Tribe Feature | Alison Hadden

Like many of our Tribe members, you start out in a profession that you love but then life bursts through the door, and before you know it you're changing your job, your lifestyle, and even who you are to your core. This was true for Alison Hadden, a marketing executive in the tech industry, a veteran speaker, and now a cancer warrior battling breast cancer. 

After Alison received her diagnosis her life immediately changed. She had always enjoyed public speaking where she had the opportunity to travel around the nation to share her wisdom about wellness and overall well-being for the past 15 years. Her passion for public speaking eventually led to her being approached to speak at a TEDx Talk in February 2020. Alison shared her story about being diagnosed with breast cancer with her inspiring TEDx Talk  “Confronting Death to Live a Fuller Life”. 

Her speech garnered her a standing ovation, but just seven weeks later she had emergency brain surgery that revealed a metastatic tumor. After navigating through one of life’s obstacles, she was once again faced with another regarding her health. There is a silver lining to all of this, Alison has now successfully recovered from her brain surgery and is more passionate than ever to share the benefits of wellness and why it is a vital factor in all of our lives. 

“I'm a passionate wellness advocate and proponent of integrating physical activity into every day, especially for busy businesswomen who need to keep the energy high throughout the day,” said Hadden. “ In order to make sure to keep physical health a top priority, business women should schedule wellness practices, like you would a meeting or conference call. Simply book workouts and self-care appointments a few weeks out and then do everything to protect those times. In this way, you set yourself up for success and get reminded that health and well-being are just as important as anything else on your busy schedule!”

Alison is absolutely right! Yes, having luxurious homes and vehicles is a goal many of us have. But what about living a life plentiful of healthy behaviors and mindsets that can help benefit you and your overall health? For example, by simply choosing to drink water over a sugary beverage really does affect your life in the long run. We aren’t saying to completely cut out drinking Coca Cola so your lifestyle reflects nothing but healthy behaviors, but by reminding yourself that your actions may ultimately have consequences is something everyone should be mindful of.

When Alison shares her knowledge throughout the country to auditoriums packed with eager ears, she’s not targeting those who are already practicing a healthy lifestyle, she’s focusing on those who do not take their health as seriously as they should. 

“When it comes to who I think I help the most it would be anyone who could benefit from the reminder that tomorrow's not guaranteed…”, noted Hadden. 

This same ideology flows into her overall work ethic. Alison understands that to be able to effectively affect someone emotionally, you must be able to dig deep into their passions and their overall goals.  For example, if an entrepreneur wishes to live a successful life accompanied by a fancy lifestyle, they must take their health seriously in order to enjoy their life and all that they have created for themselves.

“Who is your target customer?”, Hadden asks. “ You need to first understand what's in the hearts and minds of your audience in order to craft a brand that has the potential to resonate with them.”

If you are worried about your health or if you come from a family that is known to suffer from certain diseases then you should take steps needed to ensure your health. Changing your lifestyle to reflect better well-being is something you must do in order to continue living a happy and successful life. We all know money doesn’t grow on trees, and neither does the reassurance that you will not encounter an obstacle down the road similar to what Alison had to endure. Take the time to better yourself and your life will be a direct reflection of your choices. 

To connect with Alison, check out her website!