In this episode of What’s the Gift?, Mike Oglesbee sits down with Brigitte Cutshall to talk about health challenges, resilience, curiosity, kindness, and learning how to live with deeper purpose.

Brigitte shares her journey through breast cancer twice, melanoma, and a rare brain tumor. Instead of letting those experiences define her through fear, she became more intentional with her health, her time, and the way she shows up in the world. A major theme of the conversation is being proactive. Brigitte talks about getting regular checkups, asking questions, researching her health, listening to her body, and partnering with doctors. Her curiosity became one of the tools that helped her navigate difficult diagnoses and make informed decisions.

Mike and Brigitte also discuss what it means to slow down. Before her health challenges, Brigitte was busy traveling, working, raising children, and chasing success. Through those experiences, she learned to say no more often, stop making money her main purpose, and focus more on joy, family, health, writing, and meaningful work.

The conversation also explores judgment, kindness, and human value. Brigitte shares how experiences from childhood, her mother’s background, desegregated schools, and being judged shaped her commitment to seeing value in every person. She explains that kindness is deeper than being nice because kindness is intentional and rooted in character.

In this episode:

● Brigitte’s journey through major health challenges

● Why being proactive with your health matters

● How curiosity helped her ask better questions

● Why she learned to listen to her body

● How health challenges taught her to slow down

● Why money stopped being her main purpose

● The difference between being nice and being kind

● Why everyone has value beyond what they do

● How writing, speaking, and health advocacy became part of her work

This episode is a reminder that life’s hardest moments can become turning points. When we stay curious, choose kindness, and focus on what truly matters, we can move from surviving into a more intentional and meaningful way of living.