​Russ Johns 0:04
Welcome to the #piratebroadcast, where we interview #interestingpeople doing #interestingthings where you can expand your connections, your community, #kindnessiscool and #smilesarefree. Let's get this party started.

That just makes me happy. I don't know why it makes me happy. I'm just happy to be here. I'm just happy to share the #piratebroadcast with you. I know that there's so many things going on in the world. We're going to be talking about that a little bit today. I just wanted to welcome you all the gratitude the world. Thank you for being here. If you're watching the replay, just let us know if you have any questions and I just want to extend an invitation for you to follow me on social media channels, Facebook, the podcast, YouTube and all that social shenanigans that go on.let's keep this party going because we have amazing people like Michelle here today. Michelle, How are you this fine day?

Michelle Mras 1:08
Hi, I'm Fantastic.

Russ Johns 1:12
Well I'm so happy that you brought your joy and excitement and enthusiasm to the #piratebroadcast today and officially you're a pirate now so we can carry on with the shenanigans and have a good time and a good conversation. Jimmy clam introduced us and hats off to Jimmy he's out there running around in the countryside can making connections with people and I just wanted to give a hat tip for Jimmy because he's a longtime friend and acquaintance of both of us. Thank you for doing that. Jimmy. Michelle is in Colorado, she's up and about and for those people that don't know you yet,in pirate community, tell us a little bit about you, and why you're here and what you're doing today.

Michelle Mras 2:06
I always like to say I was born a poor black child. I'm a military brat grew up in the Philippines moved to America when my dad decided he wanted to retire. Then my high school sweetheart, but what brought me here right now was an accident. In 2014, I was one job I was running political campaigns and I was in a car accident and I damaged myself quite well. I lost four areas of my brain, my frontal lobe over my left ear, the back of my head, my two hemispheres disconnected. Basically, I was a vegetable for 18 months. I couldn't walk, talk move, you name it, couldn't do it. That's what brought me here. I lost so much of my past that I couldn't go back to it, and I had to focus on what could I still do and when I started walking, and talking Again, I can talk. I mean, well, maybe it's all that pent up 18 months of not being able to talk.

I started talking and I went, you know what, there's a calling here. If I can't do anything else, I must have to do something with speaking I must speak. Soon after that I got on a TEDx and shared a bit of how I got hit and how I live my life everyday, like, it's my last day. I speak to everyone like it's their last day. It's my motto in life. I just became an international speaker just kind of bounced around that way. I went National Public Radio, and I just started speaking, and that's how I am here. Then when I thought, well, that's it. I'm just speaking, I'm going to do speaking and inspire people. I found out I had breast cancer. I'm like, okay, universe. I'm not doing what I'm supposed to be doing. What else am I supposed to be doing? Oh, you're supposed to coach people through this mentality. How many times you get knocked down, you get back up. That's what I do now. I'm a speaker, and I'm a coach.

Russ Johns 4:09
Fantastic, fantastic. It seems, at least for myself, and my experience is that having those moments and those dark times where you're thinking, what do I do now? What is it that I have to do to accomplish today? Go through the process of just being here and being allowed to be, because both of those incidents could have easily gone a different route, right?

Michelle Mras 4:44
Yes

Russ Johns 4:45
Yeah. The reality is that every day is a gift. I mean, we won the lottery by being born. And it's like this. The chance of being born is extreme already and champion living and surviving. It is on top of that. When you coach people, I noticed there's a lot of people that if you get in a victim mentality and you get into depression mode, where are you thinking, why is this happening to me this? Why me? world? It's really difficult to shift your focus and get out of that sometimes. Do you help people see a different light at the end of the tunnel?

Michelle Mras 5:28
That's exactly what I do is I help them maneuver their brain. The thing is, is our brains are the most complex, most amazing machines ever. All we do is see how they're programmed. When you get into that, why is mean mentality? You just simply I say simply very easily but it's not simple at all.

You have to reflecked back into things in your past that your brain has seen you succeed at that equates to it in some level. Let's say you're afraid of heights.

Russ Johns 5:47
Yeah,

Right

Michelle Mras 5:58
As an adult, go back to when You're a child and you're only two feet tall, right? You do Wait a minute, I went up on a slide. That was really tall. Then I went on to the high dive and dove, that was really tall. So in perspective, I'm not afraid of heights. What made me afraid of this point? Then you just reflect back and you work backwards on why and then you bring it back and your brain does, oh, wait a minute, maybe you're not afraid of heights, you're just not sure of this one. That's how I work through the coaching. It's basically resetting your brain to what you can and cannot do.

Russ Johns 6:30
Yeah. I think a lot of people lose focus of what it is they are capable of. Confidence and fear, have a relationship. I think that there's a lot of people fear to take initiative, they fear to move forward. They fear to see the opportunities, and then they get stuck in their mindset and their mentality of I can't do that. What are some tactical or some, some practical methods that we can use in our own mind? Our mind is not us, we have the opportunity to tell ourselves, whatever we want to tell ourselves and the mind just sees it as information that's going through it's there atleast for myself anyway. It's like, I can say, I'm gonna have a good day. I typically do, or I can wake up and say, I'm gonna have a bad day, and I typically do. What are some practical suggestions that we can use in order to accomplish our goal of being positive and see an opportunity?

Michelle Mras 7:46
Okay, the number one thing I want you to have in your head is think of the universe as a genie and you are Aladdin. Whatever you put out, it says, As you wish, so if you wake up you See the sunshine you say this is a great day great, you're gonna have a great day. If you wake up and you see a rainy day to us, it's gonna be, it's gonna be a terrible day because the universe says, As you wish. It doesn't matter what you say outwardly in your head, if you believe bad things are going to happen to you, bad things will come to you. Just in science, we were told positive and negative attract, opposites attract in the real world of being out there.

Russ Johns 8:28
Yeah

Michelle Mras 8:28
The more you focus on something, the more you see it. Like when you buy a brand new car, you thought I'm going to get this car because no one has a white Mustang or whatever you want to get. I tell you what, you get that white car, every

Russ Johns 8:44
It's everywhere!

Michelle Mras 8:46
That's kind of like the idea of what you focus on is what you bring to you. If you keep a positive mindset, you keep thinking of positive things more positive will come to you. Even if bad things come up, you do Wait. I'll see the light Let me find one good positive lesson like, okay, focus on that more good will come instead of more negative. The second thing I want you to have in your brain is the woman that saves my life. One day, I hope to have her on my podcast, and I hope I can meet her in person. Byron Katie, the work.

Russ Johns 9:20
Byron Katie

Michelle Mras 9:20
Byron Katie. She saved me in my brain injury. When I was trapped in my head for 18 months, I had full conversations with myself, me, myself and I, the most terrifying place to be is to not be able to communicate or move, but have everything in your head tell you? Yeah, you lost your brain, your voice because you're stupid. You lost this because you're not supposed to be out there. Why don't you just kill yourself? I mean, that's the kind of voices that were going heavy in my head. I understand the I'm in a bad place. How do I get myself out of the spiral with was The Work by Byron Katie. I always use the four main questions. She has multiple other questions, but the form worked for me.

The first one is how do you feel? What a little now you've got me all confused. Can you say it's true? So when it might voice said you be dead? Can I say that's true? Well, at the moment, yes, I can't say it's true. The second question is, can you always say that's true? Well, no, I think I'm a pretty decent mom, and I'm a decent wife. No, I shouldn't always be gone. Then the third is, how do you feel when you feel that thought? miserable, and I don't want to feel that way. The fourth question is, what would you be without that thought? I would be happy. Oh, then why should I even think that thought and so I do that very quickly. If you're out there listening, look up The Work by Byron Katie. It works for every arguement. It works for every time you're upset with someone, it works whenever you're questioning your abilities. It's magical.

Russ Johns 11:07
That sounds like something that we could all use as a tool. In today's environment. We have a lot of things going on in the world that are not necessarily positive. I think it's a small in the big picture that I know, the news would like us to believe that there's, it's the end of the world and the pandemic is going to kill us all and the friction in the race and the the protesting is just completely out of control. I think overall, as humanity goes, we're innately open to the idea of a positive outcome. We're not necessarily drawn to the negative outcome. I know there are people out there that that's all they see is the what was me, I'm a victim, it's never going to work. We should just all all just come to an end. It's unfortunate that that's true. However, I think there are so many people out there that are working to put out the positive, put out some things and so as a culture and humanity itself. I think we need to stop and pause and maybe the Katie Byron Byron Katie strategy could work. What are your thoughts about that?

Michelle Mras 12:42
I do. I do believe it would work. I mean, if everyone always ran those questions in their head before they reacted, you wouldn't have the knee jerk reactions. That way, it stops a lot of the the panic attack in your brain because your brain will Naturally see the worst case scenario? What we have to do as humans is do Wait a minute, let's back this up. Is that true? Always say that's true. How do you feel when you think that? Now how would you feel when you don't think that? I mean, just think of put that in any crazy scenario that's happening right now.

Russ Johns 13:24
Right.

Michelle Mras 13:24
It stops it. Because you can't say it is always true in every case.

Russ Johns 13:31
Yeah.

Michelle Mras 13:32
Yeah.

Russ Johns 13:32
I don't know. I did a post last night and it was just kind of a solemn rant, wasn't even a rant. It was just some conversations with myself. It's just this observation that is like, okay, over the weekend, we launched astronauts from beings from US soil into the International Space Station. Again. First time in nine years, and I just think it's mind boggling that a private entrepreneur who had a vision and an idea, assembled a team of people, and brought together technology that allowed this to take place allowed cargo to be shipped to the international station, tested this things and created reusable rockets. The news barely gave it a shout. Yeah, and it's like, Okay, well, we have an opportunity here to celebrate some wins in a very challenging time. I would love to take the focus off some bad players that did some very terrible things in an instance. I'm not going to claim to know everything about the pain that every everybody goes through. However, I do know that most pain that we have in our lives is temporary. If we focus on the pain, it shows up more. If we focus on the positive, it shows up more. It's a simple equation. I just think we should probably think about how we can see more positive in the world.

Michelle Mras 15:33
Exactly. I like to say see the positive in the possibilities, or see the possibilities? Yeah, because if you break down the word possibilities, pausing means you positive, but if you focus on the negative, you're removing any possibilities. I'm not asking all of you out there listening that be happy, happy Joy, joy about everything you do. No I'm saying. keep your mind open for the possibilities. Then focus on the positive one, even how remotely crazy it might be focused on that positive one, and better things will happen. That's really what my message is today is be open minded and don't generalize, and don't. Why would you want to feel this way? Let's help make it a better place by finding the good and expanding on the good. Like when that space station really went up to the space station, it's an international space station that is proof alone that we do get along? Okay, we're going up to space and we're collaborating. People who make spaceships, entrepreneurs that makes spaceships don't focus on negativity, or they would say no, can't afford that. It's gonna be really it's probably gonna blow.

Russ Johns 16:53
It'll never work.

Michelle Mras 16:54
Yeah, well, people are going to start No, they're going to stab each other up in space because they're never going to get along about long. No, they don't focus on that kind of thing. They do know can we do together?

Russ Johns 17:05
Yeah

Michelle Mras 17:05
When they get up there, we're going to do this. We're going to do this one day we're going to, they are Dreamers. Yes, sometimes dreamer sound. We sound kind of crazy because we dream big.

Russ Johns 17:16
Yeah

Michelle Mras 17:16
But guess what? Star Trek needs to be a TV show people laughed at. Now we're walking around with cell phones smaller than their little transport their little the look. We're doing it.

Russ Johns 17:29
We're doing it.

Michelle Mras 17:30
Let the dreamers dream and join them in the dream because together we're making it happen.

Russ Johns 17:36
I want to highlight Michelle, a few dreamers here in the room. I know David Mumford is good morning pirates. He's out there making it better for the world. Gabriel. I love Michelle love her Facebook page. So Gabriel's out there. Dr. Medina reached out to Michelle Want to know he's on? He wants you on made from scratch.

Michelle Mras 18:05
Did he not reach out to me. Did I not see your message?

Russ Johns 18:09
Yeah, reach out again right now would be a good time Gabriel. I'm just saying. This is so amazing. I can relate to a lot of this. Angie says Good morning everyone. Thank you for being a pirate. Then David month for Good morning. Jimmy Clem. man, the myth, the legend. There you are. He Ha. I just want to make sure that everybody out there Steve Solomon's in the room. I can relate to Michelle, thank you for sharing. There are a lot of people out here that and then this is JT all the pirate community. If you don't really appreciate the community that you're running with.

Michelle Mras 18:56
Switch

Russ Johns 18:56
Build your own community with the technology and the tech you're a podcaster, right? You have the ability and the opportunity to pick up a microphone. Talk to whoever you want, talk, whatever you want. Speaking right now is probably a challenge for you. Doing virtual and do an event like this and getting your voice heard and sharing your thoughts and communicating some new ideas or some fresh ideas or some positive ideas is a good thing. What do you see in the future here? I know that we're going to share some positivity and we're going to continue to grow this idea that we can do this, we can stay positive, and it's not the majority. It's the minority that are disappointed and unhappy constantly. If we believe that and we know we can share that over and over again, what tools can we use? I mean, podcasting speaking. What are some other things thoughts that you haveout in the world today that you've seen or are excited about?

Michelle Mras 20:05
Well, something very simple we can all do. I mean, and it doesn't cost any money, instead of just liking something positive, like the #Piratebroadcast, share it. I mean, that's the thing. We need to spread this positivity, we need to spread this mentality that there is hope in the future. It's great that we watch it with you. Oh, I like that. That's really good. It should be. I like it and share it to your friends and say, This is what we need to be focusing on in our world. I mean, just start, you have to put something in the message before you send it and share it. Okay. Then that way, people will see it, it comes up higher on the thread, and we can spread this positivity and this mindset of Yes, we can together and then grow this community. Because there are a lot of us and we're all segmented out.

Russ Johns 20:58
Yeah

Michelle Mras 20:58
We able to share and integrate. That's Why when Jimmy told me to connect with you, I was watching you for a bit when I need to connect with him we need to share, because that's what we need. We need to take over so much that people stop watching the news. They stopped working the narrative that is making them think another way. Let's focus on real people talking, not one person making a decision and what we're really seeing and hearing and letting us all we're pirates. I even have my I even have my puffy shirt on today.

Russ Johns 21:33
Well, you are the media, you, Michelle are the media, you had the opportunity, the ability to broadcast your message, your thoughts, your positive influence into the world. I think more people believed that and took initiative. A lot of people are I mean, I see so many people it's probably because that's what I'm focused on this. That's what I always see. Right?

Michelle Mras 21:56
Exactly.

Russ Johns 21:57
I know that that's not the case. There's Probably a minority of people that are turning the camera on and broadcasting. However, I think it's amazing time in history that we get the chance and the opportunity to speak our truth and share that with the world and put something out that's positive. I just applaud anyone that wants to do that. I'm happy to help initiate that or at least encourage you and support you in that initiative. If you're out there and thinking about it, stop thinking about it. Just start.

Michelle Mras 22:36
Yeah. If it comes across your mind, go do it.

Russ Johns 22:40
Yeah. What's the worst thing that could happen is you could stop doing it. Right.

Michelle Mras 22:48
That's how I came up with my podcast. I said, I don't even have a name. I just put it in. I'm talking to people we need to get better mentality out there. That's how I started my podcast. Next thing I know I'm doing videos a lot All sorts of things like you. I'm like, wow, that happened. That escalated very quickly.

Russ Johns 23:06
Tell people about your podcast, talk to us about that.

So we can kind of appreciate and understand. What's Michelle talking about over there?

Michelle Mras 23:09
Oh

My podcast is called mental shift. I had to put it as a one word mental shift. Because I talked to people who well, ordinary people who have had a shift in their mindset that went from one place and they went You know what, shift I want this I want to make a difference I want and I interview them about what shifted them and what bravery help them keep moving forward. What I found with a lot of people is what they feared the most is where they ended up being. That's part of my coaching. It's like Oh, really, because that's it. We fear what we really should be walking towards, because it's so scary because we fear our greatness once we get there. We avoid it because like, no, this is safe. I don't want to go there. But once we step past that threshold of fear, it becomes where we truly are supposed to be. It's beautiful.

Russ Johns 24:12
That's beautiful. Thank you for putting it out there because there's so many people that they get stuck in the Wonder stage. I wonder what. I wonder if. I wonder how. Here's what I've discovered along my journey. I have a fear of gravity, because after falling three stories and three years in rehab, and reconstructive surgery and everything else that goes along with that. You have a challenge around gravity. It's this thing that it's not that I have to. I can still climb stairs and everything else is it's not inhibiting My life. I just feel that there are a lot of people that are they're afraid of starting. What starting does for us, is gives us feedback. It gives us information back that we can use to improve ourselves improve what we're doing, improve how we're doing it is life is an instrument. We have to practice it in order to improve on it, right?

Michelle Mras 25:27
Yes. I wrote a whole book about. It's not luck. Overcome yourself is basically what my book is all about. I have a fear of not living, because right now I'm in a cancer journey. Remember, I told you I had breast cancer, I'm still in my cancer journey. My thought is, if I die today will I regret anything and my regret back then was I haven't lived enough I was too afraid to live and so now I live life full force and I don't stop because I will not be on my deathbed doing I wish I had

Russ Johns 26:01
Yeah.

Michelle Mras 26:01
Now I do, huh? What else can I do? What else can I do? And that's what you asked me this morning. How was your day? I woke up? It's a fabulous day.

Russ Johns 26:10
Yeah, every day is a gift. How can I make a positive impact today? That's really what it's about and there's times where I don't want to sleep because there's too much that I want to accomplish. It's really challenging to, you have to pace yourself. It's a marathon hopefully it's a marathon. It's like, we have to do things that we have to do in really putting things out there, helping people put things out there and and share and overcome the negative with the positive information. It's almost like this challenging moment where you have to just shut it out. put it out there and make sure that it's continuing to reach people in a positive way. Where can people reach you? How to people find you? What's the best way to track you down? Michelle?

Michelle Mras 27:14
You can track me down anywhere. My name is on all social media. The best way to find me is my website, which is my name, Michellemras.com. If you can't remember, it's Michelle. I'm full of hell HELL. Ross. Mr. As So Michelle, Mr. As .COM. All my links are there so you can find me You can message there and I answer. I apologize to Gabriel because if you written me, I did not see you. Yeah, it's just think of this people. This is something I want to leave you all with. If we woke up as we were born, and we were always afraid to walk, because we're afraid of falling down, we would be a world of fall crawlers, right?

Russ Johns 27:58
Yeah.

Michelle Mras 27:58
As we learn to walk And run, do you realize all we're doing is perpetually falling? Every time we put a foot in front of another foot or stopping ourselves from falling. Try walking without putting your foot in front of the other, you will fall. We are constantly falling and getting back up. Just realize you're always succeeding as long as you're moving forward.

Russ Johns 28:23
Yeah. keep the momentum going.

Michelle Mras 28:28
Remember, momentum doesn't mean speed.

Russ Johns 28:30
No, it just means moment.

Michelle Mras 28:33
Yes.

Russ Johns 28:34
Doesn't matter how fast you go on as long as you're moving forward, right?

Michelle Mras 28:39
Yes, just don't fall backwards.

Russ Johns 28:41
Don't fall backwards. Well, I'm so excited for the opportunities that even though we're going through some very challenging times, there's a lot of opportunity that I see out there. There's a lot of things that sometimes the worst times bring out the best in People.

Michelle Mras 29:00
Always.

Russ Johns 29:02
As any tragedy or any circumstance can attest to is, there will be heroes and look for the helpers. As Mr. Rogers saying, Look for the helpers. Look for the people out there that are doing the quiet work the matters and make sure that you appreciate and applaud those individuals that are doing the work. The caregivers, the hospitals, the frontline people, the first responders, the grocery store workers, people that are out there, serving and supporting the community. Don't forget that you have an opportunity to go out there and support people doing common work and doing it well. Don't forget that we all need to work together for a positive outcome.

Thank you so much for Michelle for being here. And as you know, #Kindnessiscool. And #smilesarefree. And you #enjoytheday.

Michelle Mras 30:09
You too. Thank you, everyone.

Russ Johns 30:13
Thank you for joining the #piratebroadcast. If you found this content valuable, please like, comment and share it across your social media channels. I would love the opportunity to help others grow in their business. #Thepiratesyndicate is a platform where you show up we produce the show. It's that easy. If you want to be seen be heard and be talked about. Join #thepiratesyndicate today.

Michelle Mras 30:42
That was fun.

Russ Johns 30:43
Thanks, everyone.

​
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