As a young mother, Sandra Elia faced a difficult choice about the future of her young daughter. In this short and powerful speech, she tells us that sometimes, against all odds, you have to jump into the unknown.
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00:00 It was like standing on the edge of a building and I needed to jump to get out.
00:07 I wanted a strong man by my side and a happy family
00:12 because I grew up in a very chaotic, violent, lonely family
00:20 filled with mental illness.
00:22 And I wanted my shot at having a happy family and creating a safe home.
00:29 But that dream crumbled one afternoon when I was breastfeeding my four-month-old
00:34 and my fiancé kicked an ottoman across the living room floor
00:38 and we locked eyes.
00:41 And that moment hung in the air and I knew it was over
00:46 because I would not recreate my childhood for my daughter.
00:51 But the risks were this baby, this baby with all of their needs.
00:55 How was I going to raise her alone?
00:58 How was I going to go from two incomes to one?
01:01 And how was I going to go back to my Bay Street job when Matley was over?
01:05 I had to jump but there was no net.
01:08 I couldn't see the net. I needed a guaranteed net.
01:13 And I couldn't risk her well-being and I couldn't stay because of him
01:17 and I had to make a decision and I jumped.
01:23 And the net appeared. The net appeared in the most miraculous way,
01:26 in a way I couldn't have even put together myself.
01:29 A couple of weeks later at 1 a.m. there's a knock on my door
01:32 and it's my sister and she's leaving her husband.
01:35 This was a very good thing.
01:37 And now I had somebody who would live with me and help raise my daughter
01:42 and we would create a happy, loving home.
01:45 And then a few weeks after that, that Bay Street firm called me and said,
01:49 "Would you like a giant severance package?
01:52 Stay home with your baby for the next 15 months
01:54 and we know you want to be a certified life coach and we'll pay for that course."
01:59 And I was like, "Yes and yes."
02:01 And so that net appeared but it couldn't appear until I jumped.
02:06 I went about my way and I became that life coach
02:09 and then one day a friend, a soul sister who just gets me and knows me,
02:14 asked me, "I guess you're going to help food addicts."
02:18 And I was like, "Food addicts? No, no, no, no, no, no.
02:21 I can't help food addicts. That's very complicated.
02:23 I have nothing to offer them."
02:25 Yes, I had lost over 100 pounds 14 years ago and I was a recovering food addict,
02:29 but I can't because food addicts want skinny people to help them.
02:33 Food addicts want cover of Sheep magazine people to help them.
02:37 And don't you know my biggest fear is you're going to call me fat?
02:41 And if you call me fat, I'm going to crumble.
02:43 I can't. I can't help the food addict.
02:46 So this time, instead I just put my toe on the pad
02:52 and as soon as I set my foot down,
02:56 the universe responded with a resounding yes.
03:00 And the opportunities came and the partnerships came and the doctors came
03:06 and I was able to create Ontario's first outpatient program for food addicts
03:11 and I helped create Canada's first residential treatment program for food addicts
03:16 and the programs were filling and people were recovering
03:19 and the best part, the absolute best part was I was living my passion.
03:26 I took what I thought would be the greatest curse of my life
03:30 and I turned it into a blessing and I get to serve each and every day.
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