What happens when life hits you with multiple crises all at once, leaving no time to recover before the next wave arrives?

In this powerful finale of the 4-part Health in Wealth® series, host Anna Ramos sits down with acclaimed author and leadership expert Susan Ford Collins to explore one of the most raw and transformative periods of her life.

After enduring a devastating tornado and hurricane, followed by her partner Albert and sister being diagnosed with cancer, her daughter facing a severe medical crisis, and navigating her own cancer diagnosis, Susan found herself in a state of cognitive and emotional overload she defines as "Blur."

In this episode, Susan and Anna dive deep into:

· What "Blur" feels like and why our brains freeze under compounded trauma.

· The psychological skill of viewing trauma from the third person to process pain without re-traumatizing the body.

· The power of "updating your memory database" to heal unresolved questions and find closure.

· Why having tough conversations about end-of-life wishes and estate planning is essential for those we love.

· How to reignite your Reticular Activating System (RAS) and create a "Dream Room" to build a meaningful future again.

Whether you are navigating grief, unexpected life transitions, or caregiving fatigue, this conversation offers grounded wisdom, practical recovery skills, and heartfelt encouragement to help you reclaim clarity, trust, and purpose.

Chapters & Timestamps

00:00 - Introduction: Coping with Cumulative LifeCrises

02:18 - Introducing Blur: Clear the Way Ahead

05:09 - The 2017 Storms: When Physical & MentalChaos Struck

07:44 - Navigating Overwhelming Medical Diagnoses &Loss

10:35 - What is "Blur"? UnderstandingCognitive Overload

14:30 - Stepping Back: Viewing Trauma Like a MovieScreen

18:18 - Updating the Mental Database with TrustedMemories

21:34 - Rebuilding Vision: How to Dream AgainStep-by-Step

25:50 - Having Difficult End-of-Life & FuturePlanning Conversations

31:13 - Seeking the Right Support System in Hard Times

36:18 - Finding Resilience Through Past Hardships &Creative Outlets

42:00 - Series Finale Reflections: Finding Clarity

We invite you to spend time with this honest, deeply personalconversation, especially if you or someone you love is moving through a seasonthat feels difficult to make sense of.

Subscribe to Amida World on YouTube or your favourite listening channeland listen to the full episode of Health in Wealth®.

What happens when the way we’ve always worked or led no longer fits the season we’re in?

Susan Ford Collins joins Ana Ramos on Amida’s Health in Wealth® podcast to explore leadership, personal growth and knowing when to shift gears. In Part 3 of our four-part Special Edition, BEHIND THE BOOK, we discover the experiences and collaboration that shaped Success Has Gears, co-authored with Richard Israel.

For Ana, this conversation is deeply personal. More than 20 years after working with Susan, she reflects on an idea that stayed with her as she changed careers, built businesses and learned to lead in her own way.

Through stories from their lives and workplaces, Susan and Ana explore three gears: learning something new, building momentum through production, and creating new possibilities. Each asks something different of us and of the people supporting our growth.

Together, they consider how we can give people room to learn, recognize contributions, listen to ideas wherever they emerge and notice when the pressure to keep producing is affecting our health and relationships. Susan also returns to Success Filing, her practice of recording the everyday wins we can so easily overlook.

The conversation invites us to consider our own wealth being™, and how the ways we work and lead support the lives we want to create.

IN THIS EPISODE
00:00 When the way we lead needs to change
02:32 The book that connected Ana and Susan
05:23 When leadership doesn’t match someone’s stage of growth
07:52 Ana’s experience of controlling leadership
13:16 The pressure to keep producing
15:37 Supporting learning, performance and creativity
17:01 Applying the gears to our personal lives
21:42 Moving beyond autopilot
26:07 Values, mind mapping and the collaboration behind the book
29:27 The changing workforce that helped shape Success Has Gears
33:01 Rethinking the criticism we still carry
33:51 Listening to ideas from across the team
36:23 Success Filing and the flexibility to shift
37:52 When constant production affects our wellbeing
41:00 Sharing a clear vision and inviting your team’s ideas
47:37 Recognizing what this season asks of us
49:13 Looking ahead to Blur

Where in your life might a different gear give you room to grow?

We invite you to follow Health in Wealth® and join Ana and Susan for the final conversation in this Special Edition, exploring Blur. Share this episode with someone navigating a change in their work, leadership or life.

She was the youngest psychologist in the room. She stood up and told about 250 colleagues they were studying the wrong people. They laughed. Susan Ford Collins was a research psychologist at the National Institute of Mental Health when she finally said out loud what had been waking her at night: that studying illness would never explain success. The room laughed, full throated. She calls it the most important moment of her life. What came next was not a career plan. Her husband's job moved them out of Washington, there were no research posts where they landed, and she took a job teaching middle school. She was divorced eighteen months later with two young daughters and no money coming in. She kept asking the same question anyway. It carried her to a name tag table at a conference in Massachusetts, where she looked down at a short man with a shiny bald head and realized he was on her list of people she wanted to shadow. Buckminster Fuller. He gave her three months. Years later a hurricane cleared a year of bookings off her calendar, and she finally had the time to write the book. Ana Ramos first met Susan more than twenty years ago, in coaching sessions she has never forgotten. This is the first of four bonus conversations on Health in Wealth®, one for each of Susan's books, going behind the ideas rather than explaining them. CHAPTERS 00:00 The question that woke her at night 02:09 Reconnecting after twenty years 03:54 What is your true north 06:12 Wealth is more than money 07:38 Standing up at the National Institute of Mental Health 09:18 The move, the divorce, becoming one again 11:00 No silver spoon 12:17 Am I laughing at myself 13:33 Teaching the gifted program 14:05 Yanked out of a lot of next steps 16:49 The call from the principal 17:40 The name tag table 19:25 But doesn't everyone 23:03 Hurricane Andrew 25:11 Finding an editor at the Eden Roc 25:45 The key to teaching is knowing the gear 28:01 Connecting 32:03 First, second and third gear 33:22 Why The Joy of Success 35:00 Magic 35:55 Forty years too late 37:57 Ana's closing reflection Subscribe to Health in Wealth® to follow the full four part series with Susan Ford Collins. Educational content only. Not investment advice. #HealthInWealth #SusanFordCollins #TheJoyOfSuccess

In this Special Edition of Health in Wealth®, host Ana Ramos shares a heartfelt tribute to Susan Ford Collins, a mentor whose wisdom on success, leadership, and well-being has guided her for over 20 years.Susan has dedicated her life to mastering the skills for success. In this series, we look beyond the pages of her books (The Joy of Success, Our Children are Watching, Success’s Gears, and Blur) to uncover the stories, memories, and lived experiences that shaped her work. We explore how personal legacy is built not just through words, but through the people and principles that carry them forward.Join us for this intimate introduction to a living legacy and discover the profound impact of honoring our teachers in the present moment.#Shorts #HealthInWealth #SusanFordCollins #SuccessMindset #LeadershipDevelopment #PersonalLegacy #Wellbeing #TheJoyOfSuccess #AnaRamos #Mentorship

Every meaningful journey begins with a question. What started as a desire to explore health, wealth, and human potential evolved into 29 powerful conversations. Join Ana Ramos as she reflects on the insights, growth, and moments that defined Season 1.

In Episode 29 of the Health in Wealth® Podcast, host Ana Ramos welcomes back renowned author, educator, and founder of The Technology of Success®, Susan Ford Collins, for the second part of an insightful conversation on the principles that create lasting success.

Building on the foundation established in their previous discussion, Susan explores the next five Success Principles—essential skills that help individuals navigate growth, change, relationships, and increasing responsibility without sacrificing their wellbeing.

As success expands, new challenges emerge. How do you stay grounded when pressure increases? How do you adapt when circumstances shift? And how do you build success that is sustainable rather than exhausting?

In this episode, Susan shares practical wisdom on developing the mindset and habits that allow people to thrive through change, strengthen their relationships, communicate more effectively, and continue growing with intention.

Whether you're a business owner, leader, entrepreneur, parent, or someone seeking greater fulfillment, this conversation offers powerful insights into creating a life that feels both successful and deeply meaningful.

You'll discover:
• The next five Success Principles that support sustainable growth
• Why success requires adaptability, not just achievement
• How to navigate change with confidence and clarity
• The role relationships play in long-term success
• Practical tools for handling pressure without losing yourself
• How to create success that feels life-giving, not draining

Success is not a destination. It is a skill set that can be learned, practiced, and strengthened over time.

Tune in for an inspiring conversation that will challenge how you think about success—and help you build a healthier, wealthier, and more intentional life.

Connect with Ana Ramos and Health in Wealth® for more conversations on personal growth, financial wellbeing, mindset, leadership, and living with purpose.

How many times have you told yourself, "I'll do it when I feel ready"?

Whether it's a new role, a bold decision, a career move, or stepping into greater visibility, many of us wait for confidence, certainty, and perfect timing before we take action. But what if readiness isn't something that comes before the move? What if it comes because of it?

In this episode of Health in Wealth®, Ana Ramos sits down with Scout Cheeks—elite rugby player, academic achiever, and purpose-driven professional—to explore what it means to move forward when life feels uncertain.

Fresh from competing with the New York Exiles in their inaugural season, Scout shares her experience of balancing elite sport, career ambition, service, and personal growth while navigating new levels of responsibility and visibility.

Together, Ana and Scout unpack:
• Why fear often disguises itself as logic
• The hidden cost of waiting for the "perfect" moment
• How to recognise when an opportunity is calling you forward
• The relationship between intuition, timing, and courage
• What it means to take action before you feel fully ready

This isn't a conversation about having all the answers. It's about trusting yourself enough to take the next step, even when the path ahead isn't completely clear.

If you've been standing at the edge of a decision, waiting for confidence to arrive, this episode may be the nudge you've been looking for.