We’re looking forward to introducing you to Rae Sanchez. Check out our conversation below.
Rae, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What battle are you avoiding?
The battle I’ve been avoiding is rediscovering myself after the loss of my son. It has been difficult figuring out who I am in a world where I’m no longer actively mothering him. In that one absence, since I have 5 other children I must attempt to reignite the spark in me that prioritizes my mental, physical, and emotional well-being. I avoid it. But, I know that is only a delay.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’ve always been a writer but mostly of poems and songs. So expressing this book felt instinctive, as if it moved through my veins. In chairos moments when there are few words that can truly capture life, writing has been the way I make sense of it.
I am a mother, daughter, sister, friend, and wife. I have a way of seeing the world that like everyone does, which makes me a little quirky. It’s probably what led me into public service. I serve as the CEO of a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people discover their own resilience.
To me, resilience isn’t something abstract; it’s the natural result of learning how to thrive beyond life’s most taxing experiences. Through my work and my writing, I aim to leave the world knowing I did my part. I showed up, endured, and never gave up
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
The moments that most shaped how I see the world were the loss of my innocence, my first husband, and my first child. Not in a purely negative sense, but as profound turning points. I believe that pouring negative emotion into painful experiences only allows the pain to grow, rather than allowing us to grow.
Those losses instinctively became formative experiences, solidifying my belief in choosing how I live and knowing the way. I’m grateful for those challenges, because we never truly know who we are capable of becoming until life asks us to go further than we ever thought we could.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Suffering taught me that life doesn’t stop for your pain,there are no pauses for either pain or success. I learned that there is a way to suffer, and that even pain can be approached with intention and growth.
Success can be blinding because you fear its impermanence you can become distracted by the knowledge that it won’t last forever. Pain can be blinding in a different way. It can make it harder to see that it, too, is temporary.
What suffering ultimately taught me is this: if you live long enough, you know more deeply and honestly that you’ve officially lived long enough to know that it does get better.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
Of course; to an extent. The real you lives somewhere between how you see yourself and how you make others feel. In the very public lives we now lead, it can feel as though nothing is sacred anymore.
I believe sanctity is found in your attempts and your failures. That’s where you discover who you truly are quietly, honestly, and when no one is watching. That way the public you and the private you are loved ones and not enemies.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What do you think people will most misunderstand about your legacy?
I think people will misunderstand my legacy by assuming that my grace was a creator of dependence or permissiveness. In truth, I’ve always known the difference. I extend grace because it’s what I need as well, we are all flawed.
Survival today isn’t about constant fight-or-flight; it’s about discernment. We need to teach people how to recognize differences the way we see colors—distinct, individual, and beautiful on their own. Some blend more easily with others, but that doesn’t diminish anyone’s ability to belong or contribute.
We are individuals, yet together we create a human rainbow. And because of that, everyone deserves a little grace, at least two or three times over.
Contact Info:
- Other: To contact use email Raeshawn2018@yahoo.com
