jesswein [00:15:50]:
So I'm sorry to trail off, but does that answer your question?
Sandy Kovach [00:15:53]:
Yeah. It does. So so the hip replacement was probably the most physically challenging. You also said you hep c you got from a blood transfusion.
Lisa Jesswein [00:16:04]:
Yeah. So back in the early eighties, they did not test blood transfusions even for HIV. So I consider myself lucky that I only contracted hep c and not HIV. Yeah. So that's something that I dealt with for a very long time. And I remember at first, they were like, okay. You're gonna have to do this and give yourself shots and do it. And I I tuned in, and I heard no.
Lisa Jesswein [00:16:26]:
No. There'll be something easier for you. Wait. Wait. Wait. And so, of course, As you're waiting, you're still dealing with what hep c does to your body. And so finally, the pills came out. And All those years later, I was able to get it.
Lisa Jesswein [00:16:40]:
And by the way, that's a little bit like the hunger games. It's like, who's gonna who's gonna be able to you know, the one who gets the medication? And I remember talking to the guy, and I said to him I said, well, you're gonna choose me. And when you do and you call me back, I would prefer you address me as Katniss.
Lanée Blaise [00:16:56]:
And, sure, hey. Yeah.
Lisa Jesswein [00:16:58]:
2 weeks later, my phone rang, and he goes, is Katniss there? And I'm like, woo. Katniss. See, you know? Yeah. I just it's like, oh, it's gonna come to me, and it did. And, you know, you gotta you gotta find humor even in the hard stuff.
Lanée Blaise [00:17:13]:
Wow. That is that combination of practical, you know, medication coupled with assertiveness over what you need to have For you coupled with patience, coupled with intuition and with a message and with that knowingness from within. You've got be inspired over here, Lisa.
Lisa Jesswein [00:17:34]:
Thank you. Thank you so much.
Lanée Blaise [00:17:37]:
And you have that practical message you get no too? Because you knew the message was to wait back, you know, as far as and you you waited, and then sure enough, the medication Was created and Available. Mass produced and available. Yeah.
Lisa Jesswein [00:17:50]:
Yeah. At one point, it's I the thought of me that I swallowed $90,000. Just FYI, that's how much that medication of course, I didn't pay a penny of it, which is great. Wow. That yeah. Which is a whole another topic. But anyway.
Sandy Kovach [00:18:04]:
Yeah. I knew I knew someone, who had hep c as well, and I think I'm familiar with the medication that you're talking about. But back to what you were saying now, You know, when Linae and I talk about it, we talk about as far as hearing from the Holy Spirit, hearing from God. You have a different way of expressing it. And there are differences, for sure, but we're talking about paying attention to intuition. And that leads me to what you do now and your intuitive you. So how if somebody wants to get more in touch with you, hear more about your story, and maybe find out if you can help them, where would they go?
Lisa Jesswein [00:18:39]:
They would go to intuitive u.net. So the word intuitive, the word y o u.net. And there's an about section in there that's So it'll tell you a little bit more about me. If you were thinking that maybe you would like to try and have a session with me, there's a little blue book now bar at the top. And, again, this is just whatever you're guided to do. Even if you wanna stop by and drop me a note and just say hello, I'm good with that.
Sandy Kovach [00:19:03]:
And you're on Instagram too. Right?
Lisa Jesswein [00:19:05]:
I am. I'm on Instagram. Thank you, Sandy, for being my marketing manager right now. So, yes, it's just Lisa Just on there. Even if you put an intuitive you, it'll come up as well.
Sandy Kovach [00:19:16]:
Alright.
Lanée Blaise [00:19:17]:
I love the name. How about I love the wording of intuitive you? It just Kinda fits with imagine yourself.
Sandy Kovach [00:19:24]:
Yeah. And maybe that there's the connection.
Lisa Jesswein [00:19:26]:
Yeah. It goes out to you. Like, I'll be here to help you and assist you, But we're gonna ask you to do some work.
Lanée Blaise [00:19:33]:
Okay. Yes. There it is. And they have the same initials and everything.
Sandy Kovach [00:19:38]:
That's right. Yeah. We're not the only IY in town anymore, Lynnae.
Lanée Blaise [00:19:43]:
No. We're not. But I like the other one. We have a segment of the episode called Takeaway time. And now this one, I just wanted to kinda throw at a different angle. As our takeaway today, I just wanted to actually something that you mentioned to us When you emailed us back that I wanted to wish your parents a happy 60th wedding anniversary because I think that that is a gift. Along with intuition, Being married 60 years, that is a gift, and we need to highlight some of the celebrations and some of the wins in this world for people who Have made it to the 60 year mark. So
Lisa Jesswein [00:20:16]:
Aw. Thank you. And back to that. Oh my gosh. Yes. I'm so proud of them. I I really got quite lucky with my parents, and they're a beautiful example of love and overcoming as well. So, Absolutely.
Lanée Blaise [00:20:30]:
Thank you for that.
Sandy Kovach [00:20:31]:
That had to be not hard not easy for your your folks to go through.
Lisa Jesswein [00:20:34]:
No. I think one of the hardest things was at one point they had decide because I had to go on dialysis, but I also have really severe scoliosis. And it's because they would have had to put me in a full body cast While I was on dialysis at the same time and my parents chose not to do that to me, and that had to been hard. And then the other choice they had to make because I had the radiation one time was You can either kill your future grandkids or your daughter will die. My parents did a wonderful job as far as, you know, this is about overcoming. They also did a lot of coming and helping me to become the person I am.
Sandy Kovach [00:21:08]:
That's so cool. They did a good job. Mom and dad did good. Yeah.
Lisa Jesswein [00:21:12]:
I'm a little bit.
Lanée Blaise [00:21:13]:
I don't you go. That is just beautiful. Beautiful shout out to them. I love them, and I don't even know them.
Lisa Jesswein [00:21:20]:
How about that? Thank you.
Lanée Blaise [00:21:23]:
But is there anything, Lisa, that you would like to leave as a takeaway statement for people to, like you know, one of those Powerful statements like if you don't remember anything else, make sure that you just take this message away.
Lisa Jesswein [00:21:36]:
I think the biggest thing would be is you are born With this intuition. It is your birthright. It is within you. And if you can work that Slowly in little ways, you'll start feeling more and more confident. Keep working at it. If you wanna know, well, how do I do that, Lisa, Then go to intuitiveview.net. There you go.
Sandy Kovach [00:21:58]:
Here's my marketing girl. Here she is.
Lisa Jesswein [00:22:00]:
Did that? Yeah. Okay. Good. I thought you'd be proud.
Lanée Blaise [00:22:03]:
Oh, Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We just we loved having you. This is what we needed.
Lisa Jesswein [00:22:08]:
I had so much fun. Like, I could just I feel like the 3 of us could just coffee klatch all day long.
Lanée Blaise [00:22:13]:
Yeah. We should. Well, at the end, we always just have to say, imagine yourself believing that we all have this Beautiful gift of intuition that we can learn to embrace. We can learn to block out some of those worldly distractions and be still And listen deeply to a wisdom that we didn't even know existed right within us.
Sandy Kovach [00:22:39]:
Thanks for spending some time with us here on Imagine Yourself. We really appreciate it. And if you like to find out more information on Lisa or on any of the subjects that we Talk About as always, you know, you can go to imagine yourself podcast.com. We try to make it easier for you by breaking it down on our topics page so you can read the blogs and listen to the episodes that you are really needing right now. And we love your feedback on what you'd like to hear more of or less of. You can shoot us a note or connect with us on social media at imagine yourself podcast.com
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